ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 536 I C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s news Squeezing an inexpensive lab/electronic classroom into a medium-sized academ ic library by D o ro th y A. W arner, John Buschman, and R obert J. Lackie I n D ecem ber o f 1998, Moore Library at Rider U niversity (RU) finished w h at tu rn ed out to b e a project six years in th e m aking— a lab / electronic classroom. O ur experience is instruc­ tive b ecau se, th ro u g h th e tortuous process o f seeing this proposal to fruition, w e have learned a n u m b er o f things along th e way: w hat is less im portant a n d w h a t is still im portant in p lan ­ ning an d im plem enting such a project. Second, RU’s project is m ost decidedly not like those at large, research-size academic librar­ ies— like University o f C alifornia-Santa Bar­ bara, University o f Iowa, or G eorge W ashing­ to n U niversity1— w h e re un d er- o r unutilized sp ace w as identified in a very large building, architects an d designers w ere called in, and am­ biance as w ell as functionality w ere major con­ cerns. RU is a m edium -sized university an d library (about 5,000 students and 375,000 volumes), and as a 1998 study o f o u r library building noted, M oore Library has b e e n identified as having a space problem since 1990. Usable shelving ca­ pacity is n earin g its limit, a n d su p plem entary areas like reference, m icroform s, periodicals, an d video shelving are at capacity. Their expan­ sion will eat into the already shrinking seating an d general stacks areas. O ne 1997 article n o ted that 90% o f the ed u ­ cational space to be u sed w ith technology has already b e e n built2 an d Rider Library is n o ex­ ception. T h e area for th e lab/electronic class­ room at M oore Library w as carved o u t o f al­ ready heavily used space. We squeezed services a n d collections into alternate spaces, m odify­ ing as little as possible the existing structure with in-house labor, an d w o rk e d o u t all o f th e d e ­ sign issues b etw een th e library, Facilities, and Office o f Information T echnologies (OIT) p er­ sonnel. In o th er w ords, o u r exp erien ce is likely to b e typical o f a large num ber o f academ ic librar­ ies like RU’s, w h o w ish to create such a space a n d offer th e serv ices o f a la b /e le c tro n ic classrom conveniently located in their library. Since w e fo u n d so little in th e literature that addressed the specific concerns w e faced (i.e., cost a n d sp ace p roblem s o f an already small building), an d h ad to adapt everything w e read to o u r situation, w e decided to pass along w hat w e learned from this project. C h ro n o lo g y o f the proposal process W e are n o t strangers to th e political realities o f b rin g in g a la b /e le c tro n ic classro o m to co m pletion. From th e fall o f 1992, w h e n dis­ cussion o f e x p a n d e d electronic access began, to th e com pletion o f th e lab /electro n ic class­ room in D ecem ber 1998, RU Libraries experi­ enced several changes that significantly affected th e final product. N egotiations w ith the old a n d n e w library adm inistrations an d adm inistrations o f OIT required several proposals over a four-year pe­ A bout th e authors D o ro th y A. W arner isa librarian, e-mail: warner@rider.edu; John Buschman isa librarian, e-mail: buschman@genius.rideredu; a n d R obert J. Lackie isa lib ra ria n a t Rider University in Lawrenceville, N e w Jersey, e-m ail: rlackie@ rider.edu Getting blood from a stone mailto:warner@rider.edu mailto:rlackie@rider.edu C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 537 nod. Proposals w ere m ade for a classroom with as few as 6 and as many as 30 computers and an offer from OIT for 14 of the best available used com puters to g et a lab/classroom built even m ore cheaply. D uring the discussions over the used computers, it w as tactically agreed that the facility w ould b e a general-use lab w h en no t in use (exclusively) by the library for its Library Instruction Program. C onstruction co n sid eratio n s initially in­ cluded constructing glass walls, o r perhaps slid­ ing walls, to enclose a new lab /electronic class­ room w ithin the reference room . The m ore fi­ nancially realistic