Computers in Libraries '97

General Conference:
Wednesday, March 12








Track A
 Filtering the Internet & World Wide Web

This track highlights issues of quality, customizing and filtering of Internet content using tools existing now.

Track Organizers: Hope Tillman, Library Director, Babson College & Walt Howe, Delphi Internet Services Corp.


9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Tools for Filtering the Net
Robin. M. Dixon, Reference Librarian, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Library
Paul Pinella, Individual, Inc.
Library use of filters for current awareness tools, such as Current Contents or Individual's First, exemplify models for customizing information to be of value to a particular user group. Dixon discusses the Goddard Space Flight Center Library Home Page's Current Contents Database which has been developed as a filter that bridges the raw data from ISI tapes, making it searchable via a WAIS search engine and displaying the results in HTML format. Pinella discusses managing competitive intelligence through in-house use of Webs, or intranets, which presents all knowledge workers with a single, easy to use interface for managing information.

10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet
Hope Tillman, Director of Libraries, Babson College
Richard Huffine, Internet Services Librarian, Garcia Consulting, Inc.
Marisa Urgo, Independent Information Provider, Washington, DC
Is the information available getting better as the Internet grows, or is the burden of more and more junk becoming a worse problem? Tillman focuses on the criteria for evaluating quality providing a framework for looking at coping mechanisms and techniques to get to usable information. Huffine looks at providing customers with content analysis on the WWW with the goal of staying objective while assisting customers in evaluating information. Techniques for evaluating information by user level and interest, appropriateness of source, and verification of accuracy will be presented. The issues of copyright and disclaimers will also be raised.

10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Coffee Break--Visit the Exhibits

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Data Disaster Planning: Information Quality Control in the Age of End User Searching
Edee Edwards, Senior Information Specialist, Hanford Technical Library, Battelle Pacific Northwest Lab
Librarians must consider their own "data disaster" plans, as well as their obligation for quality delivery of the right information at the right time. And finally, they must do battle with the bulge of information on the Internet. Edwards examines quality in electronic tables of contents services, in the in-house regulatory database, and in the use of the Internet, as well as in all library products and services. She will be sharing practical lessons learned, her resulting concepts of a data disaster plan, and key points for reaching the highest level possible of information quality.

12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break--Visit the Exhibits


Track B
 Special Issues

Technology affects many aspects of our information world. This track looks at three important areas which will impact heavily on directions and decisions libraries make in the 90s. Distance education touches on issues related to reaching outside the library; information policy relates to overall decisions affecting library services; and two special considerations on altering services using technology are presented. The presenters were chosen for their unique perspectives on these topics.

Track Organizer: D. Scott Brandt, Purdue University


2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Distance Education
Fred Roper, University of South Carolina
Jan Zastrow, Kapiolani Community College
What are the essential ingredients for distance education? Our speakers look at delivering a successful distance education program as well as integrating curriculum and technology over a wide area.

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Information Policy
Fred Weingarten, Computing Research Association
An examination of how technology and policy feed off each other and the technological effects on library policies.

3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Coffee Break--Visit the Exhibits

4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Technology Considerations for Libraries
Stephanie Lee, City of San Leandro
David R. Holloman, Keystone Systems
This session focuses on how technology also influences non-information concerns such as architectural design considerations in planning for new technologies, and an alternative voice access system for services.


Track C
 Virtual Libraries

This track takes a look at the concepts, realities, and applications of virtual libraries. Virtualizing library functions is a challenge and our speakers share their experiences and learnings in implementing these concepts in their libraries.

Track Organizer: Laverna Saunders-McMaster, Dean, Salem State College Library


9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Virtually Changing: The Virtual Library Today
Laverna Saunders-McMaster, Dean, Salem State College Library
If you think your library is medieval because you don't have a home page on the web, don't despair. If your president thinks your budget can be cut because "everything is available on the Internet," then this session is for you. Saunders-McMaster will provide an overview of library evolution, including a reality check for those who fear that they aren't changing fast enough. This presentation will include definitions, trends, statistics, and political ammunition.

10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Real Virtual Libraries
Tamas E. Doszkocs, Ph.D., Computer Scientist, National Library of Medicine
Rivkah K. Sass, Chief, Public Libraries & State Networking, Division of Library Development and Services, State of Maryland
This session focuses on simultaneous WWW database searching which is an important new enabling technology facilitating the implementation of virtual libraries and collaborative library networks of shared acquisition, cataloging, inter-library loan and public access to virtual catalogs by virtual communities. The discussion includes a look at efforts in Maryland to develop a virtual library cooperative to serve as the policy-making authority for developing innovative solutions to inter-library loan and collaborative resource utilization in general. The session will also highlight online demonstrations of virtual search engines, virtual catalogs and virtual databases searched via the the "Maryland Virtual Catalog" which allows users to simultaneously access multiple Web search engines and databases, as well as online catalogs using different vendor systems and access protocols.

