ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL N e w s ■ Se ptem ber 2001 / 793

CONFERENCE CIRCUIT

ACRL in San Francisco

ACRL’s programs at the ALA Annual Conference

A
L A ’s 120th Annual Conference was held 
Ju n e 14-20, 2001, in San Francisco. T o­

tal conference attendance was 18,961 mem­
bers, exhibitors, exhibits only, and guests, in­
cluding 19,694 paid registrants. E d . n o te: 
T han ks to th e ACRL m em b e rs  w h o  s u m m a ­
r iz e d  p r o g ra m s  to m a k e  this rep ort p o ssib le.

The P r e sid e n t 's P r o g r a m
ACRL’s President’s Pro­
gram “The Creative Ge­
nius o f Community,” fea­
turing Sherman Alexie, 
was the highlight o f the 
conference.

A le x ie — a S p o k a n e  
C oeu r D ’A len e Native 
American; author o f The 
L o n e R a n g e r  a n d  Tonto 
Fist F ight in  H eaven , I n ­
d i a n  Killer, R eserv ation  
B lu es, T he Toughest I n ­
d i a n  in  t h e  World; poet; 
and producer and screen­
writer for the award-win- 
n in g  film  S m o k e  S ig ­
n a ls—delighted the audi­
ence by calling librarians 
“sex symbols.”

Using stinging humor 
and the timing o f the very 

Featured speaker Sherm an Alexie calls 
librarians "se x  sym bols."

best com edian, Alexie, 
the consum m ate story­
teller, sp ok e o f his life, stereotypes, and 
values. He described how the reservation li­
brary was a connection to a world outside of 
the “rez” for an unusual kid who was awk­
ward, epileptic, studious, and wore glasses 
from age 2.

S n ow y R iv er was the book that affected 
his life the most because there was a charac­
ter in it who looked like him. He talked about 
education as survival and how his planned 
medical education turned into creative writ­
ing. He talked about racism and how it vic­
timizes. He spoke o f how writers’ works can 
transcend culture, touching others and pro­
pelling them to various actions.

He finished the pro­
gram by reading and later 
sig n in g  c o p ie s  o f  the 
poem  “The Summer o f 
B la c k  W id o w s,” e s p e ­
c ia lly  p rin te d  fo r th e  
ACRL program. “The El­
ders knew  the spiders 
carried stories in their 
stomachs. . . . ”

The poignant reading 
left the audience in awe 
o f Alexie’s creative genius 
and longing to hear more 
stories. It also left many 
grateful to be a part o f a 
profession whose work 
helps to engender a cre­
ativ ity  th at b rin g s  s o  
much to the larger com ­
munity.— Merryll Penson, 
University System o f  G eor­
g ia, m erryll_penson@ oit. 

e a c h n e t .e d up

H o w  to  g e t  published
Four editors and two authors were panelists 
for the ACRL R esearch and Publications 
Committee’s program “Getting Published and 
What it Takes: A Conversation with Editors



7 9 4 /C&RL N ew s ■ Septem ber 2001

Lisa Hinchliffe (left) and M ary Jane Petrowski (right) celebrate with 
IS M iriam  D u d le y Instruction Librarian A w a rd  w in n e r Patricia 
lannuzzi (center).

and Authors.” Each panel member offered 
useful advice on issues such as writing style, 
research methodology, and the peer review 
process for prospective authors.

Mary Ellen Davis, outgoing editor-in-chief 
o f C&RL News, discussed editorial policy and 
enumerated numerous ways for authors to 
get started. She stated that C&RL News is a 
magazine and sought to distinguish it from 
the other titles represented on the panel. 
C&RL News is not refereed; Davis decides 
what is published and accepts 56 to 8 4 per­
cent o f the 70 to 90 articles a year that are 
submitted.

Hot topics, “How I Did it Good,” and ar­
ticles that address interesting solutions to 
common problems are the types o f articles 
typically accepted. For those interested in 
getting started, she suggested writing either 
a library or non-library conference summary, 
sharing an idea for “News from the Field,” 
writing an essay, or writing an Internet bib­
liography.

Peter Hernon, editor o f J o u r n a l  o f  A c a ­
d e m ic  Librarianship, stated that he copyedits 
every manuscript. Things such as the title, 
abstract, and first and last paragraphs will de­
termine the readership, and thus are very im­
portant. He identified satisfaction studies as 
the topic o f greatest interest. He then dis­
cussed methods for data collection.

Donald Riggs, outgoing editor o f College & 
R esearch Libraries, stated that the journal has 
a 30 percent acceptance rate and has a double 
blind review. He is very interested in articles

I dealing with issues in the 
community college.

Gloriana St. Clair, edi­
tor o f Portal, discussed 
the mentoring program 
the journal supports to 
reduce rejection rates.

