ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ D ecem ber 1998 / 829 N e w s f r o m t h e F i e l d Mary Ellen Davis OCLC and WLN begin m erger talks OCLC and WLN have signed a letter of intent that could lead, following negotiations, to the merger of WLN and OCLC. WLN, a nonprofit corporation, serves 550 libraries in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada from its office in Lacey, Washington. OCLC is a nonprofit corporation in Dublin, Ohio, that serves over 30,000 libraries in 65 countries. If negotiations are successful, the merger would result in the following: WLN users would migrate to OCLC cataloging and re­ source-sharing services and the WLN union catalog would be merged with WorldCat (the OCLC Online Union Catalog); WLN full mem­ ber libraries would become OCLC general members; WLN would continue its MARS Authority Control, Collection Analysis, and bibliographic services; the WLN office would continue to be based in Lacey and become an OCLC/WLN Service Center; WLN’s Infor­ mation Technology Research and Develop­ ment staff would remain at the OCLC/WLN Service Center to supplement OCLC’s research and development. The parties hope to conclude an agree­ ment and complete the transaction by early 1999. Europeans jo in e ffo rts to expand com petition in jou rn al p u b lish in g The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Re­ sources Coalition (SPARC) and the Royal So­ ciety of Chemistry (RSC), based in the United Kingdom, have agreed to collaborate on a series of new high-quality, peer-reviewed elec­ tronic journals that will be offered at prices far below those of competing commercially published journals. SPARC also announced it will be represented in the UK and Ireland by the Standing Conference of National & Uni­ versity Libraries (SCONUL), which includes 129 libraries an has an affiliation with Denmark’s Conference of Directors of Re­ search Libraries, an organization of 12 major libraries. PhysChemComm, the first project of the SPARC-RSC partnership, provides rapid com­ munication of articles in physical chemistry. With a 1999 price tag of $353 (200 Pounds Sterling) for site-wide institutional online ac­ cess, it competes with a commercial title priced at over $8,000. The RSC title is an all-elec- tronic journal providing double referring, an international team of editors, searchable full Register by Jan. 18 and save money! Register by January 18,1999, for ACRL’s 9th National Con­ ference in Detroit, and save more than 30 percent off the onsite registration rates. Don’t miss this chance to learn more about the issues facing academic librar­ ians today— scholarly communication, dis­ tance learning, licensing, information lit­ eracy, outsourcing, etc. Highlights of the conference include: • an open forum on copyright and fair use featuring Pat Schroeder, CEO of the Association of American Publishers, and James Neal, director of libraries at Johns Hopkins University; • how libraries need to change as iden­ tified by Blenda Wilson, university presi­ d en t, C a lifo rn ia S ta te U n iv ersity, Northridge; • many opportunities to network with your colleagues in both formal program sessions and at receptions and meals. As an attendee at ACRL’s last confer­ ence noted: "The sessions I attended were uniformly excellent, and I have returned home with many new ideas. I am already looking forward to the next ACRL Confer­ ence in Detroit!” The registration fee includes access to more than 225 programs, 200 exhibitors, three receptions, two lunches, and many opportunities to talk to your colleagues. Register online at http://www.ala.org/acrl/ prendex.html. http://www.ala.org/acrl/ 8 3 0 / C&RL News ■ December 1998 A ceremony on September 23 com m em orating the 25th anniversary of the Academy's Nimitz Library featured several s p e a k e rs, in c lu d in g V ice A d m ir a l Jo h n R. Ryan, Superintendent, United States Naval A cad em y (shown above), and Brig. General Vernon R. Tate (USAF, Ret.) whose father served as Librarian from 1956-66. Tate presented a plaque honoring the contributions of the library staff since the Academy's founding in 1845. The three-day celebration also featured a presentation on electronic journals by Peter Boyce, A m e rica n A stro n o m ica l Society, and a fa c u lty discussion o f the roles o f libraries in their teaching and research. A history o f libraries at the Academ y and the schedule of events for the celebration may be found at http:// www.nadn.navy.mil/Library. text, multimedia presentation features, and Web availability. “Over more than a decade now, journal price increases have far outpaced expansion in the amount of research disseminated,” said SPARC Chair Ken Frazier, director of the Uni­ versity of Wisconsin Libraries. “Industry con­ solidation has given a few major commercial publishers a free hand to do as they wish in most areas of science. By working with part­ ners such as the Royal Society of Chemistry, SPARC supports buyer choices and a free mar­ ketplace.” SPARC’s membership