ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 367 N e w s f r o m t h e F i e l d Stephanie Orphan N Y P L la u n c h e s e m e r g e n c y c a m p a ig n In r e s p o n s e to d e e p p u b lic fu n d in g c u ts a n d th e p o te n tia l fo r fu rth e r re d u c tio n s , th e N e w Y o rk P u b lic L ibrary (NYPL) h a s la u n c h e d th e E m e rg e n c y C a m p a ig n fo r th e Library, w h ic h se e k s to raise $18 m illion in private fu n d s o v e r th e n e x t th ree y ears to sustain esse n tia l c ollec­ tions, program s, a n d services. NYPL is se e k in g $4 m illion p e r y e ar for th e b ra n c h libraries a n d $2 m illio n p e r y e a r fo r th e re s e a rc h libraries. T h e E m e rg e n c y C a m p a ig n w ill s e e k to fu n d th e a rea s o f th e library th at h a v e b e e n h a rd e st h it b y th e city’s b u d g e t cuts. F u n d in g n e e d s to b e a d d re s s e d fo r th e b ra n c h lib ra ries in c lu d e b o o k s a n d m aterials, c o m p u te r p a g e s, e d u c a ­ tio n a l a n d c u ltu ral p ro g ra m m in g , a n d b ra n c h sp ru c e -u p s . F o r th e re se a rc h libraries, fu n d in g n e e d s to b e a d d ressed b y the c am paign are col­ lections, p u b lic service, a n d p re serv a tio n . EBSCO a c q u is it io n o f R o w e C o m ‘s U.S. a n d E u r o p e a n o p e r a t io n s a p p r o v e d T h e U n ite d S tates B a n k ru p tc y C o u rt h a s a p ­ p r o v e d th e s a le o f c e rta in R o w e C o m U.S.A. asse ts to EBSCO, p u rs u a n t to a d e finitive p u r ­ c h a s e a g re e m e n t p re v io u s ly e x e c u te d b y th e tw o parties. T h e sa le in c lu d e s th e U.S. o p e r a ­ tio n s o f R o w e C o m , In c ., w h ic h in c lu d e s th e o p e ra tio n s o f D a w so n , Inc.; D a w s o n Inform a­ tio n Q u e s t, In c .; T h e F a x o n C o m p a n y , Inc.; T u rn e r S u b s c rip tio n A g e n cy , Inc.; M c G re g o r S ubscription Services, Inc.; a n d C or­ p o r a te S u b s c rip tio n S e rv ice s, Inc. F inal c lo s in g o f th e s a le is c o n ti n ­ g e n t o n verification o f pu b lish er su p ­ p o rt re p re se n tin g at least 50 p e rc e n t o f th e a g g re g a te m o n e ta ry a m o u n t p re p a id to R ow eC om b y c u sto m e rs ( w h ic h w a s n o t s u b s e q u e n t ly fo r ­ w a r d e d to p u b lis h e rs ) a n d su c c e ss­ ful c lo su re b y EBSCO o f its a cq u isi­ t i o n o f R o w e C o m ’s E u r o p e a n operations. EBSCO h a s r e c e iv e d a p p r o v a l from th e F rench Ministry o f F inance We’ve f fo r th e a c q u isitio n o f th e E u ro p e a n o p e ra tio n s , p u r s u a n t to th e d e fin i­ tive p u rc h ase a g ree m e n t e x ec u te d b e tw e e n the t w o c o m p a n i e s in F e b r u a r y . A s s e ts o f R o w e C o m F ra n c e a re b e in g in te g ra te d in to a n e w ly c r e a te d w h o l l y o w n e d s u b s id i a r y o f EBSCO, “EBSCO In fo rm a tio n Services, SAS.” EBSCO a n d R o w e C o m E u ro p e a re in th e p r o ­ cess o f c o m p le tin g th e final s te p s n e c e ssa ry to d efin itiv ely c lo se th e acq u isitio n . EBSCO h a s a ls o f in a liz e d its p u r c h a s e o f R o w e C o m A u stra lia , PTY Ltd. a n d h a s c o m ­ p l e t e d t h e a c q u i s i t io n o f c e r t a i n a s s e ts o f R ow eC om ’s C an ad ian su b scrip tio n o perations, D iv in e S o lu