ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


ISSN 0010-0870

COLLEGE 
& RESEARCH

LIBRARIES
n e w s

NO. 1 • JANUARY 1975

In this issue:

ACRL New England Chapter
Conference .....................................1

Current Comments, by H. William 
A x fo r d ................................................ 2

Inside W a sh in g to n .............................. 4
Schedule of Midwinter Meetings… 6
News From the Field . . .  8
Report to the ACRL Membership … 21
P e o p l e .......................................... 23
Classified Advertising . . .  29

News Issue (A) of College & Research Libraries, vol. 36, no. 1

New England Chapter of ACRL Meets
Editor’s note: Although there is an abun­

dance of meetings, conferences, seminars, and 
workshops held each year of interest to aca­
demic librarians, there is a dearth of reporting 
in the literature of the exchanges of information 
and ideas that transpire at these gatherings. 
The following is a report, submitted at the edi­
tor’s request by Anne Roberts, assistant librari­
an, State University of New York at Albany, of 
a recent conference. The editor invites further 
submissions of reports on meetings for consid­
eration for inclusion in the News. These should 
be addressed to the editor of the News. While 
we intend to continue to announce upcoming 
meetings, it is the hope of the editor that the 
proceedings will also be reported informally in 
the News.

The ACRL New England Chapter Confer­
ence on Bibliographic Instruction, held at the 
modern Gutman Library of the Harvard Grad­
uate School of Education on Friday, November 
15, 1974, drew over 280 librarians from the 
northeastern states, New York, Tennessee, Vir­
ginia, and Texas. The steering committee of the 
chapter suggested the idea of a workshop on 
bibliographic instruction last spring, and the 
planning committee, headed by Irma Y. John­
son, designed a program to try to fit the needs 
of both librarians and institutions. As both the 
numbers of attendees and varieties of topics il­
lustrate, bibliographic instruction is of real con­
cern to academic librarians. The morning ses­
sion began with a display of materials in a 
“Bibliographic Instruction Fair,” including ex­
hibits of various media used such as printed

subject guides, handbooks, bibliographies, 
workbooks, slide-tapes, films, and videotapes.

The three keynote speakers were familiar 
names to those involved in library orientation 
and instruction. Thomas Kirk, science librarian 
at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, and 
chairperson of the ACRL Committee on Biblio­
graphic Instruction, spoke on “Definitions; Ob­
jectives; and Evaluation.” He defined biblio- 

( Continued on page 5)

Associate
News

Editor
Named

Anne Dowling
Anne Dowling, assistant librarian at 

the State University of New York at Al­
bany, has been named Associate Editor, 
College & Research Libraries News. Ms. 
Dowling received an MLS degree from 
SUNY at Albany in 1971. She has 
served in the Serials and Cataloging de­
partments and is currently the assistant 
librarian in the Acquisitions Department 
at Albany.



5

New England (Continued f rom p. 1)
graphic instruction as differing from orientation, 
although usually given in conjunction with it; 
as the organization of material and how to get 
at it, rather than physical organization of facil­
ities. Kirk cited the ACRL Bibliographic In­
struction Task Force “Model Statement of Ob­
jectives” as a useful tool to use in a program 
(1 ) to know what you are doing both in short­
term and long-term circumstances; (2 ) to know 
whether or not you have been successful; and 
(3) to tell others what you are doing. He 
stressed that objectives must be adapted to 
each institution’s needs and circumstances and 
constantly need modification as the situation 
changes.

Sharon Lossing, reference librarian, Universi­
ty of Michigan, and bibliographic instructor, 
addressed herself to the topic “Critical Ques­
tions in Administration of Programs,” which 
she felt came into three problem categories; 
(1) problems within the unit; (2) problems 
within the library; and (3) problems between 
the library and the library community. She 
noted the departmental problems which arise 
when a reference librarian begins to do formal 
teaching; the flexibility of the staff goes down 
and the resentment goes up. The burdens 
placed on one person doing bibliographic in­
struction are awesome since that person be­
comes the resource person for all the students 
the librarian teaches and often becomes fa­
tigued and exhausted. Lossing felt that it was 
better to have several librarians doing biblio­
graphic instruction, to share the responsibility. 
She emphasized that imagination and creativity 
were more important than subject specialties 
in a successful bibliographic instruction pro­
gram. As for problems within the library, she

Name C&RL 
Assistant Editor

Elaine L. Downing has been appoint­
ed Assistant Editor, College & Research 
Libraries, effective with the January 
1975 issue. Miss Downing is a graduate 
of the State University of New York at 
Buffalo and received her graduate degree 
in librarianship from the School of Li­
brary and Information Science at the 
College of Arts and Science, State Uni­
versity of New York, Geneseo. Miss 
Downing has been a librarian at the 
State University College, Oneonta, New 
York, since 1970 and presently serves as 
assistant head, Acquisitions Department.

advocated flexibility among departments, with 
the possibility of crossing roles between techni­
cal service and public service librarians. A liai­
son person was deemed necessary to coordinate 
the program and to anticipate potential growth 
within both the institution and the profession. 
The problems between the library and the li­
brary community were seen as ones of growth, 
both in quality and quantity of reference ser­
vices, and in public relations; as the program 
grows and is successful, the demand for more 
bibliographic instruction increases.

