ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


484 /  C & RL N ew s

no spacing a t all in call num bers. C atalo g  lib ra ri­
ans w ould have been able to w a rn  us of these a u ­
th o rity  an d  datab ase problem s, and w e w ould th en  
have w ritte n  th e  d a ta  e n try  form  to ask for infor­
m a tio n  d irectly  usable by o u r s tu d e n t assistant 
w ith o u t th e added step of our having to m ake cor­
rections.

C atalo g ers w o u ld  also h av e advised th a t w e 
w rite our lists by index ra th e r th a n  by subject h e ad ­
ing (i.e., list subjects for indexes ra th e r th a n  in ­
dexes for subjects), so th e  stu d en t assistant w ould 
have to  m odify each In n o v acq  record only once. 
This w ould have cu t dow n on th e  hours req u ired  
for d a ta  entry. T h e C ataloging D e p artm en t could 
have been of great help in d eterm ining specificity 
levels for subject headings. Some subject specialists 
(the “lum pers”) created only a few  long lists w ith  
quite general subject headings, w hile others (the 
“splitters”) broke th eir topics into several short lists 
of m ore specific subjects. This created th e  p o ten tial 
for confusion on th e  p a r t of lib rarian s an d  p atrons 
w ho w ould not know  w h e th er to look u n d er m ore 
general or specific subject headings for th e ir topic.

To alleviate this problem  p artially , w e included a 
n u m b er of cross references in our ta b le  of contents 
list of subject headings.

F u tu r e  im p licatio n s in clu d e th e  possibility of 
tran sferrin g  SGPI to  disk, w ith  Innovacq’s perm is­
sion, so patrons could access th e info rm atio n  either 
in p rin t or via a  com puter located in th e reference 
area. This m ig h t also allow  us to m odify its p rin ted  
fo rm at in o rd er to create a m ore a ttractiv e final 
p roduct.

Conclusion
W e have observed several students a n d  lib ra ri­

ans using th e  Subject G uide d u rin g  th e  sem ester it 
has been available in our reference area. I t is serv­
ing our original purposes of increasing p a tro n  in d e­
pendence, assisting new  lib rarian s in becom ing fa ­
m ilia r w ith  th e  index c o lle ctio n , a n d  h e lp in g  
stu d en t assistants w ork w ith  p atro n s d u rin g  late 
hours w hen librarians do not staff th e  reference 
desk.

A faculty retreat: Coping w ith challenges

B y M ary M. N o fsin g e r

Public Services Librarian 
W ashington State University

a n d  M ary G illes

Public Services Librarian 
W ashington State University

After an  unusually hectic, stressful Fall Semester oped, and p a rtic ip a tin g  librarians w ere solicited to 
 serve as discussion leaders for th e following topics:

1. T he fu tu re  of reference service.
2. Collection developm ent issues.
3. E xternal access to th e WSU L ibraries’ online 

catalog an d  effects on our services.
4. User instruction in th e future.
5. N ew  au to m atio n  needs.
6. Professional developm ent of librarians.
7. O rg a n iz a tio n a l, b u d g e ta ry , a n d  personnel 

constraints/opportunities.
8. D irections for th e com ing year.
Discussion of th e fu tu re  of reference service be­

gan w ith  a review  of social, dem ographic, an d  aca­
dem ic variables w hich are projected to im p act our 
profession in th e  foreseeable fu tu re. Lively and 
varied com m ents w ere p resented on c u rre n t refer­
en ce issues, in c lu d in g  discussion of th e  never- 
ending necessity for balan cin g  conflicting dem ands 
for tim e am ong reference, collection developm ent, 
user education, datab ase searching, and o th er re ­
sponsibilities. Also discussed w as th e  possibility of 
a n  I n f o rm a tio n  D esk sta ffe d  w ith  p a ra p ro fe s ­
sionals, stream lining reference duties, office hours 
for lib rarian s, im proving th e  accuracy of reference

w orking w ith  16,000 u n d erg rad u ate students, th e
public services lib rarian s in th e  hum anities/social 
sciences lib rary  a t W ashington State University de­
cided they needed to assess priorities an d  clarify fu ­
tu re  directions. T h e u n it’s first re tre a t presented an 
o p p o rtu n ity  to discuss recent problem s an d  suc­
cesses as w ell as a  chance to consider long-range is­
sues w hich could n o t be d e alt w ith  adequately d u r­
ing busy w eekly faculty m eetings. I t also provided 
tim e to analyze an d  recoup losses, encouragem ent 
to im prove com m unication w ith  colleagues, and 
th e challenge of an ticip atin g  fu tu re developm ents 
w hich w ill affect academ ic librarianship.

