ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


326

B ib lio g r a p h ic  I n s t r u c t io n

L ib rary Sem inars: 
K eeping F a cu lty  In form ed

Reference librarians at Michigan State Univer­
sity had discussed for some time the need for a 
systematic program to inform faculty and gradu­
ate students of new reference tools and library 
services augmented or altered by automation. In 
the summer of 1979, after one reference librarian 
atten d ed  an ALA preconference on library in­
struction for graduate students and faculty, plan­
ning began for a fall term faculty seminars pilot 
project. Cooperatively developed by reference li­
brarians, this series reviewed reference sources 
thought to be undiscovered or under-used by re ­
searchers and teaching faculty. Most of the semi­
nars were organized into broad subject divisions: 
social science, humanities, education, music, and 
government documents; two others presented a 
library services and resources overview to new 
faculty and introduced computer-assisted litera­
ture searching. Attendance was good and regis­
trant evaluations were positive; the Library Sem­
inars Program was launched.

The following summer a committee was formed 
to plan and coordinate a long range program. 
During the 1980/81 academic year a more diverse 
and am bitious sc h ed u le of sem inars was d e ­
veloped. Initially planned for fall and w in ter 
term s, the series was later extended into the 
spring term in order to repeat several seminars 
for which interest exceeded room capacity during 
the w inter term . The audience grew from the 
original target group of MSU faculty and graduate 
students to include area librarians and govern­
ment researchers who were attracted to particular 
sessions.

The planning committee solicited, from all li­
brary faculty, seminar topics and volunteers to 
prepare and give seminars; selected a final roster 
of speakers and topics; set guidelines for prepa­
rations and hand-outs; arranged for audio-visual 
and online equipm ent and rooms; made coffee; 
and prepared and disseminated the publicity. A 
checklist of presentations skills and preparation 
methods was developed and discussed at a m eet­
ing of seminar givers before each series began. 
Standardized evaluation forms were designed and 
distributed at each seminar. Follow-up sessions 
were held at the end of each term incorporating 
data from the returned evaluation forms with ob­
servations from sem inar givers and from th e 
committee. At the beginning of the winter series, 
a consultant from Learning and Evaluation Ser­

vices, an MSU program providing, among other 
services, assistance with teaching methods and 
materials, conducted a workshop for librarian par­
ticipants; he also atten d ed  several subsequent 
seminars and prepared written evaluations.

This 1980/81 seminar series was expanded both 
to include the scientific and business disciplines 
and to offer more specialized presentations. Some 
programs surveyed search techniques and use of 
referen ce sources in p articu lar fields such as 
w om en’s stu d ies, b io -m ed icin e, in tern atio n al 
business, energy, music, English and American 
literature, and law. O ther sessions concentrated 
on use of specific reference works such as the ci­
tation indexes or the Congressional Information 
Service’s indexes. Still others covered organiza­
tion of, and access to, information within gov­
ernm ent publications and U.S. census reports. 
P articularly w ell-atten d ed  were sem inars of a 
more general interest: an introduction to the li­
brary developed for new faculty, a program on 
the library’s computerized circulation system with 
public-access term inals, and sessions covering 
current copyright legislation, com puter-assisted 
literature searching, and foundation, corporate, 
and federal grants.

For many of the seminars it was possible to 
draw on the expertise of MSU librarians; for 
others, speakers were invited from outside the li­
brary. For example, lecturers from the Institute 
for S cientific In fo rm atio n , th e  U .S. C ensus 
Bureau, and the university administration partici­
pated each term . Most of the programs w ere 
scheduled to last two hours. The methods of p re­
sentation used most often were lectures by either 
one speaker or a team augmented by audio-visual 
aids or dem onstrations of com puter searching. 
Printed bibliographies and guides to the use of 
specific reference tools were given to all atten ­
dees. Discussion, a vital part of any seminar, was 
encouraged, and seminar enrollment was limited 
to maintain an informal atmosphere.

