ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 6 3 8 Integrating technologies, C onference converging professions C ircuit By Pamela Snelson American Society fo r Information Science’s 56th A nnual Meeting Over 800 information professionals, edu­cators, and librarians attended the 56th American Society for Information Science (ASIS) Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio, October 24–28. Having attended ASIS conferences for a half-dozen years now, I always com e away en­ ergized and motivated to pursue research on library topics. For those unfamiliar with the an­ nual ASIS meeting, it focuses on reports of cur­ rent an d in-progress research. In contrast, the association’s spring mid-year meeting concen­ trates o n specific topics such as navigating net­ w orks (1994) or electronic imaging (1993). U nder the theme o f “Integrating Technolo­ gies, Converging Professions,” 1993 conference attendees could choose from close to 100 pro­ gram sessions. A few highlights: In “Debating Different Approaches to Study­ ing the Organization o f Information” a panel o f scholars discussed and contrasted points of view that lead to distinct styles o f research and teaching. Ling Hwey Jeng (UCLA) advocated the traditional approach in w hich an under­ standing of information organization stems from an analysis o f the information objects them ­ selves. Donald Case (UCLA) argued from the cognitive paradigm w hich concentrates on the study o f how people think as the best w ay to approach the organization of information. Ni­ cholas Belkin (Rutgers University) sought to dismiss the other three paradigms and main­ tained that the best m ethod for studying how information is to be organized is to observe how people interact with potential sources. The co m m u n icatio n paradigm , ch a m p io n e d by Brenda Dervin (Ohio State University), studies information seeking and use by examining how people construct questions and create answers to these questions. This author remains con­ vinced that any useful approach must em pha­ size some aspect o f the user. In “Online Primary Science Journals: An Ex­ perim ental System and a Production System” the tw o projects discussed w ere the CORE project and the Online Journal o f Current Clini­ cal Trials. Researchers from Bellcore, Cornell University, and OCLC addressed preferences and usage patterns o f chemists with both page- image and formatted ASCII-based representa­ tions o f 20 American Chemical Society journals. Pat Morgan (American Association for the Ad­ vancem ent o f Science) offered insights into the difficulties and opportunities o f a purely elec­ tronic online journal. In “Integrated Information Center” a group from the University o f Minnesota reported on the implementation and evaluation o f an inte­ grated information center QIC) at the university’s Carlson School o f M anagement and Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Organizational inte­ gration proved to be more challenging than functional and technical integration. A success­ ful service, in this case current awareness, fos­ tered integration o f organizational units. In or­ der to measure the impact o f the IIC, researchers conducted a baseline evaluation o f technology utilization. Results indicate that there are two dom inant reasons for use: the fit betw een a task and a technology and the relative advan­ tage o f using the technology. Secondary rea­ sons are social norms, cost, and availability. An unexpected finding was that research in a new area may be the “jolt” need ed to move a scholar into a new technology. In “In teg ratin g F ull-Text N ew s O v er a Campuswide Network” Karen Howell (University (Cont. on page 647) Pamela Snelson is assistant director o f the Drew University Library, Madison‚ New Jersey; e-mail: psnelson @drew 639 64 0 647 19th- and 20th-century printing and binding pro­ cesses in fine original condition. So many vol­ umes have required rebinding, for example, that the richness of the original decorative art applied to bindings and printed endpapers is increasingly difficult to find and study. There­ fore, less than fine copies must be scrutinized as possible transfer items. Dustjackets frequently contain important information (e.g., text, illus­ trative design, and price), and if they are still present on general collection copies they should generally be retained. 4. B ibliographical, research, o r m arket value The rarity and importance of individual books are not always self-evident. Some books, for exam ple, w ere p ro d u ce d in circum stances which virtually guarantee their rarity (e.g., Con­ federate imprints). Factors affecting importance and rarity can include the following: 1. desirability to collectors and the antiqu ian book trade; 2. intrinsic or extrinsic evidence of censorship or repression; 3. seminal nature or importance to a particular field of study or genre of literature; 4. restricted or limited pu b ­ lication; 5. the cost of acquisition. Older reference works and early periodi­ cals still needed for general use frequently be­ come quite valuable and may require careful consideration for transfer, especially if facsimile or other reprint editions are available to re­ place them on the open shelves. In recent years, attention has been given to the need to protect valuable government documents. Reports of scientific discoveries and exploratory expedi­ tions, documents with valuable maps or plates, ethnographic reports, and early documents of major historical significance are subject to theft, mutilation, or deterioration and may require transfer. Selected reading The development, definition, and updating of a transfer policy is a complex and ongoing pro­ cess. It requires the exercise of imagination and good judgment, and profits from wide and in­ formed reading. Although there is no literature dealing w ith transfer p er se, the following books, selected from the large literature about books and book collecting, may provide spe­ cial help to those charged with forming and reforming their library’s policies. Brook, G. L. Books a n d Book Collecting. London: Andre Deutsch. 1980. ar Carter, John. ABC fo r Book Collectors. Sixth ed. rev. by Nicolas Barker. London: Granada Books, 1980. _ _ _ _ _ Taste a n d Technique in Book Collect­ ing. London: Private Libraries Assoc., 1982. Cave, Roderick. Rare Book Librarianship. S econd rev. ed. N ew York: R.R. Bowker, 1983. Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bib­ liography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972. Peters, Jean, ed. Book Collecting: A M odem Guide. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1977. _ _ _ _ _ Collectible Books: Some New Paths. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1979. Schreyer, Alice D. Rare Books, 1983–84. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1984. Streit, Samuel. “Transfer of Materials from General Stacks to Special Collections.” Collec­ tion M anagement 7 (Summer 1985): 33–46. Walsh, Jim, et al. Rare a n d Valuable Gov­ ­ern m en t D ocuments: A Resource Packet on Identification, Preservation, a n d Security Issues fo r Government Documents Collections. 1993. A packet of materials available from Deposi­ tory Libraries. ■ ( Conference circuit cont. from page 638) of Southern California) described the pro­ cess o f adding value to a commercial newswire service and the usage patterns o f the resulting full-text news. News from 211 topic areas is brought into the library system and reformed into seven databases along the lines of a print newspaper, e.g., general news, business, sports. Remote users account for one-half of all use; however, remote users read “recreational” da­ tabases such as sports and columns more than library readers. Another difference between li­ brary use and remote use occurs in the reading method; library use involves more searching, whereas remote users browse more. Similar in format to the ACRL conferences, the ASIS conference interspersed four plenary sessions throughout the conference program. Particularly interesting was Lee Olsen’s (IBM) presentation “Multimedia: Transforming the Way We Use Computers.” Olsen gave a so­ phisticated multimedia presentation using text and image files stored on his personal com­ puter. The liveliest part of the discussion that followed centered on the ability of multimedia to blur the distinction betw een archival images of actual events and subsequent recreations. ■