The two authors, Julie 
M. Hurd (University o f Illi­
nois at Chicago) and Karen 
Schmidt (University of Illi­
nois at Uibana-Champaign), 
discussed the issues of for­
mulating a topic, research 
methodology, and the writ­
ing and publication pro­
cess.—Mary Sellen, Univer­
sity a t  A lban y, msells@ 
csc.albany.edu

 

U n ic o d e ™  t re n d s a n d  a p p lic a tio n s
At the Asian, African and Middle Eastern Sec­
tion program “Unicode: Representing the 
World’s Languages Online: Trends and Appli­
cations,” panelists from OCLC, RLG, and VTLS 
discussed a wide gamut of issues relating to 
Unicode, and later participated in a lively Q&A 
session.

Vinod Chachra (VTLS) began the session 
with an overview o f Unicode and VTLS’s na­
tive Unicode library system. Lynn Kellar 
(OCLC) discussed future plans for Unicode 
support at OCLC and urged users to contact 
her with suggestions (e-mail: kellarl@oclc.org). 
Walt Crawford (RLG) described RLG’s current 
Unicode support in its catalog and indexing 
products. Following are links readers will find 
o f interest.

From the Unicode® Consortium’s Web site:
• W hat is Unicode?— http://www.unicode. 

org/ Unicode/standard/W hatlsUnicode. html
• The Unicode Standard: A Technical In­

tro d u c tio n — http :/ / w w w .u nicod e.org/  
Unicode/standard/ principles.html

• Frequently Asked Questions— http:// 
www.unicode.org/unicode/faq/

Additional Web sites o f interest are Joan 
Aliprand’s two online presentations:

• “The Unicode Standard, Version 3-0: Con­
tent, Design Principles, and Library Applica­
tions”— http://www.uni-bamberg.de/unibib/ 
melcom/aliprand/index.htm

• “Unicode: Looking Ahead”— http:// 
www.lita.oig/forum98/aliprand/index.htm (al­

mailto:kellarl@oclc.org
http://www.unicode
http://www.unicode.org/
http://www.unicode.org/unicode/faq/
http://www.uni-bamberg.de/unibib/
http://www.lita.oig/forum98/aliprand/index.htm


C&RL N e w s ■ Septem ber 2001 / 795

though Unicode 3-1 is now available, much 
o f the information presented is still valid).

Finally, links from VTLS’s and RLG’s re­
spective Web sites:

• http://www. vtls. com/ products/virtua/ 
subsystems/Unicode/documents/tear_sheet. 
pdf

• an article from RLG F o c u s  on the addi­
tion o f non-Roman scripts to Eureka: http:// 
www.rlg.org/r-focus/i47eureka.html.— R obin  
A. Paynter, University o f  O regon, rpaynter®  
oreg on . u o reg on .ed u

LES/A RT S b e a t a s  o n e  in S a n  
F ran cisco
Literature and art cam e together in perfect 
harmony during the program entitled “The 
Beat Generation: Collaboration and Commu­
nity,” which was presented jointly by the Lit­
eratures in English Section (LES) and ARTS 
sections. Original B eat writers Lawrence 
Ferlinghetti, D iane DiPrima, and Michael 
McClure w ere present and McClure began 
the program with a reading o f his poem  “For 
the Death o f  100 W hales.” He read several 
other selections and spoke briefly about his 
work.

Ann Charters, professor o f English at the 
University o f  Connecticut and the author/edi- 
tor o f several books about the Beat move­
ment, described the Beats’ sense o f commu­
nity and the way they “seem ed to embody

what they actually wrote.” She read selections 
from letters written by Ferlinghetti during the 
1960s encouraging the Beat writers to keep 
working and indicating that the Beats were 
becom ing more popular.

Bill Morgan— painter, bibliographer, and 
editor o f  Allen Ginsberg’s work— argued that 
collaborations were not the best w ork o f the 
Beats. His talk focused on examples o f writ­
ers “collaborating with themselves,” that is, 
using themes from their writing and explor­
ing th e m  in o th e r  m ed ia . “P ie c e s ” by  
Burroughs, Ferlinghetti, Kerouac, McClure, 
Corso, and Ginsberg illustrated his thesis. 
Morgan summarized his talk with a quote from 
Jack so n  Pollock, “Every good artist paints 
what he is.”

Paul Karlstrom, director o f the West Coast 
Research Center, Archives o f American Art, 
reminded the audience o f the tremendous re­
sources available in its collections, which rep­
resent the best o f California art and culture, 
particularly visual art. Karlstrom interviewed 
many artists o f the Beat scene, and the inter­
views are available in the collections. He com­
mented on the incredible range and variety 
o f the artists’ work: “The work was about cre­
ating context.” Another milestone o f  the era 
was the variety o f  different materials and 
media that emerged from the Beat ethos.

Janice Ross, professor in the Drama De­
partm ent and the School o f  Education at

A n n u a l Conference au d iocasse ttes availab le

Audiocassettes o f  selected ACRL pro­
grams from the 2001 ALA Annual Confer­
en ce  in San Francisco are available. Each 
program consists o f two cassettes for $28, 
unless otherwise noted.

