ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 488 /C&RL News ■ May 2001 ACRL NATIONAL CONFERENCE Crossing the divide Coverage from ACRL’s 10th National Conference, Part 1 ’ More than 3,300 peopl a tte n d e d ACRL’s 10t N ational C onferenc “Crossing the Divide held in Denver, Marc 15-18, 2001, setting a attendance record. A tte n d e e s — r e p r senting all 50 states an 10 countries— were able to choose from more than 250 pro­ grams and precon­ ferences on topics such as distance edu­ cation, assessment, scholarly communi­ cation, and informa­ tion literacy. Pro­ gram s a n d w o rk ­ shops on information literacy were particu­ larly “hot,” with at­ tendees crowding the e h e, ,” h n e ­ d meeting rooms. The conference featured engaging speakers such as Michael Hawley (Dreyfoos assistant professor of Media Technology, MIT Media Lab), who stimulated the capacity crowd with his discussion, “The Technology Revolu­ tion.” Additional keynote and featured speak­ ers included Patricia Limerick (chair, Center of the American West), Claire Gaudiani (presi­ dent, Connecticut College), and Clifford Lynch (executive director, Coalition for Networked Information), whose “informal conversation” with conference attendees led to thought-pro­ W. Lee Hisle, conference chair; Betsy W ilson, ACRL president; and A lthe a H. Jenkins, ACRL executive director, cut the ribbon to open the exhibits. voking dialogue on technology, intellectual property, and fair use. “It was a veiy exciting and stimulating con­ ference. A record-breaking number of attend­ ees networked, exchanged ideas, and partici­ pated in sessions that will help them address issues on their campus and allow them to pro­ vide more efficient services to constituents both on and off campus,” stated Betsy Wilson, ACRL president. The conference also offered numer­ ous op p o rtu n ities fo r a tte n d e e s to meet with corporate sponsors. More than 180 companies dis­ played their state-of- the-art products and services in the ex­ hibit hall. C&RL News is pleased to offer the following summaries of selected confer­ ence programs, and thanks the many vol­ unteers who provided these reports. Part two will appear in the June issue of C&RL News. The technology revolution Michael Hawley’s opening address, “The Tech­ nology Revolution,” focused on technological innovations and the role they can play in im­ proving society. After reminding the audience about his ACRL presentation in 1989, he mar­ veled at the advances since “the late bronze age of the computer world.” C&RL News ■ May 2001 1489 M ic h a e l H a w le y , D r e y fo o s a s s is ta n t p ro fe sso r o f M e d ia T e ch n o lo g y a t MIT M ed ia Lab, encou rage d atten dee s t o play w ith toys. To illustrate his point, he explained how merging the rotary steam engine with the print­ ing press resulted in speedier printing, which led to the creation of cheap newsprint, which in turn contributed to a more literate popula­ tion. In the same vein, he com m ented that joining computers and the telephone system has given us the Internet, and it is still unclear what impact 5, 10, or 15 years will bring. Toys, he said, are profound, “You’re never more creative than w hen you’re playing.” He described light-emitting diodes and explained how they could be used to indicate the ideal water temperature for showers. He talked about coffee m a k e rs th a t d istin g u ish b e tw e e n espresso and cappuccino cups and about re­ frigerator magnets with built-in video capabili­ ties. He show ed laser cuttings in vegetables and nuts, posed the question, “What if ingre­ dients could talk to you?” and explained the ramifications of “counter intelligence” research (for the kitchen). He w ent on to describe jars that play salsa, an electronic nose, fanny packs that display vital medical statistics, pills that measure internal body temperatures, bathroom scales that chart weight fluctuations, and a $500,000 pin that glows with each heartbeat. Hawley continued by describing the im­ pact of providing computers to an orphanage in Cambodia. W hen asked about the potential for technology pollution during the question- and-answer session, he expressed confidence that the public will dem and quality and pro­ vided the example of how a piano, once con­ sidered technology, is now used as furniture. To the question of what to do about children relying too m uch on media, he pointed out that while the television cannot respond to questions, the Internet is interactive. Finally, to the issue of technologically advanced toys stifling imagination, he replied that investing oneself in playing with any toy can have positive effects.