Generating Knowledge:
The Power of Academic Libraries
Starts May 10 at 5 p.m. and ends May 12 at 1 p.m.
Conference Theme:
IT
SEEMS LIKE just yesterday that the media pronounced our libraries a
thing of the past. Yet we are still here, working with our users to
generate the desired knowledge. In fact, more than ever, we recognize
the ongoing need for old-fashioned services, albeit with new twists.
And more than ever, we understand the complexity of our task. New technology
provides greater access to information, but also generates more confusion.
How well are we empowering our users? Even as new technology requires
us to cooperate, it also enables us to create new ways to communicate
with one another. How can we empower one another? This year our conference
will look at these and other questions.
Plenary Sessions
Session I, Friday, May 10, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Chapel
Delaine Eastin, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
and a Regent of the University of California, will address "The
Power of Academic and Research Libraries." In 1999 Ms. Eastin was
given the Crystal Apple Award from the American Library Association
for her persistent work to improve California's public school libraries.
The $158.5 million in state financing is California's single largest
allocation ever for school libraries.
Moderator: John McGinnis, Cerritos Community College
SUMMARY
ALTHOUGH
Delaine Eastin is primarily interested in K-12 education as the State
Superintendent of Public Education, she made clear that what happens
in K-12 affects higher education. Reading gives information, and shared
information makes a democracy. Not all kids know how to get into college,
and librarians have a role in the process of education. Students need
access to information, technology, and librarians in schools, and teachers
need librarians to help them teach research. In the information age,
the library does not become obsolete but integral to the educational
process and to building bridges to higher education. Librarians need
to welcome children into the 21st century, by helping them understand
the importance of writing and research.
There needs to be a commitment in the state; California is dead last
in money for school libraries, librarians, books, and periodicals. The
budget is a statement of the value of the budget makers, and librarians
need to help the districts understand the importance of school libraries.
The most patriotic thing we can do in this nation is to educate our
children. A tax increase is needed; if we love this country, then we
should be willing to pay to educate the kids.
All who attended were moved by Ms. Eastin's humor, charm, and dedication
to education.
Emily Bergman, Occidental College
Session II, Saturday, May 11, 10:30 a.m. to Noon
Location: Chapel
Michael Buckland (UC Berkeley, School of Information Management
and Systems), Michèle Cloonan (UCLA Graduate School
of Education and Information Studies), and Bill Fisher (San
Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science).
As more and more people retire from libraries, will there be a new
generation of people to run them? Or are we headed for a professional
"recession?" We look to professional schools to educate
new librarians, but what changes are taking place at those schools?
What are they teaching, who are their students, and what future do
they envision? Join us for a stimulating dialog with our panel of
distinguished educators as they address "The State of the Profession:
Where are We Headed?"
Moderator: Judy Clarence, CSU Hayward
SUMMARY
THE THREE distinguished speakers of Plenary Session II strove to answer
the question: "The State of the Profession: Where Are We headed?"
Representatives from California's professional schools Michele Cloonan,
Associate Professor and Chair, UCLA Graduate School of Education and
Information Studies; Michael Buckland, Professor, UC Berkeley School
of Information Management & Systems; and William Fisher, Professor,
San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science
shared their insights on who the next generation of librarians will
be. Each spoke from the perspective of their institution and its current
curriculum.
Professor Cloonan pointed out some current trends in library schools:
more and more graduates seeking jobs outside of traditional libraries,
especially academic ones (e.g. asset managers of digital/non-print materials
in the entertainment industry, archives or records management); a gradual
shift away from high salary as prime motivator for career choice among
students and the rebirth of idealism, both of which bode well for librarianship.
For the academic librarians she had these insights: the greatest need
in academic libraries is for administrators; our recruitment process
is cumbersome and slow, causing us to lose good candidates to other
jobs; students no longer identify with types of institutions and don't
think an academic library is any more prestigious than another type
of library; academic libraries are often hierarchical and bureaucratic
rather than dynamic; academic libraries need to do better in recruiting
people of color. One suggestion was that instead of filling jobs, we
should consider hiring talented people and designing their jobs around
them.
Professor Buckland declared himself "not yet ready for a funeral."
He felt the concerns about the next generation of librarians are premature.
He surmises that the library literature is still obsessing with the
library school closures of the 1980s. And in fact, he remembers that
the average age of librarians in 1980 was high, too. In his experience,
library schools are changing their focus, broadening their scope, and
business is booming. The need for librarian skills is not going away,
not only because there is a lot of information that needs organizing,
but because it matters who knows what. Librarians are responsible for
the social memory and for placing information in meaningful relationships
with humans. At Berkeley, the graduates are taking a wide array of positions
(usually with corporations), such as web designer, software engineer,
knowledge author, manager of information processes, evaluation and instruction
analyst, and portal developer, with an average starting salary of $73,400.