tio n s , ULC. U n iv e r s it y o f L o u is v ille t o la u n c h l ib r a r y e x p a n s io n T he U niversity o f Louisville is p lan n in g a $14.2. m illio n e x p a n s io n o f E k stro m Library, w h ic h w ill a d d 42,500 s q u a re fe e t to th e lib ra ry a n d in c lu d e m a n y f e a tu r e s to m a k e it a s ta te -o f- th e -a rt facility. T h e facility w ill in c lu d e su c h n e w fe a tu re s as a n a u to m a te d sto ra g e a n d re ­ trieval system th at will p ro v id e highly efficient, s e c u re , a n d e n v iro n m e n ta lly c o n tro lle d sto r­ a g e o f u p to 1.2 m illio n v o lu m e s . T h is w ill e n a b le th e u niversity to increase its h o ldings to 3 m illion v o lu m e s, w h ile p ro v id in g ra p id , r o ­ b o tic b o o k re trie v a l. A lso in c lu d e d w ill b e a 2 4 -h o u r stu d y facility a n d tec h n o lo g ic a lly a d ­ v a n c e d in stru c tio n a l la b o ra to rie s a n d c o n fe r­ e n c e s p a c e . T h e u n iv e rs ity e x p e c ts to b r e a k g r o u n d in late 2003 o r s p rin g o f 2004. ound It, Cristel! The Valley of the Lost Faxon Subscriptions! K. Waugh 368 / C&RL News ■ June 2003 R e co rd s o f Ira q i c iv iliz a t io n d e stro y e d Historians are o f th e view that Iraq is the cradle o f c iv iliz atio n a n d th e s e a t o f m a jo r a n c ie n t c iv ilizations o f th e w o rld d a tin g b a c k to th e Fifth M illennium B.C., including Sum erian a n d B a b y lo n ia n c u ltu re s . It is t h e b ir th p la c e o f A b ra h a m a n d th e first u r b a n s e ttle m e n ts . P e o p le o f th is h istoric r e g io n sta rte d a gricul­ ture, in v e n te d writing, a n d w ro te th e w o rld ’s first c o d e o f law. B a g h d ad University is o n e o f th e o ld e s t un iv ersities in th e w o rld . U ntil r e ­ cently, Iraq h a d o n e o f th e b e st national librar­ ies, archives, a n d m u se u m s to d o c u m e n t h e r civilizations a n d th e h isto ry o f m a n k in d , b u t su d d e n ly ev ery th in g h a s b e e n lost d u e to th e lo o tin g a n d fire th a t fo llo w e d th e fall o f th e C apital City o f B a g h d a d in A pril 2003. D o c u m e n t in g a n c ie n t c iv iliz a t io n T h e N ational Library h a d a c o llectio n o f o v e r o ne million books a n d over twenty million docu­ m ents. It included copies o f all boo k s published in Ira q a n d all Ph.D . d isse rta tio n s w ritte n in th e country. In addition, there w e re m an y rare b o o k s o n Islam , Ju d a ism , g o v e rn m e n t d o c u ­ m ents, a n d records o f royal courts dating b a ck to th e O tto m a n E m pire. M any o ld h a n d -w rit­ te n m anuscripts, w h ic h w e re b e in g co n v erted to the print form dating t a c k thousands o f years, w e re lost, in clu d in g th e n u m b e r system s a n d th e first e x a m p le s o f w ritte n w o rd s o f h u m a n civilization. T h e Is la m ic L ib ra ry h a d t h o u s a n d s o f b o o k s o n Islam , in clu d in g th e o ld e s t c o p y o f th e K oran, w h ic h w e re d e stro y e d in fire a n d / o r lo o te d . T h e M osul U niversity L ibrary h a d In n o v a t iv e t o o f f e r L in u x o p t io n I n n o v a tiv e In te r f a c e s is in tr o d u c in g th e o p ­ tio n fo r lib ra rie s to r u n M ille n n iu m o n L in u x s e r v e r s ; t h is o p t i o n is b e i n g d e v e l o p e d in p a