June 1984 / 293 Myths and realities in Seattle A C R L ’s Third National Conference was a marketplace for new ideas, products and information services. C o o l , cloudy weather with scattered drizzles did not dampen the spirits of the 1,750 librarians, ex­ hibitors, and friends who attended ACRL’s Third National Conference in Seattle, April 4-7. The sun did show itself once or twice, however, and those of us who were lucky enough to schedule lunch at the top of the Space Needle on Friday afternoon were treated to the beautiful panoram a of mountains and waterways that complement the city’s skyline. Academic and research librarians from 46 states, the District of Columbia, 9 Canadian provinces, E ngland, and A ustralia m et in Seattle to hear theme speakers and researchers, to see exhibits and new products, and to experience the cultural and culinary wonders of the Pacific Northwest. As the Conference Committee had hoped, the excellent turnout will enable ACRL to send one free copy of the proceedings, due to be published in hard copy in late summer or early fall, to anyone who regis­ tered for the full conference (others will be able to purchase a copy at a price to be announced later). The speakers The conference them e, “Academic Libraries: Myths and Realities,” was chosen to emphasize im­ mediate issues and problems in librarianship and to avoid random speculation about dark, rosy, or at best hazy futures. The first them e speaker was Kaye Gapen, dean of the University of Alabama Library, who went so far as to identify the future itself as a myth. “The future is a combination of myth and reality th at can only be addressed as it ar­ rives,” she said. “By being proactive, purposive, problem-solving organizations, libraries can act in the present out of concern for the future.” Gapen quoted John N aisbitt’s Megatrends to spotlight some of the ways in which university li­ braries can deal with change and sort out myths from future realities: more long-range planning at all staff levels; looser organizational structure with decision-making at lower levels; expanded local area networks that link office and classroom to in­ formation systems; and greater recognition of the library not as a package delivery business (book storage and retrieval) but as an information deliv­ ery business. However, Paul Olum, president of the Univer­ sity of Oregon and one of three academic adminis­ trators that made up the second theme session, con­ sidered package delivery, especially of current periodicals, to be the most im portant function of a research library. “The library is a medium for the current exchange of ideas,” Olum said, “not just for the finished collected wisdom to be set down im- perishably for posterity.” As such, Olum would prefer to reduce both library and teaching faculty in a period of retrenchment rather than reduce ac­ quisitions. Olum also felt that decision-making should be shared by the library, the university adm inistra­ tion, and a faculty library committee. Just as a gov­ ernment might not wish to leave the waging of a w ar to the generals, he said, a university adminis­ tration might choose not to give librarians absolute control over the library. Joe Rushing, chancellor of T arrant County Jun­ ior College, disagreed, labeling as a myth the idea that the faculty knows best. “A myth can be a beau­ tiful thing,” Rushing said. “W ithout mythology the riches of our literature would be surely dim in­ ished. But management based on myth is no way to run a railroad—nor a library.” Gresham Riley, president of Colorado College, also disagreed with Olum and explained that li- 294 / C írR L News Paul O lum brary staff members “are at the center of the teach­ ing and learning process and are as valuable as the print materials w ithin the lib rary .” He stressed the need for bibliographic instruction as a skill for life­ long learning th a t should be continued at different points in a student’s educational career. The con­ cept th a t the teaching faculty are the only educa­ tors is a m yth, he said, because schooling is only a fraction of the total education process, which “in­ volves any experience or activity th a t yields in­ structive insights about nature and society.” The next them e speaker was F ran Spigai, presi­ dent of D atabase Services, who reviewed the m yr­ Gresham Riley iad electronic publications and related inform ation services th a t the m icrocom puter revolution