10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Coffee Break--Visit the Exhibits

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Telephone Reference Service for the Virtual Reference Library
Donna Scheeder, Acting Chief, Congressional Reference Division, Library of Congress
Elizbeth Reifsnyder & Margaret Garvin, Information Management Specialists, Congressional Reference Division, Library of Congress
Diminishing resources for print materials and the rapidly increasing amount of information available through the Internet, leads to the question, "Can we provide the same level of telephone reference service for clients and save money through creation and use of a virtual reference collection?" Staff of the Congressional Reference Division will describe their efforts to answer this question and discuss their design, analysis, and conclusions of a baseline service survey. They will provide practical information on factors to consider when evaluating the potential cancellation of print sources used to provide telephone reference service and strategies used to create a virtual reference shelf for both clients and staff.

12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break--Visit the Exhibits

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Building and Operating a Virtual Library: Case Studies
Moderator: Rick Noble, Vice President, Marketing & Reference Services, OCLC
Panel: Librarians representing three different implementations of virtual libraries In the 1970s and 1980s, libraries pioneered the computer revolution in the information industry with online cataloging and resource sharing, automated card catalogs, and mediated reference searching of electronic resources. As the 21st century approaches, libraries continue to build on their tradition with powerful and unique offerings of new library services. The panel focuses on how their libraries are building and maintaining customized, virtual libraries where collection management, resource sharing, and reference services are integrated into a virtual library to serve the needs of library users. Their libraries are providing integrated information solutions by offering their users seamless access to bibliographic, abstract, and full text information, when and where needed. This customized, virtual library gives users a panoramic, integrated view of library holdings, special collections, reference databases, electronic journals, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Knowledge Resource Mapping
Nancy Lemon, Leader, Knowledge Resources Services, Owens Corning Technical Center
This presentation describes how the Library (Knowledge Resources) and the Web Master (Corporate IS) at Owens Corning created a Web navigational tool which matches the practical way people really want, and need, to find information with resources available both within the company, and externally. It includes links to "free" web sites of value to the business, and links to subscription-based resources available thru web technology. The goal of the InfoMap is to make accessible desktop resources that people need to use, regardless of their awareness of the tool, or knowledge of it's location and physical form. From an information management perspective, the Map allows innovative management of enterprise-wide information tools, as well as licensing and cost-reduction opportunities.

4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Beyond the Virtual Catalog
Lucy Wilson, Access Services Librarian, Engineering Library, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Peruvian University of Applied Sciences
Milagros Morgan, Director of the Information Center (Library), Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Peruvian University of Applied Sciences)
Initially creating their web page in 1994 to link student and faculty to the library catalog and selected Internet sites, the University of Colorado Engineering Library now utilizes it as well for instruction, training and other exciting applications. Students and faculty at Peru's Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, also enjoy integrated information services through WWW applications. Our speakers focus on the challenges, creative solutions, and future plans for their virtual libraries.




Track D
Resource Sharing

Many academic, city, and county administrators see resource sharing as a solution to the exorbitant cost of serials and other collection development issues. Academic, public, and special libraries are entering into cooperative alliances at an unprecedented rate for the purpose of joint acquisition and the online sharing of those products. On the surface, resource sharing is a simple endeavor. This track goes beyond the basic definition to identify and present the more complex issues that will be faced by all institutions that enter the resource sharing arena.

Track Organizer: Gary Pitkin, Dean of University Libraries, University of Northern Colorado





9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Resource Sharing: Defining Cooperation
Delmus E. Williams, Dean of University Libraries, University of Akron
The primary focus is on a "practical" view of cooperation among libraries, including the reasons why libraries cooperate, the strengths and limitations to this approach to service, the conditions that facilitate cooperation, and the future directions that cooperation is likely to take in a changing information environment. Emphasis is placed on the kind of leadership required to facilitate cooperation and the changes in attitude necessary within the organization to help ensure success.

10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Resource Sharing: Document Delivery and Beyond
Jane Smith, Head of InterLibrary Loan, James A. Michener Library, University of Northern Colorado
Technology has increased the ease and speed with which resources can be shared and has consequently altered the traditional definitions of resource sharing. The technology that drives document delivery is in a constant state of change. The library community must understand the basics of the involved technologies, the systems they support, the status of technological change, and the types of systems those changes will foster. Electronically produced resources will be defined to a great extent by the delivery systems that allow shared access.

10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Coffee Break--Visit the Exhibits

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Resource Sharing: Collection Development and Technology
Johannah Sherrer, Director of Libraries, Lewis and Clark College
The development of library collections has the primary goal of meeting the needs of the community immediately served. As technology continues to blur institutional lines and the proprietary rights to collections, the library community must investigate the impact of technology on resource sharing and collection development. The nature of collection management in terms of integral, recent change and the influence of technology is discussed. Within this context, the discussion includes the forces influencing cooperative collection development, the role of "core collections" in resource sharing, the benefits of partnerships, and the elements necessary for effective cooperative collection management.