r tn e r s h i p w i t h t h e L ib ra ry o f t h e U n i v e r ­ s ity o f T e c h n o l o g y , S y d n e y (U T S ) in A u s ­ tralia. P o rtin g th e s o ftw a re to L in u x e x p a n d s t h e a r r a y o f c h o i c e s a v a i l a b l e t o u s e r s a n d s u p p o r t s t h e c o m p a n y ’s g o a l o f p l a t f o r m , o p e r a t i n g - s y s t e m , a n d d a t a b a s e i n d e p e n ­ d e n c e . UTS e n t e r e d i n t o t h e p a r t n e r s h i p b a s e d o n t h e re lia b ility a n d p e r f o r m a n c e o f L inux, t h e o p p o r t u n i t y p r e s e n t e d b y L in u x to i n t e g r a t e M i l le n n i u m w i t h c o r e u n i v e r ­ sity s y s te m s , a n d a p h i l o s o p h i c a l c o m m i t ­ m a n y e x c e lle n t ra re m a n u s c rip ts in th e A ra­ bic la n g u a g e , w h ic h w e re also lost. Iraqi M useum s h a d a n e x ce lle n t a rc h a e o ­ logical collection a n d the N ational M useum in B a g h d a d h a d th e g r e a te s t c o lle c tio n o f M e s o p o ta m ia n art. It h a d o v e r 170,000 arti­ facts b e lo n g in g t o th e p re h is to ric A ssyrian, B a b y lo n ia n , G re e k , Isla m ic , P e rs ia n , a n d Sum erian civilizations. T he m ajor lost artifacts in c lu d e a silver h a rp , 4,000 y e ars old; a solid g o ld h a rp from th e Sum erian era o f 3360 B.C.; a n d a h e a d le s s b la c k s t a tu e o f th e K in g E nte m en a o f th e Sum erian era from 2600 B.C. O ther priceless artifacts included a c o p p e r h e ad o f a n A kkadian King, w h ic h w as at least 4,000 y e a rs o ld; a n d m a n y sta tu e s, p o tte ry , c u n e i­ form tablets, a n c ie n t seals a n d c lay tab lets o f g e o m e try , ivory figures o f w o m e n a n d g o d ­ desses, ceram ic jars, a n d urns that w e re at least 2,000 to 5,000 y e ars old. O th e r im p o rta n t a r­ tifa cts lo st a re a 5 ,0 0 0 -y e a r-o ld W arka v a se from the Sum erian period; th e Lion o f Nimrud, k n o w n a s a n ic o n o f P h o e n i c i a n Art, fro m 8 50 B.C.; a n d ra re 1 2th c e n tu r y d e c o r a te d w o o d e n d o o rs o f a m osque. T h e loss w a s in billions o f dollars a n d h as b e e n d e s c ri b e d a s a d is a s te r b y UNESCO. K o ic h iro M a ts u u ra , d i r e c t o r g e n e r a l o f UNESCO, issued a sta te m e n t o n April 15 say­ ing, “Libraries, archives, a n d m anuscripts m ust b e preserved. … Libraries a re th e e s s e n c e o f k n o w le d g e societies. N early 20 c e n tu rie s o f w ritten history o f m a n k in d a re in d a n g er; e v ­ e ry th in g m u st b e d o n e to p ro te c t th e m from lo o tin g a n d d e stru c tio n .” T h e d e s tru c tio n o f m e n t to o p e n s o u r c e a p p r o a c h e s w h e re th e y p ro v e applicable. A m e r ic a n P o litic a l S cience A s s o c ia tio n a n n o u n c e s n e w jo u r n a l T h e A m e ric a n P o litic a l S c ie n c e A s s o c ia tio n (APSA) h as a n n o u n c e d th at its n e w journal P er­ spectives in P olitics is n o w a v ailable from C am ­ b rid g e U niversity Press. T h e journal, w h ic h d e ­ b u t e d w i t h V o lu m e 1, N o. 1 in M a rc h 2003, c o n n e c ts re se a rc h findings, c o n c e p tu a l in n o v a ­ tio n s, a n d /o r th e o re tic a l d e v e lo p m e n ts w ith in th e d isc ip lin e o f politica l sc ie n c e to re al p r o b ­ lem s o f politics. APSA a n