ALCTS Network News v3n29 (June 18, 1992) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v3n29 ISSN: 1056-6694 ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 3, Number 29 June 18, 1992 In this issue DRAFT COUNCIL RESOLUTION WISPPR ELECTRONIC PRESERVATION CONFERENCE REPORT DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASE PROJECTED FOR 1993 SUBSCRIPTION PRICES ************************************************************************** DRAFT COUNCIL RESOLUTION There have been a number of you readers who have commended AN2 for being the first to get out information concerning the resignation of Linda Crismond, and who have requested that we continue to publish information from both sides as this issue develops. Continuing in the spirit of "Your Right to Know," we publish here a draft resolution by ALA Councilors Susan Goldberg and Pat O'Brien that they are submitting for consideration by ALA Council at either Session I or II at the Annual Conference. The authors welcome suggestions for any rewording and changes; please contact them during the Annual Conference in San Francisco. -- Arnold Hirshon, ALCTS President WHEREAS the events surrounding the resignation of Executive Director Linda Crismond have raised serious questions regarding the effectiveness of the 1991-92 Executive Board and WHEREAS those events cast serious doubts on the Executive Board's understanding of basic management etiquette, protocols, practices, and procedures regarding such areas as evaluations, warnings, dismissals, and resignations and WHEREAS the procedures and disclosures following the resignation of the Executive Director have damaged the reputation of a competent and effective administrator and professional and WHEREAS the actions of the Executive Board have placed the American Library Association's reputation in jeopardy and have caused its membership undue turmoil just prior to its annual conference, now therefore be it RESOLVED that this Council, by passage of this resolution, casts a vote of no confidence in the elected 1991-92 Executive Board and further be it RESOLVED that this Council directs the 1992-93 Executive Board to take no actions between meetings of this Council other than those necessary to allow the Executive Director to carry on the business of the American Library Association as she determines and that this directive remain in effect while an independent, outside assessment of the American Library Association is conducted and until such assessment is completed, reviewed by Council, and implemented. ************************************************************************* WISPPR ELECTRONIC PRESERVATION CONFERENCE REPORT (Editor's note: The announcement for this conference appeared in AN2. This report is being published as a follow up. It is longer than most AN2 articles, but is believed to be of interest to AN2 readers.) A group of eighty librarians and archivists from around the country gathered at the State Historical Society in Madison, WI on June 3-4 to attend a two-day conference entitled "Preservation of Electronic Formats and Electronic Formats for Preservation" hosted by WISPPR (the Wisconsin Preservation Program). At issue were both the development of electronic imaging storage systems and the preservation of current electronic media. The Wisconsin Preservation Program began in 1986 as a joint venture between the Council of Wisconsin Libraries and the University of Wisconsin-Madison General Library System in response to the urgent need for preservation assistance to libraries, archives and document repositories throughout Wisconsin. WISPPR is active in preservation education, giving workshops around the state. The impetus for this conference sprang from a planning meeting at which potential workshop topics were discussed. Lacking local personnel with appropriate expertise in preservation of electronic media, WISPPR brought in experts from around the country to address the many questions and concerns that are rising as CD-ROM and other technological advances become prevalent in the workplace. An impressive roster of speakers addressed the audience. Anne Kenney, Assistant Director for Preservation, Cornell University, gave a talk on the role of digital technology in the preservation of research library materials, drawing on her experience with digital imaging in the Cornell preservation program. Michael Pate, Assistant Director for Public Services, Marquette University Memorial Library, gave a talk on an electronic archives project which is in its beginning stages at Marquette University. Fynette Eaton from the National Archives Center for Electronic Records spoke on the preservation of electronic records, specifically magnetic tape. Basil Manns, Imaging Engineer at the Library of Congress, explained current research testing of digital imaging techniques going on at the Library of Congress. Mark Arps, marketing manager from 3M for CD-ROM Optical Recording Division gave a speech on CD life expectancy. Don Willis, director of Advanced Tech- nology, University Microfilms, discussed the advantages and disadvantages of digital formats versus microfilms and the possibilities of hybrids. The