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| President's Letter |
From the Communications Chair
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Plans are also underway for the Spring conference which will be held at Schenectady County Community College on May 19. The partnership theme will be continued and will include external, library to library, and library with business partnerships. A call for papers will be issued soon to allow time to prepare for the Spring offering.
Unfortunately, plans did not work out for a joint meeting with CDLC and HMLA, in part because we completely rely on campuses to volunteer their facilities and the dates did not work particularly well for CDLC members. I hope we will still see some attendance from the CDLC staff and members in public and special libraries. A joint conference and theme is something to reconsider for the future.
Lynne King (Sage Colleges) is ACRL Chapters Council Chair. Since I was not able to attend ALA in New Orleans we are especially fortunate to have our chapter represented by the Chair. Lynne reports that as chair she continues the work of her predecessors to formalize Council guidelines and procedures with the creation of a handbook. This includes creating a brochure, "What is Chapter's Council?" for newly elected members. Other matters included council strategic planning, successful legislative activities, and the Draft of Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education from the ACRL.
Along this line, Joyce Miller (Adirondack Community College), attended ACRL's Institute for Information Literacy at SUNY Plattsburgh. Many of our members attended a SUNY sponsored repeat of this program. Joyce was in a group of 30 experienced instructors who shared their best practices with each other and with a group of 60 relatively new instructors. Participants worked in consulting groups working on performance based assessment, learning outcomes, working with faculty on information literacy assignments, and distance learning. The immersion was a success!
In other news, the Executive Committee plans to hire an accountant to advise on not-for-profit corporate tax filing responsibilities. Susan Zappen (Skidmore College), Treasurer, and I will be meeting with the accountant recommended by on November 12 after our scheduled Executive Committee meeting.
Terry Ronning
Adirondack Community College
Hannelore Rader, ACRL Librarian of the Year, is the keynote speaker. She will be presenting "Building Faculty-Librarian Partnerships for the Curriculum of the New Millennium."
Karen Hitchcock, President of the University at Albany will be addressing the relationship between business and universities in "Universities and their Communities - Partnerships for Growth and Innovation."
The afternoon sessions will provide ample opportunity for audience discussion of the various partnerships in which we in academic libraries find ourselves. The sessions include:
"Computing Center and Library Partnerships" David Cossey, Executive Director of Computing Services, Union College and Joe Thornton, Systems Librarian, Skidmore College.
"Are We Overlooking Our Most Vital Resource? : Building Librarian / Student Partnerships" Carol Anne Germain, Networked Resources Education Librarian, University at Albany.
"Targeting the Adult Student: Faculty-Librarian Collaboration to Integrate Computer Literacy and Professional Writing Instruction" Diane Hawkins,Assistant Director for Information and Instruction, Health Sciences Library, SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse and Bonnie St. Andrews, Ph.D., Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities, SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse.
"Distance Learning Partnerships" Kari Mack, Ulster Community College and Eric Fredericksen, SUNY Learning Center Network.
"New York State Collaborates: the NYCofC and Pi2" Loretta Ebert, Director of Library and Information Services, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
"College Library Partners: Lessons from the Oberlin Group" Susan Zappen, Head of Technical Services, Skidmore College.
A special treat for many of the librarians attending the conference will be a tour of the newly completed J. Spencer & Patricia Standish Library. Tours are available during the morning registration period, after lunch, and at the end of the formal program.
