jan10a.indd


C&RL News January 2010 6

N e w s  f r o m  t h e  F i e l dDavid Free

Dedication ceremony for the William Robertson Coe 
Library.

Wyoming library renovation
Dedication for the addition and renovation 
to the University of Wyoming’s (UW) William 
Robertson Coe Library was held November 
19, 2009. The addition and renovation of Coe 
Library includes 20 group study rooms and 
180 computer terminals. Located east of the 
existing library, the 94,500 square-foot addi-
tion is designed to shelve a capacity of 1.4 
million books. The 
Wyoming State 
Legislature allocat-
ed $45 million for 
the project in 2005 
and another $4.9 
million in 2007. Pri-
vate donors con-
tributed $1.2 mil-
lion. New spaces 
within Coe Library, 
designed to refl ect 
student’s learning 
styles, include fl ex-
ible study space, 
quiet study spaces, 
and the integration 
of technology with instruction services.

UW libraries’ collections include an ex-
tensive media collection of fi lms, television 
programming, and music. This collection sup-
ports the inclusion of media in teaching and 
student projects. The new Coe Library wing 
additionally houses the Grace Raymond He-
bard Wyoming Collection within the Chisum 
Special Collections Room. Students research-
ing Wyoming history now have improved 
access to the collection.

ACRL TechConnect 
Looking for information about the impact of 
technology on academic and research librar-
ies? Best practices for launching technology 
projects at your library? Then the new ACRL 
TechConnect Webpage is the place for you. 
For your convenience, we’ve identifi ed all 
the ACRL technology-related events, profes-
sional development opportunities, publica-
tions, articles, podcasts, and communities 
and linked them from one handy location. 
Visit ACRL TechConnect frequently to see 

what’s new. ACRL TechConnect is online at 
www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/proftools
/techconnect/index.cfm.

Oberlin College faculty unanimously 
endorses open access
On November 18, 2009, the Oberlin Col-
lege General Faculty unanimously endorsed 
a resolution to make their scholarly articles 

openly accessible 
on the Internet. 
As a result of the 
measure, the schol-
arly output of the 
Oberlin faculty will 
become available 
to a much broader 
national and inter-
national audience. 
The Oberlin reso-
lution is similar to 
policies passed at 
Harvard University, 
the Massachusetts 
Institute of Tech-
nology, the Univer-

sity of Kansas, and Trinity University. 
“I’m delighted that Oberlin’s faculty and 

staff have made this important commitment to 
open access,” said Ray English, Azariah Smith 
Root director of libraries. 

“The movement for open access to schol-
arly research information is international 
in scope and growing rapidly as academic 
institutions, research-funding agencies, and 
policy makers see the benefi ts of unfettered 
access to scholarly research. The library 
looks forward to putting in place the support 
structures that are needed to carry out this 
important initiative.”

Under the new policy, Oberlin faculty 
and professional staff will make their peer-
reviewed, scholarly articles openly accessible 
in a digital archive managed by the Oberlin 
College Library as part of the OhioLINK Digital 
Resource Commons. Oberlin authors may opt 
out of the policy for a specifi c article if they 
are not in a position to sign journal publish-
ing agreements that are compatible with the 
policy, or for other reasons. 



January 2010 7 C&RL News

A New Year, An Unending Legacy for the National Forum on Information Literacy

  On October 15 2009, a seminal event high-
lighted the 20th anniversary celebration of 
the National Forum on Information Literacy 
(NFIL), held at the Carnegie Endowment 
for International Peace in Washington, D.C.   
President Obama issued a proclamation 
establishing October as National Informa-
tion Literacy Awareness Month, a crowning 
achievement for the Forum, its leadership, 
and member organizations. In a way, it was 
de facto recognition of the 20-year legacy 
of the National Forum in promoting infor-
mation literacy at 
home and abroad.  

Critical to the 
success of the Na-
tional Forum was 
t h e  p a s s i o n a t e 
commitment and 
dedication of its 
fi rst chair, Patricia 
Senn Breivik, vice 
president of Ne-
hemiah Communi-
cations. The anni-
versary celebration 
was also a tribute to her leadership and 
unswerving belief in the empowering infl u-
ence of information literacy philosophy and 
practice, not only for individuals, but for us a 
nation. Breivik received proclamations from 
ACRL, the Australian Library and Information 
Association’s information literacy group 
(ALIA Pathways), among other tributes and 
accolades.

In honor of the 20th anniversary, the 
Board of Directors of the National Forum 
established several awards that would refl ect 
the NFIL legacy and mission. 

