ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ February 2003 / 75 N e w s f r o m t h e F i e l d Stephanie Orphan A S E R L o p e n s p ro g ra m s to n o n m e m b e r lib ra rie s Members of the Association of Southeastern Re­ search Libraries (ASERL) voted to allow non­ member research libraries to participate in ASERL programming. The new program category, “ASERL Program Affiliates,” allows research li­ braries anywhere to join ASERL’s shared catalog, document delivery system, implementation of competencies for research librarians, and upcom­ ing cooperative virtual reference and journal stor­ age efforts. Information about ASERL programs and “ASERL Program Affiliates” can be found at http://www.aserl.oig. N YU k ic k s o f f lib ra ry re n o va tio n The December 2002 opening of the Mamdouha S. Bobst Gallery in New York University’s (NYU) Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study Center marked the official kick-off of the first phase of renovation of the library. In addition to the gallery, which will enable the university to exhibit rare and important items from its collections of fine art, rare books, and histori­ cal documents, renovations will include mod­ ernization and upgrades of some of the library’s most heavily used spaces, including the refer­ ence center and 24-hour reading rooms. The opening of the gallery also marked the 30th anniversary of the Bobst Library. Proquest offers electronic dissertation subm ission program In conjunction with the Berkeley Electronic Press, Proquest has de­ veloped a Web-based application for the submission, review, and ap­ proval of electronic theses and dis­ sertations. The application, which will be made available to graduate schools, is expected to improve and speed the dissertation publishing process for graduate students, fac­ ulty, and graduate schools. Proquest publishes more than 55,000 disser­ tations and master’s theses each year through its UMI Dissertation Pub­ lishing program. The new system allows a graduate student to upload his or her approved dissertation into the publishing system, where it is automati­ cally reformatted in Adobe PDF and sent di­ rectly to the graduate school. The graduate school can then review the document for com­ pliance with school policy and format and ei­ ther accept the document or request changes. Once accepted, the document and all relevant data are delivered to UMI Dissertation Pub­ lishing and the university library. The service is available now and will be rolled out to gradu­ ate schools throughout the year. EBSCO to a cq u ire R ow e Com operation s RoweCom, Inc., doing business as RoweCom, Faxon, or divine Inform ation Services (RoweCom), has signed a nonbonding letter o f intent with EBSCO Industries, Inc. for the proposed purchase o f the RoweCom world­ wide subscription agent business. The proposed transaction is subject to due diligence and definitive documentation, among other customary conditions to be satisfied prior to completing the transaction. The proposal will require publishers and libraries to work with EBSCO regarding the fulfillment of pre­ paid RoweCom orders. The U.S. transaction will be implemented through a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of RoweCom. http://www.aserl.oig 76 / C&RL News ■ February 2003 A L A e xte n d s s u b s crip tio n s to Divine/ Row eco m cu sto m e rs ALA has announced it will extend subscrip­ tions for customers affected by the recently reported business crisis at Divine/Rowecom to ensure that there is no disruption of ser­ vice. ALA and its divisions and offices will extend existing subscriptions until March 2003, pending further analysis and the receipt of additional information on the number of subscribers affected. For more information on this issue, visit https://cs.ala.org/faq/ faq. cfm#topifive. P a lm e r S c h o o l d e v e lo p in g ra re b o o k s p r o g r a m Long Island University’s Palmer School of Li­ brary and Information Science is developing a rare books and special collections concentra­ tion at the master’s level to begin in fall 2003. The program, to be headed by Deirdre C. Stam, will be closely allied with the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School. It will offer spe­ cialized courses suitable for students pursuing their master’s in library and information sci­ ence, students pursuing continuing education credit, and collectors and other book enthusi­ asts. Students already enrolled in the Palmer School will be offered credit in the new pro­ gram. The New York Center for the Book, for which Stam currently serves as director, will move to the Palmer School from its current home at Syracuse University; it will co n ­ tinue to be affiliated with Syracuse Univer­ sity Library and the Columbia University Li­ braries. Readers' Guide o n lin e v ia W ilso n W e b The entire retrospective content of the R ead ­ ers ’ G uide to P eriod ical Literature is searchable online via WilsonWeb. With the two-phase release of “Readers’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982” complete, nearly a century of R ead­ e r ’ G uide content is available. When combined with “Readers’ Guide Full Text” or other cur­ rent R ead ers’ G uide databases, more than 110 years of article citations are accessible for elec­ tronic searching. The database incorporates a library hold­ ings indicator that links to libraries’ OPACs to let users know if they will find cited articles on the shelves; users can also acquire articles through built-in interlibrary loan and docu ment-delivery links. S c ie n c e D ir e c t o f f e r s Encyclopedia o f Social & Behavioral Sciences o n lin e The International Encyclopedia o f the Social & B e­ h av ioral Sciences (IESBS) is available online on ScienceDirect. Consisting of 26 volumes, it is the largest reference work ever published for the social and behavioral sciences and is the first to appear in both print and electronic for­ mats. IESBS is the second in a series of refer­ ence works planned