ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


174/C&RL News March 1998 ■ 

C O N F E R E N C E  C I R C U I T

ACRL at the Midwinter Meeting
Actions of the ACRL Board of Directors

During the 1998 ALA Midwinter Meeting in 

New Orleans, the ACRL Board of Directors 

took the following actions:

A C R L go v e rn a n ce
C o n firm e d  the fo llo w in g  conference 

call votes:

To approve m inutes fro m  A n n u a l 

Conference, San Francisco, June 28 and July 

1, 1997.

To A dopt revised ACRL Bylaws (De­

cember 10, 1997). A second vote to adopt 

the revised bylaws will be taken before the

1998 ACRL spring ballot is mailed.

To approve 1998-99 ACRL priorities.

To approve 1998-99 p erform ance 

indicators.

To a p p ro v e  m in u te s  fr o m  B oard 

conference call December 10, 1997.

U p o n  r e c o m m e n d a tio n  o f the C o n ­

stitution and Bylaws Committee approved: 

B ylaw s r e v is io n  fo r  AFAS 

consisting of changes in wording for Article 

VI, Section 3A.

Bylaws revision for EBSS changing the 

title of its newsletter editor to Chair of Pub­

lications Committee and adding the listserv 

moderator and Web page moderator to Ar­

ticle IV, Section (3g).

Bylaws revisions for IS to change Ar­

ticle VIII Committees, Section 4 Appoint­

ments, and Article X Vacancies.

Extended Cam pus Library Services 

Section name change to Distance Learning 

Section. Change will appear on ACRL bal­

lot for the 1998 ALA election for the ECLSS 

membership to ratify.

A C R L com m itte es
Created an ACRL Web Task Force w ith

a charge to recommend to the Board policy 

and procedures for the ACRL Web page.

A pproved the Executive C o m m itte e’s

comments and recommendations to the 

Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee re­

port “Diversity Initiatives within ACRL: 

Recommendations and a Plan of Action,” 

commended the committee for doing an 

outstanding job of preparing the report and 

asked that the Board’s response be for­

warded to the Racial and Ethnic Diversity 

Committee along with a paragraph that 

explains the history and origin of the re­

port.

Approved a statement drafted by the In ­

stitutional Priorities and Faculty Reward Task 

Force that defined the kinds of scholarship 

for which academic librarians should be re­

warded in promotion and tenure reviews 

and recommended that the Board work with 

the task force before the ACRL/AAHE fo­

rum in March to fine-tune word choices so 

that the statement speaks directly to the 

non-librarian academic community clarify­

ing the academic quality of the scholarly 

contribution librarians make.

L e g is la tio n
Approved a legislative agenda for ACRL 

upon recommendation of the Government 

Relations Committee.

A dopted a re solution fro m  the C opy­

right Committee supporting the Ashcroft and 

Boucher/Campbell bills, “Digital Copyright 

Clarification and Technology Act” (S. 1146) 

and “Digital Era Copyright Enhancement Act” 

(H.R. 3048) encouraging ACRL to make a 

public expression of support for the legisla-



C&RL News  March 1998/175■

Resolution on support o f A shcroft and Boucher/Campbell co pyrigh t bill

Whereas the proposed bills, “Digital 

Copyright Clarification and Technology 

Act” (S. 1146) introduced by Sen. John 

Ashcroft (R-Missouri) and “Digital Era 

Copyright Enhancement Act” (H.R. 3048) 

jointly introduced by Representatives Rick 

Boucher (D-Virginia) and Tom Campbell 

(R-California), present the best approach 

to updating the Copyright Act to meet the 

challenges of the digital environment while 

preserving the critical balance between 

copyright owners and users in the elec­

tronic age, and

Whereas the bills include provisions 

that are essential to libraries if we are to

effectively serve our students, scholars, and 

researchers in the networked environment, 

Be it resolved, that the ACRL Board 

publicly express its support for these pieces 

of legislation, and

Be it further resolved, that members 

of the ACRL Council of Liaisons bring this 

resolution to their cognate organizations 

for their consideration, endorsement, and 

active support.

Be it further resolved, that the ACRL 

Board encourages ACRL members and in­

stitutions to contact their local congres­

sional representatives and encourage them 

to cosponsor the legislation.

tion and to call to action all ACRL members

encouraging them to contact their local con­

gressional representatives and asking them

to cosponsor the legislation (see above).

P ro fe ssio n a l d e v elo p m e n t
Approved proposal for RBMS 40th Pre 

conference, June 21-24, 1999, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada.

Approved proposal for an ACRL Regional

Leadership Institute to be held in 1999-

Approved proposal from  Leadership De­

velopment Committee for an Interactive

Leadership Workshop to be offered at the

ALA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

Approved proposal fro m  G o vernm e nt

Relations Committee to present a program

covering NGI and Internet 2 issues at the

ALA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

Requested that the Racial and Ethnic D i­

versity Committee develop a proposal to

offer at least ten scholarships for ALA An­

nual Conference registration to minority li­

brarians who are ACRL members, have been

in the profession less than five years, and

have not attended an ALA Annual Conference.

