College and Research Libraries Editorial Choosing to Choose "For lack of getting out of it, I have chosen it." -Jean-Paul Sartre* In "The Coming Contest" (College & Research Libraries 54 [Nov. 1993): 458-60), Ross Atkinson predicts that the needs of primary academic library users will · eventually be met either by specialty scholarly publisher or by libraries. His editorial reflects an ongoing debate be- tween alarmists, for whom he speaks, and equilibrists who believe that the status quo can be maintained in spite of environmental changes. This editorial, commenting on the future of the book and entitlement in academia, provides another alarmist view of the future of libraries. The future of the book: The opening alarmist volley contends that libraries are probably going out of business, not so much because we should go out of business but because we are failing to understand our business well enough to maintain it. The equilibrists respond that F. W. Lancaster's prediction of a paperless society by the year 2000 cer- tainly was inaccurate and that libraries will survive in the same way and for the same reasons. Elaborate and well-inten- tioned claims to the contrary, the equili- brists note, microform did not replace books, nor will the compact disc. The quintessential failed format (the be- tamax videocassette) is now virtually use- less because players are no longer available. Few will argue that the book, a highly perfected form, will be entirely re- placed. However, the convenience, flexi- bility, and stability of the book as an artifact will not necessarily save libraries. 194 Further, the equilibrists continue, most scholars hate reading from the computer screen and regularly print documents over three pages long. Uttle money will be saved for colleges and universities if mass-produced pages of journal articles are printed for every user. Clearly, the alarmists note, this whole part of the revolution is awaiting the development of a book-sized, high-contrast, hand- held, battery-powered computer for reading books and articles on disk. While many will miss the sensual as- pects of the book-paper texture, ink smell, type aesthetics-many will rejoice in the ability to pack one reader and several disks in their vacation baggage. For those vacationing on remote beaches, longer-lasting batteries will be essential; such batteries are probably the current constraint in the development of this new high-tech toy. However, the average librarian's PC now contains the power of two or three 1970's room-sized computers. Without waiting for debate or decision, technology advances. Working with a two- or three-genera- tion time line to allow for complete reso- cializa tion, the alarmists predict that most materials, including archival files of hand- written working papers, will be available for retrieval via the Internet and its suc- cessors. Although the process of scanning will be lengthy and probably eventually incomplete, scholars in many disciplines will find that most of their information needs can be met electronically. Entitlement: The equilibrists argue that libraries are sacred to the academy and will be maintained for sentiment if for no other reason. Dean of the University of Michigan School of Information and Li- brary Studies Dan E. Atkins recently re- ferred to this status as an entitlement, a word undergoing rapid pejoration. Foun- dering academic institutions sense their own dangers and will make whatever cuts are necessary to retain what their admin- istrators perceive as the essence. Increas- ingly, universities are outsourcing campus food services, bookstores, and photocopy- ing to commercial enterprises. When an infonnation vendor can promise academic administrators that students and faculty will be able to find most materials needed through a network in a more convenient mode available around the clock for a set fee (less than the entire budget of the library), how will the administrators re- spond? Some will recognize the possible emptiness of the promise and the prob- able escalation of the fees if the service is successful. As they did with book- stores, the alarmists note, others will see the reduced liability of having fewer em- ployees with escalating benefits, less space accruing deferred maintenance, and declining need for support services. Institutions in transition, and alarm- ists think colleges and universities may be just such institutions, sense their own dangers and will make decisions to en- sure survival. Equilibrists believe that administrators will automatically recog- nize that the library is a part of the insti- tution's educational mission. These administrators will ignore an opportu- nity for cost savings out of respect for past traditions. For alarmists, economics is a driving force behind the creation and continu- ation of libraries. Neither the typical stu- dent nor the typical institution could afford to purchase all the books and ar- ticles necessary for the learning process. Sharing of institutionally owned materi- als among students and faculty, and among institutions themselves, allows broader and more affordable access as knowledge itself expands and publish- ing burgeons. Even the giant publishers and database vendors have only a small share of the total knowledge needed by a large university. While an institution with a limited curriculum, a nonresearch faculty, and no commitment to learning ·Editorial 195 qua learning might be able to find a ven- dor to meet its students' primary needs, other institutions with broader configu- rations would have to deal with many, many information vendors and would