ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ M arch 2004 / 119 N e w s f r o m t h e F i e l d Stephanie Orphan A LA m em bers can change contact info, Web site login o nline Members wishing to update their contact infor­ mation or change their login and password for the ALA Web site can now do so through the “Update My Profile” feature on the Web site. To view your current information and make changes, go to www.ala.org (or any page on the ALA Web site, including all ACRL pages) and click on the “login” button on the top right-hand corner of the page. You will be prompted to enter a login (ALA m ember ID or valid e-mail address) and password. If you do not know your password, follow the link at the bottom of the page to have it e-mailed to you. Once you have logged into the site, click on “View My ALA,” then select “Update My Pro­ file.” Make any necessary changes, then click “save and continue,” and your profile will be updated. Stan fo rd w ith d ra w s from ARL Stanford University has withdraw n from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), citing a num ber o f concerns that the university had with ARL operations, including compliance with labor-intensive annual reporting requirements. University Librarian Michael A. Keller made the decision after conferring with the university’s president, provost, and heads of five campus co­ ordinate libraries that are administratively sepa­ rate from the Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources. Keller stated, “The bottom line is that we no longer saw a return on Stanford’s continued investment of dues, reporting effort, or of staff engagement in ARL.” His concerns focused on mission drift, w eak oversight of programs and direc­ tion, and inadequate management on the part of members. ARL is a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to shape and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries. Stanford helped to establish the or­ ganization more than 70 years ago. A SERL launches regional "A sk A Librarian" The Association of Southeastern Research Li braries (ASERL) has launched the first virtual reference service cooperatively staffed by re­ search libraries from across a region. The service, w hich is available for 12 hours a day, seven days a w eek, is staffed by refer­ ence personnel at ten ASERL m em ber librar­ ies. It is available by linking through the Web site o f any participating library as well as th ro u g h w w w .ask -a-lib rarian .o rg . D uring its first few months, the ASERL service will provide varying service hours to determine user dem and and preferences. Users do not n eed special equipm ent or software to ac­ cess the service and, once connected, can chat real time with reference staff from ASERL libraries. B ritish Lib rary jo in s Digital Library Federation The British Library has joined the Digital Li­ brary Federation (DLF) as its first strategic partner from outside the United States. The library has em barked u p o n a significant ex­ pansion of its digital library program that will benefit citizens of the U.K. and research­ ers from around the world. As a m em ber of DLF, the library will be able to exploit pos­ sibilities for research and study and for com­ munication an d collaboration o f digital in­ formation resources. DLF is a partnership organization o f academic libraries and re­ lated organizations that are pioneering the use of electronic-information technologies to extend their collections and services. http://www.ala.org http://www.ask-a-librarian.org 120 / C&RL News ■ March 2004 Living the Future 5: Strategically Striving and Surviving "turning u n certain ty and change into innovative im provem ents" In 1996, our colleagues at the University of Arizona Library (UA) invited us to the first “Living the Future” conference w here they m ade public how they w ere “turning uncer­ tainty and change into innovative improve­ m ents.” W e learned about transformational library organizational changes, teams, process improvement (improving service while reduc­ ing costs), strategic planning, and the chang­ ing roles o f library staff. While the concepts and methods employed at UA w ere n ew to m any o f us, the n ee d to transform our libraries in response to our rap­ idly changing environment is something w e have all struggled with in recent years. Now “Living th e Future 5: Strategically Striving an d Surviving,” jointly sp o n so red b y UA, ACRL, an d ARL (Association o f Research Libraries), promises to b e another o p p o rtu ­ nity to learn from colleagues in the forefront of library organizational change efforts. R e se rv e A p ril 14-17, 2004, an d plan to v is it s u n n y Tucson, A rizo n a Several all-conference sessions will challenge our thinking and lead us dow n new paths: • Ca rla Stoffle, dean o f libraries fo r the Uni­ versity o fA rizona, will focus our thinking on th e s tra te g ic ro le th a t c o n s o rtia l a n d