consideration o f rem oving a non-load-bearing wall to expand an existing space w as the result. D elay s o c c u rr e d as a re s u lt o f fin an cial sn a g s b e y o n d c o n s tru c tio n costs. F o r e x ­ am ple, th ere w as a o n e-y ear delay w h e n th e fin an cin g fo r c o m p u te r fu rn itu re c o u ld n o t b e d eterm ined. N ot to b e u n d erem p h asized w as th e will­ ingness o f the library adm inistration to com ­ prom ise, b e persistent, creative, politically as­ tute, an d k e e p the la b /electronic classroom in th e forefront o f discussions w ith OIT. Regular com m unication w ith th e librarians proposing the lab led to a final design that w as agreed to easily. D esign considerations within th e rather constrained designated space w ere th o u g h t thro u g h carefully, b o th from a teac h ­ ing an d learning standpoint and from a practi­ Floor plans o f th e M oo re Library Lab/Training Center cal sta n d p o in t o f m axim izing th e u se o f th e space. By now , the lab/classroom had three basic functions, w hich the final design had to accom­ m odate 1) a general-use lab w h en no t in library instruction use; 2) a n electronic classroom for library instruction; 3) a se c o n d facility for tra­ ditional library instruction sessions. How it w as built O n e library adm inistrator w as th e key p oint person, and from the beginning of the construc­ tion th e librarians o n th e la b /electronic class­ room com m ittee took a back seat so as n o t to interfere w ith the comm unication process. The library adm inistrator consulted w ith th e com ­ mittee regularly, kept the communication chan­ nels clear, and essentially acted as a general con­ tractor for the w ork done in-house by Facilities, OIT, an d contracted outside vendors. T he D irector an d Associate Director of Fa­ cilities offered hard-learned advice b a se d o n prior experience of building labs o n o u r cam ­ pus. The lab construction process w as thought thro u g h an d com m unicated carefully by the library adm inistration to Facilities m anagers, w h o sent electricians, carpenters, painters, etc. as they becam e available. RU’s goo d fortune of having a highly skilled, thoughtful Facilities Staff b ecam e th e library’s g o o d fortune. Facilities m anagers fo u n d an d a d ap te d d e ­ signs purchased from Nova Systems to custom- build to o u r specifica­ tions (i.e., as small as possible) the desks that house recessed com put­ ers. T h e lib ra ry p u r ­ c h a s e d t h e c h a i r s , instructor’s desk, and re­ cessed -co m p u ter h o ld ­ ing kits from our p h o to ­ copy v e n d o r (w h o also sells office furniture). He made a donation and allow ed for som e cre­ ative financing. Along th e w ay, rec­ o m m endations by the F a c ilitie s S taff w e re made for desk design im­ p ro v em en ts, in e x p e n ­ sive soundproofing, in­ expensive air-handling im provem ents, lighting 538 / C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 Lackie teaching in the new lab/electronic classroom. im provem ents, carpeting an d pain t color sug­ gestions, an d w iring im provem ents. T he Me­ dia Services division o f OIT put together room design choices based on several suggested lay­ outs, an d they m ade recom m endations for the presentation equipm ent and its installation. The overriding em phasis in the design of the room w as that it acco m m o d ate as m any com puters as possible, provide a w orkable teaching space, an d b e effective in all three o f its purposes— all in an odd, asymmetrical space. T he facility is next to ou r Information Desk in th e reference area o f o u r library in a space e x p a n d e d by rem oving a w all to create o n e room from tw o adjacent room s, o n e w ith the dim en sio n s o f 15’ x 11’4” an d th e o th e r 11’ x 18’1”. Builders b eg an w orking o n th e lab /e le c ­ tronic classroom in late O ctober 1998, an d it w as u n v eiled o n Christmas Eve 1998— four m o n th s “early.” It serves as a general-use lab w h e n library instruction sessions are no t tak­ ing place, an d m ost of o u r instruction sessions (averaging 222 sessions a year) are now done in the lab/electronic classroom. Student assistants staff th e room w h e n it is in use as a lab, an d they help w ith