Professor Fisher started by questioning the statistics that are being
gathered on the average age of librarians. What about actual numbers
in regard to retirement? Which ages are we actually using? Have librarians
been asked about whether and when they plan to retire? Adding this line
of questioning would give a more accurate picture of the future drop-off
in librarian numbers. He reminded us that it is also important to look
at the paraprofessional library staff, whose numbers are actually larger.
The number of graduates from San Jose State University's library school,
869, should hearten us. It is the single largest graduate program at
SJSU. As at Berkeley, the age of people starting the library studies
program is relatively high. And as at UCLA, management is the single
most important course offered. For the greatest question of the near
future may be who will be running our libraries and departments.
In the end analysis, all three speakers agreed that the crisis in U.S.
librarianship resulting from mass retirements in the next 10-15 years
is greatly exaggerated. All were able to present evidence that the future
of the profession is in good, competent hands.
Heidi Hutchinson, UC Riverside
Session III, Sunday, May 12, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Location: Chapel
Patricia Iannuzzi, will provide the Conference Overview and
introduce our final speaker, Clifford Lynch. Ms. Iannuzzi is Associate
University Librarian and Director of Doe/Moffitt Libraries at UC Berkeley.
She is the 2001 recipient of the ACRL Instruction Section Miriam Dudley
award for Instructions, and chaired the ACRL Task Force that developed
ìInformation Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Ms.
Iannuzzi speaks, writes, and consults and topics related to the educational
role of the library, and we look forward to her help in pulling together
themes from the conference and articulating what we have learned.
Clifford Lynch, Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked
Information (CNI), will provide our closing address "Information Technology:
Fueling the Future." Futures. Dr. Lynch is also an adjunct professor
at the School of Information Management and Systems, and spent 18
years at the University of California Office of the President, the
last 10 as Director of Library Automation. He is past president of
the American Society for Information Science and a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Always on the cutting
edge, always insightful, always provocative, Clifford Lynch will close
our conference and send us home with something new to think about.
Moderator: Cynthia Jahns, UC Santa Cruz
SUMMARY
UC BERKELEY Associate Librarian Patricia Iannuzzi gave a CARL Conference
Overview and reminded us about our Friday night kickoff speaker Delaine
Eastin's call to Librarians as educators and their need to defend
against ignorance. She also called to Librarians as advocates and
their need to reach out and help the K- 12 schools or "farm teams"
for California colleges and universities. Further, she reminded us
that there is a battle going on and that academic librarians need
to get involved in the conversation.
CARL's closing keynote speaker was Clifford Lynch, whose address was
entitled "Information Technology: Fueling the Future." Asilomar's
chapel was filled with his fans and followers. We know we can count
on learning the newest library automation and network thoughts and
trends from Clifford, and he delivered. He addressed three sets of
trends: info abundance, interdependence of library automation and
other systems, and personalization.
Info Abundance. The rules around all information are changing.
Libraries are not necessarily the first stop for information. Often,
browsers like Google.com are the first stop. It is an understatement
to say that not everyone understands the role of the library with
all that is now online. For example, many do not understand the concept
of "site licenses" and that it is their libraries that buy
these databases and provide them via their library website. Users
are using scholarly information as well as all sorts of other consumer-oriented
information. Scholarly information used to focus on peer review, but
now scholarship is more open (see e-print servers) and less reviewed.
In other words, there is a vast quantity of raw scholarly material
available in various degrees of scholarship and format. It is now
common to capture audio and video events, film, and music.
There
are two Open Architecture Initiatives (search google.com for more
on this topic...) One initiative is changing the way scholarship happens
through filing e-pre-prints and then filing finished final papers
in e-prints. A second initiative is technical, but values-neutral.
It increases the abundance of information and allows to deal with
it through redundancy and incremental versions. Web indexing is for
public web browsers like google.com searches. How, though, to get
at information on the private, "invisible or deep² web? There
are lots of digital collections or "constellations of databases"
and this second Open Architecture Initiative allows these invisible
sites to export their meta data if they want to. Examples would be
article citations and photos to alert researchers to private or fee-based
information. So, this initiative looks at repackaging invisible web
information for the public web.
Interdependence of library automation and other systems. In
the past few years, two new library automation features have been
added: e-Reference and Digital Collections. Now, other institutional
groups such as Human Resources and Accounting are interested in connecting
their information systems. Clifford gave three examples of interdependence:
course management systems, digital collections databases, and repositories.