If you need conference registration information please visit the ENY-ACRL web site at: http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/acrl/archives.html
Barbara Norelli, ENY-ACRL Program Chair
Duties of Institutional Liaisons:
You should be hearing from those people serving on the membership committee sometime in the future, to determine if you need our help in any way. However, liaisons should feel free to contact any of us on the membership committee at any time. For the forthcoming year, the following people will be serving on the membership committee:
* Ellie Bolland (Colgate University, 315-228-7025,
ebolland@mail.colgate.edu)
* Gerald T. Burke (University at Albany, 518-442-3592,
gtb03@cnsvax.albany.edu)
* Barbara Durniak (Vassar College, 914-437-5767, badurniak@vassar.edu)
* Peter Osterhoudt (College of St. Rose, 518-454-2026,
osterhop@mail.strose.edu)
* Susan Sommer (University at Albany, 518-442-3585, ss618@cnsvax.albany.edu)
* Jane Subramanian (SUNY Potsdam, 315- 267-3326, subramjm@potsdam.edu)
* Diane Swenson (Orange County Community College, 914-341-4255,
swensdl@soraaa.sunyorange.cc.ny.us)
* John Thomas (SUNY Canton, 315-562-3673, jtx2@tds.net)
* Martha Walker (Cornell University, 607-255-4985, maw6@cornell.edu)
For those institutions lacking a liaison for whatever reason, feel free to contact us to initiate a designation of a liaison at your campus. For those of you already serving, we appreciate your participation in ENY/ACRL as a liaison.
Jane Subramanian,
Membership Chair
That first issue was neatly typed in Courier font, and Xeroxed on blue paper. It spoke of ENY/ACRL as being in its formative stage, and of the involvement of 20 libraries in formulating the chapter's development. A section reads, "One of the chapter's most successful endeavors was a conference last fall on 'Retrenchment' held at SUNY at Albany. Participants at the conference responded enthusiastically to the idea of meeting regularly to discuss topics of professional concern". Apparently then, as now, ENY/ACRL put on great conferences.
As a serials librarian, it warms my heart to see this publication has always been known as the ENY/ACRL Newsletter, and that it has kept the same publication pattern for many years. I won't be changing much, because Kristin and her predecessors did such a fine job.
As I reviewed the liaison list in my efforts to drum up more entries for the
"Notes from the Field", I was struck by how little I know about most of the
libraries you all work for. Perhaps others feel the same way. So, I'm asking
for volunteers, working through your ENY/ACRL liaisons (if your institution
has a liaison), to write brief profiles of your institutions. These profiles
will be included as features in future ENY/ACRL Newsletters. Your library
profile could include:
* Description of the population you serve
* Overview of your collection's strengths
* Special collections
* Unusual or otherwise noteworthy services you provide your patrons
* Unique or unusual characteristics of your organization
* Significant challenges you're experiencing
Library profiles, liaison reports, and any other items or suggestions for this, your Newsletter, should be sent to me. I prefer messages by e-mail, but I'll happily receive correspondence in any medium that works for you.
Steve Black
Communications Chair, ENY/ACRL
blacks@mail.strose.edu
(518) 458-5494
* Is a library an absolute prerequisite for a degree-granting institution of
higher education . . .?
* If a physical library is not a prerequisite, what types or combinations of
electronic resources could be considered acceptable substitutes?
* Are there [exemplary] models of information literacy training designed to
be conducted exclusively via the Internet . . .?
With his permission, here is the response to these questions by Peter Koonz, Library Director, The College of Saint Rose.
August 31, 1999
Mr. Oswald M. T. Ratteray
Assistant Director for Constituent Services
and Special Programs
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2680
Dear Mr. Ratteray,
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to respond to your letter of August 16, 1999. As a librarian, I place great importance on the role the academic library plays in higher education; so it is with considered interest that I respond to your questions regarding the role of the library in non-traditional institutions.
Your questions begin with one that asks if a library is an "absolute prerequisite for a degree-granting institution of higher learning?" I believe that a library is an absolute prerequisite, and I feel that an institution that relies solely on electronic or "virtual" access to information does a disservice to its students.
Libraries provide a wide range of materials for students and faculty; and of those materials, electronic documents are but one piece. Institutions that rely solely on this electronic universe, supplemented perhaps with prepackaged curriculum materials, present a truncated information resource. It represents, if you will, a flattened perspective on what is in reality a very rich and multifaceted world of scholarly and popular communication.
