ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries April 1989 / 311 philosophy; develop a greater appreciation of the supervisor’s role and contribution to im proving l i ­ b ra ry perform ance; gain an understanding of the skills required for effective supervision; examine individual approaches to supervision in response to the needs and dem ands of p a rtic u la r situations. Instructor: L ea Wells. Date: June 23, 1989, 9:00 a .m .-5 :0 0 p .m . Fee: ACRL m em bers, $95; non-m em bers, $135. C E U Credit: .8. L im ite d to fir s t 35 registrants. C E 117—APPROACHES T O MANAGING T H E PRO RLEM PATRON H ave you ever h a d to in te rac t w ith individuals in your library w ho exhibit a nger, deviant activity or crim inal behavior? These “problem p a tro n ” situa­ tions can be stressful, em otional, tension-packed episodes in th e life of any library employee. This course will prep are you to a p proach these situa­ tions in a professional m anner. You w ill learn tech­ niques to reduce, elim inate or channel the anger a nd frustration som e lib ra ry users display. At the e nd of this course you should feel confident th a t you can approach these difficult situations, quickly determ ine the problem , a nd resolve th e situation in a m an n er acceptable to the p a tro n a nd th e library. Discussions w ill deal w ith specific public a nd tech­ nical service activities such as circulation, refer­ ence, acquisitions and cataloging. You will also learn strategies to deal w ith d e viant or crim inal be­ havior. You w ill receive m aterials a nd suggestions app ro p ria te to establishing a n effective security program in an academ ic library. B uilding check­ lists, staff m anuals, p a tro n awareness program s a nd legal considerations w ill be covered in p ra cti­ cal term s. Instructor: T hom as McNally, Loyola University of Chicago. Date: June 23, 1989, 9:00 a .m .-5 :0 0 p.m . Fee: A CRL m em bers, $75; non-m em bers, $135. C E U Credit: .7. L im ite d to fir st 40 registrants. ■ ■ N a tio n a l L ibrary W eek: A re y o u kid d in g? By Linda K. W allace Director A L A Public In form ation O ffice A presentation to A C R L ’s Public Relations Discussion Group at the 1989 A L A Midwinter Meeting in Washington. I t ’s a given th a t m ost people have high expecta- tions for public relations. W e PR people have done a great job of selling o ur ow n profession. T he A m erican L ib ra ry Association organized its Public Inform ation Office in th e mid-1970s, about th e sam e tim e th a t libraries all across the country 312 / C irRL News jum ped on th e PR bandw agon. I d on’t th ink it was any coincidence th a t this band w ag o n got rolling d u rin g a period of high inflation, w hen local gov­ ernm ents w ere getting stingier w ith their tax dol­ lars and public libraries w ere suddenly having to woo public sup p o rt a n d justify th eir budgets in a w ay they’d never done before. Suddenly PR was “in .” Public librarians, school librarians, even m any special librarians, becam e converts. I t ’s no secret th a t academ ic librarians have been th e last to ju m p on the bandw agon. And I note this w ith som e respect, because I th ink you w ere sm art to see t h a t PR is no pa n ac ea , th a t you can ’t sell the sizzle w ith o u t the steak a nd th a t style is no substitute for substance. O n th e other h a n d , you m ay n ot have been wise in recognizing th e benefits to b e gained from public relations in general a nd N ational L ib rary W eek in p a rticu la r. In fact, some of you m ay even have been guilty of believing in c ertain m yths a bout N a­ tional L ib ra ry W eek. A nd I ’d like to set th e record straight. AskAProfessional. Askìòur Librarian. National Library Week April 9-15, 1989 ©1989 American Library Association M y th #1: N a t io n a l L ib r a r y W eek is o ld- fashioned. L ibraries don’t need a week. T hey need year-round prom otion. Fact: Libraries n e ed b oth. N a tio n a l L ib ra ry W eek is a ready-m ade prom otional o p p ortunity to support and enhance your ongoing program s by ty ­ ing in w ith th e prestige of a n ational event. L i­ braries need N ational L ibrary W eek for th e same reason t h a t pickle packers need Pickled P epper W eek or th e A m erican H e a rt A ssociation needs A m erican H e a rt M onth. I t ’s a ready-m ade oppor­ tu n ity to educate, m otivate a n d d ra w atte n tio n to th e good things you do year a round. N ational L i­ b ra ry W eek shouldn’t be a one-shot prom otion. B ut it can be a shot in th e a r m . M yth #2: N ational L ib ra ry W eek only lasts a week. Fact: N ational L ibrary W eek is the fo cu s fo r a year-around p u b lic awareness e ffo rt a t th e na ­ tional level. N ational L ib ra ry W eek is w hen we at ALA send out press release a nd editorials, b u t our public service advertisem ents a nd articles ru n in n a tio n a l m ag a zin e s, ra d io a n d television y e ar a round. O nly one poster and bookm ark carry the N ational L ib rary W eek date. All th e other p rom o­ tional m aterials th a t ALA publishes are designed for year-around use. If you haven’t seen a copy of th e ALA G raphics C atalog lately, please w rite to ALA G raphics a nd ask for a free copy; I th ink you’ll be pleasantly surprised a t how m any w ill w ork for college libraries. M yth #3: N ational L ib ra ry W eek is only for p u b ­ lic libraries. Fact: M ost N a tional L ib ra ry W e ek m aterials can be adapted fo r use b y a ny type o f library— school, college, corporate or special libraries. The L ib r a r y P u b lic ity B ook p u b lis h e d a n n u a lly by ALA is full of ideas— in fact, th ere ’s a w hole section on how academ ic libraries can observe National L ib ra ry W eek, w ritte n by an academ ic librarian. M yth #4; N ational L ib rary W eek is too m uch work. Fact: N ational L ibrary W eek is w h a t y ou m ake i t an d w h a t w o rks f o r you. F o r some libraries, it’s a w e e k -lo n g c e l e b r a t io n w i t h p a