Course management systems like Blackboard and Web CT, two popular
products used by California State University and California Community
Colleges for online distance learning courses, are now gearing up
to deploy in scale on campuses. Clifford asked us to think about what
are key interdependence areas between course management systems and
library automation beyond the more obvious e-Reserves? Online courses
are also collective authoring systems with a combination of student
and teacher content. How long are class notes and textbook functions
valuable? Which semester's discussions are of interest? There are
issues of student authorship and students' rights of privacy. Should
an academic library take over these issues if courses become less
transient, and if so, how would they feed into a library's digital
collections?
Digital collections databases are primarily reference databases. There
is a substrata for scholarly writing, such as collections linked to
other scholarly papers. What is the stability of these references?
Repositories. There is a trend toward institutional repositories.
An example is the D-Space work with HP and MIT Labs. An institutional
repository is a place to put intellectual output of professors. It
seems like a library function, but the who and where are up for discussion.
It is a very dynamic environment.
Personalization. Clifford's third technology trend for libraries
is personalization. Libraries haven't personalized around what users
actually do (as opposed to what they say they want.) Amazon.com "recommenders"
is a simple example of personalization. Libraries highly value patron
privacy, so do not keep patron history. History of interactions is
now regarded as a corporate asset by amazon.com and others. Identity
management is an institutionwide need, so infrastructure is developing
to authenticate patrons across institutions for access to e- Databases.
Clifford suggests that libraries can get informed consent by library
users so libraries can develop "recommender" systems for
their patrons and for better library decision-making. After all, libraries
are likely to be more trusted recommenders than commercial institutions.
Jackie Siminitus, SBC Pacific Bell Education First
Top of page
Breakout Sessions I, Saturday, May 11, 1:30
p.m. to 3 p.m.
Access or Excess: Are Users Sailing the Sea of Information or
Drowning in Too Many Choices?
Location: Chapel
The explosion of electronic information has given academic libraries
access to unprecedented wealth in information resources. But as institutions
add links to more and more sources and types of information, many
users become increasingly confused and lost. Yet other users see this
information explosion as beneficial to their research and need and
want to take advantage of every possible resource. Are more choices
always better? The panelists will dialog with the audience on this
important topic.
Panelists:
David Hellman, San Francisco State University
Locke Morrisey, University of San Francisco
Deborah Sommer, Environmental Design Library, UC Berkeley
Susan Koskinen, Environmental Design Library, UC Berkeley
Moderator: Jeff Rosen, San Francisco State University
SUMMARY
THIS TOPIC was presented by panelists David Hellman (SFSU), Locke Morrisey
(USF), Deborah Sommer (UC Berkeley) and Susan Koskinen (UC Berkeley).
Moderator Jeff Rosen (SFSU) emphasized the user point of view, i.e.,
how do they encounter and use the information? Some users may be overwhelmed
and frustrated with the myriad of delivery options, number of databases,
complexity of databases and explosion of the web. Are these users sailing
or floundering/sinking in a sea of information? Are we offering too
much information?
Deborah Sommer believes absolutely not! The nature of information is
the same. Technologies help us discover information that was there in
the first place. More is better. Using Public Policy as an example,
she noted that new tools and access are fantastic. Although you can
teach all of the tools, you need to teach critical thinking and analytical
skills. This abundance of riches enhances student research skills.
David Hellman also believes that critical thinking is important. He
also believes that people are indeed drowning. Students don't know where
to start. They look at our subject lists and don't know what to do.
We should be looking at the quality paradigm instead of the quantity.
How do the students use information? We spend our library money on databases
that they won't find on the web. Students should not be starting by
surfing the web for their information. They should be trained to use
the proper tools. We need to start making hard choices ‹ look at the
resources and pare them down.
Locke Morrisey played with the words "Obsess and Abscess"
instead of "Access and Excess." We "obsess" with
getting information out there. The "Abscess" is the lots of
junk that you would like users to stay away from. From his perspective,
students have much experience with the web and see the OPAC as an extension
of the web. The catalog is a foreign concept. Although reference statistics
are generally down, question complexity is up. There are too many protocols,
too many tools. Products such as SFX are trying to simplify the process.
Continuing the nautical flavor of the title, librarians guide them through
with tutorials (or "life preservers"). He wonders if we are
throwing them an "anchor." When are we a help or a hindrance?
With subject guides, less may be more. It is difficult for librarians
to deal with all of the databases. Students may be "sailing² but
need a "lighthouse" (librarians) ‹ they need direction.
Susan Koskinen continued the nautical analogies noting the "Ocean
liner" with direction. Better searching tools are needed. UC Berkeley
tries to acquire as many indexes as possible. Metasearch engines should
bring it together. Students should be experiencing the critical thinking
tools early on. It is not a matter of having too much but is should
involve understanding critical thinking, i.e., when to use the tools
that you need. She cannot imagine coming to a decision of desiring less
information! Discussion touched on issues of involving K-12, community
colleges, the UC and CSU in the dialog. It was also noted that careful
selection of materials is often "out the window" in our database
world. Also, faculty often confuse students by telling them not to use
the web. (Library purchased databases are typically offered via the
web.)
