ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries In this issue: Annual R ep o rt o f th e P resident … 201 A C R L L egislative Network Backs T itle II-A ...............................208 B ringing A C R L H om e: T h e C h ap ters ................................... 210 A C R L C h ap ters ................................... 212 Inside W ashington ...............................213 Continuing E d ucation — X V .............. 214 News from th e F ield ..........................215 Continuing Education O pportunities ................................... 220 People .........................................................222 Publications .............................................227 Classified Advertising ........................228 ISSN 00 9 9 -0 0 8 6 C O L L E G E & R E S E A R C H L I B R A n R e I w E S s NO. 7 • JU LY /A U G U ST 1979 Association of College and Research Libraries Annual R eport of the President 1 9 7 8 -7 9 It’s a real tem ptation to c o n c e n tra te this r e ­ port on the Boston con­ f e r e n c e , n o t o n ly b e ­ cause it would b e much e a s ie r an d m o re p le a s u r a b le to w r ite (and probably more in­ te restin g to read)* but also b e c a u s e th at c o n ­ feren ce was enormously significant in the history o f A C R L. It established a p re ce d e n t and a m odel and in a n u m b er o f ways epitom ized the ideals o f A C R L , ideals relat­ ing to both ob jectiv es and functioning. T h e con­ fe ren c e was an unequivocal success p rofession­ ally, so cia lly , and fin a n cia lly ; th e d e d ic a tio n , energy, and creativity o f those who contributed to that success w ere evident to all o f us who ob­ served th e gradual shaping o f the conference and who w e re a b le to e n jo y its final form. To th e p la n n in g c o m m itt e e , th e lo ca l a rr a n g e m e n ts com m ittee, and the A C R L staff, all o f us should again express our gratitude. It was a m agnificent jo b . T h e success o f the first conference, attested to by letters from m em bers, reports from exhibitors, e v a lu a tio n fo rm s, and a r tic le s in p ro fessio n a l jo u r n a ls , e n c o u r a g e d A C R L to th in k a b o u t another conference. At the 1979 M idw inter M eet­ * In c id e n ta lly , th e r e is no b a s is , as far as I know, to the rum or that th e last twenty annual reports o f A C R L presidents are b ein g collected and published com m ercially. ing th e board approved a motion to “sponsor a n ation al c o n fe r e n c e e v e ry two y e a rs ” and a c ­ cepted an invitation from the M innesota Chapter o f A C R L to hold th e n ex t co n fe re n c e in M in ­ neapolis, an invitation subsequently endorsed by th e M in n eso ta L ib ra ry Association. In M ay, a group o f A C R L officers and m em bers m et with the ALA E x ecu tive Board, which thereupon ap­ proved a n o th er co n fere n ce in th e fall o f 1981. T he second A C R L conference, then, will b e held in M inneapolis, S ep tem b er 30 through O ctober 3 , 1981; a planning co m m ittee headed by Virgil Massman, director o f th e Jam es Je ro m e Hill R ef­ e ren ce Library in Saint Paul, has already begun work. O ne o f the events at the conference was p re­ sentation o f th e first A C R L Academ ic/Research Librarian o f th e Year Award, an award o f $ 2 ,0 0 0 fu n d e d by B a k e r & T a y lo r . T h e c o m m itt e e , chaired by Phil M cNiff, named as jo in t recipients two eld er (but still active) statesm en o f academ ic librarianship, R obert B . Downs and Keyes M et­ calf. T h e ir designation was an appropriately aus­ picious beginning for an award that will becom e a coveted trib u te from th e profession to some o f its most distinguished and worthy m em bers. Se v era l item s re la tin g to A C R L p u blication s should b e o f general interest. F irst, responsibility for publishing College & Research Libraries News was transferred to the A C R L headquarters. This move eased some logistical problem s in the prep ­ aration o f copy; a ben efit already apparent is the re d u c e d lead tim e , so th a t jo b o p e n in g s , for exam ple, can appear m uch more quickly. Second, the search for a new ed itor o f Choice was suc­ cessfu lly co n clu d ed in M ay. T h e re w e re over News issue (A) and (B) of College & Research Libraries, vol. 40, no. 4 202 ninety applicants for the position, with a large number of them well qualified. After an initial screening of applications, the search committee held two rounds of interviews, the last in May; by the time this report appears in print the name of the new C h o ic e editor should have been an­ nou n ced . O n e rea so n , su re ly , for th e larg e nu m b er of ap p licatio n s is C h o ic e ' s solid footing— financially, in the publishing world, and in higher education. The membership of ACRL should take p rid e in both our sch o larly publications— the quality of C o lleg e & R esearch L i b r a r i e s has b e c o m e c o n siste n tly high and C h o ic e is looked to for guidance in book selection throughout academia. T h e paragraph above m en tioned the m ore rapid appearance of jo b listings in C & R L News. That development was part of a conscious effort by ACRL to give greater emphasis to placement activities. At the