WAAL Newsletter

    Inside This Issue ...

Thoughts from the WAAL Chair 
- Nancy McClements

I ‘m your new WAAL Chair. Maybe you know me from conferences, or library school, or maybe you don’t know me from Eve. But you will probably recognize me soon. Why? Because I’m taking the WLA Strategic Plan personally...very personally. I’m the poster child (pin-up?) for ALA’s newest promotional campaign: “The ultimate search engine is @your library™… Nancy McClements, Reference Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Memorial Library.”

The WLA Strategic Plan was prepared last year by WLA’s Long Range Planning Committee with input from all units, including WAAL. I hope to use this as a living document for WAAL this year, not just as something we publish as a pretty brochure and put away in our files. Here’s the goal that the poster tackles:

GOAL #2 Public Information

More specifically, WAAL’s objective in this area is “To increase awareness of members’ needs to promote use of academic libraries by the general public; to be accomplished by 2003.”

If you work in a typical academic library, you know that you are not only serving your own population of academics. I can tell from the number of e-mail reference questions we receive from janedoe@yahoo.com, from the walk-ins with genealogy requests, and from the phone calls asking for mass market books on the latest herbal cancer cure. Those people have found us through a variety of methods: by chance through our websites; because they are alumni; or from referrals, possibly from a public or school library.

Of course depending on resources, academic libraries have had to make some restrictions on how far we can go for our secondary audiences, but in most cases, I think we’re doing a good job. And when we help one person, they spread the word. Most of us have seen our walk-in-traffic dwindle over the years, and I assume it’s because most people THINK that they are getting the best information from the Internet. Let’s push the ultimate search engines, our library staff. Think of at least one way that you can inform the public that you are there for them — an article in your local paper, a special web link just for the community, a talk at a public function. Then just do it!

I’d love to hear from you if you do some community outreach, or if you any suggestions or comments for the WAAL Board.

It’s my pleasure to take on this leadership position this year. I hope to see many of you at conferences and other WAAL and WLA-sponsored events. If the poster campaign is a success, then you’ll have no problems recognizing me!

- Nancy McClements,
WAAL Chair

National Library Legislation Day

National Library Legislation Day will be held in Washington, D. C. on April 30 – May 1, 2001. This is our opportunity to speak with our congressional delegation and increase their awareness of issues that are important to the Wisconsin Library community. Each year a group of delegates from Wisconsin attend this meeting to speak with our eleven Senators and Representatives. We believe that a larger group compels the elected officials to meet with us personally rather to staff it out. Our Wisconsin library delegation will make a far greater impression with greater numbers.

Monday, April 30 is a briefing day, which defines the issues and provides guidance on how to present them to our congressional representatives. Tuesday is the meeting day, with previously scheduled group appointments.

This year our major legislative issues are:

• Public Access to Government Information (print and electronic formats)
• Federal Depository Library Program
• Funding for Libraries (LSTA, GPO)
• Copyright and Intellectual Property (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Data Base Protection, Distance Education)
• Intellectual Freedom (including federal filtering mandates)
• Telecommunications and E-Rate

We would like to encourage members of the WI library community to attend this meeting and help deliver our message to our legislators. Funding support would have to be solicited by the person wishing to attend — perhaps from their library or from a library organization. If you are interested in attending or would like more information, contact Sue Center, WLA Federal Relations Coordinator at 608-262-1499 or slcenter@facstaff.wisc.edu.

— Sue Center

2001 WAAL Board Members

Are you interested in exploring the fascinating worlds of librarianship? If so, step away from your respective monoliths and set a course for the WAAL Annual Conference! While we won’t belabor the “2001” movie theme more than is completely necessary to entice and bemuse you, the WAAL Conference Planning Committee has invited and assembled an exceptional cast of professionals to share their expertise. However, we could hum a few bars of “Also Sprach Zarathrusta” if you’d like…”

We begin the conference, Wednesday April 18, with an opportunity to register and enjoy a bit of socializing with colleagues. Among Wednesday’s distinguished speakers is Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Vice-President of Research and Library Systems, netLibrary. We invite you to join us as she discusses the challenges and rewards of incorporating electronic books into library collections.

If you’re curious to learn what our ancestors were up to in southwestern Wisconsin, then Wednesday’s luncheon speaker, Robert “Ernie” Boszhardt of the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center should satisfy your thirst for information when he shares slides of recently documented rock-art sites.