Students who are thus handicapped do not have the opportunity to develop a balanced knowledge of and facility with information resources. They may most probably become computer literate; they are not likely, however, to become information literate. For students to develop necessary information literacy skills in today's complex information environment, they must develop a sophisticated understanding of the various publication paths that scholarly communication takes. I believe that they must be exposed to the full range of publications - print, electronic, and other media - that a library offers.
Given the rapid development and consequent hype of the World Wide Web, it is easy to believe that the virtual library is a viable substitute for a traditional library. However useful the web is today, it provides access to only a small portion of the information appropriate for an academic community. Your letter correctly points out that "true virtual libraries ... may not be technologically available at this time." Books, a majority of published journals, and historical material in all fields are not well-represented in electronic format. While some disciplines may not find this missing material a handicap, most would. Traditional libraries balance academic needs for print and electronic information.
Furthermore, the shifting of emphasis toward access over ownership has created a concern that libraries cannot satisfactorily guarantee future access to electronic information, nor can they properly preserve this information. Vendors and publishers do not generally function with the same concerns for continued access and preservation as do libraries. The profit motive cannot insure access to future scholars; libraries, with missions to collect and preserve, can do this. Planning decisions that move resources away from traditional academic libraries may well increase the rate at which today's information becomes obsolete due to a lack of careful and organized preservation. I urge Middle States to be aware of this important issue as it seeks to develop standards for non-traditional libraries.
Collections are the most visible part of a library; yet it could be argued that the service that librarians provide is equally important to library users. Reference service is a prime example of how librarians help patrons make the most effective use of collections. While electronic and other remote forms of reference service have been introduced, the need for interaction and feedback make these less than ideal. Given the increased complexity of the current information environment, the role of the reference librarian has taken on increased, not lessened, importance.
Finally, I urge Middle States to keep a focus on equity concerns. In addition to relying on the electronic virtual library, non-traditional institutions typically rely on access to public facilities (e.g., public and university libraries) to support student research. These arrangements benefit the non-traditional institution without a concomitant cost. Rather than add to the collective wealth that libraries offer, these arrangements serve to leech resources and services from otherwise strained institutions. It would be unfair for traditional institutions to be held to standards for library collections and services that were not applied to those non-traditional institutions that actually rely on these public institutions' services and collections. This is a one-sided arrangement that appears attractive only to those institutions that are not contributing.
Again, thank you for this opportunity to respond to your questions. I would be happy to provide follow up or clarification on any of the points I have raised. Best wishes to you as you undertake this important task of establishing standards for transregional and virtual institutions.
Sincerely,
Peter J. Koonz
Library Director, The College of Saint Rose
We congratulate Melissa on her new position, and wish her the best of luck.
Lynn Usack is now Instructional Technology Professional as of June 14, 1999.
Ron Crovisier, Evelyn Rosenthal, and Tom Trinchera demonstrated our latest library technology to the professional staff and the opening meeting of the Professional Staff Organization. They showed the latest version of our OPAC, Spectrum, and our most recently acquired database, Academic Universe.
Gifts
The Rabbi Erwin Zimet Foundation has donated $1,240 to buy books on the Holocaust. Approximately forty books have been purchased and will be on display in the library during September.
The law firm of McCabe and Mack has donated approximately $6,000 worth of law books for our Paralegal Program.
We have 2 new part-time Librarians: Carolyn Brook and Susan Travis
Marueen (Read) O'Connor, Library Development, has been appointed to the New York State Alliance for Family Literacy.
Robert Allan Carter, Reference Services, is the compiler of the book Public Library Law in New York State. The State Library published the document with the generous assistance of money donated by Mr. Carter from his 1995 Excellence in Government Law Librarianship Award from West Publishing Company.
