ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 364 / C &RL News the hotel bill for an overnight stay. Approaching the companies to send a trainer to your library will thus be the most economical approach in some cases. D IA LO G charges $1,285 to send an instruc­ tor for one day, and allows up to twelve students in the class. BRS will do the same if there are a mini­ mum of eight trainees paying $110 each. An on-site teacher from W ILSO N LIN E can be had for $600. There is no limit on the number of trainees allowed by the Bronx-based enterprise, although the com­ pany would like to instruct at least ten students. The aforementioned charges cover everything, in­ cluding instructional materials. Online terminals must be provided by the sponsoring institution. As with other products and services purchased by libraries, the availability and the price's of these wares and services are not constant, and special package deals are sometimes offered. The informa­ tion one receives in brochures dates quickly. Unfor­ tunately, there seem to be more problems in suc­ cessfully placing orders with these companies than with the vendors librarians usually deal with. Those providing information, or taking orders, at the other end of the 800 numbers too often seem misinformed or confused about company offer­ ings. Calling back to check the information re­ ceived with another employee is often wise. Unfor­ tunately, requesting to speak to someone in a position of authority is sometimes necessary. In sum, there are several different ways of learn­ ing to do online searching. While the printed in­ structional materials and the documentation for D IA LO G , BRS, and W ILSO N LIN E are excellent, the videos they have produced vary greatly in qual­ ity. W ILSO N LIN E’s can be effectively used to in­ terest neophytes in the system and assist in their in­ struction. The BRS series of tapes and workbooks can be utilized as the center of a brief course of study. Those interested in using D IA LO G ’S video should view it before committing themselves. ACRL executive summary Professional development The W estern European Specialists Section (WESS) held A C RL’s first overseas conference in Florence, Italy, on April 4 -8 . The conference at­ tracted 170 participants from 20 countries; almost half were from outside the United States. The ses­ sions featured speakers and panelist from the North American and European library and book publish­ ing communities. Social events were spectacularly held in one Renaissance setting after another. For m ore d etails, see C la ire D u d ley ’s rep ort on pp. 355-57. The Community and Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) held A C RL’s first teleconference, and it too was a great success. Beamed by satellite to more than 320 sites in 47 states, the program, which focused on CD-ROM technology, reached Donald Simpson‚ President of the C enter fo r Research Libraries‚ and A C R L President Joanne Euster, at the N L W reception. more than 4,000 individuals (see photo next page). The section is now planning a sequel. President Joanne Euster addressed a group of ACRL members in the Chicago area at a National Library Week reception held at ALA headquarters on April 18. Her talk, “Creative Leadership in Aca­ demic Libraries: Everyone’s Responsibility,” gave the audience much to talk about as they mingled with ALA staff at the reception. Joanne also led a workshop on academic status at the ACRL Mississippi Chapter meeting and ad­ dressed a five-state conference in LaCrosse, W is­ consin, at the end of April on “Creative Leadership in Academic Libraries: Everyone’s Responsibil­ ity.” Enhancing service capability ACRL signed a contract with Nancy Van House (UC-Berkeley) for the writing of an Output M ea­ sures Manual. Work has begun on the pilot testing of these measures. A fact sheet on the project is available from the ALA Public Information Office. Beverly Lynch, chair of the ACRL Historically Black College and University Library Project Plan­ ning Committee, appeared before the ALA Execu­ tive Board to present the National Endowment for the Humanities funding proposal. It had been sub­ mitted contingent upon their approval, which they granted. Advocacy and liaison Legislative Day, April 19, included a large dele­ gation of academic librarians, thanks to the work of Legislative Committee chair, Hal Shill. June 1988 / 365 Satellite uplink dish, C D -R O M teleconference, (l-r) Joseph Borowski (Oakland C C ), Thomas Zymansl (C C A IT ), Diana Fitzw ater (College of D nPage), Carol Morrison (D uP age Library System), and B ernard Fradkin (College of DuPage). Research and publications Delivery of Books fo r College Libraries, 3d edi­ tion, to ALA Publishing is now com plete. The work will be published this summer. The pre­ publication price has been set at $375; after publi­ cation the six-volume set will cost $500. The success of R. R. Bowker’s CD-ROM prod­ uct, Books in Print Plus‚ which includes book re­ views that have appeared in C h o ice‚ has been very great. M anagem ent directions The A C R L Executive Com mittee met on April 18 and adopted the Operating Plan for 1989. This historic act marks the first annual operating plan officially adopted under the strategic planning pro­ cess, and moves A C R L ahead in achieving the de­ sires of the membership. The Committee also discussed the first draft of a Financial Plan for A C R L , which when adopted will be another first for A C R L. Designed to fit in with A LA ’s Business Plan, the process will define the financial resources needed to carry out the Stra­ tegic Plan over the next five years, identify sources of funds, consider areas of financial concern, and suggest strategies for dealing with them. The ALA Executive Board and CO PES met in Chicago on April 2 4 -2 8 . They approved a budget­ ary ceiling of over $14 million for ALA. All division budgets were approved on a preliminary basis, rec­ ognizing that final budgets will be on the agenda in New Orleans. Divisions have been asked to begin working on financial plans. CO PES set November 1 2 - 1 3 , 1988, as the date for a m eetin g of division rep resen tativ es and COPES to negotiate and prepare a final draft of the Operating Agreement. Joe Boissé and Jo An Segal will attend. The ALA President’s Special Com mittee on In­ formation Literacy is working with a committee of the Information Industry Association on a project to assess the need for people in the workforce that know how to identify information needs and how to locate, use, and evaluate information. Public Relations Discussion Group Jon Eldredge, chief of collections and infor­ mation resource development at the University of New Mexico’s Medical Library, will speak to the group on the topic, “Public Relations in Ac­ ademic Libraries: Is It Necessary?” As incom­ ing chair of the LAMA Public Relations Section as well as past chair of the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations A ward, Eldredge will draw from an extensive practical and theoreti­ cal background in public relations to show how a soundly conceived and w ell-orch estrated public relations effort can enhance many as­ pects of the academic library’s operations. The meeting will be on Sunday, July 10, from 2 :0 0 to 4 :0 0 p. m. Productivity is a critical concern in today’s library. That’s why more and more decision makers are looking into Faxon. We can be the best source for all of your journal and continuation subscriptions. Our services enable you to devote your valuable person­ nel resources to other crucial library functions. As a full service agent with access to more than 200,000 different periodicals, we can handle ordering, claiming, check-in, and routing. Our growing international network links you to other libraries, publishers, online systems, and networks. If you can profit from improved productivity, a call to Faxon figures. 1-800-225-6055 or 1-617-329-3350 (collect) The Faxon Company 15 Southwest Park Westwood, MA 02090