ALCTS Network News v13n13 (May 16, 1997) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v13n13 ISSN: 1056-6694 ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 13, Number 13 May 16, 1997 In this issue HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO AN2 ALCTS AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION MIDWINTER DISCUSSION GROUP REPORTS, PART II ATTENTION 1997-98 DISCUSSION GROUP CHAIRS CORRECTIONS TO MEETING SCHEDULE AROUND ALA ************ HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO AN2 This week marks the sixth anniversary issue of AN2, which began publication on May 13, 1991 as the first electronic newsletter to be published by any of the ALA divisions. Now in addition to receiving it by email, you may find current and back issues on the web at www.ala.org/alcts.html. Under the guidance of Karen Muller, executive director of ALCTS, and first editor of AN2, the newsletter began as a vehicle for disseminating late-breaking news, conference schedules, and other timely topics between issues of the print ALCTS Newsletter. As its current editor, I would like to thank Karen for her continuing advice and her contributions; Yvonne McLean and Shonda Russell of the ALCTS staff for their input and proofreading skill; and most particularly, you, the ALCTS members and friends who send me material -- electronically. Thank you, indeed, for helping me keep this irregularly but continually published newsletter a viable and, I hope, a pertinent source of information. Former ALCTS President Arnold Hirshon remarked (in an article honoring the second anniversary), "AN2 was born out of a desire by the leadership of ALCTS to be highly responsive to membership needs." I hope you find it so. I welcome your comments and, of course, your articles, at kwhittlesey@ala.org. -- Karen L. Whittlesey Deputy Executive Director, ALCTS ************ ALCTS AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION During the 1997 Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C., the ALCTS Task Force on the Use of Electronic Communications presented its report to the ALCTS Board of Directors. This report recommended several strategic directions for the development of the division's electronic communications; specific tasks for managing information on the ALCTS portion of the ALA Web site; designation of a focal staff person in the ALCTS office; enhanced electronic publication of committee products; and the establishment, for a two-year period, of a new Electronic Communications Committee to coordinate the implementation of the report's recommendations. The ALCTS Executive Committee has reviewed the report and endorsed the strategic directions from the report. ALCTS will * embrace electronic communication as a valuable tool in support of its services to the membership, * will recognize and encourage the use of electronic communication via the Internet as an approved method for conducting committee work, membership activities, and general publicity, and * accelerate its program for electronic publishing to disseminate the work of its members and to improve access to the literature of library collections and technical services. In addition, the Committee recommended use of the fy1997 new initiative funding to support hiring of an additional office staff person with web skills to accelerate the restructuring and redevelopment of the ALCTS web page and the establishment of the Electronic Communications Committee. ALCTS President-Elect Janet Swan Hill will be making appointments to the committee in the next few weeks so that it may hold its first meeting during the San Francisco Conference. (To volunteer, contact Janet at hilljs@colorado.edu.) To support the initiatives in the report, ALCTS staff have taken basic html training and are actively enhancing the ALCTS web site (www.ala.org/alcts.html). Consistent with both ALA directives and recommendations in the task force report, committee listservs may be requested from the ALCTS office, and committees at any level of the division may submit material for inclusion on the web site. Karen Muller (kmuller@ala.org) and Shonda Russell (srussell@ala.org) should be the initial contacts for such requests. The full task force report will be available soon on the ALCTS web site. ************ MIDWINTER DISCUSSION GROUP REPORTS, PART II The following are brief summaries of discussions that took place in the meetings of ALCTS discussion groups that convened at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Washington D.C. Due to space constraints they are included here rather than in the ALCTS Newsletter. Included are groups for which the newsletter editor received reports as of March 20. More information may be obtained by contacting the group chairs, whose names appear in parentheses following the names of the respective discussion groups. Division-wide, AS, CCS, and CMDS discussion group summaries appeared in AN2 v13_no9 (May 1, 1997). Preservation and Reformatting Section The CMDS/PARS Discussion Group (Richard Ring and Regina Sinclair) discussed cooperative efforts between libraries for preservation and collection development. The emphasis of the discussion, lead by Brian J. Baird of the University of Kansas, was on cooperative preservation microfilming programs. The Cooperative Preservation Programs Discussion Group (Stephen J. Smith) meeting attendees received updates on the activities of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Commission on Preservation and Access, and the National Emergency Response Task Force. This was followed by discussion on opportunities for joint museum/library initiatives under IMLS, ways to obtain funding for statewide preservation programs, and possibilities for distance education programs in preservation. The Library Binding Discussion Group (Brian J. Baird) received reports on the recent Library Binding Institute, the ANSI/NISO Z39.76-1996 standard "Data Elements for Binding Library Materials," and the development of the Mek-a-Case, a system for automated case making. A discussion on creating acceptable enclosures and pockets for storing computer software with printed volumes followed. The Micropublishers Discussion Group (Paul D. Crandall) meeting focused on digital microprinters and using the Web to increase access to microform collections. Linda Naru, Center for Research Libraries, related her experience using an adapted ScreenScan digital scanner to produce laser prints from her Readex Model 7 reader. Jack