Boston conference, for example, the staff ran a placement service, and that will be rep eated in M inneapolis. D u ring the first six months of this year, the ACRL office was sending free to all members who wished it (for nonmem­ bers, there was a charge of $10) a monthly listing of all job openings recently reported to the office. This development, it seems to me, is indicative of the kind of service that is so helpful, so practical, and should have been so obvious. T h e re ’s not much question that professional associations need to focus on “professional” matters— in our case, such things as stan d ard s, statu s, and scholarship— but we need to keep in mind that ACRL can also make just as great a contribution to its m em bers’ welfare by attending to their more prosaic but very necessary concerns. At its Midwinter M eeting, the board took a significant action on its structure. Last summer the P lanning C o m m itte e , ch a ired by E ld red Smith, had recommended— after long considera­ tion— a number of changes in the board’s compo­ sition and structure; these were then publicized in C & R L N ews in order to solicit reactions from the membership. Taking into account those reac­ tions, the com m ittee made further recom m en­ dations which were adopted. The proposed struc­ ture entails a board of eleven elected members (the three officers, six members elected at large based on nom inations from the sectio n s, one member at large based on nominations from the Chapters Council, and one member who will also serve as A C R L councilor) plus two ex officio members (the chairperson of the Budget and F i­ nance Comm ittee and the executive secretary). This number compares with the present board of thirty-one, a somewhat unwieldy size. Not only would the red uced size mean that discussion should be more productive, but, because of the method used to elect members, I feel the group would be at least as, and probably more, repre­ sentative o f the m embership than the present board. In any case, in approving the recommen­ dation, the board took the first step toward its implementation. The recommendation will have to b e ratified at a second board m eetin g and would then b e subm itted to the A C R L m em ­ b e rsh ip for final approval. It may b e a b it premature— since the second board meeting has not yet taken place— but should the plan come to the m embership for approval, I would urge its adoption. It seems to me that the real benefits so outweigh the potential disadvantages that there is no question about its positive impact on the fu­ ture of ACRL. In his presidential rep ort last year, E ld red Smith wrote that the “Standards for University Libraries,” a document produced jointly by the Association of R esearch L ib ra rie s and A C R L, would, after having been reviewed, publicized, and revised, “come before the ACRL board for final action at next Midwinter.” It did, and was ratified by a unanimous vote. That was a sig­ nificant development, one achieved only after a long period and a lot of hard work— one might even call it drudgery. Much of the credit for that accomplishment goes to Eldred as chair of the joint committee, and the association owes him a debt of gratitude. Throughout the professional world and, indeed, the entire world of working men and women, the co n tin u in g ed u ca tion m ov em en t has b e e n a rapidly growing one. W hatever the reason— an aging population, a recognition o f the “mid-life crisis,” changing life-styles and attitudes toward work, a more complex society, or any combina­ tion of th e s e — librarians have not be en unaf­ fected, and ACRL has undertaken this as a major responsibility, primarily through the Continuing E d u catio n C o m m itte e . E s ta b lis h e d only two years ago, that com m ittee, under the vigorous College & Research Libraries News is published by the As­ sociation of College and Research Libraries, a division of the Am e rica n Library Association , as 11 m onthly (c o m b in in g J u ly - August) issues, at 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Annual subscription: $5; or to members of the division, $2.50, included in dues. Single copies and back issues, $2 each. Second-class postage applied for at Chicago, Illinois, and at additional mailing offices. Editor: Jeffrey T. Schwedes, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; (312) 944-6780, Ext. 286. President, ACRL: LeMoyne W. Anderson. Executive Secretary, ACRL: Julie A. Carroll Virgo. Production and circulation office: 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Display advertising should be sent to Leona Swiech, Advertising Traffic Coordinator, ALA, at above address. Send classified ads to ACRL. Change of address and subscription orders should be addressed to College & Research Libraries News, for receipt at the above address at (east two months be­ fore the publication date of the effective issue. Inclusion of an article or advertisement in C&RL News does not constitute official endorsement by ACRL or ALA. A partial list of the services indexing or abstracting the con­ tents of C&RL News includes: Current Contents: Social & Be­ havioral Sciences; Current Index to Journals in Education; In ­ formation Science Abstracts; Library & Information Science Abstracts; Library Literature: and Social Sciences Citation In­ dex. © Am erican Library Association 1979. All material in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Associa­ tion may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement. 