• O u tsid e /In : S eein g O u rselv es as 
O thers See Us. Order no. ALA 112

• V irtual Space/V irtu ous Place: Col­
lege Lib raries in  th e  2 1 s t C en tury, 3 cas­
settes, $42. Order no. ALA 123

• P a rtn e rs  in  P ro g re ss: U sing C am ­
pus P a rtn e rsh ip s to  P ro m o te  I n fo rm a ­
tio n  L iteracy. Order no. ALA 126.

• Old F rie n d s, New  P a rtn e rs: A ca­
d e m ic  L ib r a r ie s  R e d e fin e  K - 1 2  O ut­
re a c h , 1 cassette, $14. Order no. ALA 128

• G e ttin g  P u b li s h e d  a n d  W h a t it 
Takes: A  C o n v e rsa tio n  w ith  E d ito rs an d  
A u th o rs, 1 cassette, $14. Order no. ALA 
149

• C o llectin g th e  T w entieth C en tury,
3 cassettes, $42. Order no. ALA 155

• W om en  Moving M ountains: W om en 
a n d  O rganiz ation s. Order no. ALA 134

Audiocassettes for other ALA programs 
are also available. Call in or fax your order 
to Teach ’em, 74-923 Hovley Lane East, Suite 
250, Palm Desert, CA 92260; (800) 776-5454, 
fax: (760) 773-9671, credit cards only; e-mail: 
info@teachem.net; Web: www.teachem.net/ 
ala. You may pay by check (payable to Teach 
’em) or credit card (VISA, MC, AMEX).

http://www
http://www.rlg.org/r-focus/i47eureka.html.%e2%80%94Robin
mailto:info@teachem.net
http://www.teachem.net/


796 / C&RL News ■ September 2001

Stanford University, spoke of dancer Anna 
Halprin and her connections with the Beats. 
Although she did collaborative works with a 
few o f the authors, her strongest bond with 
the Beat community was aesthetic. Sponta­
neity, exploration, and the primacy of the 
group dynamic were similarly valued by 
Halprin and by the Beat artists and writers. 
Ross shared a rare 
vid eo, “H angar”— a 
breathtaking, large- 
scale improvisation by 
Halprin and her danc­
ers at a San Francisco 
airport construction site.

The program con­
cluded with some com­
ments from McClure 
and a question-and-an- 
swer session. Accord­
ing to McClure, the 
Beats did what they did 
“not because we were 
hostile or angry, but 
because we were art­
ists,” and that they con­
sidered themselves to 
be “desperados” against 
the dry character o f so­
ciety. When asked why 
the Beats’ popularity 
extended beyond the 
1950s, McClure said it 
was because of their 
complete dedication and because so many 
of their interests are still important (e.g.,  pro­
tection o f the environment).

Charters commented that the Beats have 
remained popular because “outsiders” tend 
to be celebrated and because their idealism 
set them apart.— M artha Lawler, Louisiana 
S tate University a t  S hreveport, m law ler@  
pilot.lsus.edu, a n d  D en a Thomas, University o f  
New Mexico, dnhom as@ unm .edu

M e d ia  resources
The ACRL Media Resources Committee pro­
gram entitled “Media Resources 101: A 
Primer” delivered a delightful and practi­
cal continuing education exercise for me­
dia librarians both new and veteran to the 
profession.

The ACRL “Guidelines for Media Resources 
in Academic Libraries” (http://www.ala.org/

Then ACRL President Betsy W ilson thanks 
then Executive Director Althea H. Jenkins for 
ten years of service at the ACRL program.

acrl/guides/medresg.html) came to life as a 
panel o f seasoned media librarians Randy 
Pitman (video librarian), Gary Handman (UC- 
Berkeley), Kristine Brancolini (Indiana Uni­
versity), and Rick Provine (DePauw Univer­
sity) shared their personal experiences in plan­
ning, budgeting, and collection development.

Pitman encouraged the audience to be in­
volved in d ecisio n  
making for space and 
storage, to know your 
media, and to join pro­
fessional organizations 
for continuing educa­
tion and collegial sup­
port in a fluctuating 
field.

Handman stressed 
the need to make me­
dia collections acces­
sible, including full 
cataloging and Web 
page listings, thereby 
promoting circulation. 
Having a collection de­
velopment policy en­
sures a planned collec­
tion for long-term util­
ity and an active col­
lection responsive to 
user needs.

Brancolini pointed 
out that research sup­
ports the creation o f a 

separate fund for purchasing media resources, 
and tying funding to circulation is a good 
way to draw attention to the demand and 
high usage of media resources. Resource shar­
ing is another way to heighten the awareness 
of media, but you have to lend in order to 
borrow. Lending media resources among lim­
ited partners or within a local consortia is a 
good place to start.

