ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 2002 / 777 N e w s f r o m , t h e F i e l d Stephanie Orphan C o r n e ll p ro m o te s lib r a r y c a re e rs to h ig h s c h o o l s tu d e n ts Cornell University Library (CUL) has initiated a Ju n io r Fellows Program, m aking it the first university to offer a summer program designed to prom ote librarianship as a career choice for minority high school students. In July and Au­ gust, eight Ithaca, New York, high school stu­ dents spent six w eeks w orking w ith CUL staff mem bers and learning about the myriad roles o f 21st-century librarians. The experience not only helped to get par­ ticipants thinking a b o u t library science as a possible career choice, but also provided them w ith am ple opportunities to learn how to bet­ ter use library resources. T he Ju n io r Fellows attended instruction sessions on using library resources, toured m ost o f the cam pus librar­ ies, and spent time “job shadow ing” librarians w orking in preservation and collection main­ tenance, circulation and reference services, digi­ tal im aging, an d technology services. At the end of the program, students presented a four- to-six-page research paper to the group. N e w v e r s io n o f W ilso n W e b la u n ch e d H.W. Wilson has launched a completely rede­ signed version of its WilsonWeb database ser­ vice. The new service offers extensive integra­ tio n w ith existing W e b -b a se d c o n te n t a n d services, multiple search and display options, da­ tabase-specific subject thesauri, customization options for administrators and users, and a sim­ plified interface. A new feature, WilsonLink, provides access to full-text articles not found in Wilson databases. If the full-text of a cited article isn ’t available o n W ilsonW eb, users m ay click the WilsonLink icon to autom ati­ cally search th e lib rary ’s o th e r open-URL compliant databases. WilsonWeb hosts more than 50 reference databases for public, aca­ demic, school, and special libraries. M A R C re c o r d s a v a ila b le fo r W rig h t A m e ric a n F ic t io n E lectronic reco rd s for 2,308 titles o f d ig i­ tized 19th-century American fiction from the Wright American Fiction project are now freely available to libraries w h o w ish to ad d these research aids to their online catalogs. Indiana University and the University of Michigan con­ v e rte d existing m icroform at b ib lio g rap h ic records to describe th e electronic rep ro d u c­ tion and, w ith the co o p eratio n o f OCLC, are offering the records to libraries worldwide. The rem aining 250 reco rd s will be re le a se d this month. A C R L E ffe ctive Practices C le a rin g h o u se a ccep tin g sub m issio n s In resp o n se to its charge to devise a m ethod for recognizing effective practices in academic libraries a n d sharing th em w ith ACRL m em ­ bers an d o th e r in terested librarians, ACRL’s Effective Practices Committee has developed a W eb-based clearinghouse for effective prac­ tices in academ ic libraries. T he sco p e o f the clearinghouse will span all areas of library pro­ grams, services, facilities, technology, and ini­ tiatives. Librarians m ay subm it their effective practices directly to the ACRL W eb site. Prac­ tices are then reviewed to see if they m eet the established criteria. O nce accepted, ACRL will post the practice on the Web site and send the subm itting library a letter acknow ledging its contribu tion to the Effective Practices Clear­ inghouse. The committee encourages you to visit the E ffe c tiv e P ra c tic e s W eb s ite at h t t p : / / w ww .ala.org/acrl/ep/index.htm l to review the criteria and submit your ow n effective practice. http://www.ala.org/acrl/ep/index.html 772 / C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 2002 M ark y o u r c a le n d a r! A C R L to o f fe r tw o w o rk sh o p s in P h ila d e lp h ia ACRL will offer tw o w ork sh o p s in Philadel­ phia prior to the ALA Midwinter Meeting on Friday, January 24, 2003: C re a tin g a C o n tin u o u s A sse ssm e n t E n v iro n m e n t in A ca d e m ic Lib ra rie s D uring this full-day session, w o rk th ro u g h th e “S tandards