ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries July/August 1 9 9 2 /4 5 5 Co n fer e nce Circuit A potpourri of practical ideas from ACRL's 6th National Conference Part two o f o u r SLC coverage continues the session sum m aries A cadem ic lib ra ria n s h ip In “Curriculum Reform: Catalyst for Building Strong Faculty/Librarian Partnerships,” it was observed that one of the most important func­ tions of the educational experience is to pro­ vide a link between that which is already known and that which is yet to be studied. It is im­ perative that this be translated into a strong mission statement for both the library and the academic institution. The body of organized scholarship must meet the needs of the current learner and meet the needs of the adult life. The u n d erg rad u ate learning ex p erien ce is moving from the textbook and lecture tech­ nique to one that is more focused upon re­ source learning with a facilitator rather than a master. These curriculum reforms provide excellent inroads for librarians to serve as “co-creators” of curriculum development. Librarians must become pro-active instead of waiting for an invitation to participate. This can be accomplished by establishing a task force which offers advocacy for inter­ disciplinary liaisons and outreach op­ portunities to utilize any possibility to participate in total academic involve­ ment. Suggested strategies include: 1) al­ ways be ready to provide explicitly the mission statement of the library, don’t wait for a mandate; 2) establish a task force, a framework for working in tan­ dem with others in the community at large; 3) be aware of other programs in academic departments and institu­ tions, serve as a liaison; 4) through cur­ riculum reform, identify new programs Conf and become involved at the inception to res of those programs; 5) use the goals of campus curriculum reform as a point of reference and keep campus decision-makers, such as deans and administrators, aware of the expertise, that librarians bring to the librarian/faculty partner­ ship. The shared goals of the academic quest— independent resource expertise, the develop­ ment of critical abilities, and skillful written and oral presentation—can best be attained within the environment of an interdisciplinary learn­ ing community.—Angela Gottardi, Franklin Pierce College A dm in istratio n In “Diversifying the Academic Library to Meet the Challenges of Economic Development,” Ada Jarred and Fleming Thomas from Northwest­ ern State University of Louisiana discussed their efforts to add positively to the economic de­ velopment of their institution’s geographic re­ gion. They described at least seven grants from local, state, and national funding sources that helped their community. They also described the projects they initiated: adding a career in­ formation collection and a program to test and s ierar ib Lnacire m A el , if f K n .L : itde cr otoh P rence-goers use the Family History Library arch their ow n histories. e e 4 5 6 / C&RL N ew s advise students on their vocational skills and interests to the library; setting up a literacy tu­ toring program for the educationally disadvan­ taged which works with local schools; spon­ soring a conference on a local writer; enhancing their archival program; and establishing a small business center to provide better access to government information through various grants.—Su­ san Anthes, University o f Colo­ rado, Boulder T he p ro g ra m “A ccess and Ownership: Issues and Financing” presented four institutional responses to the need to improve access to materials in the face of in­ creasin g b u d g e ta ry c o n ­ straints. Dora Biblarz, Ari­ The Baker & Tayz o n a S tate U n iv e rsity , librarians in thedescribed her program to set up a special fund of $30,000 derived from monies cut from their serials budget. This fund was designated for on-demand docum ent de­ livery. Carolyn Dusenbury, California State Uni­ versity at Chico, spends $6,000 per year to pro­ vide alm ost 600 students an d faculty with documents delivered by fax through a special arrangement with the University of California, Berkeley. The Scholar’s Express is an innova­ tive program discussed by Deborah Masters, G eo rg e W a sh in g to n U niversity, in w h ich $100,000 plus a half-time position was reallo­ cated to provide docum ent delivery. Material comes from a variety of sources including tra­ ditional ILL, commercial vendors, and consor­ tium arrangements. Davies Menefee from OCLC finished up the program by previewing some new services to be offered shortly, including the Prism ILL system, the addition of 22,000 holdings from the British Library, and linkage of EPIC and FirstSearch to their ILL system. All speakers agreed that traditional assumptions in collection development must be questioned, that new paradigms of information provision should b e explored, and that the implications for libraries w ere both positive and yet diffi­ cult to predict.