for online availability through the Elsevier Science Reference Works Program on ScienceDirect. The 11-volume Comprehensive C linical Psychology was launched in January 2002 and additional encyclopedias and other comprehensive reference works will be launched in 2003 and onwards. Institutes In stru ctio n Se ctio n to o ffe r p reco n fe re n ce in Toronto Discover how to target outreach and instruc­ tion to specific user groups, avoiding the “one-size-fits-all” approach to instructional planning during the Instruction Section preconference, “Planning Instructional Op­ portunities for Targeted Populations.” The full-day program will be held prior to the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada, Friday, June 20, from 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Explore the characteristics of specific populations and consider strategies for as­ sessing the particular needs o f a group in order to appropriately customize your in­ struction program. Improve your teaching practices and find out how you can enhance student learning. Speakers include: Miriam Conteh-Morgan, Ohio State University libraries; Melissa Koenig, DePaul University; Helen Georgas, University o f Illinois-Chicago; Nancy J. Burich, University of Kansas; and Lisa Given, University of Alberta. Registration materials are online at http:// www.ak.oig/events/annual2003/registration.html. Questions? Contact acri@ala.org. https://cs.ala.org/faq/ http://www.ak.oig/events/annual2003/regLstration.html mailto:acri@ala.oig C&RL News ■ February 2003 / 77 with no prior ScienceDirect license will be able to p u rch a se the r e fe re n c e w orks on ScienceDirect, and those institutes with prior licensed content can seamlessly link from ab­ stracts to the full-text article. M alcolm X P apers p lace d on d e p o sit a t N Y P L's Sch o m b u rg C e n te r A large collection of Malcolm X ’s diaries, pho­ tos, letters, and other materials have been placed on long-term deposit at the New York Public Library ’s (NYPL) Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture by administrators of the estate of Betty Shabazz. The papers will be available to researchers after approximately 18 months of processing and preservation work is completed. The collection includes a wide range of materials handwritten or typed by Malcolm X, in addition to a collection of photographs, many of which are presumed to have been taken by Malcolm X. The documents placed on deposit at the Schomburg Center include those that were of­ fered for sale by Butterfields Auctioneers in March 2002. When the Shabazz family became aware of this effort, they asserted their own­ ership rights and threatened legal action to pre­ vent the sale. Researchers and scholars also expressed concern that materials of such his­ torical importance might be purchased by indi­ vidual collectors and dispersed to multiple owners. In the current arrangement with NYPL, the Shabazz family is depositing the papers at the Schomburg Center for a period of 75 years. E n d e a v o r r e le a s e s E N C o m p a s s 3.0 The fourth release of Endeavor Information System’s digital library solution, ENCompass 3.0, is now available to libraries. The latest version of the product includes a redesigned end-user search interface for overall improved navigation. The new interface offers personal­ ization features, such as personal collections of retained search histories and resources popu­ larly used by an individual user and e-mail alerts to notify users of new citations that match a saved search criteria. ENCompass 3-0 also in­ cludes a new XML gateway to Scirus, a free scientific search engine developed by Elsevier Science that searches more than 69 million sci ence-related Web pages, in addition to propri­ etary abstracts and citations of full-text ar­ ticles. Support for the Open Archive Initiatives C o rre ctio n In the January 2003 issue of C&RL News a photo credit was mistakenly omitted from the “Job of a Lifetime” column. The photo of the Jerome Rollers performing in the Bowling Green State University Holiday Parade (p. 14) was reprinted courtesy of Jenn Norris /S e n tienl- Tribune. The editors regret the error. for digital object management and harvesting of metadata is also included in the new release. K e n a n R e s e a rc h C e n t e r o p e n s a t A t la n t a H is to ry C e n te r The Atlanta History Center opened its ex­ panded archives, dedicated as the James G. Kenan Research Center, to the public. With a total of 42,000 square feet, the Kenan Re­ search Center offers expanded public research space with open access to the main library col­ lections on Southern and Atlanta history, as well as an improved microfilm room. The Kenan Research Center offers rooms devoted to special interests, including, decorative arts, genealogy, military history, and southern gar­ dens. The center also includes two special events facilities: the Woodruff Auditorium, a theater-style auditorium that seats 400, and the Draper Members Room. In addition to the Kenan Research Center, the Atlanta History Center includes the Atlanta History Museum, two historic houses, and 33 acres of gardens. M e d ia fin d e r p ro v id e s o n lin e s u b scrip tio n re fe re n ce fo r p erio d icals Oxbridge Communication’s Media Finder is an online subscription reference tool to search the databases of the S tan dard P eriod ical Directory’, the NationalD irectory o f Magazines, die Oxbridge D irectory o f N ewsletters, and the N ational Directory o f Catalogs. The product covers more than 75,000 Canadian and U.S. magazines, newslet­ ters, journals, Web sites, newspapers, directo­ ries, and catalogs. In many instances there are click-throughs direct to the publication’s Web site and e-mail address. Subscribers can search by circulation, publication type, title, location, advertising or list rental rates, print/produc­ tion specifications, publisher, and printer or list management company and download in­ formation from any search result list. ■