the instruc­ tion sessions w h en needed. T he lab/electronic classroom seats 22 students at 11 com puters. T he 12th co m p u ter is in th e front o f th e lab, serving as an instructor’s station, w hich is m o­ bile to allow for different teaching styles. Pro­ jection equipm ent provides the instructor w ith the capability o f making large-screen presenta­ tions. All co m p u ters have access to th e Internet via Netscape; to our libraries’ hom epage, which provides electronic access to 17 databases; to an additional six databases, available via a CD- ROM local a rea n etw o rk ; to th e sta n d a rd Microsoft package (sp read sh eet a n d graphics software, w ord processing, etc.); and to e-mail. In th e end, a se tu p w ith n o extra bells an d whistles— like built-in AV capabilities—was cho­ sen because of space consideration, and w e did n o t w an t further functions for a small room already filling three needs. Lessons fo r sm aller academ ic libraries Fortunately for all o f us, technology is co n ­ stantly evolving a n d has solved som e vexing hardw are and software problems. CD-ROM drive “clips” allow ed us to use tabletop com puters an d m o u n t th em o n their sides under the desks with CD’s and floppy disk drives o p eratin g norm ally. In a room w h e re space w as at a prem ium , the three m ore inches o f w idth w ith the to w er version o f a PC p ro ­ cessor w ould have m ade a significant difference o f about on e foot o f legroom in an aisle o f four computers. M ounting th e co m p u ter eq u ip m en t u n d er th e desks is also standard now , an d it gave us th e option o f tw o students easily sitting at one c o m p u ter w ith plenty o f room to take notes. This w orks very w ell for instruction sessions w h en the classes can be fairly large. Incidentally, w e u sed th e o ld er 15” m oni­ tors instead o f n ew er 17” m onitors b ecau se o f space, as well. A 17” m onitor w o u ld have re­ quired more desk width, reducing the space for the instructor in th e front o f th e ro o m b y al­ m ost a foot. Before th e construction an d use o f our lab / electronic classrom , th e librarians involved in the planning m ade onsite visits to o th er facili­ ties o n o ther cam puses a n d taught instruction sessions in labs at RU. They researched electronic classroom design through an extensive literature search, attended several w orkshops on electronic classroom de­ sign, an d served as a resource for others devel­ oping la b s/electronic classroom s, such as our English D epartm ent. They observed that students w ere often pay­ ing attention to the eq u ip m en t rather than the instructors. W hen tw o o f th e authors u se d a lab /electro n ic classroom o n cam p u s w ith an alternative arrangement (i.e., com puters in clus­ ters facing different directions in th e room ) to teach, this problem w as formidable. Everyone involved agreed that this arrange­ m en t w o u ld not w o rk for th e library’s facility. C&RL News • July/August 1999 / 539 RU’s English D ep artm en t already tackled that p ro b lem w h e n they d esig n ed their electronic classroom for w riting courses. H ow ever, th e auditorium design (i.e., co n ­ centric row s o f sem icircles) they ch o se left no easily accessible aisles to circulate am o n g stu­ dents an d p u t the instructor directly in the glare o f th e projector, blocking th e v iew o f som e of the students. In th e end, w e cam e u p w ith a list o f w hat is still necessary in a bare bo n es project such as ours: • L in e o f s i g h t (in stru cto r to le a rn e r an d v ice-v ersa). C o m p u te r labs c a n b e b u ilt a n d d e s ig n e d so th a t p e o p le d o th e ir w o rk w ith little c o n ta c t w ith w h a t is g o in g o n a ro u n d th e m . E le c tro n ic c la s sro o m s a n d c o m b in a ­ tio n l a b / e le c t r o n i c c la s s ro o m s h a v e th e a d d e d e lem en t o f acco m m o d atin g instructor p resen tatio n s. F o r e x a m p le , d e m o n s tra tin g a s e a rc h m e th o d o r a database, follow ed b y h an d s-o n practice— a com m on m ethod used in electronic classrooms—w ould require seeing the dem on­ stration clearly an d easily an d m onitoring stu­ d e n ts’ follow -up w ork. Line o f sight is critical for this m e th o d