ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 494 / C&RL News A C R L p ro g ram s weave to g e th e r rich tap estry o f ideas and issues Moon Unit rises to the occasion, technophobia is examined, and other highlights o f the ALA Annual Conference. C ensorship, diversity, technology, access, literacy, and the environment were among the many topics covered by ACRL during ALA’s 110th Annual Conference in Atlanta; 17,764 regis­ trants attended the June 29-JuIy 4, 1991, confer­ ence. Highlights of some ACRL programs are given below; see the accompanying sidebar for informa­ tion on ordering audiotapes of selected programs. E d note: Thanks to the many individuals who con­ tributed to this article. F r e e exp ressio n still valu ed Over 800 librarians listened to the tunes of Frank Zappa as they awaited his presentation at the ACRL President’s Program. Due to scheduling problems, Frank did not attend the conference but sent a M oon Unit Zappa a d v oca ted f r e e d o m o f expression delightful replacement— his daughter, Moon Unit. Moon captivated the audience as she eloquently read her father’s September 18,1985, testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee. Zappa’s testi­ mony, a witty defense of free expression, includes such barbs as, “It is my understanding that, in law, First Amendment issues are decided with a prefer­ ence for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC’s [Parents’ Music Resource Center] demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation.” Following a television star is not an easy spot for a speaker to be in but Patricia Senn Breivik (Towson State University) was more than equal to the task as she addressed information literacy issues. Both Moon Unit and Breivik had interesting advice for librarians during the question-and-answer period. Moon recognized the image problems librarians have and urged the audience to be more relaxed (“I thought there was a dress code in libraries”) and to make libraries more like clubs (“Keep the libraries open later, put up some velvet ropes, and then go outside and pick who can come in. This will make the library seem more special”). Breivik urged audience members to stop send­ ing negative messages to their users. She recom­ mended allowing eating in designated areas o f the library and challenged attendees to look at how attractive and exciting their libraries are. T ech n o lo g y as a b a r r i e r to in fo rm atio n lite ra c y How can evolving technologies facilitate and/or thwart one’s need to know? Four speakers offered their insights at the Bibliographic Instruction Section’s program. Charles Forrest (Emory Uni­ versity) introduced the program by reminding the audience that in the long history o f libraries, most technology has only recently been introduced, and yet, could our libraries cope without photocopy machines? Herbert White (Indiana University School of Library and Information Science) sug- September 1991 / 495 gested that most library technology was not in­ vented primarily for libraries and articulated three problem areas: 1) the need for training both staff and users; 2) the non-programmatic budgets for libraries that don’t allow for initial investments of new technology; 3) the desire of most users for in­ formation— not training on howto access the infor­ mation. White urged librarians not to succumb to the pitfall of focusing on technology itself, mistak­ ing it as an end rather than a means to information. Carolyn Palmer (Bowling Green State Univer­ sity) expressed concern that women and minorities tend to have more “techno-phobia” than others, which may inhibit them from using library technol­ ogy. Palmer called on librarians to evaluate all current practices, to design systems suitable for intended users, to train library staff to be good teachers, to educate library users to ensure their ease of use, to tighten up policies, and to make libraries accessible from offsite locations. Lori Arp (University of Colorado) noted library use studies that indicated gender differences and called for new research to understand the barriers that thwart library use. Arp borrowed David King’s term “halfway technology” to describe library com­ puterization, citing factors such as high cost, com­ plexity, low ergonomics, and inability to have satis­ factory outcomes as problems that need address­ ing.—Jo n Eldredge, University o f New Mexico E xce lle n ce though cu ltu ral diversity “America comes in all colors and tints and hues. It comes in all kinds of beliefs and sects and reli­ gions. But that is what America is all about___That is the basis of the founding o f this great nation of ours: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, just plain freedom to be,” exhorted Huel D. Perkins, executive assistant to the vice chancellor of Louisi­ ana State University. Addressing the program spon­ sored by ACRL’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Task Force, Perkins recommended adding another freedom: freedom from harass­ ment because of one’s skin color or because o f the way one wishes to worship God. Perkins quoted a paragraph from Regina Minudri (Berkeley Public Library), “There are forces in our society that find diversity difficult to tolerate and wish to force a new definition of what is and what is not America.’ Those forces would have us worship the same kind of god, subscribe to the same cultural values, sup­ port the same beliefs. They would have our news cleaned and laundered before we got it, they would control access to information, they would give us ‘happy talk’ news, and they would make the bad news or news critical of them harder to find." Perkins added that those forces oppose diversity in America, thus opposing the very basic ingredient of what we call America. Perkins called for equal educational opportunities for all racial and ethnic groups. “This is the excellence we must seek. It becomes incumbent upon each and every one of us to see that quality education is provided to every student who enrolls in our colleges and universi­ ties.”— Felix Eme Unaeze, Ferris State University C aspar Jo rd an reported on activities carried out by A C R L’s Historically Black College and University Library Committee at the Excellence through Cultural Diversity program. Status o f faculty status review ed New data on faculty status and reports on the changes taking place were topics covered in the program sponsored by ACRL’s Academic Status Committee. Charles Lowry (University of Texas at Arlington) claimed that “any erosion of faculty status is dismaying.” From behind a foot of com­ puter printouts, Lowry shared these figures: 67% of the institutions responding to a survey the Aca­ demic Status Committee conducted have faculty status and that 60% o f the librarians in the institu­ tions enjoy faculty status. Janet Krompart (Oakland University) suggested that quality time could reinvigorate staffwho had plateaued. She also posed the question, “Do librarians really want four months off to do research?” and indicated that since their eight month contract had only been in place for a year she did not have an answer. Virginia Moreland (Georgia State University) related that her provost had announced that the library would no longer have tenure appointments. She described apreven- tative stance for library faculty whose tenure is threatened: have your documentation in order; know your peer group; be good citizens; be visible. 496 / C &RL News The spirited discussion that followed indicated that many institutions are facing a challenge to faculty status. The “new provost syndrome” and the need for education of administrators was discussed. There were comments about how administrators used faculty status to “get rid of everyone after five years” and about the two-track system andits implications. There was general agreement that librarians should be interested in bread and butter issues, that they should be paid for what they do, and that they should be held in the same esteem as other campus faculty.— Iren e H oadley, Texas A & M University Administrators used faculty status to “get rid o f everyone after fiv e years” E n v iro n m e n ta l in fo rm atio n em p o w e rs p u b lic The ACRL Law & Political Science Section program “Empowering the Public: Information Literacy for Environmental Issues” provided a sub­ stantive introduction to environmental law, issues, and information sources. John Applegate, professor o f administrative law, University o f Cincinnati, offered an excellent over­ view of environmental law and indicated a hope that “people pester you like crazy about these issues, because citizen involvement is critical to a healthy environment.” A “Guide to Federal Environmental Laws” from the Bureau o f National Affairs, Inc. (ISBN 1-55871-191-0) was distributed. Gayle Alston, information specialist at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, re­ viewed the types of materials and information avail­ able from A TSDR including fact sheets, toxicologi- cal profiles o f hazardous substances, newsletters, reports, and bibliographies. To request a form listing the materials available, write to Alston at ATSDR, Public Health Service, U.S. Department o f Health and Human Services, 1600 Clifton Road MS #33, Atlanta, GA 30333. She also suggested that if you ever need information from the EPA, you should call the library there. Michael McCloskey, national chairman of the Sierra Club, identified key sources that meet his information needs such as newspaper clippings, specialized newsletters, research reports, etc. Bruce Kennedy, head o f reference at Georgetown Uni­ versity Law Center, provided an abbreviated intro­ duction to environmental law research. Kennedy identified four key information sources: 1) TR I annual inventory o f chemical emissions; 2) M E D ­ LARS database on toxic chemicals; 3) DIALOG databases; and 4) EPA. He reviewed the nature of legal research and identified four stages: 1) back­ ground; 2) finding the law; 3) validation; and 4) final analysis.