(Cross posted)

“Ripped from the Headlines:  An ALCTS Forum “

ALA Midwinter Meeting, Seattle
Monday, January 22, 2007 -- 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
W Seattle, Great Room 1

PART ONE:
“New Library Facilities No Longer Needed as Resources are Digitized”
“Libraries Weed Print Collections, Offer Electronic Access Only – Users
in an Uproar”

Will headlines such as these become common place?

Join two speakers with different perspectives on the headlines!

Mary Abdoney, Science Librarian, Robert Lee Telford Science Library,
Washington and Lee University will discuss the withdrawal from the
Science Library of the print science titles that are part of JSTOR.

Richard AmRhein, Dean of Library Services, Christopher Center for
Library & Information Resources, Valparaiso University will offer
insights into a successful campaign for a new library featured in the
recent Wall Street Journal article “Libraries Beckon, But Stacks of
Books Aren’t Part of the Pitch.” The Christopher Center for Library and
Information Resources is the recipient of the 2006 ALA/International
Interior Design Association Library Interior Design Honor Award for
Academic Library 30,000+ Square Feet.

PART TWO:
The second part of the session will consist of a discussion of the
controversial statements featured in the ALCTS “Definitely Digital”
Symposium held on the Friday of Midwinter.

Controversial Statement #1
In the new information paradigm, there will be very little distinction
between book vendors and subscription agencies, whose services will be
very different than in the past.

Controversial Statements #2
In the rapidly evolving, technologically challenging,
electronically-oriented information environment, those staff members who
are not able to cope with continuous learning and constant change will
either become
increasingly compartmentalized or will be left behind altogether.

Controversial Statements #3
Due to the very high costs and rapid obsolescence of necessary equipment
and the fact that the electronic medium is not archival, digital
preservation is a concept which can only be embraced by the largest,
most well-funded libraries with large IT staff resources.

Controversial Statements #4
As information resources go digital, the "units" of information
discovery and delivery will become wildly variable and blended, making
past patterns of collection development, acquisition, and cataloging
inadequate and unscalable.

Moderator:
M. Dina Giambi
Assistant Director for Library Technical Services
University of Delaware Library
Phone: 302-831-2829
E-mail: dinag@udel.edu