ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries M arch 1 9 9 7 / 145 New s f r o m th e F ield M a ry Ellen D a v is N C State h a p p y w ith JS T O R b a c k file s North Carolina State Univer­ sity Libraries is a charter member of JSTOR, a not-for- profit organization that has digitized the entire backfiles o f core scholarly journal lit­ erature and developed an e a s y - to - u s e , b r o w s a b le , searchable, and retrievable system for a ccessin g and using them. Currently offer­ ing or digitizing 53 U.S. jour­ nal titles in the humanities and social sciences, JSTO R’s mission is to take advantage of new information technologies to help solve many o f the pressing problems in scholarly publishing now facing the user com ­ munity, publishers, and research libraries. Susan K. Nutter, NC State’s vice-provost and director o f libraries, said, “This is an exciting new enterprise that we were able to join thanks to the tuition increase funding. At the charter discount rates, NCSU Libraries can purchase an extensive database at a reasonable fee. With JSTOR, the Libraries can keep all the journal backfiles that it has paid for, unlike the com ­ mon commercial practice o f a database revert­ ing to the vendor if a subscription is dropped. “Also, participating publishers must agree to leave all their digitized backfiles in the JSTOR archive, even if they decide not to stay with the project. This arrangement finally gives li­ braries the assurance w e need that the archive will be a permanent resource, and it allows us to make management decisions about the long­ term preservation and storage of print journals accordingly.” Students and scholars gain flexibility o f desk­ top access to information with all issues avail­ able around the clock. Duncan Holthausen, p r o f e s s o r o f e c o n o m ic s at NCSU, sa id , “It’s a wonderful development for scholarship, like having a complete collection o f all issues o f the A m e r ica n E c o n o m ic R eview … right in my office. … We have lost touch with some of the best research done years ago because it isn’t easily available and often isn’t referenced in electronic databases. Perhaps JSTOR will help to revive interest in som e o f this w ork w hich has fallen out o f favor with tod ay’s m ath­ em atically inclined eco n o m ists.” O h io L IN K a d d s n e w m em b e rs C a p ita l U n iv e r s ity an d M ount V ern on N azarene College, two central Ohio private colleges, are new ad­ ditions to the Ohio Library and Inform ation Network (O h io L IN K ). T h e y are among 11 private liberal arts colleges that currently par­ ticipate in OhioLINK, bring­ ing the consortium’s total to 52 institutions o f higher edu­ cation. Patrons now have ac­ cess to a com bined catalog o f 2 3 .3 million books, journals, and other items and these items can be requested directly by the patrons from their home, office, dormitory, or library. For more information about OhioLINK, visit the W eb site at http://www.ohiolink.edu. F rick A rt L ib r a r y o p e n s O P A C The Frick Art Reference Library, an important cen ter for art historical research, officially opened its online public access catalog, known as FRESCO (Frick Research Catalog Online). Since 1986 the library has cataloged its book collection on RLIN and all o f those entries— approximately 20% o f its book collection— are available online to readers who visit the library. The entries are also available through the In­ ternet by telnetting to fresco.frick.org. A Web site is under development. The library also plans a retrospective conversion o f the remaining cata­ logs and indexes of its vast text and image resources which include historical photo archive and auction sales catalog collections. The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation pro­ vided much of the funding needed for FRESCO. C H O IC E n a m e s 1 9 9 6 O u ts ta n d in g A ca d e m ic B o o k s The January 1997 issue of CHOICE featured its list o f Outstanding Academic Books (OAB) of 1996, selected by CHOICE editors from more than 6,000 works reviewed in the magazine during the previous year. Since 1962 CHOICE has published reviews of scholarly titles as an aid to those librarians who build collections in undergraduate librar­ ies. Titles are selected based on excellence in scholarship, relevance, and originality in serv­ http://www.ohiolink.edu 1 4 6 / C&RL News ing the needs o f undergradu­ ate scholars. The more than 600 reviews each month are classified in more than 50 dis­ cip lin es and s u b sectio n s— humanities, social and behav­ ioral scien ces, scien ce, and technology. CHOICES 3,000 