Provine’s remarks focused on facility 
and space-planning needs. From personal 
experience he shares: You will need elec­
tricity and network connections where you 
don’t think you will; put in fat conduit and 
make it easy and cheap to pull wire; don’t 
overbuy today’s technology; never under­
estimate the power of furniture; plan for 
the growth o f the collection; be advised 
that media is hazardous material, so pay 
attention to local fire codes; and d on’t for-

mailto:dnhomas@unm.edu
http://www.ala.org/


C&RL N e w s ■ Septem ber 2001 / 797

get to allow  for archival storage sp ace in 
addition to sp ace for the circulating collec­
tion.— M ary S. K onkel, University o f  A kron, 
m a ry k o n k el@ u ak ro n . e d u

S la v ic  co lle c tio n s in th e  B a y  a rea
The program o f the Slavic and East European 
Section (SEES), “Slavic Collections in the San 
Francisco Bay Area and Their Impact on the 
Intellectual, Cultural, and Economic Life o f 
the Local Community,” highlighted the rich 
Slavic collections o f many San Francisco Bay 
area libraries. These resources reflect the enor­
mous Russian emigre population in the re­
gion, and the collections continue to grow 
and thrive in response to the needs o f both 
the scholarly community and the local popula­
tion.

Carol Leadenham, assistant archivist for ref­
erence at the Hoover Institution, discussed 
the enorm ous Russian co llections at the 
Hoover Institution library. Russian emigres 
donated many o f the Russian collections af­
ter the Russian Revolution o f  1917 and 
throughout the Cold War as they sought to 
protect their political, social, and cultural heri­
tage from the Soviet regime. These donations 
were often given with the stipulation that they 
would be returned to Russia after the down­
fall o f the Soviet Union, and now Hoover is 
working to film many o f these papers in or­
der to give a microfilm copy o f these collec­
tions to Russian archives.

In re ce n t years, the H oover has also 
worked with the Museum o f Russian Culture 
in San Francisco to microfilm its valuable and 
largely uncataloged collection  o f Russian 
emigre journals and newspapers.

Allan Urbanic, Slavic bibliographer at the 
University o f California, Berkeley, spoke on 
the history of the Slavic collection at the uni­
versity, which is one o f the largest and oldest 
in the United States. Many o f the most valu­
able items in the Slavic collection often find 
their way into the library w hen Russian 
emigres living in the local community donate 
them to preserve their heritage for future gen­
erations.

Other collections have b een acquired be­
cause o f political turmoil elsewhere; o f par­
ticular note is the collection o f manuscripts, 
speeches, books, and other papers of former 
Czechoslovak presidents Tomas Masaryk and 
Edward Benes. These materials miraculously

survived the German occupation o f Czecho­
slovakia and World War II and w ere secretly 
sent to Berkeley in 1946, just before the So­
viet-controlled Czechoslovak government 
declared that all works by Masaryk and Benes 
b e destroyed (for a more detailed account of 
the acquisition o f this collection, see http:// 
w ww .lib .b e rk eley .edu/Collections/Slavic/ 
masaryk.html).

Sharon Wilensky o f the Richmond Branch 
o f the San Francisco Public Library discussed 
the challenges o f serving the newest wave of 
Russian immigration to the United States. The 
library strives to provide Russian-language 
books and newspapers for the local commu­
nity despite low resources and high demand. 
Classics o f Russian literature continue to be 
in high demand, with growing interest in the 
relatively new Russian romance and detec­
tive novel genres.

Also popular with the local community are 
computers in the library configured for use 
with Russian-language search engines and 
Russian movies on video.— Terri Tickle Miller, 
M ich ig an  S tate University, ticklet@ m su .edu

W o m e n  m o v in g  m o u n ta in s
Preceded by the presentation o f two Women’s 
Studies awards— one for Significant Achieve­
ment to Marilyn Dunn and one for Career 
A c h ie v e m e n t to  S a ra h  P r itc h a rd — th e  
W om en’s Studies Section (WSS) program 
“Women Moving Mountains: Women and Or­
ganizations” raised significant issues regard­
ing gender in the workplace. Speaker Kathryn 
Deiss (Chicago Library System) addressed is­
sues for women in leadership and organiza­
tions.

Starting with the status o f  w om en in 
librarianship, Deiss revealed Association of 
Research Libraries (ARL) statistics showing that 
the average salary o f ARL directors is now 
equal between the sexes, but that women in 
other ARL positions only earn 93 percent of 
what men earn, i.e., “the pay gap still per­
sists.” As for employment in other occupa­
tions, women earn 76.5 percent o f what men 
earn even though women now comprise 50 
percent o f the workforce.

Deiss then discussed research results docu­
mented in the book B r e a k in g  t h e  G lass C eil­
ing: C a n  W om en R ea c h  t h e  Top o f  A m e r ic a ’s  
L argest C orporation s? by Ann M. Morrison 
(Addison-Wesley, 1987). Findings revealed

mailto:ticklet@msu.edu


798 / C&RL N ew s ■ September 2001

that women must work harder than men to 
achieve the same recognition while playing 
multiple roles within society and the work­
place. Success factors for women included 
receiving help from above (usually from 
males), non-threatening behavior, adapting to 
bosses with different styles, taking career risks, 
being tough, having a strong desire to suc­
ceed, and having an impressive appearance.