to w ork, so th e co m p u te r w orkstations n e e d to b e arranged accordingly. W e chose a very tra­ ditional design: all desks facing the front in three row s (tw o w ith four com puters, o n e w ith three com puters) an d an aisle by th e instructor’s sta­ tion for easy access to each row. W ith th e instructor’s station p lace d to o n e side o f the screen, there is n o interference with the projected im age. It has tu rn ed o u t that this design, co m b in ed w ith a rath er long, narro w room, has k ep t students focused o n the instruc­ to r an d th e w o rk at hand. P erhaps th at is w h y th e trad itio n al classro o m la y o u t has b e e n around so long. • L ig h tin g . Rider’s Facilities d ep artm en t routinely installs parabolic florescent lighting. This is a m u ch m ore d irected form o f lighting th at red u ces strain o n th e eyes. Further, indi­ vidual banks o f bulbs w ithin each row of lights can b e sw itched separately (i.e., they can op er­ ate w ith one, tw o, o r all th ree florescent bulbs on), an d th e b an k o f lights nearest th e projec­ tio n screen is easily w ired to its o w n switch. (The switches w ere placed near the instructor’s station.) While these adaptations w ere essential, it is m u c h less expensive th an elaborate dim m ing systems. lt w as suggested by Facilities that light­ ing b an k s n o t b e installed directly o v e r a row o f com puters—saving m uch trouble w ith glare. T h ese m odifications w ere sim ple, ch eap , an d essential. Also, N ova’s tin ted glass, th ro u g h w hich the recessed com puter monitor is viewed, cuts back o n light glare, as well. Incidentally, w e left th e th ree w in d o w s in the wall, w hich looks out o n the reference area. W e found the am bient lighting from these w in­ dow s very helpful, as is th e ability to look into the room from the reference desk. It also opens the room u p so that w e d o n ’t have a n enclosed cave effect. • S o u n d p r o o f in g . Again, this is essential if th e lab /electro n ic classroom is to b e located anyw here bu t th e m ost rem ote part o f a library. M oore Library is d esig n ed w ith a n o p e n p le ­ num (i.e., a false ceiling) to distribute air around e a c h floor o f th e building. T herefore, s o u n d ­ pro o fin g th e area n ex t to th e referen ce desk (w h ere the room is located) w as a prim e co n ­ sideration. O u r Facilities m anagers co n v in ced us that th e sim ple act o f puttin g in a d ro p ceiling (re­ quired for the new lights anyway) an d new car­ p etin g w o u ld take care o f th e problem . T hey w e re right. H ad this sim p le so lu tio n n o t worked, they w ere prepared to use inexpensive fabric w all hangings to muffle so u n d further. • H e a t in g , V e n t i l a t io n , a n d A ir C o n d i ­ t i o n i n g (H V A C ). A recen t article n o te d that “Five com puters can raise cooling n eed s b y 25 percent, an d 20 com puters can do u b le cooling needs.”3 M oore Library as a w h o le lim ps along w ith a very old HVAC system an d did n o t have the luxury o f a b u d g e t for a n e w o n e fo r th e lab. O u r Facilities m an ag ers m a d e sure th at every available air duct w as utilized for the n ew room and then tried to m ake sure there w as adequate air retu rn for circulation o f air in an d o u t o f th e room . This last item is the only issue w e are strug­ gling w ith. Essentially, th e tem p eratu re in the room evens ou t w ith th e surrounding building w hile th e doors are op en , b u t gets stuffy w h en it is clo sed u p for teaching. T he p lan to solve this is to h o o k u p th e ro o m to an air-return duct to force air in an d o u t of th e room , w hich sh o u ld eq u alize th e lab /electro n ic classroom w ith th e su rrounding building. • O n e p o i n t o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T here m ust b e on e key person w ith the necessary au­ thority th ro u g h w h o m all relevant w o rk an d 540 / CSiRL News ■ July/August 1999 decisions should flow. Any other arrangem ent will lead to confusion an d lost w ork time. P erhaps just as im portant, w e can also note items that m uch o f th e literature has focused o n b u t are eith er unessential or are n o t large problem s anymore: • In te r c o n n e c