reviewers are teaching faculty and librar­ ians at undergraduate institu­ tio n s a cro s s th e U.S. and Canada. Reviews carry weight in the academ ic library com ­ munity b ecau se o f CHOICES c o m m itm e n t to e x c e l le n t scholarship and timely evaluation o f works. For a copy o f the booklet listing the 600 OAB titles please call or write Steven Conforti, C H O IC E , 1 0 0 R iv e rv ie w C e n te r, Middletown, CT 06457, (860) 347-6933 ext. 33, or SConforti@ala-choice.org. The cost is $3.00 plus $1.00 postage. B o o k s -in -R e v e a l a n n o u n ce d The UnCover Company and Academic B o o k C en ter (A cB C ) are o fferin g “Books-in-Reveal,” an enhancement to Reveal, the electronic alerting service from UnCover that allows users to stay current on the latest periodical litera­ ture published. Reveal subscribers will now receive weekly announcements o f new books published in their fields o f interest. The Reveal service automatically e-mails sub­ scribers the table o f contents from selected jour­ nals whenever the new issue is entered into ACRL Instruction S e ctio n ’s 1 9 9 7 p re co n fere n ce ACRL’s Instruction Section (IS) is holding a preconference, “Learning to Teach: Work­ shops on Instruction,” on Friday, Ju n e 27, 1997. This is a one-day preconference to the annual meeting of ALA in San Francisco. The preconference is based on the ACRL publi­ cation o f the same name. Often librarians learn to teach on-the-job. “Learning to Teach” was conceived as a col­ lection o f training modules covering instruc­ tional fundamentals to help librarians from a variety o f environments improve their teach­ ing. Participants are encouraged to adapt the workshops and use them for training at their own institutions. Both new and experienced librarians will find the preconference useful. The precon feren ce w orkshops will be based on the original interactive modules from L ea rn in g to Teach. Participants will be able to attend four of these six sessions: “Con­ tributions from the Psychology o f Learning— Practical Implications for Teaching” (Joan Kaplowitz, UCLA); “Presentation Skills and Classroom Management” (Claudette Hagle, University o f Dallas); “Selecting a Teaching Technique” (Trudi Jacobson, SUNY Albany); “Instruction in a Multicultural/Multiracial En­ vironment” (Karen Downing, University of Michigan, and Josep h Diaz, University o f Ari­ z o n a ); “T h e O n e -S h o t L e c tu re ” (E s th e r Grassian, UCLA); and “Developing Effective Library Assignments” (Christina Woo, UC-Irv ine). The preconference will be held at the Ber­ keley Conference Center, a convenient Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ride from down­ town San Francisco. The preconference will begin at 8:30 a.m. and wind up by 5:00 p.m., in time for participants to migrate to the IS dinner, if desired. Registration will be limited to 140 people and includes the all-day conference, work­ shop support materials, and refreshm ents during the morning and afternoon: $85 for ACRL members; $120 for ALA members, non- ACRL members; $75 for library school stu­ dents; and $200 for non-ALA, non-ACRL mem­ bers. There will be a $35 late fee for those registering after May 15, 1997. See the Web site for the registration form: http://www- le la n d .s ta n fo r d .e d u / ~ m e s o r a / A C R L IS / precon.html. Lunch can be purchased inex­ pensively near the preconference site. Questions not answered on the W eb site can be directed to Margaret Phillips at (510) 643-8666 or mphillip@library.berkeley.edu or Rose Adams at (415)725-1180 or mesora@ leland.stanford.edu. mailto:SConforti@ala-choice.org http://www- mailto:mphillip@library.berkeley.edu M arch 1 9 9 7 / 1 47 UC-Ir v in e ’s M a in L ib ra r y re o p e n s Some said it couldn’t be done, others said it shouldn’t be done, but we did it and it is done! On Thursday, January 2, a retrofitted and renovated Main Library at the University o f California, Irvine (UCI), reopened after having been totally closed for three months and open only for limited stack access for an additional three months. The dangers o f living in earthquake coun­ try hit home two years ago when UCI’s Main L ib ra ry w as ra ted seism ica lly p oor. A lo n g -p la n n e d and much needed renova­ tion o f the library’s two main public ser­ vice floors was put on hold while librarians, architects, and engi­ neers began the task o f determ ining how b est to upgrade the building. The decision was to undertake both The C urrent Periodicals and Newspapers Room at UC-Irvine’s renovated library.a retrofit and a. reno­ vation. The retrofit necessitated the unprec­ edented step o f closing the Main Library, a busy facility serving the research and teach­ ing needs o f the arts, humanities, social sci­ ences, and management programs, to all staff and users for three full months. Staff devised creative ways to maintain key library services without physical access to the library, includ­ ing operating a fully functioning Reference and Government Information Desk in the Sci­ ence Library, relocating other important pub­ lic service functions and portions o f the col­ lection, and providing expedited interlibrary loan service, including subsized commercial document delivery, for patrons requesting ma­ terials shut away in the Main Library. On Sep­ tem ber 30, with the retrofit portion o f the project complete, a Fall Temporary Entrance (aka MLFTE) opened to allow access to col­ lection stacks on the basement, third, and fourth lev els, w hile co n stru ctio n co n tin ­ u ed o n th e o th e r floors. In January the new Main Library opened to cheers o f acclaim and sighs of relief from staff and users. Con­ struction co st about $3.1 million, and the total project cost was approximately $5 mil­ lion. With a 28-station technology enhanced classroom, a student communications room for e-mail access, a new Multimedia Resources Center, and custom-designed exhibit gallery to display special library collections, UCľs Main Library is poised to meet the informa­ tion needs o f the campus and surrounding com m u n ities.— E llen B roidy, U niversity o f C a liforn ia, Irv in e ■ the UnCover database, which typically coin­ cides with the arrival of the paper copy at local libraries and newsstands. The service also alerts users to the latest articles published on their topics of interest. Through the partnership b e ­ tween UnCover and AcBC these capabilities were extended to books at no additional cost to subscribers. AcBC will provide UnCover with bibliographic citation information for 600 new titles handled in its approval plan each week. The approval plan reviews more than 36,000 titles from more than 1,200 publishers each year and automatically ships appropriate titles to par­ ticipating libraries within 10 days of publica­ tion. UnCover will then match these titles against the search strategies that Reveal users have stored for new article alerting and e-mail no­ tices for new book titles matching those search strategies will be sent to users. Reveal subscrib­ ers can order the book by sending reply e-mail; UnCover will forward the order to AcBC for fulfillment. E-m a il n o w a v a ila b le on In foTrac S e a r c h B a n k Information Access Company (IAC) has added e-mail retrieval and delivery to its InfoTrac SearchBank Web interface. 148 / C&RL News C o lle g e , public lib r a r ie s jo in tly s e e k fun d ing Mantor Library, of the University o f Maine at Farmington (UMF) and the Farmington Pub­ lic Library are in the last phase o f a successful $1.5 million joint capital campaign. The cam ­ paign, begun in March 1995, has only $250,000 more to go before it ends in June 1997. Mantor Library is using its share o f the money to re­ place the library’s HVAC system, renovate pub­ lic and staff space, buy furniture, create an electronic classroom, and replace old tech­ n o lo g y w ith s ta te -o f-th e -a r t eq u ip m en t. Farmington Public Library is using its share of the funding to reallocate space throughout its 100-year-old building, renovate the first floor, buy technology, and build a first floor addi­ tion. One of the goals o f the campaign, besides fundraising, has been to look at areas o f co ­ operation betw een the two libraries, which stand just a football field’s length apart. Some cooperative collection developm ent, esp e­ cially in the area o f current literary fiction, will be possible. The public library allows UMF students to check out materials for free, while tow’n residents have access to all o f the re­ sources available through the college library’ for a small fee. The university will work closely with local educators to provide training in in­ formation literacy to teachers and older stu­ dents in the new electronic classroom, sched­ uled to open this month. “The capital campaign ensures the best possible library resources for our region,” said Theodora J. Kalikow, president o f UMF. F und ing has co m e from a variety o f sources. Locally, a pool o f volunteers, called solicitors, has ventured into the communities served by both libraries and raised hundreds o f thousands o f dollars in three-year pledges, as well as pulling in larger donations from local businesses and individuals. Student or­ ganizations have raised $10,000 while the college alumni association’s request that mem­ bers give to the capital campaign and to the annual fund has been well received. Major grant support has been provided by the Kresge F o u n d a tio n , B in g h am B e tte rm e n t Fund, Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, and Davis Family Foundation.