According to Deiss, activist women must: 
1) make pay equity a reality, 2) support di­
verse workforces, and 3) study organizational 
cultures and then make changes. Her phi­
losophy is that women do not have to pro­

voke conflict to raise sticky issues as long as 
they treat people with respect.

Finally, Deiss stated that implementing real 
change involves moving away from strate­
gies o f the past and developing new and in­
novative approaches.— M ary M. No/singer, 
W a sh in g t o n  S t a te  U n iv ersity  L i b r a r i e s , 
m nofsing@wsu.edu

R e d e fin in g  K -1 2 outreach
Reaching out to potential university students 
was the focus o f “Old Friends, New Partners: 
Academic Libraries Redefine K -12 Outreach,” 
sponsored by ACRL’s Education and Behav­

New s from  the University Libraries Section
W e lco m e  t o  th e  2001-02 a cad e m ic 
y ear
The University Libraries Section (ULS) had 
a banner year in 2000/2001 under the lead­
ership o f Elaine Didier. John Seeley Brown, 
co-author of The S ocial Life o f  Inform ation . 
headlined a terrific program at the confer­
ence. Additionally, ULS accomplished a 
long-time goal: establishment of a section 
newsletter entitled “ULS Universe.”

Distributed via the ULS electronic list (an­
other o f the year’s accomplishments), the 
newsletter provides communication from 
ULS to its 5,000-plus members and will in­
form and engage our membership in im­
portant ways.

ULS members who haven’t signed onto 
the electronic list are encouraged to do so. 
Important information about programs, dis­
cussion groups, committee opportunities, 
and other section information will be dis­
tributed regularly on the list. It’s the best 
way to stay in touch and to communicate 
with other ULS members and leadership.

To sign on, send the following message 
to listproc@alal.ala.org: “subscribe uls-1 first 
name last name.”

During the coming year, you’ll hear from 
our committee chairs about their plans for 
2001/2002. I am committed to listening to 
ULS members and involving as many of you 
as possible in the life o f the section. If you 
have suggestions for the ULS Executive Com­
mittee or any o f our committees or want to 
become more involved in the work o f ULS, 
please contact me. I look forward to work­

ing with you in the coming year.—J u li a  
Z i m m e r m a n , O h io  U niv ersity , j u l i a .  
z im m erm an @ oh io.ed u

E x e c u tiv e  c o m m it t e e
The ULS Executive Committee met twice 
during the ALA Annual Conference and con­
tinued to focus on activities furthering its 
strategic directions and the ACRL Strategic 
Plan. One of the key initiatives addressed 
by the Executive Committee is the work 
currently underway by ULS/CJCLS/CLS to 
develop a combined publicity effort for aca­
demic libraries, including a Web tool kit for 
presenting certain library information in a 
common format.

The Executive Committee also reviewed 
several notable reports from ULS commit­
tees. Among these was the report o f the 
ULS Standards and Guidelines Committee. 
Lori Goetsch (University o f Maryland) re­
ported on a proposal that would change 
the University Library Standards to a new 
model focusing on outcomes.

The proposal entails developing outcome 
measurements, establishing a clearinghouse 
for best practices, and asking ACRL to es­
tablish an office to assist with assessment 
and data interpretation. This approach is 
seen as being a better fit with the changing 
standards o f accreditation agencies.

The 2002 Conference Program Planning 
Committee reported that Sheila Creth would 
b e the lead speaker for the ULS program in 
Atlanta. The program, cosponsored with 
LAMA, is titled “Minding the Gap: Learn How

mailto:listproc@alal.ala.org
mailto:zimmerman@ohio.edu


C&RL N e w s ■ Se ptem ber 2001 / 799

ioral Sciences Section (EBSS). Panelist Gloria 
Rhodes, Multicultural Outreach librarian at 
California State University San Marcos, began 
by presenting some sobering figures about 
K -12 students in California: seven o f eight 
schools do not have a librarian half-time or 
more; the average number o f library books 
per student in California schools is 11; the 
average imprint date for school library books 
is 1972.

Rhodes then explained the importance of 
positive and instructive library experiences 
for California school children. She described 
her program for fourth graders called “I Am

Going to College,” in which children learn 
that college is a viable option. The intimidat­
ing impression o f libraries and librarians is 
eliminated. On a practical level, the students 
are motivated to becom e excited about suc­
cessfu lly com pleting a re search  project. 
Rhodes urged all academic librarians to be 
proactive in this type o f endeavor.

Sandra Millard, assistant director for Library 
Public Services and program director, UDLib/ 
SEARCH at the University o f Delaware, en­
thusiastically described the partnership be­
tween the University o f Delaware and the State 
o f Delaware, which provides all state public

(co n t in u e d  f r o m  p r e v io u s  p a g e )
to Communicate and Work Together Across
Generations.”