Also on Wednesday, following the early evening poster sessions and reception, we invite you to “journey to the stars” with a visit to the UW-La Crosse Planetarium.

Thursday’s schedule of speakers includes a luncheon with Mary L. Reichel, President–Elect of ACRL, during which she will share her research regarding scholarly communication and its preservation. Following this second full day of professional discourse is our evening’s guest, Rob Robinson, Senior Librarian at National Public Radio. Rob will engage us as he describes his thrilling mission to answer “all questions considered.”

Friday’s schedule of presentations should appeal to the archivist in us. Among our scheduled professionals, we invite you to join us for a luncheon with David E. Schoonover, Curator of Rare Books at the University of Iowa, for a presentation sharing the treasure and use of these special collection items in new and exciting programs.

The WAAL Annual Conference will be hosted at the Radisson Hotel, in lovely downtown La Crosse, WI. For questions or concerns regarding accommodations or programming, look to the Call to Conference Literature which will be available in February 2001.

— Karen J. Dunn
WAAL Conference Planning Committee

Readers Section Program at WAAL!

“A Busman’s Holiday: Reading the Academic Novel for Fun and Profit”

The above is the title of the Readers Section’s program for the 2001 WAAL Conference, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 20. Helene Androski, Reference Librarian at the UW-Madison Memorial Library and Readers Section Chair Elect, will discuss why academic novels can be particularly entertaining and interesting to academic librarians.

Helene will lead a book talk on Jane Smiley’s Moo as an example of the genre. (Reading the book beforehand would be helpful but not mandatory.) Afterwards there will be a “Show and Tell” period where participants can share their recommendations of favorite academic novels, with a web site to follow which will include an annotated bibliography of the suggestions.

Yes, the academic world still reads books and fiction, at that! This is your chance to come and talk about this delightful educational past time with other readers.

— Willa Schmidt

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE 2001 WAAL CONFERENCE

The WAAL Professional Development Committee is pleased to announce that we will be coordinating scholarships for this year’s conference. WAAL will offer scholarships for undergraduate student assistants and support staff. The forms for both types of scholarships are available in this newsletter. In addition, the scholarship forms will be on the WAAL website: http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/waal

Nominations for the student scholarships are being sought from anyone that supervises student assistants. Any undergraduate library student assistant who may be interested or shows potential for a library career is eligible. The scholarships will cover registration fee, meals, hotel and travel. Recipients will be paired with at least one mentor to guide them through the conference. Nomination forms must be received by March 5, 2001.

Anyone interested in being a mentor to one of the student recipients should contact Sue Riehl at UW-Platteville (riehl@uwplatt.edu or 608-342-1192.) This is a great opportunity to meet potential future colleagues and give them an introduction to the profession as well as having lots of fun!

Applications for the support staff scholarships are available to all support staff who are WLA members or who become WLA members prior to the conference. The scholarship recipients will receive funding, which is to be determined yet, towards the costs of the conference. The application form, along with a personal statement of one page or less describing how attendance will help develop skills in providing quality library service, must be received by March 5, 2001 in order to allow recipients time to pre-register.

This year WAAL will also provide three $600 scholarships to WAAL to attend the ACRL Institute for Information Literacy Regional Immersion Program, June 3-8, 2001 at Edgewood College in Madison. ACRL membership is not required; however, if you are an ACRL member, you will receive a reduced registration fee. The registration fees are as follows:

• $995 ACRL member rate — single room

• $870 ACRL member rate — double room

• $1,195 non-ACRL member – single room

• $1,070 non-ACRL member - double room

The committee is pleased to continue its role in providing scholarships to assist with attendance at the conference and furthering the professional development of colleagues as well as fostering potential interest in librarianship

— Sue Riehl
WAAL Professional Development Committee

Wisconsin Regional Immersion Program — Institute for Information Literacy

We are pleased to announce that ACRL has selected Wisconsin as the site of an ACRL Regional Institute for Information Literacy Immersion Program for 2001. The Institute will be held at Edgewood College in Madison, June 3-8, 2001. The Immersion Program is an intensive 4 ½ day institute for academic librarians presented by ACRL’s Institute for Information Literacy.