— Mary Taylor, A C R L T e a c h in g study skills A packed ballroom greeted the dynamic trio of speakers at the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (E B SS) program co-sponsored by AASL, B IS , and LIRT. Bonnie Armbruster, senior scien­ tist and director of the Center for the Study of Reading at the University o f Illinois at Champaign- Urbana, provided a background o f the study skills movement and defined study skills as a wide range o f skills that includes reading comprehension, time management, and library research skills, among others. John N. Gardner, vice-chancellor for uni­ versity campuses and continuing education at the University of South Carolina, described the nation­ ally recognized freshman orientation program he has developed and his work at the Center on Fresh­ man Year Experience. His freshman year experi­ ence concept encompasses the needs o f the whole student— academic, personal, social, emotional, and physical adaptation needs. He indicated that based on longitudinal studies, the components o f fresh­ man success are: the development o f academic competencies (including information literacy); re­ warding relationships in out-of-class contacts; a sense o f self-esteem; a sense o f total health and wellness; an integrated philosophy o f life; and assis­ tance learning a process of choosing a career and lifestyle .His research also indicates that study groups are very important to academic success. Carol Kuhlthau, director o f the educational media ser­ vices program at Rutgers University’s School of Communication, Information, and Library Stud­ ies, highlighted her research that has displaced the “Warriner model” o f library research with a new model o f the information search process. She iden­ tified six stages she observed in students: 1) recog­ nizing an information need (initiation); 2) identiíy- ingageneral topic (selection); 3) exploring informa­ tion as a general topic (exploration); 4) formulating a specific focus (formulation); 5) gathering infor­ mation pertaining to the focus (collection); and 6) preparing to present the information or to solve the problem (presentation). She stressed the impor­ tance o f cooperative work between librarians and faculty/teachers to teach students to be strategic learners and information seekers/evaluators.— B on n ie Gratch, Bow ling G reen State University C h o ice rev iew s a v ailab le on lin e The next logical step after adding other biblio­ graphic databases to the online catalog might well be reviews o f recent monographs acquired by the 498 / C &RL News library. That was the focus o f “Do Patrons Want a C h o ice?” a panel discussion that examined adding C h o ice reviews to OPACS. C hoice managing editor Claire Dudley reviewed the purpose of C h o ice and noted that reviews since 1988— about 22,000 are now available online. Trish Culldn, vice-president o f CARL, explained how she worked with C hoice, whose data is retained in a modified MARC format, to load the tape as an experiment. Access, besides traditional author, title, and subject, is also by key word, reviewer, and reviewer affiliation. Culldn noted that the database gets heavy use, and that it would get even heavier use if the reviews were linked to local ownership. Carnegie Mellon did just that, explained Mark Kibbey, former director of library automation there. The only criticism patrons had was that they wanted reviews o f every book, not just those reviewed by C hoice. Although the experiment has proven suc­ cessful, Kibbey suggested that it might be more widely and easily used if the reviews were available through OCLC as part of the cataloging process. Luther College head librarian Norma Hervey called attention to the need to balance success and equity. Hervey saw the value o f C h o ice online as helping students determine from among the avail­ able literature the best monographs on a particular subject. Key word access in particular, she felt, was important in overcoming the limitation of LCSH and controlled vocabularies in dealing with new or interdisciplinary subjects. At Luther College C hoice is available through CARL System. Students must return to the OPAC after consulting the review to get the call number and circulation status of the reviewed book. C hoice editor and publisher Patricia Sabosik mentioned during the discussion period that she is currently reviewing a contract for possible tape licensing. She has also had conversations with NOTIS and Innovac. Anyone interested in addi­ tional details should contact Sabosik at C h o ice.— Nick Burckeĭ, W ashington University Access and preservation key con cern s “Folk Cultures of the Modem South: Documen­ tation of Living Traditions” sponsored by the An­ thropology and Sociology Section, the African American Studies Librarians Section, the Ethnic Materials Information Exchange Round Table (E M IE R T ), and the Atlanta Historical Society, examined the issue of access to information sources, be they printed materials, field and archival records, documentary films, or early sound recordings .There are many reasons why access to materials can be­ come such a stumbling block to researchers, prolif­ eration o f information being only one of them. Unless there exists good documentation surround­ ing interviews in folk culture studies, for example, this important source material, which is so often based on individual or collective memory, may lose some of its value over time. Material which is poorly indexed or organized, such as the narrative life