Academic libraries, like other organiza­
tions, face challenges posed by generational 
differences in their workforces. The program 
will focus on w ork style differences, man­
agement issues, and working collaboratively 
across generations.

H e a d s o f  P u b lic S e rv ic e s
The ULS Public Service Directors o f Large 
Research Libraries Discussion Group, con­
vened by Lucinda Covert-Vail (New York 
University), enjoyed a lively conversation 
about cybercafes and food in the library.

Janice Koyama described UCLA’s highly 
successful approach to marketing an ap­
proved beverage container for use in the 
libraries. The handsome plastic mug is em­
blazoned with the phrase, “Drink. Think.” 
Its leak-proof capability was demonstrated 
by holding a mug full o f  water upside down 
over the meeting room carpet.

There w ere also discussions o f the lively 
cafes adjoining the libraries at Michigan 
State and UC Berkeley. B erk eley’s Free 
Speech Movement Cafe at the Moffitt Li­
brary was reported to be crowded all the 
time— even placing an unexpected strain 
on restroom facilities. Library cafes appear 
to b e extremely popular with campus com­
munities.

The second major discussion topic for 
the group was library signage. Covert-Vail 
explained NYU’s limitations on cell phone

use in the library' and how it was imple­
mented through signage. Gordon Aamon 
presented the University o f Washington Li­
braries’ comprehensive signage policies and 
guidelines. Ann Thornton discussed the 
signage problems o f NYPL’s Science, Indus­
try and Business Library. She noted how 
the initially minimalist signage program for 
the facility soon gave way to a proliferation 
o f informal signs. She described the library’s 
approach to minimizing intrusive signs yet 
still communicating certain essential mes­
sages.

Mary Ja ck so n  provided the public ser­
vices directors with an update from  As­
sociation o f Research Libraries (ARL) and 
announced the Novem ber ILL/DD co n ­
feren ce  in Ann Arbor. She also described 
the Scholar’s Portal P roject and its cur­
rent status. The p roject seek s to provide 
a Web search e ngine that s earches locally 
licensed and high-quality, publicly acces­
sible electron ic resources. Search results 
w ould appear in a single, integrated pre­
sentation.

The group’s meeting ended with a dis­
cussion o f its membership. Several propos­
als to expand the discussion group were 
con sid ered , using ARL m em bership or 
Carnegie Doctoral/Research University Ex­
tensive classification, as the criterion. The 
discussion will b e continued at the Midwin­
ter Meeting with Diane Strauss (University 
o f North Carolina at Chapel Hill) as the new 
convenor.—J o h n  Lehner, University o f  H ou s­
ton, j le h n e r @ u h .ed u .

mailto:jlehner@uh.edu


8 0 0 /C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2001

m idd le and high 
schools access to online 
encyclopedias and full- 
text magazine/journal 
databases.

Critical to the success 
o f this program is the 
training, conducted by 
college librarians, o f 
school librarians and 
teachers. Millard stressed 
that the support o f the 
state legislature and ad­
ministration is critical to 
the program’s growing 
success.

Stephanie Sterling- 
Brasley, Instructional 
Outreach coordinator at 
UCLA, described the 
p ro b le m s  and tim e 
needed to set up a suc­
ce ssfu l program b e ­
tween the university, 
high schools, and com­
munity colleges. The premise under which 
they operated was that “college begins in kin­
dergarten.”

A pilot project indicated the critical factor 
o f training teachers to incorporate technol­
ogy into the curriculum. Most important for 
the success o f the program was for librarians 
to assist teachers in improving their informa­
tion literacy skills, which could then be taught 
to students.— N an cy Koller, University o f  Cali­
fo r n ia , Riverside, nancy.koller@ ucr.edu

Partners in p ro g re ss
The Instruction Section (IS) presented “Part­
ners in Progress: Using Campus Partnerships 
to Promote Information Literacy.”

Larry Hardesty, library director at Austin 
College, kicked off the panel discussion by 
examining faculty members’ attitudes towards 
the library. Hardesty said faculty see librar­
ians in a continuum from the guardians o f a 
large study hall to full partners in teaching 
undergraduates.

“There is considerable evidence that class­
room faculty at most institutions do not ac­
tively involve the library in their teaching,” 
he concluded. Hardesty recommended per­
sonal contact as the key to recruiting faculty 
partners.

Carol Hardesty congratulates Academic/ 
Research L ib ra ria n  o f th e  Year, Larry 
Hardesty.

Sally Murphy, pro­
fessor o f Communica­
tion Studies and Gen­
eral Education coordi­
nator at California State 
University (CSU) at Hay­
ward, provided a per­
spective from outside 
the library.

Murphy described 
how librarians at her in­
stitution succeeded in 
making an information 
literacy course a general 
education requirement. 
Because librarians are 
faculty members at CSU, 
they were involved in 
the university course 
development process 
from the start. Murphy 
pointed out that being 
thoroughly prepared 
helped the librarians 
make their case.

