ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries September 1 9 9 7 /5 2 9 N e fr o m F ie M ary E CSU library devastated by flood Colorado State University’s (CSU) library suffered dev­ astating losses from the 500- y e a r flo o d th a t s w e p t through Fort Collins at the end of July. More than 20 buildings, including the li­ brary, w ere ravaged by the raging flood waters. “W e h a d 21.5 m illion pounds of water in the base­ ment with a flow of water that was 5,000 cubic feet per second. We liter­ ally had a flash flood,” said library director Camila Alire. More than 425,000 volumes (ap­ proximately half of the collection) w ere dam­ aged including the library’s entire collection of bound journals. Early estimates are that 10 per­ cent of the collection was destroyed and that an additional 10 percent will prove unsalvageable. CSU officials optimistically estimate that 80 per­ cent of the collection will be saved. During that critical first 72 hours CSU li­ brary staff w orked with contractors to get the w ater pum ped out of the basement, reduce the humidity, and begin packing out the mate­ rials to get them placed in freezers before they began to rot. At press time contractors were frantically trying to contain the severe mold problem so that it did not spread beyond the A flash flo o d ravaged Colorado State U n iversity’s library. basement. CSU is planning w s to open its doors for the fall semester on August 25. Alire said that they are awaiting the inspections to ensure that the building is both structur­ ld ally sound and safe for oc­ cupancy but that she hoped to be in the building by Au­ gust 21 with phones, elec­ tricity, and air conditioning llen Davis running. Alire, w ho had been in her job just seven days w hen the flood struck, com plimented the library’s staff, “The library disaster recovery team had a well thought-out, sound plan. We were in op­ eration within ten minutes after the flood.” Alire offered this advice to her colleagues: “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. But, if you do n ’t already have a disaster recovery plan in place, you must make this a priority and develop one. It made all of the difference for us.” Those wishing to donate books or resources should contact Joel Rutstein, head of collec­ tions at CSU, at (970) 491-3401 or e-mail: jrutstein@manta.library.colostate.edu. CAUSE and Educom to morph The governing boards of CAUSE and Educom have announced their intent to dissolve their respective organizations and create a brand new one. CAUSE is the association for managing and using infor­ mation resources and technol­ ogy in higher education, with members from 1,400 colleges and universities and more than 80 c o r p o ra tio n s . E ducom , which is also a nonprofit con­ sortium of colleges, universities, and other organizations is dedi­ cated to the transformation of higher education through infor­ mation technologies. In addition to its 600 institutional mem­ bers, it has nearly 100 corpo­ rate associates. One of the major induce­ ments for merging was how well the tw o organizations’ program s com plem ent each mailto:jrutstein@manta.library.colostate.edu 5 3 0 /C&RL News other. Educom president Robert Heterick ob­ served that “continuing maturation of the in­ formation technologies has greatly diminished the differences between administrative and aca­ demic computing, the original reason for two separate organizations, and the rise of network­ ing has amplified the transformational poten­ tial of information resources throughout every nook and cranny of the higher education en­ terprise.” According to CAUSE president Jane Ryland, “CAUSE has developed great strength in mem­ b er services and professional developm ent through its management institutes and regional conferences, while Educom is well known in Washington policy circles though its advocacy roles featured in the Networking and Telecom­ munications Task Force (NTTF) and the Na­ tional Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII).” The two organizations have worked closely for more than a decade, and prior to the an­ nouncement both Heterick and Ryland had an­ nounced their intention of retiring within the next few years. The dissolution of both organi­ zations remains to be approved by the respec­ tive memberships, but if the members approve, the two organizations plan to begin operating under the aegis of a new corporation on or about January 1, 1998. Dates changed for ACRL's 9th Conference ACRL has changed the dates of its 9th National Conference in Detroit. The new dates are April 8-11, 