— Susan Anthes, University o f Colorado, B oulder B ib liographic instruction An information packet was distributed to those attending “Cooperative Learning and Biblio­ graphic Instruction: Incorporating Small Group Techniques into Teaching Sessions.” Betsy Wil­ son, University of Illinois at Urbana (UIUC), remarked that cooperative learning incorporates all kinds of teaching techniques such as three- step interview, round table, group brainstorming, and pass a problem. Mary Jane Petrowski, UIUC, discussed some of the critical compo­ nents in cooperative learn­ ing as “a structured, system­ atic instructional strategy in isv which small groups work a D together” and some b en ­.E . efits of cooperative learn­ M : ing vs. competitive and in­itd re dividual learning. Lori Arp, c o U niversity o f C olorado, toh explained round table tech­ P niques and suggested they lor cats greeted be used for brainstorming exhibit area. and team building. Sharon Mader, DePaul University, cautioned the groups to expect resistance to cooperative learning.— Vanaja Menon, Lake Forest College Sonia Bodi, North Park College and Theo­ logical Seminary, clearly articulated her under­ standing of Kolb’s learning theory and its rel­ evance for bibliographic instruction librarians during “Learning Style Theory and Bibliographic Instruction: The Quest for Effective BI.” Using a circle as the metaphor for the unending cycle of learning, she presented the four components of the learning process (concrete experience, refle c tiv e o b se rv a tio n , a b s tra c t c o n c e p t­ ualization, and active experimentation) and the resultant four types o f learners (divergers, convergers, accommodators, and assimilators). Bodi noted that the learning style that fits an individual depends on how one perceives and processes information and has nothing to do with intelligence. She urges instructors to be familiar with all types of learners and to use a variety of teaching techniques accordingly to try to reach everyone. Bodi noted that teachers tend to use the teaching method which meshes with their own style o f learning and can, unwittingly, leave th e r e s t o f th e s tu d e n ts b e h in d . A ck ­ nowledgment of the many learning styles, al­ though no guarantee, is a start in providing more effective instruction.—Barbara Valentine, Linfield College July/August 1 9 9 2 /4 5 7 Rudolph Clay Jr., supervisor of the Refer­ ence Department, and Clara P. McLeod, earth and planetary sciences librarian at W ashing­ ton University, St. Louis, reported on efforts at their institution to increase accessibility to library in form ational re ­ sources in African and Af­ rican-American Studies. In their presentation “Using a For-Credit Course to In­ crease Access to a Diverse C o l le c tio n ,” C lay a n d McLeod discussed the de­ v e lo p m e n t o f a th r e e - cred it co u rse called Re­ search Materials in African and Afro-American Studies. According to Clay and McLeod, “While progress has been made on building an d m aintaining broadly representative collections, one major task w hich re­ mains for academic librar­ ies and librarians is the de­ A view from Tem v elo p m en t o f innovative shows the beauty techniques to increase ac­ cess to those collections by all students.” An integral com ponent of the course is the students’ ability to “… develop and become accustomed to using a thesaurus of subject headings and keyword terms to gain access to resources concerning the experiences of black people and other people of color. . . . ” The course content includes: organization of an academic library; Library of Congress Clas­ sification System; arrangement and use of the card catalog; arrangement and use of the online catalog; reference sources in African, Caribbean, and African-American Studies; periodical and newspaper indexes; electronic reference sources; U.S. government publications; statistical sources; developing the research strategy and asking for assistance in libraries, museums, historical societ­ ies, and other research institutions. In summary, Clay and McLeod stated, “The informational resources to support a course of this type are probably already in place at most academic libraries. What may be absent is an awareness and commitment from the existing area studies or interdisciplinary program to address the library research skills of its students and an effective vehicle to demonstrate to stu­ dents that they can successfully develop the skills to engage in research that is relevant to them.”