july04a.indd N e w s f r o m t h e F i e l d Stephanie Orphan ACRL announces keynote speakers for 12th National Conference ACRL has selected a distinguished lineup of keynote speakers for its 12th National Con­ ference, “Currents and Convergence: Navi­ gating the Rivers of Change,” which will be held in Minneapolis, April 7–10, 2005. The Opening Keynote Session will feature William J. Mitchell, professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Science, academic head of Media Arts and Sciences, and former dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT. Mitchell will discuss changes brought about by new communication and informa­ tion technologies and what they mean for libraries. National Public Radio host Liane Hansen will moderate a keynote luncheon, “Women of Mystery,” on Friday, April 8, featuring a panel of female mystery authors. Sylvia Hurtado, associate professor at the Center for the Study of Higher and Post­ secondary Education at the University of Michigan will provide the Closing Keynote session. Her address will cover her thoughts on post­September 11 changes in the student body and campuses nationwide and the ways in which colleges and universities are preparing students to participate in a diverse democracy. Complete information about the ACRL National Conference is available at www.ala. org/acrl/minneapolis. OhioLINK to fund PLoS publication fees The Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK) announced that it will fund half of the publication fee for all faculty and re­ searchers at OhioLINK member institutions whose articles are published in the Public Library of Science’s (PLoS) open­access journals. OhioLINK is a consortium of 84 Ohio college and university libraries, plus the State Library of Ohio. The group was motivated to support PLoS to help address the difficulties many academic libraries face in maintaining journal collections, due to budget constraints and the rising costs of journal subscriptions. Six OhioLINK mem­ bers further support PLoS as institutional members. The consortium’s commitment to fund 50 percent of the publication fee for PLoS journals will remain in effect indefi ­ nitely, subject to periodic review. Ingenta and ABC­CLIO sign linking partnership ABC­CLIO has signed a partnership agree­ ment to link its abstracting and indexing da­ tabases, “Historical Abstracts” and “America: History and Life,” to online journals from Ingenta. With the new agreement, users of the ABC­CLIO history databases will be able to follow direct links to full­text articles in the more than 6,000 journals in Ingenta’s collection when searching article titles and abstracts. ABC­CLIO also has linking part­ nerships with JSTOR, Project Muse, History Cooperative, and H­Net. Rockefeller University Press launches open archives Not­for­profi t scientific publisher Rockefell­ er University Press has created new open ar­ chives for its three research publications: the Journal of Cell Biology, (JCB) the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), and the Jour­ C&RL News  July/August 2004 / 359 nal of General Physiology (JGP). The archives an automated storage and retrieval system for feature full­text, searchable PDF versions of environmentally controlled on­site storage of all articles dating back to volume 1, issue 1. 1.2 million volumes. Access to the volumes will Full­text content of JCB and JEM is released be through a rapid robotic delivery system that after a six­month delay, and full­text content can retrieve and deliver items in less than four of JGP is released after a 12­month delay. The minutes from the time of request. press offers free full­text content from the day The expansion is expected to be complete of publication to scientists working in 142 by fall 2005. developing nations. University of Louisville launches Ekstrom Library expansion project More than 100 people from Ken­ tucky and across the country gathered behind the University of Louisville’s William F. Ekstrom Library on April 12 for the cer­ emonial groundbreaking launch­ ing a $14.2 million expansion of the library. Funded through fed­ eral earmarks secured by Sena­ tor Mitch McConnell, the 42,500­ square­foot addition will feature technologically advanced in­ structional laboratories, confer­ encing spaces, offices, an ac­ (l. to r.) Michael Sticklen, president, Student Govern­ cessible auditorium featuring ment Association; Hannelore B. Rader, dean, Univer­ modern instructional technol­ sity Libraries; U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, R­KY; ogy, a 24­hour study facility, and Ulysses L. Bridgeman Jr., chair, Board of Trustees; and a European­style cafe. James R. Ramsey, president, University of Louisville, Approximately 8,000 square break ground at the Ekstrom Library in preparation feet of the expansion will house for its expansion. Lowe named 2004 ACRL/DLS Haworth Press Distance Learning Librarian Conference Sponsorship Award Winner Susan S. Lowe, assistant dean for off­cam­ pus library services, University of Maine­ Augusta, has been named the 2004 recipi­ ent of ACRL’s Distance Learning Section (DLS) Haworth Press Distance Learning Librarian Conference Sponsorship Award. This first­time annual award honors an ACRL member working in the fi eld, or contributing to the success of, distance learning librarianship or related library service in higher education. “Susan Lowe’s work in the field of dis­ tance learning librarianship has set the bar for future award winners,” said Jack Fritts, chair of the DLS Award Committee. “To quote from one of the letters of nomina­ tion: ‘Susan has an incredible impact on the state of Maine. She and her staff work with every new instructor, educating her or him about access to library services for students, manage the copyright approval process for course packs, and provide di­ rect instruction and reference services for students on TV and online. In her spare time, Susan also represents all distance education needs in the University of Maine System by sitting on the UMS Library Direc­ tors’ Council.’” The Haworth Press, Inc., sponsor of the award, presented the $1,200 award and plaque during the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando during the DLS program. 