1999. The one-day shift in dates will enable the conference to end Sunday, allowing participants to return to work on Monday morning. The theme of this confer­ ence is “Racing To­ ward Tomorrow.” The conference program is be­ ing planned by the ACRL N a­ tional C onfer­ ence Executive C o m m i t t e e chaired by Charles Beard, director of uni­ versity libraries, State University of West Geor­ gia. A s ia n stu d ies s y lla b i o n lin e In July 1995, 16 librarians from the U.S. and Asia met in a special workshop for librarians at the annual Asian Studies Summer Institute at the East-West Center (EWC) in Honolulu. Their discovery of the EWC’s large collection of Asian studies course syllabi led to the cre­ ation of an Internet resource that now fosters Asian studies worldwide and exemplifies a new vision for librarianship. After the institute, librarians at Kapiolani College in Honolulu converted hundreds of s y llab i in to a W eb site ( h t tp : //li b r a r y . kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/) that was unveiled at the 1996 annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies, held in Honolulu. On the Web, the syllabus collection can better prom ote Asian studies and attract more syllabi from scholars and instructors worldwide. The site’s value will increase as interest in Asian studies grows internationally. The Kapiolani Library has launched several other Web sites since then, including another EWC database of course syllabi in Pacific Island studies. Each site is a joint project between the library and a partner agency with important infor­ mation to disseminate. The library handles the technical matters of the sites. The part­ ners perform editorial functions and help find funding for the projects. We now believe m odern librarianship must include the online publication of sig­ nificant information that would otherwise have limited accessibility. “Hidden” informa­ tion abounds in research centers, archives, professional associations, ethnic organiza­ tions, local history groups, and many other types of agencies, and can be put online by all types of libraries—academic, public, and special. Much of this local information could be vital to the right audiences if it were more widely known and accessible. Partnering with agencies that can supply the right informa­ tion, share expenses, and help maintain the sites makes creation of local online resources a feasible and valuable library activity.— Teiry D. Webb, University o f Hawaii, Kapiolani Com­ munity College http://library kcc.hawaii.edu/asdp/ September 1 9 9 7 /5 3 1 ACRL s e e k s e d ito r for ra re b o o k s jo u rn a l ACRL is seeking an editor for the rare books journal Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarian- ship (.RBMD). The RBML editor is responsible for the edi­ torial content of the journal and is assisted by an editorial board, pri­ marily in refereeing submissions. The editor, who is the chair of the RBML Editorial Board, receives submissions and sends them out to board mem­ bers for their review. The editor makes the final decision on all items appearing in the journal. The posi­ tion of editor of RBML is voluntary. The editor is appointed for a three- year term and may serve a maximum of three such terms. The editor rec­ ommends to the ACRL Publications Commit­ tee for its approval w ho shall be on the journal’s editorial board and also w ho shall be book review editor. Production of the jour­ nal is handled by the production manager at ACRL Publications in Chicago, with whom the RBML editor works closely. Appointment will be made by the ACRL Board of Directors at the 1998 ALA Annual Conference. The incom­ ing editor will assume full responsi­ bilities in July 1999 after working a year with the outgoing editor. Ap­ plicants must be a member of ALA and ACRL. Applications for the position of editor of RBML should be sent to Elugh Thompson, Director of Publi­ cations. ACRL, 50 E. Huron St., Chi­ cago, IL 60611. Deadline for receipt of applications is November 24, 1997. Final­ ists will be interviewed at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January 1998. Hollins College breaks ground for new library Late this spring ground was broken for the yndham Robertson Library at Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia. Hollins received the larg est gift in its history w hen the Julian Robertson W ­ fam ily d o n a te d $3 m illion to n am e th e li­ brary in h o n o r of Ju lian ’s sister Wyndham, n ew ly e le c te d ch air o f th e c o lle g e ’s B oard o f T ru stee s a n d a d e v o te d alu m n