203 and efficient leadership of Richard Werking, has been active and productive. Each issue of C & RL News now carries a regular section listing “Con­ tinuing Education Opportunities”; there are two events planned for the Dallas meeting— a one-day preconference workshop and a program meeting; and the committee has produced a survey of con­ tinuing education needs and resources from vari­ ous library organizations and associations. Finally, the committee has strongly urged that ACRL es­ tablish a continuing education office within head­ quarters. Such an office, staffed with a part-time person, would administer and coordinate continu­ ing education activities for ACRL— for example, at least three sections now have their own C E committees. While this proposal will be discussed by the board, my personal view is that it should be approved on a trial basis. There’s no question that planning for continuing education will be of growing concern for all libraries; because the needs of academic libraries are somewhat dif­ ferent from others, it seems to me ACRL should do what it can now to insure those needs are met for its members. Recognizing that responsibility by the creation of an office would be a logical and desirable first step. Some of ACRL’s vitality might be inferred from the number of conferences it and its subdivisions are sponsoring. In addition to the Continuing Education Preconference mentioned above, the Bibliographic Instruction Section is holding a three-day preconference at Southern Methodist University, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Sec­ tion’s twentieth annual preconference is being held in San Antonio and Austin, and ACRL is endorsing the Fourth International Conference on Approval Plans, which is scheduled for the fall of 1979. All of these, of course, are separate from and in addition to the many programs and events to be held during the Dallas Conference. The relationship between ACRL and its chap­ ters is an important one, and one that is evolving. The most recent development in their evolution was the board’s approval of the Chapters Com­ m ittee’s recommendation that ACRL allot chap­ ters $1.50 “for each national personal member liv­ ing within the geographic area served by the C hapter.” This, we hope, will do three things: encourage chapter members who are not ACRL m em bers now to jo in A C R L; stren gth en the chapters financially; and cement relationships be­ tween chapters and ACRL. The effect of this will be interesting to watch and may have real sig­ nificance for the association. During my term in office I ’ve tried to appoint persons to co m m ittees who had not been in­ volved in ACRL activities before. It had seemed to me that the same names were coming up again and again on standing and ad hoc committees. The reason for this, I suppose, is a perfectly valid one— that is, those persons had demonstrated their abilities, and if productive committees are one cornerstone of a successful organization, then there is a real temptation to keep using those committee members again and again. But an in­ terested, informed, and involved membership is another cornerstone, and it seems to me one way of insuring that type of membership is to spread appointments widely, and especially to recruit for committees members who are younger and are from less v isible institu tio ns. I so licited the names of such individuals from a wide variety of librarians I knew and made a public appeal for volunteers. The response was gratifying, and while it’s been possible to use some o f those names for appointments, there simply have not been sufficient openings, and though the situation is a little better now, there are still not enough new names on committees. Unless the committee structure is expanded greatly—a not very satisfac­ tory solution— I don’t know how the problem can be solved, but it must be. Not only will it insure an involved membership, but we need to have d iffe re n t ideas and fresh , even unorthodox viewpoints. It’s too easy to become traditional and smug, and new working members will help obviate that danger. I hope succeeding officers will continue to address this problem. As a non-Quaker working for many years in a Quaker college, I have become convinced that the Society o f F rien d s’ approach to d ecision­ making— that is, decision by consensus rather than by majority rule— is a most effective one. (At Earlham, though only about 40 percent of the faculty and administration are Quakers, many of us have be en so “ Q uakerized.”) I ’ve tried to adopt this operational stance as presiden t of ACRL, and for the most part it has, I think, been successful. I was reminded of this recently by Ed Holley’s comments in the March 1979 W ilson L i­ b ra r y Bulletin, where he quotes the president of the AAUP, who lists his imperatives for that or­ ganization. The first of these is “that we back off from the ten d en cy to tre a t our intern al decision-making as an adversary proceeding or game, in which we are satisfied, indeed gratified