ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


N ovem ber 1 9 9 0 1 955

service (eith er B-U-Y P-I-Z-A o r E-A-T D -E -L -I) 
to th e  existing d o cu m en t delivery service via e ith e r 
th e  F o o d  F o n e o r th e  F o o d  Fax m achines designed 
to look like actual food item s. T h e fine p rin t at th e 
e n d  o f th e  R utgers n ew sletter sheds a great deal o f 
light and tru th  on th e real purposes o f all library 
new sletters. It “is in te n d e d  to  provide inform ation 
about library activities and o th e r things th a t no one 
really wants to read  about. In clu d e d  are such item s 
as: a n n o u n c e m e n ts, p ro n o u n c e m e n ts, an d  d e ­
nouncem ents; lies, d am n ed  lies, and statistics; r e ­
tra c tio n s, c o rre c tio n s a n d  recrim in atio n s; an d  
m ore m eetings th a n  you can shake a stick at. 
‘P eople in th e  L ibrary’. . . notes briefly such infor­
m a tio n  as m arriag es, divorces, affairs, b irth s, 
deaths, deportations, arraignm ents, indictm ents 
and incarcerations; lacerations, bum ps, bruises and 
scrapes; and addictions, afflictions and o th e r fic­
tions.”

Always sure to p ro d u ce groans, puns and similar 
form s o f wordplay, have only a lim ited audience.

F o rtu n ately  th e re  do not ap p ear to b e an inordinate 
n u m b e r o f library p u n sters b u t th e re  are, alas, a few 
who deserve at least b rie f m ention. Irving W ein- 
trau b , o f th e  R utgers University Library (is som e­
thing going on th ere?), sent m e a single-page sheet 
th a t contains, am ong o th e r faults, th e following 
sam ple o f his “w it.” I f  H arrison F o rd  h ad  b e e n  a 
librarian h e w ould have b e e n  searching for catalog­
ing records ra th e r th a n  diam onds in Readers o f  the 
L ost M ARC . T h e difference b etw een  a referen ce 
librarian and a rebellious youth is th a t one is an 
authority on questions and th e  o th e r questions 
authority. L ibrarians usually re fe r to journals th a t 
re p re se n t an industry o r discipline as an organ; th a t 
som etim es causes em b arrassm en t for agricultural 
librarians w ho may re fe r to a journal dealing w ith a 
b re e d  o f livestock as th e  “b re e d  organ.” W eintraub 
once e n d e d  u p  describing a journal as “an organ for 
th e  dissem ination o f inform ation on insem ination.”

M ore next tim e.

Adventures in grant-writing

By Ada D. Jarred

D irector o f  Libraries
N orthw estern State U niversity o f  Louisiana

In  a re c e n t issue o f College & Research Libraries 
N ew s, S h e rm a n  H ayes c a lle d  fo r re p o rts  on 
“u n iq u e , w eird  services” in academ ic lib raries.1 
T h e librarians o f N o rth w estern  State University o f 
Louisiana disagree som ew hat w ith H ayes’s taxon­
om y o f activities b u t are nevertheless eag er to share 
th e ir re c e n t adventures in w riting grants.

Louisiana’s d e p ressed  econom ic conditions over 
th e  last several years have n ecessitated alternative 
funding to m aintain and enhance th e  core services 
o f E u g en e P. W atson M em orial Library, N o rth ­
w estern  State U niversity o f Louisiana. Naturally, 
thoughts o f N o rth w estern  librarians tu rn e d  to th e 
w riting o f grant proposals. Several applications 
proved successful, leading to th e  d evelopm ent o f 
unusual services w hich have en ric h ed  th e  univer­
sity and th e  su rrounding area, as well as assisted 
w ith th e  su p p o rt o f core activities.

N ot th e  least am ong th e  delights o f N o rth w est­
e rn  State University is its setting in N atchitoches 
(NAK-o-tish), Louisiana, th e  oldest continuous

G h e rm a n  Hayes, “W anted: W eird  an d /o r U n­
usual Services and Activities,” C & R L  N ew s 51 
(April 1990): 322-325.