Carla J. Stoffle, head of Public Services Divi­
sion, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and 
chairperson of the Wisconsin Task Force on 
Instruction in Academic Libraries, spoke on 
“Review of Modes of Instruction; And A Look 
Ahead.” She emphasized that the modes, or 
types, of instruction depend on the library and 
its resources and the audience. She then out­
lined the advantages and disadvantages of six 
modes: the formal course; course-integrated in­
struction; tutorials, seminars, and minicourses; 
print and tape/print; slides and slide-tapes; 
and videotapes. Stoffle urged librarians to de­
velop their own materials and share them co­
operatively; she stated that the library profes­
sion must develop networks, teaching tech­
niques, workshops, and kits for bibliographic 
instruction. She cited the Wisconsin program 
as an example of a state system which is de­
veloping a program for library orientation and 
instruction. Stoffle pointed out that librarians 
must document their successes and failures 
carefully with concrete examples. In her opin­
ion practicing librarians should pressure library 
schools to provide for bibliographic instruction 
teaching techniques in the curriculum, with ex­
pert library faculty to teach them. A brief dis­
cussion period followed during which questions 
from the audience were answered.

The six separate afternoon sessions were de­
voted to examining one of the modes mentioned 
in the morning meeting. Each session was of­
fered twice so that librarians could attend 
whichever ones interested them. “Tutorials/ 
Seminars/Minicourses” consisted of a panel of 
three librarians describing their experiences. 
Heather E. Cole, reference librarian, Widener 
Library, Harvard University, described the tu ­
torial method used by the four reference li­
brarians to interview beginning graduate stu­
dents and to introduce them to the important 
bibliographic tools for their appropriate subject 
fields and how to use them. The librarians ar­
range interviews by appointment after contact­
ing the departments; these interviews are large­
ly geared to the individual’s needs and are 
often a time for the student to relax and express 
concern about not knowing how to approach 
library materials. Cole pointed out the need to 
guide the students logically and not to over­



6

whelm them with too much information.
Marie Lannon, reference librarian, Gutman 

Library, Harvard Graduate School of Educa­
tion, told about conducting individualized inter­
views at the computer terminal where the li­
brarian must get enough information from the 
user to formulate the strategy needed for an ef­
fective bibliographic search. The problems here 
involve bibliographic instruction in the user’s 
subject field as well as in data-base retrieval of 
information.

Paula Mark, instructional services librarian, 
University of Massachusetts, spoke on the ques­
tion of which program one should use for un­
dergraduates or graduates, and whether or not 
the program should present the users’ needs or 
the librarians’ strengths. A reference depart­
ment subcommittee was formed at her library 
which planned a minicourse based on responses 
from students by way of a questionnaire. The

course covered (1 ) the general use of library 
materials; (2) how to locate them ( interlibrary- 
loan verification procedure was stressed); (3) 
a general session on the social sciences; and (4) 
a general session on humanities and sciences. 
This minicourse, based on user needs, was co­
operatively taught by members of the reference 
department. Another approach mentioned that 
used librarians’ skills was having a kit available 
for each subject, including the appropriate re­
search guide and index tools. Students could 
then take the entire series offered or only those 
which they need.

The conference concluded with sherry at the 
end of the afternoon, allowing time to renew 
old contacts and make new ones. Librarians re­
turned home to their libraries with the renewed 
stimulation and enthusiasms that these library 
orientation and instruction conferences gener­
ate. ■ ■

Schedule of Midwinter Meetings
Midwinter Meeting
Chicago, Illinois
January 19-25, 1975

ACRL Board of Directors
Monday, January 20, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon 
Thursday, January 23, 2:00-6:00 p.m.

ACRL Divisional Committees
Academic Status

Monday, January 20, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 21, 2:00-4:00 p.m. 
Wednesday, January 22, 10:00 a.m.-12:00

noon
Academic Status Preconference Planning 

Sunday, January 19, 2:00-6:00 p.m.
Appointments and Nominations

Sunday, January 19, 2:00-4:00 p.m. (Closed) 
Monday, January 20, 8:30-10:30 p.m.

( Closed)
Tuesday, January 21, 8:30-10:30 p.m.

( Closed)
Thursday, January 23, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 

noon (Closed)
Audiovisual

Monday, January 20, 4:30-6:00 p.m. 
Wednesday, January 22, 8:00-9:30 a.m.

Bibliographic Instruction
Sunday, January 19, 8:30-10:30 p.m. 
Tuesday, January 21, 8:00-9:30 a.m.

Chapter Development
Monday, January 20, 8:00-9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, January 21, 8:00-9:30 a.m.

Community Use of Academic Libraries 
Tuesday, January 21, 8:00-9:30 a.m. 
Thursday, January 23, 8:00-9:30 a.m,

Conference Program Planning—San Francisco 
Tuesday, January 21, 8:30-10:30 p.m.

Conference Program Planning—Chicago 
Monday, January 20, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Constitution and Bylaws
Sunday, January 19, 8:30-10:30 p.m.
Monday, January 20, 8:00-9:30 a.m, 
Thursday, January 23, 8:00-9:30 a.m.

Cooperation with Educational and Professional 
Organizations

Wednesday, January 22, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 
noon

Interlibrary Communications and Information 
Networks

Monday, January 20, 8:00-9:30 a.m.
Internship

Sunday, January 19, 5:00-7:30 p.m.
Legislation

Monday, January 20, 2:00-4:00 p.m. 
Wednesday, January 22, 12:00 noon-2:00

p.m.
Planning

Tuesday, January 21, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Subcommittee on Goals, Priorities, and 
Structures

Monday, January 20, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 21, 2:00-4:00 p.m. 
Wednesday, January 22, 10:00 a.m.-12:00

noon