ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ N ovem ber 2001 / 977 N e w s f r o m t h e F i e l d M aureen Gleason D ig ita l D istan ce E d u c a tio n W o rk s h o p O n b e h a lf o f th e A C R L m em b ersh ip , M aryh elen Jo n es, incom ing chair o f the Distance Learning Sec­ tio n , a n d E rik a L in k e , ACRL Board member, took part in a digital distance e d u c a t io n w o r k s h o p s p o n s o re d by th e A L A O ffic e fo r In fo rm a tio n Technology Policy (O ITP) and the N ational A sso cia­ tion o f State U niversities and Land G rant C olleges (NASULG C). F u n d e d by th e F o rd Foundation, the tw o-day w orkshop held in W ash­ ington, D.C. in late August fo c u s e d o n S .4 8 7 , th e T e c h n o lo g y , E d u c a tio n and H arm onization A ct o f 2001, better know n as the “TEACH A c t” (h ttp ://w w w .a la .o rg /w a sh o ff/te a ch .p d f). Representatives from higher education, K— 12, governm ent agencies, and library as­ sociations attended the w orkshop. The purpose o f this act is to perm it ex­ em ptions in the use o f co pyrighted m ate­ rial fo r educational purposes in distance education. Forum attendees review ed the salient features o f TEACH and discussed the p o ssib le im p act p assage o f the b ill w ould have on in stitutional organizations and co pyright policies as th ey attem pt to m eet the stipulations in the legislation. The bill passed in the Senate and w as in tro ­ duced in the H ouse o f Representatives in Ju n e 2001. Further inform ation about the bill and its status in Congress can be found at the A LA W ashington O ffice ’s Web site (h ttp:// w w w .ala.o rg /w ash o ff/d isted .h tm l.) C&RL N e w s w ill publish a fu ller report once the final bill becom es law. T em ple U n iv e rs ity (TU) L ib ra rie s Tw o M illio n t h V o lu m e Celebration. Left to right: Bunmi Samuel, president o f TU Student Body, w ho presented the 2,000,001st volum e (a CD-ROM) on behalf o f the student body; Larry Kane, local television news anchor and a u th o r o f th e 2,000,000th volum e, Larry Kane's Philadelphia (published by TU Press, 2000); Maureen Pastine, un ive rsity lib ra ria n ; and Tom W h ite h e a d , head o f special collections, w ho presented the 1,999,999th volum e, an 18th- century Philadelphia publication. Tem ple U n iversity Libraries celeb rate t w o m illio n volum es The University Libraries at Temple University recently celebrated the acquisition o f its two millionth volume, L a r r y K a n e ’s P h i l a d e l p h i a (Temple University Press, 2000). Kane, a long­ time local television news anchor and now a best-selling author, was the featured speaker for the event. Kane’s book formed the centerpiece of three milestone volumes that were selected to represent Philadelphia’s past, present, and future at the turn o f the millennium. The 1,999,999th volume is a 1798 edition o f T h e P h i l a d e l p h i a D i r e c t o r y , which lists names, ad­ dresses, and occupations o f city residents that year, and the 2,000,001st volume is the CD- ROM N a t u r a l i z a t i o n R e c o r d s o f P h i l a d e l p h i a , 1 7 8 9 -1 8 8 0 , documenting part of Philadelphia’s immigration history in a 21st-century format. Guests at the event viewed special photo­ graphs and exhibits highlighting the library’s history, including Temple’s one millionth vol­ http://www.ala.org/washoff/teach.pdf http://www.ala.org/washoff/disted.html 978 / C&RL News ■ Novem ber 2001 ume, which is a copy o f T h e C r o m w e l l B i b l e . Attendees also signed the Libraries Guest Book, w hich was first signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936 at the dedication o f Tem ple’s first library building. WESS M a rtin u s N ijh o ff Study G ra n t fo r 2002 postpo ned Swets Blackwell has postponed the 2002 ACRL W est European Specialist Section (W ESS)/ Martinus N ijhoff International Study Grant after acquiring Martinus Nijhoff International, the grant’s sponsor. A n announcement about the grant’s future is expected upon the com­ plete integration o f the two companies in the spring o f 2002. For further information about other ACRL award opportunities, visit http://www.ala.org/ acrl/aw ard2.htm l or contact ACRL Awards Program Assistant, Stephanie Sherrod at (312) 280-2515, e-mail: ssherrod@ala.org. NEH C h alleng e G ra n t f o r local h isto ry NEH has announced a special initiative to support the local history efforts o f organiza­ tions with activities and collections vital to the history o f a locality. Challenge grants will Thoughts about theJibrary, librarians, and our hopes and fears E d i t o r ’s n o t e : T h e f o l l o w i n g m e s s a g e f r o m S i d n e y V erba, C a rlH . P f o r z h e i m e r U n i­ v e r s i t y P r o f e s s o r a n d d i r e c t o r o f t h e H a r v a r d U n