ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 252 / C&RL News ■ A p r il 2003 CONFERENCE CIRCUIT The President’s Discussion Forum at Midwinter Exploring a w orld of values by Pamela M o f f e t t Padley A CRL P re s id e n t H e le n S p ald in g ’s th e m e , “N ew Realities, N ew R elatio n sh ip s,” in ­ vites the exploration o f educational and research challenges across borders. The President’s Discus­ sio n F orum at th e M idw inter M eeting b ro u g h t together a panel of three librarians, representing Canada, the United States, an d Mexico, to exam ­ ine the major issues facing academic and research libraries in their prospective countries. Concerns o f academic library adm inistrators B o b Seal, u n iv ersity lib rarian at T exas C hris­ tian U niversity, b e g a n th e discussion b y offer­ ing four issues o f co n cern to those in academ ic library adm inistration: 1) assessm ent; 2) a n e w m o d el for th e college a n d university library; 3) su p p o rt for distance a n d online education; an d 4) th e role o f the academ ic library in its p aren t in stitu tio n . A ssessm ent, w h e th e r th ro u g h h o m eg ro w n questionnaires, focus groups, o r a standardized in s tru m e n t lik e LibQUAL, m u s t in c lu d e fo l­ lo w -th ro u g h a n d rep o rtin g to sta k e h o ld e rs in o rd e r to b e truly effective a n d to im prove u se r satisfaction a n d perceptions. T h e n e w lib rary m o d e l in c lu d e s a n in fo r­ m a tio n co m m o n s, cybercafé, n o isy z o n e s for g ro u p study, a n d staff w h o c o n sid e r th a t stu ­ d e n ts a n d faculty are n o t a n in te rru p tio n b u t ra th e r th eir re a s o n for b e in g there. Successful academ ic librarians in the n e w m odel are inno­ v ativ e, risk -ta k in g , e n th u s ia stic , a n d “im p a ­ tient,” questioning traditional m ethods. H e e n ­ c o u ra g e d u s all to “n o t o n ly th in k o u t o f th e b o x , b u t g e t o u t o f th e b o x .” The Internet an d advances in com puter tech­ nology have propelled e-leaming to the point that entire degree programs are n o w available via the Web. Libraries are ex p ected to provide equal o r co m p arab le services to all students, y et institu­ tions do not always enlist the library’s help or even inform the library w hen a new distance education p ro g ram has b e e n initiated. It is critical fo r the library to take the initiative, serve o n cam pus cur­ riculum an d e-leam ing comm ittees, an d partner w ith faculty an d administrators to ensure the suc­ cess of n ew programs. Lastly, Seal a s s e r te d th a t th e lib ra ry staff m ust becom e m ore visible an d engaged o n cam­ p u s in o rd e r to e n h a n c e th e in stitu tio n al role o f th e acad em ic library. H e u rg e d library staff to a tte n d c o n v o c a tio n , m a rc h in g ra d u a tio n exercises, e a t in th e faculty-staff d in in g room , a n d volunteer for charitable events. H e stressed that “this is not just th e director’s job,” b u t som e­ thing that all librarians an d m any staff can do. Librarianship in M exico A lvaro Q u ijan o , d ire c to r at B iblioteca D an iel Cosio Villegas El C olegio d e Mexico, offered a g e n e ra l o v e rv ie w o f M ex ican lib ra ria n s h ip , About the author Pamela M o ffe tt Padley Is senior catalog librarian a t the University o f Maryland-Baltimore County, e-mail: padley@umbc.edu mailto:padley@umbc.edu C&RL News ■ April 2003 / 253 which illustrated challenges far different from those faced in the United States and Canada. In a country of 100 million inhabitants, less than 1 percent are students in higher edu­ cation. Less than 1 percent of Mexico’s popu­ lation has Internet access. Eight colleges pro­ vide library education at the bachelor’s level; an MLS is not required to serve as a librarian. Of approximately 1,000 Mexican librarians, less than 100 hold an MLS and around ten have Ph.D.s. Only two schools in Mexico offer graduate programs in librarianship—one pub­ lic (MLS and Ph.D.) and one private (MLS only). Most library degrees are conferred in the United States, while some are from the U.K. and Spain. There is no national bibliography and no union catalog. The Internet is the first choice for research sources. Recruitment to the profession is a key challenge. Quijano observed that Mexico’s long-shared border with the United States offers opportuni­ ties for collaboration, technology, and informa­ tion exchange. Collaboration with the United States and Canada is now critical as Mexico seeks to develop standards for librarianship and to enhance the visibility and role of librarians and libraries in Mexico. “We need to share for our users,” con­ cluded Quijano. “We need to share with our part­ ners, we need to share materials, but mostly, we need to share knowledge.” The challenges of Canadian libraries John Teskey, director of libraries at the Uni­ versity of New Brunswick, described very dif­ ferent geographic, economic, legislative chal­ lenges. With 32 million citizens spread over 9 million square kilometers, Canada has been de­ scribed as having “too much geography and too little history.” Budget constraints and geo­ graphic distance have necessitated collabora­ tion. With the exchange rate near $1.52 Cana­ dian to U.S. dollars, Canadian libraries’ pur­ chasing power has dropped sharply. Eighty per­ cent of material purchased is either priced in U.S. dollars or originates in the United States. These limitations present challenges in collect­ ing a full range of material. Teskey described the legislative landscape and how Canadian academic and research li­ braries are joining to compete on a larger scale for limited federal funds. In Canada, education is a provincial responsibility, with funds com­ ing from the federal government. One new fed­ eral program, the Canada Foundation for In­ novation, funded $20 million for a collabora­ tive proposal signed by 64 university presidents across ten provinces with the goal of provid­ ing researchers across the country with unfet­ tered access to the research literature. Negoti­ ating as a national body has enhanced the four regional academic associations’ ability to ef­ fect change. Questions and comments from the audi­ ence focused on several themes, including diversity rates, language barriers, m ulticul­ tural com m unities, cross-border security, hiring and exchange program s across bor­ ders, and resource sharing. ■ ( “Who’sa fr a id . . continuedfrompage248) o f information literacy ‘remains confined within the LIS discipline.’ High-quality, course- integrated, curriculum-wide information lit­ eracy will not come from guarding the terri­ tory of library instruction. . . but rather from approaches that em power faculty, ‘teach the teacher,’ and cause librarians to ‘break out of the library building and socialize with the fac­ ulty’ wherever they teach.”7 The act o f “building coalitions for infor­ mation literacy” should mark the first step in developing successful information literacy pro­ grams. However, a coalition is by definition a temporary alliance initially brought together for joint actions or goals. A coalition for infor­ mation literacy is a partnership that needs to evolve beyond its founding objectives to meet expanding and sometimes permanent needs. The success of the collaboration will depend on whether or not all the voices involved in the col­ laborative process are heard and respected. Notes 1. Cerise Oberman, introduction to Infor­ mation L i t e r a c y Instruction Thoer y and Practice, by Esther Grassian and Jo an Ivaplowitz (New York: Neal Schuman Publishers, 2002): xxix. 2. Jean Caspers and Katy Lenn, “The Fu­ ture of Collaboration between Librarians and Teaching Faculty.” The Collaborative Imperative: Librarians at id Faculty Working Togetherin theln- form ation Universe (Chicago: ALA, 2000): 149. 3. Ibid., 151. 4. ALA. “Special Presidential Committee on Information Literacy Community Partnerships (continued on page 255)