ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 64 Continuing Education Some T houghts on O N LIN E ’80, S an F ra n c isc o , N ovem ber 12-14 We are told this is year 10 EE (Electronic Era). In the past ten years we have grown accus­ tomed to an online landscape of modems, CRT’s and printers, have learned to interface and be in­ teractive, have met and conversed with Dialog, Medline, RLIN, OCLC, and other electronic species. Although we do not always feel quite at home in it and often have trouble distinguishing “full-face” from “line-by-line” and bauds from bytes, on the whole exploring the new world has been pleasurable. Its unfamiliarity is, of course, an essential ingredient in the enjoyment of the expedition. But even the most adventurous of us were not quite prepared for the sudden thrust into the lush, tropical and luxuriant flowering of micro­ processors, floppy disks, videodiscs (why this coexistence of disks with discs, Videotext with videotex?), and the confrontation with Nexis, Viewtron, the Source, the Qube, and other daz­ zling and exhibitionistic characters, clamoring for attention. Even the information industry recognizes that something is amiss with all this runaway technol­ ogy. Typically, they have coined an expression for it. They call if the software crunch. What they are saying is that they have invented solutions for which we have no problems as yet. Technology for technology’s sake may be as valid as art for art’s sake—although certainly harder to contem­ plate for a layman, especially a hum anities- nurtured one. Let’s look at some other neologisms, such as the emergence of the word “utilities” to designate cooperative online cataloging systems. In spite of its initial onerous sound, it is accurate in describ­ ing the centrifugal nature of the distributed flow of information. But it fails somehow to convey that there is a reciprocal centripetal force from the outskirts to the hub, operating simultaneous­ ly. Libraries do not consume cataloging like gas, they also generate it. At the same time as it is getting harder to understand the new technology, it is also becom­ ing easier to use, thanks to “intelligent terminals” which can translate diverse commands into a uni­ form language; “optical character recognition” which should ease the burden of coding; vastly improved storage facilities which allow a faster re­ sponse time; and simplified information packages aimed at the end-user which bypass the librar­ ian-intermediary. Already one hears again the cry of “deprofes­ sionalization” which was so prevalent in the early days of automation. Perhaps we should remind ourselves that in the not-so-distant pre-electronic age the library’s raison d’etre was to be “user- friendly” and that librarians did not feel threatened by the fact that some people bought their own books in bookstores instead of borrow­ ing them from libraries, that library catalogs were often self-explanatory, and that some adventurous researchers even ventured to unravel the intrica­ cies of the Philosophers Index without any in­ struction from us.—Simone Klugman. Editor s Note: Simone Klugman is a reference and collection development librarian at the Main Li­ brary, University o f California, Berkeley. Her contribution originally appeared in that library’s CU News fo r January 17. Call for Papers The Publication Committee of the Repro­ duction of Library Materials Section of ALA’s Resources and Technical Services Division seeks compilers for volumes in the RLMS Mi­ crofile Series. The series, which began in 1973 and now numbers five volumes, has the objec­ tive of providing a forum for communication of policies, techniques, equipment, and prob­ lems related to various aspects of reprogra­ phy. The series is unique in that its purpose is to publish informal, unpolished documents. The intention is to present information to the pro­ fession “as is.” Most volumes are on one sheet of positive, silver halide microfiche or in the form of un­ bound electrostatic positive prints. Persons interested in publishing research in the RLMS Microfile Series in any area related to reprography are req u ested to contact: Douglas K. Freeman, Chair, RLMS Publica­ tion Committee, University of Tennessee Li­ brary, Knoxville, TN 37916. The lazy person’s guide to th e Russian Language. If you’re like most people who use the Russian language infrequently, you know how difficult it can be to recognize the characters of the Cyrillic alphabet. You also know that remembering the alphabetic order of the characters is not easy, either. So it’s no wonder that you’ve found translating Russian with a standard, Russian-English dictionary is a real chore. Until now. Now the Transliterated Dictionary of the Russian Language provides an easy way around the obstacles posed by Cyrillic. Its simple conversion tables enable you to convert any Russian word, on a letter-by-letter basis, from its Cyrillic form to Roman. Once converted many Russian words, especially technical words, are recognized easily. For example, the Russian Cyrillic word MawNHa transliterates to “ mashIna” (machine) and cNctem a transliterates to “ sistema” (system). If simple transliteration does not make the meaning clear, you can look up the word easily in the Transliterated Russian-English section. Here you’ll find over 17,000 frequently used Russian words already transliterated into Roman characters and arranged into the Roman alphabetical order. With each transliterated word you’ll find a brief definition and the designation of its part of speech. Although the Transliterated Dictionary of the Russian Language is designed primarily for going from Russian to English, by using a separate English-Transliterated Russian section and the conversion chart, you can identify many Russian words and convert them to their Cyrillic form. This dictionary makes it easier for anyone without the time to study Russian seriously to translate Russian titles and abstracts, request reprints, deal with all kinds of correspondence to and from Russian nationals, and cite Russian material. Travellers, too, will find the Transliterated Dictionary of the Russian Language of great value. So if you find translating Russian a chore, let the Transliterated Dictionary of the Russian Language make life easier for you. Order your copy today. 