360 / C&RL News  July/August 2004 Diversity in Libraries Conference draws record crowds Nearly 300 librarians, library staff, and li­ brary and information science students from across the United States participated in the 2004 National Diversity in Libraries Conference, held May 4–5 in Atlanta. The conference featured two dozen presenta­ tions and roundtable discussions covering a wide range of subjects, including descrip­ tions of various fellowships and recruiting techniques for minority librarians and the creation of the first library archive of Afri­ can American lesbian and gay cultural ma­ terials at the New York Public Library. The Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET), the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, the Historically Black College and University Library Alliance, and the Asso­ ciation of Research Libraries co­hosted the conference. Support was provided by 50 libraries and library programs throughout the region and corporate sponsors. Swets offers broadband portal to con­ tent in China As part of its e­journal management drive, Swets Information Services has opened a broadband portal to electronic content in China. Through an agreement with CERNET, the Chinese academic Internet ser­ vice provider, Swets will provide users in China with rapid access to SwetsWise On­ line Content. The new service is expected to solve slow access problems and ensure that university users don’t pay additional fees when visiting sites outside of China. Phase 2 of the Directory of Open Access Journals includes article level search Lund University Libraries has launched phase 2 of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The new version of DOAJ includes records at article level and a search functionality that potentially allows users to search articles in all open access journals. The directory contains information on more than 1,100 open access journals, with 270 of them searchable on article level as of the launch date. The goal of DOAJ is to increase the visibility and accessibility of open ac­ cess scholarly journals, thereby promoting their increased usage and impact. DOAJ can be accessed at www.doaj.org. To market, to market: ACRL offers one­time marketing award ACRL is offering a one­time Best Practic­ es in Marketing Academic and Research Libraries Award to be presented at the ACRL National Conference in Minne­ apolis in April 2005. Sponsored by the ACRL Marketing Academic and Research Libraries Committee and funded through the ACRL Friends Fund Committee, the award will be given to the academic or research library that demonstrates a best practices marketing program. Programs must have been in place for one year and selection will be based on the most complete documentation. A $2,000 award will be presented for first place and a $1,000 award will be given for second place. Portfolios are due October 29, 2004. For more details, visit the Awards section of the ACRL Web site at www.ala.org/acrl. EBSCO to index U. of California Press content EBSCO Electronic Journals Service (EJS) has signed an agreement with the University of California Press to index its content through EJS Enhanced. The service offers features that help with e­journal management tasks, such as tracking the registration status of e­jour­ nals, authentication assistance for on­campus and remote access content, and automatic management of e­journal URLs. EBSCO pro­ vides durable URLs for every journal, table of contents, and article in EJS Enhanced, with no URL maintenance required by the library. The University of California Press is one of the oldest scholarly publishers in the United States and produces 54 journals each year, including 20 publications of the American Anthropological Association, Film Quarter­ ly, Social Problems, and Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. Bowker acquires Monument Informa­ tion Service R. R. Bowker has acquired Monument In­ formation Service (MIR), the primary market intelligence source for the higher education textbook publishing industry. For the past ten years, MIR has compiled textbook sales information from institutions nationwide to C&RL News  July/August 2004 / 361 www.ala.org/acrl http:www.doaj.org provide the college publishing industry with a suite of title level market and adoption in­ telligence tools. R. R. Bowker, publisher of Books in Print, is a leading provider of bib­ liographic information in North America and the official agency for assigning ISBNs in the United States. MIR is Bowker’s second ac­ quisition of a market intelligence company. Simba Information, Inc., the market intel­ ligence and forecasting unit of PRIMEDIA, Inc. was purchased in September 2003. Thomson releases new version of ISI Web of Knowledge Thomson Corporation has released a new version of ISI Web of Knowledge, the result of two years of design, with collaboration from researchers and librarians. The new Web of Knowledge offers personalization features for authors, more sophisticated search tools, a more intuitive interface for novices, and journal analysis tools for librar­ ies. Features include citation alerts, unique cited reference searching, more intuitive ac­ cessibility of products, saved search histories and multidisciplinary information resources through CrossSearch, and improved Journal Citation Reports, which provides statistical information based on citation data. The new release of Web of Knowledge also incorpo­ rates additions to the Thomson ISI linking capabilities. Columbia approves final phase of But­ ler Library renovation The University Board of Trustees at Co­ lumbia University has approved more than $25 million for the final phase of the Butler library renovation project, which is sched­ uled for completion in fall 2006. Total fund­ ing for the project, which began in 1995, is estimated at just over $100 million. The final phase of the renovation will replace the stack and freight elevators; ex­ pand the mechanical systems; completely overhaul the upper levels, including the Oral History Research Office; and replace the roof. New study areas for graduate students with improved power and data support will also be added, and the stacks containing the rare book and manuscript collections will be renovated. More information about the Butler Library renovation is available at www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/butler/ renovation/.  Ban no more 2004: Celebrate banned books week, September 25–October 2 Thousands of libraries and bookstores are speaking out against attempts to censor books and celebrating the free­ dom to read during Banned Books Week, September 25 to October 2, 2004. Banned Books Week offers an op­ portunity to conduct or sponsor educational pro­ grams that demonstrate the harms of censorship. ALA’s Office for Intel­ lectual Freedom received 458 challenges, or attempts to remove books from schools and libraries, in 2003. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice series topped the list as the most challenged titles of 2003, ending the four­year reign of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Observed since 1982, Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take the freedom to read for granted. The event is sponsored by the American Booksell­ ers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, ALA, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book. More information about Banned Books Week, including links to ideas for activities, information on ALA’s Banned Books Week kit (which includes posters, bookmarks, the 2004 resource guide, and a pin), and the list of most frequently challenged books can be found on the ALA Web site at www. ala.org/bbw. 362 / C&RL News  July/August 2004 www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/butler