partnering approaches play in o ur transfor­ m ational change efforts, given the thriving digital environment on the one hand and cur­ rent b u d g et reductions that m any libraries are faced with o n the other. • R ick Luce, research library director a t the Los Alamos N ationalL aboratory, pioneered the Library W ithout Walls, o n e o f the first digi­ tal libraries to deliver large-scale production databases via the Web, interactive personal­ ized Web alerts, an d dynamic content link­ ing. Luce will share his beliefs about the role that strategic planning and assessment play in developing a library that is accountable to its users. • Judy Sorum Brown is an educator, speaker, consultant, poet, and writer w hose w ork in organizations revolves around themes of lead­ ership, change, learning, strategy, dialogue, creativity, diversity, and renewal. She will fa­ cilitate an opportunity for us to link leader­ ship and learning as a way to think about sus­ tainable change, even in times of turbulence. During our time together, w e’ll follow the path of UA’s efforts to continuously turn u n ­ certainty and change into innovative improve­ ments. We'll learn w hy and how the Library embarked on some of these current develop­ ments: • GPO Virtual Depository Project • Strategic digital initiatives, including re­ search library portal software • Budgeting strategies • Single system for electronic reserves and interlibrary loan • Streamlining circulation policies • Combining branch services • Partnering for information literacy and instruction • Setting quality standards • Evaluation and cost-effectiveness of ref­ erence and referral services • Training area studies librarians for the future • Access and delivery in the 21st-century digital environment Building on the pattern o f previous con­ ferences, w e ’ll also hear from colleagues at libraries across the country w ho are im ple­ menting organizational change efforts. In past years, w e’ve learned from as many as 25 dif­ ferent libraries, including colleagues from Emory, Brown, George Washington, Indiana U niversity-Purdue University Indianapolis, N ew York Public Library, N orth S uburban Library System, U niversity o f Las Vegas, U niversity o f Connecticut, University o f Iowa, University o f Maryland, an d U niver­ sity of Washington. This y ear w e an ticip ate 10 to 12 “c o n ­ tributor” sessions led by colleagues from a cross-section o f different types o f libraries. Some o f th e them es that will b e addressed include: • Global changes (co n tin u ed on n e x t p a g e) C&RL N ews ■ M arch 2004 / 121 • Strategic directions for higher education • Library mission and vision in the digital environment • Strategic reallocation • Developing the entrepreneurial organization • Making a difference for users • Focusing on individual performance • S upporting staff th ro u g h transform a­ tional change • Strategic partnering • Assessment And, as if th a t’s n o t enough, “Living the Future 5” will kick off w ith several p reco n ­ ference w orkshops. ARL will present: • Introduction to Student D evelopm ent Theory: M aking th e Library a C enter for Learning and Growth with facilitator Jerome Offord Jr., ARL program officer for training and diversity • Emotional Intelligence: Principles for Per­ sonal and Organizational Success with facilita­ tor Melanie Hawks, ARL/OLMS program of­ ficer for training and leadership development UT e n d o w m e n t fo r stu d e n ts w ith v isu a l d is a b ilit ie s fu n d ed University of Tennessee (UT) professor Otis H. Stephens Jr. and his wife, Mary T. Stephens, have fully funded the endowment they created in 1997 to m ake library resources more acces­ sible to students with visual and other physical disabilities. Income from the Otis H. and Mary T. Stephens Library Endowment will be used to purchase new technology and equipment for the UT library. Both of the Stephens are blind from birth and understand the importance of new technologies that give those with visual disabilities more equal and independent access to information sources. Otis Stephens has been an active library supporter since joining the UT faculty in 1967. The endow ment is open for outside gifts from donors. P ro je c t M u se o ffe rs e n h a n c e d se a rch fe a tu re s Project Muse has made several enhancements to its search interface in response to users re­ q u ests to m ake it a m ore effective research tool. Users n o w have m ore options to w ork w ith th e ir search results, including saving, e-mailing, and exporting results to RefWorks • Conducting User Surveys: A General Intro­ duction with facilitators Julia Blixrud, ARL as­ sistant executive director for external relations; Dan Lee, Digital Library and Information Sys­ tems, University of Arizona; and Jim Self, Man­ agement Information Services, University of Virginia Make your plans now to participate in one of the most thought-provoking and action-gen erating library conferences you have ever at­ tended. You can find periodic updates about co n fe re n c e p la n s and d etails a t w w w . library.arizona.edu/conference/. Sign up before April 8, 2004, to get the best conference rate; three or more attendees from the same organization also receive a conference discount. Through the generosity o f ARL, registra­ tion forms are available online at db.arl.org/ ltf5/.