12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break--Visit the Exhibits

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Resource Sharing: Outsourcing and Technical Services
Barry B. Baker, Assistant Director, Technical Services, University of Georgia Libraries
While not really new to technical services, outsourcing has certainly influenced the library's struggle to do more with limited resources. Technical services departments in many libraries are in a period of change and transition. Resource sharing, through the outsourcing of traditional technical services functions, is examined by identifying past efforts, current ideas, and future implications.

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Resource Sharing: The Minnesota Library Information Network
Charlene Mason, Assistant University Librarian for Automated Systems, University of Minnesota
Academic, public, and school libraries in Minnesota are engaged in the design and planning of a new statewide library information network. The creation of the network, with the scope of partners and interests represented, presents challenges, both technical and political. This presentation provides an overview of the project, a discussion of the proposed solutions, and a mid-season report on acceptance by the Minnesota Legislature.

4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Resource Sharing: Putting it All in Perspective
Shirley Baker, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology & Dean of University Libraries, Washington University Libraries
Neither "Promise" or "Panacea," resource sharing is a necessity. Putting it all in perspective includes a view of resource sharing within the historical focus of library efforts and within current developments in higher education and the larger world. Some predictions of the future, with obstacles still to overcome, are made.




Track E
New Technology, New Roles

This track provides an opportunity to consider the impact information technologies are having on the library profession, our roles, responsibilities, careers and employment structures. Sessions will range from provocative overviews of emerging career paths and competency requirements, to case studies of progressive working environments, to a look at how library educators are responding to the demand for the development of new types of skills.

Track Organizer: Rebecca Jones, Dysart & Jones Associates





9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
The Future for Knowledge Professionals: Fasten Your Web Belts, it's Going to be a Bumpy Ride!
Richard P. Hulser, Digital Library Consultant, Libraries and Museum, IBM Corporation
Accelerating technology changes are creating many challenges for our profession and not waiting for us to catch up. Our roles and skills as information providers will require us to shift into high gear to meet these challenges. Some projections on our future roles and the skills we will need to have to fulfill those roles will be used as starting points for an interactive discussion on this topic.

10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Are You Prepared to Be Morphed? Or, What's Your Role for the Future?
Trudy Katz, Consultant Information Professional Support Group, LEXIS-NEXIS
Robin Dixon, Coordinator of Information Services, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Darlene Fichter, Coordinator Data Library Services, University of Saskatchewan Libraries & Northern Lights Internet Solutions Ltd.
It's an understatement to say that technological changes are influencing the way libraries and librarians are functioning. Our roles, our responsibilities, all must change...morph! Are you ready? These speakers will examine some of the changing identities of today's professional librarian from their perspectives as information professionals within corporate, government and academic environments -- Dare to be Morphed!

10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Coffee Break--Visit the Exhibits

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Blurring Roles: The Impact of Merging an Academic Library with Information Services
Charlene Grass, Associate University Librarian & Information Services Senior Manager, Oregon State University
In 1994 Oregon State University embarked on a merger of the Library, Computing Center, Telecommunications and Media Center to report to Information Services. Simultaneously, they thoroughly reorganized into teams composed of staff drawn from the formerly separate units. Topics covered include: redefinition of library positions in relation to other information services, new responsibilities and unexpected effects on budgets. The speaker also reflects on team-based management.

12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break--Visit the Exhibits

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Law Enforcement Intelligence: A New Role for the Information Professional
Lisa Dallape Matson, Program Manager & Maureen Novella, Technical Information Specialist, Analytical Research Centers, US Dept. of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center
This paper describes the concept, technologies, project collection process and unique experiences of two information professionals who have worked in the Analytical Research Centers of the only Law Enforcement Intelligence Center in the US from start-up through to its current state.

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
New Roles Demand New Education: LIS Programs in the Late '90s
Christinger Tomer, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
This presentation focuses primarily on the problems of educating librarians and other information professionals to deal successfully with new information technologies, new forms of information service derived from digital technologies, and the attending transformations in the economy and organization of information services. It also considers the extent to which observed changes in LIS curricula effectively address the requirements of this information environment; what LIS programs must do in order to ensure that the professional education of information professionals is relevant (in both the short and long-term); and factors that will govern the extent to which LIS programs successfully adapt to the requirements of a changing marketplace.

4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
From Knowledge Navigating to Information Quality Control: A Forum on Roles, Skills and Careers
Michel Bauwens, Internet Consultant/Cyber-marketeer, IO Communications
Edee Edwards, Senior Information Specialist, Hanford Technical Library
Nancy Melin Nelson, Gossage Regan
Three progressive panelists offer their experiences and insights regarding the career opportunities available for information professionals, from "piloting the Internet/intranet" to "serving up quality for the information starved." A perfect wrap-up to a thought-provoking and stimulating day of discussions.





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