tiv ity . Computers, networks, the Internet, a n d peripherals are m uch m ore easily integrated now . W e eith er did n o t run into these problems o r they w ere not extremely expensive o r insurmountable. • V e r s a tility o f D a ta /L C D P r o je c to r s . Electronic version adjustm ent w ith inverted im age o r rear projection (reverse im age) capa­ bilities are relatively n ew an d m uch more com­ m o n n ow . T h e o p tio n o f m o u n tin g th e p ro ­ jector o n the ceiling, floor, or behind the screen truly allow s it to b e “p o rtab le” w ith o u t im age distortion. E lectronic shift a n d zo o m are n o w avail­ able. D ata/video quality has changed in about a year from 800 x 600 to SXGA quality. Bright­ ness o f im age has increased significantly. The rem ote for th e projector n o w includes a laser pointer w ith a black screen option. The instruc­ to r n e e d n o t w o rk in th e p ro jecto r light a n d th e m achine rem ains ready for use. A video presenter takes the place o f an over­ h e a d projector, saving significant sp ace an d consolidating presentation eq u ip m en t o n the in stru cto r’s w orkstation. T r a in in g . G etting th e librarians w h o w ere to u se this kind o f facility u p to sp e e d u se d to b e a very large issue. It’s now minimal. The user friendliness o f softw are has im proved signifi­ cantly, an d m ost students are aw are o f an d fa­ miliar w ith standard software packages. A r c h it e c t s . In su ch a b are-b o n es project, design for am biance an d atm osphere are nice, b u t n o t essential. Like m any libraries, UR h ad to fit as m uch as possible into a small available space, an d m ake it w o rk for m ultiple uses. T h e d esig n issues tu rn e d o u t to b e very sim ple: alternative arrangem ents allo w ed for to o few co m p u ters an d th e d esig n o f a tradi­ tional classroom w o rk e d th e best. It w as sim ­ ply a m atter o f m aking 12 com puters w o rk in th e ro o m an d allow ing e n o u g h ro o m for an instructor. • W ir in g . T he fragility o f electrical an d data w iring seem ed to play an unusually large role in the literature. In such a small space, each o f o u r row s is a n c h o re d to a wall. It w as very simple to p u t surface d ata/electrical runs dow n each ro w of com puters (from th e ceiling) an d attach the wires inside th e desks. We have not ru n into p ro b lem s in this area, including th e m obile in stru cto r’s station. How much? • C o n str u c tio n : approxim ately $5,000 (demolition, drop ceiling, lighting, n ew car­ p et, paint, electrical w iring, HVAC, fur­ niture construction, doors, etc., ab so rb e d by Facilities since in-stock m aterials w ere u se d a n d th e w o rk w a s d o n e as w o rk e rs becam e available) • E le c tr o n ic e q u ip m e n t : 12 com put­ ers, h ig h -v o lu m e p rin ter: $28,500 (D ell O p tiP lex GX-1 c o m p u te rs, P e n tiu m I w ith CD-ROM drives, 64 MB o f m em o ry an d 266 mhz. processor; H ew lett Packard d u p le x laser printer, m o d e l 8000N) • P r e s e n t a t io n e q u ip m e n t : $11,200 (S h a rp m o d e l XG E3000U d a ta /v id e o p ro jec to r— m o u n te d n e a r th e ceiling o n a stru ctu ra l co lu m n ; E lm o v id e o p r e ­ se n te r m o d e l EV 400; 6 ’ w h ite sc re en ) • D a ta h u b : Wiring an d n etw ork hub: $4,0 0 0 (H e w le tt P a c k a r d m o d e l HP J 3 3 0 3 , A c o m p a t i b l e RJ 45 c a b le , lO m bp) • F u r n itu r e : approxim ately $7,400 (3 row s o f countertop desks with 11 recessed c o m p u te r-h o ld in g kits: fro n t-ro w d e s k s 11’ 5” x 2’ 4 ” w ith 3 co m p u te rs; m id d le ro w d e s k 14’ x 2 ’ 4 ” w ith 4 co m p u te rs; b a c k ro w d e s k 14’ 3 ” x 2’ 4 ” w ith 4 c o m ­ puters, 23 sta n d ard office chairs— adjust­ ab le h e ig h t a n d o n rollers: 22 in row s, 1 at in stru c to r’s statio n , in stru c to r’s sta­ tion, N ova 41” x 30”— Facilities m odified to a d d to tab leto p sp ace) • T o t a l c o s t : $56,100 (Libraiy e x p e n ­ diture: $7,400) N ote: F u n d in g from th e N ew Je rs e y H igher E ducation Infrastructure Act p ro ­ v id ed funds for com puters, a printer, p re­ se n tatio n eq u ip m en t, a n d wiring. C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 541 • J