ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 4 8 2 /C& RL News ACRL in M iami—taking the network plunge Highlights o f ACRL programs at ALA’s Annual Conference A CRL members will remember ALA’s 113th Annual Conference, held in Miami Beach, for its hot weather and its sizzling coverage of the Internet. Total conference attendance was 12,627 members, exhibitors, and guests, includ­ ing 8,025 paid registrations— down about a third from the 1993 Annual Conference in New Or­ leans. For ACRL members, the conference proved to be an exciting one. Covering the Internet and its resources, leadership issues, communication techniques, network technol­ ogy, and a variety of other topics, ACRL’s pro­ grams offered many learning experiences for attendees. Below are highlights of some of the programs. (Ed. note: The University Libraries Section’s report will appear in the October issue.) ACRL Leadership Institute “The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be,” the theme o f the day-long ACRL Invited Leadership Insti­ tute Preconference, set the tone for planning and delib­ T yp ical o f erations at all levels o f the division throughout the ALA on th e ne Conference. Dadie Perlov, s a r y is m , president o f the Consensus Management Group, who a n d len g t also was a consultant to ALA’s Self-Study Committee. . . . w o m e She said, “ACRL is not a p re ss th e business. The goal of busi­ ness is to make money; the s u p p o r t iv goal of a service organiza­ a tten u atio tion is to provide service to members.” The leaders were reminded that the division has only one em­ ployee— the executive director— and the focus o f ACRL’s mission statement should be on li­ brarians, with division benefits well articulated and at the heart of all programs and activities. The Board should determine outcomes and monitor results and let staff and other units be responsible for the “hows.” ACRL should re­ main at least as financially sound as it is now. The potential for membership should stem from the proportion of the possible universe of members. The results o f the ACRL Membership Survey should be kept in perspective because organizational statistics indicate that members with the highest involvement in an organiza­ tion (and some dissidents) are the most partic­ ipatory, which excludes input from potential members and unambitious members. Perlov suggested it might be more effective to survey the 10 newest members, 10 members who most recently quit the division, and 10 potential mem­ bers to ascertain what members want in ACRL. Other suggestions included: keeping the structure and governance at a minimum, re­ viewing old policies to see if they are still nec­ essary, and refraining from micromanaging staff and committees. If something is added, give something up. Be on the cutting edge, which means possibly breaking up the hierarchy. Look for (perhaps unlikely) collaborators outside the organization as well as inside. F in a lly , e v a lu a te th e planning efforts by asking, m e n 's style “Did the organization grow? t is a d v e r- Did the organization help the m em b ers lea rn and p u t-d o w n s, grow?” Perlov concluded by h y postings advocating risk-taking, de­ fining “experien ce as the tend to e x ­ name we give to our mis­ se lv e s v ia takes.”— B a r b a r a W ittkopf L ou isian a State University e n e s s a n d n . How to teach the Internet In the belief that the com­ bined strengths of ACRL sections serves to ele­ vate the quality of conference programs, the Bibliographic Instruction Section and the Col­ lege Libraries Section joined together to offer the program “Beyond the F I Key: Thinking and Teaching the Internet within the Curriculum.” n m S ep tem b er 1 9 9 4 / 4 8 3 Before an audience o f more than 500 peo­ ple, Gerald Nosich, professor o f philosophy at the University o f New Orleans and noted au­ thority on critical thinking, provided program participants with a working definition o f criti­ cal thinking, discussed the importance o f pro­ moting it within a discipline, and offered nu­ merous exam p les o f the concep t. Critical thinking, Nosich said, is not problem-solving, but rather a process o f asking the question, trying to answer by reasoning, and acting in accord with the reasoning. He also reviewed the importance of the affective traits of intellec­ tual courage and humility in critical thinking. As a researcher o f the inherent benefits and liabilities within the electronic dissemination of information, Kevin Roddy, University o f Cali- fornia-Davis, provided