ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL News ■ M ay 2002 /  333

Shhhhh! No la u g h in g  allow ed.
E d i t o r ’s  note: The follo w in g  h um orous 

pieces are f r o m  the A pril 1 issue o f  the Uni­
versity o f  W a shington L ib ra rie s’ W eekly 
O n l i n e  N e w s , w r i tt e n  b y  C h a r le s  
Chamberlin, Steve Eícbner, A n to n y  Hopkins, 
E laine J e n n eñ ch , Susan Kemp, a n d  P aula 
Walker. Reprinted with perm ission f r o m  the 
University o f  W ashington Libraries.

N e w  s ta ff tra v e l fu n d in g  source 
u n d e r re v ie w
A novel plan for finding additional resources 
to  ease the b u rd e n  of travel expenses o n  
libraries staff is u n d e r review  by  th e librar­
ies. The p lan  calls for utilizing the extradi­
tion policies that are in place b etw een  law 
enforcem ent agencies in m ost states. W hen 
requesting travel to a given city, a database 
of unsolved crimes in that jurisdiction will 
be consulted. If an extraditable offense is 
found, a staff m em ber will anonym ously 
subm it evidence implicating them selves in 
th e  crime. After being escorted by friendly 
local police to the destination city, exoner­
ating evidence will b e  forw arded by the 
libraries.

The p lan  does hav e som e lim itations, 
a n d  w o rk  rem ains on m any details, b u t it 
is h o p e d  that it will provide at least som e 
fiscal relief for staff. A dditional benefits of 
the plan include expedited passage through 
airport security, a n d  a higher level o f p e r­
sonal p rotection w hile e n  route. The com ­
m ittee expects to have th e full p lan  read y  
for p rese n tatio n  to the council by April 
15th.

Signage task force hires design 
consultant
T h e  L ib raries S ignage T a sk  F o rc e  h a s 
h i r e d  r e n o w n e d  c o n s u l t a n t  M a r th a  
S tew art to  assist in c re a tin g  th e  p e rfe c t 
a tm o s p h e re  for lea rn in g  a n d  re s e a rc h  in 
t h e  e n ti r e  UW  L ib ra rie s  s y s te m . Ms. 
S tew art w ill b e g in  w ith Suzzallo Library 
as th e  p r o to ty p e  a n d  e a c h  flo o r w ill re ­
c eiv e w h a t M artha refers to as “h u e s  a n d  
to n e s  th a t m ak e  y o u  sm arter!”

Each floor will receive signage in appro­
priate colors: B asem ent: Shrim p Bisque; 
G round Floor: Baby’s First Summer; First

Floor; Taupe Temptress; Second Floor: Cay­
enne; Third Floor: Coyote; Fourth Floor: Aub­
ergine; Fifth Floor Conference Rooms: Bland 
Beige.

To a d d  to the am bience, Martha has d e ­
signed m ajor destination signs for the li­
braries that will b e  in th e sh ap e o f puffy 
cum ulus clouds. “T hey’re heavenly!” sighed 
Betsy Wilson, director o f UW Libraries. O ur 
corporate sp o n so r for this effort is K-Mart, 
w hose logo will no w  a p p e ar o n  all signage.

O neW ednesday, 4/3/02
Please join u s for O neW ednesday, April 3rd 
from  l:,30—2:30 p.m. in the T ow er Room. 
This m onth’s topic will be “Early retirement: 
is 40 to o  early?” Early Retirem ent is o n e  of 
the ideas that grew  from  recent brainstorm ­
ing sessions o n  ways to  save m oney and 
generate incom e. H ere is a ch ance to put 
o n  your “creativity c a p ” a n d  openly discuss 
your ideas about this intriguing concept.

Manuscripts, Special Collections, 
U n iversity Archives acronym  status 
resolved
The Manuscripts, Special Collections, Uni­
versity Archives Division is p leased to an­
nounce that its acronym  status has b e e n  
resolved. In 1999, following the m erger of 
th e Special Collections a n d  Preservation 
Division w ith th e M anuscripts a n d  Univer­
sity Archives Division, “MSCUA” was su b ­
m itted to  th e  U niversity o f W ashington 
Harm onical Acronym Team.

The intent o f having MSCUA officially 
elevated from abbreviation to acronym  w as 
to increase ease of use a n d  foster a unique 
cam pus identity. It was initially anticipated 
that th e approval process w o u ld  b e  short. 
However, the team  determ ined that there 
w ere several pho n etic interpretations that 
t h e y  w e r e  r e q u i r e d  to  i n v e s t i g a t e . 
“M uskaw uh,” “Em skw ah” a n d  “Skway” (the 
“m ” is silent) w ere all review ed a n d  consid­
e re d  by the team.

After several lively m eetings a n d  a p e ­
riod of public comm ent, the team  approved 
t h e  d i v i s i o n s ’ p r e f e r r e d  c h o i c e  o f  
“M uskaw uh,” a n d  it has no w  b e e n  ad d e d  
to the listing of official university acronyms.