Crawford, 'Library and Information Technology Association Division Annual Report 1992-1993', LITA Newsletter v14n04 URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/lita/lita-v14n04-crawford-library [v14n4.annrep litanews] ---------------------- Library and Information Technology Association Division Annual Report 1992-1993 Walt Crawford, President The Mission of LITA LITA provides its members, other ALA divisions and members, and the li- brary and information science field as a whole with a forum for discus- sion, an environment for learning and a program for action on the de- sign, development and implementation of automated and technological systems in the library and information science field. LITA's Function LITA is concerned with the planning, development, design, application and integration of technologies within the library and information en- vironment, with the impact of emerging technologies on library serv- ice, and with the effect of automated technologies on people. Its ma- jor focus is on the interdisciplinary issues and emerging technologies. LITA disseminates information, provides educational op- portunities for learning about information technologies and forums for the discussion of common concerns, monitors new technologies with po- tential applications in information science, encourages and fosters re- search, promotes the development of technical standards and examines the effects of library systems and networks. 1992/93 LITA Activities, Programs and Achievements Related to The American Library Association's Priority Areas and Goals (and also to LITA's 1992-95 Strategic Plan Goals) ALA Priority Area A: Access to Information (LITA Goal 2: To Influence National and International Level Initiatives Relating to Information and Access) While a number of LITA's continuing operations work to improve and as- sure access to information, 1992/93 saw a few special initiatives: *Carolyn Gray, chair of LITA's Technology and Access Committee pre- sented testimony at the ALA Committee on Legislation open hearings on "Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Policy," offering principles for a national public telecommunications network to serve the public interest. *Access to Information: Materials, Technologies and Services for Print- Impaired Readers by Tom McNulty and Dawn M. Suvino was published in early 1993 as LITA Monograph #2. The 162-page paperback outlines di- verse ways that information can be made accessible to individuals for whom print is a seemingly exclusionary medium. Shortly after publica- tion, this important new publication received high praise from Norman Coombs (Professor of History, Rochester Institute of Technology) in an issue of Library Hi Tech devoted to adaptive technologies: "McNulty and Suvino have provided a readable and interesting book that outlines the challenge and opportunity, and describes the tech- nology required in plain and simple language... As a blind library user, I want to urge every librarian to buy and read this most inter- esting and valuable book." *LITA published Citizen Rights and Access to Electronic Information (edited by Dennis J. Reynolds), presentations and background papers from the 1991 LITA President's Program. The 202-page paperback offers a wealth of still-relevant information to those dealing with access issues relating to electronic information. *The Technology and Access Committee worked to clarify their role in evaluating the possible impact of proposed standards on free and open access to information, an area requiring coordination with MARBI and with LITA's Technical Standards for Library Automation Committee (TESLA). *LITA cosponsored the Third Conference on Computers, Freedom and Pri- vacy, March 9-12, 1993, in Burlingame, CA--perhaps today's premier conference on issues of access and ethics within the electronic realm. Much of the program at LITA's Third National Conference (September 13-16, 1992, Denver, Colorado) related to Priority Area A, including "Empowering the End User," "Information Technology and Access in East- ern Europe," "The Myth of the Information Age, or Why Information Tech- nology Isn't" (Keynote, Michael Schrage), "Electronic Access to Schol- arly Texts," "Reasonable Accomodations? A Look at Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities," "Networks: Real Access for Real Peo- ple," "Distance Learning and Libraries," "Federal Information Poli- cies," "From the User's Perspective: Access to Scholarly Information" and "Access to Images." LITA programs at the New Orleans Annual Conference that relate to Priority Area A are: "Global Bridges, Global Markets: The Role of Com- munication Networks" (LITA International Relations Committee), "Elec- tronic Document Delivery: Impact and Implications for Library Service" (LITA Vendor/User Interest Group and LITA/ALCTS Serials Automation In- terest Group), "The Library Without Walls: Teleservices for Americans with Disabilities" (LITA Adaptive Technologies Interest Group), "Fu- ture Possibilities in Information Technology and Access" (LITA Imagi- neering Interest Group) and "Strategies for Meeting the Connectivity Requirements of the Future: Practical Advice for Library Planners" (LITA Library Consortia/Automated Systems Interest Group and Telecommu- nications Interest Group). ALA Priority Area B: Legislation and Funding (LITA Goal 2: To Influence National and International Level Initiatives Relating to Information and Access) LITA's Legislation and Regulation Committee began a new column, "LITA Washington Report," in the LITA Newsletter, helping to maintain cur- rent awareness on access and legislation issues for LITA's growing mem- bership. That committee, chaired by Patrick Flannery, has begun planning for an annual legislative update program for LITA members, and has organ- ized informal gatherings of representatives from legislation commit- tees in LITA, GODORT, RASD and ACRL to explore areas of common inter- est. LITA's Third National Conference included the program "Financing High Technology" as well as a legislative update session. The special problems of funding for automation in small libraries will be addressed in the New Orleans program "So You Want to Automate