histories arising from the Virginia Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration, may be virtually impossible to use. Likewise, unless the academic community knows about important sources o f information that exist, such as documen­ tary films in folklore, these sources will remain inaccessible and underused. Thus, there is an ever increasing need for the creation and dissemination of lists, catalogs, indexes, and bibliographies of research materials to a wide audience. Other ob­ stacles to access include the various stages of dete­ rioration that one encounters in trying to use field and archival records, as well as changes in technol­ ogy when trying to access sources such as early sound recordings. What emerged out of the last three ANSS programs is the need not only to preserve and organize valuable research materials o f the past, but also to learn from the past by assuring that folk and ethnic collections o f the future will be accessible to all the anthropologists, sociologists, folklorists, historians, and many others who wish to use them.—Maija M. Lutz, H arvard University T ra n s fo rm in g c o m p e titio n in to coalition Beverly Guy-Sheftall, director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center at Spelman College and co-founding editor of Sage: A Scholarly Jo u rn al on B lack W omen, discussed the “miseducation” she received as a student in the 1960s during her presentation at the Women’s Studies Section (W SS) program “Women Studies and Ethnic Diversity: Transforming Competition into Coalition.” She also pointed out that many African American writ­ ings are missing in academia as well as in the women’s studies canon. She spoke of the problems of language: “the problems o f isms as subtexts” which make it impossible to “concentrate on any­ thing.” She asserted the phrase “women of color obscures the differences” among these very women. She spoke o f curriculum integration projects which are provoking political correctness/diversity attacks, though there continues to be a lack o f attention to race, class, or ethnic difference. “PC’Vdiversity issues were much in the air as librarian respondents produced their own cultural literacy lists and wondered at the fuss the establish­ ment was making. As Amy Seetoo put it, “women and minority literatures are as threatening to West­ ern European literature as bicycle lanes are to highways.” Other comments dealt with collection building and the advantages to be gained by work­ ing together, using online catalogs and other re- September 1991 / 499 sources to access African American, Native Ameri­ can, Mexican American and Asian American collec­ tions. At the WSS general meeting there was an exten­ sive discussion on ACRL’s decision to hold the national conference in Salt Lake City. Virginia Daley (Women’s Studies Archivist, Duke Univer­ sity) echoed many of our sentiments in her note to ACRL: “How ironic that you would choose to have a conference focusing on excellence in a state that could win excellence awards for the suppression of information as well as the suppression of the rights of women, blacks, gays, and lesbians— in essence, a good portion of the ACRL membership.” WSS passed a resolution to cancel plans for a program at the ACRL Conference and to communicate its decision and reasons to the ACRL Board and ALA membership. WSS developed plans for its 1992 program en­ titled, “Controlling Women’s Right to Know: Infor­ mation Suppression in the Information Age.” The program will look at the general climate of repres­ sion in the country, continuing legal attacks on reproductive rights within the context o f state- imposed censorship issues for libraries and the emerging trend for “political correctness” and its implications for ethnic and women’s studies.— Jacquelyn Marie, University o f California E u ro p ean university libraries examined The University Libraries Section (ULS) pro­ gram titled “Libraries on the Shores of Lake Atlan­ tic: Diverse Approaches— Common Issues,” fea­ tured a panel composed of Henry Snyder, director of the 18th-Century Short Title Catalog project; Patricia Donlan, director of the National Library of Ireland; and Ann Matheson, assistant director of the National Libraryof Scotland. Snyder reflected on the differences between U .S. research libraries and those of Europe. European libraries in the traditional universities are much older, but not necessarily larger than their U.S. counterparts. “There is nothing in Europe like the profusion of university libraries in this country,” said Snyder. Cassettes of Annual Conference programs available Although the conference is over, you have not missed your chance to leam what happened. Audio­ tapes o f selected programs from the ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, are available from: ACTS, Inc., 14153 Clayton Rd„ Dallwin, M 0 63011; (314) 394-0611; fax: (314) 394-9381. ACRL pro­ grams selected for taping are: Cultural Diversity in the Academ ic L ibrary. Discusses recruitment and retention of staff. Order no. LA91009ae. $60.00 Video Collections: Copyright and Public P erform ance. Addresses issues of public perfor­ mance o f copyrighted video