The most effective publicity proved also to be 
th e  m ost ex p en siv e and th e  m ost tim e- 
consuming. Flyers describing the seminars were 
mailed to departments for distribution to faculty 
and g rad u a te s tu d e n ts  by d e p a rtm e n ta l se c­
retaries and for posting on bulletin boards. A reg­
istration form to be returned to the library was 
enclosed with each flyer. Announcements were 
placed in th e weekly MSU News Bulletin, the



327

faculty/staff newsletter; the University Libraries, 
a quarterly library publication; and a number of 
departmental newsletters. The MSU News Bulle­
tin proved to be the second most effective public­
ity method. Copies of the flyer were made avail­
able to the MSU branch libraries, and to the 
Main Library reference desks. Confirmation of 
registrations was also time-consuming b u t re­
sulted in much better attendance. Many people 
attended more than one session and professors 
encouraged their graduate students to attend par­
ticular sessions. In this way, the seminars have 
begun to publicize themselves.

These seminars have had a variety of benefits, 
some of them indirect. Unquestionably, the par­
ticipants learn a great deal and come back the 
next term if they were drawn to a seminar rele­
vant to their needs. The program as a whole pro­
vides very good public relations for the library. 
Like other instructional programs, this one has 
increased demands for computerized literature 
searches and for specialized help in some subject 
areas. Librarians, of course, learn much about 
both their resources and their patrons in the pro­
cess of seminar preparation. Finally, it appears

that the seminar program is an effective but un­
obtrusive way to help regular library users adjust 
to the machine-age library.

Has it been worth the effort? Opinions of the 
library staff involved in the planning and present­
ing of the seminars are definitely positive, al­
though there is an acknowledgment of the large 
amount of time spent on preparation and on pub­
licity. Those librarians skeptical of the benefits of 
library instruction for any group remain uncon­
vinced, despite the good will towards the library 
and librarians this program seems to be generat­
ing. That some sort of continuing education in li­
brary usage is needed for advanced researchers is 
beyond doubt; the kind of series reported here 
may prove to be a useful, flexible means to pro­
vide this group with information and training, 
particularly as technology continues to transform 
the library.—Linda de Wit, Agnes Haigh, and 
Julie Hurd.

Editors Note: Linda de Wit and Agnes Haigh are 
reference librarians at Michigan State University, 
East Lansing; Julie Hurd is science librarian at 
MSU.

L ib rary O rgan ization  D evelop m en t 
at N o rth ea stern  U n iv ersity

Thomas H. Cahalan, Chair
Northeastern University Library

Organization Development 
Study Team

A library organization development program is 
being conducted at Northeastern University, Bos­
ton, as a result of a survey of library staff mem­
bers which indicated a high interest in organiza­
tional change. Plans for the program are based on 
recommendations given in a report of a study of 
the Management Review and Analysis Program 
(MRAP), a self-study program designed by the 
Association of Research Libraries Office of Man­
agement Studies and used in more than 20 large 
academic libraries.1 These include giving careful 
consideration throughout the study to the feasi­
bility of implementing recommendations being 
developed, having the study team work closely 
with the Dean of Libraries and Learning Re­
sources, and providing for consultation of NU 
administrators, faculty, and students as well as 
widespread participation of library staff.

The first phase of th e program  includes 
selected modules of the Academic Library De­
velopment Program (ALDP), a self-study program 
designed by ARL/OMS for use in medium-sized

academic libraries. Because of plans for an archi­
tectural competition for the design of a new cen­
tral library facility, it is focusing on desired or­
ganizational changes with implications for the de­
sign of the new facility. Funds for this phase, to 
be completed by March 1982, are being provided 
by the National Endowment for the Arts Design 
Arts Program on a matching basis in considera­
tion of funds being spent by NU for the design 
competition and in accordance with NEA/DAP 
policy of fostering excellence in design by pro­
moting design competitions. Jeffrey J. Gardner of 
ARL/OMS is serving as the organization consul­
tant for this phase, and an internal study team to 
direct the self-study is chaired by Thomas H. 
Cahalan, assistant librarian for acquisitions.

The first two units of the study have been con­
cerned with planning for integration of the indi­
vidual libraries in the new facility and planning 
for integration of various reference services now 
segregated because of the design of the present 
main library building. Reports of both of the task 
forces involved have been fully accepted for im­
plementation by the library administration.

The method of selection and the composition of 
the study team provides an interesting model for 
a library organization development program. In-