PRESENTATION Abstracts

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Applying New Thinking to Old Problems: Creative Problem Solving
by Support Staff Interest Group

"Problems. Library staff deal with a wide variety of them everyday on the job. Solving them in unique ways has become a specialty of the people who work in todays everchanging libraries. Come and join us as the Support Staff Interest Group sponsors a roundtable discussion on how different libraries and staffs around the state have solved problems involving library related issues. Special focus will be made upon the issues of dealing with problems occurring in working with vendors providing library services, issues that can arise in the hiring, training, and work of student assistants in the academic library setting, and we will touch upon how technology has changed the face of the work library staff do and how they have overcome the problems it has caused. What problem-solving techniques evolved out of dealing with these problems? Find out as we share what we've learned with one another across the table."

Automating Ourselves Out of a Job: Developing Database Driven Electronic Journal Web Pages
by Rob Withers, Rob Casson, & Aaron Shrimplin, Miami Univ.

Creating and maintaining Web pages with up-to-date information on periodicals is nearly impossible amid frequent changes in holdings and URLs and the occasional addition or cessation of individual titles. To overcome such challenges, Miami University Libraries has developed a series of scripts which dynamically generate periodicals holdings lists and lists of electronic journals. Information is automatically extracted from INNOPAC and other sources of information, reformatted by a series of scripts, and made available on Web pages listing periodicals by subject and by title. Each selector can use a password-restricted Web interface to choose which periodical titles appear on the subject pages. Maintenance time is minimal because the dynamically generated pages are periodically reviewed by a link checker, and multiple occurrences of a title can be changed by updating a single master record. A future enhancement may allow the library to track usage of all titles included in these pages and determine which page was used to access the title.

Beyond Their Walls: Resource Sharing between Multi-Type Libraries
by Miriam Conteh-Morgan, Ohio State Univ.

This paper will give a brief survey of the trend toward resource sharing between academic and public libraries, rather than academic-academic or public-public sharing, in the United States. An example of such a multi-type alliance in Ohio is the one instituted in 1991 between Franklin University Library and Columbus Metropolitan Library. This paper will focus on the details of the alliance and evaluate the benefits and disadvantages to both institutions.

Bridging the Gulf: Partnering with K-12 Instructors & Librarians to Educate Tomorrow's Academic Library Users Today
by Rob Withers, Lisa Santucci, & Aaron Shrimplin, Miami Univ.

K-12 librarians, public librarians, and K-12 instructors are best situated to prepare future college students with the information-seeking skills necessary to survive in colleges, universities, and beyond. Too often, however, academic librarians miss opportunities to communicate hopes, expertise, and ideas to these groups. In this discussion, panelists will share their experiences with identifying and obtaining opportunities to influence the instruction which K-12 students receive, including: (1) teaming with area schools and non-profit agencies to assist students with researching and assembling multimedia presentations on the selected topics, (2) offering credit classes on integrating information technology into the curriculum to K-12 instructors, and (3) providing workshops on effective Internet use and Web development to K-12 instructors.

The Center for Information Management: Erasing the Lines between Libraries & Traditional Technology Functions
by Lisa Santucci & Jill Roberts, Miami Univ.

Since its planning, construction, and opening in 1998, the Center for Information Management (CIM), located in King Library, Miami University, has served as a common ground for self-directed learning, information research, hands-on workshops, and multimedia development. Projects created in the CIM not only have helped increase the visibility of the library as an environment well-equipped to support traditional research and education needs, but also promoted the library as a campus leader and viable partner in planning and delivering digital technologies effectively. The CIM has created a stable technology infrastructure as the first step to creating an environment that allows users to "visualize" and create new and useful ways of using information. The session will cover the growth of these types of facilities, what they are, and their place in the academic setting.

Challenges to Academic Libraries from Virtual Universities: Preparing for the New Future in Distance Education
by Ed Garten, Univ. of Dayton.

