ALCTS Network News v1n08 (June 25, 1991) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v1n08 ISSN: 1056-6694 ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 1, Number 8 June 25, 1991 In this issue FROM THE EDITOR RLG ANNOUNCES NEW ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CREATES COMMISSION TO EXPLORE LIBRARY PROCESSING IN THE 1990S HENRIETTE AVRAM, ASSOCIATE LIBRARIAN FOR COLLECTIONS SERVICES, TO RETIRE FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ************************************************************************** FROM THE EDITOR Yes, we know we said Vol. 1, Number 7 would be the last issue of ALCTS NETWORK NEWS before the ALA Annual Conference. But we thought you'd would also like to have the latest news from RLG and LC before you reached Atlanta, so ... ************************************************************************* RLG ANNOUNCES NEW ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE; CREATES COMMISSION TO EXPLORE LIBRARY PROCESSING IN THE 1990S RLIN to Remain Fully Supported; Negotiations with OCLC Terminated June 24, 1991 -- Following the June meeting of the Research Libraries Group's Board of Governors, RLG president James Michalko announced a series of actions that inaugurate the corporation's transition into "RLG92." Restructuring RLG Effective September 1, 1991, RLG will have only two categories of membership -- "general" and "special" -- open to not-for-profit institutions with an educational, cultural, or scientific mission. All current and prospective members are eligible for general membership; smaller institutions can opt for special membership. All members will have unrestricted access to the corporation's projects and cooperative activities as their needs and interests dictate. This summer, all members will elect a new, 15-member Board of Directors to take office on September 1. RLG's standing program committees will be disbanded on August 31, to give way to electronic conferencing and small task forces addressing specific projects. The corporation's business and collaborative activities will be conducted through these means as well as quarterly board meetings, an annual membership meeting, and central staff operations. The board also set annual membership dues for RLG92, effective September 1, 1992, at $25,000 for general members and $3,000 for special members. With a balanced budget for the transitional year beginning on September 1, 1991, RLG management expects to accomplish other changes needed in fee and cost structure, plus new revenue sources, by the beginning of the following fiscal year. New commission formed In conjunction with this initial restructuring, Michalko has created a special commission to consider how RLIN can be improved to meet the current and future technical processing needs of RLG member libraries. "Part of transforming RLG into RLG92 requires restructuring the way in which RLIN provides processing support," Michalko said. "Universities and other research institutions have invested in local information management systems and communication networks. RLG will develop RLIN to acknowledge and leverage these significant institutional investments." The commission will report to Michalko at the end of September. RLG program officer Linda West chairs the group, whose members include: Emily G. Fayen, assistant director of libraries - systems, University of Pennsylvania; Tia Gozzi, director of technical services, Stanford University Libraries; Gerald R. Lowell, associate university librarian for technical services, Yale University; Carol Mandel, director, technical services group, Columbia University Libraries; Lucia Rather, former director for cataloging, Library of Congress; and Jennifer A. Younger, assistant director for technical services, Ohio State University Libraries. Working with the commission will be: Kathleen Bales, RLG software development manager, Ed Glazier, RLG bibliographic quality assurance officer, and Lennie Stovel, RLG intersystems applications manager. Continued support for current RLIN uses As he made his other announcements, Michalko assured present RLIN users that RLG will continue to maintain the system as a full, current resource for processing, shared resources, preservation, and other cooperative activities. "In mapping out RLG's future course, we looked hard at the real nature of RLIN features and the needs they meet," Michalko said. "Two facts are quite clear: a resource like RLIN is essential to the collaborative activities of RLG members, and RLIN can provide needed support for bibliographic processing. RLIN's present functionality will be modified only as superior alternatives are found." RLG Board rejects OCLC proposals for linking systems and transfer of support For many months, RLG and OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) have been discussing an intersystems link between the OCLC and RLIN databases. RLG's initial proposal was to implement a fully functioning link in about a year. The transparent connection RLG proposed would have enabled users to refer searches done in their customary system environment to a file in the other system, and to pay for this usage as part of normal, single-system invoicing. RLG's Board of Governors voted unanimously at their June meeting that the final features, administration, and three-year development time table for the link offered by OCLC would not serve the users of either system as desired and would not be pursued further. Other negotiations to transfer RLG members' current cataloging activity from RLIN to OCLC also fell short of early expectations, and OCLC's offering was unanimously rejected. "OCLC's declared inability to accommodate the business of a group of RLIN-using libraries in less than 'two to three years' -- together with their unwillingness to commit to the kind of intersystems link we needed to take this step -- left us with nothing further to discuss," said Donald W. Koepp, university librarian of Princeton and a member of the negotiating team representing RLG's largest RLIN-using members. Editor's note: This is an official condensation of an RLG press release. The