r ti e s , b a llo o n launches a nd treats. F o r others, it’s a once-a-year poster blitz a ro u n d cam pus, a te a for faculty (not a new idea b u t one th a t can w ork if organized effec­ tively). If you do nothing else, I w ould urge you to use N ational L ib ra ry W eek as an opp o rtu n ity to recognize a nd th an k your lib ra ry staff for their h a rd w ork. After all, this is ou r n a tional holiday, a tim e to celebrate ourselves. At ALA headquarters, w e have a big p a rty w ith refreshm ents, contests, door prizes, a n d a b ig th an k you speech. M yth #5: T he them es are no good. Fact: The tru th is, som e o f the them es are better than others. W e know it. You know it. U ntil now, they’ve p re tty m uch been variations on the them e of use your library. T he tru th also is th a t th e N L W them e is n ot going to change th e w orld. I t ’s only a hook to h a n g o th er things on. W h a t w e a t ALA try April 1989 / 313 to do is provide the sizzle—some high-quality, eye­ catching prom otional m aterials th a t most libraries couldn’t otherw ise afford and th a t will help draw attention to the good w ork of your library. M yth #6: I need to spend m y tim e a nd money prom oting m y library not National L ibrary Week. Fact: N ational Library W eek is a means to an end n ot an end in itself. I t ’s a tool for you to use. In the news business, they call it a news peg which means th a t w hat m ight not be considered story m a­ terial at any other tim e of year is news because it’s associated w ith a national event. Also, think about how m uch stronger the image of your library and libraries nationw ide can be if students see a public service ad for libraries on television, hear it on ra ­ dio, then w alk into the student union or your li­ brary and see th e poster. As educators w ith a some­ w h a t “captive audience,” you in academ ic libraries are in a position to reach out to young adults and prom ote a sense of loyalty, respect and support for our nation’s libraries. M yth # 7 : 1 don’t have to do anything. ALA does it all. Fact: A L A can p rovide leadership at the na ­ tional level in placing articles and public service advertisements w ith national media. W e can give you tools. But w e can ’t do it for you. N ational Li­ brary W eek is your celebration and it’s got to be a team effort at the national and local levels. This brings us to Exhibit A—this year’s National L ibrary Week C am paign. This is a historic cam ­ paign: the first tim e in its 31 years th a t the National L ibrary W eek them e focuses on the librarian. W e a t ALA are very excited about this cam paign. It tells the w orld th a t librarians are the inform ation professionals and provide real benefits to real peo­ ple w hether they’re a college student, professor or fa cto ry w orker. W e also know th is c am paign presents a challenge. Self-promotion is not easy. However, I think w e all know too well th a t both our libraries and profession have p aid dearly for their modesty both in dollars and respect. I t ’s simply not enough to do great things if no one knows you’re doing them . This N ational L ibrary W eek cam paign gives you the tools to do that. The television public service advertisem ent can be aired on your college TV station. T he posters can be hun g all over cam pus. Bookmarks can be given aw ay in the student union or cafeterias. The edito­ rial, press release and p rin t public service p rin t ads in th e C am paign Book can be carried in the college new spaper or faculty newsletter. W e at the ALA Public Inform ation Office are working to open doors a t the national level. W e w a n t you to know w e’re behind you every step of the way. Call or w rite anytim e. W e welcome your questions a nd suggestions because every year we try to do it b e tte r. W e also n eed y our h elp in spreading the w ord to your colleagues. T he fact th a t I ’m here indicates th a t you recog­ nize th ere are benefits to be h ad for your library and th a t you recognize the potential of N ational L ibrary Week. My challenge to you today is to stop talking and sta rt doing—to show your colleagues t h a t N a tio n a l L ib ra ry W eek is n o th in g to kid about. ■ ■ Ne ws from the Field Acquisitions ♦ Alfred U n iversity’s H e rric k M em orial Li- brary, Alfred, New York, has acquired an extensive archive of correspondence by novelist V irginia W oolf (1882-1941), as well as th e corrected type­ script of her 1926 essay, “Jones and W ilkinson.” T he item s are a gift of Evelyn T . O penhym of Wellsville, New York, a longtime Alfred benefac­ tor. T he W oolf acquisitions, which d ate from 1897 to 1933, in c lu d e n in e le tte rs to th e n o v e list’s nephew and biographer, Q uentin Bell; 22 to her brother, Thoby Stephen; another 17 and a post­ card to essayist a nd a rt critic, Clive Bell; and a let­ ter to Siegfried Sassoon. The latter tw o items have never previously been published. ♦ B ow ling G re en S tate U n iversity’s P o p u la r C ulture L ibrary, Bowling G reen, Ohio, has ac­ quired a unique collection of books and periodi­ cals, personal papers, and other research m aterials de alin g w ith th e c o u n te rc u ltu re of th e U n ited States from the 1950s to th e 1970s. A gift of the es­ tate of W illiam F. Ringle, the collection reflects various aspects of Ringle’s teaching, research, and bibliographic w ork in the areas of c u ltural an th ro ­ pology, eth n o b o ta n y , a nd ethnopharm acology, and covers such topics as radical social history and politics, the d rug culture, mysticism and spiritual life, com m unal living, and the underground press. Several hundred rare small press m onographs, plus broadsides, leaflets, flyers, pam phlets, and clip­ pings are also included. Ringle, w ho spent seven years teaching anthropology a t Iow a State Univer­ sity, established the Bluff C reek Theoretical Insti­ tute, w h a t he hoped would become a subsistence com m une of w orking scholars and artists in Boone,