E u ro p e a n  settlem e n t in th e  Louisiana Purchase 
and th e  central city o f th e  C ane River region, a 
culturally diverse area o f northw est Louisiana. O ne 
o f th e  fascinating fo rm er residents o f N atchitoches 
Parish (county) was th e  celeb rated  A m erican au ­
th o r Kate C hopin, who devoted m uch o f h e r w rit­
ing to  th e people and life o f this area.

In 1988 th e  N SU d irecto r o f libraries agreed to 
b e p ro ject d irec to r o f th e first international co n fer­
ence devoted to th e life and works o f C hopin. T he 
m eetin g  was cre a te d  and p lan n ed  by faculty m e m ­
bers o f th e  N SU  D e p a rtm e n t o f Languages and 
C om m unications; th e  NSU Louisiana F olk Life 
C en ter; th e  Louisiana Scholars’ College, an in te r­
disciplinary program  for academ ically advanced 
university students o f high ability; and th e  Louisi­
ana School for M ath, Science and th e  Arts, a resi­
dential high school for gifted and ta len te d  juniors 
and seniors. This was th e  first cooperative effort 
b etw een  th e se entities, all o f w hom  are located on 
th e  sam e cam pus. T h e Association for th e  P re se r­
vation o f H istoric N atchitoches, ow ner and o p e ra ­
to r o f th e  Bayou Folk M useum  (housed in C h o p in ’s 
fo rm er hom e) in nearby Cloutierville, also was a 
participating sponsor.



956 / C irfìL  News

T he symposium was designed to im m ediately 
provide a scholarly forum  for th e examination of 
C hopin’s fiction by scholars, teachers and th e gen­
eral public; offer geographical and cultural experi­
ences o f th e region in parallel with C hopin’s w ritten 
representations o f th e same; and provide o p p o rtu ­
nities for dialogues about C hopin’s works betw een 
readers and scholars.

Long-range goals included th e en h an cem en t of 
understanding and appreciation o f C hopin’s w rit­
ings by readers and scholars; th e im provem ent of 
instruction and research concerned w ith C hopin’s 
writings and w om en’s studies; increased interest in 
th e rich literary history o f th e N atchitoches area; 
and increased understanding and support o f th e 
hum anities through presentations and discussions 
concentrating on th e life and works o f one A m eri­
can author.

T he grant proposal to the Louisiana E ndow ­
m ent for th e H um anities was approved, and “Kate 
C hopin and th e C ane River R egion,” a 272-day 
c o n fe re n c e , m e t on April 6 -8 , 1989. Several 
h u n d re d  participants, ranging from high school 
seniors to university professors, from  poets to 
ophthalmologists, cam e from sixteen states, th e 
D istrict o f Colum bia, and two foreign countries—  
F rance and Austria.

T h e a tte n d e e s enjoyed m ajor ad d resses by 
Em ily T oth o f Louisiana State University; Sandra 
G ilbert and Susan G ubar o f Princeton University 
and In d ian a U niversity respectively; and John 
Carlos Rowe o f th e University o f California, Irvine. 
T hey also h eard  panels o f papers by lesser scholars, 
th e first public reading o f a dram atization by Sallie 
Bingham o f C hopin’s The Awakening, and a p e d a ­
gogical session, “C hopin in th e Classroom .” Films 
o f C hopin’s fiction w ere screened. And m ost o f th e 
participants visited C hopin’s form er hom e, the 
Bayou Folk M useum , and M elrose Plantation, 
another local site o f literary interest.

The C hopin conference was followed by a suc­
cessful planning grant proposal to th e National 
E ndow m ent for th e H um anities for a reading/ 
discussion project also focusing on Kate C hopin 
and publication o f th e C hopin conference papers. 
T he prelim inary work and research has b een  ac­
com plished to support hum anities scholars from 
N orthw estern, th e Scholars’ College and th e L ou­
isiana School for M ath, Science and th e Arts who 
will lead a series o f six program s in twelve parish 
libraries. The program s will be enhanced by a 
ph o to g rap h ic exhibition o f C h o p in  item s and 
scenes from th e archives o f W atson Library, th e 
Missouri Historical Society, and th e Bayou Folk 
Museum.

