ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


M arch 1984 /  123

Today’s Challenge: 
Integrating Information Systems

Phyllis C. Self 
Assistant D irector fo r 
L ife  Science Libraries 
University o f Illinois

W ith the rap id  advances m ade in electronic in ­
form ation processing we are experiencing a greater 
proliferation of stored inform ation th a n  ever be­
fore. It is, therefore, becom ing increasingly im p o r­
ta n t to m an ag e in fo rm atio n  an d  m ake it easily 
a v a ila b le  to users. M eadow  proposes th a t “ w e 
could acquire the h ab it of recording nearly every­
thing, because recording devices will be connected 
to memories so cheap th a t it will be easier to record 
any given transaction or observation th a n  to decide 
w h eth er or how  to record it .” He predicts th a t fu ­
tu re inform ation systems will develop in tw o areas: 
intelligence and integration. “Thus, the value of an 
inform ation system will be judged by w h a t it adds 
to the w o rld ’s arsenal of tools and inform ation, not 
by its ability to provide a unique service to a user 
group and, in the process block out other systems 
from th eir use.” * 1 He continues to state the fu tu re 
for libraries will be as inform ation counseling o rg a­
nizations w ith the physical retention of works re­
m aining w ith publishers w ho can tran sm it them  to 
users on dem and. Book collections will be for the 
museums and librarians will be in th e front lines 
providing, counseling, and in tegrating users and 
inform ation.

The objective of this article is to inform  th e n o n ­
m edical academ ic lib rary  com m unity about the 
c u rre n t w ork resulting from  th e re p o rt e n titled  
“Academ ic Inform ation in the Academ ic H ealth 
Sciences C enter: Roles for th e L ib rary  in In fo rm a­
tion M a n a g e m e n t,”2 hereafter referred to as the 
M atheson R eport, 3 and to call academ ic librarians 
into action for plan n in g  integrated inform ation 
systems w ith in  their com m unities.

It is quite easy today for librarians to overlook 
publications discussing the research and develop­
m ent activities in m edical libraries. H ow ever, one

C h a rle s  T. M eadow , “Inform ation Science and 
Scientists in 2001,” Journal o f Inform ation Science
1 (1979):218-19.

“N ina M atheson & John A .D . C ooper, “A ca­
dem ic Inform ation in the Academ ic H ealth Sci­
ences C enter: Roles for the L ib rary  in Inform ation 
M a n a g e m e n t,” Jo u rn a l o f M ed ica l E d u c a tio n  
57:10, P a rt 2 (O ctober 1982).

3N ina M atheson is cu rren tly  the President of the
M edical L ib rary  Association and holds th e position 
of consultant in th e Planning Office at th e N ational
L ib rary  of Medicine.

p u b lic a tio n  w h ic h  sh o u ld  n o t be o v e rlo o k e d , 
w hich is a lan d m ark  publication in the m edical li­
b rary  com m unity and has im plications for all types 
of libraries, is T he M atheson Report.

This report, sponsored by the N ational L ib rary  
of M edicine and the Association of A m erican M edi­
cal Colleges, was to provide a general b lu ep rin t for 
integrated inform ation m anagem ent systems. It 
describes a lib rary  th a t is an active p a rtn e r in the 
m anagem ent of in fo rm atio n — a lib rary  involved 
w ith  strateg ic p la n n in g  in a ch an g in g  en v iro n ­
m ent. M atheson points out th a t inform ation sup­
p o rt systems in academ ic health science centers (to 
w hich I add most academ ic institutions) “are frag ­
m ented mixtures of single-function, m anual and 
com puter based files th a t can neither com m unicate 
n o r e x c h a n g e  in f o r m a tio n  e f f e c t iv e ly .” 4 T h e  
M atheson R eport provides a guide for p lanning 
and developing systems an d /o r networks for the 
m anagem ent of inform ation in a rapidly changing 
technological environm ent.