speakers presented timely and thought provoking material that was well received by an audience composed of representatives from WISPPR's forty member institutions as well as librarians from Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas. The audience's experience with electronic formats ranged from those who are familiar with the application on CD-ROM products for reference work, to those whose concerns focus on storage, handling, and longevity of various formats, to those already involved in digitizing and scanning data. Lively discussion followed each session of the conference. The speaker's topics presented a broad perspective on the array of issues raised by electronic formats: from technical discussions of pixels, jpeg, jbig, and the need to refresh data, to the frustrations of finding funding for scanning projects, and on to the potential for hybrid technologies combining the best of our traditional methods with the improvements offered by new technology. Much was learned at the conference and it is clear that preservation of electronic formats is a topic that will command more interest in the future. The proceedings of the conference, edited by preservation librarian Janice Mohlhenrich of Marquette University, will be published by Highsmith Press. The proceedings should be available in January. Anyone interested in purchasing the proceedings can write to WISPPR, 728 State Street, Room 464, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1494, or can contact the publisher directly. Submitted by Janice Mohlhenrich ************************************************************************* DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASE PROJECTED FOR 1993 SUBSCRIPTION PRICES Subscription rates are likely to increase by 10-15 percent due to publisher prices increase for 1993, according to projections developed by EBSCO Subscription Services. These projections are based on general economic indicators in the U.S. and Europe as well as discussions with major publishers throughout the world. The picture is somewhat brighter for U.S. libraries than it was earlier this year when, in January, it looked as if those libraries subscribing to a large number of non-U.S. publications would pay an additional 8-10 percent due to the decline of the dollar. At that time, the dollar had weakened by about nine percent (as measured against a mix of major European currencies) since early November 1992 when publishers were paid for 1992 starts. At this time, the dollar has returned to a level roughly equal to that of last November. It is difficult to predict how the value of the dollar will affect the cost of subscriptions as it has been fluctuating tenuously since February and is exhibiting no discernible trend. However, analysts do not forecast a drastic change in U.S. or European interest rates that would cause a dramatic change in the value of the dollar. EBSCO has examined the pricing trends over the last five years for title lists typical of different library types today. For each library type, several current title lists were combined and purged of duplicates, then analyzed by subscription prices paid for these titles each year form 1988-1992. This research has shown that a current, representative U.S. academic library list of 6,254 titles that cost $1,190,824.69 this year cost $787,155.07 in 1988--an increase of 51.30%. The cost of this list increased an average of eight to nine and one half percent annually since 1988, except for 1991 when prices jumped 17 percent due to a dramatic decrease in the strength of the dollar. Corporate and special library title lists seem to follow this trend as well, with the annual price of a representative list climbing eight to nine and one half percent each year sine 1988, except 1991 when it jumped by 14.30 percent. (The current representative corporate library list consisted of 1,400 titles; the special library list contained 2,023 titles). ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* 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; Arnold Hirshon, President; Karen Muller, Executive Director. Editor: Karen Muller (u34261@uicvm); Editorial Advisory Board: Arnold Hirshon, Ruth Carter, Liz Bishoff; Editorial Assistance: Alex Bloss, Marie Rochelle. 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 Bitnet address u34261@uicvm. To subscribe, issue the network command "tell listserv@uicvm sub alcts [your account] [your name]." Back issues of AN2 are available through the listserver. To find out what's available, send the following command to LISTSERV@UICVM: send alcts filelist The ALCTS FILELIST contains the list of files with the EXACT filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue this command to the LISTSERV@UICVM: send filename filetype. Send questions about membership in ALCTS to the ALCTS Office, u34261@uicvm. 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 granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting or redistribution or translations, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions, 50 E. Street, Chicago, IL 60611. *************************************************************************