has spawned. She characterized academic libraries not so much as providers of online services, but as con­ sultants and evaluators of databases which might be used in classrooms, at home, or in offices. Spigai quoted statistics to show th a t only 5 out of 28 m ajor database vendors considered libraries as a prim ary m arket for their services, and th a t perhaps only 10% of all database users are library staff. After listening to the w ealth of inform ation ser­ vices described by F ran Spigai, one m ight easily be­ come lulled into thinking th a t online database net- Kaye Gapen Fran Spigai June 1984 / 295 The library user’s panel: (l-r) Susan P. Sm ith, moderator; William Parson; Ronald Jeff els; and D avid Buerge. working can display any inform ation you w ant on your hom e m ic ro c o m p u te r screen. H ow ever, David Buerge, an independent scholar and histo­ rian of the Duwam ish Indians of the Seattle area, pointed out the extreme elusiveness of some re­ sources th a t can only be discovered serendipi- tously. Since academic library collections usually reflect the school curriculum , certain research a r­ eas of local or special interest are ignored. “In past years this has included ethnic studies and women’s studies,” Buerge said, “but now these have come into their ow n.” Local and regional folklore and re­ ligious studies are two largely ignored areas, he said, th a t will become much more im portant to ac­ ademic collections. Another speaker th at focused on the perspective of the library user was Ronald Jeffels, principal of the C an ad ian Open L earning Institute. Jeffels reminisced about the colorful and idiosyncratic li­ brarians he has known who in their own way have personified library m yths—from the prairie school principal who zealously guarded the library cabi­ net “w ith the haughty m anner of a feudal lo rd ,” to the Cam bridge librarian who w ith fury contained dem onstrated to Jeffels the proper way to turn the pages of rare books, “gently, like a knowing lover w ith a shy lady on a narrow b ed .” W illiam Parson, a microbiologist at Evergreen State College, encouraged public services librari­ ans to become inform ation advocates. The new re­ ality, he said, is th a t they must anticipate the needs of both traditional and non-traditional users, even to the extent of becoming subtly and creatively sub­ versive in the face of university adm inistrators not fully supportive of proactive programs. In the final them e session, William A. Moffett, Oberlin College librarian, examined the plight of the college librarian in the present crisis of higher education. Likening academia to “a spectacle fit for a Roman aren a,” in which the universities are huge well-fed lions hectored by their keepers w ith sticks labeled G overnm ent Regulation an d Re­ trenchm ent, the com munity colleges are fast-food vendors hawking their specialties in the audience, and the four-year colleges are “frightened figures huddled in clusters around the periphery,” Moffett explained th a t smaller institutions are preoccupied w ith survival strategies in days of dwindling enroll­ ment. One prevailing m yth, Moffett said, is the Uni­ versity Library Syndrome which implies th a t qual­ ity of education is proportional to the size of an in­ stitution. “Life in the minor leagues fosters a set of self-fulfilling low expectations,” he said, “but there certainly is life this side of ARL.” He quoted one study th a t ranked colleges and universities together by the percentage of their undergraduates who w ent on to obtain Ph.Ds and in which eight of the top ten institutions were liberal arts colleges. “Lib­ eral arts colleges no longer prevail, bu t they do en­ dure. . . . There is special satisfaction th a t comes of knowing th a t the investment of their tim e,-their 296 / C&RL News A C R L president Joyce Ball prepares to cut the ribbon for the Exhibits Reception as (l-r) Gary Menges, Sandy Whiteley, and Julie Virgo look on. Contributed paper authors: (I) W. Lee Hisle, Austin Community College, on Learning Resource Services, and (r) Barbara J. Ford, University of Illinois at Chicago, on values and AC RL. June 1984 / 297 The outgoing and incoming editors o f College & Research Libraries share a laugh at a conference reception: (I) C. James Schmidt, Research Libraries Group, form er editor, and (r) Charles Martell, California State University, Sacramento, the current editor. A b ird ’s-eye view o f the booths o f some o f the 125 companies that had exhibits at the Seattle Center. 