|
ACRL/NY Metro News is published quarterly by the Greater New York Metropolitan Area Chapter, Association of College and Research Libraries, P.O. Box 8331, New York, NY 10116-4652 The newsletter is designed and edited by: Jayne B. Johnsen-Seeberger Dowling College Phone/Fax: 516-331-3804 Submissions - E-Mail: jbjs214@ibm.net or johnsenj@dowling.edu The newsletter can be read at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/acrlny/acrlny.html or by subscribing to the Chapter's listserv; Listserv instructions can be found at the website at http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/acrlny/list.htm We welcome comments, suggestions, news items, and brief reviews HTML by Jennifer Schwartz
Contents:
Incorporation by 2000 By the end of the year 2000 our chapter and others like it will have to complete an incorporation process. In March the ACRL/NY Executive Board looked over some legal newsletters on incorporation and came up with a list of questions. Other chapters, including the Eastern Chapter of ACRL/NY are coming up with their own questions. At the ALA Chapters Council meeting incorporation issues were discussed, including a list of questions that Chapter Officers are asking. By the next issue of this newsletter we expect to have made some headway with our own incorporation process. Stay tuned! Call for Nominations ACRL/NY needs names of interested persons to run for the following positions: Vice-President/President Elect; Recording Secretary; NYC Vice-Chair, Chair elect; LI Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect; Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect. All of these positions are two-year positions. Nominees who choose to run will need to submit a brief biography. Please submit all nominations and any questions or inquiries to: Cecile A. Hastie Research Services Dept. Milbank Memorial Library, Box 131 Teachers College, Columbia Univ. 525 W. 120 St., NY, NY 10027 OR Phone: 212-678-3020. E-mail: cah33@columbia.edu FAX: 212-678-3092
President, ACRL/NY
The 1998 ACRL/NY Annual Symposium The 1998 ACRL/NY Annual Symposium, "Changing Course: Libraries as Learning Organizations," will take place on November 13, 1998 at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The Symposium will focus on the proactive role librarians must take in light of organizational issues that include faculty status, team management, total quality management, and outsourcing. Speakers chosen for this program represent libraries that have undergone substantial structural change and our keynote speaker is a nationally known organizational consultant. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Deanna H. Berg, President of Innovation Strategies International and an expert in strategies for creative change, the learning organization, team building, total quality management and leadership. Dr. Berg has worked as a consultant for Ford Motor Company, Lucent Technologies, AT & T, and Xerox, among other major corporations. She has written numerous articles for professional journals and contributed to books including, Break Out Creativity: Bringing Creativity to the Workplace (1998, Select Press). Dr. Berg has presented workshops and keynote addresses to various organizations, including the American Library Association (Miami, 1994). The afternoon panelists will present actual case studies and offer their expertise and insights into library organization. The four panelists will be: Dr. Barbara Buckner Higginbotham (Chief Librarian, Brooklyn College); Jane Hutchison (Associate Director of Instruction and Research Technology, William Patterson University); Joseph Branin (Dean of Libraries, State University of New York at Stony Brook), and Shelley Phipps, Assistant Dean for Team and Organizational Development, University of Arizona. Please mark your calendars for November 13 and what promises to be an informative and thought provoking program.
Vice-President, President Elect ACRL/NY
Anthony Ferguson Speaks at ACRL/NY and LILRC Program On Thursday, June 4, 1998 The Long Island Section of ACRL/NY and the Resources Sharing and Serials Committees of the Long Island Library Resource Council co-sponsored a program entitled, "Electronic Resources: Exploring the Role of the Librarian." Fifty area librarians from academic, special, and public libraries attended the workshop at Farmingdale Public Library. Noted speaker and author Anthony Fergusun, Associate University Librarian of Columbia University, outlined the methodology for creating an electronic collection development policy. Mr. Fergusun began the session by exploring the key questions to be answered in order to formulate an appropriate policy for an individual institution. Among the areas to be examined were selection factors related to collection quality and depth, technology, budgeting, organization, licensing, and preservation. Following this discussion, attendees participated in break-out sessions that simulated policy development discussions. Participants received a series of outstanding handouts useful in the preparation of electronic collection policies, including sample policies, guided worksheets, and a list of applicable websites. Librarians at the program felt that the packet and the speaker's expertise were excellent resources for institutions embarking on the policy development process. The sponsoring organizations thank Mr. Fergusun for his informative presentation, the Farmingdale Public Library for use of their facilities, and those who attended for their continued interest.