A new class of post-secondary education has emerged in recent years---the virtual university--where educational opportunities are delivered worldwide without regard to time constraints or location. Here in Ohio we are faced with the challenge presented by many of our in-state competitors who deliver online instruction. Moreover, we are confronted by new providers from out of the region, most notably the University of Phoenix and Jones International University. This paper explores some of the issues surrounding library support for virtual universities and "near-virtual" universities through a focus on "good practice." Observations will be offered regarding the relevance of both the new ACRL guidelines for the support of distance learning and the guidelines promulgated by regional accrediting agencies.

Cybercheating: The New Plagiarism
by Heidi Good & Sue Polanka, Univ. of Dayton.

One of the realities of the Internet is that it has drastically changed the way information gathering is conducted. Students and librarians spend less time using traditional printed materials and more time online. What the Internet has not changed, however, is cheating. Students are subjected to a number of pressures, and the Internet has facilitated new ways of finding and using research that is not one's own. And although it is unlikely that cybercheating will disappear, librarians can spearhead efforts to educate others about the problem. Librarians can demonstrate to faculty and staff how to use the Internet to combat cybercheating, and they can also use it as a means of educating students about critical thinking and information literacy. This interactive discussion will review why cyberspace has created an environment ripe for plagiarism and how cybercheating occurs. Suggestions for educating staff and faculty on how to prevent, or at least monitor, such cheating efforts will be provided.

Developing a Distance Learning Resource Center
by Patricia B. Serotkin, Brian Anater, & Robert Griffin, St. Francis College.

In April, 1998, a group of librarians, faculty, and administrators at Saint Francis College, Loretto, PA, met to discuss the challenges of developing services which support the research needs of distance learners that are equitable with those the college library offers to its traditional students. Eventually, the group decided to develop a research prototype that could be tested and validated for its effectiveness in delivering information to remote users. The Distance Learning Resource Center (DLRC), established in January, 2000, is designed to demonstrate the college's ability to provide Web-based academic information services in support of current and future distance learning programs. As telecommunications technology enables the college to deliver course content to students enrolled in its distance learning programs, the DLRC establishes a clearinghouse for current information resources that support curricular research requirements and are accessible through the college library's Web-based catalog.

Digital Swiss Army Knife: A Database of Databases Approach to Organizing Web Resources
by Stephen Westman, Ohio State Univ.

One of the challenges facing libraries today is keeping up with resources that are available on the Web. Not only can URLs be different for different locations, they can change without notice. Also, it is difficult to know what pages are being used or how widely any individual site is being used.

This presentation looks at how using a relational database management system can facilitate Web page maintenance. Such a system can (1) allow "enter once, display multiple times" link publishing; (2) provide appropriate URLs to a user based on where s/he is coming from; (3) allow establishment of local PURLs to facilitate site-wide link maintenance; (4) facilitate cataloging of electronic journals; (5) support regular URL checking; (6) provide a centralized resource to track license information; (7) permit centralized resource maintenance without requiring specialized knowledge or skills; (8) provide reference staff with names of people designated to support a given resource; (9) allow for organization and output in virtually unlimited ways; and (10) give libraries the ability to track usage of online resources.

Dynamic Duo: A Faculty-Librarian Team Teaching Success Story
by Danielle Clarke, Ohio Wesleyan Univ.

Close collaboration between a librarian and journalism department chair Paul Kostyu resulted in a new credit-bearing course for honors students in journalism and other majors. The course was designed to make students think about the burning issues of the Internet: accuracy, reliability, objectivity, credibility, ethics, fairness, intellectual property, evaluation, critical thinking, research strategies, the law in cyberspace, plagiarism, and First Amendment implications.

The goals of the class were to: (1) instruct students how to evaluate critically and challenge the credibility of Internet information; (2) raise the issues of professional ethics and legal responsibilities when using the Internet; (3) provide students with the appropriate information literacy skills and strategies to do effective research on the Internet; and (4) utilize an "electronic beat" as a mechanism for illustrating issues of credibility and ethics. Activities included in-class research experiences, lectures, weekly web journals, participation in mailing lists and newsgroups, discussion roundtables and debates, guest lecturers, video, and a term-long project.