Your Library? Two Crucial Steps for Small Libraries: Planning and Fund- ing" (Small Integrated Library Systems Interest Group). ALA Priority Area C: Intellectual Freedom The Technology and Access Committee continues to be LITA's focal point for intellectual freedom issues, and to provide LITA liaison to ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee. LITA's cosponsorship of the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conferences also speak directly to this priority area. The program "Information and Democracy" at the LITA National Confer- ence provided keen insights into issues of intellectual freedom and privacy. ALA Priority Area E: Personnel Resources (LITA Goal 1: To Provide Opportunities for Professional Growth and Performance in Areas of Information Technology) Much of LITA's activity is in the area of professional development. LITA is sponsoring a preconference, 18 conference programs and several additional Interest Group discussion meetings at the ALA Annual Confer- ence. More than two thousand people attended LITA's Third National Confer- ence, at which more than sixty program sessions and twenty showcase sessions provided a wealth of professional development opportunities. That conference included the program "Managing Staff for Changing Tech- nologies." A new LITA award, sponsored by Library Hi Tech (Pierian Press), spe- cifically targets continuing education in library and information tech- nology for the library profession, with the award going to any replica- ble form of communication. The first winner, Charles W. Bailey, is honored for his role in establishing electronic network listservers as worthwhile ways for librarians to learn and grow, and specifically for his role as founder of PACS-L, one of the oldest and largest of these listservers with nearly 6,000 members. While perhaps not traditional continuing education, PACS-L and other library listservers provide won- derful ways to build and maintain large "invisible colleges" open to an increasingly wide range of librarians and other library profession- als. LITA continues to support library automation education in general with its LITA/CLSI Scholarship in Library and Information Technology, and specifically in support of recruiting a racially and ethnically di- verse group of high caliber of persons with its LITA/OCLC Minority Scholarship in Library and Information Technology. ALA Priority Area F: Library Services, Development, and Technology (LITA Goals 1 and 2: To Provide Opportunities for Professional Growth and Performance in Areas of Information Technology and To Influence National and International Level Initiatives Relating to Information and Access Most of LITA's activity relates to information tools and technologies, making them available and effective within libraries and helping li- brarians to use them effectively. The division also has well-estab- lished programs in the areas of standards. Most recently, LITA has undertaken a study of its research needs (using a volunteer LITA Research Task Force largely consisting of expe- rienced researchers), resulting in the decision to appoint a LITA Re- search Committee. The Technical Standards for Library Automation Committee (Sylvia Carson, chair) makes major contributions each year in the area of standards. In addition to its long-established LITA Newsletter column "Standard Fare" (for more than ten years, the only continuous ALA cov- erage of technical standards issues) and its work in facilitating re- view of technical standards, the committee is completing a trilogy of programs on standards with the New Orleans program "Managing the Im- pact of Z39.50 on Your Library" (cosponsored by LAMA's Systems and Services Section). The trilogy began in San Francisco with a more tech- nically-oriented program on Z39.50 and continued at LITA's Third Na- tional Conference with "Three Standards That Will Change Your World." MARBI (Machine-Readable Bibliographic Information Committee), chaired by Florence J. Wilson of ALCTS, encourages the creation of needed standards for the presentation in machine-readable form of bib- liographic information, reviews and evaluates proposed standards, and recommends approval of standards. LITA has three members on MARBI, which is an interdivisional committee with ALCTS and RASD. The LITA Newsletter column "MARC Notes" has continued to educate LITA members on MARC developments. During the LITA National Conference, "Community Information--The New MARC Format" dealt with one of MARBI's most re- cent efforts while "What Do We Do with Our Holdings Information?" ex- plored issues related to the MARC Format for Holdings and Locations. The LITA publications program expanded considerably in 1992/93. The Publications Committee (William G. Potter, chair) and Linda Knutson, LITA Executive Director, continue their commendable work. In addition to monographs already mentioned, LITA also published Thinking Robots, an Aware Internet, and Cyberpunk Librarians (based on the 1992 LITA President's Program); The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, Vol- ume 1, 1990, and Volume 2, 1991 (fully-indexed print versions of the field's foremost electronic journal); Information Technology, IT's for Everyone: Proceedings of the Third National Conference of the Library and Information Technology Association (distributed to all conference attendees); Internet Connections: A Librarian's Guide to Dial-Up Ac- cess and Use; and a substantially enlarged second edition of George S. Machovec's Telecommunications and Networking Glossary. LITA also served as sole distributor for Walt Crawford's The Catalog Collection and distributed proceedings of the five NIT International Conferences on New Information Technology, in print and (for the first four com- bined) on CD-ROM. LITA aptly demonstrated the use of technology to pro- vide education about technology. Most of the 1992/93 publications were prepared using desktop publishing techniques. One of them, Thinking Ro- bots, an Aware Internet, and Cyberpunk Librarians was ready to go to press less than a month after the LITA President's Program, incorporat- ing the speeches given at that program, and was on sale as a high-qual- ity paperback just