ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries February 1986 / 127 freshm en, we could locate a sign on th e reference desk or have the reference desk staff w ear buttons th a t w ould convey a message inviting EN G 112 re ­ search p ap er questions. In this w ay our desire to provide service to them w ould becom e m ore visi­ ble, just as the separate service location h ad been. W e could also encourage the reference librarians to becom e m ore involved w ith th e p ap er topic selec­ tion process. If w e hired an EN G 112 instructor to help staff the reference desk, he/she could tra in us in learning how to b etter assist students w ith topic selection questions. Given our present staffing level and the n atu re of h e lib rary instruction program for the freshm an om position course, w e will continue to provide his needed research p ap er assistance as a com ple­ ent to regular reference service. Next spring we re considering adding a th ird person to the refer­ nce desk to determ ine if the sam e level of user sat­ sfaction can be attain e d as th a t w hich was docu­ ented at a separate service location. 8 ■ t c t m a e i m C a ta lo g in g r a r e b o o k b a c k lo g s B y Jill H a r c o u r t Catalog Librarian University o f O klahom a The rise and fall of a Title II-C grant at the University of Oklahoma’s Western History Collections. T h e W estern History Collections of th e U niver­ sity of O klahom a has one of the finest libraries on th e N ative Americans of N orth Am erica and the history of the Trans-Mississippi W est. T he m ajor focus of its collection developm ent is the history of th e Southwest and its N ative A m erican population. T he Collections acquire m aterials in a w ide range of form ats, from photographs to m anuscripts to m icroform s and books. In 1982, the L ib rary D ivi­ sion of the W estern History Collections h ad 63,673 volumes (m onographs and serials), in both the LC and D ewey classification schemes. The Division also h ad accum ulated an uncataloged backlog of 42,000 volumes. T he inertia of this backlog becam e so great th a t the Collections applied for a HEA Title II-C grant. T he first-year objectives of this grant were: 1) To catalog and record in national databases approxim ately one h alf of the uncataloged p u b ­ lished book holdings in the W estern History Collec­ tions. At the tim e of application, the uncataloged backlog consisted of 42,000 volumes. 2) To increase the availability and use of the W estern History Collections by n ational and in te r­ n ational scholars. 3) To facilitate the bibliographic control of this special research collection by placing our holdings in an in-house circulation system. 4) To aid in th e long-range plan n in g and devel­ opm ent of th e W estern History Collections. 5) To s tre n g th e n th e m a jo r n a tio n a l b ib lio ­ graphic systems by in p u ttin g th e specialized hold­ ings of the W estern History Collections into the RLIN and O C L C systems.1 U n iv ersity of O klahom a W estern History C ol­ lections. HEA T itle II-C (dated Jan u ary 2, 1982). S tren g th en in g U niversity Research L ib ra ry R e­ sources T h ro u g h R ib lio g ra p h ic Access fo r th e W e s te r n H is to r y C o lle c tio n s . G r a n t n u m b e r 6008200688. Project n u m b er 091AH20057. 128 / C&RL News Backlog,, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma. By the time the grant was aw arded, the backlog had grown to 45,000 volumes. This raised our sta­ istical objective to 22,500 cataloged volumes for he grant’s first year. In February 1983 our cataloging operations be­ gan in a small area of the W HC Library Division. rant personnel included two part-tim e adminis­ rators, one professional cataloger, three parapro­ essionals and an allocation of 160 hours per week or student assistants. We had two RLIN Zentec 40 erminals for access and input into the RLIN sys­ em. Only basic cataloging tools were kept on-site. Others were available at OU’s Bizzell Memorial Li­ brary, a tw o-m inute walk away. For the first two months, we planned to concentrate on the grant’s beginning activities. After training of staff, design­ ing workflow and establishing grant procedures, we hoped to start cataloging the backlog. By the end of July 1983 we had cataloged a total of 6,413 volumes, including microfilm as well as books. This expansion of the grant’s coverage to the microfilm format became necessary because of our RLIN search rate. Only 18% of the books we searched had RLIN records th at met our basic cat­ aloging standards. We finished the initial process­ ing of the six largest special collections w ithin the Library Division, and began processing books for the Library Division's general stacks. A Dataphase term inal was installed in order to search OU’s on­ line holdings. Two paraprofessional vacancies ex­ tended the staff training period considerably. By the end of January 1984 we had cataloged a total of 17,717 volumes. Our search rate on RLIN t t G t f f t t remained low, at 19 % . So we expanded our cover­ age again, beyond microfilm sets and books to mi­ ofilm analytic records. “W estern A m ericana, 50-1900: F ro n tie r H isto ry