This interesting discussion probed questions that are important to anyone
in the reference and information business. The wealth of information
resources can be a boon to some but confusing to others. Rosen summarized
the session: reinforcing the discussion that should be taking place
among faculty, users, librarians, etc.; noting that this is a much bigger
picture than just what is happening at the reference desk; mentioning
we "don't know what we don't know," ‹ it is important to give
students direction in the pursuit of research; and looking ahead to
metasearch engines that may help determine "what is where and what
is it worth."
Fred Batt, CSU Sacramento
The Political Power of Librarians, Or, Knowledge is Not Enough;
You Gotta Have Leverage, Too
Location: Evergreen
Librarians really can make a difference in California. Hear from
two activists about how state and institutional advocacy organizations
affect library funding. Learn strategies for effective lobbying and
ways that librarians can work together to bring about positive change.
Speakers:
Gregg Atkins, Sacramento City College
Michael Reagan, CSU Northridge
Moderator: Kathlene Hanson, CSU Monterey Bay
SUMMARY
MICHAEL REAGAN, CSU Northridge, talked about how he became a lobbyist,
representing faculty issues on the CSU bargaining team. As a librarian,
he has a "license to dabble and get involved in anything."
Faculty are the longest staying group in an academic setting, and legislators
have narrow interests. Yet, legislators also need information, and librarians
are well positioned to supply them with it, particularly since librarians
have a broad education, cultivate neutrality, and can be very good advocates
for issues.
Some steps Michael recommends considering the following: get on a committee
and do the work; don't be solely invested in the outcome - you will
get credit for your work; your job is to ensure that everyone gets listened
to; legislature is about listening to the powers that bring the legislator
in; legislative staff rules - cultivate staff members since they rule
the calendar; staff members might later get into the political arena
themselves; what do you as a lobbyist represent; how many votes do you
represent; get on record; show up at fundraisers; realize that quid
pro quo is an important part of the process; follow up on politicians
careers - even with term limits, people show up in other political arenas;
rules of thumb for delivering a lobbyist's message: a message should
be simple, something to refer back to; in delivering the message be
prepared for distracting conversations - learn how to bring the conversation
back to the point; request action; know the territory and the context;
complex issues should be held until after the election; send thank you
notes; bring business cards to the meetings; lobby with friends.
Initial lobbying trips are stressful, but the follow-up visits can be
fun. When making visits, expect to wait, even if you made an appointment.
Gregg Atkins spoke on acquiring leverage and become political. Leverage-related
points he raised included: ability to bring positive change; ability
to neutralize or minimize negative change; ability to establish and
maintain visibility, authority, and group identity (politics is a group
endeavor); ability to collaborate or partner with others; piggy-back
on the activities of other groups with similar interests and needs,
and support them; know what's happening; discard rumors, concentrate
on the facts; know how and when things are done in the political arena;
what are the overall priorities of the arena; what do others think about
your issues; the past affects the present and the future; regular participation
allows you to put all the pieces of the puzzle together; know what resources
are needed; develop an ongoing work plan; recruit people who are willing
to put in work; train and mentor people for leadership roles. Librarians
are good at educating and informing. Gregg also echoed some of the points
that Michael made: be willing to connect with policy makers and with
their staff; identify other choices, acceptable modifications or partial
successes; communicate internally and externally.
Ruth Wallach, USC
Training and Retaining Staff
Location: Oak Shelter
Libraries that want to attract and retain quality staff need to have
an active and ongoing staff training program. Areas of library training
needs may range from reference/general public services, to employee
development/supervision, to technology. Find out about model library
training programs as well as training resources outside the library
that could be tapped to support a staff training program.
Speakers:
Cheryl Gould, InFoPeople, California State Library
Joe Barker, UC Berkeley
Kathy Ray, University of the Pacific
Moderator:Beth Sibley, UC Berkeley
SUMMARY
Moderator Beth Sibley (UC Berkeley) stressed the importance of a systematic
staff training program, quoting from an October 2001 article by Bruce
Massis: "If you're not helping them learn, you're helping them
leave." Quite simply put, a staff training program leads to better
hires and increased retention. The three speakers in this session presented
different points of view and experiences. Joe Barker of UC Berkeley
talked about his library's efforts toward devising a technology training
program for all library staff. A committee identified the needs (what
is needed and who needs it) and created a calendar for the training
sessions with a complex grid organized by the different library populations.
This plan has not been put into action yet. Joe emphasized that supervisors
should be evaluated in part based on how much training they have either
accomplished or promoted for their staff. They should be held accountable
for what training their staff receives.
