ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


718/C&RL News

the E. W. Fairchild-Martindale Library and Com­
puting Center.

Univ. of Wyoming Libraries benefit from 
class gift
The graduating class o f 1946 raised $20,000 as 
a 50th year class reunion gift for the University 
o f W yoming Libraries (UW). Francois (Marga­
ret) Dickman, a 1946 alumna, orchestrated the 
fund drive, w ith its success ann o u n ced  at a 
H omecoming reunion luncheon on O ctober 11, 
and again at the football gam e the next day. 
The gift will purchase “best boo k s” not already 
in the libraries’ collections. T he University Li­
braries sponsor the 50th year reunion luncheon 
each year at Homecoming.

“This has becom e a special tradition at UW,” 
said Keith Cottam, director o f libraries. “Alums

from the class o f ’47 have already stated their 
intent to double that am ount next year, and 
you can bet w e are encouraging the spirit of 
com petition.”

Wyoming Consortium receives award
The Wyoming Academic Libraries Consortium 
(WALC) re c e iv e d  th e  W y o m in g  L ib rary  
Association’s 1996 Georgia Shovlain Award for 
the state’s best library project. WALC’s Wyoming 
Academic Libraries Resource Project upgraded 
telecommunications lines and im plem ented an 
Ariel netw ork linking Wyoming’s academic li­
braries and the state library. The netw ork is now 
expanding to include public libraries.

“The project is helping to  overcom e som e 
of the geographical and technological rem ote­
ness and information isolation in W yoming,”

3 8 th  R B M S  preconference e x a m in e s h isto ry 
of the b o o k

ACRL’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Sec­
tion (RBMS) will hold its 38th annual precon­
ference at the Claremont Colleges in south­
ern California, Ju n e  24-27, 1997. Entitled 
“Rereading the Past: New M ethodologies and 
A pproaches to the History of the B ook,” the 
preconference will look at how  research in 
the history o f the boo k  has developed since 
RBMS first looked at the subject in 1980. No 
longer the sole purview  of the bibliographer 
and the scholar-librarian, the field has ex­
panded in ways that many rare b o o k  librar­
ians may not yet realize. Scholars from many 
disciplines have entered the field and have 
given new meaning and p u rpose to the sub­
ject o f the history of the book, changing the 
way w e will view  the “Book Age.”

How  does this new  scholarship affect rare 
b ook and m anuscript librarians and curators? 
And how  will it influence collection devel­
opm ent, programming, cataloging, teaching, 
and scholarly research? The RBMS 1997 pre­
conference program  will look at the new  his­
tory o f the book, hear som e of its m ost inno­
vative sch o lars, e x a m in e  w ays in w h ic h  
librarians can take advantage of this burgeon­
ing field for their ow n use and developm ent, 
and discuss ways o f servicing this interest.

Scheduled speakers will include Robert 
Gross (College o f William and Mary), Jeffrey

G roves (H arvey M udd C ollege), R osalind 
Remer (M oravian College), Steve Ferguson 
(P rin c e to n  U niversity), an d  Ellen D u n lap  
(American A ntiquarian Society). In addition, 
there will be a series o f short paper presenta­
tions on research in the history of the book 
primarily by m em bers o f RBMS. The precon­
ference will also include a variety of seminars 
o rganized by the Sem inars C om m ittee of 
RBMS. W orkshops on cataloging and preser­
vation are planned. O ne day will be spent at 
the H untington Library, w hich will include 
tours of the grounds and galleries.

Registration is $175 for RBMS m em bers, 
$210 for nonm em bers. Late registration, after 
May 15, will be $225 for m em bers and $265 
for n o n m e m b e rs. A dditional fees w ill b e 
charged for w orkshops. H ousing and some 
meals are not included in the registration fee. 
Housing will be available in residence halls 
o n  the Claremont Colleges cam puses as well 
as local motels and hotels. Claremont is lo­
cated east o f Los Angeles, and is a 20-minute 
drive from the Ontario, California, airport.

Registration material will be available after 
March 1, 1997. For more information please 
contact ACRL, 50 East H uron St., Chicago, IL 
60611-2795; (800) 545-2433, ext. 2511 or see 
th e  RBMS W eb site at URL: h ttp ://w w w . 
princeton.edu/~ferguson/rbm s.htm l.

http://www