“They had articulated learning outcomes 
before anybody else had articulated learning 
outcomes on campus,” she said. After the 
course was instituted, the librarians used as­
sessment tools to prove its effectiveness.

Patricia Ianuzzi, associate university librar­
ian and director o f Doe/Moffitt Libraries at 
the University o f California at Berkley, dis­
cussed the strategies and politics o f finding 
collaborative partners. She suggested identi­
fying the hot topics on campus, and then 
showing how information literacy can help 
make campus initiatives succeed.

“The future o f academic librarianship 
hinges upon our ability to step up and into 
our roles as partners in the educational pro­
cess on campus,” Ianuzzi said.— P a tric k  
O berboltzer, G allau det University, patrick. 
oberboltzer@ gallaudet. edu

M o d e ls fo r distance le arn in g services
The Distance Learning Section (DLS) pre­
sented “Integrate, Separate, or Outsource? 
Models for Distance Learning Services.” 
Alexander (Sandy) Slade, coauthor of Library> 
Services f o r  O pen a n d  D istan ce Learnin g, 
began the program with an excellent over­
view o f current trends, issues, and hot topics 
in distance learning library services.

mailto:nancy.koller@ucr.edu


C&RL N e w s ■ Septem ber 2001 / 801

Steve Schafer, director o f library services 
at Athabasca University, discussed the inte­
grated services model and his library’s exten­
sive experience with providing distance ser­
vices with the same units that provide in- 
house services. The library is also well inte­
grated with the university’s budgeting, plan­
ning, and evaluation processes.

Anne Marie Casey, director o f Off-Cam- 
pus Library Services (OCLS) at Central Michi­
gan University (CMU), presented the sepa­
rated model, where distance services are 
staffed and often funded separately from in- 
house library service units/staff. OCLS pro­
vides full library services exclusively to CMU’s 
College o f Extended Learning (CEL) students 
and faculty. While the library services receive 
tremendous support from CEL, “We are nei­
ther fish nor fowl,” Casey explained as she 
listed the pros and cons o f being functionally 
and fiscally integrated with CEL, while report­
ing to the dean o f the CMU library system.

The outsourcing model was discussed by 
Kim Dority, vice president o f E-Global Library 
(EGL). Dority outlined the types of services 
libraries or commercial service providers 
should be offering to distance learners, using 
specific examples o f EGL services to illustrate 
her points.

“We are not doing anything that you could 
not be doing yourself,” she told the audience, 
but asked us to consider how we should be 
using our limited resources when deciding 
whether and when to outsource distance li­
brary services.

“For many years distance library services 
have been marginalized, but now they are 
getting recognition and attention,” commented 
Slade in his conclusion to the program. His 
outline o f future trends and a list o f issues 
specifically for library administrators sent the 
audience o ff with a great deal to ponder.—  
S u s a n  M. D av is, G a l l a u d e t  U n iversity, 
su s a n . davis@ gallaudet. ed u

A c a d e m ic  lib ra rie s in th e  21st 
century
Ever w onder what role the traditional li­
brary has as a center o f culture and learning 
in an emerging virtual environment? Or, worry 
about defining your institution’s ongoing need 
for a physical library to a college administra­
tion, which sees the virtual library as its re­
placement? These issues and more were ad­

dressed by the College Library Section’s (CLS) 
program “Virtual Space/Virtuous Place: Aca­
demic Libraries in the 21st Century.”

LaVerna Saunders, acting vice president for 
Academic Affairs at Salem State College, 
stressed the importance o f being an active 
listener to patrons’ needs, urging librarians to 
be political in getting outside o f the library 
building and having a presence in the virtual 
world. Being creative in finding ways to 
communicate that the virtual library is now 
part o f the academic culture and needs to be 
used to provide access to information ser­
vices is key.

Stephanie Bangert, assistant director of the 
Western Association o f Schools and Colleges, 
noted that “learning is at the heart of human 
interaction,” and patrons of the 21st century 
will be active learners, taking responsibility 
for their own learning experiences and out­
comes. Librarians should understand how the 
learning requirements of the institution are 
defined, in terms o f the students’ abilities to 
multitask, adapt, and self-regulate. She en­
couraged the audience to understand how 
the learning experience aligns with institu­
tional purpose.

Sam Demas, college librarian at Carleton 
College, spoke o f creating opportunities 
for developing imaginative spaces for learn­
ing in the library, seeing the library as an 
agent in community building and as a cul­
tural center that can enliven campus so­
cial life in celebration o f community inter­
ests.

Joyce Ray, director o f Institute of Museum 
and Library Services, described the IMLS’s 
imperative to foster leadership, innovation, 
and lifetime learning by the support o f muse­
ums and libraries. IMLS encourages innova­
tive partnerships and projects to improve ac­
cess and services to libraries and their collec­
tions.