The
topic of the training described by Kathy Ray of University of the Pacific
was "keeping people up-to-date with technical skills." Top
level support is key! She described a "brief history of training"
at UoP (30 employees), from a do-it-yourself program with in-house workshops
in 1999 to a professional trainer offering focused, high-quality workshops
in spring of 2001 for basic Windows, Word, and Excel programs, to a
competency-based assessment with a common baseline skill set. The training
group created a CD with test exercises and an accompanying questionnaire
for each employee to work through. The results led to customized follow-up
training sessions taking individual and departmental needs into account.
The common goal of the program was to establish a basic skill set for
using a word processor, spreadsheet, e-mail and information resources.
But is this method scalable beyond 30 employees?
Cheryl
Gould, InfoPeople Training Director, introduced the InfoPeople training
program sponsored by the California State Library. It is funded from
the Library Services and Technology Act. It is open to both paid and
volunteer staff at all levels, consultants, library school students
and faculty, library trustees and friends. Nearly 100 different classes
have been taught so far. Some are offered online utilizing Blackboard
software. Most on-ground workshops cost $75 per participant. These take
place in one of their training labs scattered around California; a library
can contract a workshop for its staff at its own site for $1200. Training
sessions can be brought into the individual library as needed (see the
list at InfoPeopleís website, http://www.infopeople.org/training/.
Heidi Hutchinson, UC Riverside
The Changing Consortial Landscape: California and the National/International
Scene
Location: Scripps
Library consortia have become an integral part of the library landscape
over the past decade. California now has several statewide consortia
serving state and private academic institutions. Add to this the Library
of California, and you have a complex and often confusing overlay
of consortial services to choose from. How do these various consortia
differ from one another? On the national and international level is
the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC), with over
100 consortium directors represented at its meetings. Learn what goes
on at an ICOLC ìvendor grille sessionî as ICOLC attempts to influence
vendors to work more effectively with the library market. Also, we
will provide an overview of a series of documents developed by ICOLC
that offer guidelines for tracking usage statistics for electronic
resources, for the performance of vendor hardware/software platforms,
as well as for preferred practices for library consortia.
Speakers:
Rick Burke, Executive Director, Statewide Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC)
Evan Reader, Director, Systemwide Electronic Information Resources,
The California State University
SUMMARY
Evan
Reader (Director, CSU Systemwide Electronic Information Resources)
began his presentation with a definition and history of library consortia,
and went on to discuss the economics, structure, and benefits of membership.
A library consortium is an organization that fosters resource sharing,
collaboration, and cooperation among libraries. They can negotiate
contracts, maintain licenses, provide ILL and resource sharing, and
even run computer systems at the local, statewide, regional, national,
or even international level. The Triangle Research Libraries Network
in North Carolina, one of the oldest, began in 1938. In California,
the Statewide Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) began in 1986,
founded at the University of Southern California, as the "Electronic
Guild Hall of Knowledge." The CSU's Systemwide Electronic Information
Resources (CSU-SEIR) began in 1989.
Many funding models exist to support a consortium: membership dues,
grants, shared resources among member libraries, and cost recovery
(service fees or contributions from the network for products and services).
For example, CSU-SEIR follows the cost recovery model because it lacks
direct funding from the CSU.
In terms of structure, a library consortium can be an organized body
with a centralized management, a legal charter, and provide a wide
range of services, such as is the case with OHIOLINK. Other consortia
are decentralized, with one negotiating body, but leave actual purchase
decisions to the individual library. For example, SEIR will negotiate
a deal on behalf of the individual campuses, which are free to take
it or leave it. Furthermore, the member libraries each have a representative
in an advisory group that reports to the CSU library directors. Probably
80% of library consortia are structured this way. Another possible
structure is a loosely organized body that bands together to obtain
a discount only. Not all vendors will deal with this type of consortium,
however.
According to Reader, there are many benefits to being part of a library
consortium: In terms of licensing, which is a complicated area, a
consortium presents a coordinated approach to negotiating and maintaining
licenses. It represents a group commitment to licensing databases
that meet a common set of criteria. However, it does require member
libraries to have commonalities. Consortia provide the opportunity
to gain economies of scale and enhance an individual library's ability
to achieve leverage on other contractual issues with vendors. Even
if you subtract the costs of membership in a consortium from the discount,
it might still be worth the time and effort it saves individual libraries
having to do the negotiating and contracting themselves. In addition
to potential cost and time savings, consortia can deal with fair use
rights, and have influenced contracts related to ILL of electronic
text, allowing libraries to print out and fax articles that they subscribe
to electronically. In addition, they have negotiated with vendors
to allow "incidental public use² or walk-in use of licensed databases
rather than require librarians to police terminal use in the reference
room.
