ALCTS Network News v11n08 (April 5, 1996) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v11n08 ISSN: 1056-6694 ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 11, Number 8 April 5, 1996 In this issue HIRONS NAMED FOR BOWKER/ULRICH?S SERIALS LIBRARIANSHIP AWARD U.S. PERIODICALS PRICE INDEX FOR 1996 MAGERT TO DISCUSS BIBLIOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS ALA PREPARES Q&A BROCHURE ON COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT ACADEMY FOR SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING TO HOLD SECOND CONFERENCE *************** HIRONS NAMED FOR BOWKER/ULRICH?S SERIALS LIBRARIANSHIP AWARD Jean Hirons, acting CONSER coordinator, Library of Congress, is the 1996 recipient of the Bowker/Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award presented by the ALCTS Serials Section. The award, $1,500 and a citation donated by Bowker/Ulrich's, is presented for distinguished contributions to serials librarianship such as leadership in serials-related activities through participation in professional associations and/or library education programs, contributions to the body of serials literature, research in the area of serials, or development of tools or methods to enhance access to or management of serials. Hirons is being recognized for her varied and significant accomplishments and contributions to the serials community, chief among them the creation of two standard tools for serial catalogers: The CONSER Cataloging Manual and the CONSER Editing Guide. The CONSER Cataloging Manual has been called a work "without parallel in the world of cataloging tools," and the CEG is internationally accepted as the standard for documenting the online cataloging of serials. "Jean is highly respected in the serials community," said Sally C. Tseng, chair of the Bowker/Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award Committee. "Her work in the development of documentation and training have been particularly praiseworthy. Catalogers around the world benefit by her timely and informative contributions." In addition, Hirons is highly respected as a teacher of serials cataloging. She has been a member of many training faculties, including the two 1995 ALCTS Serials Cataloging in the Age of Format Integration institutes, and is responsible for planning and monitoring all formal CONSER training. The award will be presented on Monday, July 8, at 9:30 a.m., as part of the ALCTS President's Program during the ALA Annual Conference in New York. *************** U.S. PERIODICALS PRICE INDEX FOR 1996 Note: The full text and tables from which the summary below is drawn will appear in the May 1996 issue of _American Libraries_. This survey is the 36th annual study sponsored by the ALCTS Library Materials Price Index Committee (LMPIC). For the 12th consecutive year, The Faxon Comprany supplied, compiled, and analyzed subscription price information for the study. The 1996 average price for the 3,941 periodicals analyzed by LMPIC in this annual study is $165.61, an increase of 10.4 % over the average price of $149.46 in 1995. This increase marks the fifth year in the 1990s that the rate of increase has been higher than 10 percent. The inclusion of the 210 titles in the Russian Translations category raises the average price in 1996 to $215.37, which is 9.6 % higher than the 1995 average price of $196.57. The rate of increase for the entire sample including translations continues to be relatively consistent with that of the sample excluding translations, so their inclusion in the index has had little or no effect on the overall pricing trends indicated by the remainder of the sample. The rank order by average price of the 25 subject categories has been remarkably consistent, with the top seven categories in the same position since 1983. Russian Translations post the highest average price in 1996, at $1,099.42, with Chemistry/Physics an ever-closer second at $867.00. Engineering posts the highest percent increase in price (14.6 %) over 1995 prices, followed by Medicine at 13.3 % and Chemistry/Physics at 12.9 %. Chemistry/Physics leads the list in the proportion of titles that increased in price over the three-year period from 1994 to 1996 at 83 % of the titles. Russian Translations slipped to second place in this calculation with 82 % of titles increasing in price, followed by Psychology at 80 %. Medicine and Mathematics, etc., are not far behind with 77 % and 68 %, respectively, increasing in price; however, no other categories exceeded 54 %. Comments and questions may be addressed to the authors or to Gay Dannelly, Chair, LMPIC, at gdannell@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu. --Prepared by Kathryn Hammell Carpenter, University Librarian, Valparaiso University, and Adrian W. Alexander, Consultant, ALCTS Library Materials Price Index Committee *************** MAGERT TO DISCUSS BIBLIOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS The CCS MAGERT Map Cataloging Discussion Group will hold its Annual Conference meeting on the topic of ?Parents, Children and Other Relationships? on Sunday, July 7, 4:30-5:30. Mary Larsgaard, UC Santa Barbara Map and Image Laboratory, will lead a discussion on multilevel description as applied to spatial data, focusing on the "parent-child" relationship in hard copy materials such as map series and air photo flights. The discussion will be broadened to a general overview of bibliographic relationships and their representation in the 4xx-8xx, as well as the 760-787 linking fields. *************** ALA PREPARES Q&A BROCHURE ON COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT As noted in _AN2_ v11_no2, in February ALA became the lead plaintiff in an historic lawsuit that will shape the future of the Internet and information services in the 21st century. The suit challenges the Communications Decency Act contained in the new Telecommunications Act of 1996 on the grounds that it violates free speech and does not effectively protect children from inappropriate material. It was filed by a broad array of organizations who formed the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition in response to the passage of the Act. The coalition, of which ALA is a member, represents librarians, on-line providers, publishers, parents and others concerned that the law bans not only sexually explicit material, but also vital, educational information. Another lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union has been consolidated with the ALA suit. Under the Act, any person who knowingly sends or displays materials that could be interpreted as ?indecent? or ?patently offensive by contemporary community standards? in a manner available to minors under 18 could be imprisoned for up to two years and/or face substantial fines. Neither ?indecency? or ?community standard? is defined. The Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief was filed in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the United States Department of Justice and Attorney General Janet Reno. The case, which is expected to go before the Supreme Court in the fall, has far reaching ramifications for libraries and their role as gateway to the Internet for millions of Americans. ALA?s Office for Intellectual Freedom has developed a question and answer brochure to answer some of the questions raised regarding ALA's suit against the Communications Decency Act. It is titled ?Libraries and the Communications Decency Act: What You Should Know.? The complaint and other background information can be found on the Coalition's Home Page at http://www.cdt.org/ciec/ The brochure is posted on the ALA web (http://www.ala.org) under ?ALA Now.? To receive print copies of this question-and-answer sheet or for more information, contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at oif@ala.org *************** ACADEMY FOR SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING TO HOLD SECOND CONFERENCE The Academy for Scholarly Publishing Second Conference will take place in Charleston, SC at the College of Charleston Conference Center from Sunday, April 21 at 1 pm through Tuesday, April 23 at 12:45 pm, 1996. The Conference is for scholars and librarians who wish to learn more about the scholarly publishing process. Speakers include James J. Kilpatrick, noted syndicated columnist and author and William V. Hannay, attorney and author. For more information or to register, contact Katina Strauch via e-mail to strauchk@cofc.edu. *************** ALCTS NETWORK NEWS (ISSN 1056-6694) is published irregularly by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association. Editorial offices: ALCTS, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; David Farrell, President; Karen Muller, Executive Director. Editor: Karen Whittlesey (kwhittlesey@ala.org); Editorial Assistance: Karen Muller, Shonda Russell. ALCTS NETWORK NEWS is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the division. News items should be sent to the editor at the e-mail address above. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to listproc@ala.org with the only line of text being ?subscribe an2 [your name]? (without quotation marks). Back issues of AN2 are available through the listserver. To find out what's available, send the following command to listproc@ala.org: ?index an2? (without quotation marks). Send questions about membership in ALCTS to the ALCTS Office, alcts@ala.org. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or education advancement. For other reprinting or redistribution or translations, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. ***************