ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL News ■ March 2002 / 163

N e w s  f r o m  t h e  F i e l d Stephanie Orphan

P re sid e n t's b u d g e t in clu d e s  $10 
m illio n  to  re cru it n e w  lib ra ria n s
President Bush’s FY 2003 budget contains an 
increase over last year of $15.8 million for 
the Institute of Museum and Library Services 
(IMLS), $10 million of which is earmarked for 
a new initiative to recruit and train a new 
generation of librarians. Based on census data, 
more than one-quarter of all librarians with 
master’s degrees will reach retirement age 
before 2009- This does not take into account 
early retirement, death, or other reasons for 
leaving the profession before the age of 65.

The IMLS initiative, 21st Century Librar­
ians, will support scholarships and fellowships 
in support of master’s programs; doctoral stu­
dents, who will be the professors teaching 
the next generation of librarians; distance 
learning technology to support training pro­
grams for librarians in underserved rural ar­
eas; and recruitment of a diverse and skilled 
workforce, including librarians with diverse 
language skills and up-to-date technical 
knowledge.

e b ra ry  la u n c h e s in te rn a tio n a l 
lib ra ry  p ro g ra m
Digital library provider ebrary has rolled out 
its ebrarian product to 36 pilot libraries, in­
cluding Stanford University Libraries and Aca­
demic Information Resources, Yale Univer­
sity Library, and the 34 members of California’s 
Peninsula Library System, and expects to make 
the product available to libraries worldwide 
during the first quarter of 2002.

ebrarian offers patrons unlimited 
multiuser access to copyright protected 
books, journals, and other documents 
from more than 100 publishers, includ­
ing Elsevier Science Publishing, The 
McGraw-Hill Companies, Random 
House, Harvard University Press, Cam­
bridge University Press, and Penguin 
Classics. The collection includes 5,000 
titles in subject areas such as language 
and literature, social science, medicine, 
history, science and technology, and 
philosophy.

ebrarian is delivered through custom, 
cobranded Web sites, which are created, 
hosted, and maintained by ebraiy. The sys­
tem is designed to integrate with libraries’ 
existing workflow, digital resources, and cata­
log and administrative processes, specifically 
through full MARC records for all titles in the 
ebrary repository, ebrarian is based on the 
portable document format (PDF), which is 
used by the majority of printing houses world­
wide and ensures that documents maintain 
the look and feel of the originals, and in­
cludes research tools that allow users to in­
teract with content at the word level.

C IC  b r in g s  1 9 th -ce n tu ry A m e ric a n  
fic t io n  o n lin e
Through a cooperative digitization project of 
the Committee on Institutional Cooperation 
(CIC), more than 1,700 works of 19th-cen­
tury American fiction are now online, with 
full text and images, and searchable. Com­
piled by Lyle Wright in his landmark 1957 
bibliography, A m erican  Fiction 1851-1875, 
the digitized works include novels, novelettes, 
romances, short stories, tall tales, and allego­
ries. The bibliography is part of Wright’s three- 
volume work listing American fiction from 
1774 through 1900, considered to be the best 
bibliography of American adult fiction of the 
18th and 19th centuries.

The project, which will ultimately include 
nearly 3,000 works, involves a complex se-



164 /  C&RL News ■ March 2002

They're not just using Web sites: A citation study 
of 116 student papers

A fear often expressed by today’s academic 
librarians is that students at their institutions 
are using Web sites at the expense of more 
reputable resources, such as books and jour­
nals. In order to study just how true this 
perception might be at the College of Mount 
St. Joseph, a private college with an enroll­
ment of 2,500, I requested faculty to for­
ward to me bibliographies of student pa­
pers. Six faculty members, each from a dif­
ferent discipline, responded, leaving me to 
compile statis­
tics from a total 
of 116 papers.
The results from 
this sample are 
discussed b e ­
low.

As Table 1 
indicates, the 
papers yielded 
854 citations. A 
look at the to­
tals reveals that 
the traditional research sources, articles and 
books, remain those most often used. To­
gether they made up 76 percent of the cita­
tions, Web sites accounting for the remain­
ing 24 percent. Exceptions to this pattern 
are the sociology and humanities papers, 
for which Web sites were used more than 
any other resource.

No consistent pattern emerged from an 
examination of course levels for the papers

ries of steps, including digitizing the mi­
crofilm, converting more than 400,000 page 
images to text, correcting any errors re­
sulting from the optical character recogni­
tion software, and creating the search fea­
ture.

Works currently available online are from 
authors such as Bret Harte, Nathaniel 
Hawthorne, and Washington Irving.