Programs and Services:
The State Library's web site now includes "virtual visits to the library"--a closer look at some interesting materials in the New York State Library's vast collection. Currently available: Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Fourth of July Orations, Firefighters Collection, and Bryologia Europaea. URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/library/features/vv.htm.
The New Netherland Project, headquartered in the New York State Library, received a grant of 50,000 guilders (about $25,000) from the Prins Bernhard Fonds of the Netherlands. The grant is to help support the Project's work in transcribing and translating from Dutch to English the Council Minutes, 1656-1658, the record of the earliest Dutch governance of New Netherland under Peter Stuyvesant. The New Netherland Project is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Walter Bikowitz is Library Products and Services Manager and is responsible for development and ongoing support of membership services, with emphasis on working with consortia, project management, and contracting. Prior to joining Nylink, he was with the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) for more than 27 years in a variety of positions, most recently as an Assistant Director of the Procurement Services Group. There, he developed a number of new statewide contract initiatives including a new program for libraries in the areas of electronic on-line databases.
Nylink also welcomes two new Library Products and Services Assistants: Tatiana Sahm will be working closely with Walt to support the Nylink Cooperative Purchasing Program, which provides member libraries discounts on a variety of products and services such as LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe and SilverPlatter databases. Tatiana received her MLS from the University at Albany's School of Information Science & Policy. She was most recently at Saratoga Hospital MHU and the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
Ann Gunning, a student assistant at Nylink over the Summer, joins Nylink full-time. Ann will primarily support OCLC products and services, including FirstSearch and CatExpress. Ann will receive her MLS this Fall from the University at Albany's School of Information Science & Policy and comes from TV Data in Glens Falls, an information products company.
The first Nylink Information Showcase will take place at The Terrace at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday October 15, 1999. Exhibitors will present products and services in an exhibit hall, and will have the opportunity to present demonstrations of their products during scheduled 30-minute Speakers' Sessions. Visit the Nylink Web site at http://nylink.suny.edu to register for this free event and for a list of exhibitors.
Kingsley Greene, the Director of Libraries at Sage, began a two year term in August as President of the CDLC (Capital District Library Council) Board of Trustees.
Lynne King, Assoc. Director of Libraries at Sage and a past president of ENY/ACRL, began a term in June as the Chair of ACRL's Chapters Council. The Council is the national level organizatoin of state and regional chapter presidents for ACRL.
Margaret Lanoue took over as Electronic Resources Librarian at Sage in August. Margaret has been with the Sage Libraries since 1997, previously serving as Reference and Instruction Librarian.
Sheldon Wein accepted a permanent post in the Sage Libraries in August, in a newly developed position as Evening Services Librarian. Sheldon served in a general reference position at Sage during 1998/99 and has held several previous librarian posts in the Capital District, at the NYS Small Business Development Center and at RPI.
Christopher J. White joined the Libraries of the Sage Colleges in August as Systems Librarian. Chris came to Sage from the Louisiana State University Libraries.
Laurie Davis was appointed adjunct reference librarian in August. She received her MLS from SUNY at Albany in May, 1999.
David Moore, Technical Services/Systems Librarian was promoted from Assistant Librarian II to Associate Librarian, effective September 1, 1999.
Francine Apollo has been reassigned to Coordinator of Library Instruction and ILL.
Nancy Niles has accepted a half-time position and will be providing the LRC's Web maintenance and development, support for Library Instruction and Reference.
Pat Hults remains in her position of Head of Public Services, Reference and Serials.
Colleen Smith, formerly of ACC and Union College, joined us on 08/23 as Cataloger and Reference Librarian. This LRC faculty is looking forward to a new year with enthusiasm.
Course materials for our library credit course may be found on our library webpage: http://www.esf.edu/moonlib/
Deborah Curry is now Coordintaor of Technical Services, bringing her Acquisitions staff under the umbrella of Technical Services.
Elizabeth Young, Assistant Coordinator of Technical Services has been promoted to the rank of Senior Assistant.