iv e r s it y L ib r a ry , a p p e a r e d o n t h a t l i b r a r y ’s W eb s i t e . W e a r e r e p r i n t i n g it w i t h p e r m i s ­ s i o n a s a n a i d e t o s u s t a i n i n g a n d i n s p i r i n g u s d u r i n g t h e s e d i f f i c u l t t i m e s . When the horror o f September 11 burst upon us, I was w riting something for a dif­ ferent purpose on the com plexity o f the work o f libraries and librarians in our mul­ timedia digital age. It was for a non-library audience and what was said would sound familiar to all o f us in the library. I used the 2000 presidential election as an example of the latest news in m any media that our li­ braries would capture for history. Then came the attack, and those words about libraries and the election seem ed trivial. Reversing Marx, history moved from farce to tragedy. All o f us these past weeks have won­ dered about many things. We have been at meetings, we have gone about our work, w e have chatted w ith friends, w e have walked across the campus in the early morn­ ing sunlight— and in all o f these ordinary moments o f life, w e have felt that they were somehow unreal, that the foundation o f life, o f the good things in life, was gone. Some said, “Welcome to the new century.” It be­ gan on September 11 in Lower Manhattan. For a while, death and destruction m ay have made many o f us feel that the w ork we do is somehow irrelevant; not worth the attention and value w e give it. That, we know, is wrong. Terrorists last week tried to destroy our w ay o f life by taking lives. We mourn, but life goes on and must go on. The w ork o f the library becomes more meaningful, more important. Libraries are the most humane o f human institutions; the opposite o f terrorist cells. Libraries are gentle, benevolent. They celebrate the best o f what we are. True, they do contain the history o f human folly and o f human evil, as they will contain the history o f recent weeks. Terror­ ism is one o f the most inhumane and un­ civilized o f all acts. But capturing the his­ tory o f it— like capturing the history o f all we humans do (good and bad)— is one of the most humane and civilized o f activities. It allows us to remember, to learn, and to pass on that memory and learning to new generations. Memory and learning are two o f the most cherished o f human abilities. In the midst of our sadness we must remember that. The terror attack tore our world apart, but it also connected us to many people we did not know. “Only connect.” Never forget. We will preserve the connections and the memories. http://www.ala.org/ mailto:ssherrod@ala.org C&RL News ■ N ovem ber 2001 / 979 Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Oct .1 fo r M arquette University's new $55 m illion, 120,000 sq. ft. John P. Raynor, S.J. Library, expected to open in fa ll 2003. The celebration included donors, trustees, students, faculty, and university adm inistration, including (pictured le ft to right): Board President, alumnus, and Kimberly-Clark CEO Wayne Sanders; M arquette President Father R obert W ild , S.J.; H eather Hathaway, English D e p a rtm e n t; Nicholas Burckel, dean o f libraries; Susan Haarman, student and Raynor scholar; Tommy Thompson, form er governor o f Wisconsin and present secretary o f Health and Human Services; David Buckholdt, Marquette's vice president fo r academic affairs. More photos and inform ation are available on the Raynor Library Web site at http://w w w .m arquette.edu/library/raynor/index.htm l. be awarded to strengthen, over the long term, the capacity o f smaller institutions seeking to improve their humanities resources in local history and to encourage donations from nonfederal sources. Since awards under the Challenge Grant program are intended to sustain humanities activities over the long-term rather than th ro u g h o n e -tim e even ts o r sh o rt-te rm projects, endowment is the preferred mecha­ nism o f support. However, requests for di­ rect support for acquisitions and equipment will also be entertained. Applications under the Special Initiative for Local History must be received at the regu­ lar Challenge Grants deadline of May 1. Any nonprofit organization that has not previously held an NEH Challenge Grant is eligible to apply. For further information, contact the NEH Office o f Challenge Grants at (202) 606-8309, or e-mail: challenge@neh.gov. LC docum ents reactions to S e p te m b er 11 tra g e d y The American Folklife Center at the Library o f Congress has called upon folklorists across the nation to document on audiotape the thoughts and feelings expressed by citi­ zens follo w in g the tragic events o f Sep tem b er 11, 2001. These recordings and su p p o rtin g d o cu m en tary materials will become part o f the center’s Archive of Folk Culture, the largest and most significant archive