298 / C &R L News personal talents, their energies, and their profes­ sional skills count for som ething.” Other conference notes •O n e innovation at the conference proved to be popular w ith both librarians and exhibitors. Four New Product Seminars allowed exhibitors to de­ scribe briefly the new products and services they w ere introducing in 1984. T he tw o seminars th a t highlighted new online services w ere especially w ell-attended. • F o u r A lternative F o rm at Sessions w ere p re­ sented in w hich a panel of speakers brought a v ari­ ety of expertise to bear on such practical problem s as comprehensive access to library holdings, public services, and autom ating a com m unity college li­ brary. G ary Menges, chair of the N ational C onfer­ ence C om m ittee, explained the reasoning behind the sessions: “There h ad been criticism in the past of not having enough sessions of interest to com m u­ nity college lib rarian s. T he A lternative F o rm a t Sessions w ere a w ay of getting som ething specifi­ cally of interest to them , as there were only one or tw o contributed papers directly relating to com ­ m unity colleges.” •C assette tapes of the them e addresses, the con­ trib u ted paper sessions, and the alternative form at sessions are available from Audio-Stats, 2639 S. L a Cienega B lvd., Los Angeles, CA 90034. A com plete set costs $210, but individual tapes are available for $7.50 (plus shipping charges). Please refer to the Audio-Stat advertisem ent in the May C & R L News, pp. 252-53. •T h e most unexpected m om ent at conference cam e w hen them e speaker W illiam M offett was suggesting th a t one reason w hy college librarians are not highly visible at ALA meetings m ight be th a t they enjoy their w ork too m uch to leave. Sud­ denly th e lights in the ballroom dim m ed and w ent out for a m inute or tw o, as if an eerie force w ere challenging his assumption. In reality however, th e lights had been doused accidentally by someone in the back of the room and it required a hotel tech­ nician to tu rn them back on. As Moffett quipped, “W ell, a t least w e’re not in the elevator.” •C onference exhibitors w ere generally pleased w ith the scheduling w hich allowed for several no­ Logos available A serigraph version of the logo designed for the ACRL T hird N ational Conference has been produced. E ntitled “T h u n d erb ird T ra p p e d ,” the lim ited edition serigraph of 85 is p rin ted on 100% rag paper. It m ay be ordered by w riting to: H arry Calkins, 5217 Ivanhoe Place N o rth ­ east, Seattle, WA 98105. T he cost is $80 plus $5 for postage and h a n ­ dling. conflict hours th a t could be used for viewing ex­ hibits. One com pany w rote th a t “we got every bit as m uch out of this convention as we p u t into it— and th a t’s a p retty good deal these days.” Both the Exhibit O pening Reception, w hich featured a huge bowl of fortune cookies w ith library-related for­ tunes (“Always buy fiehe on Fridays”), and the com plim entary breakfasts in the exhibit hall en­ couraged browsing. •C a th le e n Krzyminski, ACRL’s deputy execu­ tive director and conference assistant, seemed to be e v e ry w h e re a t o n ce to m a k e su re th in g s r a n smoothly. W h a t was her most significant achieve­ m ent? “It was our success in taking dow n th e regis­ tratio n area completely each night and setting it up again in the m orning to be open for business,” she said. “T h a t was definitely an am azing feat. I don’t think m any members realized th a t w e did it, since the booths looked m uch the same from day to day. ” •M a n y people rem arked th a t their most m em o­ rable conference experiences w ere th e C hina ex­ hibit at the Pacific Science Museum and the huge salmon bake at the Kiana Lodge. Others listed the continuing education courses, the variety of con­ trib u ted p ap er topics, and especially Seattle as a conference location, w ith its large concentration of bookstores, the hospitality of the natives, and its cosmopolitan flavor. A nother m em ber rem arked, “It was m uch less hectic and pressured th a n ALA conferences and offered opportunities for m eeting an d talking w ith colleagues th a t are not possible at larger m eetings.” •H o w successful was the conference? Accord­ ing to G ary Menges, “There are three elements th a t go into a successful conference. One