A p p ro v e d  ten no n- m e m b e r s c h o la r­

ships at $210 each to enable academic li­

brarians from developing countries to attend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, 

D.C., June 25-July 2, 1998, upon the rec­

ommendation of the International Relations 

Committee.

Fin an cial a ctio n s
U p o n re co m m e n d atio n o f the Budget 

and Finance Committee, approved the fol­

lowing changes to the FY 1998 budget: 

Reduced a llocation fo r the h ig h e r 

education legislation/policy initiative by a 

sum of $35,000.

Established budget fo r Instru ctio n 

Section 1998 Preconference “Learning to 

Teach,” with revenues of $10,728 and ex­

penses of $10,438.

Increased by $22,383 the FY 98 alio 

cation for Planning the National Informa­

tion Literacy Institute.

Revised budget for FY 98 Leadership 

Institute, revenues $30,975 and expenses 

$30,108.

Increased the Sections budget by 

$698 to accommodate a request from the 

Extended Campus Library Services Section 

to print and distribute the Uniform Statisti­

cal Data Form to campuses with distance 

education programs.

Am ended the ACRL C&RL News and 
Choice magazine budgets to include expen­
diture increases resulting from the increased 

Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) 

rate, C&RL News, $12,189, and Choice, 
$50,083.



176/C&RL News March 1998 ■ 

Commended ACRL staff for a very suc­

cessful financial year for 1996-97.

Stan d a rd s and g u id e lin e s
Commended the Extended Campus Li­

brary Services Section for doing an outstand­

ing job to revise the guidelines and requested 

that the section explore the problem of insti­

tutions that deliver distance learning programs 

without making adequate provisions for library

services to students enrolled in these programs 

and inform the Board at the 1999 Midwinter 

Meeting on their plan for studying the prob­

lem and recommend whether there are steps 

that ACRL can take to address it.

Approved revised Guidelines for Ex­

tended Academic Library Services upon rec­

ommendation of the Standards and Accredi­

tation Committee.

Librarians value service most

A CRL President Lee Hisle’s Midwinter dis­cussion forum “Enduring Values for the 
New Millennium” began with attendees se­

lecting service as the most important value 

to academic librarians. At the discussion fo­

rum, attended by approximately 80 people, 

Hisle outlined why he selected values as his 

ACRL presidential theme.

Next Stan Campbell (Centre College) de­

scribed several recent situations in which 

large university systems made decisions 

based on economic and technological fac­

tors. These developm ents, in clu d in g  

outsourcing entire computing and informa­

tion technology units on campus, have the 

potential to compromise values held impor­

tant within higher education.

Katherine Branch (Anne Arundel Com­

munity College) briefly covered trends 

within academic libraries, including in­

creased web access and censorship attempts, 

that bring up questions about values.

The majority of the forum was de­

voted to small group discussion of 

the following two questions: (1) what 

is the most important value to you 

as an academic librarian? and (2)

What can we do as individuals and 

institutions, and what can ACRL do, 

to champion these values?

At the beginning of the program, 

attendees were asked to indicate the 

three most important values to them 

as academic librarians, using a check­

list of 11 values. Of the 55 usable 

responses, service to clientele was 

selected by 49 percent as the most 

important value. Intellectual freedom 

was ranked first by 20 percent of the

 

respondents and diversity of opinion first 

by 7 percent of the total. The values of pro­

fessional neutrality, confidentiality, and 

cultural diversity were ranked consistently 

low or were not selected. Although the 

poll was small, unscientific and informal, 

the results open the door for further dis­

cussion and debate about the relative im­

portance of specific values.

The d iscu ssio n  phase
The discussion phase of the forum allowed 

attendees to explore the theme of values in 

more depth. The points below are only a 

few of the fascinating responses that attend­

ees had to the question of the importance 

of values:

• Truth, justice, and integrity are values,

but perhaps the themes under discussion 

(service to clientele, intellectual freedom, 

etc.) are value-laden concepts.

 

Top values selected by forum attendees

(Percentage selecting as 1st‚ 2nd, or 3rd choice)

Value 1st 2nd 3rd

Service to clientele 49% 13% 4%

Intellectual freedom 20% 20% 11%

Diversity of opinion 7% 7% 4%

Information literacy 5% 13% 18%

Preservation 3% 11% 22%

Literacy 2% 9% 2%

Cultural diversity 0% 2% 4%

Equitable access 0% 13% 16%

Copyright/fair use 0% 9% 4%

Confidentiality 0% 2% 4%

Professional neutrality 0% 0% 2%

Other 7% 0% 2%



C&RL News ■ March 1998/ 177

Explore values at president's program

A w ard-w inning essayist, fictio n  w riter 
and critic W illiam  G ass will p resen t the 
k e y n o te  ad dress at th e 199 8  ALA Annual 
C o n fe r e n c e  ACRL P re sid en t’s P rogram , 
“T h e  Value o f  Values: C h an ges and  C on ­
tinuities as We F a c e  the New M illennium ” 
that fo cu se s  on  the c o r e  valu es o f  a c a ­
d em ic librarianship. G ass will talk ab ou t 
his future b o o k  Body, Book, a n d  Build­
ing, as w ell as to p ics su ch  as intellectu al 
freed om  an d  libraries as cultural institu­
tion s.

