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Home  News from the Field
NEWS FROM THE FIELD
C&RL News, November 2000
Vol. 61 No. 10
by Mary Ellen Davis
ACRL awarded prestigious IMLS grant
ACRL has received a National Leadership Grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for its project, “Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in Information Literacy Programs: Training Academic Librarians.” The purpose of the ACRL project is to give librarians the skills to create baseline data that support the merits of information literacy programs. The $150,000 grant will fund the training of academic librarians to work with faculty to design, implement, and evaluate tools for assessing student learning outcomes resulting from information literacy courses taught by librarians and faculty. Ultimately, such training will not only enhance the status of librarians as educators, but also highlight the importance of campus information literacy programs.
“ACRL is committed to the idea that information literacy is a cornerstone of lifelong learning,” said ACRL Executive Director Althea H. Jenkins. “Effective information literacy programs on college and university campuses are critical to the success of today’s students. With this generous grant, IMLS will help to foster collaborations between faculty and librarians that will enhance the efficacy of these important programs.”
Beverly Sheppard, IMLS acting director, said, “Information literacy is critical to success in the 21st century. National Leadership Grants provide creative solutions to issues of national importance and provide leadership models for other organizations to emulate. We are proud of the work that ACRL will be doing to enhance the quality of library services nationwide.”
IMLS is a federal grantmaking agency located in Washington, D.C. that fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting museums and libraries.
The $10.5 million Waggoner Library at Trevecca Nazarene University,
designed by Earl Swensson Associates, features a grand reading room
with a two-story cathedral ceiling and clerestory windows. The new
facility was opened and dedicated during the school’s Homecoming
on November 3.
Quinnipiac University opens new library
Bestselling author Tom Wolfe was a featured speaker at the formal dedication of Quinnipiac University’s new Arnold Bernhard Library in September. The $13 million, 48,000 square-foot library features 600 seats, 13 group rooms, a 30-seat instructional facility, more than 70 public computer terminals, and 600 data connections for laptop computers. The facility, designed by Centerbrook Associates of Essex, Connecticut, was built between May 1999 and August 2000.
The library is named for Arnold Bernhard, the founder and chief executive officer of Value Line, Inc., the world’s largest investment advisory service. Bernhard’s son, A. Van H. Bernhard, made the renovation possible by donating $1 million for the library project and an addition $3 million for the university’s endowment in 1997.
Quinnipiac is a private institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and enrolls nearly 4,000 full-time undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students.
ACRL to award 50 scholarships to National Conference
ACRL is offering 50 scholarships to its 10th National Conference, March 15–18, 2001, in Denver. Each scholarship will provide complimentary registration and $250 for travel expenses. The purpose of the scholarships is to provide opportunities for librarians with five or fewer years of experience to update their skills and knowledge by participating in an ACRL professional development experience. Scholarships will focus on librarians from diverse backgrounds and those employed at institutions serving underrepre-sented minorities. Criteria and application information are on the Web at http://www.ala.org/acrl/registration.html.
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Dec. 1 awards deadline
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| Don’t miss this opportunity to nominate a colleague, your library, or apply yourself for one of ACRL’s 20 awards. Nearly $30,000 in awards and fellowships are available. Nominations and applications are due December 1, 2000. A complete list of the awards and grants offered by ACRL can be found at http://www.ala.org/acrl/award2.html. Click on an award for guidelines and submission instructions. If you have questions or need assistance completing an application or nomination, contact Meredith Parets, ACRL program assistant, at (800) 545-2433, ext. 2515, e-mail: mparets@ala.org. |
Newell and Simon papers online at Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Archives has made available online the papers of computer scientist Allen Newell, including his collaborations with Nobel Prize winning economist Herbert A. Simon.
Access to the Newell and Simon papers is being developed as the second phase of the university’s original HELIOS digital archive, funded in part by a two-year grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), with support from Noel Marie Newell, wife of the late Newell.
Newell, who died in 1992, pioneered the study of artificial intelligence through designing computer architectures and program languages that were modeled on human problem- solving behaviors. Simon, Newell’s frequent research partner, applied scientific methods to the previously theoretical field of economics.
The Newell and Simon collections at CMU include technical reports, lectures, teaching materials, computer and publication drafts. Researchers may search, browse, and print more than 100,000 digital images from the Allen Newell Collection (http://heinz1.library.cmu.edu/Newell/). An estimated 150,000 images will be online when the project is completed.
CMU’s HELIOS project is complete and provides online access to the bulk of the H. John Heinz III Archives. Nearly 800,000 images documenting Heinz’s service in the U.S. Congress are now available.