the audience with a nonlibrary faculty perspective on the educational reasons for teaching the Internet. He pointed out that while the Internet has made scholar­ ship more widely available than ever before, it has also “produced chaos that is often at best only a waste o f time.” Describing student as­ signments and projects in his own humanities and computing courses, Roddy stressed the im­ portance o f enhancing the Internet’s advantag­ es through careful course design. Fo llo w in g the gu est p re sen ters, Ile n e Rockman of California Polytechnic State Uni­ versity, Mary Jane McDermott Cedar Face of Southern O regon State C ollege, and Jo h n Stachacz o f Dickinson College offered specific examples of how they integrated the teaching o f Internet resources into the curricula o f their home campuses.— K eith G resham , University o C o lo r a d o -B o u ld e r Gender differences in communication In “Making the Net*Work: Is There a Z39-50 for Gen­ der Communication?,” co­ sponsored by the Educa­ tio n and B e h a v io r a l S cie n ce s and W o m en ’s Studies sections o f ACRL, Becky Mulvaney, Florida Atlantic University began her presentation, “Gender Differences in Communi­ cation: An ‘Inter-Cultural’ E x p e rie n c e ,” by stating P atricia K reitz (le f that gender is an influence se c tio n ’s v e ry su cc on and a product o f com­ ACRL P resid en t T o f munication. Mulvaney noted that three prima­ ry elements o f intercultural communication— world view, language usage, and nonverbal com m unication— had particular bearing in terms o f communication across gender. Wom­ en tend to have a slightly different world view than men; they tend to use language in a dif­ ferent way (women generally see talk as the essence of a relationship, whereas men use lan­ guage to assert themselves); and women re­ spond to nonverbal communication differently than men. Mulvaney concluded that we should not assume similarity between the sexes, and pointed out the problems caused by our ten­ dency to evaluate other cultures (i.e., other gen­ ders) as inferior. In her talk “Gender Differences in Comput­ er-Mediated Communication: Bringing Famil­ iar Baggage to the New Frontier," Susan Her­ ring, University o f Texas at Arlington, made two opening observations based on her re­ search: women and men have recognizably dif­ ferent styles of communication, and women and men have different communication ethics. T y p ic a l o f m e n ’s sty le o n th e n e t is adversaryism, put-downs, and lengthy postings, and they tend to be authoritative in tone. Wom­ en tend to express themselves via support­ iveness and attenuation— they do a lot o f hedg­ ing, apologizing, and appealing to the group. Women also tend to allow for alternative points o f view far more than men do. Herring also discussed the practice o f flaming (the expres­ sion o f strong negative emotion, often includ­ ing personal insult), noting that “virtually only men flame,” and therefore “any explanation of si va D . .E M :ti derc Ph ot o an d J a n e t F o re (rig h t) o f STS co o rd in a te d th at fu l all-day I n te rn e t tra in in g se ssio n in s u p p o rt o f K irk ’s ( c e n t e r ) th e m e o f n etw o rk in g . t) e ss m 4 8 4 /C & RL News flaming must take gender into ac­ co u n t.” Herring m entioned three ways that this situation can be ad­ dressed: 1) support women-centered lists, 2) educate online communities about male-dominated behaviors, and 3) participate in any way possible in the formation o f netiquette rules. Jam es V. Carmichael, University of North Carolina, responded with a lively discourse which included an­ ecdotes about some o f the more no­ torious “female pioneers in librarian- ship.” He noted that the discussion o f gender parity in librarianship has a long history, citing the “weaker sex d eb ate” in L ib r a r y J o u r n a l in the 1930s. In the present time, Carmichael feels that the discrepancy between salary levels for women and men in librarianship is o f particular concern. He noted that the “network presents a situation which is potentially gen­ der-free,” a situation in which one is “responding to a voice rather than a gender.” Note: The papers presented at this p ro g ram w ill b e a v a ila b le on LIBW A T-L (s e n d th e co m m an d “SUB LIBW AT-L y ou r n a m e ” to LISTSERV@UBVM o r LISTSERV@ UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU via a mail message (as the first line in the body o f the mail, not the Subject: line).