T h e  program  also  featu res a v id eo  o f 
a cad em ic librarians discussing issues su ch  
as in tellectu al freed om , the im p ortan ce 
o f  the fair u se d o ctrin e, literacy, and  ser­
v ice to clie n te le . A q u e stio n  and  an sw er 
s es s io n  with a d iscu ssion  p an el o f  Ree 
D e D o n a to  (C o lu m b ia U niversity), J o h n  
U lm sch n eid er (N orth C arolina State Uni­
versity), D e b  G ilch rist (P ie rc e  C o lleg e), 
and P ete r H ern o n  (S im m o n s G rad u ate 
S ch o o l o f  Library an d  In fo rm a tio n  S ci­
e n c e ) will com p lete the program. T h e pro­
gram will b e  held on  Monday, Ju n e  29, 
1998, 2 :0 0 -4 :0 0  p.m ., in W ashington, D.C.

• Libraries serve as cultural institutions, 
to p reserv e th e reco rd s o f  hu m ankind.

• N ew te c h n o lo g ie s  ca n n o t interpret in­
fo rm atio n  as w ell as librarians.

• T h e  library h as a role in the life o f  the 
m ind.

• H ow  should librarians h an d le situations 
w h e n  p e rs o n a l a n d  o rg a n iz a tio n a l v alu es 
conflict?

• Sh ou ld  e a c h  library d ev elo p  a s et o f  
sh a red  values?

• Are a ca d em ic librarian s giving up o n e  
o f  o u r u n iq u e roles, that o f  p reserv ers o f  
the cultural record , by fo cu sin g  on  a c c e s s  
n o t ow nership?

• Are libraries lo sin g  p art o f  the v alu e o f  
the phy sical record  by digitizing it?

• D o  a c a d e m ic  librarian s h av e a n  o b li­
g atio n  to  p rov id e inform ation  an d  service 
for o u r n o n -im m ed iate clien tele?

P a rtic ip a n ts  s ta te d  th at c re a tin g  ACRL 
w o rk sh op s o n  clarifying an d  su p p orting v al­
ues, dissem inating new s ab ou t activities from 
o u r cam p u ses that highlight valu es, m od er­
ating an o n lin e  c o n fe re n c e  o n  valu es, in ­
c orp o ratin g  v alu es statem en ts into th e ACRL 
strategic plan, an d  p erso n a l m en torin g  o f 
n e w  librarian s w ou ld  b e  u seful m eth od s to 
ch a m p io n  valu es.

N e xt ste p s
T h e  1998 ACRL P resid en t’s Program  C om ­
m ittee intend s to fo llo w  up o n  a su g g estio n  
from  th e foru m  that th e form at an d  step -b y - 
step  gu id elin es o n  rep licating the valu es dis­
c u ssio n  forum  b e  p o sted  o n  th e ACRL W e b  
p ag e.

A dditionally, C&RL News will featu re c o l­
u m ns ad d ressing v alu es q u estio n s throu gh­
o u t th e sp rin g  1 9 9 8 .— K atherine Branch, 
director, Anne Arundel Community College 
Library, kabranch@ m ail.aacc.cc.m e.us

Strengthening librarian teaching/learning partnerships

Mo r e  th a n  5 0  l i b r a r i a n s  d is c u s s e d  “Looking Ahead: Strength ening Librar­
ian P artnerships in Cam pus T e a ch in g  and 
Learning Initiatives” at th e M idw inter M eet­
ing o f  th e ACRL A lliances for N ew D ire c ­
tion s in T e a ch in g  and  L earning D iscu ssio n  
G rou p  (A llian ces).

As libraries and librarian s b eg in  to e x ­
p l o r e  t h e  e d u c a t i o n a l  p o t e n t i a l o f  th e  
Intern et regarding th e w ays w e organize and 
d eliver in struction al serv ices, a n u m b er o f  
h ig h er ed u ca tio n  asso c ia tio n s su ch  as the 
A m erican A sso ciation  o f  H igher E du cation 
(AAHE), th e C oalition fo r N etw orked  In for­

m ation  (C N I), E d u com , an d  th e CAUSE LIB/ 
IT  P artnerships C o n stitu en cy  G rou p  are al­
read y w o rk in g  o n  issu es su rrou n d in g the 
integration o f  in form ation  te ch n o lo g y  into 
cam pu s teach in g  and learning initiatives. T h e 
A lliances D iscu ssio n  G rou p  w as estab lish ed  
to provide a v en u e for librarians to ex c h a n g e  
ideas and g et involved with non -library or­
gan ization s.

W hy is th is  im p o rta n t to  lib ra ria n s?
F o r o n e, th e se  organizations are creatin g and 
im p lem en tin g  p o lic ies o n  a n ation al level 
(i.e ., the N ational Learning Infrastructure Ini-

mailto:kabranch@mail.aacc.cc.me.us


1 7 8 /C&RL News ■ March 1998

tiative and  the Digital Library Initiative) that
w ill very lik ely  b e  a ffe ctin g  o u r futu res.
So m e to p ics currently u n d er d iscu ssion  are
m erging libraries and IT d ep artm ents and
having libraries rep ort to C h ief Inform ation
O fficers w h o  d o n o t h av e th e MLS.