—Barbara Blake, AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, Inc. Collection m a n a g e m e n t Katherine Dahl, reference librarian, Western Il­ linois University, tracked the availability of African- American reference sources in her presentation titled “African-American Refer­ ence Sources: No Turning Back and Never Again a Drought.” According to Dahl, “… as a reference librarian, it is my contention—proven by is the record of the past and va D the agreem ent of biblio­ .E graphic researchers—that . M most years previous to the : itd late 1960s/early 1970s … erc reference books about or oto relating to African-Ameri­h P cans w ere in fre q u en tly ple Square produced and published.” o f Salt Lake City. In the 1950s little was available. “In the period that corresponded to the heyday of segrega­ tion I could find almost no advertisements for the few African-American reference sources that were available. .. No African-American resource was included in one important library publi­ cation’s ‘Top Ten Reference Books’ list during the 1950s. Nor was such a type of resource included in that publication’s ‘Reference Books N eeded’ lists.” In the 1960s the need for reference sources on African-Americans was voiced and this need began to be filled during the “more resource- satisfying seventies.” The following statistics summarize Dahl's findings. “Examination of editions of and supple­ ments to the Guide to Reference Books … reveals first a drought and then a harvest as regards numbers of African-American titles included: 13 in the seventh edition and supplem ents (1951—1962); 26 in the eighth ed itio n and supplements (1967-1970); 101 in the ninth edi­ tion and supplements (1976-1982); and 93 in the tenth edition (1986). (Some titles are in­ cluded in more than one edition and/or supple­ ment and the numbers given for the tenth edi­ tion do not include titles from the most recent supplem ent.)”—Barbara Blake, AMIGOS Bib­ liographic Council, Inc. 4 5 8 / C&RL N ew s Librarians “criticize censorship while prac ticing it ourselves” was the premise of the pan elists in “Self Censorship in College and Re search Libraries.” Libraries all buy the same cor collections and mainstream books while ignor ing and not purchasing those works which ar peripheral, inflammatory, or one-sided. Charle Willett urged librarians to subscribe to the Al ternative Press Index and the titles it indexes Librarians “criticize censorship while practicing it ourselves”. . . . He also described the financial problems o small presses including the lack of money fo marketing efforts and low level of participa tion in approval plans which affects librarians knowledge of those titles. Review journals wer criticized for their tendency to ignore alterna tive titles and even w hen titles were reviewe Willett perceived bias in many reviews. Mar Rosenzweig, LaGuardia Community College was concerned that in librarianship “discussio on self censorship is virtually nil.” He describe it as a “continual undercurrent at all levels o library practice” and not a “marginal phenom enon.” Censorship is viewed as an external forc acting u pon us rather than something we our selves censor from our consciousness. Joh Buschman, Rider College, expressed concer that librarians opt for high status electronic ac cess and technical resources over low statu access and resources. With serials inflation an zero sum budgets there is an increased selec tivity in the purchase of higher-priced resource and it becomes a question of how to deter Lots o f good ideas See a good idea here? Get the details on these and the many other conference pro­ grams w e could not cover by purchasing a copy of Academ ic Libraries Achieving Ex­ cellence in Higher Education: Proceedings o f the Sixth National Conference o f the Asso­ ciation o f College a n d Research Libraries. The proceedings will be available in August 1992. ISBN 8389-7622-0; price to be deter­ mined. To order call 1-C800) 545-2433, press 7, or write to: ALA Order Department, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795. ­ ­ ­ e ­ e s ­ . f r ­ ' e ­ d k , n s f ­ e ­ n n ­ s d ­ s ­ mine what is “essential” and “useful.” Access to alternative monographs and serials should not just mean they are available through interlibrary loan. With the privatization and commercial­ ization of information resources unequal access becomes the issue, the information rich versus the information poor.