ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 330 / C b R L News A ctive p a r tic ip a tio n at th e M odern L a n g u a g e A sso c ia tio n ’s co n v en tio n s: W hy not? By Danielle Mihram Assistant Curator, Bobst Library New York University MLA offers librarians many opportunities. R e c e n t conversations with ACRL members, at both the ALA 1985 Annual Conference and the 1986 Midwinter Meeting, have led me to conclude that quite a few members of our Association may not be completely convinced of the pertinence of professional and research concerns that we share with the membership of the Modern Language As­ sociation (MLA), Recurring comments centered around time con­ straints (library work schedules, and travels to meetings within the library profession precluding supplem entary professional concerns); financial hardship (costly membership and convention regis­ tration fees, not to mention travel expenses to meet­ ings); and the firm belief among some that our spe­ cific interests are not really shared by the MLA membership. My regular attendance at the annual MLA con­ ventions and my interactions there with library- oriented members have convinced me of the con­ trary. I might suggest in passing that the careful selection of one or more additional associations (be­ yond ALA and ACRL) very closely related to one’s own subject specialty may not only broaden our own horizons but also those of the members of that other association who may not be aware of our pro­ fessional concerns. Admittedly some financial sac­ rifice is involved when one considers the additional monetary burden related to memberships, but the professional and intellectual advantages far out­ weigh such questions. The date of the MLA annual conventions is con­ stant: December 27-30. The meetings draw huge audiences, approximately ten thousand partici­ pants (they constitute the largest meeting of their kind in the humanities) arriving from fifty states as well as from foreign countries. A very large book exhibit is also held at the convention. Over the years the total num ber of sessions offered has climbed to almost seven hundred (693 in centennial year 1983, 675 in 1984, 661 in 1985) and these range from very small, informal discussion groups to very large forums dealing with topics of broad general interest. The convention is open to persons who are not members of the association; like members, they must pay a registration fee that recently has risen to $75. However, only current MLA members may organize meetings and participate formally in ses­ sions. Occasionally the membership requirement for speakers is waived in the case of invited foreign scholars or individuals with main interests in other disciplines. Membership fees range from low stu­ dent rates up to $95 and these are scaled to the ap­ May 1986 / 331 plicant’s annual income. The first-year m em ber­ ship has a reduced rate of $25 as a “get acquainted” enticement. To qualify as a speaker, one must join MLA before April 1 of th a t convention year. Details regarding registration at the convention appear each year in the September issue of the Pub­ lications o f the M odern Language Association (PMLA), received as a. perquisite of membership. For current inform ation see pp. 433-43 of the Sep­ tem ber 1985 issue. Calls for papers appear in the W inter and Spring issues of the M L A Newsletter (also a member perquisite), and the convention’s “Program Summ ary” appears one m onth before the meeting in the November issue. Regrettably there are no printed abstracts or proceedings of the papers presented at the convention, but some au­ thors will mail copies of their papers on'request and it is not too uncommon to find in learned periodi­ cals enlarged versions of some of the papers origi­ nally presented at the MLA conventions. Like ALA annual conferences, the site of the convention follows a pattern of rotation and in­ cludes such cities as Chicago, New York, San F ran ­ cisco, and W ashington. One can thus plan ahead when the convention is scheduled for a location rel­ atively close to one’s place of work or residence. This year’s convention will be held in New York and next year’s will be held in San Francisco (Chi­ cago was last year’s site). Recently ALA and MLA have been choosing the same city each year. Of m utual interest to both ACRL and MLA memberships are topics th at relate to the gathering and dissemination of research, particularly in the fields of language, literature, and literary criti­ cism, though not exclusively, since computers, per­ forming arts, science, sociology, and religion—to nam e just a few—are also represented in the many divisions of the MLA. Papers by ACRL members on specialized subjects, perhaps w ith an emphasis on bibliographical inform ation along the lines of papers appearing in the W ESS Newsletter, for ex­ ample, should be well received. One advantage th at we have in the compilation of inform ation and the preparation for such papers is our own expertise in database searching and our knowledge of the scope of databases other than that of the MLA online: e.g., the Arts and Humanities Citation Index, now online via BRS; the various databases in history, philosophy, religion, and the social sciences; the French database, QUESTEL, which can be searched in English and provides bib­ liographic inform ation on research in both Eastern and W estern Europe. The Spring 1986 issue of the M LA Newsletter (p. 23) includes a short article on the availability of H um aN et, an electronic net­ working service for scholars in the humanities that was developed at North Carolina State University, where PoliNet, a service for political scientists, is already in operation. W alter Meyers, professor of English at North Carolina State, will direct and co­ ordinate H um aN et, which initially will serve re­ searchers in English, history, and religion. The ad ­ vantage of the system is its ability to link scholars in 65 countries. Some of the following sessions at the 1985 MLA convention would have been