A s e c o n d  to p ic is p rep arin g  a ca d em ic
and resea rch  librarians to play in creasingly
sig nificant roles in h ig h er ed u catio n  and to
inform  th ese groups o f  the valu e and  role
o f  the library in the teaching/learning and
the scholarly p rocess, con tin ues to b e  a high
priority an d  strategic goal fo r ACRL. H ow ­
ever, third, and  perh ap s m ost im portantly—
librarians n eed  to b e c o m e  involved  s o  that
their think in g is part o f  the future o f  infor­
m ation m an agem en t.

A b rie f o verview  o f  CNI, E du com , and
AAHE, w ith em p h asis o n  the sp e cific  goals 
o f  th e v arious org anizations, opportu n ities 
for p ro fessio n al d ev elo p m en t and  involve­
m ent, u p com ing conferences/program s, and 
pu blications o f  interest to librarians w as also 
provided . (T o  learn  m ore a b o u t th e se  m eet­
ings, forum s, and  pu blication s, w e  strongly 
urge you to visit the W eb sites; s e e  sid eb ar 
for URLs).

T h e  group also d iscu ssed  the rep ort on  
th e 199 7  N ational C o n fe r e n c e  o n  H igher 
E d u cation , Learning, T e ch n o lo g y  and  the 
W ay We W ork p rep ared  by Marilyn Myers, 
h e a d  o f  the C o llection  D ev elo p m en t and 
B ib liog rap h ic Serv ices at A rizona State U ni­
versity. AAHE sp o n so rs  c o n fe r e n c e s  and  
w o rk sh op s that d eal w ith practical to o ls for 
increasing teaching/learning effectiven ess in 
sp e cific  settings. Current to p ics that w ould  
b e  o f  interest to librarians inclu de: 1) T h e 
AAHE A ssessm ent Forum , w h ich  is lo ok in g  
at “o u tc o m e s a s se s sm en t” in all asp ects o f

Example projects needed

ACRL’s A lliances fo r New D irections 
in T e a ch in g  and  Learning D iscu ssio n  
G roup is s ee k in g  e x a m p les o f  in n ov a­
tive p ro je c ts  d ev e lo p e d  by librarian s 
that integrate n ew  te ch n o lo g ie s  in ca m ­
pus teach in g  and learning program s. To 
sh are your story, c o n ta ct the d iscu ssion 
group chair, Mari Miller, at the U niver­
sity o f  C alifornia, B e r k e le y  at e-m ail: 
m m ille r@ lib ra ry .b e rk e le y .e d u .

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

h ig h er ed u catio n ; and  2) d ev elo p in g  new  
m o d els o f  in fo rm atio n  d eliv ery  b a s e d  o n  
c ollab o rativ e learn in g and  faculty/librarian 
partn ersh ips, to m en tion  a few .

K atie M argolis, d irecto r o f  A cad em ic In ­
form ation  R eso u rces and  T raining at Cornell 
University, rep o rted  o n  th e CAUSE LIB/IT 
m eetin g  that o ccu rred  D ec. 2 - 5 , 1997, in O r­
land o, and  en co u rag ed  participants to attend 
th e D e c e m b e r 8 - 1 1 , 1998, m eetin g  that will 
b e  h eld  in Seattle. CAUSE is an organization 
o f  colleg e and university professionals, w hich 
un ites a c a d e m ic  librarian s and  com p u tin g  
p ro fessio n als in to o n e  organization. T h e  big 
new s this y e a r is that CAUSE an d  Edu com  
have m erged  to form  THETA (T h e  H igher 
Education T ech n olog y  A ssociation) [Ed. note: 
Se e  C&RL News‚ S ep tem b er 1997].

M argolis ack n o w led g ed  that m any o f  us 
are c h a llen g ed  b y  the grow th o f  IT organi­
zation s o n  o u r c am p u ses and  m ay b e  fearful 
o f  the lon g-term  p ro sp ects for libraries. “T h e 
form at o f  inform ation  is ch an g in g, o w n er­
ship  is less im portant th an  a c c e s s, bud gets 
are shrinking, an d  the rate o f  c h a n g e  o ften 
seem s to o v ertak e o u r ability to learn  n ew  
p r o c e s s e s .  W e n e e d  to  l o o k  o u r  fe a r s  
squ arely in the fa c e  and  ta k e a n  active role 
in plan n in g the in ev itable m etam orp h osis o f 
o u r  p r o f e s s i o n — o r g a n iz a t io n s  s u c h  as 
THETA, E du com , etc., w ill e n a b le  us to do 
that. We c a n ’t w ait to b e  a sk ed  to th e d an ce. 
W e n e e d  to stand up and shim m y!”