—Jacqueline Borin, Cali­ fo rn ia State University, San Marcos C o m m u n ity colleges Richard Meerdink, district librarian for Milwau­ kee Area Technical College (MATC), proudly discussed the three-year $300,000 grant received by his institution in 1989 under the title “Project ACCESS.” ACCESS is an acronym for A Curricu­ lum-based Collection, Evaluation, and Selection System. The project’s goals are to 1) establish a curriculum-based collection; 2) provide access to electronic information systems; 3) implement technology to provide MATC users with w orld­ wide information sources; and 4) offer students and faculty training in the application and use of new library technology. This project relies heavily on faculty input and created two new faculty positions. A campus bibliographer pro­ vides peer training in the use of new library information and technology sources and a fac­ ulty bibliographer identifies subject terms used in the library’s database which relate to spe­ cific educational programs. After faculty mem­ bers receive training and are able to link spe­ cific programs with library subject terms, they are better able to assess the library’s adequacy to meet curriculum demands. This project as­ sures that the library holdings are reviewed by those w ho either use the materials or direct their students to use the materials. The main difference betw een this ap p ro ach used by MATC and that used by many other libraries is that the project did not begin by analyzing the collection; instead it began by directly involv­ ing faculty members w ho have subject exper­ tise. The district librarian serves the project as a facilitator rather than an arbiter, and also works with the Department of Instructional Develop­ ment to provide simplified instructions to aid the students in the use of electronic technol­ ogy.— Natalie Diamond, In d ia n a Vocational Technical College Personnel In the program “Do Performance Evaluations Help Academic Librarians Achieve Excellence” Mary Reichel, assistant university librarian for central services at the University of Arizona, July/August 1 9 9 2 /4 5 9 ortu pos p o sited th a t typical e m p lo y e e e v a lu a ­ tions are detrimental a n d th a t m an ag ers sh o u ld focus u p o n s y s te m s a n d p r o ­ cesses. Her paper, co­ a u th o re d w ith Rao Aluri, m anager of li­ b r a r y s e rv ic e s fo r Burr-Brown Corpora­ tion Library, outlined W. E. Deming’s sta­ tistical process co n ­ Librarians had an opp trol m ethod, w hich informally during the concerns itself w ith the entire process (a com bination of people, equipment, materials, methods, and environ­ ment) rather than u p o n individual em ployee performance. Deming felt that the performance evaluation process encouraged short-term think­ ing and underm ined teamwork. The pap er also m entioned Peter Scholtes’s objections to perfor­ mance evaluations, among them that the individual could not be fairly appraised apart from the con­ text of the process. Among the reactions on the panel, Barbara Ford of Virginia Commonwealth University re­ lated a tendency in the evaluation process to focus on outcomes, not processes, and for em ­ ployees to be overly concerned with their n u ­ merical ratings. She agreed with Deming’s con­ clusion that evaluations underm ine teamwork and emphasized the importance of working co­ operatively. Donald Riggs, University of Michi­ gan, described the “M-Quality” total quality management program currently being imple­ m ented at UM and indicated that it w ould lead to more emphasis u p o n team problem-solving and less emphasis upon “rugged individualism.” He acknow ledged that this w ould represent a m ajor cu ltu re ch an g e in th e w o rk p lac e.— Martha Tarlton, University o f North Texas R e a d e r services Two programs dealt w ith h ow libraries can re­ spond to the changing university curriculum. The first of these w as titled, “Extending Library Services to Remote Sites: Regis University as Case Study.” With ten adult education centers located throughout its region, one institution suddenly had a student population eight times larger. Believing that library service must be equitable, the library administration took steps to make sure students received resources to p u rsu e their stu d ­ ies. First, the library hired an extended services librarian to w ork closely with the cam pus librar­ isva ians and the educa­ D . tion centers. Mate­E . M rials are placed in : it th e c e n te r s to derc supplement course- ot work; traveling col­oh P lections also go to nity to exchange ideas the sites. The main ter sessions. campus library uses CARL’s U n c o v e r, elephone, telefac-simile, and docum ent deliv­ ry services to transmit information. The suc­ ess of this extended program is due to the nstitution’s commitment, the full-time librar­ an, the library staffs flexibility, and formal greements. The second program covered changes to a niversity library during a curriculum revision. his program was titled: “Curriculum Reform atalyst for Building Strong Faculty/Librarian artnerships,” and explored the tension b e­ w een the theory of a university education ver­ us the practice of offering applied, practical oursework. Librarians should play a vital role in any ef­ ort to reform a curriculum. How can w e re­ pond to such reform? By 1) producing written D em ing fe lt th a t the perfo rm a n ce evaluation process encouraged short-term th in kin g a n d u n d er­ m in e d teamwork. ocum ents w hich evaluate our collections and ervices; 2) participating in op en discussions; ) using the curriculum reforms to identify new rograms; and 4) using the campus reform goals o strengthen library resources.