ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 4 56 / C&RL N ew s ■ J u n e 1999 Ste re o typ e s d o n 't f it the lib rarian T h a n k y o u v ery m u c h fo r pu b lish in g A ngelynn King’s essay “Im age is everything” (C&RL News, April 1999). I have gotten so tired o f the w hining in the library literature a bout the “image” o f librarians that I didn’t think I w o uld ever read another article o n this silly subject. Happily, I re ad th e first para­ graph a nd then w as hooked. I en tered librarianship m ore titan 20 years ago totally ignorant of, a n d unconcerned with, the im­ age o f librarians. I h a d discovered that libraries are really cool a n d I h a d com e to respect the w ork that librarians do. That w as image e n ough for me. I realized that librarianship w as a challenging, interesting, a n d useful profession a n d that it m ight b e the right career for me. I w as right. Im age never entered the picture w h e n I m ad e this choice. T hanks again for Ms. King’s essay. I enjoyed it immensely. I h o p e that this is the last w o rd o n the subject, for Ms. King has said it all.— TimRichards, Univer­ s ity o f M ic h ig a n , D e a rb o rn , T im .R ic h a rd s® umü›edu I m ust com m end Angelynn King o n her article. The w hole issue o f the image o f a librarian is o n e I deal w ith a lm o st e very day. I h e a r fro m fam ily a n d friends, “O h, that m akes sense that y o u ’re a librar­ ian— y o u alw ays d id like b o o k s .” M eanw hile, I haven’t read for pleasure in over a year. I recently gave copies o f m y n e w business card to m y parents, a n d they said, “But it says y o u ’re a reference librarian o n it.” Apparently they prefer to tell p e o p le I’m o n th e faculty o f th e university. I laugh a b o u t it, b u t unfortunately I realize that som etim es I propagate the sam e im age concerns w h e n I catch m yself telling p e o p le o f m y faculty status if it d o e sn ’t seem to register w h a t “librarian” means. Let’s face it. It’s n o t th a t w e d o n ’t lo o k like librarians, it’s that their librarian stereotype d o e sn ’t look like us!— Roberto C. Ferrari, Florida A tlantic University, ifemri@fau.edu T he c o lu m n b y A ngelynn King, “Im age is Every­ thing,” is absolutely right! Image is important in our society, w hether it is b rand image, self-image, pro­ fessional image, or a n outdated stereotype. I am so glad som eone has b een brave enough to point o u t w h e re o u r responsibilities lie in address­ ing or ignoring this stereotype. I have b e e n a reference librarian at the Univer­ sity o f N orth Carolina at G reensboro for 11 years, a n d I have h e ard th e w ords, “B ut y o u d o n ’t look like a librarian,” m any times. I usually laugh a nd say, “I’m sorry; I’ll have to w ork o n it.” (I w as a fashion m odel for 17 years before b e com ing a librarian, I have another degree in H om e Economics, a nd I am a b l o n d e . . . can w e talk stereotypes?) O n e o f m y favorite m odel directors w as a n enthusiastic type w h o w ould adm onish m odels w h o w eren’t project­ ing th e right im ages fo r their outfits with, “C om e on, girls. Sell it, sell it!” In other words, m odels w ere n ot just something o n w hich to hang the clothes; they h a d a job to do. A n d w e librarians a re n o t just so m e th in g to p u t b e hind a public service desk; w e also have a job to do, a n d I think m ost librarians “sell o u r p ro d u c t” very well. I am sure that m ost library users will not re m e m b e r w h a t th e librarian is wearing, b u t I d o k n o w that they will rem em ber w h e th er o r n o t the librarian is friendly, approachable, a nd helpful. That is the image that w e w a n t to prom ote. It is m y belief that behavior either helps in pro­ m oting or in dispelling a stereotype. I think that the best w ay for u s to dispel the negative librarian ste­ reotype is n ot for us to all buy designer clothes and w ear the latest hairstyles, b ut to smile a n d w elcom e our patrons. Smiles m ake faces m ore attractive, and studies have show n that even babies respond m ore positively to attractive faces. D oes this have implications for librarianship? Is there a study here? T hanks fo r a n entertaining a n d th o u g h t-p ro ­ voking article. I plan to use it as a discussion launcher w ith m y advanced reference sem inar students this summer.