two months later during LITA's Third National Con- ference. Information Technology and Libraries, edited by Tom Leonhardt, and the LITA Newsletter, edited by Walt Crawford, continue to be quality, healthy publications. Both publications now have editorial policies. The LITA Newsletter published a 122-page paperback supplement, LITA Yearbook 1992, distributed to all LITA members as part of LITA's Sil- ver Celebration; Information Technology and Libraries produced a spe- cial theme issue as part of that celebration. Most of LITA's two dozen discussion groups meet to improve the abil- ity of librarians to use technology effectively. Several dozen pro- grams during LITA's Third National Conference helped in this area. LITA programs during at the ALA Annual conference, not already men- tioned, that will assist librarians in learning to use technology ef- fectively include: "Leadership and Technological Change: A Call to Ac- tion Now!" (a preconference cosponsored by ACRL and LAMA), two Automation Product Reviews, "Data with a Kinder Face" (LITA Desktop Publishing Interest Group), "Designing Hypertext: Practical Guidance from Experts in the Construction of Hypertext Documents" (LITA Hy- pertext/Hypermedia Interest Group), "The Evolving Online Catalog: De- signing Systems of the Future" (LITA Online Catalog Interest Group), "Electronic Document Delivery: Impact and Implications for Library Service" (LITA Vendor/User Interest Group and LITA/ALCTS Serials Auto- mation Interest Group), "The Emerging Client Industry" (another stand- ards-related program, sponsored by LITA's Emerging Technologies Inter- est Group), "Retrospective Conversion for Nonprint Media and Microforms" (LITA/ALCTS Retrospective Conversion Interest Group), "CD- ROM Interoperability: Platforms and Interfaces" (LITA Optical Informa- tion Systems Interest Group), "Off-the-Shelf and Into Productivity: Making Your Software Work for You" (LITA Custom Applications for Li- brary Microcomputers Interest Group) and "Knowledge Acquisition: Elic- iting Human Expertise for Building Expert Systems" (LITA Artificial In- telligence/Expert Systems Interest Group). The LITA President's Program, "Looking Forward: The Next 25 Years in Library and Informa- tion Technology," caps the 1992/93 Silver Celebration and should in- spire librarians to consider their future use of technology. "In order to recognize outstanding achievements and contributions in the area of information technology" (F-8.5) LITA gives its older an- nual award: *Steve Cisler received the 1993 LITA/Gaylord Award for Achievement in Library and Information Technology (cash award donated by Gaylord Brothers). LITA also participates in sponsorship of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memo- rial Award to recognize outstanding achievement by an academic librar- ian who has contributed significantly to improvements in the area of library automation, library management, and/or library development or research. 1990/91 Activities Related to LITA's Strategic Plan Not Covered Above (LITA Goal 3: To Strengthen LITA and Assure its Continued Success) LITA's membership grew almost nine percent in 1992/93. The Third Na- tional Conference, which received significant press coverage, was a fi- nancial success as well as an enormous programmatic success. LITA con- tinues to maintain an ongoing long-range strategic plan and related financial plan, changing the strategic plan each year to recognize the changing field and maintain it as a living document. The association continues to reach out to all librarians and library professionals in all sorts of libraries; our cooperative projects with other divisions and units continue to grow. As part of its ongoing planning effort, LITA held a wide-open re- newal process during 1992/93, asking members for ideas to improve LITA's effectiveness and budgeting for a planning retreat to deal with the ideas. The process included a brainstorming session and modified group consensus operation during Midwinter, an involving and fre- quently hilarious effort that brought together several brand-new LITA members as well as two dozen experienced member-volunteers; that meet- ing itself showed LITA's gains from its ongoing leadership development program. The renewal process did not yield revolutionary ideas or enough fundamental ideas to justify the cost of the planning retreat (which was canceled), but did yield a range of ideas that will be pur- sued. Task forces have been and will be appointed to carry forward some ideas and investigate others in more depth. In short, 1992/93 has been a typical year for LITA: extremely var- ied, highly productive in educating its members and others, sometimes frustrating but generally yielding results that reward the valued ef- forts of more than 250 member-leaders and volunteers. The LITA staff for 1992/93 are: Linda J. Knutson, Executive Director Tel Aviv Barbee, Administrative Secretary Valerie A. Edmonds, Secretary The LITA Board for 1992/93 are: Tamara J. Miller, vice-president/president elect* Walt Crawford, president* Paul Evan Peters, past president* Ching-chih Chen, director-at-large Michele I. Dalehite, director-at-large Katharina E. Klemperer, director-at-large* Linda D. Miller, director-at-large Gail M. Persky, director-at-large Jean Armour Polly, director-at-large Nolan F. Pope, director-at-large Donald E. Riggs, councilor* Berna L. Heyman, chair, Bylaws & Organization Committee(ex-officio) Linda J. Knutson, Executive Director (ex-officio)* *Members of the 1992/93 Executive Committee An appropriate conclusion to another successful year for LITA is the following vision statement (from the LITA Strategic Plan 1992- 1995): LITA envisions a world in which the complete spectrum of informa- tion technology is available to everyone. People in all their di- versity will have access to a wealth of information technology in libraries, at work and at home. In this world everybody can real- ize their full potential with the help of information technology. The very boundaries of human relations will expand beyond the limitations of time and space we experience today. The outer lim- its are still unknown; what is known is that the exploration will be challenging.