Electronic Resources: Bibliographic Control & User Access
by Dan Olson & Bill Rhinehart, Ohio Univ.

It is apparent that libraries are struggling with a wide variety of approaches to gaining good bibliographic control of their electronic resources while providing optimum user access. Some libraries have decided against giving their e-resources full cataloging and instead just add Web links to hard copy bib records. Others merely maintain title lists on Web pages. No one can deny how many hours of work it takes both to catalog such titles individually and to maintain lists of them on relevant Web pages.

But what if the cataloging and Web page listing were combined by means of an innovative use of one's OPAC? The authors will demonstrate a unique and efficient approach, developed at Ohio University, which gives all e-resources full cataloging and simultaneously creates lists for Web subject guides.

Four Birds with One Stone: Collaboration in Collection Development
by Don Wicks & Laura Bartolo, Kent State Univ.; David Swords, YBP Library Services.

This paper reports on a collection development project undertaken by the Kent State Libraries and the School of Library & Information Science. The goal was redrafting of subject/discipline collection profiles in anticipation of the libraries' changeover to a new vendor, as part of the OhioLINK Statewide Cooperative Collection Building Initiative. Collaboration was four-fold involving librarians, MLS students taking the "Selections and Acquisitions" course, departmental representatives, and representatives of YBP, the new vendor.

Librarians, students, and faculty met several times to review titles purchased under the previous profiles and to prepare new ones. Personnel from YBP provided instruction for librarians and students in use of the company's online selection management software, and students prepared instructions for faculty representatives in the use of this software. This presentation will offer assessment of progress made and the overall value of the project to the various players. It will look ahead to potential future collaborative efforts that will serve both work and educational environments.

Information Literacy Class: Evolution of a Student Workbook
by Carol M. Shisler & Michale Murphy, Ursuline College.

This session will describe the process of developing a student workbook for use with Ursuline College's two-credit Library and Information Literacy class. The development of a workbook grew from the need for continuity in the teaching of the class from semester to semester. The workbook would also provide continuity for students who are absent or doing independent study, and for instructors who would have an overview of lectures and materials for the entire semester. It would also allow the possibility of teaching two class sections as needed and provide relief from the weekly chore of providing multiple copies of assignments and exercises. ALA information literacy standards were used in the process of selecting a new textbook, revising the syllabus, producing class Power Point lectures, developing appropriate class exercises, and planning assignments to serve as poerformance indicators for the ALA standards. The result is a new 104-page spiral bound workbook sold to students through the bookstore.

A Librarian Without a Library: Meeting the Information Needs of Doctoral Students in the Virtual Environment
by Rita Barsun, Walden Univ.

The Walden University Library Liaison provides virtual one-to-one research assistance/instruction and reference to students who contact them via e-mail or toll-free telephone from all fifty states and twenty-eight countries. The Liaison Librarian serves as a teaching colleague of Psychology faculty in Psyc8000, a 12-week online orientation course. A Web-based syllabus guides students through a series of activities designed to familiarize them with the technology necessary for success in a virtual environment and to introduce them to the Walden academic community. Course content is delivered via the Psychology Forum, an asynchronous conferencing program. Students are required to contact the librarian early in the quarter to discuss their research topics. Subsequent interaction ranges from individual in-depth search instruction to exploring options for using local library resources.

Library Assignments: The Good, the Bad & the FISHY!
by Stephanie Michel & Caroline Gilson, Radford Univ.

How do you get your faculty to give effective library assignments that will teach students important information literacy skills? How do you reach out to faculty to promote the benefits of library instruction? Librarians from Radford University, a state-supported university of about 10,000 students in southwestern Virginia, will talk about how to work proactively with faculty to improve their knowledge of library resources and subsequently assist them in creating more knowledgeable, constructive library assignments. During this interactive discussion, participants will be encouraged to share their success stories.

