Note: Directors are encouraged to route these monthly briefings to interested staff within the library or the larger institution.CONTENTSThe ARL web page http://www.arl.org is updated on a weekly basis to allow a streamlining of the monthly e-news. See item 11 below.
1. October 1998 Membership Meeting
2. Copyright and Intellectual Property Developments
3. ARL Activities Report Distributed
4. Clearinghouse on the Pew Report Established
5. Progress on SPARC
6. AAU/ARL Global Resources Program Update
7. ALA Education Summit Planned
8. Canadian ILL/DD Workshop Planned
9. CNI Meeting scheduled for Seattle in December
10. ARL Publications
11. ARL Web Page Updates
12. Transitions
1. October 1998 Membership Meeting
The Fall Program Packet was sent to ARL members and guests on Friday, September 25. The program for the Fall ARL Membership Meeting was finalized with President Dan Mote, Jr. (University of Maryland) agreeing to be the keynote speaker on Thursday October 15. The meeting will open with a reception on Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM honoring the participants in the Leadership Career Development Program and welcoming Directors new to ARL (Bernard Dumouchel, CSTI; Joanne Eustis, Case Western; Peter Graham, Syracuse; Liz Lane, NY State; and Joyce Garnett, Western Ontario). The meeting will close at noon on Friday following a business meeting to consider dues for 1999, election of three new board members, and a recommendation from the ARL Board of Directors to invite George Washington University Library as the 122nd member of the Association.
2. Copyright and Intellectual Property Developments
The current US Congressional Session is concluding with turbulent discussions surrounding several legislative items affecting copyright. The conferees on H.R. 2281, the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaties Implementation Act, have not yet worked out the differences between the House and Senate versions. A review of these actions and outcomes will be provided to membership by Prue Adler as soon as they are finalized later this week. Arnold Lutzker, the attorney retained by ARL and the Shared Legal Capability, will speak at the Federal Relations Lunch on Thursday October 15, concerning the significance and impact of new legislation. The Information Policies Committee and the Copyright Work Group will meet on October 14th and provide advice on ARL legislative strategies.
On October 5 the Washington Post carried an editorial titled "Copyright Fight" that weighed in on the debate. The Post argued that the House should drop the database protection amendment that had been added at the last minute. The editorial noted that the Senate has never held hearings on the database protection provision and that the Justice and Commerce Departments, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, have all advised that it should be put off a year and considered separately. Copies of this editorial along with other outcomes from the ARL work with a public relations firms will be available at the Membership Meeting next week.
3. ARL Activities Report Distributed
The ARL Activities Report, 1998 was distributed in the packet of materials sent to members in preparation for the Fall Membership Meeting. The report describes work advancing the program objectives and priorities established at the beginning of the year.
4. Clearinghouse for the Pew Roundtable Report
To encourage broad discussion of the issues raised in the report "To Publish and Perish," ARL is seeking the participation of the academic library community in developing a clearinghouse of responses to and experiences in the use of the report in discussions on campus and in the broader community. Please use the form at http://www.arl.org:591/pew/comment.html to record your comments or review the comments of others.
5. Progress on the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
Work continues on the project to create a more balanced marketplace for research information. To date, 110 libraries have joined as full members of SPARC. Two organizations have joined as supporting members and one consortium has joined as a collective. In addition, three library organizations have become SPARC affiliates. Richard Johnson, SPARC Enterprise Director, is working to develop additional partnerships. Another memo of understanding was developed and will be announced during the membership meeting next week. The SPARC task force will hold a briefing for membership during lunch on October 14th and will host a meeting for SPARC participants on Friday afternoon following the end of the ARL Membership Meeting.
6. AAU/ARL Global Resources Program Update
The AAU/ARL Global Resources Program continues to attract new participants to the regional projects, notably the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Alabama have joined the German project. A newly designed folder and fact sheets about program activities will be distributed at the October Membership Meeting. The "Global Breakfast" early on Friday, October 16 will be an opportunity for directors to see demonstrations of two Program databases. The nature of the AAU commitment to the GRP and the means of demonstrating that commitment are currently foremost on the Program's agenda.