(Yes, good things continue to happen in Technical Services!)
Ravil Veli has accepted the position of Patron Services Librarian. He will join the Feinberg faculty in November after departing the District of Columbia Public Library (History Division, Martin Luther King Memorial Library).
Holly Heller-Ross published an article in the July 1999 issue of the Journal of Library Services for Distance Education. The article, "Library Support for Distance Learning Programs: A distributed model", describes Plattsburgh's integrated approach to library services. The electronic journal is on the Internet at http://www.westga.edu/library/jlsde/ Ms. Heller-Ross also gave a presentation at the SUNY Council of Library directors Annual meeting, April 30th, 1999. The presentation was titled "New Strategies for Library Instruction: Issues and Approaches."
Carla List served on the review team for the proposals submitted in response to a SUNY-wide RFP to develop a Web-based information literacy course that can be used by all SUNY campuses. Ulster County Community College was selected to do the job.
The first Institute for Information Literacy, sponsored by ACRL, held an "immersion program" at Plattsburgh. The two sessions, July 23-27, and July 31-August 5, hosted more than 100 librarians from all over the U.S. and several countries. The second session was funded by a Professional Development and Quality of Work Life grant (PDQWL) from United University Professions. It focused on librarians from SUNY with some other U.S. institutions represented. Participants in both sessions were immersed in "intensive training and education for current and future instruction librarians." Reviews were very positive!
Feinberg Library got a face-lift this summer when it was completely recarpeted and its Reference Room was redesigned. "Open," "Light!" and "Is this room bigger?" were comments heard from patrons ... and staff! It took a massive weeding project by all librarians and much physical labor by librarians and student assistants to make the Reference Collection fit the new arrangement of stacks. The design should enhance reference service for all patrons.
Lisa Moeckel, formerly Head, Information Services Department, was named Head, Research and Information Services Division. This new Division is comprised of the Reference Department, the Maps and Government Information Department, and the Fine Arts Department.
Elaine Coppola, Reference Librarian, was named Head, Reference Department.
Lesley Pease, Electronic Reference Services Librarian, is Acting Head, Maps and Government Information Department.
Barbara Opar continues as Head, Fine Arts Department.
Carl Braun, Reference Librarian, was presented with a distinguished service award in recognition of his speaking, writing, and editing by the Business and Finance Section of the Special Libraries Association.
Peter Verheyen has rejoined Syracuse University Library as Special Collections preservation and access librarian. Peter will become chair of the Central New York Library Resources Council's Preservation Committee in October. He also has two book bindings on exhibit with the Guild of Book Workers.
Programs and Services
On May 19 to 21, library staff members from Syracuse University, Cornell University, University of Rochester, LeMoyne College, and Central New York Library Resources Council, participated in an OCLC Institute workshop entitled Knowledge Access Management. The workshop reviewed current trends in catalog management including new methods of knowledge access and user service. Topics included Metadata and the Dublin Core, Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), and Encoded Archival Description (EAD).
Brian Keogh has been appointed Curator of Manuscripts for the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives as of 7/22/99.
Gail Pawlowski has been appointed Science Hardware/Software Specialist for the Science Library effective 6/10/99.
Michael Young has been a temporary Assistant Librarian for User Services at the University Library since 7/22/99.
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most
accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers."
Charles W. Eliot, The Durable Satisfations of Life, p. 37, 1910.
Reports may include:
Programs and Services: new programs, expanded services, unusual happenings
Send liaison news reports to:
Steve Black
Neil Hellman Library
The College of Saint Rose
392 Western Ave.
Albany, NY 12203
blacks@mail.strose.edu
Note: E-mail is the preferred way to submit items. My preference is for plain text with minimal formatting (e.g. returns only when really necessary), but I'm not picky.
Guidelines:
* News received after the stated deadline may not make the upcoming issue
* News must be from the designated liaison
* Items may be edited at the Communication Chair's discretion
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