The v irtu a l lib ra ry
A s ec o n d  p u rp o se for th e A lliances D iscu s­
sion G rou p  is to provide a forum  for librar­
ians w h o  are w ork in g o n  integrating IT  into 
cam p u s te a ch in g  an d  learn in g  p ro je c ts  to 
report on  their ex p e rie n c e s— their su ccesses, 
o b sta c les  en c o u n tered , lesso n s learned , and 
c h a llen g es ah ead  fo r the “Virtual U niversity” 
and  the “Virtual Library.”

S ch elle Sim cox , library in struction c o o r­
d in a to r  at C a lifo r n ia  S ta te  U n iv e rs ity  at 
M o n terey  B a y , d e s c rib e d  th e  p la n s , p ro ­
gram s, an d  p rog ress th ere, a cam p u s that 
o p e n e d  its d oors in 1995 and is design ed  
entirely arou n d  th e ed u cation al poten tial o f 
the Intern et. T h e  library w as d esig n ed  with 
a heavily w ired  infrastructure, w hich allow ed  
librarian s to e m p h asize e lec tro n ic  reso u rces 
an d  lifelo n g  learn in g  skills. After e xp lain in g  
the b a sic con d itio n s underlying th e original

mailto:mmiller@library.berkeley.edu


C&RL News ■ March 1998 / 179

Organizations of interest
American A ssociation o f H igher F‚ciuca- 
tion: http://www.aahe.org

CAUSE LIB/IT Partnerships C onstitu­
en cy  Group: http://www.cause.org/

Coalition for N etw orked Inform ation: 
http://www.cni.org/

Educom : http://educom.edu/

organization, Sim cox described how  time, 
exp erien ce, and their particular environment 
created  new  paradigm s for both the organi­
zation, as w ell as instruction. For exam ple, 
they are now  lookin g m ore closely at creat­
ing an extensive distance education program 
with a m ore structured, progressive skills 
program, as w ell as W eb-based  instruction 
and future library-based credit classes. An­
other interesting developm ent is the possi­
bility o f the library separating from the IT

unit and b ecom in g part o f A cadem ic Affairs, 
as the n ex t step in their evolution. Sim cox 
attributes this to the fact that all their librar­
ians are teach in g faculty, providing instruc­
tional services in cen ters outside the library, 
as w ell as possessing a w ide variety o f tech ­
n o lo g ic a l e x p e r tis e . T h e y  p a rtic ip a te  in 
m any cam pus planning com m ittees, m ak­
ing faculty/librarian partnerships a reality 
at this cam pus.

If you are interested in building alliances 
with higher edu cation organizations, join us 
at the ALA Annual C on feren ce in W ashing­
ton, D.C. Future topics will b e  published in 
C&RL News. But d o n ’t wait until then— ac­
cep t the “ch allen g e” and start m aking c o n ­
nection s today!— Mari Miller is chair o f  the 
ACRL Alliances fo r  New Directions in Teach­
ing and Learning Discussion Group and ref­
erence/instruction librarian and general sci­
ence selector fo r  the University o f  California, 
Berkeley Library; e-mail: mmiller®library. 
berkeley.edu.

ULS activities at Midwinter
A m essage from  the ULS chair
T h e University Libraries Section  (ULS) has 
b e e n  hard at w ork creating the draft vision 
and set o f strategic directions that w e present 
here for your com m ent. N eedless to say, it 
is an excitin g time to b e  chair o f ACRL’s 
largest section . W e have active and dedi­
cated leaders and m em bers w orking on  ULS 
w ho are already m oving this vision forward 
through com m ittee w ork and programm ing 
for our m em bership. T w o su ccessfu l and 
well-attended discussion m eetings hosted by 
the Current T op ics Planning Com m ittee and 
the Librarians in Higher Education/Campus 
Administration Discussion Group at the re­
c en t Midwinter M eeting in New O rleans e x ­
em plify our efforts to bring tim ely and rel­
evant issues and ideas to university librarians. 
W e are also reaching out to collaborate with 
other groups. W e are cosp on sorin g our An­
nual C on feren ce program  with the S cien ce 
and Technology Section. Also, our past-chair, 
D on Frank, sp earhead ed  efforts to propose 
a chang e in the structure o f ACRL Activities 
Section Council to include the type o f library 
section s, thereby im proving our opportuni­

ties for interaction and coordination with all 
ACRL sections.

We invite your com m ents on  this draft 
d ocu m ent w hich w e hop e to finalize at the 
Annual Conference this summer. We are con ­
tin u ally  lo o k in g  fo r n ew  w ays to c o m ­
m unicate to our m em bership and w elcom e 
your suggestions.— Lori Goetch, ULS chair and 
associate director o f  libraries fo r  public services 
at the University o f  Maryland, e-m ail: 
lgoetsch@utk.edu

D esktop d e livery o f library 
resources
The ULS Current Topics Discussion Group and 
the LITA Internet Resources Interest Group 
cosponsored a discussion in New Orleans on 
“Push and Pull on the World Wide Web: A 
New Paradigm for Desktop Delivery o f Library 
R e s o u rc e s.” Push tech n o log y , also called  
Webcasting, is a process by w hich content 
providers send information to the computer 
desktop. This information can b e viewed im­
mediately by the user. Ideally, the technology 
is event-driven rather than update-driven. Push 
has been  developed to meet the growing de-

http://www.aahe.org
http://www.cause.org/
http://www.cni.org/
http://educom.edu/
mailto:lgoetsch@utk.edu


180 /C&RL News ■ March 1998

A CRL University Libraries Section's vision

T he University Libraries Section (ULS) will 
strengthen the ability o f  university libraries 
to provide superior services, and will pre­
pare university library personnel for increas­
ingly significant roles in higher education. ULS 
will develop guidelines and standards for uni­
versity libraries and promote continuous learn­
ing for library staff.