Also recognized that evening were the 
fi rst recipients of newly established NFIL 
achievement awards for 2009:

• Congressman Major R. Owens, ret. 
received the Information Literacy Drum 
Major Award for exceptional service and 
dedication to promoting infor mation 
literacy. A deeply passionate, legislative ac-
tivist and staunch champion of the rights 
of unserved and underserved Americans, 
Owens is a long-time information literacy 

advocate and the first librarian to serve 
in Congress. 

• F. “Woody” Horton, the Patricia Senn 
Breivik Information Literacy Award recipi-
ent, served as one of the chief architects of 
two, seminal international policy statements 
on information literacy—the Prague Declara-
tion and the Alexandria Proclamation.  

• The National Education Association, 
recipient of the National Forum on Informa-
tion Literacy Advocacy Award, has been a 
staunch supporter of many National Forum 

activities throughout 
the years, most nota-
bly the fi rst Informa-
tion Literacy Summit 
held in Washington, 
D.C. in 2006.

Also joining the 
festivities that eve-
ning was Paul G. 
Zurkowski, former 
president of the In-
formation Industry 
Association, credited 
with coining the 

term “information literacy” in 1974. Zurkowski 
perceived information-literate people as hav-
ing the “techniques and skills for utilizing 
the wide range of information tools as well 
as primary sources in molding information-
solutions to their problems.” Thirty fi ve years 
later, we fi nally receive national recognition 
of its critical importance to our well-being as 
a nation in the 21st century—an undeniable 
achievement.

A new year brings new challenges. It also 
brings old baggage. Our mission is expan-
sive—mainstreaming information literacy 
across the American landscape. We still have 
much work to do. National Information 
Literacy Awareness Month is our clarion call 
to promote information literacy activities 
nationwide. Diversity is key. We welcome 
your ideas in strengthening our mission to 
empower all Americans with the skill set 
to pursue a better quality of life now and 
in the future. Won’t you join us?!—Lana W. 
Jackman, National Forum on Information 
Literacy, lj@infolit.org



C&RL News January 2010 8

2010 ACRL Scholarly Communication 
Roadshow

ACRL is taking scholarly communication 
on the road again in 2010 with “Scholarly 
Communication 101: Starting with the 
Basics.” Recognizing that scholarly com-
munication issues are central to the work 
of all academic librarians and all types of 
institutions, ACRL is pleased to offer this 
free half-day workshop to libraries across 
the country. Led by two expert present-
ers, this structured interactive overview 
of the scholarly communication system 
highlights individual or institutional stra-
tegic planning and action. Four modules 
focus on new methods of scholarly pub-
lishing and communication, copyright 
and intellectual property, economics, and 
open access. 

The application for the 2010 road show 
is now available. Institutions interested in 
hosting “Scholarly Communication 101” 
should apply by Monday, February 8, 2010. 
Hosts must partner with, and invite staff 
from, at least one other institution. Com-
plete details are on the ACRL Web site at 
www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues
/scholcomm/roadshow.cfm.

The resolution also creates an institutional 
license that gives Oberlin College the legal 
right to make the articles accessible on the 
Internet through the digital archive. The 
resolution further encourages, but does not 
require, authors to submit publications other 
than peer-reviewed articles in the same man-
ner. The text of the faculty resolution is avail-
able online at tinyurl.com/ykyfz2j.

NYC apartment history
Columbia University Libraries recently 
launched the New York Real Estate Bro-
chure Collection, a resource for studying and 
conducting research about New York City 
apartment buildings. The collection can be 
browsed or searched by address, building 
name, neighborhood, architect, and owner/
agent. Buildings are also encoded with GIS 
coordinates so that locations and neighbor-
hoods can be displayed using Google Maps. 
Users of the site are able to contribute com-

ments about individual buildings, thereby 
enabling the creation of an even richer set of 
descriptions and potentially valuable histori-
cal context.

The fi rst release of the new Web collec-
tion includes approximately 800 buildings in 
the borough of Brooklyn, displaying more 
than 3,000 images of brochures, drawings, 
fl oor plans, and marketing material. In early 
2010, material for buildings in the borough of 
Manhattan will be added to the online collec-
tion, with content from other boroughs to be 
added over the next year. When completed, 
the collection will represent more than 4,100 
buildings.

The collection was donated to Columbia’s 
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library by 
Yale Robbins, Henry Robbins, and David 
Magier in 1986 and consists of more than 
9,000 items that document residential and 
commercial real estate development in the fi ve 
boroughs of New York and surrounding areas 
from the 1920s to the 1970s. The collection 
is available online at nyre.cul.columbia.edu/.