a. The ground breaking cerem ony featured Pulitzer P rize-w inning au th o r Annie Dillard, another Com puter sim ulation o f the se c o n d floor reading room (to be nam ed in h o n o r o f Betsy Richardson B one, Class o f 1949) in th e future W yndham R obertson Library o n H ollins C ollege’s cam pus. 5 3 2 /C&RL News Hollins alum, w ho read a piece that so moved the audience that Dillard was inspired to an­ nounce during the ceremony a significant gift to the library. The 56,468 square-foot library was designed by Perry Dean Rogers and Partners and is a $14 million project. The building will feature fully wired study spaces, large reading rooms, com puting and multimedia facilities, a rare books room with climate control, and a 24- h o u r student and faculty com m ons w ith a cafelike atmosphere for reading, surfing the Net, or watching CNN. Nashville research papers on the Web The papers of the speakers featured at ACRL’s 8th National Conference in Nashville and the contributed research papers are now available on ACRL’s homepage on the Web. Visit ACRL’s main page at http://www.ala.org/acrl.html and select National Conference papers or go direct to: http://www.ala.org/acrl/papérs.html. Papers p osted include those by featured speakers Michael Keller, Sheila Creth, Kate Nevins, Eli Noam, Alan Guskin, and the late Paul Evan Peters as well as those w ho provided contrib­ uted papers. Papers may be searched by au­ thor, title, or theme track and are available in three formats: ASCII, html, and a WordPerfect 5.1 file (zipped). Applications/nominations sought for ARL diversity program The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is seeking applications/nominations for its new Leadership and Career Development Program (LCDP). Funded by a grant from the Depart­ ment of Education, LCDP is designed to pre­ pare racial minority librarians for top leader­ sh ip p o sitio n s in acad em ic an d research libraries. The LCDP will encourage racial mi­ nority librarians to make use of the cultural experience and knowledge gained outside the organization in order to inform and enhance their careers, leadership developm ent, and upward professional mobility. The program will consist o f tw o one-w eek institutes, special projects, and a one-day forum. Applicants must meet the following requirements: be a mem­ ber of a racial minority group, have a minimum of three to five years library experience, have an interest in academic and research libraries and demonstrated leadership skills, and have written support from the library director describ­ in g th e in s titu tio n ’s c o m m itm en t to th e applicant’s participation in the program. Dead­ line for applications: September 30, 1997. For more information contact DeEtta Jones, ARL Program Officer for Diversity, at (202) 296- 2296; e-mail: deetta@cni.org. Parents and students donate to Johns Hopkins University T w o g e n e r a tio n s o f J o h n s Hopkins University supporters dem onstrated appreciation for Eisenhower Library. The class of 1997 voted to honor the library with its class gift and the parents o f th is class d o n a te d to th e library’s Honor With Books pro­ gram. To date, the class of 1997 has raised nearly $7,000, which will be matched by the Friends of the Libraries. The seniors are directing their funds toward im­ provements in the Hutzler Under­ graduate Reading Room, fondly referred to as the Hut. The Hut offers an informal library setting for undergraduate study and in­ teraction 24 hours a day. The funds will be used for worksta­ tions and wiring upgrades to bring Internet access to the Hut, and for new furniture. Parents of the class http://www.ala.org/acrl.html http://www.ala.org/acrl/pap%c3%a9rs.html mailto:deetta@cni.org September 1 9 9 7 /5 3 3 of 1997 contributed more than $11,000 to the library through the H onor With Books program. For each $25 contribution made, the library buys a b ook and places a commemorative bookplate bearing the nam e of the supporter’s child in it. As a result, the library will gain 440 com m em o­ rated books for its collections. TexShare expands to 184 academic libraries Library resource sharing in Texas has expanded. Recent legislation adopted by Texas’s 75th Leg­ islature has dramatically expanded the state’s successful TexShare program and transferred its administration to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. TexShare is a cooperative program for li­ brary service to students, faculty, and staff of Texas state-su p p o rted institutions o f higher education. T exShare also pro v id es statew id e licensing