Deanna B. Marcum, president o f the Coun­
cil on Library and Information Resources, 
spoke o f the history o f libraries as the place 
o f record, as evidentiary collections, as intel­
lectual centers— as virtuous places. She chal­
lenged the audience to think about a meta­
phor for the virtual library, one which en­
c o m p a s s e s  lib ra r y  v ir tu e s, b u t a ls o  
reconceptualizes our efforts in a digital 
world.— R e n e e  J a d u sh le v e r, Mills College, 
ren eejad@ m ills.edu

mailto:reneejad@mills.edu


802 / C&RL N e w s ■ Septem ber 2001

S o c ia l m o v e m e n t s , m a r g in a liz e d  
g r o u p s ,  a n d  t h e  In te r n e t
T he Anthropology and Sociology Section 
(A N SS) p ro g ram , “S o c ia l M o v em en ts, 
Marginalized Groups, and the Internet: Issues 
for Librarians and Researchers,” consisted of 
four speakers w ho described various uses of 
the Internet to increase the visibility and im­
pact of social movements and marginalized 
groups.

Harry Cleaver, Economics professor at the 
University o f Texas at Austin, examined the 
new electronic environment developed by ad­
vocacy organizations to publicize their activi­
ties and disseminate news and research. “For 
social activists,” Cleaver stated, “the Internet 
has both broadened and facilitated their re­
search to frame and understand the array o f 
activities, policy, and institutions against which 
they struggle. . . . [And], the extremely low 
cost o f electronic information storage and re­
trieval has made it possible for activists to 
create their own electronic libraries o f infor­
mation.”

He urged university libraries to collect, 
archive and preserve the documents, elec­
tronic list discussions, and Web sites o f these 
movements in order to offer unprecedented 
access to perspectives and mobilization from 
the bottom up.

Marc Becker, History professor at Truman 
State University, founded Native Web (www. 
nativeweb.org) to extend technology re­
sources to indigenous peoples around the 
world and to serve as a repository for their 
original documents and research. Becker de­
scribed the possibilities and pitfalls o f bring­
in g  m o d e rn  te c h n o lo g y  to  th e  m ost 
marginalized areas in the world.

Mark Graham, vice president of Technol­
ogy for iVillage and chair o f the advisory board 
of the Institute for Global Communications, 
spoke about the involvement o f progressive 
social movements in reshaping world politics. 
He cited the following trend toward unifor­
mity and centralization on the Web as a clear 
indication that diversity needs to be nurtured 
on the Internet: “Net surfers spend about 60 

 percent of their time online using products and 
services owned by just 14 companies, down 
from 110 companies merely two years ago.”

He commended libraries that have devel­
oped ways to increase the diversity of their 
resources by using the Internet. Graham re­

ferred to several Web projects that offer ac­
cess to and archiving o f information not typi­
cally included in the mainstream media (sites 
m entioned by Graham are listed at http:// 
www. w ell. com/user/mgraham/plists. html).

Itibari Zulu, director o f the UCLA Center 
for African American Studies Library, de­
scribed several projects that promote needed 
examination o f the relationship between in­
formation resources (or lack thereof) and 
social justice issues.— R h o n d a  L. N eugebauer, 
University o f  C aliforn ia, Riverside, r h o n d a . 
n eu g ebau er@ u cr.ed u

In c lu d in g  th e  v o ic e s o f  S p a in 's  
e x clu d e d  c o m m u n itie s
T h e W estern Eu rop ean Studies S ectio n  
(WESS) examined Spain in “Exploding Span­
ish Canons: Including the Voices o f Spain’s 
Excluded Communities.”

Ramon Abad (Cervantes Institute, New 
York) launched the program with “Rescued 
from Oblivion: Emigration and Immigration 
in Contemporary Spain through Literature and 
Cinema.” He raised a broad range o f immi­
gration issues currently hot in the Spanish 
media. His message: it is still too early for 
recent immigrants to have their own voice.

Silvia Bermudez (University o f California, 
Santa Barbara) presented “Playing the Field,” 
a feminist interpretation o f literature’s role as 
cultural capital. She focused on the modern 
Galician state, stressing the significance o f the 
journal F esta d a  P a l a b r a  as a forum for femi­
nist literature and scholarship. Even though 
Spanish society has undergone dramatic so­
cial changes recently, Bermudez bemoans the 
continued “tokenism” o f women artists in its 
cultural organizations.

David William Foster (Arizona State Uni­
versity) concluded with “Lesbigay Publishing 
in Spain.” Even with the opening of Spanish 
society over the past two decades, transla­
tions o f American and other authors provide 
the bulk o f Spanish lesbigay publishing. Fos­
ter described the small reading public o f Spain, 
the distinct gender gap in production o f 
lesbigay writings, and the distribution of queer 
theory publications.

Foster ended with “Queer Iberia,” a con­
cept whose origins lie in the richness o f Span­
ish cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity, in­
teracting and resisting traditional patriarchal 
organizations and structures. ■

mailto:neugebauer@ucr.edu