has grown more than 50 percent since June 1998 to 114 member libraries and consortia. ACRL is an affiliate member of SPARC. Kranich, Schm idt to compete fo r A LA presidency Nancy Kranich, associate dean at New York University’s Bobst Library, and C. Jam es Schmidt, university librarian at San Jose State University, have accepted nominations to compete for the 2000-2001 ALA presidency. Kranich currently chairs ALA’s Legislation Committee and recently completed a four- year term as a member of the ALA Executive Board and Council. Schmidt is a former chair of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Committee on Accreditation. He has also served on the Library and In­ fo rm a tio n T e c h n o lo g y Association’s Technology and Ac­ cess Committee and on the New England Library Network Board of Directors. The mail ballot election will be held in the spring. The win­ ner will serve as vice-president/ president-elect in 1999-2000 prior to becoming ALA’s high­ est elected official in 2000-2001. G eorge W ashington U niversity jo in s A RL George Washington University Li­ braries (GW) were selected for membership in the Association o f Research Libraries (ARL) on October 16, 1998. GW librarian Ja ck Siggins notes that, “One of the advantages of member­ ship in the ARL is the recognition of GW as the major research center it is.” He also points out that membership in ARL will benefit both fac­ ulty and students at GW because it will mean greater access to library resources through ARL reciprocal arrangements, and he believes mem­ bership will foster cooperative development projects between GW and other ARL mem­ bers. A C R L 1998 President's Program v id eo s available A three-videotape set of the proceedings of the 1998 ACRL President’s Program, “The Value of Values: Changes and Continuities as We Face the New Millennium,” is avail­ able via interlibrary loan from ALA. The first video features award-winning es­ sayist, novelist, and critic William H. Gass, who spoke about the value books and li­ braries have for him and for other readers. A second video features a response panel and question/answer session following Gass’s talk. The third video, “A Question of Val­ ues,” offers comments from six academic li­ brarians about their values and how to promote http://www.nadn.navy.mil/Library C&RL News ■ D ecem b er 7998 / 831 them. Each video may b e requested indi­ vidually. To borrow the tapes for a three- w eek period, send an ALA-approved in­ terlibrary loan form to the ALA Library, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795. A nom inal fee may b e charged to cover postage. To reserve a video call (312) 280- 3 277 or e-mail: larc@ ala.org. N C ES re le a se s s ta t is t ic s T he U.S. Departm ent o f Education’s Na­ tion al C en ter fo r E d u catio n Statistics (NCES) has released The Status o f Academ ic Libraries in the United States: Results from the 1994 Academic Libraries Survey with His­ torical Comparisons. The report gives a sta­ tistical d escrip tio n o f the status o f a c a ­ d e m ic lib r a r ie s , c o l l e c t i o n s , s ta ff, an d expenditures in 1994. It also provides histori­ cal comparisons to previous years, with a focus on com parisons since 1990. Copies o f the $12 Apply by Jan. 8 for info literacy program Applications for ACRL’s In­ stitute for Information Lit­ eracy Immersion ’99 program, w hich will b e held Ju ly 2 3 -2 8 , 1999, at Plattsburgh State University o f New York, are due Jan u ­ ary 8, 1999. T he 80 spaces available in the program will b e awarded on a com peti­ tive basis. W hether your institution is just begin­ ning to think about implementing an in­ form ation literacy com ponent or w hether you have a program well under way, Im­ m ersion '99 will provide instruction librar­ ians with the intellectual tools and practi­ cal techniques to help your institution build or enhan ce its instruction program. The four-and-a-half-day Immersion ’99 program will offer two tracks: Track I is for new librarians and librarians new to teaching; Track II is for exp erienced in­ struction librarians w ho s eek to further develop, integrate, or advance an infor­ mation literacy program within their insti­ tution. Application materials are on the Web: http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/immerapp. html. Status o f A cadem ic Libraries (stock number 065- 000-01186-7) are available from New Orders, S u p erin ten d en t o f D o c u m en ts, P .O . B o x 3 7 1 9 5 4 , P ittsb u rg h , PA 1 5 2 5 0 -7 9 5 4 . Fax credit card orders to (202) 512-2250. The docu­ m en t is also av ailable on the W eb at http:// nces.ed.gov/pubsearch. A small supply o f cop­ ies is a v ailab le u p o n re q u es t from th e ALA O ffic e fo r R esearch and Statistics (e-m ail: jglynn@ala.org). D e d ica te d U C -San ta C ru z lib ra ria n s c o n tin u e to g iv e S ev en staff m em bers at M cH enry Library at th e U niversity o f C alifornia at Santa Cruz (U CSC) n o t o n ly put th eir h eart in to th eir work, they