- Email: [email protected]
Remembrance of things past and looking toward 1990
Library Acquisifions: Practice & Theory, Vol. 14, pp. 319-320,
0364-6408/90
1990
$3.00 + .OO
Copyright 0 1990 Pergamon Press plc
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
C~AR~E~T~N
CONFERENCE
1989
REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST AND LOOKING TOWARD 1990 KATINA STRAUCH Coordinator,
Charleston
College of Charleston Charleston.
Conference Library
SC 29424
Conferences are good. They do many things. First, they get people with like interests together and, so, there are unavoidable fringe benefits: contacts, networking, sharing of data and information, making and cementing of friendships. Second, they force all of us to take stock of particular situations and happenings in our world. On a day to day basis, sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, and we find ourselves losing track of what we are about. Conferences, just by forcing us to sit in a structured environment thinking about mutual concerns and listening to each other, take us out of that mold. Having said all of this, there are aspects to all conferences that are not desirable. First, everyone gets good ideas and makes new resolutions on leaving after listening and networking, only to abandon many of them when you return back to the ranch. Second, as conferences get bigger and bigger, we don’t always have as much time to share as is desirable. How can we solve these problems? Obviously, as the coordinator of the Charleston Conference and as a participant in other meetings, I am always wondering how to make our interactions in the conference format better. How can we encourage participation? How can we network on a regular basis after the Conference? How can we move from talking about things to doing something about them in a truly useful and constructive way? Many, many themes emerged from the 1989 Charleston Conference. At the top of the list is that the monies for the acquisition of library materials are shrinking while our purchasing options are increasing. End-user access is up. Many are signaling the death of the traditional library. Are reference librarians the people that will emerge in the year 2000 as the only librarians? Or will it be catalogers who will be cataloging journal articles on an individual basis and changing the whole structure of the journal indexing system? Few people are saying that acquisitions librarians or even collection development librarians will be the saviors of the hbrary profession. Rather, what we are hearing is that collections (book and journal) are in flux, that things are changing, and that we must change our thinking. And, there’s always been a tendency for others (especially library directors) to want to interfere with our business. I mean, we get perks, right? Lunches and dinners with vendors, more contact with our patrons, expenditure of huge sums of money. More than any other area in the library, acquisitions and 319
320
K. STRAUCH
collection development is seen as a “power” area. And, as someone said, where there is power there is someone out there who wants it instead of you. Yes, we have problems as librarians and we have problems as acquisitions and/or collection development librarians. But, I submit to you, that we in acquisitions and collection development are in a truly unique position to be the saviors of the library profession. We need to take charge! We need to take a position! We need to DO something. so . . . what does all this have to do with the next Charleston Conference? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. We need to talk to each other in a meaningful, useful, and constructive way. This may mean that publishers will continue to say things that librarians don’t want to hear and vice versa. We have to live and work on the same planet and we have to have a common set of beliefs. And we will all have to compromise. Realizing this goal, the Tenth 1990 Charleston Conference will take a somewhat different format than last year’s in that we will try to get more group interaction (as in times of old). We will each have a “mentor” or person that we need to get to know and talk to (someone that we don’t know otherwise) about common concerns. We will have two concurrent, in-depth preconferences on acquiring foreign materials and STM publishing issues. We will have contributed papers on research, in-house studies, and the like, which will be presented (some of them) concurrently. We will also attempt to have some papers distributed ahead of time and critiqued so that the authors will have the benefit of a peer’s input prior to delivery at the Conference. And, last but not least, it would be nice for us to come out with statements or opinions about things: whether it be by a group of one or two people or the entire Conference! Something to make us go on record (for us as well as for others) as to how we stand on something. Also, Richard Abel will return to give us his perspective on current issues. The 1990 Charleston Conference is evolving. We hope to see you in Charleston November 8-10, 1990 to help us!
0364-6408/90
1990
$3.00 + .OO
Copyright 0 1990 Pergamon Press plc
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
C~AR~E~T~N
CONFERENCE
1989
REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST AND LOOKING TOWARD 1990 KATINA STRAUCH Coordinator,
Charleston
College of Charleston Charleston.
Conference Library
SC 29424
Conferences are good. They do many things. First, they get people with like interests together and, so, there are unavoidable fringe benefits: contacts, networking, sharing of data and information, making and cementing of friendships. Second, they force all of us to take stock of particular situations and happenings in our world. On a day to day basis, sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, and we find ourselves losing track of what we are about. Conferences, just by forcing us to sit in a structured environment thinking about mutual concerns and listening to each other, take us out of that mold. Having said all of this, there are aspects to all conferences that are not desirable. First, everyone gets good ideas and makes new resolutions on leaving after listening and networking, only to abandon many of them when you return back to the ranch. Second, as conferences get bigger and bigger, we don’t always have as much time to share as is desirable. How can we solve these problems? Obviously, as the coordinator of the Charleston Conference and as a participant in other meetings, I am always wondering how to make our interactions in the conference format better. How can we encourage participation? How can we network on a regular basis after the Conference? How can we move from talking about things to doing something about them in a truly useful and constructive way? Many, many themes emerged from the 1989 Charleston Conference. At the top of the list is that the monies for the acquisition of library materials are shrinking while our purchasing options are increasing. End-user access is up. Many are signaling the death of the traditional library. Are reference librarians the people that will emerge in the year 2000 as the only librarians? Or will it be catalogers who will be cataloging journal articles on an individual basis and changing the whole structure of the journal indexing system? Few people are saying that acquisitions librarians or even collection development librarians will be the saviors of the hbrary profession. Rather, what we are hearing is that collections (book and journal) are in flux, that things are changing, and that we must change our thinking. And, there’s always been a tendency for others (especially library directors) to want to interfere with our business. I mean, we get perks, right? Lunches and dinners with vendors, more contact with our patrons, expenditure of huge sums of money. More than any other area in the library, acquisitions and 319
320
K. STRAUCH
collection development is seen as a “power” area. And, as someone said, where there is power there is someone out there who wants it instead of you. Yes, we have problems as librarians and we have problems as acquisitions and/or collection development librarians. But, I submit to you, that we in acquisitions and collection development are in a truly unique position to be the saviors of the library profession. We need to take charge! We need to take a position! We need to DO something. so . . . what does all this have to do with the next Charleston Conference? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. We need to talk to each other in a meaningful, useful, and constructive way. This may mean that publishers will continue to say things that librarians don’t want to hear and vice versa. We have to live and work on the same planet and we have to have a common set of beliefs. And we will all have to compromise. Realizing this goal, the Tenth 1990 Charleston Conference will take a somewhat different format than last year’s in that we will try to get more group interaction (as in times of old). We will each have a “mentor” or person that we need to get to know and talk to (someone that we don’t know otherwise) about common concerns. We will have two concurrent, in-depth preconferences on acquiring foreign materials and STM publishing issues. We will have contributed papers on research, in-house studies, and the like, which will be presented (some of them) concurrently. We will also attempt to have some papers distributed ahead of time and critiqued so that the authors will have the benefit of a peer’s input prior to delivery at the Conference. And, last but not least, it would be nice for us to come out with statements or opinions about things: whether it be by a group of one or two people or the entire Conference! Something to make us go on record (for us as well as for others) as to how we stand on something. Also, Richard Abel will return to give us his perspective on current issues. The 1990 Charleston Conference is evolving. We hope to see you in Charleston November 8-10, 1990 to help us!