—Kathy Sand­ rs, University o f Arkansas, Little Rock Priorities in reference and bibliographic in­ truction w ere the focus of “Subject Specialists nd Library Needs of Undergraduates: Are They om patible?” by Rebecca Schreiner-Robles, anet Dagenais Brown, and Margaret Fast of ichita State University. During the 1980s both he reference and BI programs at Wichita had t e c i i a u T C P t s c f s d s 3 p t e s a C J W t 4 6 0 / C&RL N ew s suffered “benign neglect.” In the BI progra there w ere no stated goals or philosophies an students received library in s tru c tio n o n ly if r e ­ quested by their instruc­ tors. The reference depart­ ment was staffed mainly by subject specialists and part-tim e librarians; no p ara p ro fe ss io n a ls w ere used. In 1986 the mandate of the university changed from a teaching to a re­ search institution and us­ ing subject specialists at the general reference desk came to be viewed as a “w aste of resources.” In addition, subject special­ ists viewed the desk work as “low status” because the part-time librarians w ho filled in on the desk had “only” an MLS but no sec­ o n d subject m aster's as This statue grac they w ere required to do. plazas o f the M Salt la k e City.The answer was to create two new positions—a reference specialist an a bibliographic instruction librarian—both o which positions were filled in 1990. Their man date was to administer the reference and bib liographic instruction programs and to evalu ate th e se rv ic e p ro v id e d (b u t n o t th o s providing the service). In evaluating this ap proach it appears that greater coordination o both departments has been achieved and goal … some people distrust com ­ puters a n d will walk a w a y i f they are not easy to use. Some are looking f o r a “universe in a box. ” and philosophies for both areas have been set However, because of staff shortages and fro zen positions they have still not been able t remove subject specialists from the undergraduat reference desk.—-JacquelineBonn, California Stat University, San Marcos Technology The library as an ecosystem was the thrust o m d d f ­ ­ ­ e ­ f s es orm . ­ o e e f “The Impact of New Electronic Resources on the Ecology of the Library: Funds, Collections, Services, and Staff.” Bal­ ance is the defining char­ acteristic of an ecosys­ tem . T he library e c o ­ system, stable for the past 100 years, is head­ ing rapidly into the elec­ tronic age. Our old meth­ ods are strained and a new era is upon us. Our success depends on our ability to evolve, according to sp e ak e r Salvator Meringolo. isv D onald Tipka (p re­ a D senting for Joan L. Clark) .E . stated that change in li­ M : braries today is rapid and itd there are many questions rec o to be answ ered. Con­ toh sider the issue o f the P electronic journal and the one o f the lovely questions it induces: Is it on Church in checked in? How will it be received? monitored? archived? gateway access? What about catalog­ ing? Can one download? However, the nontech- nological aspects of these changes must also be addressed. Long-term planning of user needs and expectations is required. Use logs, ques­ tions, market studies, and surveys to get an­ swers. This helps to build confidence in the library. We must be aware that some people distrust computers and will walk away if they are not easy to use. Some are looking for a “universe in a box.” Users d on’t understand the scope of CD-ROMs or w hat or citation means, while others are overloaded by full-text data­ bases. users expect help and are looking for document delivery. Geography becomes ambigu­ ous when defining service. We need good BI, online tutorials, and common gateways. How can libraries enhance service in a tran­ sition period? Libraries must build new elec­ tronic services from disparate sources. The li­ brary’s strategic place must be defended. Expert Systems are being developed that can be shared by all. This is good in austere times. Librarians must support the effort to make databases easier to use. We must design BI programs that are con­ venient for users and provide hands-on experience. Flexible work spaces should be developed.—Ed­ ward P. Tallent, Harvard College Library ■