ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 383 Exam ining Our Options for the 80s Those who attended ACRL’s Second National Conference in Minneapolis were treated to a rare smorgasbord of research, observation, and specu­ lation on the future of academic and research li- b ra rianship. From the continuing education courses through the theme speakers and contrib­ uted papers to the concluding panel discussion, conference participants took a long, cool look at the challenges facing the profession in the 1980s. N early 1,900 librarians and friends from Canada, Australia, France, Jamaica, and every state except Idaho attended the conference last October 1–4. All rooms in the conference hotels (the Hyatt Regency and the Holiday Inn) were filled, and the hotel lobbies and restaurants be­ came forums for the informal exchange of ideas and information. Virgil F. Massman, chair of the Conference Executive C om m ittee, was pleased with the number of registrants. “With the economy tight­ ening academic travel budgets, I was concerned that the turnout might be low,” he said. “But the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has a very good reputa­ tion nationally as a pleasant conference site, and its central location provided librarians on both coasts with an equal chance to attend.” The conference theme, “Options for the 80s,” was highlighted by five theme speakers who of­ fered th e ir views on the fu tu re of libraries. Thomas P. Melady, Assistant Secretary of Educa­ tion for Higher Education, outlined the future federal role betw een governm ent and higher education. The Reagan Administration, according to Melady, has five major goals in its higher edu­ cation policy: reducing regulations and paper­ work; restoring quality to post-secondary educa­ tion; ensuring equality of access to appropriate institutions of higher learning; supporting the his­ torically black colleges; and expanding and im­ proving foreign language and area studies. Out­ side these areas there will be some withdrawal of federal support (“creative retrenchment”) and an increased reliance on state, local, and private funding. “The economy will be re-vitalized,” he said, “inflation lessened, and the overhead in education will be reduced.” Theme speaker Robert Rosenweig, vice presi­ dent of Stanford University, commented on the direction that research universities might take in the next decade. Recognizing that it is “almost impossible to avoid unpleasant surprises,” he felt that a basic re-assessment of the mission of the A c q u i s i t i o n L i b r a r i a n s ............... NOW IS THE TIME TO TRY THE BEST SOURCE FOR: • any book in print • accurate invoicing • meaningful reports • rush order service • COMPETITIVE DISCOUNTS • plus many other services CALL TOLL-FREE TODAY – 1– 800– 248– 1146 – In Canada and Michigan: C A L L COLLECT (517) 8 4 9 -2 1 17 EXCELLENT VALUE is why we are a major source for order fulfillm ent at many libraries. Our DISCOUNTS are competi­ tive and available upon request. 384 Virgil F. Massman, Chair o f the National Conference Executive Committee, cuts the ribbon at the Exhibits Opening Reception as Julie Virgo, ACRL Executive Director, looks on. A merican research u n iv ersities will allow educators and librarians to weather stormy times ahead. T estim ony to a co n tin u ed , though changed, governm ent/research university co­ reliance, Rosenweig said, is to be found in the fact that “in the midst of the largest proposed budget reductions in our history, university-based research support in the aggregate was uncut in real dollars.” The federal government will con­ tin u e to be the university’s chief client, but over-dependence on their support must be re­ placed with a realpolitik understanding of the contingency of federal commitments. One pressure that economic stress will have on the liberal arts college, according to Daniel Sulli­ van, vice president for planning at Carleton Col­ lege, is a tendency to become homogeneous. Ways of resisting this pressure and ensuring their Wayne Cardillo, University o f Kansas Law Library, inspects the Book House exhibit. 385 Keith Russell, Council on Library Resources, presents his CE course on career advancement. survival, Sullivan said, are for colleges and their libraries (who may well take a disproportionate share of budget cutting) to “undertake honest analyses of their strengths and weaknesses rela­ tive to the competition; analyze the availability of alternative markets; explore alternative products; and pursue needed capital aggressively.” The next speaker was Paul A. Lacey, professor of English at Earlham College, who turned away from the problems of finance and examined the options that the New Technology will present to libraries in the 1980s. Although basically support­ ive of such services as bibliographic databases, as a Luddite who has “really only accepted the radio fully” Lacey predicted the dehumanization of li­ braries if d ep en d en ce on inform ation tools is overstressed to the d etrim en t of th e lib rary ’s primary role as a clearinghouse for research and ed u catio n . H e c a u tio n e d against le ttin g th e choice of research topics and th e m ethod of studying them be d eterm in e d by eq u ip m en t which cannot always offer users everything that a more traditional system provides—browsability, for example. “Every research project,” he said, “needs something to give it human scale. Ap­ proaching a database through programs which are not ‘user-friendly’ is far more daunting than ask­ ing a librarian for help in a strange new area.” Beverly P. Lynch, director of the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Library, saw the future as a series of choices to be made in response to continuing change—change sometimes so subtle that it is noticed only in retrospect. Making the right choice, she explained, is dependent on the ability of library schools to train future librarians to have the courage and foresight to find answers. The panel discussion which was held the last day of the conference summarized the five p re­ sentations and identified the challenges that li­ brarians will face in the coming decade. Panel members were David Weber, Stanford Univer­ sity, acting as panel moderator; Marcia J. Myers, Miami-Dade County College, representing com­ munity and junior college libraries; Kenneth G. Peterson, Southern Illinois University, represent­ ing university libraries; and Thomas G. Kirk, Berea College, representing college libraries. The panel chose six issues that academic librar­ ies must confront in the years ahead: the impact of shifts in the audience for higher education; re­ lationships with government at all levels; contrast­ ing views on financial support; contrasting views on educational