appropriate for a p a ­ per from an ACRL m em ber, particularly on re­ search or bibliography: “The Revival of the Ba­ ro q u e in T u r n - o f - th e - C e n tu r y A u stria n L iterature” (special session); “Chicano Literature: Past, Present, and F u tu re” (Discussion Group on Chicano Literature); “New Critical Approaches to Francophone L iterature” (Division on French L it­ erature Outside Europe); and “Introducing Asian L iterature to U ndergraduates” (Division on Asian L iteratu re). Directly relevant to our own field were such ses­ sions as: “Libraries and Learned Journals: A State­ m ent of Com m on C o n cern ,” w here one of the speakers was Helen F. Schmierer, Acquisition Ser­ vices, University of Chicago, paralleling a session organized and chaired by myself in 1983: “Today’s Academic Libraries and University Presses: Their Role in Modern Language Studies.” Another inter­ esting session last year was: “Bibliographical D ata Bases in Literary Research: The View from H ere,” w ith one panelist being Eileen M. Mackesy, of the MLA Center for Bibliographical Services. A lib rar­ ian’s “View from Here” may well have given a broader scope to the session since the only other two panelists were professors in D epartm ents of E n ­ glish. Broader perspectives m ight also be obtained from sessions dealing w ith special collections. One noteworthy session was “Renaissance Libraries: Catalogs in Progress,” with papers dealing with the compilation of catalogs of several collections‘: those of Philip Sidney (Victoria Collection, University of Toronto), John Dee (Bodleian L ibrary, Oxford University), Ben Jonson (University Collection, University of London), and Robert Burton (Wash­ ington State University). The 1984 convention included several topics equally relevant to both ACRL and MLA mem ­ bers. Two sessions relating specifically to wom en’s studies were held: “W om en’s Magazines: Past” and “W om en’s Magazines: Present.” The session, “Be­ yond Bibliographies and Concordances: The Use of O n -lin e D a ta Bases in M odern L an g u a g e Re­ search,” which I organized and chaired, presented a broad spectrum of viewpoints, including those of librarian Geoffrey D. Smith, Ohio State Univer­ sity, who spoke on the “Scholarly Access to Ameri­ can Fiction, 1901-25: Present Capabilities and Fu- Affiliation omitted In the “ALA Candidates on ACRL” state­ ments th at appeared in the April issue of C&RL News, candidate Charles W. Robinson’s affilia­ tion was inadvertently left out. Robinson is di­ rector at B altim ore C ounty Public L ibrary, Towson, M aryland. 332 / C&RL News ture Applications [of a new database],” as well as my own topic, “Literary Criticism and Machine- Readable Texts: Projects for the F uture.” The liter­ ary side of that session was covered by Robert I. Al­ len (R utgers U niversity) w ho discussed m achine-readable literary texts and their stylo- statistical analysis, and Robert Pontario (St. L aw ­ rence University) who reported on a machine- re a d a b le lib ra ry of works by C harles N odier available on m icrocom puter-com patible disks. G.D. Smith has issued a call for papers for a session at MLA in 1986: “Creative Literary Research Us­ ing On-Line Bibliographic D ata Bases.” In February 1985 MLA made available to its membership a word-processing software package and text-base program developed by Dragonfly Softw are (see Phyllis F ran k lin ’s article in the Spring 1986 M LA Newsletter, pp. 3-4). MLA conventions include four distinct types of sessions: Division meetings, Discussion Groups, Forums, and Special Sessions. The first two repre­ sent major and smaller areas of interest respectively and each is run by an executive committee. They usually organize up to three annual formal pro­ grams. Proposals for the arrangem ent of Forums (public meetings on topics of broad general inter­ est) must be approved by the MLA executive direc­ tor and Program Committee. It is recommended that interested members attend the open meeting of that committee during the convention preceding uch proposals. Three Forums are planned for 1986. Special Sessions cover specific topics not covered y other programs. They involve a session leader (or chair) and a panel of speakers. Guidelines for he submission of proposals for Special Sessions ap­ ear in the September issue of the PMLA and the alendar of deadlines is announced in the W inter LA Newsletter. Papers may be solicited from the embership via the “Call for Papers” published in he Newsletter; or individuals may form a group (not more than four speakers per session to allow d e q u a te p re se n ta tio n tim e), select a session eader, and present a proposal for a special session. deally a session should include speakers from both he library world and the MLA membership. The LA Program Committee prefers a panel of speak­ rs from different institutions, but exceptions may e made if the topic discussed centers on work ac­ omplished at one site. Forms for the submission of roposals for Special Sessions are available from he MLA Convention Office, 10 Astor Place, New ork, NY 10003, or at MLA information booths at he convention. Librarians interested in proposing essions may also explore the possibility of inserting heir own “call for papers” in appropriate ACRL ection newsletters. Active participation at the MLA? Why not?■ ■ s b t p c M m t a l I t M e b c p t Y t s t s Employers: Don’t wait for the next issue of AL, Chronicle of H .E., LJ Hotline, or even C&RL News to advertise your job openings. Announce your positions to a wide audience of academic and research library and information professionals on the ACRL JOBLINE. The prerecorded tape is revised weekly; ads received by 1 p.m . on Thursday are incor­ porated into the new Friday tape. Listings run for 2 weeks. Call 3 1 2 /9 4 4 -6 7 8 0 or write for a JOBLINE form and free job listing options brochure. Job Seekers: For current listings call the ACRL JOBLINE (312)944-6795 Association of College and Research Libraries ALA•30 E. Huron S t• Chicago, IL 60611