— Frank. Roberts, University o f M a in e a t F arm in g ton The enhancement allows researchers to elec­ tronically transmit the text o f articles or cita­ tions to any valid e-mail address and frees them from reliances on printed documents and the availability o f a printer. W in n e r o f the A C R L / B la c k w e ll’s S tu d en t P a p e r A w a r d a n n o u n ce d To encourage leadership in research, ACRL and Blackwell’s offered a $350 cash prize award and free conference registra­ tion for a student whose research paper was se­ lected for presentation at the ACRL 8th National Conference in April. The Contributed Papers Com­ mittee is pleased to an­ nounce Ethelene Whit­ mire o f the University of Michigan is the winner of this award. W hitm ire’s Ethelene Whitmire paper, “The Campus En­ vironment for African-American and White Stu­ dents: Impact on Academic Library Experience,” will be presented at the conference in Nashville on Saturday, April 13, 2:00– 3:00 p.m. The paper describes a research project which analyzed cam­ pus influences such as interactions with peers, faculty, and administrators on academic library experiences. Whitmire is a doctoral student study­ ing higher education. She received her MLS from Rutgers in 1993. F o u n d a tio n C e n te r la u n ch e s W e b Electronic R eferen ce D e sk The Foundation Center has launched an Elec­ tronic Reference Desk at its W eb site, on which a librarian is available to answer questions sub­ mitted via e-mail about foundations, nonprofit resources, corporate giving, and the best use o f the center’s services and resources. Currently, the Electronic Reference Desk has three parts: responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs), the Online Librarian, and a directory o f links to other nonprofit sites of interest. The FAQs in­ clude responses to common questions such as “Where do I begin my foundation/grants re­ search?” and “How do I find out about grants for my subject area or field o f interest?” M arch 1 9 9 7 / 149 Visit the Web site at http://fdncenter.org or e-mail a m essage to the online librarian at library@fdncenter.org. Most queries are an­ swered within two business days. R LG d a ta b a s e s n o w a v a ila b le on W e b The Research Libraries Group (RLG) opened a new searching option to its RLIN bibliographic database, CitaDel citation files, and English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC). Eureka, RLG’s user- friendly searching interface, now makes all of them available through Web browsers. Patricia Renfro, director o f public services for the University o f Pennsylvania, welcomed the new service: “In the last two to three years, networks campuswide and worldwide have becom e a major change agent in higher educa­ tion— in how people learn, teach, and interact. Equipped with the necessary connectivity and ease of use, users now are challenging their librarians to supply them with good informa­ tion through a well-organized, smart interface, around the clock. RLG’s new W eb version of Eureka will help us to do just that.” For more information about Eureka on the Web, including actual demonstration search ses­ sions, visit www.rlg.org/eurekaweb.html. To learn about Eureka search accounts for indi­ viduals, departments, or campuswide use con­ tact RLG at bl.sal@rlg.org or call (800) 537-RLIN, option 3 . C a ll fo r p re se n ta tio n s fo r o ff-ca m p u s lib r a r y se rvice s Presentation proposals are sought for the 8th Off- Campus Library Services Conference sponsored by Central Michigan University (CMU) Libraries and CMU’s Extended Degree Programs. The con­ ference, to be held April 22– 24, 1998, will be in Providence, Rhode Island. Proposals are sought for papers, panels, poster sessions, and forums on topics such as administration, promotion, out­ comes, staffing, etc. The call for presentations is available from Connie Hildebrand, Park Library 313, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859; e-mail connie.hildebrand@cmich.edu. Proposals submitted by March 15, 1997, will re­ ceive first consideration. A m e rica n lib r a r ia n s v is it N orthern Ire la n d From January 25 to February 5 a contin­ gent o f 14 American librarians toured librar­ ies and archival collections in Northern Ire­ land and met with Irish co