o f d atab ases, access to university library collections, assistance in d o cu m en t delivery, an d additional electronic resources. T h ro u g h TexShare, th e collections an d ser­ vices o f each individual academ ic library in th e state are m ad e available to th e stu d en ts an d faculty o f all institutions, sharing th e rich resources o f th e entire state with the academic community. In addition, the com bined buying pow er o f Texas libraries results in significant cost reductions for electronic information sub­ scriptions. Created in 1994 and previously administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, TexShare currently serves 52 publicly funded four-year colleges and universities (as well as medical schools) with a com bined en­ rollment o f approximately 400,000 students. The new law, HB2721, expands the program to in­ clude Texas’s 75 two-year colleges and 57 pri­ vate institutions o f higher education, bringing the total num ber o f institutions to 184, with an enrollment o f 921,000 students. This expansion provides services to 3.5 times as many institu­ tions and more than doubles the num ber of students, faculty, and staff currently served by the program. TexShare em phasizes electronic information resources as well as traditional collections of books and journals. The largest portion o f the TexShare annual budget o f approxim ately $1 million will b e dedicated to licensing commer­ cial databases such as Periodical Abstracts and ABI Inform, which provide access to the full text o f more than 1,100 journals, in addition to citations to many more journals and periodi­ cals. “O ur agency faces a formidable challenge,” com m ented Robert S. Martin, director and li­ brarian o f the State Library and Archives Com­ mission. “But w e look forward to a successful transition and growth of TexShare, and w el­ com e the continued support and active partici­ pation of the entire academic community.” Michigan expands access to periodicals U nder the “Access Michigan” project tw o new services are now available to Michigan library users. First, a statewide periodicals database offering the full text of m ore than 1,000 maga­ zines, periodicals, new spapers, and indexes, and administered by the Michigan Library Con­ sortium (MLC), is being funded for the first year with LSCA funds. Library of Michigan staff are hopeful that state and federal funding will su p ­ port the project beyond the first year. Second, SPAN (for Serials, Periodicals, and Newspapers) is a new Michigan W eb database listing more than 201,000 magazines, journals, and new s­ papers and the hundreds o f local library loca­ tions statewide w here they can be found. “SPAN will m ake it much easier for patrons to find and borrow periodicals,” said state librarian George Needham. “For the first time library users in any connected library will be able to see the titles o f periodicals available at other Michigan libraries.” Beginning this month, li­ brary users will also be able to access SPAN from their hom e computers. Tell ACRL w h a t you think A sample of ACRL members (about 10 percent) will be receiving a survey to assess how well ACRL’s programs and services are meeting their needs and to identify new pro­ grams and activities that ACRL should d e­ velop. ACRL depends on m em ber input to develop programs that meet their needs. The survey asks about your experiences with ACRL, its publications, its professional developm ent activities, and w hy you belong to ACRL. Should you receive a survey, please take the time to com plete it and return it to the survey company, Research USA, promptly. ACRL wants to hear from you. 534 /C&RL News ACRL s e e k s accre d ita tio n a d v is o rs The ACRL Standards and Accreditation Com­ of academic libraries. If you’d like to serve as mittee is soliciting librarians willing to serve a resource person for your colleagues pre­ as advisors to libraries preparing for accredi­ paring for accreditation, please fill in the form tation; advisors may be nominated or self- below and return it by October 20, 1997. An nominated. Advisors are sought to represent Accreditation Advisor’s Directory will be com­ all major geographic areas, and types and sizes piled and published in C&RL News. Accreditation Experience: Please note the number of times served as an "accreditation team member" and the type and size of institution you visited: Mail to: Cerise Oberman, Dean of Library & Information Services, Benjamin F. Feinberg Library, SUNY Plattsburgh, 2 Draper Ave., Plattsburgh, NY 12901; fax: (518) 564-5100. 5 3 6 / C&RL News