ULS will provide leadership in shaping in­
formation and scholarly communication policy 
through ACRL and ALA, and in partnership 
with other higher education and information 
technology groups. ULS will foster the recruit­
ment and retention o f highly qualified and 
talented people by university libraries, indi­
viduals w ho reflect the diversity found in 
American society.

1. Provide excellent program m ing for 
constituents at both the national and re­
gional level.

Strategic directions:
1.1 Sponsor programs at con ferences and 

other forums.
1.2 Extend programming and continuing 

education opportunities to the local and re­
gional level. ULS will also:

— Provide information on  successful pro­
grams for possible implementation at the lo­
cal and regional level.

— Encourage the use o f  teleconferencing 
and other new technologies to disseminate 
programs widely.

1.3 Provide support for creative and ef­
fective program planning.

1.4 Devise m ethods to assess the evolving 
needs o f  the m em bership for continuing edu­
cation.

2. Seek cooperative relationships within 
ACRL and ALA, and with other library or­
ganizations.
Strategic directions:

2.1 Work with other ACRL sections to de­
velop joint programs o f  interest to university 
library personnel.

2.2 Work with other ALA divisions to de­
velop joint programs.

2.3 Encourage the establishment o f liai­
sons from ACRL to other library organizations 
to prom ote increased collaboration.

2.4 Increase involvement in the ACRL Ac­
tivities Section Council.

3. Promote participation in the develop­
ment o f inform ation policy at the na­
tional level.
Strategic directions:

3.1 Keep ACRL informed o f issues related 
to information policy that are o f particular 
con cern to university libraries, so that they 
receive prompt attention at the national level.

3.2 Seek m eans to com m unicate with ULS 
m em bership to encourage more involvement 
with legislative and other leaders.

3.3 Explore the use o f  appropriate elec­
tronic m eans o f  delivering information on 
policy issues to ULS membership.

4. Foster cooperation with university ad­
ministration and teaching faculty on is­
sues of mutual concern.
Strategic directions:

4.1 Identify issues o f mutual concern.
4.2 Provide ULS m em bers with opportu­

nities to Ix‚‘gin or contribute to dialogues with 
university administrators and faculty on these 
issues.

4.3 Increase interaction with national schol­
arly associations on these issues through col­
laborative programs, joint publication, and 
other means.

4.4 Promote efforts to ensure recruitment 
and retention o f a diverse workforce within 
universities and their libraries.

5. Promote awareness and provide support 
for university libraries in dealing with the 
challenges that are unique to them.
Strategic directions:

5.1 Identify the major challenges facing 
university libraries, such as support o f gradu­
ate and professional programs and research 
collections in an era o f  rising costs and evolv­
ing technologies.

5.2 Consider the establish m ent o f  task 
forces to address these issues and report their 
findings to the Executive Board.

5.3 Assist library schools in developing aca­
dem ic programs to prepare librarians to meet 
and anticipate the needs o f university librar­
ies and their patrons.



C&RL News ■ March 1998/181

mand for modular and custom izable informa­
tion. It is designed to eliminate the need  for 
users to research for information and to obvi­
ate the need for the user to do anything overtly 
to get information.

Push technology not new
Amira Aaron, Electronic Services product man­
ager o f Blackw ell’s Information Services, led 
the discussion with an overview o f the differ­
ent definitions o f Push technology, the major 
developers o f Push, and som e possible appli­
cations for library services. Aaron began the 
talk by challenging its title. Push technology 
is not a “new  paradigm,” she claims.

Librarians have b e e n  pushing information 
to users for a long time. However, the tech­
nology is new and offers expanded possibili­
ties for library services. Major Push develop­
ers, such as BackWeb, AirMedia, and Marimba’s 
Castanet are using the technology for such 
things (in addition to the ubiquitous sports 
and stocks updates) as virtual software up­
dates, custom er service updates, and gather­
ing information about clients.

Participants broke into small groups for the 
final segm ent o f the discussion to consider 
the issues and implications o f Push technol­
ogy for their ow n libraries. Som e w ere appre­
hensive about the possible invasion o f patron 
privacy while others worried that Push can all 
too easily becom e Shove. However, m ost par­
ticipants found positive library applications for 
Push, such as new  title alerts, overdue and 
availability notices from circulation systems, 
and publisher dispatch data.