OCLC's CORC Project: Cooperative Online Resources Catalog
by Technical Services Interest Group - Bill Carney, OCLC.

OCLC's CORC project brings libraries together to create a high-quality database of electronic resource descriptions. This program, presented by an OCLC staff member, will focus on the automatic creation of MARC and Dublin Core records from electronic resources, use of records harvested from the Web, and strategies for URL maintenance.

Ohio Immersion: A Reflection
by Bibliographic Instruction Interest Group - Deborah Carter Peoples, Ohio Wesleyan; Aimée deChambeau, Univ. of Akron; William Claspy, Case Western Reserve Univ.; Connie Salyers Stoner, Shawnee State; Anne Fields, Capital Univ.; Judy Albert, Ashland Univ.

The Ohio Immersion ACRL Institute for Information Literacy was held June 16-21, 2000, at Kent State University. Program highlights include an overview of Ohio Immersion as well as comments by a selected panel of Immersion participants. A report of Ohio library information literacy initiatives since Immersion will also be given. A brief BI Interest Group business meeting will be held at the end of the program.

Organization of the Collection at Selected Curriculum Materials Centers
by Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group - Gary Lare, Univ. of Cincinnati.

Curriculum materials centers (CMCs) provide a variety of curriculum material formats to their users. These generally consist of textbooks, curriculum guides, teaching activities books, children's books, and AV media (CD-ROMs, models, kits, puppets, posters, videos, picture sets, overhead transparencies, etc.). CMCs vary, however, in how they organize these various formats for access by their users. Based on the findings of a recent survey, this presentation will report on some of the major collection organization patterns being used by selected CMCs and consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of these. Also, some comments will be made regarding recent committee activities of the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section of ALA. A brief CMC Interest Group business meeting will be held at the end of the program.

Practical Solutions: Approaches to Program-Level & Classroom-Level Outcomes Assessment
by Julie Rabine & Catherine Cardwell, Bowling Green State Univ.

Traditionally, libraries attempted to prove their effectiveness by reporting the number of resources the library bought or subscribed to, instructional sessions taught, and reference questions answered, among other statistics. However, libraries are increasingly expected to document student achievement using outcomes assessment. After struggling with outcomes assessment at our own institution for several years, we have found that the most effective way to handle program-level and classroom-level outcomes assessment is to create manageable, realistic assessment tools. We will describe two assessment tools that have worked for us: a brief survey given to a large number of students and an in-depth, multi-part tool used with a limited number of library instruction sessions. We will discuss methodology, findings, and problems encountered, as well as comparative data from two years.

Publish Don't Perish: Getting Published in Library Literature
by Research and Publications Committee: Julie Gammon, Univ. of Akron; Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ.; Fred Jenkins, Univ. of Dayton.

The continued excellence and growth of library and information science and service depends on a regular infusion of published research and practical works. Librarians and library staff members can, however, face a number of barriers to getting published. The act of publishing can be viewed as a seemingly impossible and painful task. Individuals in academic libraries may not understand the process of publication or feel confident enough to proceed. They may not realize how rewarding and fun publishing can be.

The ALAO Research and Publications Committee presents a panel of three distinguished authors and a moderator who will discuss their writing and publication experiences in periodicals, books, and online sources. The panel will offer strategies for hopeful authors to follow, suggest likely publishing opportunities, and take questions from the audience. Participants will leave the session with personal success stories they can relate to, tips and handouts to guide them along their writing and publication paths, and answers to their most important publishing questions.

Regional Campus Libraries: Their Impact On & Off Campus
by Tina Schneider, Ohio State Univ. - Lima.