—Allison King, University o f Central Florida-Brevard Campus, aking@mail.ucf.edu Western voices Patricia Limerick, chair of the Center o f the American West at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is arguably the most prominent prac­ ticing historian of the U.S. western experience; this day she also demonstrated that she is surely am ong our wittiest scholars. In remarks leav­ ened with self-deprecation, highlighted by fre­ q u e n t r e fe re n c e s to h e r s tru g g le s w ith technophobia, she speculated in her presen­ tation, “Western Voices,” that librarians may be suffering more ambivalence about the elec­ tronic information revolution than the profes­ sional literature represents. After declaring “The world has changed and I cannot keep u p ,” Limerick hopefully an­ nounced that she is becoming less a dinosaur Patricia Lim erick, cha ir o f th e C enter o f th e A m erican W est a t th e U n iversity o f Colorado, Boulder, ta lk e d a b o u t th e West as an e vo lvin g m yth. mailto:aking@mail.ucf.edu 490 / C&RL News ■ May 2001 C liffo rd Lynch, CNI, c h a lle n g e d t h e a u d ie n c e to becom e e x p e rts in in s tru c tio n a l te c h n o lo g y . and m ore a co n d o r w h o “flies aro u n d .” Limer­ ick depicted a West— A m erican’s fastest grow ­ ing region—like librarianship un d er stress from rapid developm ent; b u t in the West, nostalgia for past better days has b e e n a century-and-a- half constant. While shooting insights an d jokes through seemingly every o n e o f h e r rapidly delivered sentences, Limerick’s them e o f the West as an evolving m yth em erged. She e x p o u n d ed at al­ ways-illuminating length on the forthcom ing H andbook f o r New Westerners, a project that has taken h er an d geographer Bill Travis to num erous com m unities throughout the West, soliciting ideas from residents ab o u t w h at is essential in the region. Their efforts have p re ­ dictably uncovered m any com peting notions about the authentic West, including the p h e ­ nom enon o f individuals often holding passion­ ate, contradictory, an d sim ultaneous feelings on a particular subject, such as the sovereignty of property ow ners alongside the n e e d for in­ creased environm ental protectionism. The question-and-answ er period offered no letdown from the m ain talk. Limerick touched u pon com parative American West an d inter­ national history, the sensitive m ission o f p u b ­ lic history endeavors, and the possible role of genes in Left Coast urbanization. All w h o at­ tended w ere stim ulated and rem inded o f the intellectual context in w hich libraries vitally serve.— ScottH. Silverman, B ryn M a w r College Libraries, ssilverm @ biynm awr.edu Emerging technology and policy trends In “Emerging Technology an d Policy Trends,” Clifford Lynch, executive director o f th e Coali­ tion for N etw orked Inform ation (CNI), h a d a conversation w ith the audience, responding to questions abo u t the im pact o f technology, fair use in a digital environm ent, an d the fu­ tures o f libraries and librarians. O n the issue o f fair use, Lynch character­ ized it as a defense against lawsuits. H e said that libraries currently have a w ell-established standard for print, but digital content cannot be judged the sam e way. He a d d e d that p ercent­ ages cannot b e applied to images and using the w hole im age cannot b e defined as fair use. Lynch challenged the audience to collabo­ rate an d beco m e experts in instructional tech­ nology. He suggested that libraries should b e ­ com e the laboratories for building the digital infrastructure by tapping their expertise w ith the residential experience an d by taking ad ­ vantage o f technologies provided by their re­ search responsibilities. He said that in a veiy pow erful an d tangible way, technology is al­ low ing us to do things w e have never do n e before. H e said that it gives us w ild possibili­ ties, b u t also adds stress and is sometimes over­ w helm ing, b ut if w e can m anage this double- e d g ed sword, w e will have