W hen th e  idea of a faculty re tre a t was initially 
suggested, strong sup p o rt w as expressed by lib ra ri­
ans and u n it adm inistrators. Plans w ere m ade to 
m eet d u rin g  C hristm as Intersession w hen classes 
w ere n o t held. A n additional lib rarian  w as hired to 
staff th e  reference desk so th a t all hum anities/social 
sciences lib rarian s could a tte n d  th e  day-long re­
tre a t. To avoid distractions, it w as agreed th a t an 
off-cam pus com m unity m eeting room  w ould be 
preferable. As C hristm as approached, topics for 
discussion w ere proposed. An agenda was devel­



June 1989 /  485

assistance, reference consultation by a p p o in tm en t 
only, m aking users m ore self-sufficient, and th e 
feasibility of offering online ready-reference ser­
vice daily w ith o u t fees.

Next, th e  heads of social sciences an d  hum anities 
c o lle c tio n  d e v e lo p m e n t r e v ie w e d  t h e  d is m a l 
b u d g et situation for th e  re m a in d er of th e  fiscal year 
as w ell as projections for fin an cin g  in th e  next b ien ­
nium . E scalating costs of serials due to inflation, 
th e  decline in th e  p urchasing p o w er of th e  dollar 
overseas, an d  th e  price-gouging of a few  foreign 
publishers w ere also discussed. R educed spending 
procedures w ere em phasized, in cluding th e  con­
tin u in g  need to  cancel o n e-an d -a-h alf subscriptions 
for each new  serial ordered. T h ere w as general 
agreem ent am ong th e lib rarian s th a t revision of 
collection developm ent policy statem ents needed 
to  be com pleted in  1989, a n d  th a t w eeding should 
be given higher p rio rity  d ue to  space shortages.

A nother p o ten tial p ro b lem , th e  steadily increas­
ing usage of th e W SU L ib raries’ collections a n d  ser­
vices by students from  a n earb y  university, w as dis­
cussed. In fo rm a tio n  w as p re sen te d  re g a rd in g  a 
recently negotiated ag reem ent w ith  a n o th er u n i­
versity w h ich  w ill allow  ad d itio n al p u b lic access to 
th e  W SU L ibraries’ online catalog. I t was also re ­
vealed th a t massive increases in circu latio n  and 
len d in g  activities occurred this p a st year, depleting 
c u rre n t staffing resources. R am ifications for th e  fu ­
tu re  w ere discussed, along w ith  th e  projected im ­
p a c t of an ticip ated  grow th in  th e  usage of lib rary  
m aterials. Possible courses of action to  alleviate th e  
situation w ere p ondered, b u t easy solutions w ere 
n o t readily a p p aren t.

Just before a congenial lunch b reak, th e user ed­
u cation lib ra ria n  discussed plans for dealing w ith  
large classes of students w h o  need lib rary  instruc­
tio n  each  sem ester. D iscussion em p h asized  th e  
need for in co rp o ratin g  m ore active learn in g  tech ­
niques in class presentations to  increase stu d en t 
m otivation. Also briefly m entioned w as th e  need 
for m ore creative experim entation w ith  o th er pos­
sible alternatives such as audiotapes, p eer tu to rin g  
on lib ra ry  assignm ents, an d  collaborative learn in g  
in sm all groups. As for long-range p lan n in g , th e  li­
b ra ria n s agreed th a t co u rse-in teg rate d  user in ­
s tru c tio n  fo r all fre sh m e n  stu d e n ts w as still a 
strong, b u t elusive, objective w hich w e m ust con­
tin u e to pursue.