—A m y McKee, Amy_McKee@uncg.edu K u d o s f o r c re a tiv e BI T h a n k s fo r th e article “D u sty o ld b o o k s: A c ol­ laborative a p p ro a c h to bibliographic instruction” (C&RL N ew s, M ay 1999). I a p p r e c ia te S c o tt M cL aren’s c o u r a g e to c h an g e from “teach in g a skill set” to a collabora­ tive m eth o d involving his students in the research process. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR mailto:ifemri@fau.edu mailto:Amy_McKee@uncg.edu C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1 9 9 9 / 4 5 7 A s lib r a r ia n s w e m u s t b e t h e l e a d e r s in t e a c h ­ i n g i n f o r m a t i o n l it e r a c y , w h i c h s h o u l d i n c l u d e a d d i n g n e w m e t h o d s t o t h o s e th a t a r e t r i e d a n d t r u e . W h e t h e r i n s e a r c h o f b o o k s o r W e b s i t e s , o u r s t u d e n t s m u s t b e c o m e m o r e a w a r e o f t h e n e e d t o e v a l u a t e t h e i r in f o r m a t i o n s o u r c e s . I a p ­ p r e c ia t e h im s h a r in g h is i d e a s . — F r e d O liv e , U n i­ v er s ity o f A la b a m a a t B ir m in g h a m , fo liv e @ b e σ w u lf. m h sl.u a b e d u G r e a t a r tic le b y S c o t t M c L a r e n ( D u s ty o l d b o o k s , M a y 1 9 9 9 , C & R L N e w s .) I a p p l a u d h i s c r e a t i v ­ ity , i n n o v a t i o n , a n d c o u r a g e ! — J u d i t h M a y z e l, O a k to n C o m m u n ity C o lleg e, jm a y z e l@ o a k ton .e d u N ew s p e c ie s s ig h t in g M y c o l l e a g u e s a n d I r e a d A rt A . L i c h t e n s t e i n ’s w i tt y a n d s ly ly i r r e v e r e n t “F i e ld g u i d e t o lib r a r y m a n a g e r s ” (C & R L N e w s , A p r i l 1 9 9 9 ) w i t h d e ­ l ig h t . R ig h t o n . A rt! H e r e in t h e S o u t h e a s t w e h a v e h a d s ig h t in g s o f a n e w , a g g r e s s iv e s p e c ie s , w h i c h s e e m s t o b e a ( “R a c in g t o w a r d .. . ”c o n t. fro m p a g e 4 5 0 ) h a n d le c o m p l e x r e s o u r c e s , f in d a n d r e f e r e n c e a s ­ p e c t s n o t e v id e n t t o c a ta lo g e r s (le a d in g t o r e d u c e d effo rt b y ca ta lo g e rs a n d se le cto rs), a n d p ro v id e m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n t o p a t r o n s . I n t h e f u t u r e r e s e a r c h e r s p la n t o m a x im iz e e m b e d d e d m e ta d a ta , im p r o v e th e in te rfa ce , d e a l w ith rf a m e s a n d o t h e r c o n t e x t issu e s, e x p e r i m e n t w ith f o r - f e e r e s o u r c e s , e v a lu a t e h o w m u c h o f a site t o in d e x , a n d m e r g e H a rv e st I n d e x e r re s u lts w ith W e b O P A C , th u s h a v in g s e v e r a l d iffe r­ e n t fo rm s o f d escrip tio n av a ila b le f o r u s e rs. — L a u r e n M a ta c io , A n d re w s U n iversity The b le e d in g e d g e o f a cc e ss to fu ll- t e x t e le c tro n ic in fo rm a tio n B i l l i e J o y R e i n h a r t ( C l e v e l a n d S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y ) s e t t h e c o n t e x t f o r t h e s e s s i o n , n o t i n g t h a t t h e s c i e n t i s t ’s d e s i r e f o r r e a d i ly a v a i l a b l e lit e r a tu r e is b e c o m i n g m o r e o f a r e a l i t y t h r o u g h e l e c t r o n i c d e liv e r y a n d a c c e s s . F l o r a S h r o d e a n d D a v i d A t k i n s , o f t h e U n i ­ v e r s i ty o f T e n n e s s e e ( U T K ) , p r e s e n t e d in f o r m a ­ t i o n o n t h e u s e o f U n C o v e r S u b s i d i z e d U n M e d ia te d O r d e r in g . L ib ra ry u s e r s o r d e r e d f a x d e liv e r y o f 1 ,5 0 0 a r t ic le s in 1 9 9 8 , c o s t s e x c e e d e d $ 3 6 ,0 0 0 . U T K lib r a r ia n s h a v e id e n tif ie d 2 7 9 title s a s “c a n c e l l a t i o n c a n d i d a t e s , ” r e p r e s e n t i n g $ 1 9 9 , 0 0 0 . T w e l v e h u n d