Because the M atheson R eport has attra c te d  the 
atten tio n  of university adm inistrators and lib ra ri­
ans across the country, I w ould refer you to the 
Symposium Section of the O ctober 1983 issue of the 
B ulletin o f the M edical Library Association5 for a 
m ore thorough discussion of the M atheson R eport. 
In this symposium nine authors from diverse back­
grounds in librarianship address the challenges the 
report proposes for librarians. G loria W erner in 
her article “Im plications for University L ib raries,” 
succinctly dem onstrates th e universality of the re­
p o rt to libraries beyond th e health science center 
and how  the health sciences library can serve as a 
model for other libraries. Jo Ann Bell in “H ealth 
Science Personnel and th e Academ ic Inform ation 
System: User R equirem ents” describes the use of 
th e m arketing concept, i.e. “analyzing th e p ro b ­
lems from  the users’ perspective and encouraging 
their p articip atio n  in the design of new  services.” 
Bell states th a t w ith o u t user involvem ent the goals 
of the M atheson R eport cannot be realized. Robert 
Hayes addresses the related m anpow er consider­
ations in p re p a rin g  h e a lth  science lib ra ria n s to 
m eet the challenge and W illiam  G. C ooper de­
scribes th e N ational L ib rary  of M edicine’s p rio ri­
ties w ith regard to im plem enting th e re p o rt’s rec­
om m endations.

4M atheson and C ooper, p . l .
°Rachael K. G oldstein, ed ., “Symposium on Ac­

adem ic Inform ation in th e Academic H ealth Sci­
ences C enter: Roles for the L ib rary  in Inform ation 
M an ag em en t,” Bulletin o f the M edical L ibrary A s­
sociation 71 (O ctober 1983): 403-434.



124 /  C& RL News

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
*1

 

Following the publication of the Matheson Re­
port, health science librarians eagerly aw aited to 
see w h at would happen next. In March 1983 a Re­
quest for Proposal, entitled “Integrated Academic 
Inform ation M anagem ent Systems (IAIMS) Strate­
gic Planning—Phase 1“ was announced. The clos­
ing date was June 10, 1983. “The purpose of the
IAIMS is to bring the operational and academic in­
form ation files into a useful conjunction. The flow
of inform ation, in support of research, p atien t
care, education, and adm inistration, as a conse­
quence, will include inform ation from the p u b ­
lished recorded knowledge base.’’6 Medical center
adm inistrators, lib rary  directors, and faculties
across the country eagerly began to d raft docu­
ments for their strategic planning to develop such a
system. Many institutions failed to apply merely
because of the shortness of tim e to meet the dead­
line. Numerous institutions applied and four insti­
tutions received grants to begin planning for an in­
te g ra te d  a c a d e m ic  in fo rm a tio n  m a n a g e m e n t
system. T he four institutions to receive aw ards
were: Colum bia University, Georgetown Univer­
sity M edical C enter, University of M aryland at
Raltimore, and the University of Utah. The ap ­
proach to be used by each institution is different
based on th e a d m in istra tiv e  stru ctu re s, b a c k ­
grounds, and experience of its particip an ts. Al­
though only four aw ards were m ade, m any institu­
tions are using th e re p o rt as a d ev elo p m en tal
fram ew ork for in teg ratin g  inform ation systems
w ithin their health science centers.

W hile the Matheson Report is prim arily aimed
at health science libraries, its im portance to all aca­
demic libraries should not be overlooked. W e must
look beyond our in-house catalogs and circulation
systems w ith a view to the entire academic struc­
ture of inform ation processing. W e must not only
be fam iliar w ith today’s technology, but incorpo­
rate it into the delivery of library services. The use
of inexpensive electronic mail systems and com­
puter conferencing through such vendors as RRS
and Dialcom are now available. Yet few libraries
have incorporated these facilities into extending
services to their remote users. The literature shows
th a t such facilities are being used predom inantly
by special libraries such as Rell Laboratories. A few
libraries have been successful in using electronic
mail for the transmission of interlibrary loan re­
quests. One example is the Pacific Northwest Bib­
liographic C enter, now know n as the Resource
Sharing Program  at the University of W ashington.'  