de­ voted to the folklore and tra­ ditional culture of Americans and o f the m any cultural gro up s fro m aro u n d the w orld that have enriched American life. Founded in 1928, the archive is now re­ pository to more than 2 mil­ lion items. n etL ib rary seeks a buyer The electronic book pro­ v id e r n e tL ib ra ry has in ­ form ed its customers in a letter sent October 15, 2001, that it is seeking a buyer after failing to find financing sufficient to remain viable. The com­ pany is discussing its purchase with a num­ ber o f potential buyers, according to the let­ ter. The letter also states that the majority of employees are still at work, and that access to eBooks will continue for the present. There will be some reassignment of staff and cur­ tailment o f related services. In s titu te o f Physics Publishing launches loP Select Institute o f Physics Publishing has launched IoP Select, a new free journals service for p h y sicists w o rld w id e. O n lin e at h ttp :// select.iop.org, IoP Select is a special collec­ tion o f journal articles chosen by the institute’s editors based on one or more o f the follow­ ing criteria: substantial advances or signifi­ cant breakthroughs; high degree of novelty; significant impact on future research. Updated on a weekly basis, IoP Select cov­ ers all areas o f physics. Qualifying articles are published first in the source journal and then become free for 365 days from the date they enter the Select service. To complement the service, a special e-mail alerting facility is avail­ http://www.marquette.edu/library/raynor/index.html mailto:challenge@neh.gov select.iop.org 980 / C&RL News ■ Novem ber 2001 able to keep up-to-date with newly released articles. A full list o f the titles covered can be fo u n d w ith in Io P S e le c t a t h t t p :/ / select.iop.org (choose “D isplay co nten t by jo u rn al”). N o m in a tio n s s o u g h t f o r A fric a n s b ib lio g r a p h y a w a rd The A frican Librarians Council o f the A fri­ can Studies A sso ciatio n seeks nom inations for the 12th biennial Conover-Porter Aw ard for excellence in A fricana b ibliograp h y or reference work. Any Africa-related reference w ork, bibliography, or bibliograph ic essay p u blished separately or as part o f a larger w ork during 1999, 2000, or 2001 can be nom inated for the 2002 award. The prize o f $300 w ill be presented dur­ ing the 2002 annual m eeting o f the A frican Stu d ies A sso ciatio n in W ashingto n, D.C. N om inations m ust be received by Jan u ary 15, 2002, and should include a b rie f ju stifi­ cation and at least one review . Send nom inations to or request furth er inform ation from Kenneth P. Lohrentz, 320 A nschutz Library, U niversity o f K ansas Li­ braries, 1301 Hoch A uditoria Dr., Law rence, KS 66045-7537; phone (785) 864-4593, fax (785) 864-5705; e-m ail: klohrentz@ ukans. edu. ARL 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 s ta tis tic s n o w a v a ila b le The A ssociation o f Research Libraries (ARL) has ju st published the latest in its annual publications describing collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities fo r 112 o f its m em ber libraries, all but 10 o f these u n iversity libraries. The latest statistics docum ent the co n­ tinued increase in costs fo r the purchase o f m aterials and the increased dem and for li­ brary user education and in terlib rary b o r­ rowing. Unit costs for serials (up 226% since 1986) and for m onographs (up 66% since 1986) have co ntinu ed to rise, w ith co rre­ sponding drops in purchases by research libraries. W hile interlibrary borrow ing is up 190% in the sam e tim e period, there have been m odest declines in the num ber o f ref­ erence transactions and total circulation. G eneral inform ation about the A RL sta­ tistics can be found on the Statistics and The impact of electronic reserves on reference services Sherratt Library o f Southern LJtah University initiated its electronic reserves program in the summer o f 1999 with the goal o f elimi­ nating paper reserves while improving the accessibility, integrity, and management o f the reserve collection. Sherratt Library serves 6,000 FTE students in a variety o f undergraduate and four master’s degree programs. E-reserves would include photocopies o f articles, syllabi, quiz­ zes and tests, but not books. Although we were convinced o f the ben­ efits o f e-reserves, we recognized that much of tire burden o f providing sendee would shift from the circulation desk to the reference desk. With 13,561 reserve transactions annu­ ally (including books), we were concerned about the impact on reference service. Our reserve statistics did rise dramatically. There was an increase o f 60 percent over the previous year, based on hits received by the e-reserves Web page. However, evi­ dence suggests that