for College Libraries” (2000 edition) using the instrum ent “Standards and A ssessment for Academic Libraries: A Work­ b o o k .” Learn ab o u t the n ew concepts o f the standards, discover h o w the individual sec­ tio n s o f th e sta n d a rd s a re p a rt o f o verall institution an d library planning, an d find out h o w to in corporate perform ance indicators and outcom es assessm ent measures to assess th e im pact o f librarians a n d libraries o n stu­ dent learning. T h e w o rk b o o k provides practical infor­ m atio n th ro u g h o u t w ith checklists, form s, exam ples, an d library assessm ent tools an d techniques. Speakers: Bob Fernekes, infor­ m ation services librarian, G eorgia Southern B r o o k ly n C o lle g e o p e n s e x p a n d e d lib r a r y A renovated an d ex p an d ed B rooklyn College Library, th e larg est in th e City U niversity o f N ew York, o p e n e d its do o rs in O ctober. T he classic neo-G eorgian architecture o f the origi- Come and offer your idL:ihe Associatuon of the FtureOpen Forum on ACRe Tas and suggestions to ACRL’s Task Force o n the Association o f the Future o n Sunday, January 26, 2003, 4:30- 5:30 p.m., during the Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is your opportunity to let the task force know your thoughts about what works, what does not work, what changes you would like to see, and how ACRL as an organization can b e more flexible an d responsive to its m em ­ bers. Task Force Chair Maureen Sullivan will fa­ cilitate this session. If you have input and will not b e able to attend the meeting, please send y o u r th o u g h ts to M au reen b y e-m ail: msull317@aol.com. University; Bill Nelson, professor an d library director, Augusta State University. B e h a vio rs th a t Burden th e W orkplace Learn ho w to identify and change behaviors that can undermine the success o f your library (and your personal career goals), as measured by the financial and organizational support the li­ brary receives within your institution or greater community. Written exercises and small discus­ sion will help you see the actions o f yourself and your colleagues, your library's strategic plan, and the culture of your library w ith fresh eyes. These behaviors and policies can feel like the right things to the library staff but drive cus­ tomers crazy and are not necessary for accurate, efficient, an d effective service. Speaker: Pat Wagner, Pattern Research ALA Midwinter registration is n o w open. Watch h ttp://w w w .ala.org/events/m idw in- ter2003/registration.html. Questions? Contact (800) 545-2433, ext. 2523; acrl@ala.org. nal LaG uardia Hall has b e e n w e d to a sleek, technologically advanced facility, the result of a $72 m illion project. T he library holds m ore th an 1.4 m illion bo o k s an d contains 6.5 acres o f floor space, 21.5 miles of shelving, an d seat­ ing for m ore th an 2,300 users. Students have b een provided w ith a variety o f n e w re s o u rc e s a n d stu d y e n v iro n m e n ts. T ech n o lo g ical cap ab ilities in c lu d e a digital multimedia distribution system, teleconferenc­ ing eq uipm ent, satellite connectivity, an d so­ ph isticated n e tw o rk in g capabilities. In ad d i­ tion to offering traditional library services, the b u ild in g h o u se s th e college archives, a n e w m edia center, a n d academic and administrative computing. A distinctive feature of the library is the state-of-the-art environm ental controls that promote a clean, protective environment for print collections, audio and digital collections, and art­ work displays. A p p a la c h ia n S t a t e e s t a b lis h e s r a c in g c o lle c t io n T he A ppalachian State University Library has in itiated a p ro g ra m to cre a te a co llectio n o f m aterials relatin g to th e h istory o f sto ck car mailto:msull317@aol.com http://www.ala.org/events/midwin- mailto:acrl@ala.org C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 2002 / 773 racing. T he Stock Car Racing C ollection cur­ rently includes m ore than 350 books a n d vid­ eos, racing periodicals, a clippings file covering 1,100 subjects, an d a growing collection o f race p