— Je s s ic a Grim, O berlin College Information flows out of the former Soviet Union Speakers at the Slavic and East Euro­ pean Section’s program, “Finding Out about the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe: Im provem ents in Customer Services,” examined chang­ es in the nature and availability of reference, business, and electronic sources o f information on Russia and Eastern Europe. Alan Pollard, University o f Michi­ gan, noted that the abundance of material that is emerging from East­ ern Europe as a result o f political changes has been a “windfall for re­ searchers, but a problem for librari­ ans to m anage.” Russian and East European state subsidies have ended S ep tem b er 1 9 9 4 / 4 8 5 and as a result, marketing forces which target Western countries are driving the publishing industry in these countries. While there has been a proliferation of new material, some traditional sources o f information— like scholarly publications and n a tio n a l b ib lio g r a ­ phies— are declining. Jeanie M. Welch, Univer­ sity of North Carolina-Char- lotte, reported that commer­ cial publishers are scrambling to produce new works on doing business in Russia and Eastern Europe. In addition, many established econom­ ic resources have expand­ ed their coverage; for exam­ ple, E u r o p e a n M a rk etin g G ladys S m iley B D ata a n d Statistics now in­ U n iv e rs ity , w a s cludes data for Eastern Eu­ i n s t r u c t o r s p a r t In te rn e t tra in in g srope. Welch warned librar­ ians to be wary of works that are simply an expensive repackaging o f data. In response to a question from Molly Molloy, Hoover Institution, Welch recommended several business titles, including C on su m er E astern Europe, published by Euro- monitor. Casey Palowitch, University of Pittsburgh, demonstrated the REES (Russian and East Eu­ ropean Studies) Home Pages, a hypertext guide and gateway to Russian and Eastern European Internet resources accessed through the World Wide Web. The REES Home Pages is compiled and maintained by the University of Pittsburgh, and provides access to material that ranges from multimedia exhibits to a text o f The B rothers K a r a m a z o v . The URL for Pittsburgh’s REES Home Pages is: http://www.pitt.edu/~cjp/ rees.html. While noting the tremendous poten­ tial o f this new project, Molloy raised some of the important issues (such as access, archiving, and regulation) that will need to be addressed in the future.—J u l ie Sw ann, University o f Ne- braska-L in coln Covering the full range of Internet resources “Scholarly Resources on the Internet: Beyond the Basics,” sponsored by ACRL’s Science and Technology Section (STS), successfully offered over 25 different hour-long subject-specific pre- ell, o n e i c i p ess sentations throughout the day. The program featured workshop-like sessions on such diverse subjects as as­ tronomy, anthropology, bi­ ology, business, chemistry, literature, and w o m en ’s studies. There were also in­ structional sessions on var­ ious Internet tools and on teaching about the Internet, as well as poster sessions. The standing-room-only sessions attracted partici­ pants from all types of li­ b raries. Although there were some technical diffi­ culties with telecommuni­ cations for live demonstra­ tions, the presenters were o f K e n t S tate p rep ared with b a ck -u p o f th e m a n y transparencies and/or pre­ a t i n g in STS’ sentation software. Hand­ io n . outs and/or presentation aterials are being gathered by the conference lanners in an electronic format so the materi­ ls can be made available electronically on the CRL gopher.— G ayle B aker, University o f Ten­ essee uropean fiction amidst change he 1994 Western European Education Section’s nnual program, “Emerging European Writing: isions and Voices of the New Europe,” aimed discuss and debate the impact that some of e recent, momentous sociopolitical changes king place in Western Europe have had on s culture and writing. Giuliana Menozzi, University o f Florida, peaking on the current publishing scene in taly, emphasized that only 50 percent of the opulation reads one book a year and that this ublishing crisis is having a detrimental effect n the publication of serious fiction. Aida Bamia, niversity o f Florida, surveyed French fiction y authors o f Arabic descent, the Beur, charac­ rizing this literature as essentially one of gen­ rational and cultural tensions. The neglected ut imaginatively rich contemporary Portuguese terature was surveyed by Richard Preto-Rodas, niversity of South Florida. He characterized it s drawing