Pontius, Pennsylvania State University, distributed screen prints from his library's Web site, which provides bibliographic descriptions of more than five hundred archival book, serial, and manuscript collections and more than five hundred newspaper back files. The PARS Discussion Group (Ann Olszewski and Steven D. Smith) offered libraries an opportunity to showcase their preservation spaces in a slide presentation titled "From the Outhouse to the Penthouse." Included in the presentation were the National Library of Medicine, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland Public Library, Oberlin College, Texas Tech University, NEDCC, and Preservation Technologies. Discussion at the Physical Quality and Treatment of Library Materials Discussion Group (Harry Campbell) meeting centered on deacidification and label research. Topics for future discussions were also proposed: disaster preparedness, leather dressings, and selection for repair or rebinding. The Preservation Course and Workshop Instructors Discussion Group (Shannon Zachary) discussed full-semester preservation courses. Participants shared examples of class organization, assignments, assessment techniques, and other experiences relating to teaching courses in library preservation. Other issues discussed included distance learning, goals of academic preservation courses, and the integration of preservation instructors (often adjunct faculty) into LIS departments. The Preservation Issues in Small to Mid-sized Libraries Discussion Group (Cathy Mook) discussed concerns brought up at the Library Binding Institute that small- to mid-sized libraries, and those with no testing facilities, will not be able to determine if a binder actually meets new performance-based standards. The main theme of the meeting was the future of preservation in small to mid-sized libraries. Questions discussed included "How can the larger, more established preservation programs help the smaller institutions?" and "What are some good techniques for expanding preservation when there is limited funding?" The Reformatting Discussion Group (Joan Gatewood) discussed use-based vs. collection-based selection approaches for digitalization and the responses of librarians and users to digital technology as a preservation means. Joy Paulson, University of Michigan, and Becky Ryder, University of Kentucky, presented a review of the literature as part of the discussion. Serial Section The Journal Costs in Libraries Discussion Group (Michele J. Crump) emphasized serials acquisitions with unique perspectives and creative approaches to meet the challenges of precarious pricing and burdened budgets. The Research Libraries Discussion Group (Anne E. McKee) focused on the use of the Internet, including the Web, for all aspects of serials work. ************ ATTENTION 1997-98 DISCUSSION GROUP CHAIRS A reminder that beginning with the next issue of AN2, we will include notice of discussion group topics which we receive electronically by June 16 at kwhittlesey@ala.org. We will be glad to forward them to Pier London for inclusion in Cognotes, the on-site conference daily newspaper. Her deadline is June 5. ************ CORRECTIONS TO MEETING SCHEDULE As received, and as space permits, we will be glad to print changes to the Annual Conference meeting schedule (AN2 v13_no10). SS Research Libraries Discussion Group meeting has been combined with the SS Journal Costs in Libraries Discussion Group meeting and will be held at the Journal Costs DG time--Saturday, June 28, from 2-4PM. SS Ad Hoc Committee on Serials Section/NASIG Cooperation is scheduled for Saturday, June 28, from 9:30-11AM. ************ AROUND ALA ALA Approves Revised Spectrum Initiative for Minority Recruitment At its spring meeting, the ALA Executive Board unanimously approved a revised Spectrum Initiative. The Spectrum Initiative proposal commits $450,000/year for the next three years to fund the following: 50 minority scholarships/year @ $5,000/scholarship - ($250,000 -- total) A Spectrum Institute (@$50,000/year) Recruitment Materials (est. @ $80,000/year) Media Support (est. @ $10,000/year) Project Support (est. @ $50,000/year), which includes - Special coordinating committee - Recruitment Network (Advocacy Network model) - 1 additional support position (administrative assistant) at ALA The Spectrum Initiative will be funded by the *return* from the Future Fund and Giles and Leo Albert Funds (currently $3,826,000 total). It is further assumed that $100,000/year will come from outside contributions. [The Giles and Leo Albert Funds were already designated to support minority scholarships.] In addition to the single added position, staff support for this initiative will come from the Diversity Officer (OLPR -- search underway), the Minority Fellow Program (1 of 3 Fellows -- search underway), as well as other staff. In addition to the special coordinating committee, many other member groups will be involved -- including the Awards Committee (scholarship juries), OLPR and OLOS Advisory Committees, Council Committee on Minority Concerns and Cultural Diversity, and others. Related Update: At the 1996 Annual Conference in New York, Council charged the Council Committee on Minority Concerns and Cultural Diversity to work with the Fund for America's Libraries on a major fundraising drive to create a $1,000,000 endowment for minority scholarships. Preparatory work for the drive has begun. The current chair of the committee is Gloria Leonard. -- Mary Ghikas, AED Member Programs and Services, ALA RUSA Names New Deputy Executive Director Michael Dowling is the new RUSA deputy executive director. Formerly director of the Monroe (Wisc.) Public Library, Dowling has served as the librarian at Temple University in Tokyo, Japan, and as the project manager/senior research associate at the International City Management Association, Washington, D.C. Dowling has a bachelor's degree in history and anthropology from Albion College, Albion, Mich., and a master's degree in library science from the University of Maryland, College Park. An avid traveler, Dowling traveled around the world from July 1988 to July 1989. In 1993, he traveled extensively in Asia and Europe. Dowling will be responsible for continuing education activities, MCILibraryLINK, the publications program, awards, and membership support. ************ 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; Carol Chamberlain, 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. ************ an2 v13_no13