Reader then described some of the major library consortia in California:
The SCELC (Statewide Electronic Library Consortium), CDL (California
Digital Library), Community College system's CCLEAR (Council of Chief
Librarians - Electronic Access and Resources Committee), the LoC (Library
of California), and CSU-SEIR (CSU Systemwide Electronic Information
Resources).
The other speaker was Rick Burke, Executive Director of the Statewide
Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC), who focused his presentation
on the national and international scene. There are over 160 library
consortia representing some 4,000 institutions in the world today.
The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) (http://
www.library.yale.edu/consortia) has been meeting informally since
1997 as a "consortium of consortia." The Coalition services
primarily higher education institutions by facilitating discussion
among consortia on issues of common interest. They have semiannual
meetings during which they "grill vendors." The ICOLC also
issues policy statements that influence the electronic resources marketplace,
and provides guidelines to vendors on such issues as pricing, archiving
of electronic resources, statistical measures of usage, etc.
There are different types of consortia of all types of libraries at
all geographic levels. A cartel, such as ORBIS Courier System, for
example, might provide buying power, staff development, risk sharing,
and grant seeking for its members. Access to Lexis-Nexis Academic
Universe, for example, represents a mega deal in which several consortia
contracted with a larger consortium. Services provided by a library
cartel could include patron initiated borrowing via ILL, courier services,
and shared cataloging. In addition, library consortia might provide
advocacy on issues of interest to their members, such as, encouraging/negotiating
with vendors to archive digital content, limit pop-up advertising,
etc. Beyond licensing agreements, another type of consortium might
provide shared reference service, including virtual reference, such
as the MCLS 24/7 project. Consortial digitization projects, such as
the Online Archive of California, provide digital access to archival
text, images, maps, etc.
Burke went on to discuss the complexities of international library
consortia. Difficulties in maintaining funding; marketing, training,
lack of computers, language differences, expensive licensing, and
billing in different currencies are just a few of the challenges.
There are many examples of international consortia: EIFL Electronic
Information for Libraries, includes libraries in the former Soviet
block, Eastern and Central Europe, southern African countries, Guatemala,
Haiti, and others, and includes 2,100 academic, research, national,
public, parliamentary, and non-governmental organization libraries.
EIFL is working with Ebsco to deliver electronic journal content to
its members. In non-European countries, there are many examples of
library networks, many dealing with access to scientific journals.
U.S. libraries should consider not limiting themselves: California,
for example, could become part of a Pacific Rim consortium.
An interesting question and answer period capped off a highly informative
overview of the vast and complicated world of library consortia.
Kathy Dabbour, CSU Northridge
Top of page
Breakout Sessions II, Saturday, May 11, 3:30
p.m. to 5 p.m.
Popping the CORC: How OCLCís CORC is Changing the Way Libraries
Use Shared Cataloging
Location: Oak Shelter
Do you include Internet sites in your online catalog? Does your library
provide website pathfinders? Find out how OCLCís CORC is changing
the way that cataloging and public service librarians work together,
giving a new meaning to ìshared cataloging.î An OCLC representative
will explain how CORC works, and librarians at schools that are using
CORC will address issues faced and solutions developed in workflow,
cataloging training, and coordination with other library departments.
Speakers:
Louise Ratliff, Young Research Library, UCLA
Sam Sayre, Library Analyst Portland Office, OCLC
SUMMARY
Sam Sayre, OCLC, made a presentation about the new, windows-based, soon
to be released OCLC CORC. CORC is a tool for cataloging of web-based
resources and is designed to assist libraries to participate in emerging
digital networks. It also allows to catalog and share records on bibliographies
(pathfinders) developed within institutions. Sayre showed screens of
the new CORC interface. Western helpdesk for OCLC can be reached at
1-800-854-5753.
Louise Ratliff, from UCLA, talked about UCLA's experience implementing
CORC, dealing with new cataloging concepts, establishing workflow, training
contributors, and coordinating with other library departments, particularly
with the bibliographers and reference librarians. Some of the specifics
she addressed:
Initial goals for using CORC at UCLA: Explore new cataloging
tools; learn application of Dublin Core; catalog Internet resources;
explore the difference between MARC and Dublin; catalog records in a
process initiated by selectors; explore the usefulness of CORC model;
evaluate pathfinders.
Initial challenges: Project organization; instability of CORC;
catalog electronic resources; involving staff outside of the cataloging
department; training; developing efficient workflow.
Ruth Wallach, USC
Assessment of Information Competency Programs
Location: Chapel
Our first presenter will describe the activities of some Bay Area
community college librarians in creating two assessment instruments,
using the "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education"
and in planning for a testing-out/challenge proficiency exam to fulfill
a new graduation requirement. Early results from field-testing of
the exam will be shared.