T he book o f essays from the first C hopin confer­
ence was published in May 1990 by the NSU Press. 
N E H  has now funded th e im plem entation phase of 
“Kate Chopin: A W om an of Yesterday, Today and

T om orrow ,” and th e program s will occur in th e fall 
o f 1990 and th e spring o f 1991. (This project can be 
rep eated  in o th e r locations, as the m aterials will be 
available for loan.)

A nother unusual activity is W atson Library’s 
C areer Evaluation and Inform ation C enter, now in 
its second year o f support from th e Job Training 
P artnership Act (JTPA). T he original in ten t o f this 
grant idea was to provide inform ation on jobs and 
careers to a geographic area o f high unem ploy­
m en t— N atchitoches Parish, 12.5%; R ed River 
Parish, 13.9%; and Sabine Parish, 11.9% in F e b ru ­
ary 1989— an d  th e re b y  su p p le m e n t funds for 
W atson Library m aterials.2

Flem ing Thom as, th e W atson Library reference 
librarian who drew  on his previous experience as a 
library director and academ ic dean at Burlington 
C ounty College (N.J.), enlarged th e goal o f the 
project. C iting a U.S. D ep artm en t o f L abor statistic 
th a t over 60% o f economically disadvantaged and 
displaced workers who com plete JTPA training 
program s are able to e n te r th e work force, Thom as 
chose to address th e needs o f th e approximately 
40% who still fail to achieve em ploym ent.3 H e 
designed a program  to target th e evaluative, coun­
seling, psychological, motivational, and inform a­
tional needs o f th e la tter group. His plan was 
funded.

In early 1989 th e  C areer C e n te r began o p era­
tion in W atson Library to service th e needs o f JTPA 
clients o f N atchitoches Parish and th e neighboring 
parishes o f R ed River and Sabine. Staffed by a 
psychom etrician with a graduate degree in psy­
chology and experience w ith psychological and 
vocational testing and counseling, an assistant psy­
chom etrician, and a secretary—th e c e n te r began 
providing career evaluations, assisting in th e devel­
opm ent o f career plans, and facilitating im plem en­
tation o f these plans.

S tructured to address th e regional unem ploy­
m ent problem , th e JTPA-sponsored center, in full 
cooperation w ith local suppliers, tests and evalu­
ates JTPA trainees and prepares a w orker m aturity 
profile on each, counsels with suppliers regarding 
th e profile, advises training program  graduates in 
reference to th e ir needs, instructs in techniques of 
a successful job search, and makes available an 
extensive library o f career materials. T hrough serv­
ice as an inform ation source, th e staff also provides 
workshops to groups and/or organizations on ca­

2U.S. B ureau o f Labor Statistics, “U nem ploy­
m ent in States and Local Areas, February, 1989,” 
E m p lo ym en t and U nem ploym ent in States and 
Local Areas (April 1989): 179-180.

3T he Job Training P artnership Act (JTPA) Advi­
sory C om m ittee, W orking Capital: JTPA Invest­
m ents f o r  the 9 0 s  (W ashington: U.S. D ept. of 
Labor, M arch 1989), [12],



Novem ber 1990 /  957

reers and conducts a lively program  o f interagency 
networking. Examples o f th e latter include re fe r­
ring clients to m ental health agencies, vocational 
rehabilitation offices, legal services, training p ro ­
grams, and job opportunities.

T he typical client o f th e  C en ter is a school 
dropout. O n th e o th e r hand, one was an in te rn a ­
tionally recognized scientist suffering from p ro fes­
sional burnout. M any o f th e  clients are adolescents; 
some are abused. F req u en tly  they are single p a r­
ents. M any have previously undiagnosed learning 
problem s.

T he C areer C e n te r proved so effective th a t th e 
program  was refu n d ed  in S eptem ber 1989 and 
expanded from a service area o f th ree parishes to 
ten. An additional psychologist was added to th e 
staff, and a branch office was opened on an o th er 
university campus.

O ne o f th e unquestionable factors in Louisiana’s 
unem ploym ent problem  and th e related lack o f 
econom ic developm ent is illiteracy. According to 
th e Louisiana Literacy Task Force, “T he National 
C e n te r for E ducation Statistics estim ates th a t 16% 
o f th e adults in Louisiana— one in every six— are 
u n ab le to  re a d  o r w rite at any level.”4 W atson 
Library’s next successful grant proposal was to th e 
U.S. D e p a rtm e n t o f E ducation Student Literacy 
C orps Program . A proposal entitled “T eaching 
Social Responsibility T hrough C om m unity Serv­
ice,” also designed by Flem ing Thomas, has b een  
fu n d ed  to begin operation in th e fall o f 1990.