Long Island Section Chair
Tour of New York Historical Society Library Shows Riches On Monday, April 20th, fourteen ACRL/NY members enjoyed a tour of the New-York Historical Society Library. To kick off the tour Debbie Randorf, Reference Librarian, and ACRL-NY New York City Chair, presented a history of the society and the library. The New-York Historical Society (N-YHS) was begun in 1804 and the first paid librarian was hired in 1818. Due to its early founding (it was only the second historical society in the United States), its collections richly document the early history of this country, in addition to that of New York City. After a number of temporary locations, the society built its current building at the corner of Central Park West and 77th Street between 1903 and 1908. Following the introduction, we heard about the NYU/Mellon Project from Henry Raines, Project Director. The Mellon Foundation is funding a three-year cataloging project to perform retrospective conversion and cataloging of printed books, manuscripts and visual materials. N-YHS holdings are being loaded into BobCat, New York University's online catalog, and can be accessed on the Internet. The director of the library, Margaret Heilbrun, then showed us some of the treasures of the manuscript collection, ranging from the poignant: two pocket-size diaries of Civil War soldiers, one from each side who died on the battlefield; to the mundane: the account book of a turn-of-the century dentist. She also addressed the hard times the N-YHS experienced during the late 1980's. The library was able to limit its deaccessions to titles for which multiple copies were held. The greatest impact was in staff reductions. The environment is much improved under the society's current director, and although there is much catching up to do, the library is ably maintaining its current level of service. The final phase of the tour was a look at the conservation laboratory. Alan Balicki, Conservator, not only showed us around, but demonstrated many of the techniques he uses to counter the effects of age on the library's materials. Many of the items referred to him for preventive care and repair are the result of other projects, such as the retrospective conversion, or come to him because another museum has asked to borrow an item. The New-York Historical Society Library is open to the public Monday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. until Labor Day. After Labor Day until Memorial Day, it is open Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary. For information about upcoming tours and other events, check the ACRL/NY website at www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/acrlny/acrlnyl.html. If your library would like to host a tour, contact your Geographic Section Chair.
Reference Librarian Pace University
At the June 10th ACRL/NY Executive Board Meeting, members voted to approve a number of substantial changes to the ACRL/NY Website. Members received printouts of proposed changes in the mail, responded by e-mail, and then summarized the approved changes during the meeting. Ree Dedonato, a Past President as well as present Technical Advisor for ACRL/NY, proposed and presented detailed improvements for the website after the Executive Board voted to proceed with updating work performed by volunteers outside of NYU. The listserv will continue to be operated by NYU. However, the ACRL/NY website portion for our website will now be coordinated by Constantia Constantinou, an ACRL/NY Executive Board Member for Westchester from Iona College. The address of the website will remain unchanged. Hopefully our website users will benefit from the increased clarity of the revised web page.