CSU has taken a lead role in Information Competence since it's initial
IC workshops in 1995 and 1997. Our second speaker will outline the
activities of the CSU Information Competence Assessment Task Force
and focus on the Subcommittee on Testing that she chairs. She will
also share her experience of implementing the IC program at CSUS.
The program has evolved since its pilot project in 1999/2000 and now
uses a pre-test, tutorials and post-test in WebCT. It is integrated
into the Basic Skills part of the GE program and currently is required
of over 1,400 students per semester.
Speakers:
Bonnie Gratch Lindauer, City College of San Francisco
Linda Goff, CSU Sacramento
Moderator: Sandy Warmington,Sacramento City College
SUMMARY
This
session was presented by Bonnie Gratch Lindauer (City College of San
Francisco) and Linda Goff (CSU-Sacramento). Moderator Sandy Warmington
set the stage by discussing assessment from the perspective of "how
much did the student learn" as well as "how well did the teacher
teach." A testing out option is important. At California Community
Colleges a graduation requirement will soon be on the books. The UC,
CSU and private academic institutions are watching this with interest.
Linda Goff (Head of Instructional Services at CSUS) discussed the CSU
Information Competence (IC) programs that began with system-wide workshops
in 1995 and 1997, followed by an array of projects funded by CLRIT grants.
The CSU Academic Senate established IC as a University-wide responsibility
and urged campuses to ensure that all CSU graduates are information
competent. A project at Cal Poly, SLO was designed for adaptation by
others and included a set of tutorials. Many of the grants pursued elements
of IC including summer faculty development workshops, various outreach
and collaboration, faculty/ librarian partnering, discipline-based IC,
etc. The 2001 ACRL Model Statement impacted assessment projects for
Information Literacy. An IC Assessment Task Force was created.
One project pursued detailed phone interviews and observations of student
information seeking behaviors at 4 campuses (http://www.csupomona.edu/~kkdunn/
Icassess/ictaskforce.html) details the quantitative and qualitative
studies). Linda continued by describing in detail the various projects
at CSUS including the integration of a WebCT assignment into all COMS
4 and 5 classes. She included relevant handouts describing all the steps
of this project, FAQ's, and student comments. Linda concluded with a
description of the work of the IC Assessment Task Force Testing Subcommittee
that is compiling questions from 4 campuses and mapping them to the
ACRL standards. They are also sharing their methodology and instrument
with the Great Bay Area Community College Librarians. For additional
information, go to http://www.calstate.edu/LS/
infocomp.shtml. For information about CSUS efforts, consult http://www.lib.csus.edu/services/instruction/indiv/.
Bonnie
Gratch Lindauer described the activities of selected Bay Area community
college librarians in creating two assessment instruments, using the
"Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education,²
and in planning for a testing-out option. This work is in the field-testing
stage. The project's four goals included: identifying IC standards and
performance outcomes for the test items, developing and field testing
a challenge test for the new IC graduation requirement for community
college students, sharing the information with CSU colleagues, and communicating
the findings and the revised instruments widely for local adaptation
and use. Regarding the testing out project, major activities included:
1.) clarification of the purpose of the test, 2.) agreement on standards,
performance indicators and outcomes (relevant handouts were distributed),
3.) developing test items which involved two working groups (one working
on the cognitive test of what students know and the other working on
the performance test of what can students do), 4.) mapping test items
to specific performance, 5.) drafting of the proficiency exam test specifications,
6.) revising the test items and sharing the draft with the CSU Assessment
Committee, 7.) revising and reorganizing the cognitive test based on
consultant review, 8.) field testing both parts, 9.) correcting/reviewing
results and developing a scoring rubric, and 10.) consultants review
and the report. Quite a project with much detail work! A CARL Grant
helped with the support and a summary of the field-testing is reported
in the CARL Newsletter. To follow this project in more detail, consult
http://www.topsy.org.
Fred Batt, CSU Sacramento
Program Review, Learning Assessment, and Libraries: New standards
and expectations
Location: Scripps
In the past decade, there has been increasing pressure on colleges
and universities to prove their effectiveness by providing direct
evidence of student learning. Institutions are now evaluating academic
programs, such as libraries, according to learning outcomes rather
than inputs and outputs. In this session, we will review current practices
in program review for libraries, and discuss emerging models and strategies
for meeting new expectations.
Speakers:
Jean Purnell, Assistant Provost for Administration and Assessment
& Dean of the Library, University of the Pacific
SUMMARY
Jean
Purnell (U of the Pacific) has a dual role at the University of the
Pacific as both the campus assessment officer and library director,
giving her unique expertise in the vital process of measuring the impact
that libraries have on student outcomes. In her introduction, Purnell
pointed out WASC's new emphasis on assessing the library's role in supporting
student learning, as evidenced by the latest (2001) Handbook of Accreditation.