^Integrated A ca d e m ic In fo rm a tio n  M anage­
m ent Systetn (IAIM S) Strategic Planning— Phase
1. D epartm ent of H ealth & H um an Services, N a­
tional Institutes of H ealth , N ational L ibrary of
Medicine. RFP NLM-83-104/JPS, March 10, 1983. 
HEW -556.

Connie M. Schardt, “Electronic Mail Service: 
A pplications in the Pacific N orthw est R egion,’’ 
Bulletin of the M edical Library Association, 71 
(October 1983):437-38.

C urrently the Assistant Directors for D ep art­
m ental Library Services at the University of Illi­
nois, U rbana-C ham paign, are exploring the use of 
electronic survey techniques to identify the needs of 
“invisible users” (individuals who access inform a­
tion and lib rary  resources electronically ra th e r 
th an  through conventional means). The underly­
ing them e of this research project is to develop 
m ore rele v an t lib ra ry  services in th e  ch an g in g  
world of inform ation. Following the analysis of the 
electronic survey, a com puter conferencing project 
will become operational. Although this research 
project is in its infancy (it was initiated in Septem­
ber 1983), we believe the results will dem onstrate 
the needs of the invisible users and provide data to 
determ ine if their needs differ from traditional us­
ers of libraries or vary am ong disciplines. This proj­
ect is supported by a grant from the Association of 
Research Libraries. Such studies should aid aca­
demic libraries in program  development and ser­
vice delivery.

Little has been w ritten to date on the use of com ­
puter conferencing, electronic m ail, or electronic 
bulletin boards in the delivery of library services to 
end users. Recent experiences dem onstrate th a t the 
tim e has come for im m ediate action on the p a rt of 
librarians for the planning described in the M athe­
son Report. For example, the Agronomy Faculty at 
the University of Illinois is in the process of devel­
oping a com puter network based prim arily on the 
needs of the individuals w ithin a p articular build-

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126 /  C & R L N ew s

ing. It was only because of a few enlightened in d i­
viduals w ith in  th a t group th a t th e A griculture L i­
b r a r y  re c e iv e d  copies of th e  m in u te s  of th e ir  
p la n n in g  sessions and began to p a rtic ip a te  in the 
p la n n in g  process. It is obvious th a t sim ilar discus­
sions are occuring elsew here, and it behooves all li­
b rarian s to becom e at least active p articip an ts, if 
not leaders, in discussions of com puter netw orks 
an d  in teg rated  m an ag em en t inform ation systems. 
W hile th e b u rd en  of such systems cannot lie fully 
on lib rarian s b u t should be shared, as M atheson 
points out, by industry, academ e, th e p riv ate and 
public sectors, th e conceptual leadership should 
co m e fro m  li b r a r ia n s  a n d  in f o r m a tio n  s c ie n ­
tists. ■  ■

BI EXHIBIT

Your lib ra ry ’s in stru c tio n a l m a te ria ls m ay  be 
shared at ALA A nnual C onference in D allas. If you 
act before June 1, th e ALA L ib rary  Instruction 
R ound T ab le will display them  at its exhibit booth 
on June 23-26. T he M em bership/Public Relations 
C om m ittee welcom es all form ats of m aterials— 
s lid e /ta p e s , v id e o c a s se tte s , in s tr u c tio n a l b r o ­
chures, p ath fin d ers, workbooks, study guides, p ro ­
gram  announcem ents, o rientation program s, aims 
a n d  o b je c tiv e s , c o u rs e  c u r r i c u l a , e v a l u a ti o n  
in s tr u m e n ts — fro m  a c a d e m ic  a n d  re s e a rc h  l i ­
braries.

A udiovisual m aterials m ay be retrieved at the 
close of th e exhibits on June 26. No other m aterials 
can be retu rn ed . Please send contributions to: E m ­
ily R ergm an, C alifornia School of Professional Psy­
chology, 2235 Beverly R lvd., Los Angeles, CA 
90057; (213) 483-7034, ext.54. ■ ■

TEST COLLECTIONS

T he A CRL E d u catio n  and R ehavioral Sciences 
Section’s Ad Hoc S ubcom m ittee on Test Collec­
tions is p re p a rin g  guidelines for th e  m an ag em en t of 
test collections in academ ic institutions. T he guide­
lines will be based on th e results of surveys sent out 
b y  I o w a  S ta te  U n iv e r s ity , th e  U n iv e r s ity  of 
Missouri-St. Louis, an d  th e U niversity of Illinois, 
as well as queries sent out by m em bers of th e Sub­
com m ittee. T he Subcom m ittee is seeking any col­
lection d ev elo p m en t statem en ts for existing test 
collections to include as samples in th e ir final re­
port.