Indiana University’s Digital Library Pro­
gram is the project host for Wright Ameri­
can Fiction, which is freely available on the 
Web at http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/web/w/ 
wright2/.

submitted. The only upper-level courses 
were those from humanities and religion. 
The physical therapy and nursing courses 
were mid-level, and those from sociology 
and chemistry were lower level. Resource 
requirements outlined by instructors varied 
from course to course and had a more pro­
found effect.

The physical therapy instructor did not al­
low the use of any Web sites; the nursing in­
structor required that students obtain her per­

mission to use 
them as sources 
for their papers. 
As the numbers in 
Table 1 indicate, 
the instructors 
in the other dis­
ciplines adopted 
a more lenient 
stance.

Certainly the 
addition of Web 
sites has influ­

enced how students conduct research. If my 
institution is any true indicator, faculty ac­
ceptance of Web sites as legitimate resources 
is by no means universal, but seems to have 
become valid for many. Students have em­
braced Web sites and seem to use them with 
books and. articles. For the time being, how­
ever, the more traditional resources remain in 
the ascendancy.— Paul O. Jenkins, College of 
Mount St. Joseph, PaulJenkins@mail.msj.edu

New Web site profiles Sanford 
Berman Papers at UIUC
The personal papers of prominent library cata- 
loger and activist Sanford Berman are now pro­
filed in a Web site at the University of Illinois 
Library at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Maintained 
by the University Archives, the Web site high­
lights the career of Berman, former cataloger at 
the Southdale Hennepin County Library in Min­
nesota and best known for successfully challeng­
ing the outdated terminology of widely accepted 
library catalog subject headings.

The Berman Papers are part of the ALA 
Archives held by the UIUC library and pro-

Table 1. Percentage o f citations by resource type

Discipline Citations Articles Books Web Sites

Sociology 260 20% 36% 44%
Physical Therapy 234 82% 18% 0%
Religion 149 20% 54% 26%
Humanities 83 11% 42% 47%
Nursing 66 41% 56% 3%
Chemistry 62 48% 27% 24%
Totals 854 41% 35% 24%

mailto:PaulJenkins@mail.msj.edu
http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/web/w/


C&RL News ■ March 2002 / 165

vide an unvarnished look at controversial is­
sues, such as censorship and the socioeco­
nomics of information. The Web site, devel­
oped by Madeline Douglass, a librarian who 
w orked with Berm an at the Southdale 
Hennepin County Libraiy, offers a glimpse 
into the rich primary source materials held in 
the ALA Archives. The site is available at 
http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/ead/ala/ 
9701040a/berman/intro. html.

N o rth e a s te rn  U n iv e rs ity  cre a te s 
C y b e r C a fe  in lib ra ry
Designed as a technology gateway, North­
eastern University’s Cyber Cafe in Boston was 
carved out of an area of the Snell Library that 
was once a reserve reading room. The cafe 
con tain s an “e -b a r ,” 
w h ich  h o sts 6 fl at - 
screen computers, an 
adjacent computer lab 
with 25 additional com­
puter stations, and an­
other 70 stations down 
the hall.

Responding to re­
quests by students, North­
eastern and the cafe’s de­
signers, Prellwitz/Chilinski 
Associates of Cambridge, 
provided laptop accomo­
dations, network connec­
tions, and Internet access 
on all public computers 
at the e-bar. The Cyber
Cafe also includes booth 
seating and oversized 

 

group work spaces, which have become some 
of the most popular places in the library to 
study.

The cafe combines warm, vibrant colors 
with wood textures and metals to create a space 
that more resembles an urban coffee shop than 
an academic library space. Besides access to 
technology, one of the main attractions of the 
Cyber Cafe has been the introduction of food 
into the library. Beverages, salads, sushi, bak­
ery goods, fruit, and yogurt are available 12 
hours a day, with self-serve vending machines 
available 24 hours a day.

The Cyber Cafe has become a popular 24/ 
7 destination on campus for small groups, 
individual studying, and socializing, with 200 
to 300 people com ing through the doors

overnight. The Cyber Cafe has brought a 
renewed focus to the Snell Library as the 
heart of learning on Northeastern’s cam ­
pus.

N ISO  e s t a b lis h e s  N e tw o rk e d  
R e fe re n ce  S e rv ic e s  C o m m itte e
The National Information Standards Organi­
zation (NISO) is organizing a new commit­
tee to develop standards that will enable 
interoperable, networked reference services.

The committee will be formed into two 
teams. One will develop a question process­
ing transaction protocol for interchange of 
messages between digital reference domains, 
which will support processing and routing of 
questions and responses and packaging of 

other information to be 
exchanged. The other 
will build a metadata 
element set to identify 
and describe key com­
ponents of both ques­
tion and answer data 
and institutional and 
personal data.

T h e  N e tw o rk ed  
R e fe r e n c e  S e rv ic e s  
C o m m itte e  w ill be 
chaired  by Sally H. 
McCallum o f the Li­
b rary  o f C o n g re ss. 