lleagu es. The Americans represented a cross section o f in­ stitutions from the U.S. and visited a similar cross section o f Irish institutions. This library tour was sponsored by the Brit­ ish Council and is part of an ongoing effort to promote a balanced view o f Northern Ireland and its political context. The tour was based in Belfast, with day trips to view collections throughout the country. Included in the tour were an introduction to the politics o f North­ ern Ireland and a visit to the parts o f Belfast that have seen the most damage from 25 years o f civil unrest. The British Council clearly sup­ ports the English presence in Northern Ire­ land, but tour participants enjoyed frank and open discussions o f Irish politics and the im­ pact o f “The Troubles” on funding for Irish libraries and public institutions. Participants were treated to evenings o f theater, storytelling, and receptions by both the Northern Ireland Library Association and the British Council’s office. The tour provided a valuable overview o f the priceless library and archival collections held by various in­ stitutions in Northern Ireland including the University o f Ulster and Q ueen ’s University, two major institutions o f higher learning. All libraries have strong Irish collections but, due to the introduction of technology, OCLC, and the Birmingham Library Cooperative Mecha­ nization Project network, materials o f all types are easily accessible to all users in the United Kingdom. For information on upcoming study tours and opportunities for the pursuit o f individual projects in Northern Ireland contact Kathy Culpin, Cultural Affairs Assistant, Northern Ire­ land Cultural Programme, The British Coun­ cil, Cultural Department, The British Embassy, 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008-3600; (202) 588-6500; fax (202) 588- 7918; http://www.britcoun.org/usa.— A n n S n oeyenbos, New York University, a n d K. N. S h arm a , West Virginia State C ollege http://fdncenter.org mailto:library@fdncenter.org http://www.rlg.org/eurekaweb.html mailto:bl.sal@rlg.org mailto:connie.hildebrand@cmich.edu http://www.britcoun.org/usa.%e2%80%94Ann 1 5 0 / C&RL News SA LA LM a n d W ILU to m eet in M a y The 42nd annual Seminar on the Acquisitions of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM) will be held May 17– 21, 1997, in Rockville, Maryland. The theme of the conference is “Re­ ligion and Latin America in the 21st Century: Libraries Reacting to Social Change.” Registra­ tion information is available from Terry C. Peet, SALALM XLII, 4910 Herkimer St., Annandale, VA 22003-5138. The 26th Annual Workshop on Instruction in Library Use will be held May 14– 16, 1997, at the University o f Montreal. The theme of the w orkshop is “Gateways to the Information World.” Program details and registration infor­ C&RL N e w s reporters needed Share your ACRL 8th National Confer­ ence experiences with a national audience. Brief (150–300-word) summaries o f the April 11– 1 4 , 1997, conference’s panels, programs, and sessions are sought for publication in C&RL News. If you would like to write up one o f the sessions you plan to attend, con­ tact the editor, Mary Ellen Davis, no later than March 28, 1997, at (800) 545-2433 ext. 2511 or e-mail: medavis@ala.org. m ation may b e found at http:/ / brise.ere. umontreal.ca/~bullj/wilu97 or e-mail: robertg@ ere.umontreal.ca; phone: (514) 343-6070. “ Reference So u rce s fo r R a re B o o k s ” co u rse o ffered The Indiana University Division of Continuing Studies and the Lilly Library will sponsor a week-long course, “Reference Sources for Rare Books,” May 12– 16, 1997. Course participants will be given an overview of general sources and a detailed discussion o f the principal works in specific fields. Registration information is available from Ja n e Clay at (8 1 2 ) 855-6329; e-m a il: jc la y @ in d ia n a .e d u ; W eb : http:// www.indiana.edu/~scs/bookarts.html. N e w sy ste m s in stalled Sirsi Corporation has licensed its UNICORN sys­ tem to the following institutions: Victor Valley College in California, Imperial Valley College in Southeast California, and the Maryland Insti­ tute, College o f Art, in Baltimore. W E S S sp e cia l election results in Heleni Pedersoli, bibliographer, University of Maryland, was elected vice-chair/chair-elect of ACRL’s W estern E uropean Studies Section (WESS). A special election was held to fill a vacancy caused by a resignation. Pedersoli’s term begins immediately. ■ http://brise.ere mailto:medavis@ala.org mailto:jclay@indiana.edu http://www.indiana.edu/~scs/bookarts.html M arch 1 9 9 7 / 151 1 5 2 / C&RL News