66 MULTITYPE NETWORKING AND THE ACADEMIC LIBRARY Some sixty public and academic librarians jammed a meeting room at the Ramada Inn in East Brunswick, New Jersey, for an October 22 program on “Multitype Networking and the Aca­ demic Library’ sponsored by the New Jersey ACRL Chapter. Keynote speaker Melvin George, dean of li­ braries and learning resources at Northeastern Illinois University, provided a detailed explana­ tion of the state of networking in Illinois as a case history in the development of multitype library cooperation. As a multitype networking environ­ ment emerges in New Jersey, librarians expect to grapple with many of the same problems faced by Illinois, particularly those involving funding, gov­ ernance and membership. According to George, the time for informal cooperative activities is almost past. Automation and dwindling financial resources require the development of new and formal arrangements for the delivery of library services. In this context, Toni Kuzma, director of learn­ ing resources at Somerset County College in Somerville, New Jersey, reported on the estab­ lishment of a local multitype network consisting of the county library and the libraries of a voca­ tional-technical school and the county college. Named the Somerset County Information Re­ sources Consortium (SCIRC), SCIRC is an inter- institutional group of libraries which have volun­ tarily associated to extend each library’s capacity to provide resources and services to its constit­ uents. The Consortium emphasizes common law goals and objectives and capitalizes on the differ­ ences basic to each collection to the mutual bene­ fit of the libraries and their users. One of the main points made by Kuzma was that careful analysis, especially of the potential benefits/sav- ings to be gained by each library, was necessary for successfully convincing boards of trustees to back the network. Attendees felt that with funds now becoming available for inter-institutional co­ operative ventures, the time is opportune for fol­ lowing Kuzma’s example. Joseph Ravelli, from the New Jersey Depart­ ment of Higher Education, provided background to the current relations between academic librar­ ies and his department, whose responsibility is to coordinate and approve academic programs. Its relation then in most cases is through the parent institution; an office for libraries does not even exist currently in the Department. Possibilities for multitype development and funding therefore will be through the State Library and its parent agency, the Department of Education. Ravelli 67 also discussed library aspects of the new Master Plan for Higher Education in New Jersey, the main thrusts of which are to encourage network­ ing and new technology where possible but to in­ sist that each library not avoid the responsibility to satisfy the basic needs of its local constituency through its own resources. Additional information on the emergence of the academic library’s role in multitype networking in New Jersey may be found in John M. Cohn, “Community Colleges and Networking in New Jersey,” C&RL News, November 1980, p.305.— Michael B. Binder, Director of Library, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rutherford, New Jersey, and President, ACRL New Jersey Chapter. RARE BOOKS AND ILLUSTRATIONS RECOVERED Rare books and illustrations valued in the thousands of dollars, apparently stolen from uni­ versity libraries, are being held by University of Illinois police who are seeking the owners. Over $84,000 worth of material has already been re­ turned to six institutions who discovered the loss. The items were recovered when police apprehended a Texas man who was subsequently convicted of stealing books from the University of Illinois Library, Champaign. Robert Kindred of Garland, Texas, identified by police as the owner of the Antique Print Shop in Dallas, was arrested last June as he picked up stolen books concealed behind a hedge near the university library. University police have recovered $38,000 worth of items taken from the University of Illi­ nois Library, and another $46,000 worth of mate­ rial from the libraries of Loyola University of New Orleans, Oklahoma University at Stillwater, Rice University at Houston, Texas A&M Uni­ versity at College Station, and the University of Maryland at College Park. Items reported missing from the libraries of Harvard, Michigan State, and Ohio State Uni­ versity may be among the other goods recovered. Police believe that other university libraries also may have been theft victims. Many of the litho­ graphs, plates, and pages discovered were neatly cut from rare books with a sharp blade. Because many of the illustrations bear no indication of what book they were taken from, it may take years before librarians or scholars discover the loss. University of Illinois police investigator Murvin Valentine, Jr., is holding the unclaimed items in the hope that more libraries checking their rare collections may identify and recover their property. NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA FOR THE 80’s Cuadra Associates, Inc., in Santa Monica, Cali­ fornia, has been awarded a contract for the de­ velopment of a national agenda of promising li­ brary and information science research projects for the 1980s. The project is sponsored by the Department of Education’s Office of Libraries and Learning Technologies (OLLT). The firm’s recommendations will assist policymakers in OLLT, other federal agencies, state and local governments, professional organizations, and li­ brary and information science professionals to plan their future research and support programs. Two key elements in the project are the prepa­ ration of an inventory of promising research pro­ grams by leading experts in the field, and a three-day meeting involving approximately 25 leading researchers and practitioners to review and rank in order of importance the proposed re­ search projects. According to Carlos A. Cuadra, company presi­ dent and project director, a major research chal­ lenge is to “resolve some of the confusion that ex­ ists in the relationships between libraries and other information institutions, between library services and non-library information services, and between library science and information science.” The final product of this one-year contract will be a report reflecting the pre-meeting conceptual work of the study team, the papers prepared by the key researchers, and the work of the meeting participants in arriving at and rationalizing the basis for a National Research Agenda. The national agenda project was originally sug­ gested by the White House Conference on Li­ brary and Information Services which President Carter reported to Congress last September (see CURL News, December 1980, p.337). Grant Semantics Librarians writing grant proposals might find the following model introduction useful. It first appeared in Herb Caen’s column in the San Francisco Chronicle for December 8, 1980, and was developed by David Frank of Fresno: “This proposal is designed to formulate a network of cognitive infrastructures to en­ hance the issue-policy interfaces which impact the nascent parameters of strategy options available to community inputs and from which meaningful rationales must devolve in order to be effectively integrated.’’ The model should be maximally effective on bureaucrats easily influenced by orchestrated rhetorical integrity.