She continued by examining the history of program review, which has
grown during the last 25 to 30 years. This is in response to pressure
on accrediting agencies by the public and congress to see where their
tax dollars and/or tuition payments are going. As a result, accrediting
agencies began to mandate internal program review, which forced colleges
to develop guidelines and criteria, create assessment tools, and collect
data, which institutions are increasingly using to make decisions. Recently,
there has been a paradigm shift, with less emphasis on measuring institutional
inputs (number of faculty, majors, courses, etc.) and demonstrating
compliance with standards, and more interest in measuring student learning
outcomes and institutional improvement efforts (outputs).
Next, Purnell outlined how libraries are reviewed. Under the old paradigm,
library services and collections are quantified as a resource in support
of student and faculty research (allocations, circulation, discipline-
specific holdings, etc.). Accrediting bodies such as WASC still require
this data. However, in the new paradigm, libraries are part of the curriculum,
required to assess their impact on student learning and faculty effectiveness.
The emphasis is on how students use library resources, not necessarily
how often.
So, how do we collect data that measures the impact of the library on
student learning? Purnell suggested several models and strategies: 1)
Collect data from academic program reviews. For example, collect learning
objectives from departments and analyze how the library can have an
impact. In addition, collaborate with faculty to identify and assess
discipline-specific information competencies. Another idea would be
to develop rubrics for good information sources for a particular research
project, and assess the quality of citations listed in students' papers.
It would also be useful to examine library-related data collected by
departments that have undergone self-study to find more evidence of
library effectiveness. 2) Hold focus groups with either faculty or students
on such topics as, the availability of new electronic resources, new
courses developed and changing research interests, student use of the
Internet, etc. 3) Create an ongoing, targeted library assessment program.
For example, study a cohort of students from freshman year to graduation
to determine, longitudinally, the impact of library services on student
outcomes. Another idea is to target new, evolving, or experimental library
services and programs since it is impossible to assess everything. For
example, determine if your redesigned reference room or web pages contribute
to or hinder students' successful use of library resources. Finally,
librarians can also contribute to their library's assessment efforts
by measuring how their own professional goals relate to student outcomes
and faculty effectiveness.
For more information, Purnell recommended the following: Hernon,
Peter and Robert E. Dugan. An Action Plan for Outcomes Assessment in
Your Library. Chicago: American Library Association, 2002. Faces & Places
Mortimer,
Kenneth P. and Michael L. Tierney. The Three "R's" of the
Eighties: Reduction, Reallocation and Retrenchment. Washington, D.C.:
American Association for Higher Education, 1979 [see also: ED172642].
Western
Association of Schools and Colleges. 2001 Handbook of Accreditation.
http://www.wascweb.org/
senior/inst_resource.htm (Accessed 7 June 2002). Wolff,
Ralph A., "Using the Accreditation Process to Transform the Mission
of the Library." New Directions for Higher Education 90 (Summer
1995):77-91.
Katherine Dabbour, CSU Northridge
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Special Events
Saturday, May 11, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., join in the fun of celebrating
the 20th anniversary of both the SEAL and CARLDIG interest groups!
Location: Chapel
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Fireside Discussions
Saturday, May 11, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., join your colleagues in informal
discussion. Locations to be announced in the printed program.
Discussion Topics and Facilitators:
Bibliographic Instruction: "Instruction in a Distance Learning Setting"
Christina Peterson, SJSU
Location: Scripps
Collection Development: "Serving Diverse Populations"
LaVonne Jacobsen, SFSU
Location: Evergreen
General Reference: "The State of In-Person Reference Service"
Alice Whistler, Santa Clara University
Location: Hilltop Living Room
Web-mastery: "Web Page Usability (accessibility and redesign)"
Kathlene Hanson, CSU Monterey Bay
Location: Scripps
Technical Services: "Should CARL have a technical service interest
group?"
Evelyn Lord, Laney College
Location: Chapel
Hiring & Recruitment: "Dilemmas with Hiring and Retaining New Librarians"
Charlotte Xanders, CSU Sacramento
Location: Oak Shelter
Library Administration: "Managing in Times of Change"
Shuk Chun AuYeung, Gavilan College
Location: Embers Living Room
Systems: "The Wonderful World of Wireless"
Patrick Newell, CSU Fresno
Location: Afterglow Living Room
Business Librarians: "Resource Sharing"
Ann Fiegen, Cal State San Marcos
Location: Hearth Living Room
Open Discussion: "Variable Topics"
David Hellman, SF State University
Location: Chapel
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