Librarians w ear m any new  hats
This winter, the ULS Librarians in Higher Edu­
cation Discussion Group continued dialogue, 
which began at the Annual C onference in San 
Francisco, considering the diversity o f new roles 
librarians have on  the university campus. Tom  
Fry, associate director for Public Services at 
the University o f Denver, moderated the ses­
sion, observing that librarians are “breaking 
out o f  the b o x ” in increasing numbers and 
taking on administrative responsibilities com ­
pletely outside the library structure.

Elaine Didier, associate dean o f the Gradu­
ate School at the University o f Michigan, shared 
h er experiences o f  life “outside the b o x .” In 
addition to associate dean, she has served the 
University o f Michigan campus as adjunct as­

sociate professor in the School o f Management 
and interim director for Academic Outreach. 
Didier suggested several strategies for prepar­
ing o n eself for expanded administrative posi­
tions. Recognize and explore the breadth and 
diversity o f  your institution, study its “corpo­
rate culture,” and volunteer in the com m u­
nity. T hese activities help to establish a net­
w ork inside and outside the library that will 
lead to a perception that you are not “just” a 
librarian. Didier noted that “participation begets 
influence” and on e thing will lead to another. 
As her activities and experiences diversified, 
she was perceived by the administration as a 
viable candidate for the associate dean position.

Learning a new language
T h e  first ch allen g e many o f  th ese positions 
bring is the n eed  to im m ediately m aster a 
new  and unfam iliar “lan gu age” and set o f 
values. Sarah W atstein, assistant d irector for 
A cadem ic User Services at Virginia Com m on­
w ealth University, d iscovered  this to b e  true 
during her tw o-year tenu re as interim  d irec­
tor o f  U niversity C om puter Services. W hile 
savvy ab ou t applications, sh e w as n o t te ch ­
n ic a lly  savvy an d , e v en  w o rs e , s h e  w as 
“D ilb e rt-illite ra te .” N ev erth eless, sh e  w as 
tap p ed  for the responsibility o f  coord in at­
ing com p u ter services b e ca u se  o f  h er his­
tory o f  consensus-building activities, her abil­
ity to b a la n c e  issues with sensitivity, and 
h er drive to garner resp ect on  cam pu s for 
u ser s erv ic es. D esp ite the s te e p  learn in g  
curve, Watstein found that she had m uch to 
offer in this unfamiliar terrain, as libraries and 
com puting cen ters are both fundam entally 
service and support organizations operating 
in rapidly evolving environments.

Like the o th er sp eakers, B ill W elburn, as­
sistant d ean o f the G raduate C olleg e at the 
University o f  Iow a, w as offered  his p osition 
w ith o u t p rio r c a m p a ig n in g  on  his part. 
Again, this is d ue in part to his involvem ent 
in cam pu s activities and his p osition  as ad ­
ju n ct p ro fe s so r in th e library s ch o o l. Al­
th o u g h  h e admits th ere is a potential for 
drift and  isolation in p ositions outside the 
library, Welburn believes w e must seize these 
opportunities as they offer unique challenges 
that can only b e beneficial in the long run.

All agreed that the risks associated with 
this type o f  venture are real. There may b e  no 

(Midwinter Meeting cont. on p. 207)



B u i l d  Y our 
L e a d e r s h i p  T o o l k i t !
An ACRL Leadership Institute

Get the practical leadership skills needed for the next 
millennium. At this institute, you will develop a personal 
leadership toolkit o f  techniques, tactics, and strategies for:

*  n e g o tia tio n /p e rs u a sio n

*  im p lem en tin g ch an g e

*  m otiv atin g  and m anaging a team

*  m aking public p re se n ta tio n s

*  ru n n in g effective m eetin gs

Plenary Presentations
Robert W edgeworth, U n iv ersity  L ib rarian  at th e U n iv ersity  o f 
Illin o is at U rb a n a -C h a m p a ig n , w ill lo o k  at lead e rsh ip  issues and 
w h at librarians should d o  to be su ccessfu l lead e rs on cam pus.

C liff Lynch, D irecto r, C o alitio n  fo r N etw o rk ed  In fo rm atio n , will 
ad d ress lead e rsh ip  ro les fo r m an ag in g  tech n o lo g y .

Toolkit Presenters
Michael Butler, E x ecu tiv e D irecto r, O H IO N E T
Margo Crist, D ire c to r o f  L ib raries, U n iv e rsity  o f  M a ssa c h u se tts
Elaine Didier, D irecto r, R e sid en tial and R e se a rc h  U n iv ersity  

P ro g ram s, U n iv ersity  o f  M ich ig an  
Thomas Michalak, E x e c u tiv e  D irecto r, H arv ard  B u sin ess 

S ch o o l L ibrary

Linda Wallace, D irecto r, A L A ’s P u b lic In fo rm atio n  O ffice

April 30-M a y 1, 1998
The Tremon† Hotel, Boston

cosponsored by ACRL's New England Chapter

Registration is $ 175 for ACRL and ACRL/New England Chapter members; 
$225 for ALA members, and $275 for nonmembers. To register, complete 
the form available on the Web at htfp://www.ala.org/acrl/leadweb3.hfml 
and send to ACRL.

