ALCTS Network News v9n15 (May 22, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v9n15

                                                      ISSN: 1056-6694
 
                           ALCTS NETWORK NEWS
 
                    An electronic publication of the
         Association for Library Collections & Technical Services
 
                           Volume 9, Number 15
                               May 22, 1995
 
    In this issue
 
        LOOKING FOR GOLD AT ALCTS PRESIDENT'S PROGRAM
        ALCTS PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL REPORT AVAILABLE ON ALA GOPHER
        WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN CEASES PUBLICATION
        FY 95 RECISSION BILL CONFERENCE REPORT SHOWS NO CUTS
           FOR LIBRARIES
        NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY FEDERATION AGREEMENT SIGNED
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             LOOKING FOR GOLD AT ALCTS PRESIDENT'S PROGRAM
 
With the enhancements in library technology and the greater possibilities
for resource sharing activities through means such as the Internet, the
value of print collections built up over centuries of collecting has
paradoxically increased.
 
"There's Gold in Them Thar Stacks: The Importance of Print Collections
in the Digital Age"  is the topic of ALCTS President Bob Holley's
program, to be held on Monday, June 26.  The program will follow the
ALCTS Awards Ceremony from 9:00-11:30 a.m. (the awards presentation is
8-9 a.m. -- see _AN2_ v9no14).
 
Speakers will look at how to "mine" these resources -- through
enhancements to bibliographic records, and inproved searching
capabilities, including remote access and indexes -- and how to assess
the value of this "gold" in terms of use needs, preservation and
digitization, and the continuing publication of books.
 
Speakers will include Peter Graham, Associate University Librarian,
Rutgers University; Diane Kovacs, Humanities Reference Librarian, Kent
State University Libraries; James W. Marchand, professor, Department of
Germanic Languages & Literature, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign.  There will also be an open panel discussion with a
representative of each of the five ALCTS sections, to discuss the
presentations and add their own comments.  Moderated by Robert P.
Holley, the panel is made up of Ross W. Atkinson, Collection
Management and Development Section; Alexander Bloss, Serials Section;
Christian Boissonnas, Acquisitions Section; Janet Swan Hill, Cataloging
and Classification Section; and Karen Motylewki, Preservation and
Reformatting Section.
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      ALCTS PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL REPORT AVAILABLE ON ALA GOPHER
 
Bob Holley's Annual Report on the state of ALCTS has now been posted to
the ALA gopher. To locate the gopher, point your gopher client to
gopher.uuic.edu port 70, select the menu option "The Library" in the
first screen of the UIC gopher and then choose "American Library
Association" under "The Library" menu. You will be offered a series of
menus which will lead you to the report.
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               WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN CEASES PUBLICATION
 
Effective with the June 1995 issue, the _Wilson Library Bulletin_ will
cease publication. In making the announcement, CEO Frank Miller praised
the contributions the _Bulletin_ has made to the profession and the
company throughout its eighty-one year history but lamented that it was
no longer economically feasible to continue publication in print.
 
The decision was reached after many months of careful study and
deliberation. Since January, the company has been studying its operation
with a view to refocusing on its areas of greatest strength: indexing,
abstracting, and reference publishing. In addition, the _Bulletin_ has
been faced with decreasing circulation over the past decade, diminished
advertising revenue, and rising paper and postage costs.
 
Begun in 1924 as a house vehicle, the _Bulletin_ soon became a
distinctive voice for the profession of librarianship, with its editorial
content increasingly designed to meet the practical needs of working
librarians.
 
_Wilson Library Bulletin_ editor GraceAnne DeCandido expressed regret at
the demise of the magazine, but at the same time emphasized the future:
"I have been given a mandate to explore possible cyberpublication of an
online magazine," said DeCandido. Whatever it turns out to be, I hope
some of WLB's columnists, cartoonists, and contributors would be willing
to be a part of it."
 
H. W. Wilson's long history of commitment to the library profession was
partly emobodied in the continued publication of the _Bulletin_, despite
mounting losses. "We stayed with this as long as we could, possibly
longer than we should have, because we believed in the _Bulletin's_
value to librarians worldwide," said Miller. "You may be certain that
while the print format of the Bulletin is ending, we will endeavor to
find a viable way to continue its voice."
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   FY 95 RESCISSION BILL CONFERENCE REPORT SHOWS NO CUTS FOR LIBRARIES
 
The House-Senate Conference Report on HR 1158, the rescission bill for
FY95, (H. Rept. 104-124), is printed in the Congressional Record of May
16, 1995, and shows NO rescissions for library programs (CR, H5013-H5053,
library programs on H5041).
 
Rescissions of $4 million were made in the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration's Information Infrastructure Grants program.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the
Humanities each sustained cuts of $5 million.  The Government Printing
Office was cut by $5 million, while the Superintendent of Documents
Operations was cut in salaries and expenses $600,000.  The Library of
Congress was cut a total of $250,000.
 
Once the conference report is approved by the House and Senate, it will go
to the President for signature.  According to the May 17 issue of the
_Washington POST_, the President will veto the bill because of cuts in
education.
 
--from ALA's Washington Office
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          NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY FEDERATION AGREEMENT SIGNED
 
On May 1, leaders of fifteen of the nation's largest research libraries
and archives and the Commission on Preservation and Access signed an
agreement that pledges collaboration toward the establishment of a
National Digital Library Federation.  At the signing, held at Harvard
University, the founding members of the Federation agreed to cooperate on
defining what must be done to bring together digitized materials that will
be made accessible to student, scholars, and citizens everywhere, and that
document the building and dynamics of United States heritage and cultures.
 
A primary goal of the Federation is the implementation of a distributed,
open digital library accessible across the global Internet.  The library
will consist of collections to be created from the conversion to digital
form of documents contained in founding member and other libraries and
archives, and from the incorporation of holdings already in electronic
form.
 
In support of that goal, the Federation will establish a collaborative
management structure, develop a coordinated funding strategy, and
formulate selection guidelines to ensure conformance to the general theme
of US. heritage and culture.  The Federation also will adopt common
standards and best practices to ensure full informational capture and
guarantee universal accessibility.
 
The agreement recognizes and acknowledges the important leadership role
that the Library of Congress has played in raising as a national issue the
need for such a digital library.
 
The first phase of the Federation's work will be completed in six months.
During that time, a task force coordinated by the Commission on
Preservation and Access and composed of senior members of the staffs of
the founding institutions will develop an action plan to address, among
other issues, funding strategies and the involvement of additional
institutions.  The commission will report regularly on development.
 
For more information contact: M. Stuart Lynn, CPA Vice-President for
Technology,  phone: 510/548-2244, e-mail: mslynn@cpa.org.
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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; Robert P. Holley, President; Karen Muller,
Executive Director. Editor: Karen Whittlesey (u34261@uicvm); Editorial
Advisory Board: Jennifer Younger, Robert P. Holley, David Farrell;
Editorial Assistance: Shonda Russell
 
ALCTS NETWORK NEWS is available free of charge and is available only in
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