programs as they affect libraries; contrasting views on educational values; and changes in libraries themselves. More than just a recap of the previous talks, the panel discussion was a fitting and well-prepared finale to the Op­ tions for the 80s theme. C assette tapes of th e them e addresses, the panel discussion, and all 56 of the contributed papers may be ordered from Minute Tape, 14411 Vose Street, Suite 30C, Van Nuys, CA 91405. A complete set costs $249, but individual tapes are available for $8.95 (plus a $3.50 handling fee added to the total order). The theme addresses will be reprinted in an upcoming issue of College & Research Libraries, and the complete proceedings of the conference will be published next spring by JAI Press. Hal Espo, ACRL conference and exhibits man- 386 Theme speaker Thomas M elady explains the Reagan Adm inistration’s higher education policy. Luddite Paul Lacey describes his views on the New Technology. Panelists, left to right: Kenneth G. Peterson, Thomas Kirk, Marcia J. Myers, D avid C . Weber. 387 The Moldy Figs, a local dixieland ja zz band, perform at the Minneapolis Public Library reception. Molly O'Hara, University o f Illinois-Chicago Circle, presents her paper on temporary employment in academic libraries. Theme speaker Robert Rosenzweig discusses the fu tu re o f research libraries with ACRL President David C. Weber. 388 ager, com m ented, “T hrough th e success of its Second National Conference ACRL has shown once again that ALA divisional membership can meet in a non-business forum to discuss in detail the pressing professional issues of the day. By meeting in Minneapolis, ACRL has continued to provide its m em bers around th e country with quality programming and an opportunity for pro­ fessional socialization and development.” Looking to w ard s th e T h ird N ational C o n ­ ference on April 4– 7, 1984, in Seattle, ACRL will bring to the country’s western regions what it already has to members in the midwest and east. We hope you will join us as we anticipate 1984. CE COURSE REPORT “A very stimulating presentation and an excel­ lent example of teaching. ” “Very good, brilliant and conscientious instruc­ tors. ” “A most informative and extremely timely ex­ perience for m e.” “4 stars! Superior+ .” T he p re c e d in g rem arks, taken from course evaluations, are typical of the overwhelmingly positive response to the eight continuing educa­ tion courses offered by ACRL on S ep te m b er 29-October 1, prior to the National Conference in Minneapolis. Approximately 114 academic and public librarians enrolled in the courses, which ranged in length from one to three days. Many of the participants took advantage of the scheduling opportunities, enrolling in two courses. “Effective Supervisory Skills” taught by H er­ b ert S. White, of Indiana University, provided an introduction to techniques for effective supervi­ sion such as evaluating progress, determining and scheduling completion dates, and maintaining an interim report system. W hite’s lively presentation was enthusiastically received by course partici­ pants. Suzanne H. Mahmoodi of the Office of Public L ibraries and In terlib rary Cooperation for the State of M innesota p rese n ted a general back­ ground in basic principles and research findings in group behavior in “Working Effectively with Groups.” The course was structured around ac­ tive group work, allowing participants firsthand experience in group dynamics. A d m in istrato rs of sm all an d m ed iu m -sized academic libraries received information regarding managerial considerations essential in establishing the successful bibliographic instruction program. Taught by Dennis E. Robinson, University of Rich­ mond, “Establishing the College Bibliographic In ­ struction Program: The Director’s Role” examined political aspects as well as th e staff, budgetary, faculty, and administrative support necessary for establishing a workable BI program. “An Introduction to Maps in Libraries: Maps as Information Tools” provided for the nonspecialist an explanation of th e inform ation p o tential of maps in the library environment. Charles Seavey (U niversity of New Mexico) and D avid Cobb (University of Illinois) used a num ber of effective instructional approaches to illustrate the role of maps in acquisitions, collection development, ref­ erence, and instruction, as well as the space and equipm ent requirem ents of maps. The most popular of the courses was “Teaching Methods for the Bibliographic Instruction Librar­ ian.” Manila Svinicki of the University of Texas at Austin’s C en ter for Teaching Effectiveness in ­ volved the 34 participants in a num ber of creative exercises illustrating a basic review and practice in learning theory and instructional methods par­ ticularly effective in the bibliographic instruction situation. Richard W. Boss, Senior Consultant for Infor­ m ation System s C o n su ltan ts, In c ., B ethesda, Maryland, supplied participants in his course, “Management Issues in Automation and Informa­ tion Technology, ” with an overview of library and information technology. He emphasized adminis­ trative, economic, political, and other nontechni­ cal aspects of selecting, procuring and using these technologies. Participants in “W riting the Journal Article and G etting it P ublished” received an overview of the publishing process. In stru cto r Richard D. Johnson of SUNY-Oneonta covered such topics as selection of a publishing medium, preparation of the manuscript, submission of the manuscript, and pre- and post-publication matters and helped participants devise an effective strategy for pu b ­ lishing their work. K eith W. Russell, Council on L ibrary R e­ sources, led an e n th u sia stic group th ro u g h a n u m b e r of p ractical self-assessm ent and job- hunting techniques relevant to career develop­ ment and growth in the academic library envi­ ronm ent in his course, “Career Advancement in Academic Librarianship: Techniques for Upward M obility.” Small-group activities and creative ex ercises h ig h lig h te d this carefu lly p la n n e d course. T hree ACRL-owned CE courses made th e ir d e b u t in M inneapolis. M aterials can be p u r ­ chased from ACRL H eadquarters for “Establish­ ing th e College Bibliographic Instruction Pro­ gram: The Director’s Role,” “Teaching Methods for the Bibliographic Instruction Librarian,” and “W riting the Journal Article and Getting it Pub­ lis h e d ” ($15 for m em bers, $20 for no n -m em ­ bers). In addition to course content, participants were pleased by the size of the courses, which were small enough to allow for maximum interaction betw een instructors and students. Participants were given the opportunity to suggest ideas for future ACRL courses.— C . B rigid Welch.