ALCTS Network News v18n05 (September 15, 1999) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v18n05.txt ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 18, Number 5 September 15, 1999 In this issue: ALCTS COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT PROCESSING CCAHA ANNOUNCES DISASTER MITIGATION WORKSHOP SERIES BEST OF CATALOGING & CLASSIFICATION QUARTERLY AWARD, vol. 26 ************ ALCTS COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT PROCESSING During the spring of 1999, two things were happening to document committee appointments, one at ALA Headquarters and the other "in the field." Here at ALA Headquarters, we were implementing a new membership information system which dramatically improves our ability to provide improved customer services (see American Libraries, April 1999). In the field, our officers--the vice-president and vice-chairs of the sections who are now the president and section chairs--were making appointments to committees. And in turn, those of you appointed returned the Appointment Acceptance Form to this office. This is where the two tasks converge. Since the Annual Conference, the ALCTS staff (Beatrice Calvin, Shonda Russell, Tanga Morris, and Yvonne McLean) have updated three, and frequently four, files with the information contained on each and every Appointment Acceptance Form. There are four sets of records we maintain for each committee appointment: 1--our paper files, which hold a copy of the appointment letter and the acceptance form; 2--the ALA Membership database, which is updated based on the paper form, 3--the online Web listing, and 4, if there is a committee discussion list (as there is with more than 30 committees), the subscription list. The first file is the easy one, and it is also the one we rely on to resolve all conflicts in information as we proceed with the rest of the work. This year, because it was the first year of using the new system and a new workflow for the system, the updating of the database took a bit longer, but we are confident that our information, as entered there, is the most accurate it has ever been. In order to be sure of our information, we not only entered the new appointments, but also verified the appointments that are continuing from last year and cross-checked address, e-mail, and telephone information. >From this database, the ALA ITTS department has pulled the committee listings for the ALA Handbook of Organization, and you will be receiving that annual publication with your November issue of American Libraries. We are now in the process of preparing the updates to the committee pages for the ALCTS web (see www.ala.org/alcts). Also, most of the committee discussion lists have also been updated. Now, you're thinking: Hey, there are only 7 people on my committee--why does this take so long? Well, this is because we are doing all the committees in the division. For ALCTS, this means that we have processed about 1300 names for our apporximately 160 committees, as well as the 160 web pages. And just like any large project, it all just takes time. We expect to be done soon and will be mailing printed rosters to all committee chairs for information in the next few weeks. We are grateful for your cooperation with getting information to us--and appreciative of your patience as we finish the project. -- Karen Muller, Executive Director, LAMA/ALCTS CCAHA ANNOUNCES DISASTER MITIGATION WORKSHOP SERIES The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) is offering three emergency preparedness workshops that focus on mitigation strategies. The workshops are designed to help institutions reduce the possibility of disaster and prevent, or limit, potential damage to collections. The workshops are intended for staff involved in collections care activities or have responsibility for the safety of collections such as librarians, archivists, curators, collections managers, stewards of historic house museums, site and facilities managers, and security and safety staff. All of the workshops will be held at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. "Be Prepared... Conducting a Vulnerability Assessment" will be held Tuesday, October 19. The registration deadline is October 8. In this workshop, participants will learn how to conduct a vulnerability analysis and risk assessment so that they will be able to evaluate the types of emergencies that might affect their institution and its collections. This evaluation will help the institution develop effective strategies to minimize the likelihood of a disaster. A crisis communications expert will also address public relations strategies for emergency situations. The speakers are: David Tremain, Conservator, Canadian Conservation Institute and Michael Smith, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, LaSalle University "Be Prepared... Fire Protection and Suppression" will be held on Thursday, November 4. The registration deadline is October 25. Critical to the selection of an appropriate fire protection and suppression system is the assessment and analysis of the hazards and risks faced by a collection. This workshop will focus on the need to review current fire protection procedures and systems in historic and cultural institutions. The goal of the workshop will be to equip participants with up-to-date information to make informed decisions on fire prevention. The speakers are: Nicholas Artim, Director, Fire Safety Network and John M. Watts, Jr., Director, Fire Safety Institute. "Be Prepared... Assessing Health and Safety Risks" will be held on Thursday, December 2. The registration deadline is November 19. This workshop will alert participants to the health and safety risks present at the time of an emergency, including air quality, fire safety, electrical hazards, structural instability, chemical and biological hazards (mold, lead, asbestos, contaminated water and soil), pests, and those hazards inherent in collections themselves (arsenic, formaldehyde). The workshop will also address an institution's legal obligations to staff and visitors in regard to health and safety, and the psychological stresses faced by those in an emergency situation. The speakers are: Monona Rossol, President, Arts, Crafts, and Theater Safety, Inc. (ACTS) and Charles Cook, Public Health Advisor, Emergency Service and Disaster Relief Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services Registrations Fees: CCAHA Members Non-Members One workshop: $25.00 $35.00 Two workshops: $50.00 $70.00 Three workshops: $65.00 $95.00 For more information about these workshops and registration information, contact: Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), Preservation Services Office, 264 South 23rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 Phone: 215.545.0613, Fax: 215.735.9313, E-mail: ccaha@ccaha.org, http://www.ccaha.org. BEST OF CATALOGING & CLASSIFICATION QUARTERLY AWARD, vol. 26 Mavis Molto and Elaine Svenonius are the winners of the first Best of CCQ award for their article "An Electronic Interface to AACR2" which appeared in _CCQ_ vol. 26, no. 1. The panel consisted of CCQ Editorial Board members Kathryn Luther Henderson, Martin Joachim, and J. Bradford Young. They described the winning article as: The research is well-designed and of both enduring value and broad interest because of its applicability for practical use. The article is clearly written and well documented. The reasons for the research are clear and straightforward and they accomplish their objectives. It recommends an important departure from book-based to electronic access to the rules. The article also identifies many of the problems to be overcome as well as suggests topics for additional research. Because many technical and public services librarians are closely tied to AACR2, this is not an isolated or specialized type of article of interest to only a few. This paper persuasively takes librarians from where we are now and points us in an important new direction. Molto and Svenonius will share the $500 cash award for having the best article in CCQ volume 26. Ruth Carter, editor of _Cataloging & Classification Quarterly_ is pleased to announce that the committee also recommended two honorable mentions. Virginia M. Scheschy's "Cataloging Procedures on the Web: the Greatest Thing Since MARC" was cited for its value to practitioners. Beth Russell, author of "Hidden Wisdom and Unseen Treasure: Revisiting Cataloging in Medieval Libraries" received a special honorable mention for her historical article with its engaging look at part of our collective past. Carter notes that in addition to research articles _CCQ_ continues to value practical articles that provide guidance and help in every day work and teaching situations as well as those articles of an historical nature. -- Ruth Carter ************ 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; Peggy Johnson, President; Karen Muller, Executive Director; Shonda Russell, Editor; Editorial Assistance: Karen Muller. 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 list server or the ALCTS web site: www.ala.org/alcts/publications/index.html. 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 v18 no5