to win by votes rather than by persuasion.” That, as Ed pointed out, is excellent advice for any or­ ganization. There are a number of advantages to arriving at a decision by persuasion, or by con­ sensus, but the most telling is that after a deci­ sion is made, those who may have been neutral or were negative to begin with feel much more willing to work with the decision than if they had simply been outvoted. I ’m hardly prepared to act as a reformer, and certainly am not considering attempting to impose the process of consensus on A CRL’s deliberations; that would not only be foolhardy but self-contradictory. I do, though, urge th at all o f us k eep in mind that w hile perspectives and perceptions on particular issues will differ, we are all working toward the same ends, ends that can be achieved more pleasantly, more satisfyingly, and perhaps even more ex­ 204 peditiously if we really listen to each other. I can do no b e tte r than quote from a publication o f the London Yearly M eeting of the Society of Friend s, w hich d e cla re s that m em b ers should co m e to business meetings … not with minds already made up on a par­ ticular course of action, determ ined to push this through at all co sts. B u t op en m inds a re not em pty minds, nor uncritically receptive: the ser­ vice of the m eeting calls for knowledge o f facts, often painstakingly acquired, and the ability to estim ate th e ir relev an ce and im p ortance. This demands that we shall be ready to listen to others c a re fu lly , w ith o u t antagon ism i f th ey ex p ress opinions which are unpleasing to us, out trying always to discern the truth in what they have to offer. T h e relationsh ip b e tw e e n the p re sid en t and headquarters is an interestin g one. On the one hand, the president is supposed to be aware of everything that goes on in A C R L, often acts as s p o k e s p e r s o n for th e o r g a n iz a tio n , and also should be thinking about A C R L ’s future and mak­ ing plans for that future. At the same tim e, the president also has another full-time position with a lib ra ry , and w hile h e or sh e can re lin q u ish some responsibilities, that library must still de­ mand much tim e and energy. F o r this reason, the president is greatly dependent on headquar­ ters staff for inform ation and often for advice. Some have felt the dependency is too great, but it seem s to me that, without a leave from one’s regular position, that d epend ence is necessary. D e p e n d e n ce for inform ation and ad vice, how ­ ever, need not lead to and should not be inter­ preted as loss o f d iscretion or a cq u iescen ce of principles. On the contrary, the relationship b e ­ tween a perm anent, full-time headquarters staff and a tra n s ie n t, p a rt-tim e p re sid e n t can b e a positive and productive one, given mutual con­ fidence and working rapport. That confidence and rapport have be en , I think, characteristic of the relationship this past year, and I am grateful to the staff for their support, patience, and fellow­ ship. I have com e to admire th eir ability to work on so many things both efficiently and effectively, to keep on top of the enormous amount o f detail, to maintain civility and even good humor under at tim es trying conditions. Ju lie Virgo has done a superb jo b o f leading and coordinating the staff, o f m a in ta in in g e x c e lle n t re la tio n s h ip s w ith in ALA, and o f keeping the E xecu tive C o m m ittee and the board informed of every A C R L event and developm ent. I t ’s b e e n esp ecially satisfying for me to see Hal Esp o, a friend and form er co l­ league, take hold as Ju lie ’s assistant and quickly gain e v e r y o n e ’s c o n fid e n c e and r e s p e c t. J e f f Schwedes has already proven him self a congenial associate and an exp ert ed itor o f C & R L N ew s, and the secretarial staff has been as patient, help­ ful, and pleasant as one could possibly ask. T h ere is one item relating to staff I would like to call to the attention o f m em bers. That is the limitations set by ALA on staff salaries. A C R L is the largest division within ALA, and thus its staff must assume greater responsibilities and manage a larger budget than the other divisions; yet the salary ranges for its positions are the same as the other divisions. To insure the continuation o f a co m p eten t staff the salary sch ed u le should be comm ensurate with the responsibilities o f the po­ sitions. A similar situation (which becam e obvious to us during the search for a new editor) exists with the staff o f C h o ic e , and in my opinion all these schedules need to be looked at. In conclusion, I want to express my apprecia­ tion to the many com m ittees and board m em bers who have m ade my r e s p o n s ib ilitie s so m uch easier. In particular, I ’m grateful to Cal Boyer for his effective guidance o f the Nominating Com m it­ tee and to D ick W erking for making the C ontinu­ ing E d u catio n C o m m ittee a significant part of ACRL. Finally, to E ld red Sm ith, my p redeces­ sor, I owe much for his example, his counsel, and his friendship. E v a n I r a F a r b e r P res id en t, A C R L ■■ C H O I C E ADVERTISING MANAGER DIES IN PLANE CRASH Joseph G. T. de Berry, manager o f advertising and p roduction, C h o ic