materials. Order no. LA91020ab. $24.00 Em pow erin g Students: Institutionalizing Inform ation L ite ra cy in H igher Education. Highlights why information literacy and resources- based learning are important tools. Order no. LA91021ab. $24.00 Em pow ering th e Public: Inform ation L it­ era cy fo r Environm ental Issues. A panel will review the history o f the environmental movement in legislation. Order no. LA91036ab. $24.00 Folk Cultures o f th e M od em South: D ocu ­ mentation o f Living Traditions. Archivists, folk­ lorists, and anthropologists discuss organizing ar­ chives andlibraiy collections. Orderno. LA91046ab. $24.00 Technology as a B a rr ie r to Inform ation L it­ eracy: Im plications fo r Bibliographic In tro ­ duction. Discussion o f the role o f technology in providing access. Order no. LA91058ab. $24.00 E urop ean Unification— 1 992: Im pact on In ­ form ation and Libraries. Analysis of emerging trends as they relate to international trade policy, world politics, etc. Order no. LA91062ac. $36.00 L ibraries & E conom ic Developm ent: Are W e Making the Connection? Discussion on the ability of government and business to obtain infor­ mation for planning and decision-making. Order no. LA91074ab. $24.00 Hidden Treasu res: G overnm ental Publica­ tions in the Arts and Humanities— In tern a­ tional, F e d e ra l, State, and Local. Program high­ lights gems of depository collections. Order no. LA91079ab. $24.00 Em pow ering People: Inform ation Literacy. Frank Zappa will speak on the topic of information literacy. Order no. LA91084ab. $24.00 E u ro p e 1 9 9 2 : Access to E u rop ean Commu­ nity Inform ation. Experts will provide insight into the problems of accessing current information about European Community integration. Order no. LA91086ab. $24.00 Prom oting Scientific L iteracy and E d u ca ­ tion: C an L ibraries M eet the Challenge? Dis­ tinguished government and academic leaders dis­ cuss how the federal government and leading scien­ tific associations are promoting science education in the U.S. Order no. LA91101ac. $36.00 500 / C &RL News Masters wins free trip to ACRL National Conference Deborah C. Masters, assistant university li­ brarian for information services at the Gelman Library of George Washington U niversity, is the winner o f a free trip to the ACRL 6th National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 1 2 - 14,1992. Masters’s name was drawn by ACRL president Barbara J. Ford at the ACRL mem­ bership booth at the ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta. The contest was sponsored by the ACRL Membership Committee and the National Con­ ference Executive Committee. Information on the conference is available from the A CRL office, (800) 545-2433, ext. 2516. B arbara Ford, with the help o f Cynthia Taylor, draw s the winning entry f o r a f r e e trip to the AC R L 6th N ational C onference in Salt L a k e City. There is also little consistency within or between countries concerning bibliographic control or auto­ mated systems, making resource-sharing a difficult proposition. The best effort at a comprehensive national union catalog is in Switzerland, and it consists o f a single-copy manual card file at the National Library. Calling diversity the watchword for European university libraries, Snyder cited the extreme example of Belgium, where the Flemish separatist movement resulted in the splitting o f the Flemish-speaking University of Leuven from the French-speaking University o f Louvain. The library collection was split such that even-numbered shelfmarks stayed north while odd numbers moved south, and journal runs were also split with odd numbered volumes staying and even numbered vol­ umes going. Noting that lack o f access to others’ collections is critical, Snyder commented that the whole European system o f university libraries “al­ most defies attempts at automation and moderniza­ tion.” The following two speakers, however, made it clear that the research library situation in Scotland and Ireland is much better organized than on the continent. Donlan characterized Ireland as “that small island to be west of Europe that spends as much time looking west to America as east to Europe.” She cited several projects of the National Library of Ireland which indeed seemed familiar to American librarians: a cooperative automation project with Trinity College and University College, Dublin; a national newspaper cataloging and preservation project; attempts to achieve a national policy on information provision; and the beginnings of a union list o f Celtic-language holdings in various countries worldwide. She cited the 18th-century STC project as helpful for the latter, as the 18th century was a “golden-age” for Irish publishing. While adequate funding is aconstant problem, the National Library o f Ireland is working on a strategic plan for its future. The situation in Scotland, as described by Ann Matheson, is even more similar to the U.S. univer­ sity library scene. The National Library has joined with eleven major research libraries to form a Work­ ing Group on Library Cooperation. Collection de­ velopment is a major item on their agenda, and they have adopted the conspectus