—La ura Bender, University o f A rizona, benderl@u.library.a n zo n a .ed u , a n d R aynna Bowlby, B row n University Library, R aynna_ Bowldby@brσwn.edu A C R L an d A A S L h o ste d th e P re s id e n tia l Report on In fo rm atio n Litera cy 15th A n n i­ versary C eleb ra tio n at Jan u ary's M id w in te r M eeting. The event recognized the im pact of ALA's 1989 release o f "Th e Presidential Co m m itte e on In fo rm a tio n L ite ra c y : Final R e p o rt," w h ich is credited as m arking the sta rt of th e in fo rm a tio n lite racy m ovem ent. Sh ow n are P a tric ia Senn B re iv e k (rig h t), A C R L p a st p re s id e n t and c h a ir o f A LA 's P r e s id e n t ia l C o m m itte e on In fo rm a tio n Litera cy at th e tim e the re p o rt w as w ritte n , A A SL P re sid e n t Frances Roscello (c e n te r), and cu rre n t ACRL President Tyrone Cannon (le ft). mailto:benderl@u.libraiy.anzona.edu 122 / C&RL News ■ March 2004 and EndNote, and downloading and printing in text-only format. Users can also view their search history and follow links provided to modify their previous searches or retrieve all of the results from those searches. Project Muse currently provides online ac­ cess to more than 200 titles from 30 not-for- profit publishers to more than 1,000 subscriber libraries worldwide. UC Press e n te rs p u b lish in g p a rtn e rsh ip w ith an th ro p o lo g ica l asso ciatio n University of California (UC) Press and the American Anthropological Association (AAA) have entered into a multiyear publishing part­ nership to produce AAA’s historical Web-based com m unications initiative, A nthroSource. AnthroSource is an electronic portal designed to provide access to a vast network of digitized materials on anthropology and will unite more than 100 years of anthropological material and all AAA publications. UC Press has begun work on the development and implementation of AnthroSource and has assumed responsibility for print and electronic production of ten of the association’s journals, newsletters, and bul­ letins. S e ria l S o lu tio n s r e le a s e s E-Journal Portal Serials Solutions has released E-Journal Portal, a low-maintenance e-journal management solu­ tion, as a feature of its E-Journal Access and M anagem ent Suite. The portal provides a customizable, single-page interface for patrons to access e-journals through a browsable A-to- Z title list, eliminates the need for librarians to post HTML reports, and provides daily updates to library-specific data. ■ Plan to attend ACRL's Legislative Luncheon at ALA's National Library Legislative Day ALA National Library Legislative Day in Wash­ ington, D.C. is an event that raises awareness about the importance of federal funding for li­ braries and other library legislative issues. The 30th Annual National Library Legislative Day will be held on May 3 and May 4, 2004, at the Holiday Inn on the Hill and will include an ACRL-sponsored luncheon. Become an academic librarian advocate National Library Legislative Day events will start off on Monday with Briefing Day. This full day of issue briefings will inform and prepare participants for congressional visits on Tuesday. Network w ith your academic colleagues at ACRL's Legislative Luncheon Also on Monday, ACRL will sponsor a Leg­ islative Luncheon with a session for aca­ demic librarians who are participating in the Legislative Day activities. The complimen­ tary 2004 ACRL luncheon and advocacy session will be from 12:00-2:00 p.m. and will provide an opportunity to meet other academic librarians interested in advocacy. The advocacy session, which will be led by staff from the ALA Washington Office, will help you become an ef­ fective advocate during National Library Legisla­ tive Day and will provide you with tools to con­ tinue this work throughout the year. Tell your senators and representatives about the issues affecting your library On Tuesday, Legislative Day participants will be on Capitol Hill visiting their representatives and senators to communicate the importance of a wide range of issues of great concern to the library com­ munity. This is your chance to highlight your library’s programs and activities and to promote the issues that are important to academic libraries. All members of ACRL are encouraged to at­ tend National Library Legislative Day and the ACRL Legislative Luncheon. To make your reser­ vation, please contact Shannon Cary by e-mail at scary@ala.org or by phone at (800) 545-2433, ext. 2510. mailto:scary@ala.org 124 / C&RL News March 2004 ■