is the program c o n te n t—I th in k we w ere successful in th a t re ­ spect. The second elem ent is holding the confer­ ence in a city th a t people enjoy and w here there are things to do. The th ird elem ent is all of the detail th a t goes into planning a conference—anticipating Bernard M. Fry Award announced Beginning w ith volum e 11 (1984) Pergam on Press will offer a $500 cash aw ard to the author of the best article to appear each year in G ov­ ernm ent Publications R eview . The aw ard will be presented in honor of the founding editor of the journal, B ernard M. Fry, and will be chosen by the GPR E ditorial Board on the basis of co­ gency, style, and significance of contribution to the field of governm ent inform ation. The aw ard will be announced at the general business m eeting of the ALA G overnm ent D oc­ um ents Round T able at ALA annual confer­ ences. F o r a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n , c o n ta c t Stephen D. Zink, E ditor, G overnm ent Publica­ tions R eview , University of Nevada L ibrary, Reno, NV 89557-0044. June 1984 / 299 T he A ltern a tive F orm at Session on pu b lic services in research libraries: (l-r) N a n cy H uling, D uane W ebster, Patricia Swanson, a n d C liff H aka. (I) Sharon Rogers, vice-president/president-elect o f A C R L , m oderates the W rap-U p Session; (r) M ary Sue Farrell, C JC LS chair, W rap-U p Session panelist. 300 / C&RL News Conference-goers enjoying fresh salmon at the Kiana Lodge Salmon Bake. W ill there be a tall, handsome online database salesperson in your life? Library-related fortune cookies hold the answer. June 1984 / 301 the little things th a t people get annoyed at, like im ­ p ro p e r sch ed u lin g or in a d e q u a te aud io v isu al equipm ent. I think th at in all these respects we came out very w ell.” •A G R L ’s Fourth National Conference will be held in Baltimore in April, 1986. We hope you will join us then when ACRL returns to the E ast.— GME. ■ ■ Using the online catalog effectively By Marcella Stark History and Afro-American Studies Librarian Syracuse University A seminar, specifically designed fo r faculty members, on how to use the Syracuse University system. T he online public access catalog is becoming a re- ality in many institutions. Thus, instruction de­ signed to show the capabilities of the online system is necessary, not only to overcome initial resistance to a new system, but also to ensure th a t the maxi­ mum capabilities of the system are apparent to us­ ers. Librarians need to instruct faculty as well as stu­ dents. Because they may find th a t faculty resist li­ brary instruction for themselves, librarians should seek reinforcements on the campus to aid in any in­ struction program . The following is a description of the Syracuse University Libraries cooperation w ith a respected campus institution to develop an instruction program for university faculty. Syracuse University Libraries have had an on­ line public access catalog, SULIRS (Syracuse Uni­ versity Libraries Inform ation Retrieval System) since January 1981. Before the catalog was pu t in place, a slide-tape lecture, designed and presented by the director of libraries, prepared faculty for the change. There was publicity in the campus media. Users were provided w ith booklets th a t described basic searches. At the outset the system provided author and ti­ tle access only via OCLC derived search keys to a d atab ase of approxim ately 500,000. A fter five months, the search key approach was abandoned and SULIRS provided keyword searching via au­ thor, title, series title, call num ber, and subject. Free-text key word searching was possible across the title and subject fields. Initially, there were few HELP messages or system prompts im bedded in the SULIRS program; extensive HELP messages w ere added late in 1983. From the beginning, however, the Boolean AND was implied; the Bool­ ean NOT being added la te r.1 SULIRS was available only in the libraries until the summer of 1983, when it was m ade available from any term inal on campus. Individuals w ith a term inal and modem could access SULIRS via the telephone and the university com puting center. Since most of the terminals in the library were located near the reference desk, reference librari- 1Gregory N. Bullard, “The Syracuse University Libraries Inform ation Retrieval System,” Research Librariesin O C L C : A Quarterly, no. 7 (1982):l-2.