In  th e  afternoon, c u rre n t an d  fu tu re  au to m atio n  
needs w ere discussed, including an  easy-access on­
line catalog m en u  w hich w ill soon be available and 
th e  increasing num bers of C D -R O M  products in 
m a n y  s u b je c t d iscip lin es. O b ta in in g  in c re ase d  
fu n d in g  an d  ad ap tin g  m icrocom puters for use w ith  
m u ltip le products w ere seen as m ajor problem s 
w ith  offering these p o p u la r services. W ith  serial 
b u d g et restrictions so tig h t, even th e  p urchase of 
a n o th er C D -R O M  w o u ld  significantly affect col­
lection developm ent funds. Next, th e  need for b e t­
te r end-user tra in in g  w as briefly explored, as well 
as th e  possibility of loading n atio n al databases on

th e  WSU m ain fram e for cam pus use. W ith  few 
suggestions to ease au to m atio n  needs, th e  lib ra ri­
ans acknow ledged th a t acq u irin g  new  technologies 
still presented challenges.

Discussion of th e  professional developm ent of li­
b rarian s p ro d u ced  an  interesting diversity of o p in ­
ions an d  ideas. B rainstorm ing provided a long list 
of resources needed by lib rarian s, including re­
leased tim e from  reg u lar duties, fu nding, stu d en t/ 
secretarial su p p o rt, setting aside tim e daily, w rit­
te n  policies, etc. T h en , th e  conversation tu rn e d  to 
sp ecific actio n s w h ic h  w o u ld  f a c ilita te  g e ttin g  
those resources in th e fu tu re. T h ere w as consider­
able sup p o rt for a proposal to  n egotiate w ith  th e 
u n it h ead  for released tim e from  daily duties for 
short professional projects. O th er topics included 
g reater use of professional leaves for te n u re d  lib ra r­
ians, creatin g  a floating lib ra ria n  position to p e r­
form  duties of lib rarian s released for projects, and 
developing a  w ritte n  u n it policy on n e g o tiated  
tim e.

Lastly, organizational, b u d g etary , an d  person­
nel issues for th e  fu tu re  w ere considered. T h e h ead  
of H um anities/Social Sciences Public Services re ­
view ed projections for legislative fun d in g  in th e 
next b ien n iu m , th e  m ost pressing b u d g etary  needs 
of th e u n it, an d  efforts to im prove long-term  p la n ­
ning. Discussion of tw o staff vacancies revealed 
some interesting possibilities for th e  ad m in istratio n  
and reorganization of services provided for cu rre n t 
journals, b o u n d  journals, an d  m icrofilm . Issues to 
consider reg ard in g  th e  proposed new  b u ild in g  an d  
rem odeling plans w ere also briefly presented, al­
though optim ism  w as restrain ed  since fu n d in g  h a d  
not yet been approved by th e  state legislature.

At th e conclusion of a lively an d  inform ative 
day, consensus w as reached on a m an ag eab le n u m ­
ber of issues to pursue in 1989. Priorities h a d  been 
established, a n d  decisions as w ell as follow -up ac­
tivities w ere clearly identified. A lthough th e  dis­
cussions h a d  been em otionally intense, th e  lib ra ri­
ans felt optim istic th a t m an y  excellent suggestions 
a n d  ideas stim ulated d u rin g  th e  re tre a t w o u ld  be 
im plem ented. In  effect, p a rtic ip a tin g  lib rarian s re ­
jected  th e  neg ativ e a ttitu d e  of “ n o th in g  can  be 
d o n e.” Instead, they chose to tak e positive, assert­
ive actions to w a rd  m eeting th e  challenges of th e fu ­
tu re . ■  ■

Correction

T h e FY 1988 revenue figures for R are Books 
a n d  M anuscripts Librarianship and th e ACRL 
n o n p erio d ical p u b licatio n s w ere erroneously 
transposed in th e article on “A C R L’s 1988/89 
b u d g e t” in th e April 1989 issue of C & R L  N ew s, 
p. 306. T he actu al figure for R B M L  is $12,372 
a n d  fo r t h e  n o n p e r io d ic a l p u b lic a tio n s  is 
$61,710.