interesting systems o f great value. Lynch said that the recent failure of m any dot.com s has led to the ram pant sale of cus­ tom er database inform ation an d raised m any privacy questions. He ad d ed that vendors have a d d e d privacy language to site licenses, but there is very little policing o f violations. Lynch stated the impacts o f technology in­ clu d ed ch eap er storage, B roadband is devel­ oping, an d com putational cycles are growing. He felt that hom e adop tio n o f B roadband is the next big change, follow ed by better access to film, video, an d images. The decision to m ake the N apster Web site copyright com pliant led Lynch to predict fil­ tering will cause u n in ten d ed consequences as thw arted technology inventors will build stron­ ger, m ore secure systems. “It’s an ‘arm s race’ w ith those building racing against those trying to shut them d o w n .” Lynch predicted that the library will b e u sed less for storage an d m ore for teaching, collaboration, an d social interac- tvon— D ia n e Kachm ar, Florida A tlantic Uni­ versity, kachmai-@fa u .e d u Digital reference Do y our students k n o w the Ask Jeeves W eb mailto:ssilverm@biynmawr.edu fau.edu C&RL News ■ May 2001 / 491 address better than they kn o w your library’s URL? Based on the steady decline in reference desk questions in most academic libraries, w e know our users aren’t always thinking o f us first w hen they have a research question. Aca­ demic library users have discovered Internet “Ask an Expert” services that offer the imme­ diate gratification of an answ er to any ques­ tion. H ow can academic libraries position them ­ selves to b e the information and instruction service of choice in the 21st century? R. David Lankes (Information Institute of Syracuse) dis­ cussed in his presentation, “Digital Reference: The Future o f Academic Reference,” the n e­ cessity o f developing digital reference services to serve the dem ands and expectations of our users. He said that w e must realize that our users value anytim e/anyplace reference ser­ vice. W here academic libraries can trounce our commercial competitors is in the area of ex­ pertise and hum an intermediation. Lankes envisions a national digital refer­ ence system m ade u p of libraries, expert ref­ erence systems such as Ask Jeeves, industry help desks, and federal agencies. These groups w ould cooperate to provide seamless access to answers and experts, regardless of the user’s time zone or physical location. Additionally, academic libraries have a resource other ref­ erence services d o not— the expertise o f the faculty and librarians. Lankes proposes that aca­ demic libraries develop a “network of expertise,” where w e value library and faculty staff and ex­ pertise as much as w e treasure our digital collec­ tions.—Julia K. Nims, Eastern M ichigan Uni­ versity,jmms@onliìte.emich.edu Indochinese students' behavior in using academic libraries In “S e rv ic e s fo r N e w A m e ric a n U sers: Indochinese Students’ Behavior in Using Aca­ dem ic Libraries,” Cathy Anne Lu (University o f California, Berkeley) rep o rted on a study investigating th e use o f library resources by a group o f Indochinese students. She selected her university an d San Jose State University to adm inister a questionnaire survey an d in­ terviews because o f their large Asian p o p u ­ lation. The p u rp o se o f h e r study w as to deter­ m ine w h e th e r these students m ade effective use o f academ ic libraries, to assess th e u se ­ fulness o f the library services, an d to identify w ays to im prove an d im plem ent those ser­ vices. From data collected, Lu rep o rted that it ap p e a re d that although m any o f these stu­ dents w ere at the library, they rarely u se d its resources. She a d d e d that they did n o t show familiarity with the library’s offerings but w ere willing to seek assistance from staff w h en con­ fronted w ith a library-related problem . Lu em phasized that cultural differences p rev en ted them from acknow ledging diffi­ culty w ith the English language an d that d e ­ nial o f this problem m ade bibliographic in­ struction sessions less effective. Lu said that in m ost cases, w ith English n ot sp o k en at hom e, students te n d e d to select science-re­ lated fields w here w ritten papers w ere n ot generally expected. Consequently, they did