e m agazine, died in the crash o f American Airlines flight 191 in Chicago on May 2 5 . D e B e rry was on his way to Los Angeles to attend the American Booksellers As­ sociation convention. D e B erry joined C h o ic e in 1972 with fourteen years o f professional experience in book and p eri­ odical promotion and advertisem ent. At C h o ic e he was responsible for a broad range o f activities, including advertising sales, subscription promo­ tion, manufacture and distribution o f C h o ic e and R e v ie w s - o n - C a r d s , and p rep aratio n o f financial records. Before joinin g the C h o ic e staff, he had be en m arketing manager for the University o f Pennsyl­ v an ia P r e s s ; a s s is ta n t d ir e c to r o f T o m p so n - Malone, In c ., an affiliate o f Archon Books; rights and permissions manager for the Yale University Press; and advertising and promotion assistant at G. K. Hall and Co. D e Berry is survived by his wife, Carol, and two daughters, E rica and Carolyn. His colleagues and friends at C h o ic e and at the American Library Association are saddened by his death and express th e ir d eep sym pathy to his family. ■■ 205 AVRAM AND KILGOUR RECEIVE ACRL ACADEMIC/RESEARCH LIBRARIAN AWARD Henriette D. Avram and Frederick G. Kilgour are the c o re c ip ie n ts o f th e 1979 A C R L Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award. ACRL and the Baker & Taylor Company pre­ sented the awards to Avram and Kilgour at the ALA Annual Conference in June at Dallas. H enriette D. Avram F r e d er ic k G. K ilgour The award cited Avram for her pioneering con­ tributions to the standardization of bibliographic records. “Her work at the Library of Congress in developing and promoting a standard format for bibliographic records in machine-readable form,” said the citation, “is one of the most significant achievements in modern librarianship.” Avram was assistant coordinator of information services at the Library of Congress between 1965 and 1970, when the library developed and im­ plemented the MARC Pilot Project and designed the MARC Distribution Service. From 1970 to 1976 she was chief of the MARC Development Office in the Library of Congress, and since 1976 she has been director of the Network Develop­ ment Office. The citation for Frederick G. Kilgour pointed to the revolutionary impact of the OCLC system on library operations and characterized Kilgour as “the prime mover” and “the catalyst with the vi­ sion, determination, and drive to bring the sys­ tem into existence.” Kilgour is president and executive director of OCLC, In c., which has grown under his leader­ ship from a consortium of Ohio libraries into a national network. He began his library career at the Harvard College Library and after military service in World War II joined Yale University first as librarian in the medical library and later as associate librarian for research and develop­ ment. The ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award was established by ACRL and the Baker & Taylor Company to recognize individual members of the library profession who have made outstanding national or international contributions to academic and research librarianship and library development. The award consists of $2,000 and a citation. The first ACRL Academic/Research Librarian o f the Year Award was p resented in 1978 to Keyes D. Metcalf and Robert B. Downs. ■■ LIBRARY EXPANSION AT UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents has authorized the university to proceed with the development of plans for a major addition to Biz­ zell Memorial Library. Renovations to the pres­ ent structure are also planned. According to Sul H. Lee, director of university libraries, proposed additions will contain approxim ately 150 ,0 0 0 squ are fe e t, and w ill provide space for a minimum 700,000-v olu m e stack capacity, 500 study spaces, 24 conference rooms, 52 faculty studies, and 72 graduate carrels. The expansion is proposed in three phases, with each phase costing approximately $4 million. T he search process to select an architect will begin soon. ■■ SHARP HAS SOMETHING FOR YOUR LIBRARY THAT’S LONG OVERDUE. T H ESF8- 10CN COPY-VENDING MACHINF. The Sharp SF-810CN copies on any paper. You won’t have to hassle with special “bond” papers or expen­ sive specially treated stocks. This money saving feature is a big help in these days of tight library budgets. The SF-810CN has a stationary platen, so it’ll copy pages from books without breaking their backs. Its dry toner system means messy liquids will never touch you or your library floor. And speaking about your floor, this compact desk-top copier will take up very little room. And because we know how you feel about noise, we’ve made it very quiet. As for reliability, there is an inte­ grated microprocessor for trouble­ free operation. But in case something does go wrong, the SF-810CN self­ diagnostic system tells you what it is. In fact, the SF-810CN is so reliable, you’ll probably make more money on this overdue copier than you ever could on overdue books. For a free demonstration, or for more information, send in this cou­ pon or call your authorized Sharp Copier professional. He’s listed in the Yellow Pages. And do it soon. Your library really needs this machine in circulation.