ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


January 1996/35

Conference
Circuit

O ff-c a m pus s e rv ic e s : From  
th e  m a rg in s  t o  th e  c e n te r

B y R ic k  Bean

The Seventh Off-Campus Library 
Services Conference

W
arm breezes . . . sandy beaches . . . 
palm trees. Sounds like the locale for a 

relaxing vacation . . .  or the setting for the Sev­
enth Off-Campus Library Services Conference 
held in San Diego, October 25– 27, 1995. The 
primary objective o f the conference was to pro­
vide a forum where practitioners involved with 
library services for off-campus constituents 
could gather to exchange relevant ideas, con­
cerns, and perspectives, and to share their re­
search. The conference attracted 167 partici­
pants from the U.S., Canada, England, South 
Africa, India, Ireland, N ew  Zealand, Sweden, 
and Australia.

The first day provided three drop-in discus­
sion sessions, each consisting o f tw o simulta­
neou s d is cu ss io n  

 “ The rules o f m e m b e r s h ip  
 
 in th e a c a d e m y  a r e  much 

m o re  rig id  th a n  th e rules 
o f p a rticip a tio n  fo r 

 c o ntinuing e d u c a tio n .”

groups. Topics included
an orien ta tion  to the
conference, electronic
document delivery, pro­
moting off-cam pus li­
brary services to the li­
brary profession, starting
a new  off-campus pro­
gram, use o f the Inter­
net at an extended campus library, and ser­
vices for foreign nationals. Day one ended with 
a reception aboard the W illiam D. Evans, a 
paddle-wheel steamer cruising beautiful Mis­
sion Bay.

M is s io n  c ritic a l
The second day began with opening remarks 
from Delbert J. Ringquist (Central Michigan 
University). Ringquist told audience members

that they are “mission critical” to senior leaders 
in continuing education. He then introduced 
Melvin E. Hall (University o f Maryland at Col­
lege Park), w h o gave what Kathy Holmes o f 
Lesley College Library called “an inspiring key­
note” titled “Marginalized N o More: Continu­
ing Education and the Academic Mainstream.” 
O ne o f the main themes o f this presentation 
was the growing acceptance o f continuing edu­
cation and nontraditional students and faculty 
in the higher education community. Another 
issue was the movement o f continuing (includ­
ing off-campus) education from the margins to 
the center o f higher education and h o w  this 
process w ill evolve. Hall said, “The rules o f 
membership in the academy are much more 
rigid than the rules o f participation for con­
tinuing education.”

The bulk o f day tw o consisted o f four con­
current sessions that featured paper presenta­
tions and panel discussions covering a variety 

o f issues and concerns, 
and ended with an open 
hearing on research pri­
orities pertaining to off- 
campus library services. 
Th is m ee tin g , s p o n ­
sored by the ACRL Ex­
tended Campus Library 
Services Section’s Re­
search Committee, was 

a brainstorming session to discover what top­
ics attendees wanted to choose for research 
studies, and w h o w ould be interested in par­
ticipating in such projects.

C ro s s in g  b o u n d a rie s
The final day included four concurrent sessions 
and e n d ed  w ith  featured speaker D o n  L. 
Bosseau (San D iego State University) examin­
ing “Electronic Library Support Systems for

Rick Bean is coordinator o f library services at the O'Hare Campus Library o f DePaul University, Chicago; e- 
mail: rbean@wppost.depaul.edu

mailto:rbean@wppost.depaul.edu


36/C&RL News

Courses On- and Off-Campus: Can the Bound­
aries Be Crossed?” This presentation focused 
on SDSU Library’s Electronic-Reserve Book 
Room (E-RBR), which provides networked ac­
cess to scanned course assignments. Bosseau 
discussed issues such as copyright and request­
ing permission and/or charging fees to include 
certain items in the E-RBR. He also gave real 
and conceptual examples for using imaging 
technology as a w ay to provide course support 
to remote sites.

S o m e  m a jo r  c o n fe re n c e  th e m e s  a n d  
issues
Although there w ere over 40 separate presen­
tations, certain themes and issues permeated 
the conference. They included the relationship 
between accreditation agencies and institutions 
with extended campuses, h o w  off-campus li­
brarians support their institutions’ international 
programs, the need for off-campus librarians 
to be technologically trained and able to teach 
students and faculty their libraries’ electronic 
resources, and research and library use skills 
training for off-campus students.

The conference was a resounding success. 
Kudos g o  to the Conference Executive Plan­
ning Committee for its time and effort, and to 
the Conference Program Advisory Board for 
choosing such an interesting array o f programs. 
( Note: A  copy o f the conference proceedings 
containing the complete text o f the papers on 
which the presentations w ere based can be 
obtained by contacting Jane Tilmann, Park Li­
brary 207, Central Michigan University, Mt. 
Pleasant, MI 48859; (517) 774-3500. The cost is 
$35.00.) Congratulations and a pat on the back 
go  to Anne Marie Casey (Central Michigan Uni­
versity), the conference coordinator, w h o ar­
ranged, organized, and orchestrated all o f the 
activities.

The next Off-Campus Library Services Con­
ference is tentatively scheduled for spring 1998 
so that it w ill alternate with the ACRL National 
Conference years. This seems like a logical plan, 
although some wouldn’t mind having the Off- 
Campus Library Service Conference held more 
frequently. As Harvey Gover (Washington State 
University at Tri-Cities) commented, “Life should 
be an Off-Camp(us) Conference!!”

A uthor note: Thanks to Maryhelen Jones 
(Central Michigan University) and Shannon Troy 
(Governors State University) for their help with 
this report. ■