ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries July/August 1 9 9 6/421 VT100 conn ection and ca n ’t see the pictures at all. Can that user still navigate your page without them? Rule 8 • T here is on e thing you ca n do to m ake y o u r im age ap p e a r to take less tim e to load th an it really does (because we both know you are going to ignore my guidelines and make images that are too big anyway) and that is in the html statement for in-line graphics. If you know the size in pixels o f your image and you add that information, the text will be able to load more quickly because the browser will know how much space it has to leave for each picture. For example: Rule 9 • Y o u w ill n e e d g o o d g ra p h ic s so ft­ w are. This last rule is so important I almost put it first. Any image that you create online, copy from a Photo-CD, or scan in on a con­ sumer-level scanner ($20,000 or less) will ben­ efit from simple modification with good soft­ ware. And good does n ot mean the paint software that comes with Windows. My favor­ ite application, and one I cannot recommend highly enough, is Adobe Photoshop, but there are other software packages with similar func­ tionality that you can choose from. Basically you want software that will let you modify and correct digital images as well as create images from scratch. You should be able to type text in it and be able to save files in either JPEG or GIF formats. Some software now have built-in programs for creating transparent images and creating interlaced GIFs (the images that come up in several passes, gradually getting sharper), though there is shareware available which will do those conversions as well. Whatever package you choose, take the time to learn and use it. There is nothing that will replace experience, and there is no shortcut you can take to get there. A person without art background but with a good understanding of the software can make better graphics than someone who knows art but doesn’t know the digital brush from the digital pencil. Good luck. Further reading I’ve seen one book that explains Web graph­ ics well: Designing Web Graphics: How to Pre­ p a r e Im ages a n d M edia f o r the Web, by Lynda Weinman (New Riders, 1996). ■ Letters M ore ku do s for Ralph Russell To the Editor: No one was more delighted than I to hear that Ralph Russell has been named the 1996 ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year (April 1996). I was disappointed, however, that C&RL News did not include in its article on Dr. Russell the main reason I think he de­ serves recognition. In my seven-year association with him, Dr. Russell has been a trailblazer in what I think is one o f the most important issues facing li­ braries today. He has always treated the sup­ port staff in his employ with the respect and dignity they deserve. In short, he treats them as the professionals they are. Thanks largely to Dr. Russell, support staff are fully involved in self-governance, library governance, and standing committees. I myself served as the chair o f a committee, elected by both staff and faculty within the committee. Dr. Russell also endeavors whenever pos­ sible to involve support staff in conferences and meetings outside o f our library, giving us a chance to meet and develop professional relationships with library employees from all over the United States. The relationships be­ tween library faculty and staff at Georgia State are collegial, not adversarial. Dr. Russell’s li­ brary is a wonderful place to work, and I am proud to know him.— Wendy S. Wilmoth, Mobile, A labam a (formerly assistant b e a d o f access services, Georgia State University) Ed. note: C&RL News welcomes y ou r signed, typed comments on recent content in ou r pages or on matters o f g en eral interest to the a c a ­ dem ic o r research library profession. Letters m ay b e edited f o r space constraints. Send y ou r letters to: The Editor, C&RL News, 5 0 E. Hu­ ron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795: f a x : (312) 280-2520; e-mail: medavis@ ala.org. ■ mailto:medavis@ala.org 4 2 2 / C&RL News July/August 1 9 9 6 / 423 424/C&RL News