-bar at Northeastern NISO standards are de­
fe. The e-bar is the veloped by consensus 
ace, hosting six flat- under the guidance of 

unded by comfortable 
experts and practitio­dy spaces.
ners in the field to 

meet the needs of both the information user 
and the producer.

B a k e r & T a y lo r a n d  A lib r is  h e lp  
lib ra r ie s  a c q u ire  h a rd -to -fin d  b o o k s
Users o f Baker & Taylor’s The Title Source
II product now have access to Alibris’ in­
ventory of out-of-print and rare books. The 
Title Source II will display Alibris’ current 
inventory o f nearly 400,000 out-of print, 
publisher out o f business, unable to lo­
cate publisher, publication cancelled, or 
apply direct titles. Librarians considering 
rare or out-of-print books are able to link 
directly from The Title Source II’s b iblio­
graphic records to Alibris’ listings on its 
fulfillment Web site.

Students using the e
University's Cyber Ca
physical hub of the sp
screen computers surro
lounge seating and stu

http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/ead/ala/


166 / C&RL News ■ March 2002

C o lle g e  o f W illia m  a n d  M ary lib ra r y  
u n d e rg o e s  r e n o v a tio n
A major expansion and renovation project un­
derway at the College of William and Mary’s
Swem library includes a 98,000-gross-square- 
foot addition to the library and a complete
renovation o f the existing 168,000 gross
square footage. Funded by a $24.1 million
appropriation from the Virginia General As­
sembly, the project is designed to redefine
the needs of a library of the 21st century. An
additional $6 million of private money is fund­
ing a 20,000-gross-square-foot pavilion that
will house the library’s manuscripts, rare
books, University Archives, and Warren E. 
Burger Collection.

The library’s infrastructure is being updated
to accommodate developing technologies ancl

 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

provide space for new print and electronic 
acquisitions, increased microform and mul­
timedia collections, special collections, and 
general user areas. All o f the environm en­
tal systems within the library are undergo­
ing significant upgrades to preserve valu­
able materials and to add to the general 
comfort levels o f users and staff. One of 
the highlights of the new facility is the In­
formation Commons on the first floor, with 
clusters of integrated computer stations and 
collaborative study rooms.

The new addition, consisting of two at­
tached pavilions on the east side o f the li­
brary, is com plete. The entire building and 
renovation project, which began in 1999, is 
expected to be com pleted by summer of 
2004. ■

RBMS to  o ffe r 43rd preconference in A tla n ta

Special collections librarians are undertak­
ing new responsibilities and duties, and 
learning new ways o f doing things. This 
includes coping with ever-changing tech­
nology and interacting with new types of 
users and new methodologies o f research. 
Access is being digitized and collections 
are being commodifed. Prospective pro­
fessionals have fewer educational and em­
ployment opportunities and are b eco m ­
ing more difficult to recruit.

Special collections must now com pete 
harder for the financial and institutional 
commitment that they have so long en­
joyed.

ACRL invites you to explore the chang­
ing role of special collections librarians 
during the 43rd Rare B ooks and Manu­
scripts Section preconference, to be held 
Ju n e  1 1 -1 4 , 2002, in Atlanta, Georgia. 
Entitled “New O ccasio n s, New Duties: 
Changing Roles and Expectations in Spe­
cial Collections,” the preconference will 
examine the different aspects and impli­
catio n s o f change, and show  ways in 
w hich special collections librarians can 
take advantage o f change for their own 
use and development.

P reconference sessions will be a com ­
bination o f plenary sessions, short papers,

and seminars. Speakers include Carla J. 
Stoffle, dean o f libraries and Center for 
Creative Photography at the University o f 
Arizona; Robert L. Byrd, director o f the 
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, 
and Special Collections Library; Michael 
Lomax, president o f Dillard University; and 
Jam es Vinson Carmichael Jr., Department 
o f Library and Information Studies at the 
University o f North Carolina at Greens­
boro.

The preconference will be held at the 
historic Georgian Terrace Hotel and Emory 
University. Housing is available at both 
the Georgian Terrace and in the Emory 
University dorms. Attendees will also have 
the opportunity to visit the University of 
Georgia in Athens, Georgia, the Jimmy 
Carter Library and Museum, and the Mar­
tin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Registration materials are available. Ad­
ditional inform ation about the p reco n ­
ference is available on the RBMS Web site 
at http://www.rbms.nd.edu/.

For more information, contact program 
c h a ir  N ora Q u in la n  ( e - m a il: n o ra @  
nova.edu) or the local arrangements co ­
c h a irs  S te v e  E n n iss (e -m a il: lib rse @  
em ory.edu) and Laura Micham (e-mail: 
lmicham@zemory.edu). ■

http://www.rbms.nd.edu/
mailto:lmicham@zemory.edu