Essentially, th e program  will use university stu ­
dents (preferably education majors) to tu to r th e 
educationally disadvantaged in local vocational 
schools, elem en tary  schools, and several social 
service agencies. T he tutors, who will receive aca­
dem ic credit for th e ir efforts, will be supervised by 
N orthw estern faculty m em bers; and the academ ics 
will be organized and coordinated by th e C oordina­
to r o f th e  C areer C enter.

W atson Library’s new est projected service has 
four m ajor goals: th e  encouragem ent o f th e  con­
cep t o f com m unity service to th e less fortunate; th e 
increased success o f local instructional program s 
by th e  provision o f tutoring services; practical expe­
rience for university students who plan to teach; 
and en h an cem en t o f th e  University’s im age by 
providing m ore than a payroll for th e com m unity. 
Although not yet underway, th e  project has already 
attracted  th e additional volunteer services o f an 
organization o f retired  teachers.

O btaining funds for a hum anities conference, 
adm inistering th e  m eeting, generating financial 
su p p o rt for scholarly research  and publishing,

4L o u isian a L ite ra c y  T ask F o rc e , A  L ite ra te  
Louisiana: The Key to Economic Recovery and 
F uture G row th (Baton Rouge: Louisiana Literacy 
Task Force, 1989), [i].

providing cultural program m ing, addressing the 
needs o f th e unem ployed, and helping to fight th e 
problem  o f illiteracy. Are th ese “unusual” services 
for an academ ic library? Perhaps. T hey certainly 
are not th e “usual” activities o f such an institution.

T hese activities have com e into being in W atson 
Library, however, because th e librarians o f N o rth ­
w estern State University o f Louisiana share several 
strong beliefs:

•  th a t librarians, as academ ic generalists, are 
highly inform ed;

•  th a t librarians, in general, are creative, ca­
pable, and highly energetic;

•  th a t academ ic librarians should be co n trib u t­
ing citizens to th e intellectual life o f bo th  the 
university and th e  surrounding com m unity;

•  th a t th e m anagem ent theory o f job en rich ­
m en t encourages us to try almost anything;

•  and th a t ou r m andate to “serve th e public” 
perm its and even enables a range o f library services 
th a t is practically unlim ited.

G ood ideas are usually w ell-received by respon­
sible executive m anagem ent. Fortunately, librari­
ans at N orthw estern serve with enlightened adm in­
istrators who recognize and encourage originality.

New Fulbright Award

C I ES has recently received w ord from th e 
F u lbright Com m ission in London th at th e re 
will b e a F u lbright award for an archivist in the 
U nited Kingdom during th e 1991-92 year. This 
is a new  F ulbright award for an Archivist to 
research and develop th e M em orial Library, 
2nd Air Division (8th Air Force), Norwich, 
Norfolk, E ngland. A pplications will b e  ac­
ce p te d  from  individuals working as archivists in 
public libraries, college or university libraries, 
o r m ajor research libraries outside A m erican 
higher education. Applicants should have sp e­
cialized training in archive work, a m inim um  o f 
th re e  years o f library experience as well as 
excellent com m unication skills, should be e n ­
thusiastic about A m erican cultural activities, 
and be able to travel to give presentations.

T h e M em orial L ibrary is a collection o f 
books, records, and w artim e m em orabilia rela t­
ing to over 6,400 A m erican airm en based in th e 
Norfolk and Suffolk area who w ere killed in 
action betw een 1939-1945.

T he award is for £15,500 plus £4,500 expa­
triation allowance and travel for th e  grantee and 
one d ep en d en t. T he award is for 12 m onths, 
O c to b e r 1991-O ctober 1992, th o u g h  som e 
flexibility exists for a 9 -1 2  m onth appointm ent. 
Application deadline: F eb ru ary  1,1991. F o r in­
form ation contact: K aren Adams, C IE S , (202) 
686-6245.