ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


380

“ Electronic Lib rary”  course
The University o f Oregon Library has suc­

cessfully experimented with a team-taught 
credit course, “The Electronic Library,” that 
includes classroom instruction in major infor­
mation technologies. The course, which was 
open to both undergraduate and graduate stu­
dents with no prerequisites o f computer lit­
eracy, met twice a w eek for seven weeks. It 
utilized resources in both the University Li­
brary and the University Computing Center, 
where students used the computer lab and ob­
tained VAX accounts for Internet searching.

T h e  cou rse cu rricu lu m  in c lu d e d  a 
HyperCard orientation to the services o f the 
library; lectures in Boolean strategies, the 
MARC record, and differences between key­
w ord and thesaurus searching; and demon­
strations and hands-on practice w ith  the 
Library’s online catalog (including the Ex­
panded Academic Index), CD-ROMs, the In­
ternet, government documents databases, and 
O C LC ’s FirstSearch service. Instruction was

search account is required. The system (con­
taining the videodisc o f architectural images, 
RLIN LaserLink Software and user’s manual costs 
$650 (plus tax, shipping, and handling). Con­
tact the RLIN Information Center at voice: (800) 
537-7546; e-mail: bl.ric@rlg.stanford.edu.

VTLS a n d  Princeton to create im ag e 
d a ta b a s e  o f card catalog
Princeton University Libraries, Princeton’s Com­
puting and Information Technology Depart­
ment, and VTLS Inc. are working on a joint 
project to scan the libraries’ public union card 
catalog, containing 6.5 million 3x5 catalog cards, 
to create a database o f digitized images. The 
database represents 1.75 million titles acquired 
and cataloged before 1980, predating Princeton’s 
automation and online catalog.

Initially, the image database will not be in­
tegrated with the libraries’ online catalog, but 
in a later phase o f the project plans call for 
optical character recognition to convert the digi­
tal image o f each card to fully tagged and in­
dexed records o f text in standard MARC for­
mat. The deteriorating condition o f the catalog 
cards, the extensive editing o f the cards required 
by Princeton library staff, and the delay it would

shared among the Coordinator o f Library In­
struction (Paul Frantz), the Coordinator o f Elec­
tronic Resources (Sara Brownmiller), the East 
Asian bibliographer (Robert Felsing), and the 
Interlibrary Loan librarian (Joanne Halgren).

Students reported that the course was an 
excellent introduction to resources that would 
change the way they did research, and the 
team o f librarians gained experience and in­
sight into different ways o f presenting new  
information technologies. The course will be­
come a regular component o f the Library’s 
credit course offerings, and techniques used 
in the course will become incorporated into 
workshops and other instructional efforts. 
Anyone wishing copies o f the course sylla­
bus, assignments, and a list o f class readings 
may obtain them through the LOEX Clearing­
house for Library Instruction, Eastern Michi­
gan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan.— P a u l 
Frantz, C oord inator o f  Library Instruction, 
University o f  Oregon

create in cataloging current acquisitions were 
all factors in deciding to scan the catalog rather 
than follow  the traditional retrospective con­
version model. A  recent estimate suggested that 
a retrospective conversion would cost $18 mil­
lion and would take 11 years to complete; the 
image database project will be completed in 
nine months at a cost o f less than $1 million.

Free NEH M edia Log a v a ila b le
A  newly revised edition o f the National En­
dowment for the Humanities (NEH) Media Log, 
a comprehensive guide to over 800 film, TV, 
and radio programs funded by the NEH is now

Share your opinion with 
C&RL N ew s readers

C&RL News is looking for well-reasoned 
commentaries on issues o f interest to academic 
and research librarians for its column, “The 
Way I See It.” Essays should be between 500-
750 words and should be sent to “The Way I 
See It,” C&RL News, ACRL, 50 E. Huron St., 
Chicago, IL 60611-2795; fax: 312-280-7663; 
e-mail: U38398@UICVM. uic. edu.

mailto:bl.ric@rlg.stanford.edu