7. ALA Education Summit
The ALA Executive Board has decided to hold an Education Summit next spring (April 30, May 1) in Washington DC and invited ARL to contribute a representative to serve on a Steering Committee, (The ARL Executive Committee named Sharon Hogan). The Education Summit is the first step in what may be a longer series of discussions and events - focusing on increasingly broader issues to the field. The *focus* of the May meeting will be on the initial preparation of librarians. This discussion will cover the perceived omission of core competencies in the field of librarianship, perceived lack of preparation to serve particular groups, etc. There are many other issues surrounding education for librarians and other library workers such as continuing education, certification, recruitment, etc. It will be the intent of the Steering Committee to identify these issues for further exploration and study in the future. The committee met on October 2-3 in Chicago.
8. Canadian ILL/DD Workshop Planned
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Canadian Association of Research Libraries / Association des bibliotheques de recherche du Canada (CARL/ABRC), and the National Library of Canada / la Bibliotheque nationale du Canada (NLC/BNC) are sponsoring a workshop designed to assist attendees in evaluating and adapting the performance-enhancing procedures and tools for improving interlibrary loan/document delivery (ILL/DD) services identified by the ARL ILL/DD Performance Measures Study. The goal of the workshop is to provide specific techniques to enable ILL/DD managers to improve local ILL/DD operations.
This ARL workshop has been tailored to Canadian libraries and will focus on the tools, services, and best practices most suited to Canadian ILL/DD operations. The workshop will also provide techniques for embracing change necessary to improve ILL/DD services. The workshop is scheduled for November 2-3, 1998 and will be held at the National Library of Canada. Registration forms are available on the CARL homepage.
9. CNI Meeting scheduled for Seattle in December
The Coalition for Network Information's Fall Task Force meeting will be held in Seattle, Washington on December 7-8, 1998. Janet Murray, MIT professor and author of Hamlet on the Holodek will keynote; an interview with her is featured in the latest issue of Educom Review.
Working Together, a workshop to promote collaboration between archivists and information technologists, will be held on December 16-17, 1998 at the Georgetown University Conference Center. Teams of archivists and information technologists will discuss areas of joint initiatives and work on collaborative plans for their home institutions. Clifford Lynch will keynote the conference. Gerry Bernbom of Indiana U. and Fynnette Eaton, an archivist at the Smithsonian, will facilitate the workshop. With support from the NHPRC, registration will be free but limited space will be available. For further information, contact Joan Lippincott at joan@cni.org
10. ARL Publications
+ The Role of ARL Libraries in Extension/Outreach, SPEC Kit #233. Claudine Jenda and Tamera Lee, Auburn University. August 1998.
+ Transforming Libraries #6 Issues and Innovations in Distance Learning. William G. Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago; Joan K. Lippincot, CNI, ed. advisor. September 1998. Online component is available at http://www.arl.org/transform/dl/.
+ Collaborative Collections Management Programs in ARL Libraries, SPEC Kit #235. George Soete, ARL. September 1998.
+ Developing Indicators for Academic Library Performance: Ratios from the ARL Statistics 1995-96 and 1996-97. Martha Kyrillidou, ARL. September 1998.
11. ARL Web Page Updates
+ Letters to Key Senators Regarding Database Legislation
+ The Impact of Publisher Mergers on Journal Prices: A Preliminary Report
+ LCDP Participants Partner with ALA spectrum Initiative Scholars in Mentoring Relationships
Conference Summary: The AAU/ARL Global Resources Program: Catalyst for Cooperation
+ ARL Makes Job Information Available Through Career Resources Site
12. Transitions
+ Leo Voogt announced his resignation as the IFLA Secretary General. He has accepted the position of Executive Director of the Netherlands Royal Association for the Book Trade (KVB) effective at the end of the year.
Duane Webster, Executive Director
Association of Research Libraries
v (202) 296-2296 f (202) 872-0884
duane@arl.org