put their personal resources, too. T h e sev en , R olf Augustine, Rita B ottom s, the late Donald Clark, Margaret Gordon, David Kirk, Alan Ritch, and Marion Taylor, have do­ nated gifts o f $ 1 0,000 or m ore ea ch to estab­ lish en d o w m en ts that w ill su p p ort th e pu r­ c h a s e o f b o o k s and o th e r m aterials fo r the University Library. All seven have b een longtime employees at the library. Each has established a fund to sup­ port a sp e cia l s u b je c t area. R o lf Augustine, w ho has b e e n at UCSC sin ce 1965, has given to th e university tw ice b efo re, and this year using funds from a family inheritance, made an additional gift o f $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 . This gift ensures that the Augustine Endow m ent will b e a sig­ nificant vehicle for preserving and expanding the library’s cataloging operation. After 33 years at UCSC, Augustine is eligible to retire but he plans to take his leave on the last day o f the millennium. mailto:larc@ala.org mailto:jglynn@ala.org http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/immerapp 832 / C&RL News ■ December 1998 Connie Kearns McCarthy, dean o f University Libraries at th e C o lle g e o f W illia m and M ary, re a liz e d h e r d re a m o f p ro v id in g a social venue to b rin g to g e th e r fa c u lty and students w ith th e o p ening o f a Starbucks Coffee Cafe in th e study lounge o f th e Earl Gregg Swem Library. Here she joins D irector o f Dining Services Frank Caruso fo r an unusual ribbon c u ttin g ceremony. Caruso noted, " I t goes w ith o u t saying th a t coffee and studying go hand-in -h an d ." Shop fo r o u t-o f-p rin t books on the Web bamesandnoble.com has an agreement with Ad­ vanced Book Exchange, Inc. (ABE) to offer out- of-print and antiquarian books to its online cus­ tomers. “The antiquarian book market has been under-exposed because of the difficulty consum­ ers have had in locating the books they want from their local dealers,” said Steve Riggio CEO ofbarnesandnoble.com . “With ABE’s national database o f available books and book dealers, b ook lovers can easily find what they want as well as discover books they never knew before existed.” Visitors to banresandnoble.com can now search for out-of-print titles as well as unique and unusual books— categorized by author, title, or subject— in the ABE database o f mil lions o f carefully selected used and rare book dealers. A list o f b o o k dealers will also be on th e W eb and in B a rn e s an d N o b le s ’s 5 00 stores. Thomson Financial Services focuses on Academ ic m arket The Investext Group, a T h om son Financial Services (TFS) company has released Researc B ank Web— Business School Edition, a prod uct that provides academ ic institutions wit Internet access to the same com pany and in dustry research that top investment banks, con sulting firms, brokerage houses, and law firm ­ h ­ h ­ ­ s have used for years to help make their strategic decisions. “Research B an k Web— B usi­ ness School Edition is among the most heavily used business infor­ mation research tools at the Tuck School becau se the content is so p erfectly suited to a business school student’s need s,” said Jim Fries, director o f the Feldberg Li­ brary at Dartmouth College. Thomson plans to enhance Re­ search B an k Web by integrating proprietary business information from other TFS companies. F or d etails ab ou t R esearch B ank Web, con tact the Investext G roup at (8 0 0 ) 6 6 2 -7 8 7 8 ext. 2 o r v isit th e W eb site: http:// www.bschool-investext.com. U CLA and G e tty o ffe r su m m er in stitu te The Getty Information Institute in association with UCLA are offering a five-day course, “Mu­ seums, Libraries, and Archives: Summer Insti­ tute for Knowledge Sharing,” August 2-6,1999. The course will explore theories and practical application in cultural heritage information man­ agement and knowledge-sharing by museums, li­ braries, and other cultural heritage institutions. Contact Madi Weland: mweland@getty.edu or Lynn Boyden: lynn@ucla.edu. U CLA S e n io r F e llo w a p p lic a tio n s due Jan u ary 15 is the d ead lin e to apply for the UCLA Senior Fellow s Program. Fifteen lead ­ ers in the academic library community will be s ele c te d to particip ate in the August 8 - 2 7 , 1999, program. The 1999 curriculum will em ­ phasize leadership, including transformational and entrepreneurial leadership development and public policy. Beverly P. Lynch, professor in the Graduate School o f Education & Information Studies at UCLA, directs the program. Lynch w as a S e­ nior Fellow in the first year o f the program, begun in 1982 at UCLA, and has directed and served as a faculty member several times. For details con tact Lynch at UCLA, voice (3 1 0 ) 206-4294; fax: (3 1 0 ) 206-6293; e-mail: bplynch@ucla.edu or check the Web at http:// dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/seniorfellows/. ■ http://www.bschool-investext.com mailto:mweland@getty.edu mailto:lynn@ucla.edu mailto:bplynch@ucla.edu