The Institute has three basic goals:

1. Prepare librarians to become effective teachers in information literacy programs.
2. Support librarians, other educators and administrators in playing a leadership role in the development and implementation of information literacy programs for their institutions.
3. Forge new relationships throughout the educational community to work towards information literacy curriculum development.

These goals are addressed at two levels:

Track I: Librarian as Teacher. This track focuses on individual development for new librarians or instruction librarians who are interested in enhancing, refreshing, or extending their individual instruction skills. Curriculum includes classroom techniques, learning theory, leadership, and assessment framed in the context of information literacy theory.

Track II: Librarian as Program Manager

This track focuses on developing, integrating and managing institutional and programmatic information literacy programs; some attention will be given to individual instruction skill development. Individuals with knowledge of learning theory, pedagogy, and assessment and who also have some program management experience will benefit most from Track II.

The Institute will be open to a maximum of 90 librarians who will have the opportunity to work intensively on all aspects of information literacy. A faculty of nationally recognized librarians and scholars teach the program. The regional program will provide Wisconsin librarians with a rare opportunity to develop a network of colleagues in the state who are focused on improving information literacy efforts in their institutions.

Wisconsin librarians are being given the first opportunity to apply. An invitation to attend with an application form was sent to all WAAL members the first week of January 2001. The deadline for application is February 16, 2001. (Editor’s note: Since this newsletter will be sent out in the latter part of February 2001 (beyond the February 16 deadline) any interested persons who haven’t registered should still check to see if there is availabilty.) More information regarding the conference is available at the following website URL:

http://www.uwec.edu/library/waal/iil.html

OR by contacting Mary Jane Scherdin, Library Director at Edgewood College, who can be reached at 608-663-3305.

Summary of the October 20, 2000 WAAL Board Meeting Minutes

Lisa Strand, Executive Director of WLA, reported that the registration for WLA is almost at the targeted number, with on-site registration, the numbers should be good. The Foundation will be having a silent auction. According to the year-end membership report, overall membership is down 4%. Lisa is developing a new marketing plan. They would like to see an increase in the retention rate. 251 new members are targeted for 2001. Lisa also discussed the upcoming budget process cycle.

Leanne Hansen, Chair, reported that WAAL was credited with having the most extensive recommendations for the Strategic Plan. Financially, WAAL is healthy. The budget report indicates that we have a balance of $13,391.56 in the project budget and $1,894.97 in the operations budget. Kathy Schmidt will be leaving as the WAAL webmaster; her efforts will be recognized at the WAAL Business Meeting. Leanne gave a report from the August 14, 2000 WLA Board meeting. A ‘Membership Moments’ conference will be held on the first Friday of February. Nancy McClements will represent WAAL.

Nancy McClements, Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, gave her annual report.

David Null, ACRL Liaison, gave his annual report.

Mary Williamson, Member-at-large, indicated that she will work with Patti Becker, the newly elected Member-at-large, to arrange for an independent Leadership Conference in May 2001.

Patricia Herrling (2001 Conference) reported that the theme for the 2001 conference is ‘2001 – A Library Odyssey.’ 25 speakers have been lined up. Demco will publish the call-to-conference brochure. Poster sessions are still needed. Vendor donations are coming in.

Leanne gave Mary Jo Koranda’s (Directory) annual report and reminded the Board that according to the new guidelines, the directory will be mailed out in January.

Cris Prucha (Information Literacy) presented her annual report and also indicated there was no word yet from ACRL regarding the proposal for the regional Immersion Program. (Editor’s note: The response later came back as affirmative. See page 7 of this issue for more information.)

Leanne presented Evelyn Payson’s (Membership) annual report and indicated that WAAL membership is only down by 6.

Leanne also presented Janet Padway’s (Nominations) annual report and announced the names of the newly elected Board members.

Paula Ganyard (Professional Development) gave her annual report.

Leanne presented Rose Trupiano’s (Publication) annual report and reported that there were delays with the publication of the newsletter this time. A survey was included in the newsletter that she had hoped to report on, but they are just now being mailed out. In addition, a newsletter, survey, and membership recruitment letter were mailed out to all non-member librarians in Wisconsin academic libraries.

A discussion concerning three committees – Legislative, Professional Development, and Conference Planning – was held. Proposals regarding changes in issues related to each of these committees will be presented to the Board at the next meeting in January 2001. Another discussion regarding the coordination of a mentoring program for new members was held. A proposal will be written and presented at the next Board meeting.