both on European literary traditions nd the magic realism of Latin America. Final­ , Siegfried Mews, University of North Caroli- m p a A n E T a V to th ta it s I p p o U b te e b li U a a ly http://www.pitt.edu/~cjp/ 4 8 6 /C & R L News na-Chapel Hill, spoke on the German literar and intellectual post-unification debate which has led German writers to assess the sociopo litical ramifications o f a united Germany, and to redefine Europe and Germany’s role in it. Each speaker also produced a bibliograph which was handed out at the program. (Inter ested readers can request them from me: Frank Di Trolio, 140 Library West, University o f Flor ida, G ainesville, FL 32611; e-m ail: frandi ©nervm. nerdc.ufl.edu.)— F r a n k D i Trolio, Uni versity o f F lorid a, G ainesville Studying Caribbean cultures The ACRL Anthropology and Sociology Section program, “Cultures o f the Caribbean: Diversit and Transformation, Research and Resources, began with a bibliographical history o f the pri mary ethnic group of the Caribbean: African Americans. The general traditions o f the an thropological study of the region were outlined: 1) the Herskovitsian approach, which empha sizes African cultural survivals; 2) the post-Worl War 11/Columbia University area studies ap proach; and 3) the structural-functionalist ap proach o f British social anthropology. Withi this context, seminal writings and major subse quent works were discussed. The books an journal articles cited ranged in time o f publica tion from 1906 into the 1990s. Miami’s Hispanic population grew from fiv to 49 percent between I960 and 1990 and i projected to be an approximate 55 percent i 1994. This Hispanic population is predominant ly Cuban, with more than half o f the one mil lion Cubans living in the U.S. concentrated i y ­ y ­ ­ t ­ y ” ­ - ­ ­ d ­ ­ n ­ d ­ e s n ­ ­ n Miami. The Miami Cubans differ from Hispanic populations in other large cities in quite im­ portant respects. They are more economically successful (being mostly people from the mid­ dle and upper classes who immigrated for po­ litical, not economic, reasons), have lower birth rates, are politically conservative, and have politically empowered themselves. CD-ROM products, online searching servic­ es, and Internet resources useful to study and research on the Caribbean and Latin America were described in the session. Some impres­ sive CD-ROM software has begun to be issued in Mexico. CODICE 90, a Mexican product which contains the final results of Mexico’s 1990 census o f population and housing, was dem­ onstrated. The program concluded with a dem­ onstration on searching for Latin American and Caribbean studies materials in the enhanced computerized catalog o f the Florida Interna­ tional University Library.—-Jim Williams, Uni­ versity o f Illinois a t U rban a-C ham paign Binding together α multicultural society “Is a shared value system, which binds togeth­ e r m e m b ers o f a s o c ie ty , p o s s ib le in a multicultural situation?” Three ACRL sections thought this question, posed by David Hayes- Bautista in a recent issue o f the C h ron icle o f H ig h er E du cation was significant enough to use as the focus of their jointly sponsored program, “Binding Together a Multicultural Society: Chal­ lenge for the Academy.” The Afro-American Studies Librarians, Arts, and Law and Political Science sections o f ACRL were joined by the ALA Government Doc­ uments Round Table in the presentation of Sheldon Hackney, Di­ rector of the National End ow m ent fo r the H u m an ities, as the keynote speaker. The th o u g h t-p r o v o k in g program also included C 9 a reactor panel consist­d60 ing o f Patrick Coggins, Č Stetson University, and x Olga Garay, Miami- Dade Community Col­ o lege.λα. Hackney said that the United States must com e to grips with its ACRL m em bers w orked h ard during the leadership session led by consultant Dadie P erlov . S ep tem b er 1 9 9 4 / 4 8 7 A B e t t e r Wa y S e a r c h D a ta b a se s To We started in 1985, database searcherscom m itted to b etter search software design. We becam e th e prem ier vendor of M e d lin e , th e n e x p a n d e d o u r c a ta lo g to o t h e r d a ta b a s e s . L a s t y e a r w e w on In fo rm a tio n W orld Review s P R O D U C T O F T H E Y EA R fo r faster, easier search software. But a b etter way m eans meeting h e evolving needs - individual and campus ide - of today’s library users. Announcing OVID: a database interface so flexible it molds itself to your search environment. t w W ith OVID you’re free to mov