Regional campus libraries of public universities in Ohio play unique roles in the campuses and communities they serve. However, little is known about how they fulfill their roles. Of particular interest here are the libraries' level of community involvement and support of distance learning courses. The objectives of this study were to discern the missions and roles of regional campus libraries, analyze the levels of involvement in distance education and the community, and consider the future roles of regional campus libraries. Community involvement can take many forms, from visits to local libraries to interlibrary loan agreements. Distance education has also traditionally relied on local resources. It is important to know how regional campus libraries provide services for rapidly flourishing distance courses. How libraries serve these students, their community, and new trends in pursuing a degree will make all the difference to the future of regional campus libraries.

Remote Reference Service: Reaching the Off Campus Crowd
by Cynthia Jasper-Parisey, Miami Univ.

Miami University is primarily a residential campus. However, there is a population of students and faculty that do not live nearby. The information needs of this group are no less real than those of other students. In an attempt to reach this group, the library is implementing Web chat and push technology to enhance the existing traditional reference and e-mail reference services. The various problems and successes that have been encountered will be discussed along with the procedures and technological requirements of such a service. The presentation will end with a discussion of the usefulness of the service and tips for implementation in your library.

Servicetraining.edu: Circulation 101 for New Student Employees
by Tom Warren, Jeph Remley, & Bob Gray, Kent State Univ.

It has become evident that multiple approaches are needed to train students in today's ever-changing library work environment. Valuing the time-tested method of "hands-on" training and instruction yet not having the staff and time needed to provide it, it was determined that supplemental training incorporating a Web-based method as an introductory course to service was needed. The majority of training takes place at the beginning of the academic year when up to fifty new student workers converge on the Access Services Department fresh out of high school with many working their first jobs. The Web-based training option provides new students with their first contact of our library's operating system and gives them the "nuts and bolts" of its operation including Library of Congress classification training. Dreamweaver 2 is the Web design software utilized in creating this audiovisual rich, interactive environment that creates a non-threatening atmosphere for new students to explore the world of a service area employee.

Spinning Virtual Information: Avoiding the Tangles
by Candy Bogar Zemon, Pigasus Software, Inc.

Delivering information, regardless of source or format, is increasingly the business of the ILL office. ILL operations are pressed by shrinking acquisitions budgets and expanding resource sharing and distance education initiatives. Instead of staffing the "office of last resort," ILL practitioners approach center stage for information disbursement. ILL skills of networking, searching, scheduling, reporting, and managing are finding new applications in many types of libraries. This presentation covers how some new needs are pressuring traditional ILL components such as copyright, cooperative agreements, patron privacy, and service fees as well as introducing new components, such as licensing. A sketch of current events, a quick look at historic precedents, and a long look into the future complete the picture.

Testing for Correlation between Two Journal Ranking Methods: A Comparison of Citation Rankings & Expert Opinion Rankings
by Robert Russell, Univ. of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Winner, 2000 Beta Phi Mu Research Paper Award

This study tests for correlation between two journal ranking methods: citation rankings and expert opinion surveys. Political science professors from four major universities were asked to rank a list of the twenty most highly cited political science journals. Citation data were taken from the Social Sciences Citation Index Journal Citation Reports from 1992 to 1996. A Pearson's correlation coefficient and a Spearman's rank order correlation coefficient were calculated from the survey data. In addition the standard deviation for the average ranking of each journal was calculated to show the level of agreement among survey respondents.

What Faculty Expect from Library Collections
by Collection Management Interest Group - Stephen J. Thompson, Univ. of Akron; Kasee Laster, Ashland Univ.; Scott Walter, Ohio State Univ.

A major resource for developing a useful and well-used collection is the teaching faculty. While this may seem straightforward, in real life it is anything but. There are many obstacles to securing the faculty's cooperation and insights. This program will attempt to bridge this gap by presenting two college/university faculty members who will discuss their perceptions of which materials academic libraries should possess, what functions they should fill in providing information, what they do well and do poorly in this regard, and related topics. A different perspective will be offered by a librarian who took a tenuous collection development relationship with an academic department and dramatically improved it.

Updated 20 Oct 2000
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