Fulbright speeches online
Fifty speeches delivered by Senator James 
William Fulbright (1905–95) are now avail-
able on the University of Arkansas Libraries’ 
Web site. The digital library collection, titled 
“A Calm Voice in a Strident World: Senator 
J.W. Fulbright Speaks,” contains the text of 
selected speeches, ranging from comments 
regarding Fulbright’s dismissal as president 
of the University of Arkansas in 1941, to re-
marks censuring Senator Joseph McCarthy’s 
far-ranging investigations, and criticisms of 
U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. The 
Fulbright speeches are part of the University 
Libraries’ digital library collections.

The libraries’ special collections department 
digitized the speeches, which represent a small 
portion of the J. William Fulbright Papers held 
by the department. Additional information on 
the Web site, including photographs, a biog-
raphy, a detailed timeline of Fulbright’s life, 
and a bibliography of materials both by and 
about Fulbright, provide historical context. The 
Web site also includes a link to the fi nding aid 
for the entire collection of Fulbright papers 
housed in the special collections department.

Fulbright represented Arkansas in the Con-
gress of the United States for three decades 
following World War II. During his one term 



January 2010 9 C&RL News

On November 5, ACRL President Lori Goetsch presented 
the 2009 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in 
the college category to the staff  of the Hollins University 
Wyndham Robertson Library. Pictured (L-R) are Joan Ruelle, 
Hollins University Librarian; Goetsch; Hannah Bucholz from 
award sponsor Blackwell’s Book Services; and Wyndham 
Robertson, for whom the library is named.

in the House of Representatives 
and four terms in the Senate, 
Fulbright was a voice of calm in 
the halls of Congress, counseling 
international cooperation, the 
exchange of information, and 
support for the United Nations. 
Access to the Fulbright speeches 
is available free of charge at 
scipio.uark.edu/.

UCSD/MCASD partner for 
the arts
The Museum of Contemporary 
Art San Diego (MCASD) and the 
University of California-San Di-
ego (UCSD) have formed a new 
partnership that will expand 
student and faculty access to 
more than 8,000 visual art cata-
logs and related materials. The 
agreement will also provide 
MCASD curatorial staff with ac-
cess to the vast holdings of the 
UCSD libraries, the largest aca-
demic library system south of Los Angeles. 
The transfer of art materials to UCSD will 
integrate access to these catalogs and other 
materials with all the resources—more than 7 
million print and electronic items. 

“While this project has been in the works 
for several years, now more than ever it makes 
sense to combine our resources where there 
are strong benefi ts and effi ciencies to be 
achieved,” said Hugh M. Davies, David C. 
Copley director of MCASD. “MCASD’s curators 
will gain access to one of the great academic 
libraries on the West Coast. We are also pleased 
that this collection of visual art books will be 
accessible to students and faculty at UC-San 
Diego and will benefi t teaching and research 
in the arts.”

To date, MCASD has transferred more than 
8,000 of its art volumes to the UCSD libraries. 
Most of the materials are catalogs accrued 
via the museum’s long-standing international 
museum library exchange program, and are 
now being housed at the UCSD Arts Library. 
The collection will grow annually as MCASD 
continues to produce between one and three 
scholarly catalogs each year, and will also pro-
vide a number of volumes via its international 
museum library exchange program. Addition-
ally, MCASD curators will recommend titles to 

the UCSD Arts Library that support MCASD 
research needs.

HathiTrust launches full text search 
A year after its launch, HathiTrust Digital 
Library has announced the addition of full-
text searching capabilities across the entire li-
brary. Researchers can now search public do-
main and in copyright works by keyword or 
phrase across the 1.6 billion pages (4.6 mil-
lion volumes) in the HathiTrust collections. 
Based on open source Solr/Lucene technol-
ogy, the service expands on an experimental 
search of public domain volumes introduced 
in November 2008. 

In combination with the HathiTrust Digital 
Library’s bibliographic data, the new functional-
ity allows researchers to more effi ciently locate 
items relevant to their research. It also lays the 
foundation for future services, such as full-text 
search with faceted browsing and “more like 
this” options, computational research. HathiTrust 
is a collaboration of the 13 universities of the 
Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the 
University of California system, and the Uni-
versity of Virginia, and currently includes digi-
tized volumes from the University of Michigan, 
University of California, Indiana University, and 
the University of Wisconsin. Visit HathiTrust at 
www.hathitrust.org.