not need to develop the library skills expected in som e disciplines. Having identified the needs o f this p o p u ­ lation, Lu offered several recom m endations: A librarian n eed s to b e sensitive to the cultural needs o f its patrons and engage them in the effective use o f a library’s resources; various outreach program s and library w o rk ­ shops shou ld b e d e v elo p ed for this p o p u la­ tion. Lu h o p es h e r study will alert adm inistra­ tors an d o th er academ ic library perso n n el to th e often overlooked n eed s o f a portion of their p opulation, and p rom pt m ore effective w ays to help these patrons b etter use their R. David Lankes o f th e In fo rm a tio n In s titu te o f Syracuse em p ha sized th e im p o rta n c e o f a n y tim e /a n y p la c e refe re n ce service. onli%c3%acte.emich.edu 492 / C&RL News ■ May 2001 M o re t h a n 180 e x h ib it o r s d is p la y e d t h e i r s t a t e - o f- t h e - a r t p ro d u c ts a n d services in th e e x h ib it h a ll. library’s resources.— Teresa L. A ba id , Florida A tla n tic University, a baid@ fau.edu Assessm ent of student learning “A ssessm ent o f stu d e n t learning: it is n o t a m atter o f if, b u t a q u e stio n o f h o w .” W ith this co m m en t D eb ra G ilchrist (P ierce C ollege) c o n clu d ed this session, “A ssessm ent o f Stu­ dent Learning,” b u t h o w d id it begin? The invited sp e a k e r K en n eth Smith (Uni­ versity o f A rizona) d iscu ssed his ARL w hite paper, “N ew Roles a n d Responsibilities for the U niversity Library: A dvancing S tu d en t Learning T h ro u g h O u tc o m e s A ssessm en t” (http://w w w . arl. o rg/stats/new m eas/heo .html). He e m p h asized th at in th e past, assessm ent of stu d en t learning fo cu sed o n content, b u t in the cu rren t k n o w le d g e eco n o m y th e re is a shift tow ards co m p eten cies. H e said this re ­ lates directly to th e ex p ertise o f library p ro ­ fessionals, w h o te a c h stu d en ts inform ation literacy skills. H ow ever, Smith n o ted , c o n ­ versation th roughout the university is the m ost im portant factor, b e c a u se all co m p o n e n ts o f the learning com m unity— including classroom faculty, library faculty, a n d adm inistrators— A udiocassette ta p e s o f m o st co n feren ce programs are available for purchase. Check onsite at h ttp ://w w w .a la .o rg /a c rl/d e n v e r. html for details. Selected sessions will also b e available for o n -d em an d Web view ing. Sessions will be a n n o u n c e d o n th e ACRL W eb site this m onth. contrib u te to stu d e n t le a rn ­ ing o utcom es. Gilchrist shared Smith’s ex­ citement, and uiged librarians to view their role in develop­ ing assessment tools as “an o p ­ portunity, rather than as one more thing to do.” Like Smith, she em phasized the im por­ ta n c e o f e x p e rim e n ta tio n . Guiding the initiatives at her library was the recognition that stu d e n ts w e re “n o t sim ply learning how to use the library, but instead w ere learning in­ formation literacy skills and tire research process.” B o b M o h rb a c h e r (P ie rc e C o lle g e ) e x ­ p la in e d h o w h e a n d th e library faculty col­ laborated. He reco g n ized th at stu d en ts co u ld find a b o o k , b u t lack ed th e skills to find liter­ ary criticism in periodicals o r databases. W ith th e library faculty, h e dev ised assignm ents th at req u ire d stu d en ts to find, evaluate, an d in co rp o rate inform ation into th eir research projects. As a result o f th ese initiatives, h e said th at library a n d English faculty have seen a w id e r ran g e o f sources a n d a b e tte r u se o f th ese sources in student assignm ents.— P e n n y Bealle, A delp h i University, bealle@adelphi.edu Problems with new state UCITA laws In “P roblem s P re se n te d b y N ew State U ni­ form Inform ation Laws (UCITA): R especting th e Use o f Electronic R esources,” Vicki G re­ gory (U niversity o f South Florida) rev iew ed th e UCITA legislation, a set o f p ro p o s e d state law s regulating softw are licensing a n d elec­ tronic reso u rces th at h as already p a sse d in M aryland (effective O cto b er 1, 2000) a n d Vir­ ginia (effective July 1, 2001). She a d d e d , it has b e e n , o r will so o n be, in tro d u ced in Ari­ zona, Florida, G eorgia, Illinois, Maine, a n d Texas. She