d C a m b rid g e U n iv e r­ sity P re ss jo u rn a ls a re a lso a v ailab le o n lin e . C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 369 t h e s e c o lle c tio n s w a s c e rta in ly o n e o f th e g re a te s t c u ltu ra l d isa ste rs a n d a tra g e d y in h u m a n history. Iraq h a d b e e n collecting a n d sa feg u a rd in g th e trea su re s o f its civilization in archives, libraries a n d m u se u m s fo r o v e r 10,000 y e a rs b u t m u c h o f th e m a te ria l w a s lo o te d a n d /o r d e stro y ed b y fire w ithin a few d a y s in A pril 2003. A r e p o r t p u b l is h e d in the A sa h i S h im b u n , Tokyo, o n April 21,2003, s ta te s th a t “T h e d a m a g e o f th e lib ra ry … o n ly m atches th at o f th e 13th c en tu ry w h e n th e M ongols in v a d e d B a g h d a d a n d b u rn e d all th e b o o k s .” N a tio n a l L ib ra ry m a te r ia ls sa feg ua rd ed According to a re ce n t re p o rt front Iraq, som e im portant materials w ere m oved from the Na­ tional Library to th e to u rism a d m in istratio n building in mid-M arch d u e to the fear o f war. T he saved m aterials include do c u m e n ts from the p eriod o f the O ttom an Empire; b a ck c o p ­ ies o f the first n e w s p a p e r A A l-Thaw ra, p u b ­ lis h e d in Iraq in th e 19th c e n tu ry u n d e r the O tto m a n ’s rule; o ld cad a stral registers; a n d m a n y b o o k s. T h e larg e st c o lle c tio n o f the Saddam Manuscripts Library o f Baghdad, with o v e r 40,000 m anuscripts in Arabic, Krurdish, Persian a n d Turkish, h as also b e e n saved. Gazi H a ssan , a staff m e m b e r o f th e Iraq N a tio n a l L ibrary, t o ld th e BBC N e w s r e ­ c e n tly th a t th e m a jo r p a r t o f th e im p o rta n t m aterials a n d d o c u m e n ts a re safe. M any re­ lig io u s b o o k s a n d m a n u s c rip ts , in c lu d in g c o p ie s o f Q u r a n s w e r e m o v e d to th e Im am al-H agg M o sq u e in S a d d a m City. It is p o s s ib l e t h a t a b o u t h a lf o f t h e c o lle c tio n o f the N ational Library h as b e e n saved. This U IU C m o v e s t h e N e w s p a p e r L ib ra ry t o r e m o d e le d lo c a tio n T he N e w s p a p e r Library, o n e o f 42 d e p a rtm e n ­ ta l lib r a r ie s a t th e U n iv e rs ity o f Illin o is Li­ b ra ry at U rbana-C ham paign, h a s m o v e d into a n e w ly re m o d e le d lo ca tio n , o fferin g m o re a p ­ p e a lin g a n d e ffic ie n t s p a c e fo r p a tro n s . T h e n e w sp a c e offers a m p le sp a c e fo r library w o rk ­ e rs a n d a w o r k / s u p p ly ro o m ; larg e w in d o w s o n its w e s t w a ll a n d n e w c a rp e tin g , lighting, a n d sh e lv e s ; c u s to m f u rn itu re fo r m ic ro film re ad e rs; a n d a clim ate-c o n tro lle d a rea to store th e lib ra ry ’s 110,000 re e ls o f m ic ro film . T h e N e w s p a p e r Library is o n e o f th e largest librar­ ies o f its k in d in th e w o rld , h o u sin g m o re th a n g o o d n e w s w a s a ls o c o n firm e d b y the Wall Street J o u m a l o n Apri l 28. A t i m e f o r r e c o v e r y T he United States, UNESCO, the Library o f Con­ gress, ALA, and others are w orking together to re­ cover and repair the damage done to the collections and artifacts of Iraq, but there is one question being asked by librarians, scholars, and others: Why did it happen? According to the 1954 UNESCO Con­ vention held in the Hague, it was agreed drat in case o f a n arm e d conflict, in any country, the cultural property, including libraries, archives, and museums will b e safeguarded. Article X and XII of resolution deals with the protection and transportation of the materials to a safe place. O ne hundred three (103) countries, including Iraq, the United Kingdom, and the United States, signed and accepted this historic UNESCO resolution and document. O n April 14, Senator Bob Brown of Australia reminded the Aus­ tralian Broadcasting Company drat all countries have “an obligation under the 1954 Hague Convention to protect the world’s cultural artifacts during times o f war.” T here is n o d o u b t that som e o f the lost materials will b e recovered, b u t great dam age has already b e e n done, a n d libraries, archives, and m useum s will n ever recover fully. D onny George, director o f research a n d discoveries at the Iraqi State Board o f Antiques, to ld the BBC N ew s o n April 14, “It w as the leading collection o f a … continuous history o f m an­ kind. A nd it’s gone, and it’s lost. … It’s too late, it’s n o use.”— R.N. Sharm a, director o f the library, West Virginia State College, editor o f Li ­ brary Times International, andvice-chair/chair- elect o f ACRL’s A sian, African, a n d M iddle East­ e rn Section, sh a rm arn@ oscar.w sc.edu 150 m illio n p a g e s o f n e w s p r in t d a tin g fro m 1632 to the p resent. P e n n s y lv a n ia lib r a r ie s ch o o s e D o c u te k T he South-Central Library C onsortium o f P e n n ­ sylvania (SCLCPA) has selected Docutek VRLplus as the virtual reference library solution for the 17 libraries across four counties in south-central Penn­ sylvania that m ake u p the consortium . SCLCPA is m ade u p o f a m ix o f public, academic, K -1 2 , a nd special libraries a n d serves a largely rural p o pula­ tion; th e addition o f digital reference services ex ­ tends the library to those patrons w h o are unable to visit a local library. D o c u tek VRLplus includes a mailto:ritarn@oscar.wsc.edu 370 / C&RL News ■ June 2003 searchable know ledge database, w hich is built by adding frequently asked questions o n a n ongoing basis, a n d the ability to script replies to these com ­ monly asked questions. @ y o u r lib r a r y t o o l k i t w il l h e lp y o u m a r k e t y o u r l ib r a r y April m a rk e d th e official la u n c h o f ACRL’s Aca­ d e m ic a n d R esearch Library C am paign, p a rt of ALA’s Cam paign for America’s Libraries. This m ar­ keting effort is designed to create an awareness and understanding o f the value of academ e and research libraries a n d librarians in the 21st cen­ tury. The @ your library Toolkit f o r A cadem ic a n d Research Li­ braries is a resource designed to help librarians create a campaign to prom ote their libraries across campus and in the community. It includes messages, ideas, and strategies that can b e put to u æ at the local level and case stud­ ies that provide real-world ex­ a m p le s o f th e c a m p a ig n at work. Copies o f the toolkit are a v a ila b le fo r $7 th ro u g h ACRL; visit h t t p : / / w w w .acrl.org/publications to order. For com plete information a bout the Academ ic a n d Research Li­ b ra ry C am paign, visit h ttp ://w w w .a la .o rg /a c rl/ @your library. B la c k w e ll’s O n lin e B o o k s h o p g e ts a m a k e o v e r Blackwell’s