r e d p r in t jo u r n a l s w e r e c a n c e l l e d p r i o r t o t h e S U M O p r o je c t , w h i l e e l e c ­ tr o n ic s u b s c rip tio n s a r e in c r e a s in g in n u m b e r . U T K h y b rid o f t h e D a r t-flin g in g l a d d e r - b a c k e d s t a b b e r a n d t h e P a s t u r e l a n d c o m m i t t e e f o r m e r . W h a t ­ e v e r its o r ig in s , it m o v e s f a s t a n d f r a n t i c a l ly a n d a t t r a c t s f l o c k s o f f e l l o w - t r a v e l e r s , a l l i m i t a t i n g its d i s t i n c t i v e l y s h r i l l c r y . A l a s , m a n y o f t h e s e b i r d s f a l l , e x h a u s t e d , b y t h e w a y s i d e ; f e a t h e ry little c a r c a s s e s a r e s tre w n , g a s p in g , o n t h e b e a c h e s a n d a m o n g s t t h e f a ll e n p a l m f r o n d s . Y e s , t h e “F i e l d G u i d e T o L ib r a r y M a n a g e r s : H o w T o I d e n t i f y S p e c i e s F o u n d I n M o s t L ib ra r­ i e s ,” is a n e s s e n t ia l p u r c h a s e f o r a ll a c a d e m i c c o l ­ l e c t i o n s , i f o n l y f o r s e l f - p r o t e c t i o n … C h ir p ! C h i r p ! — J o M a n n i n g , U n iv e r s it y o f M ia m i, d rm u k @ ju n o .c o m A b s o l u t e l y l o v e d A rt L ic h t e n s t e in ’s a r t ic le , “F ie ld g u i d e t o lib r a r y m a n a g e r s !” S o m e t i m e s it s e e m s o u r p r o f e s s i o n is h u m o r le s s ; a lw a y s n i c e t o le a r n s o m e o n e o u t t h e r e h a s a s e n s e o f h u m o r ! K e e p ’e m c o m i n g ! — C a r o le A . L a r s o n , U n iv e r s ity o f N e ­ b r a s k a , O m a h a , C a r o le _ A _ L a r s o n /L I B /U N O / U N E B R @ u n o m a il.u n o m a h a .e d u ■ u tiliz e s s o f t w a r e t o c r e a t e , im p o r t, d e l e t e jo u r n a l r e c o r d s in t h e o n l i n e c a t a l o g , a n d t o a u t o m a t e a r e g u la r r e v i e w o f l in k s f o r t h o s e jo u r n a l s . T h o m a s D o w li n g ( O h io L I N K ) d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e O h i o L I N K E l e c t r o n i c J o u r n a l S e r v e r , r u n ­ n i n g o n S c i e n c e S e r v e r s o f t w a r e . I t b r i n g s t o g e t h e r i s s u e s o f m u l ti p l e p u b l i s h e r s w i th o n e s e a r c h in t e r f a c e a n d c e n tr a lly m o u n t e d a r c h iv e s . K e y w o r d s e a r c h i n g o f a r t i c l e s is c o m p l e m e n t e d b y jo u r n a l t it le a c c e s s f r o m t h e c e n t r a l c a t a l o g . A r t i c l e - s p e c i f i c l in k s t o t h e jo u r n a l s e r v e r f r o m m a n y d a t a b a s e s f a c i l i t a t e r e t r i e v a l . L in k s f r o m f u l l - t e x t o n t h e jo u r n a l s e r v e r b a c k t o I S I W e b o f S c i e n c e e n h a n c e c i t e d r e f e r e n c e s e a r c h i n g c a p a b ilitie s . P a t r i c i a K r e i t z ( S t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y ) s p o k e o n t h e “i m p a c t o f s e l f - p u b l i s h i n g o n i n f o r m a ­ t i o n m a n a g e m e n t ” a t t h e S t a n f o r d L in e r A c c e l ­ e r a t o r L a b o r a t o ry L ib r a r y , w h i c h m a in t a i n s t h e H ig h E n e r g y P h y s ic s d a ta b a s e ( H E P ) o f p re p rin ts ( a S P I R E S d a t a b a s e ) . H E P c o v e r s m o r e t h a n 3 7 4 , 0 0 0 ite m s ( g r a y a n d w h i t e l ite r a tu r e ) , d a tin g f r o m 1 9 7 4 . It t r a c k s t h e e v e n t u a l p u b l i c a t i o n o f p r e p r i n t s i n p e e r - r e v i e w e d s o u r c e s , a n d h a s b e ­ c o m e a critica l r e s o u r c e f o r t h e h ig h -e n e r g y p h y s ­ i c s c o m m u n it y . S u b m i s s i o n s t o S P IR E S a r e e l e c ­ t r o n i c a n d p r o c e s s e d w i t h in h o u r s o f r e c e i p t ; it is t h e in i t ia l s t e p w h e n s u b m i t t i n g a n a r t i c l e t o t h e n e w J o u r n a l o f H ig h E n e r g y P h y s ic s . — A lis o n R ic h e r , O b e r lin C o lle g e ■ mailto:jmayzel@oakicn.edu mailto:UNEBR@unomail.unomaha.edu 4 5 8 / C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1999