u s tific a tio n . It is pretty well established that the effectiveness of resources such as elec­ tronic indexes, databases, an d the Internet are best taught w ith a hands-on approach. W e m e n tio n e d this c o n c e p t in planning docum ents in 1994 an d 1996, a n d by the time w e advocated getting a share o f state funds for the facility, this w as a generally accepted con­ cept— ev en w ith th o se unfam iliar w ith o u r project o r th e w o rk o f th e library. Con clu sion O ne sem ester’s ex p erien ce o f using o u r n ew library lab /electronic classroom leads us to b e ­ lieve w e m ad e th e right decisions in building this com bination facility. T he fiscal problem s o f the past w ere overcome, an d w e have found that o u r in -h o u se solutions for this m odest, asymmetrical space have w o rk ed well. Librarians an d on-cam pus technical and fa­ cilities personnel all had more than enough ex­ p erien ce an d expertise to m ake this h a p p e n w ithout a vast expenditure o f monies. Notes 1. Anita Lowry. “T he Inform ation A rcade at the University o f Iow a,” Cause-Effect 17 (Fall 1994): 38-44. Jo h n Vasi a n d Cheryl LaGuardia. “Creat­ ing a Library Electronic Classroom,” O nline 18 (Septem ber-October 1994): 75-84. D avid N utty. “R en o v atin g fo r T e c h n o l­ ogy: P a rtn e rsh ip s P ro d u c e Q u ick R esu lts,” College & R esearch L ib ra ries N ew s (Ju n e 1998): 414-416. Royal Van H orn. “Electronic Classrooms: Design and Use,” Phi Delta Kappan 19 (Novem­ ber 1997): 254-255. Jam es Estrada. “Electronic C lassroom D e­ sign: A Case Study,” p a p e r p resen ted to the ACRL N ew E ngland C hapter/B ibliographic Instruction Section, W orkshop, Ju n e 12, 1998, Yale University. 2. C. William Day. “T echnology for O lder Schools,” A m erican School & University 69 (June 1997). 3. Ibid. The authors w ould like to thank RU’s Fa­ cilities m anagers an d staff, Media Services— especially Pete Gregg, Edward Corrado, and S h a ro n Y ang o f M o o re L ib rary fo r th e i r h e lp a n d in f o r m a tio n o n th is p r o je c t a n d p a p e r . ■ ( “Observations …” cont, fr o m p a g e525) s o u rc e s fro m th e w o rld o f m a n a g e m e n t at large. • T aeo ck Kim an d Frederick Isaac. “Key W ords for New M anagers” (ERIC ED304143). This p a p e r w as p resen ted at th e July 1988 m e e tin g o f th e Library A d m in istratio n a n d M a n a g e m e n t A sso c ia tio n (LAMA) a t th e ALA A n n u al C o n v en tio n . It in c lu d e s a b ib ­ lio g ra p h y o f re le v a n t articles. • LAMA M iddle M anagem ent D iscussion G roup. “Y o u ’ll M anage: B ecom e a B oss … B est T ip s” (C hicago: A m erican Library As­ sociation, 1980) (ERIC ED322904). This p u b ­ lic a tio n c o n ta in s c o m m e n ts a n d a n e c d o ta l m aterial from practicin g library ad m in istra­ tors. T he bibliography draw s chiefly o n n o n ­ library sources. • A n n e M cG reer. “R eflec tio n s o n My First Y ear as a Library M iddle M a n a g e r,” L ib ra ry A d m in is tr a tio n & M a n a g e m e n t 1/4 (S e p te m b e r 1987): 131-133- D iscu sses th e routines, hurdles, a n d accom plishm ents o f a n ew su pervisor in th e technical services unit o f a large acad em ic library. • Linda W ain sco tt. “I’m in h e a v e n n o w o r six m o n th s in hell: H o w to th riv e as a n ew departm ent head ,” U nabashed Librarian 101 (1996): 27-28. ■ Letter to the editor I r e a lly lik e C&RL N ew s, r e a d it fro m c o v e r to c o v e r, a n d o fte n th in k th a t I n e e d to le t in d iv id u a l a u th o r s k n o w th a t th e y a re p r o v id in g a g r e a t s e r v ic e b y s h a r in g th e i r id e a s . S o m e ­ tim e s I a c tu a lly r e la y th o s e th o u g h ts . I t h i n k m y n o te to G re g o ry A n d e r­ so n , a u th o r o f “C y b e rp la g ia rism ” in th e M ay 1999 is s u e , w a s p r e t ty c o n c is e , “E x c e lle n t a rtic le in C&RL N e w s!” It w a s a v e ry w e ll w ritte n a rtic le o n a tim e ly su b je c t. I tru ly a p p r e c i a te th e tim e a n d e n e rg y m y c o lle a g u e s c o n trib ­ u te in o r d e r to s h a r e th e s e p r a c tic a l id e a s w ith r e a d e r s lik e m e .— K a th y K aldenberg, K a ska skia College, k a th y k @ kc.cc.il.us