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Lead the Denver discussions
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The ACRL National Conference, “Crossing the Divide” is seeking topics and facilitators for roundtable sessions March 15–18, 2001, in Denver. These informal, small-group discussions give attendees the opportunity to network, share information, and solve common problems.
Submit your topic idea(s) with a brief description of issues to be covered and their importance to academic libraries to Rhoda Channing, Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University, P.O. Box 7777, Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7777; voice: (336) 758-5090; fax: (336) 758-3694; e-mail: channing@wfu.edu.
The deadline for submission is December 1, 2000.
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ULS starts discussion list
ACRL’s University Libraries Section (ULS) now has an electronic discussion list. The list, open to all ULS members, will be used to facilitate section and committee work and to keep the membership informed. ULS leaders anticipate this will be a low-traffic list. To subscribe send an e-mail to listproc@ala1.ala.org with the following information in the message: subscribe uls-l firstname lastname.
Mid-sized university association forms
Nearly 20 university librarians/directors have formed an association of comparable, mid-sized university libraries. The new University Libraries Group (ULG) has been formed to share best practices, promote the libraries’ interests, develop benchmarks for assessing quality of service, and discuss current trends in the delivery of information to undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of disciplines.
Libraries selected for membership are primarily privately funded. Membership is determined by size and quality of library, amount of institutional resources received by the library, number and caliber of students, and level of graduate programs supported. Libraries of the following institutions have indicated interest in ULG: American University, Baylor University, Carnegie Mellon University, Catholic University of America, College of William and Mary, DePaul University, Fordham University, Lehigh University, Loyola University-Chicago, Marquette University, Miami University of Ohio, Northeastern University, St. John’s University, St. Louis University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Tufts University, University of Denver, University of Richmond, Villanova University, Wake Forest University, and Yeshiva University.
James L. Mullins, university librarian at Villanova University, will convene the meetings in 2000–2001.
Architect’s drawing of the Great Hall renovations
in Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester.
Univ. of Rochester renovates hall for 150th
The Great Hall of Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester has been renovated, thanks to a $500,000 gift from the Gleason Foundation. The renovation was finished in time for the university’s 150th birthday during Sesquicentennial Weekend, October 12–15. The Great Hall, one of three historic rooms of the library, is rich in architectural detail, featuring intricate inlaid woodworking in the paneled oak walls. The renovation included recreating the effect of a skylight, restoring the ceiling artwork, and installing a new tile floor, acoustical panels, and exhibit cases.
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“Libraries” dropped from accreditation criteria
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The Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (ACS) released in September its proposed “Principles and Requirements for Accreditation” for comment. The proposed new accreditation requirements, according to a letter from James T. Rogers, executive director of the Commission on Colleges, to “Chief Executive Officers of the Commission on Colleges Members and Candidate Institutions and Other Interested Parties,” are to “replace the current Criteria for Accreditation, and [propose] a new way of conducting institutional peer reviews.” The intentions of the proposed criteria are to be less prescriptive and to give institutions greater latitude in achieving their mission.
For example, the current criteria has a five-page section on “Library and Other Learning Resources” with more than 40 “must” statements to which institutions seeking accreditation must adhere. The proposed “Principles” contain one “Core Requirement” and three “Comprehensive Statements” relating to “Learning Resources” with no mention of libraries, librarians, or the need for a graduate education to work in libraries.
The proposed changes may involve smaller reaffirmation teams, and there is some concern that the teams may not have a librarian member as they currently do. SACS has hosted six regional meetings in its area to provide additional information about the proposed requirements and process and to gather reactions to them. ACRL has arranged with SACS to have librarians at each of those meetings to represent ACRL. In addition, numerous state ACRL Chapters, state library associations, and individual librarians have written to SACS expressing concerns about the proposed changes.
According to a Middle States Association official, all the directors of the regional accreditation agencies met earlier this summer to discuss changes in the accreditation process and several changes are now being considered. For example, the proposed Middle States changes will have fewer references to the library but they will retain commentary on information literacy. A Western Association official reported that librarians are involved in their review and that the association is developing a document that is more inspirational than prescriptive and one with an emphasis on student learning. Librarians are urged to monitor any proposed changes in their accreditation region and to forward comments and concerns both to their regional accreditation agencies and to their institutions’ president.—Larry Hardesty, Austin College, lhardesty@austinc.edu |
Old Dominion mounts digital exhibit
The Old Dominion University (ODU) Libraries, in collaboration with the Department of English, mounted a Web exhibit chronicling the history and character of the ODU Annual Literary Festival, now in its 23rd year. This is the libraries’ first full-scale digital exhibit and signals its commitment to creating digital exhibits. Unique brochures capturing the character of each festival are featured at the site and may be viewed at http://www.lib.odu.edu/litfest.
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