President, ACRL/NY
ACRL Library Advocacy Preconference Becoming an advocate for academic libraries is a learning process. Not only does the advocate have to be informed about current library issues in Congress but they must also acquire certain skills and techniques for presenting their message on Capitol Hill. The ACRL Preconference "Advocacy Training for Academic Librarians," held in Washington, D.C., June 24-25, 1998 was both a learning and sharing experience. Those of us who attended had the opportunity to meet with veteran library advocates and with members of the ALA Washington Office. We learned about the need for advocacy among academic librarians and we also learned some of the skills necessary to be an effective advocate. Although the temperature and humidity levels in Washington were near the melting point, the weather didn't dampen the enthusiasm of those gathered to become advocates for libraries. The Preconference began on the evening of June 24. Robert Oakley, Director of Georgetown University Law Library delivered a powerful address entitled, "Where were you when the world shifted? Legislative Advocacy in a world of change." He outlined the important library legislation currently under consideration by Congress and presented tips on how to prepare for visits with our legislators. The legislative issues are also outlined by the ALA Washington Office in their news flyer "Issue Brief". For information on how to obtain the latest "Issue Brief", contact the ALA Washington Office at 800-941-8478, or visit their website at www.ala.org/washoff. The second day of the Preconference was divided into two sections, a morning session which included several speakers, and an afternoon session where attendees visited their Senators or Representatives. We arranged appointments with our Congressmen in the weeks preceding the Preconference as part of our homework assignment. The morning speakers included: Margo Crist, Director of Libraries, University of Massachusetts; Anne Beaubien, Head, Cooperative Access Services, University of Michigan; Laila Van Eyck, Assistant Director, Federal Relations-Higher Education, National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; and Lynne Bradley, Adam Eisgrau, and Frederick Weingarten - from the ALA Washington Office. Among the topics discussed were "Framing Your Message", and "A Look at the Legislative Environment." The last hour of the morning session was spent discussing academic library issues with other attendees from our legislative district. We developed dialogue which was later used in our meetings on Capitol Hill. Several of us formed teams with other librarians from our state. Those without appointments were invited to join attendees who had scheduled a meeting with a Senator or Representative. During our afternoon appointments we implemented the techniques we had learned during the morning session - including: presenting a precise and concise message to your legislator and creating a message which was low on the lingo and high on content, that is - no library acronyms! Following our meetings on Capitol Hill the attendees met once more to share our experiences and offer suggestions for how to improve the visit the next time. ALA organizes a Library Legislative Day each year. ACRL is encouraging more academic and special librarians to attend this program in May. The New York Library Association and the Library Association of the City University of New York also sponsors a legislative day in Albany each year. If you are interested in participating in either of these programs, please contact the ALA Washington Office for more information on the Washington Legislative day OR the NYLA Central Office for the Albany Legislative day. A final handout was presented at the end of the program. This booklet entitled "Association of College and Research Libraries Legislative/Public Policy Agenda - August 1997 - June 1998" was prepared by Michael Godow, ACRL Program Officer. He details all of the strides made this past year by ACRL in the area of academic library advocacy. The ACRL/NY Metro Chapter will be sponsoring a local version of the Advocacy Training for Academic Librarians Program in the not too distant future. If you would be interested in attending a half-day workshop on this topic, please contact me.
ACRL/NY Legislative Liaison cherepol@stjohns.edu
Book on Library Services and the Poor I'm proud to spread the news about an important new book edited by Karen Venturella, ACRL/NY Immediate Past President: Poor People and Library Services. 1998. 192 pp. $26.50 McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0563-5 Foreword by Sanford Berman Contributors include: Khafre Abif (Mount Vernon P.L.); Wizard Marks (Chicago Lake Security Center); Lillian Marrero; Kathleen de la Pena McCook (SLIS, Univ. of South Florida); and 15 others. Professor Venturella is currently Head of Multimedia Resources at Montclair State University. Prior to that, she was Periodicals Librarian at St. John's University, and before becoming a librarian, she worked with the chronically mentally ill homeless in Philadelphia.
Reference Librarian York College/CUNY
Corporate Sponsors for our 1997 Symposium, "The Book and the Brave New Library" were: Baker & Taylor Books $150
ACRL/NY Executive Board Returns to F.I.T. In September, the Symposium Committee and the Executive Board will return to the Fashion Institute of Technology for their monthly meetings. Sincere thanks to Howard Dillon, F.I.T.'s new library director, for welcoming us back. We would also like to thank Rona Ostrow and the staff of Marymount Manhattan College Library for their generosity in hosting our meetings since January.
President, ACRL/NY
Corrections to the Fall 1997 Issue of the Newsletter In the "Symposium 1997 Review" we neglected to mention the pivotal role that Lois Cherepon, a Past President of ACRL/NY, played as our Symposium Moderator. Lois' skillful exercise of her position as moderator was an essential factor in our Symposium's success. Heartfelt thanks are due to Lois, as well as to all of the members of the 1997 Symposium Committee: Heather Blenkinsopp |