from one operating system to another without retraining. OVID's Common User Interface assures identical functionality in DOS, Windows and UNIX. e A haven for beginners, OVID's Easy Mode has on screen ompts. The more experienced an pull-down menus showing an array o f search options. Experts will fee l at home using online syntax. pr c Search with natural language i f you like. OVID mapping cuts through the mystery o f ontrolled vocabularies, homing in on precisely matching subject headings. c There’s an unprecedented array o f search tools - indexes, thesauri, limits and fields - many never before available in an interface. They’re all standard OVID features. H ELP fo r every search function is context-sensitive and on screen, never more than a key­ stroke or mouse click away. OVID. A better way to search ERIC, Current Contents* PsycINFO*, Medline, Readers’ Guide Abstracts, EMBASE and more. CD PLU S Tech n o lo g ies New Y o rk 8 0 0 - 9 5 0 - 2 0 3 5 / 2 1 2 - 5 6 3 - 3 0 0 6 L o n d o n 4 4 - ( 0 ) 8 1 - 7 4 8 - 3 7 7 7 A m sterd am 2 0 - 6 7 2 - 0 2 4 2 4 8 8 /C & RL News O rder your Annual Conference audiocassettes Audiocassettes of selected ACRL programs from the 1994 ALA Annual Conference in Mi­ ami Beach are now available. Each program consists of two cassettes and sells for $24 un­ less otherwise noted. Taking th e N etw ork Plunge: R em ote L ib rary U sers and E lectro n ic Networks. Order no. ALA409 W h at Me— A Leader? Order no. ALA410 W o m en and T echn ology: The Virtual L ibrary and th e Disadvantaged Majority. Order no. ALA411 W h o’s W ho: The C hanging Roles o f Li­ b r a r i a n s an d S u p p o rt Staff. O rder no. ALA426 E ducating and Training Special Collec­ tions Librarians: The Network o f E x p e c­ ta tio n s an d O p p o rtu n ities. ($36, 3 cas­ settes). Order no. ALA430 G o in g H o m e A g ain : R e tu rn to th e ots. ($36, 3 cassettes). Order no. ALA445 Ro M aking th e NET WORK: Is T h e r e a 39-50 in G ender Com m unication? Order o. ALA446 B e y o n d th e FX K ey: T h in k in g a n d eaching th e In tern et w ithin th e C urric­ lum . Order no. ALA451 G eo g rap h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem s: A ew Service O pportunity fo r Libraries. Or­ er no. ALA462 Audiocassettes for other programs are also vailable. Call, write, or fax your order or a equest for a complete order form to: Teach ‘em, l6 θ East Illinois St., Chicago, IL 6 θ 6 ll; oice: (312) 467-0424 or (800) 225-3775; fax: 312) 467-9271. You may pay by check (pay­ ble to Teach 'em) or by credit card (VISA, C, AMEX). • Z n T u N d a r v ( a M multicultural society. It must find ways to de­ velop collective allegiances and solve common problems, yet recognize distinctive group dif­ ferences. It must address issues relating to na­ tional cohesion, loyalty, and identification with the whole. To reach this goal, he said, “we must begin a national conversation that includes all voices from all groups.” There must be “a new birth of freedom” for all Americans. Reacting to the keynote address, Garay and Coggins agreed that a massive national dialogue open to all would be a noble goal, although difficult to accomplish. Many of the cultural groups do not have democratic orientations nor a culture of free speech because of historical circumstance. The reactors strongly recom ­ mended equal opportunity, equal justice, and economic parity as proactive means of binding the cultures together. In any solution, differ­ ences must be deemphasized and commonali­ ties celebrated for the common good.— Doris H argrett Clack, F lorid a State University Distance education and electronic networks ACRL’s Extended Campus Library Services Sec­ tion hosted 270 participants at its program “Tak­ ing the Network Plunge: Remote Library Users and Electronic Networks.” Focusing on the rapid advancement of electronic networks, distance education, and off-campus library services, the program was cosponsored by LITA’s Telecom­ munications Interest Group. The first speaker, Jam es Neal, Indiana Uni­ versity, focused on distance education (DE) and the recent shift away from teaching and teach­ ers toward learning and learners. He described the new “majority student,” the older, part-time, married, working student as the primary focal point for higher education in the future. He described the many reasons for getting involved in DE, including economic, governmental, and global. He discussed the definitions and goals of DE, reminding us that equity of access and lifelong learning, as well as access to the great­ er talent-base, were all principal in helping us participate in the global community. Kate Wakefield of WLN demystified the tele­ communications technology. She discussed the many ways of becoming connected to the In­ ternet to provide access to networked infor­ mation to distance learners, and shared hand­ outs with a cost and services comparison of the dial-access and dedicated Internet connec­ tions. Dan Barron, University o f South Carolina, talked about the impact of the rapid changes in DE and networked technologies on the li­ brary staff who have to cope with them. He encouraged interaction and participation among 4 9 0 /C & R L News T he raffle fo r P ittsbu rgh prizes h eld a t ACRL’s b o o th in Miami p ro d u ce d 3 5 w in n e rs. the audience and concluded with the observa­ tion that the librarian’s role has not really changed over the years; the means by which he or she provides access and instruction have changed. Batron’s review of the literature sug­ gests that organizational and individual change and preparation for the future should include the following: a vision, a team approach, con­ sensus-building skills, communication skills, communication, trust and respect, thinking with new perspectives, empowerment and positive self-regard, intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards, a work ethic, risk-taking, and the time necessary to do the job.— T hom as Abbott, University o f M ain e a t Augusta Techniques for learning the net Anne Lipow opened the Community and Ju n­ ior College Libraries Section’s program, “Bring­ ing Your Staff Up to Speed on the ‘Net’,” with an original cartoon in which an eager staff mem­ ber reads the following message on his com­ puter screen: “Welcome to the Internet. With this network you can find what you need easily. Just punc­ tuate properly and spell perfectly. Also, know UNIX, VMS, CMS, and in 3270, how to upload, download, FTP and Archie, the escape com­ mand, RFC’s and how to find what you can’t see. Now, what would you like?” “Lunch,” de­ cides the discouraged trainee. This sentiment hit home for many o f the 250-plus attendees, as Lipow’s intention was to emphasize the need for trainers to know more than the topic and to know how people learn, giving special consideration to technolo­ gy and to the Internet in partic­ ular. Lipow, of Library Solutions In­ stitute and Press, is coauthor of Crossing the In tern et Threshold: A n In stru ction al H a n d b o o k and coeditor o f S ta ffD evelopm ent: A P r a c tic a l G u id e (ALA). She described Internet as not so much an information “super­ ›- highway” but a “muddy road.” ω w Large computer databases, such S as catalogs or the Internet, offer tO3J no visual cues to their size or u organization, the range o f sub­ ŏ a. sets one needs to search through, m e m b e rsh ip or changes w hich have been made to them. Few adhere to Alan Kay’s rule that a user should need only 15 seconds or less to figure out how to open the box, or to Walt Crawford’s rule that a user should go into the system with only three layers or less to reach the objective. And, since systems are not standardized, learners can’t reinforce their skills by generalizing con­ cepts. The Internet is constantly changing and the resources it offers are generally unevaluated. Lipow and Trish Ridgeway, The Handley Library, Virginia, provided essential background on adult training and learning concepts, while Debra Gilchrist, director o f library and media services, Pierce College, and Jean Kent, Inter­ net trainer at North Seattle Community College, dealt with setting the stage and training expe­ riences respectively. Lipow reproduced Edgar Dale’s “Cone o f Experience” which indicates that, while people remember parts o f what they read, hear, see, say, or write, the most effec­ tive learning occurs when people are hearing, saying, or seeing at the same time they are doing the real thing. Lipow also pointed out four stages of learn­ ing: 1) unconscious/incompetent; 2) conscious/ incompetent, which leads staff to take work­ shops; 3) conscious/competent, which requires that staff be motivated to unlearn certain skills or behaviors and to practice new ones diligently until they becom e 4) unconscious/competent. Lipow and Ridgeway described adult learn­ ers as 1) requiring a variety of teaching tech­ niques; 2) wanting their experience recognized; 3) wanting to control what and how they learn; and 4) requiring solutions to immediate work­ place problems. (Programs cont. on p a g e 5 12) S ep tem b er 1 9 9 4 / 491