methodol ogy to create an overall map of research collections. They also maintain a central file of major collection emphases and specializations, and look forward to voluntary adoption of collection responsibilities among mem­ bers. A future project is to coordinate preservation responsibilities based on conspectus data. The Na­ tional Library, Matheson feels, “should have clear collection development policies, devised from a knowledge of the strengths o f other major libraries, and should widely distribute it, so that others can devise their own policies in light o f what the Na­ tional Library does.” Deploring the lack o f adequate September 1991 / 501 funding, however, Matheson noted, “cooperation is not a substitute for properly supported collections at the local level; shared poverty does not necessarily create wealth.” In response to a question, both Donlan and Matheson commented favorably on the European Communities’ plan to bring all national libraries up to a common standard. Funding is seen as the main obstacle. Matheson ended the session by noting somberly that "in the corridors of power [in Eu­ rope], libraries are very far down the line, perhaps at the bottom.”—Jill Fatzer, University o f New Orleans Id eas fo r dealing with econ om ic crisis The ULS Current Topics Discussion Group pre­ sented a panel discussion on “Economic Crisis: Danger and Opportunity for Libraries.” Gerald Munoff, deputy director of the University of Chi­ cago Library began the discussion by stating that one of the opportunities is to look for funding sources outside the normal. He observed that “de­ velopment is viewed as an attractive avenue for new funding, particularly by those who aren’t doing it. Those who are realize how much work it is.” Devel­ opment of individual donors is a long-term effort, divided into a period of cultivation, followed by solicitation. Friends groups are also important, but again take a period of time to become established …development is viewed as an attractive avenue f o r new funding, particularly by those who aren’t doing it. Those who are realize how much work it is.” and useful. Munoff s advice is to begin a multifac­ eted development effort, but do not expect it to solve this year's budget crisis. Frances Painter, assistant director for adminis­ trative services at Virginia Tech, discussed ap­ proaches to economic crises which include man­ dated staff layoffs. She recommended providing staff with as much information as possible as soon as possible. Efforts must be made to provide services ranging from emotional support and the opportu­ nity to ventilate feelings, to concrete help such as outplacement services. “Don’t do away with normal farewell rituals for those who are laid off, and recognize that the survivors need support in getting on with the work at hand,” recommended Painter. The opportunity in the situation is to plan for the ULS activities planned for 1991-92 The new fiscal year promises to be a busy and productive one for the University Libraries Section (ULS). The largest section in ACRL, ULS, through its four program committees (Conference and Preconference Planning, Cur­ rent Topics, Librarians in Higher Education and Administration Discussion Group) and four governance committees (Executive, Policy and Planning, Organization and Bylaws, and Communications), offers its members oppor­ tunities to update competencies, leam new skills, and share ideas relevant to university librarianship. ULS is planning three programs for the 1992 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco: 1) its first preconference on the theme of university librarians, “Looking Outward, Mov­ ing Onward;” 2) “Views from Across the Quad: The Academy’s Views of the Library in the Twenty-first Century,” a look at how university administrators view librarianship; and 3) a pro­ gram on team building for library staff. Other ULS activities include: revising the 1977 ACRL Guidelines and Procedures f o r the Screening and Appointment o f Academic L i­ braries; implementing the recommendations from the ACRL Task Force on Recruitment of Underrepresented Minorities; and carrying out a required five-year section review. Members of ULS have many options for active participation in the section’s programs and projects. You can attend and evaluate con­ ference programs; vote in section elections; run for elected office; or serve on a committee, task force, or discussion group. We want and need your active participation in ULS. Please send suggestions or volunteer forms to me, Joseph J. Branin, chair ULS, at University of Minnesota Libraries, 499 Wilson Library, 309 19th Av­ enue S, Minneapolis, MN 55455; (612) 624- 4520; fax: (612) 6 2 4 -9 3 5 3 ; B itn et: J- Bran@ UM INNI; Internet: J-B ran@ V M l. SPCS.UMN.edu. Ed. note: ULS has elected not to issue a section newsletter. Instead, information about ULS activities will appear irregularly in C&RL News. It is compiled by members of the ULS Communications Committee; this month’s ULS update was written by jill B. Fatzer; look for her byline in the accompanying article about ACRL programs at the ALA Annual Conference. 