said th at v en d o rs co u ld list y o u r license ag reem en t final arbitrator as a state co u rt w h e re UCITA is in effect. G regory e x p lain ed th at th e im plication o f UCITA for libraries is that it will rep lace co p y ­ right law, u n d e rc u t fair use, a n d u n d e rm in e th e p reserv atio n a n d len d in g o f inform ation p roducts. She said th at UCITA b in d s c o m p a ­ nies to licensing term s in softw are acq u ired by their e m p lo y ees w ith o u t p rio r au th o riza­ tion. G regory said that licenses are n ot trans- mailto:abaid@fau.edu http://www.ala.org/acrl/denver mailto:bealle@adelphi.edu C&RL News ■ May 2001 / 493 ferable if a company changes names and software vendors can prohibit public criticism of their product and can shut d o w n th e ir s o ftw a re r e ­ motely, w ithout court a p ­ proval, merely on suspicion of possible licensing viola­ tions (a “self-help” clause). Gregory outlined for li­ brarians these responses to UCITA: kn o w w h at UCITA is and w hich version is b e ­ ing considered in your state; in fo rm y o u r le g is la to rs ; align w ith o th e r in te re st groups w ho w ould also be adversely affected (insurance, publishing, small business, etc.); an d consider com pro­ mises, such as removal of anti-criticism and self-help provisions, and addition of library exem ptions. Gregory urged the attendees to educate staff and users, m aintain a file o f licenses (in­ cluding shrink-wrap and click-through agree­ ments), and m ake sure they are clear about all licensing term s o f agreem ent if the state passes UCITA,.— Kitti Canepi, Florida G u lf Coast University, kcanepi@fgcu.edu A president's view At the closing session, in “A President’s View,” Clair Gaudiani, president of Connecticut Col­ lege, u rged stepping back and looking at the j ß -» ì I ™ • Claire G au dia ni, p re s id e n t o f C o n n e cticu t C o lle g e , u rg e d c iv ic c o m m itm e n t an d e n g a g e m e n t saying, " H ig h e r e d u c a tio n w o rk s to e n a b le hu m a n beings t o reach h ig h e r levels o f d e v e lo p m e n t." R o u n d ta b le discussions gave a tte n d e e s th e o p p o r tu n ity t o chat in fo rm a lly a b o u t co m m o n issues. big picture, asking fundamental questions that relate w h at w e ’re doing w ith w h o w e ’re try­ ing to be in a global environment. She quoted author Robert Lane, w ho docum ented self- reported happiness levels, and concluded that even w ith highest levels o f w ealth pro d u c­ tion p eo p le are n ot happier. He asked, “How can w e not b e happier?” Gaudiani urged civic en g ag em en t, civic com m itm ent, said that know ledge like w ealth in a dem ocracy tends to congregate, to concentrate. She said as w e m ove forward w e must speak of the im por­ tance of values to decide how w e will live w ith m ore wealth, m ore know ledge. She said that John Winthrop in 1630 wrote of his expectation that in this new land people w ould share with those w ho had less to create a stronger nation. A discussion of values that are important to our w ork opportunities is es­ sential. G audiani claim ed that the three values of curiosity, generosity, an d integrity apply es­ pecially to libraries and librarians. “Higher education w orks to enable hum an beings to reach higher levels o f d evelopm ent.” This should begin in libraries. The n eed to create an environm ent for civic engagem ent is as im portant as any other issue in libraries.” She continued, “We m ust integrate the doing it better than ever with being at the values level. We are as close as any generation has ever b e e n to kinds of values our founding fathers set before us w ith flaws they knew w ere th ere.” “This is our w ork even w hile struggling with all other issues.”— Virginia Bailey, Abilene Christian University, baileyv@acu.edu ■ mailto:kcanepi@fgcu.edu mailto:baileyv@acu.edu C&RL News ■ M ay 2001 / 495 To us, it's not just how students use eBooks, it’s how students use libraries, as weil. To that end, we develop collections of eBooks to help librarians provide increased access to valued, reliable knowledge in electronic form. Our eBooks, by design, fit well into libraries, with efficient search features, OPAC integration, and content from top publishers such as Oxford University Press. To learn more, visit academic.netUbrary.com or call 800-413-4557.