still need to arrange for the use of addi- tional resources just as even the largest research libraries currently must. Nei- ther is the current environment nor in the forseeable future can one entity be envisioned as providing all information needed by users. For these reasons, in some cases, eco- nomics could hold libraries in place if we focused, as Atkinson suggests, on high quality service. That would mean, how- ever, that libraries would have to focus on measuring the quality of their serv- ices. Heeding instead of pettishly deni- grating studies of reference accuracy, listening to complaints instead of excus- ing our services, and counting the costs of local cataloging variations from na- tional standards and changing local practices would be required. The equilibrists believe that they will receive a future analogous to their past; they need not exercise their freedom to choose. The alarmists believe that if we choose to understand our business, to serve our constituencies excellently, to know the interrelationships with the pro- duction and dissemination of knowl- edge, rather than to store books, then libraries might survive, albeit in much altered form. Some specific actions are needed: • Librarians must be able to assess the effectiveness of their programs. • Even though libraries have often ranked themselves as if they were warehouses, library associations must develop new, relevant standards. • Librarians must communicate with administrators about the needs of the user community. • Librarians must see themselves as sharing the environmental perils sur- rounding higher education. • Librarians must understand and par- ticipate in the larger scholarly com- munications system. • Librarians must listen to their users and change services appropriately. 196 College & Research Libraries May1994 Librarians must focus on the nature of librarianship itself-not the buildings, the salaries, the status, the collections, the archives, but the essential service- connecting users with information needed regardless of format or ownership. Li- brarians must choose between changing to be relevant and nothingness. GLORIANA-ST. CLAIR REFERENCE • Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, trans. Hazel Barnes (New York: The Citadel Press, 1969), 530. IN FORTHCOMING ISSUES OF COLLEGE & RESEARCH UBRARIES A Model for Reviewing Academic Branch Libraries Based on ACRL Guidelines and Standards Olivia Madison, Sally Fry, and David Gregory Organizational Commitment of Professional Employees in Union and Nonunion Research Libraries Tina Maragou Hovekamp Making Reference Services Work David. W. Lewis Nontraditional Students and the Academic Library: A Study of Student Opinion, Preferences, and Library Use Behaviors Carol Hammond Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Concept-based Computer Tutorial for OPAC Users Joan Cherry, Weijing Yuan, and Marshall Clinton Struggling to survive in the face of severe federal funding cutbacks, more and more Native American tribes have turned to gambling to keep their reservations going. With some reservation casinos grossing millions of dollars a year, the plan has seemed successful. But some state legislators Legislation on Native American casinos is an issue that packs significant national import Which is why it's one of the thousands of subjects covered by PAIS International. Coverage that crosses all borders From Congressional legislation to banking regulations, PAIS International provides a unique breadth of coverage on state, interstate, national and international levels. In all, PAIS online and CD-ROM indexes give you access to over 350,000 journal articles, government documents, statistical directories, monographs, conference reports and more. And to provide an unrivaled international outlook, PAIS references literature published around the world in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. So the next time you're shooting for hard-to- find data, don't gamble. Use PAIS. Public Affairs Information Service~ Inc. 521 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036-4396 800-288-PAIS, 212-736-6629 (in NYC) Fax: 212-643-2848 No one looks at the world like PAIS In Print: PAIS INTERNATIONAL IN PRINT ® • PAIS SUBIECT HEADINGS Online Througll: DATA-STAR • DIALOG • OCLC • RLG On CD-ROM: PAIS ON CD-ROM • PAIS INTERNATIONAL bN SILVERPLATIER On Magnetic I ape: CONTACT PAIS FOR INFORMATION Paint your own ~t'ctura with PirstSaarch Z39.50 compatible WorldCat ( OCLC Online Union Catalog) I fJfttfnSe di For many "-"'f~ .. liM libraries, providing reference databases to patrons has meant supporting a confusing hodgepodge of technologies, workstations, and services. Wouldn't it be nice if one system could simplify your efforts and meet most of your information needs? The FirstSearch Catalog is the most adaptable patron reference system available today. Like an artist selecting colors, you have a wide range of options with FirstSearch to create the perfect reference picture for your library. • Flexibility to choose databases • Pricing flexibility-per search or flat fee • Common user interface- yours or ours • Remote and/or in-house access • OCLC Dedicated Line, Internet, Dial Access • Document Ordering and ILL With FirstSearch, you have lots of flexibility, which is vital in a time of exploding choice and unpredictable change. You can tailor FirstSearch to fit in with today's patron service strategies- and tomorrow's. Now is the time to paint the FirstSearch picture that's best for you. ,.... Simple Solution. Fil'atSaarch. U.S. and Canada (8001 848-5878 Ohio (800) 848-8286 OCLC ... for today's libraries I