e-reserves questions did not place an undue burden on the reference desk and did not diminish other reference service to students. We attribute this favorable outcome to three causes. First, the library’s e-reserves are easy to locate on the Web and easy to use. Second, our students are more familiar w ith electronic resources generally and therefore had little problem with e-reserves. Third, the library’s e-reserves handout, which was very popular, gave sufficient informa­ tion to answer most questions. The library’s experience with e-reserves has been a positive one, even though we did have to purchase a larger hard drive for the library’s server. It saved time for circula­ tion staff without burdening reference staff. Most important, it has provided greatly im­ proved access to a better product for stu­ dents.— S c o t t L a n n i n g , S o u t h e r n U tah U n i­ v e r s i t y , l a n n i n g @ s u u . e d u select.iop.org mailto:lanning@suu.edu C&RL News ■ November 2001 / 981 M easurem ent Program Web page at http:// w w w .arl.org/stats/arlstat/. ALA reacts to events o f Septem ber 11 ALA, in expressing its deepest sym pathies to those affecting by the September 11 trag­ edies, has pointed out the w ays in which libraries can be im portant resources during these stressful times. Free Internet access, com puters and databases, directories and other inform ation can all assist the public. ALA has also joined w ith the Am erican Association o f Law Libraries and the A sso­ ciation o f Research Libraries in expressing its concern to members o f Congress that p rivacy and F irst A m en dm ent rights be w eighed w hile developing measures to as­ sure national security. To guide lib rarian s w ho m ay be ap ­ proached by investigators, ALA has made available a series o f questions and answers about the confidentiality and privacy o f li­ brary records. A ll o f these m aterials can be seen at http://w w w .ala.org/pio/crisis/index.htm l/. R esig n atio n to p ro te s t jo u rn a l policies and costs Forty members of the editorial board of M a ­ c h i n e L e a r n i n g J o u r n a l b s w e resigned in pro­ test of that journal’s policies and costs. The board members, in a letter to colleagues in the discipline of machine learning, explained that despite the possibility of easy circulation o f articles via the Internet, M a c h i n e L e a r n i n g J o u r n a l restricts access to those willing to pay a yearly fee of $1,050 (institutions) or $120 for individuals. The board mem bers commend to their colleagues a new journal in their field J o u r ­ n a l o f M a c h i n e L e a r n i n g R e s e a r c h (JMLR), created “based on a new vision o f the jour­ nal publication process in w hich the edito­ rial board and authors retain sign ificant control over the jou rn al’s content and dis­ trib ution.” They point out that articles pub­ lished in JM LR are freely available, w ith no lim its or conditions, at the jo u rn al’s Web site. JM LR is a partner journal o f the Schol­ arly Publishing and Academ ic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and joins other journals in science in m oving to low -cost publica­ tion alternatives. The board members refer their colleagues to the SPARC Web site at http://w w w .arl.org/sparc for further infor­ m ation and examples. Support fo r @ yo u r library campaign Milner Library at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, has joined A LA ’s @ your library campaign by distributing pencils, pen lights, bookm arks, and other useful items w ith the M ilner Library logo to incoming students this fall. Brightly designed in the school colors o f red and white, the free m erchandise tells students to “Power up @ your library” and provides students w ith the library Web ad­ dress. Student newspaper ads, a poster-size calendar o f events, and a student planner given to first-year and transfer students were also part o f the campaign. The Cam paign for A m erica’s Libraries is a five-year public education campaign spon­ sored by ALA, and signified by the phrase @ your library. Illinois State’s A ssistant to - the Dean for Grant Writing, D evelopment and Public Relations, Toni Tucker, decided to join the ALA campaign after attending its first training session. Deborah Davis, m anager o f the Cam­ paign for A m erica’s Libraries, praises the M ilner Library prom otion as a great ex­ ample for other academ ic libraries. Other libraries that use the campaign in their public relations efforts are encouraged to send exam ples to: Sara Groves, ALA Pub­ lic Inform ation Office, 50 E. Huron, C hi­ cago, IL 60Ó11. Librarians can send cam ­ paign questio ns or requests to e-m ail: atyourlibrary@ ala.org. ■ http://www.arl.org/stats/arlstat/ http://www.ala.org/pio/crisis/index.html/ http://www.arl.org/sparc mailto:atyourlibrary@ala.org