Online B ookshop has u n dergone a com plete interface transform ation to im prove the online experience for users in the academ ic com ­ munity. Changes to the online bookstore include a m ore user-friendly layout, easy- to-use navigation m enu items, additional content designed for the academ ic com ­ munity, online registration for the com ­ m ission-based affiliate program , a n d a dedicated page for library institutions. To celebrate th e n e w site design, Blackwell’s Online B ookshop is offering a 10 per­ c e n t d isc o u n t th ro u g h J u n e 30 o n all titles p lus free sh ip p in g regardless o f th e d ollar v alue o r q u a n tity o f th e cus­ tom er order. T hose interested in using the online discount m ust enter through w w w .shopblackw ells.com /libraries. ■ R e g iste r n o w fo r th e ACR L/H arvard Le a d e rsh ip In stitu te A u g u s t 3 -8 , 2003, C a m b rid g e , M a ssachu se tts Academic libraries exist in a constantly chang­ ing e n v iro n m en t w ith m an y n e w challenges a n d m a n y available o p p o rtu n ities. N ew d e ­ m a n d s o n aca d em ic libraries call for fu n d a ­ m ental shifts in leadership k now -how . In re­ s p o n s e t o t h e s e c h a l l e n g e s , ACRL is collaborating w ith th e H arvard Institutes for H igher E d u cation to offer its p o p u la r ACRL/ H arvard L eadership Institute this sum m er. • L e a r n a m o n g t h e l e a d e r s a n d t r e n d s e t t e r s i n a c a d e m i c lib r a r y a d m i n ­ i s t r a t i o n . At t h e A C R L /H arvard p ro g ra m , y o u will be am o n g your fellow leaders in aca­ demic librarianship. The institute is designed for directors o f libraries a nd individuals in positions such as associate university librarian, assistant dean, vice president o f information resources, university librarian, a nd college librarian. Atten­ dance w ould also be usefu l for individuals regu­ larly involved in decision-m aking that affects the entire library o p e ra tio n a n d that involves o ther im portant relationships o n cam pus. • I n c r e a s e y o u r c a p a c i t y t o l e a d a n d m a n a g e . Find o u t if y o u r organization is w ell- p o sitio n e d m ee t c urrent a n d future challenges a n d d isc o v e r if y o u r o w n le a d e rs h ip is effec­ tive. H a rv ard In stitu te s fo r H ig h e r E d u ca tio n faculty will give special attention to issues such as leadership, organizational strategy, transfor­ m ational learning, a n d planning. • M a r k y o u r c a l e n d a r s n o w . T h e 2003 A C R L /H arvard L e a d e rs h ip I n s titu te w ill b e h e ld in Cambridge, M assachusetts, August 3-8, 2003. D on’t miss this exciting educational opportu­ nity! Registration m aterials a n d com plete details a b o u t th e institute a re available o n th e W eb at h ttp ://w w w .g se .h a rv a rd .e d u /~ p p e /p ro g ra m s/ acrl/p ro g ram .h tm l. R egistration sp o ts w ill fill quickly. D o n ’t forget to register early to e n s u re y ou have a sp a c e in this prestigious institute. Q ues­ tions a b o u t this institute c a n b e d irec te d to acrl@ ala.org; (800) 545-2433, ext. 2523. ■ http://www.acrl.org/publications http://www.ala.org/acrl/ http://www.shopblackwells.com/libraries http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ppe/programs/ mailto:acrl@ala.org C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 371