To reserve a room, contact the Tremon† Hotel at: 800-331-9998 and 
specify you are attending the ACRL Institute.

Questions? Contact Tanga Morris, (800) 545-2433 ext. 2514; e-mail 
tmorris@ala.org

http://www.ala.org/acrl/leadweb3.hfml
mailto:tmorris@ala.org


C&RL News ■ March 1 9 98/2 07

b e e n  acquired by the O h io State University 
(O S U ) C a rto o n  R e s e a r c h  L ibrary. T h e  
collection s, approxim ately 1 5 0,000 pounds 
o f b o x es and files, w ere previously housed 
in the San Francisco A cadem y o f  Com ic Art 
(SFACA). T he acad em y’s w ell-know n b o o k  
editing and writing p rojects will con tin u e at 
an accelerated  pace, focu sing on  books 
featuring the w ork o f Elzie Segar and G eorge 
Herriman. OSU Libraries intend to maintain 
the intellectual co h e re n c e  o f  the SFACA 
materials through its com puterized cataloging 
system  w hile the various w orks are housed 
in d isperse units in order to place them  with 
existing groups o f sim ilar materials.

Transcripts of the Westmoreland vs. CBS
trial w ere presen ted  to the T ex as T ech  
University Library’s Vietnam Archive. Larry 
Berm an, a professor and political science 
departm ent chairman at the University o f 
California at Davis, donated the papers to the 
archive. In a CBS T elevision special, which 
aired on Jan . 23, 1982, CBS Anchor Mike 
W allace told how, in CBS’ view, the American 
military con sp ired  to suppress and alter 
m ilita ry  in t e ll i g e n c e  a b o u t th e  N orth 
V ietnam ese military. “T he special implicated 
Gen. William W estm oreland in the conspiracy 
and cast doubt on his military h o n o r,” said 
Jam es R. Reckner, director o f the Vietnam 
Center and a professor o f history at Texas 
Tech . “Having sought, and not received, an 
apology from CBS, G en. W estm oreland sued 
the netw ork to regain his honor. Later CBS 
settled the case and apologized to Gen. 
W estm oreland,” said Reckner. Berm an served 
as a consultant to CBS Television, and at the 
end o f the trial ob tain ed  the com p lete 
transcript o f the trial and supplementary 
materials. T h ese original docum ents com prise 
48 banker’s boxes o f materials detailing the 
U.S. involvement in the Southeast Asian conflict.

Leon Uris, renowned author of Battle
Cry, Exodus, and Trinity, ann ou nced  that the 
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at 
the University o f  Texas at Austin is to b e the 
archival repository o f his literary manuscripts. 
In addition to the novels, Uris has written

Ed. note: Send your news to: Grants & Acquisitions, C&RL 
News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: 
ayoung@ala.org.

screenplays, coauthored photography books, 
and contributed stories and articles to many 
m agazines and anthologies. “Uris is o n e o f 
the most popular and w idely read novelists 
America has produced,” said Thom as F. Staley, 
director o f the Ransom Center. “His extensive 
contextual research gives his novels a sense 
o f  living presence and authority achieved by 
few  contem porary authors.” ■

(ACRL at the Midwinter. . .  cont.from p. 181) 
im m ediate c olleag u es or m entors and no 
safety net if administrative priorities change. 
But the participants also agreed that the re­
wards, such as increased autonom y and re­
sponsibility, the opportunity to develop new 
skills, and the c h an ce to b e co m e  a “citizen 
o f  the university,” m ake the risks worth tak­
ing.

Perform ance m easures
M od erator B ets y  W ilson  led the w e ll-a t­
tended  ULS Public Services Heads o f Large 
Research Libraries D iscussion Group. Mary 
Ja c k s o n  and Shirley B ak er first briefed the 
group on the ILL/DD Perform ance Measures 
Study. T he study has su cceed ed  in identify­
ing “b est p ractice” libraries: th o se libraries 
w h ose interlibrary loan p ractices have e x ­
perien ced  a high rate o f  success in timeli­
ness, accuracy, and patron satisfaction. T he 
study also raised several questions. W hy, for 
exam ple, d oes the average turnaround time 
fo r ILL re m a in  c lo s e  to  th e  s a m e  ra te  
achieved  ten years ago?

W ork sh op s to exam in e w hat libraries 
can do to im prove their ILL practices will 
b e held after the final report is published 
this w in ter. W ilso n  th e n  a c q u a in te d  the 
group with developm ents regarding the pro­
p o sed  N ational Inform ation Literacy Insti­
tute. This immersion program, funded in part 
by ACRL, will fo cu s on  the practical and 
th eo retical issues o f  teach in g  inform ation 
literacy. O ther top ics under discussion in­
clu ded  p erform ance m easures, assessm ent 
initiatives, and a review  o f the types o f W eb 
support currently offered  in academ ic librar­
ies. A ssessm ent initiatives will again b e  un­
der con sideration at the ALA Annual m eet­
ing in W ashington D .C .— Anne Garrison, 
reference librarian, Georgia Tech Library; 
e-mail: anne.garrison®ibid.library.gatech .

mailto:ayoung@ala.org