502 / C&RL News future. “A real danger is to turn in on oneself and say poor pitiful me, I have no money. But it is no excuse to stop planning, stop looking forward, and position­ ing oneself to make best use of resources when they return,” said Painter. “One can emerge from afinan- cial crisis ready to move with confidence into the future.” The final speaker, David Lewis, head o f research and information services at the University o f Con­ necticut, posited nine truths for middle managing in lean times: 1) It is a zero sum game; 2) I f you don’t change the way you are doing things, the quality of what you do will decline; 3) Change is risky, but you don’t have a choice; 4) G et and keep control of your resources; 5) Stay focused on what matters most; 6) Vision is your job; 7) Keep your message simple and repeat it over and over again; 8) Make sure you clearly demonstrate what you can do and what you have accomplished; 9) Stamina is required. Following the panel presentation, the audience discussed various approaches to budget cutting, and how to maintain campus support for the library during periods o f austerity. Pre-existing support of students, faculty, or the administration is deemed vital.—Jill Fatzer, University o f N ew O rleans L ib r a ria n s ta k e o n o th e r a d m in istra tiv e d u ties The Discussion Group on Librarians in Higher Education and Campus Administration addresses issues of librarians who are increasingly involved in all aspects o f higher education, and who hold posi­ tions in or are interested in University-level campus administration. Patricia Senn Breivik, vice-presi­ dent for information resources at Towson State University, began the discussion with a presenta­ tion on the phenomenon o f clustering together various information units under a single administra­ tor on a number of campuses. In the case of Towson State, Breivik has the computing center, telecom­ munications, media services, and the library in her purview. She speculated that this trend arises from administrative disenchantment with computing cen­ ters’ past lack o f accountability and service orienta­ tion. The head o f such a cluster ought to concentrate on information rather than technology. “Librarians will come out on top where information mana­ gement is emphasized, and computer people where technology is emphasized,” predicted Breivik. “The media people seem to be out of the running in either scenario.” A librarian assuming such a newly estab­ lished position needs to deal immediately with the concerns o f the unit heads. “The computer center personnel will be fearful because s/he is not a tech­ nician, and the library director will be fearful that s/ he will try to run the library,” Breivik said. Breivik encouraged more academic librarians to become American Council on Education Fellows or pursue similar leadership programs, if they think they have serious administrative contributions to make in this information age. “Interested individuals should be barred from Midwinter attendance— they should spend January going to EDUC O M , American Association for Higher Education, or similar disci­ pline-based meetings instead,” she recommended. The second half o f the discussion centered on front-line librarians’ involvement in campus life and governance, particularly in regard to curricular re­ form. Participants felt that beginning academic li­ brarians must be socialized not ju st to the profession, but also to the culture o f universities. Part o f this is an understanding that their role includes working closely with the teaching faculty, serving on univer­ sity-wide committees, and involving themselves positively in campus politics. Persons interested in these issues are invited to join this discussion group at future conferences. To get on the mailing list, contact incoming chair James Estrada at Sterling Library, Yale University.—Jill Fatzer, University o f N ew Orleans ■ ■ HBCU data published A CRL/Flistorically B lack C olleges & Uni­ versities L ib ra r y Statistics 1988-89, a compila­ tion of statistics from 68 historically black college and university (H BCU) libraries, has been published by ACRL. For the first time since 1969, statistics are available on H BC U libraries. The data was collected and reported using the same format as that used by the Association of Research Li­ braries (ARL) and by ACRL for its non-ARL University Libraries Statistics Survey. This al­ lows for comparisons with large research insti­ tutions and other universities. Several unique elements include a directory o f respondents and an automation inventory. The Andrew J. Mellon Foundation provided support for a meeting in 1987 where 30 HBCU librarians met with the ACRL Historically Black College and University Library Ad Hoc Com­ mittee. The publication is a result of that meeting, additional funding from the Founda- tion, and support from many librarians. The 101-page paperback and disk with the data is available for $25.95 for ACRL members andfor $35.95 for nonmembers. ALA members get a 10% discount. A CKL/FIBC U L ib rary Sta­ tistics (ISBN 0-8389-7547-x) is available from the ALA Order Department, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, I L 60611; (800) 545-2433, ext. 5104.