complete release and a background paper on "RLG92" are available via U.S. mail from Jennifer Hartzell, 415-691-2207 or bl.jlh@rlg.bitnet. ************************************************************************* HENRIETTE AVRAM, ASSOCIATE LIBRARIAN FOR COLLECTIONS SERVICES, TO RETIRE FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Henriette D. Avram, Associate Librarian for Collections Services, will retire from the Library of Congress at the end of calendar year 1991, after more than 25 years of service. As the director of the Library's largest department/service unit since 1983, she directs the work of 1,700 positions in 34 divisions, with broad responsibility for the Library's acquisitions, cataloging, preservation and certain research activities. "From the moment Henriette advised me of her decision to retire, I have been thinking about her extraordinary role in the history of this institution and the library profession as a whole," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "We are all grateful for her many contributions to the Library of Congress, particularly in the expansion of our technical services into new technologies via the development and standardization of the MARC format and networking. "She has shared her extensive expertise, wise counsel, wit and warmth in the deliberations of management teams within the Library and in the national and international library arena. She leaves a great legacy here not only in the structure and standards of our bibliographic operations, but in the many Library managers and specialists nurtured under her stewardship," he added. Mrs. Avram's career parallels the automation of library operations in the Library of Congress and worldwide. Following work as a programmer and systems analyst at the National Security Agency, the American Research Bureau and Datatrol Corp., Mrs. Avram joined the Library in 1965 as assistant coordinator of information systems in the Office of the Information Systems Specialist. Her early work on the analysis of cataloging data ultimately led to the development of a standard vehicle for the communication of bibliographic data -- the structure now known as the Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) format. Her work with the American Library Association, the American National Standards Institute, the International Standards Organization and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) resulted in the establishment of the MARC format structure as a national and an international standard in 1971 and 1973, respectively. As a consequence, MARC and its international version, UNIMARC, are now used as the basis for library automation and bibliographic communication throughout the world. Mrs. Avram was responsible for the MARC Pilot Project and the MARC Distribution Service, a program in its 22nd year. The positions Mrs. Avram has held in the Library reflect the increasing importance of automation in the Library's technical services. In 1970 she was named chief of the MARC Development Office, responsible for the design and implementations of automation systems for technical processing operations. As the Library moved to centralize programs to support a nationwide library network, she took the helm of the new Network Development Office in 1976. As part of this effort, the Library of Congress Network Advisory Committee was established; Mrs. Avram has served as its chair since shortly after its inception. In 1980 she became the Library's first director for processing systems, networks and automation planning within Processing Services. Her role continued with her promotion to assistant librarian for Processing Services in November 1983. Following the 1989 reorganization of the Library, she took on the additional duties of her present position. The accomplishments of Processing Services/Collections Services under her stewardship include a strategic planning process, the establishment of a technical processing training office, the development of a department-wide management information system, expansion of automation and cataloging to the Library's overseas offices, and preparation for several major reorganizations to be implemented within the next 10 years, to include the cataloging and acquisitions directorates. Mrs. Avram serves on the board of directors for EDUCOM, the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, and the Commission of Preservation and Access, as well as on the Federal Network Council Advisory Committee. In addition to her involvement with the American Library Association and other professional organizations in the United States, she has worked extensively with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), including serving as its vice president and on its executive board. In the course of her career, Mrs. Avram has been recognized with virtually every honor that can be bestowed on a librarian, including the American Library Association's most distinguished awards: the 1971 Margaret Mann Citation in Cataloging and Classification, the Melvil Dewey Award in 1981 for creative professional achievement of a high order, the 1988 Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to librarianship, and the John Humphry/Forest Press Award of 1990 in recognition of contributions to international librarianship. In 1987, IFLA named her to its group of Honorary Fellows. The Special Libraries Association recognized her achievements in the field with its Professional Award in 1990; similarly she received ACRL'S Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award in 1979. Other honors have included the Library's Superior Service Award in 1968, the 1974 Federal Women's Award, the Library and Information Technology Association Award for Achievement in 1980, and recognition as one of three government managers who received the 1989 Executive Excellence Award for distinguished Executive Service. ************************************************************************* 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; Ruth Carter, President; Karen Muller, Executive Director. 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