Nancy discussed the creation of a listserv consisting of all WAAL members who have email. David indicated that in his role as the new Chair of the Publications Committee, he would be willing to pursue this issue. Nancy also reported on a request from JoAnn Carr for WAAL to sponsor the Education and Curriculum Librarians for a meeting at the 2001 conference. Nancy will respond to this request telling JoAnn to contact Pat Herrling about available time slots for meetings at the conference.

Respectfully submitted,

People and Places in the News

UW-Milwaukee SLIS gets New Name — School of Information Studies (SOIS)

The School of Library and Information Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is pleased to announce the change of its name to the School of Information Studies (SOIS.) The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the change after the UWM Faculty Senate and Administration unanimously voted to adopt the new name.

The name change comes as a result of the many diverse directions being undertaken at the School. Currently, the SOIS offers a Bachelor of Science in Information Resources, Master of Library and Information Science, Coordinated MLIS/MA degrees with Anthropology, English, Foreign Language and Literature, Geography, History, Music, and Urban Studies, a Multidisciplinary Doctoral degree and a doctorate in Educational Media Technology with the School of Education.

The SOIS is currently working on the implementation of a Master of Archival Studies, and proposals for a joint MLIS/JD with Marquette University Law School, a Joint MS in Instructional Technology, and an MS in Information Resources Management are in place. A Ph.D. in

Information and Library Science has also been proposed and approved by the UWM Graduate Faculty Council.

The new name, according to Dean Mohammed M. Aman, better reflects the philosophy and diverse programs of the school. “Our field is constantly evolving and we no longer prepare individuals to work only in library settings. Our graduates are information professionals and we are continually updating our curriculum to prepare students for successful careers in the information businesses and industries.”

— Linda Barajas

Gateway Technical College

On October 25, Gateway Technical College dedicated its new Kenosha Campus Library/Learning Resources Center. The new facility replaces a “temporary” open concept type library which opened in 1967 when the campus was constructed. The new 11,000 square feet library provides a blend of traditional and contemporary library service areas. In addition to the OPAC stations, the library features a library computer classroom/lab, media room, quiet study area, and expanded seating and stack areas. Outlets for laptop computers exist throughout the library. Library staff workstations were custom designed to fit the physical and workflow needs of each staff person.

Memorial Library’s Funding Information Center has released its 2000 data on Wisconsin foundations. The 2000 Foundations in Wisconsin Directory is available in both print and electronic formats and covers 1065 active foundations, granting more than $298 million in grants. For information on the center’s publications and services, go to the following URL: http://www.marquette.edu/library/fic

The Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives has opened an online collection of digitized photographs from its files. Photos are accompanied by descriptive inventories and cover a wide range of campus scenes, buildings, athletics, etc. See the exhibits at http:// www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/index.html Special Collections has also announced a new cooperative program with UW-Milwaukee and the Medical College of Wisconsin making possible the temporary transfer of archival and manuscript resources between the three libraries.

Marquette University’s Board of Trustees has approved revised plans for the Rev. John P. Raynor, S.J. Library with groundbreaking planned for fall 2001. Total cost is projected at $55 million; the new facility will house the Information Commons and focus on digital forms of information. Raynor Library will connect to Memorial Library by a second-floor bridge containing a cyber café.

Nicholas Burckel, Dean of Libraries, and Susan Hopwood, Outreach Librarian, have been appointed co-editors of the Reviews section for the new journal Portal: Libraries and the Academy (published by John Hopkins University Press.) Burckel has also been elected vice chair/chair-elect of WiLs for 2000-2001.

Janice Bogstad will be reviewing fiction selections for the Publishers’ Weekly Forecasts section. Look for her reviews, especially of Science Fiction and Fantasy, starting in February 2001.

University of Wisconsin — La Crosse

Paul Beck, Special Collections Librarian, was selected as one of a group of six professionals to provide Wisconsin repositories.The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has teamed up with the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to provide funding for an assessment/mentoring project,

proposed and managed by the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board. Through this program, Paul has been working with the Mineral Point Public Library, helping staff members assess and care for historical records such as diaries, letters, business records, photographs, and maps.

Stefan Smith, Outreach Librarian, created a series of interactive web-based psychology advising tutorials based on content developed by Dr. Emily Johnson and Dr. Betsy Morgan, UW-La Crosse Psychology Department. It was presented as "Interactive Web Advising for Psychology Majors," at the National Institute for the Teaching of Psychology in St. Petersburg, Fla., Jan 2-5, 2001.