of th e T ran s- ississippi W est”2 was our choice because of its verage of the Collection’s major subject areas. e shift in the backlog from trade publications to ore ephemeral volumes kept our RLIN search te low. A third paraprofessional left, so we had to ntinue with staff training much longer than we ticipated. At this time, a funding dilemma arose. We had bmitted an application for a second year of the ant in November 1983. But we were caught be­ een the change from the old to the new Federal cal year. To m aintain continuity during this time pse, we submitted a request for a no-cost exten­ n from February to September 1984. W hen it as approved, we adjusted our operations, hoping r the approval of our second year’s funding. Un­ rtunately, that application was denied. By the end of September 1984 we had cataloged grand total of 19,453 volumes, including micro­ m sets and microfilm analytics. The search rate RLIN improved slightly, to 21 % . At least 80% those six special collections in the Division had en cataloged. Only one th ird of the W estern m ericana analytic records w ere in p u t in the LIN system. 2Western Americana, 1550-1900: Frontier His­ ry of the Trans-Mississippi West. New Haven, nn.: Research Publications, 1975. cr 15 M co Th m ra co an su gr tw fis la sio w fo fo a fil on of be A R to Co February 1986 / 129 D uring the last eight months the g ran t’s priori­ ties shifted tow ards im proving access to m aterials in the Division. All books w ith LC call numbers had OCR labels placed on their book plates. This labeling project also served as an inform al inven­ tory. The numbers from the OCR labels were then linked w ith the corresponding bibliographic rec­ ords in OU’s D ataphase system. W e linked about 3,000 records; the rem ainder was com pleted by OU’s Catalog D epartm ent after the grant ended. To improve access through the Division’s card cat­ alog, we ordered extra sets of cards for selected rec­ ords. W e spent the last m onth dealing w ith all the m yriad trivial details involved in closing down the g ran t’s operations. The num ber of volumes th a t are cataloged has lways been the measure of success in any catalog­ ng operation. W e did not catalog 22,500 volumes. ut after tw enty frantic months we had reduced h e backlog to about 25,500 volumes. W e also anaged to characterize and partially organize it or future efforts. Access to the Division as a whole as im proved, w ith increased online and card ac­ ess. O v erall, a su b sta n tia l im p ro v em en t was ade in the control and availability of the m ateri­ ls in the L ibrary Division of the W estern History ollections. ■ ■ a i B t m f w c m a C First German-language Declaration of Independence discovered at Gettysburg College W hat is believed to be the first G erm an transla­ tion of the D eclaration of Independence has been found by researchers in the special collections de­ partm en t of G ettysburg College’s Musselman L i­ brary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The age of the docum ent, which is being hailed as a major historical find, was verified by W erner Tannhof, a bibliographer from the University of G öttingen, G erm any, in November. T annhof was w orking under the direction of D r. Karl J. R. A rn d t, professor of G erm an at C lark College, W orcester, Massachusetts, and Nancy Scott, re­ tired G ettysburg College special collections lib rar­ ian, w hen he discovered the tran slatio n am ong other G erm an-language m aterials w hich had been owned by the library for at least 90 years and possi­ bly longer. T he do cu m en t is a b roadside m easu rin g 16 inches by 12.75 inches on ordinary laid paper w ith ­ out a w aterm ark. The piece is slightly dam aged at the center because of an early, clumsy repair, but clearly legible. At the bottom center is the im print, “Philadelphia, G edruckt bey Steiner und Cist, in der Zweyten-strasse.” The discovery highlights the little-known fact th a t the famous D eclaration, w ritten in Philadel­ phia in 1776 to proclaim the independence of the colonies from the British crown, was printed in G erm an at almost the same tim e as its publication in English. One of the first newspapers to publish the D ecla­ ration was the July 5, 1776, edition of the G erm an- language Pennsylvanischer Staatbote, owned by Philadelphia printer Henrich Miller. In an article published in the Summer 1985 issue of the Univer­ sity of Wisconsin journal M onatshefte, Arndt said th a t both the Gettysburg docum ent and another, better-know n printing, done by Henrich Miller on July 9, 1776, were probably translated by the same person, a Russian im m ig ran t tran slato r nam ed Charles Cist. Cist had entered into a partnership w ith printer Melchior Steiner, the G ettysburg doc ent’s printer, in 1775. Although the broadside is undated, the possibil y definitely exists th a t it is the first printing any h e re of th e D e c la ra tio n . T h e first E nglish- nguage newspaper to p rin t the D eclaration i nglish was John D u n lap ’s Pennsylvania Evenin ost on July 6, 1776. ■ ■ ­ um ­ it ­ w la n E g P Declaration o f Independence in German, 1776. 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