rogram s an d p h o to g rap h s. A sev en -p erso n advisory com m ittee has b e e n nam ed to guide the collection’s grow th. E B S C O a n d S ir s i fo r m c o n t e n t p a rt n e r s h ip Sirsi has a n n o u n c e d th at it will b e providing instant access to EBSCO’s Novelist, a fiction re­ source offered through its line of e-library solu­ tions. N ovelist assists fiction readers in finding new authors and titles by using a favorite author, title, or content description as a template. Users can brow se m ore than 100,000 titles through a variety of means, including theme-oriented book lists, aw ard lists, an d fiction-related W eb sites. The new agreem ent will allow current Novelist subscribers to enjoy access through a single inter­ face for searching the library’s catalog, the Novelist database, and the Web. Sirsi is creating the ability to access Novelist through its iBistro and iLink e- library solutions. G a le la u n c h e s e b o o k p r o g r a m T hrough an alliance w ith netLibrary, Gale will b eg in offering e b o o k s o f its classic reference works, which will b e available for searching and reading over the Internet. netLibrary will host the Gale eBooks, and the works will be accessible to anyone with a netLibrary account. The initial se- V o lu n te e rs n e e d e d a t C h a rlo tte c o n fe re n ce Help others, support your profession, and have fun in the bargain! A wide variety of tasks and time slots are available for volunteers at ACRL’s National Conference in Charlotte, North Caro­ lina, April 10-13, 2003. Interested? C ontact th e C harlotte Volun­ teer Committee cochairs Janis Bandelin, e-mail: janis.bandelin@ furman.edu, or Kate Hickey, e-mail: hickey@elon.edu, for further details. lection o f 30 to 50 Gale titles come from a variety o f award-winning imprints. Content will be iden­ tical to the print version. N T IS p r o v id e s H o m e la n d S e c u r it y In f o r m a t io n C e n t e r T h e N ational T echnical In fo rm atio n Service (NTIS) has created a new central site, the Home­ land Security Inform ation Center, in response to dem and for information o n hom eland secu­ rity issues since last Septem ber. T he site is di­ v id ed into five to p ic areas: h ealth a n d m ed i­ cine, em ergency p rep ared n ess an d response, biological and chemical warfare, food an d ag­ ricultural safety, an d safety training packages. U n d er e a c h h ead in g , NTIS has a s s e m b le d a m enu of im portant docum ents and multimedia re s o u rc e s. V isit th e site at: h t t p :/ /w w w . ntis.gov/hs. ■ Panel session on new IS research agend a to be held at A C R L N ational Conference T he ACRL Instruction Section’s (IS) “Research Agenda for Library Instruction and Information Literacy” will b e the subject of a panel session, “Put Instruction on Your (Research) Agenda,” at the ACRL 11th National Conference, April 10- 13, 2003. In 2000, the IS Research and Scholarship Com­ mittee was charged with updating the existing research agenda, originally published in 1980. The committee reviewed research articles formally published in the United States and gathered in­ put from national conferences to identify impor­ tant research areas relevant to academic library instruction programs in the current environment. While many o f the original issues still lacked sub­ stantial research, new them es also arose. Simi­ larly, the scope of the docum ent w as expanded to include an emphasis on information literacy, reflecting the transition that our institutions and organizations are experiencing. The text of the research agenda is available online (http://w ww .ala.org/acrl/is/com m ittee/ webpages/research/researchagenda.htm l) and will be published in the February 2003 issue of C&RL N ew s. Inquiries and suggestions regarding the conference program are welcome; contact committee chair Mel­ issa Becher at e-mail: mbecher@american.edu o r visit the committee Web site at http://www.ato.oig/acri/ is/committee/webpages/research/index.html. mailto:janis.bandelin@furman.edu mailto:hickey@elon.edu http://www http://www.ala.o%e2%85%9e/acrl/is/committee/ mailto:mbecher@american.edu http://www.ato.oig/acri/