Nancy McClements, Reference Librarian, is featured on an ALA bookmark promoting ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries. A picture of the bookmark can be found in the January 2001 issue of American Libraries, page 88.

University of Wisconsin -Madison
Center for Instructional Materials and Computing (CIMC)

Anna K. Lewis has joined the staff of the CIMC as Access Services Librarian. Anna, a December 1999, graduate of the UW-Madison SLIS, was most recently Media Specialist for Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Anna was previously a staff member of the UW-Madison CIMC as well as UW-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center.

UW-Oshkosh

Mary Keefer, Joshua Ranger and Patrick Wilkinson recently received grants to support professional development from the university’s faculty development program. Mary attended the National Conference for Teachers of English in Milwaukee, Joshua attended the School for Scanning in Seattle and Patrick attended EDUCAUSE 2000 in Nashville.

During the past year, Michael Watkins has been Head of Government Documents at Polk Library. For over ten years, Mike has handled many different responsibilities in the library. He has worked as reference librarian and Library Instruction Coordinator. He was named permanent Head of Government Documents in early 1999 after serving as acting head for over a year.

Through a joint project between the library and academic computing, Polk Library recently established a proxy server (EZProxy), which allows UW Oshkosh faculty, staff and students to access most article databases off campus using a single logon and password. In addition with the proxy server in place, the library provides off campus access to databases that have never before been accessible off campus, such as Academic Universe and the Web of Science. If you have questions about this service, please contact Sarah Neises, Head of Information and Instructional services, at neises@uwosh.edu.

Todd Digby published an article "Collaborative Headache or Panacea" in the January 2001 issue of Computers in Libraries.

Foundation Access Grant Competition

WAAL members, are you up for a challenge? The WLA Foundation Board has instituted an Access Grant Competition, in the hopes of building WLAF club membership and increasing the annual giving of members. With increased resources, there’s money for access grants, scholarships, continuing education, awards and honors and special programs at conferences.

The Board will award $250 to the division that has the largest percentage of WLA Foundation club contributors by

October 1st. The winning division will be announced at the annual conference in Appleton. The money can be used for the Division’s spring conference or some other activity that will promote ‘access’.

All the members of that division will be qualified to submit a one-page proposal for another $250 award to do something that will enhance access at their library. The only other requirement for the award is a brief narrative

report from the award winner telling what they did do, how it worked, and whether they would recommend it to someone else. The WLA Foundation and the WLA Public Relations Committee will use the results of their program to further promote Wisconsin Libraries.

Join the WLA Foundation — the brochure is available at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wlaf/wlafjoin.html and a printed version is in the WLA Newsletters. Let’s show those other divisions what WAAL can do!

— Nancy McClements

WAAL Nominations Committee Needs Your Help!

The WAAL Nominations Committee is seeking names of persons interested in running for the WAAL offices of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and Secretary. The nominations committee will by solidifying the nominations in time to announce the candidates at the annual WAAL Conference in April 2001.

We also encourage WAAL members to nominate names of libraries and/or librarians they would wish WAAL to submit WAAL to submit to WLA for the Library of the Year and Librarian of the Year awards.

For additional information, contact: James Tobin, Golda Meir Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 604, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0604. Phone: (414) 229- 6814. E-mail: rjt@gml.lib.uwm.edu.

The WAAL Newsletter welcomes articles of interest to academic librarians, including summaries of research or surveys conducted in academic libraries, announcements/results of meetings or conferences, and news of research studies in progress.

Material should be sent to:

Rose Trupiano
Marquette University
Memorial Library
P.O. Box 3141
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141
Rose.Trupiano@marquette.edu
Phone: 414-288-5998   Fax: 414-288-5324

Submissions can be sent via e-mail in ASCII text, html, Word or .RTF format. Disk or paper copy will also be accepted.

WAAL Publications Committee:
David Null (Chair), Paula Ganyard (Web),  Rose Trupiano (Newsletter)

© 2001 Wisconsin Library Association. Portions may be quoted or copied if credit is given. Contact the WLA Executive Director when quoting or reproducing extensively.

WLA Phone: 608-245-3640; FAX: 608-245-3646

URL: http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/waal/newsletter/181.html
Revised: 10/15/02

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