If your lib rary  has not been contacted in one of 
the above surveys and w ould like to fo rw a rd  infor­
m ation ab o u t test collections, please d irect sam ple 
collection developm ent statem ents or inquiries to: 
N ancy O ’Rrien, E d u catio n  and Social Science L i­
b r a r y , U n iv ersity  of Illin o is L ib r a r y , 1408 W . 
G re g o ry  D riv e , U rb a n a , IL  61801; (217) 333- 
2305. ■ ■

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 
 
 

RBMS PRECONFERENCE

T he T w en ty -F ifth  A CRL R are Books an d  M an ­
uscripts Preconference, “Collecting th e T w en tieth
C e n tu ry ,” will be held June 19-22, 1984, at th e
Sheraton C rest In n , Austin, Texas.

T he conference will focus on problem s an d  issues
raised by cu rre n t trends in collecting 20th-century
m aterials in lite ra tu re , politics, business, science,
an d  th e  arts. T he collecting of m anuscripts and a r­
chival m aterials w ill receive special em phasis.

T he m ain p ro g ram , w hich w ill cover such issues
as selection, access and copyright, preservation,
and constituencies, will have six speakers: D onald
G allup, Beinecke R are Book and M anuscript L i­
b rary , Yale U niversity, on th e E zra Pound Papers
at Yale; G erald H am , State H istorical Society of
W isconsin, on C ollection M an ag em en t an d  th e
H istorical Record of the F u tu re; M ichael H olroyd,
biographer of L ytton Strachey, on A W rite r’s V iew
of C ollecting th e 20th C entury; C arlto n  Lake, H u ­
m anities Research C enter, University of Texas, on
A Case H istory of 20th-century collecting; R ichard
L an d o n , T hom as Fisher R are Book L ib rary , U ni­
versity of T oronto, on the A dm inistration of 20th-
C en tu ry  Research Collections; and A rth u r Nor-
berg, C harles B abbage In stitu te for th e H istory of
In fo rm atio n  Processing, on H istorical Them es and
th e A vailability of Resources in th e H istory of Sci­
ence an d  Technology.

In ad d itio n  there will be a half day devoted to
workshops on techniques of conservation of 20th-
century research m aterials in various form ats.

T he RBMS C o n tin u in g  E d u catio n  C om m ittee
has also p la n n ed  a variety of sem inars in ten d ed  to
en co u rag e response from  p reco n feren ce p a r tic i­
pants to issues raised by the speakers.

T h e p reco n feren ce d in n e r w ill tak e p lace on
June 20 at the O ld Pecan Street C afe in Austin; the
cost, $20, is not included in th e registration fee.
O th er meals an d  receptions d u rin g  th e conference
are included.

As a convenience for those going on to ALA An­
nual C onference in D allas, a ch artered  bus will
leave Austin at 3:00 p .m . on June 22, arriving at
ALA hotels in D allas after 9:00 p .m . E n route the
bus will stop in W aco for a to u r of th e A rm strong
B row ning L ib rary  at Baylor University.

Preconference registration is lim ited to th e first
250 ap p lican ts. T h e reg istra tio n  fee of $85 for
ACRL m em bers, $125 for non-m em bers, should be
sent in by May 19. L ate registrations will be ac­
cepted on a space available basis after M ay 19 at an
additional cost of $15 per person.

A ccom m odations will be at th e Sheraton Crest
Inn, 111 E ast First Street at Congress. A housing
form will be sent upon receipt of your registration.

A dditional inform ation and registration forms
for th e  p re c o n fe re n c e  m ay  be o b ta in e d  fro m :
RBMS Preconferenće, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H uron
Street, C hicago, IL  60611. ■ ■