Volume 17, No. 2

Winter 1998

By Stan Cottrell

Continuing the practice that was begun with last year's ASDAL election, every member of the Association will be given the opportunity to vote for the new Association officers and members of working committees.

The Nominating Committee this year consisted of Adu Worku from Pacific Union College, Kitty Simmons from La Sierra University, Sharon Wion from Southwestern Adventist University, and Loranne Grace from Southern Adventist University. Stan Cottrell of Columbia Union College served as Chair of the Committee and on its behalf would like to thank all those who consented to run for the various offices and committee memberships.

This year, as was the case last year, the ballots will be mailed to all current members at the beginning of March. The ballots must be returned by May 31 to be counted by the President. The results of the election will be announced at the conference and published in the Fall issue of ASDAL Action.

These are the nominees as of press time. Anyone else who is interested in running for any of these positions may contact the Chair of the Nominating Committee: e-mail - scottrel@cuc.edu.

President-Elect: (1-year term followed by 1-year term as President, one position):

Chris Cicchetti: Chris is the Reference and Curriculum Librarian at La Sierra University. She has served on the Scholarship and Awards Committee in 1992-95, coordinated the School Librarians Pre-Session for the 1996 ASDAL Conference at Columbia Union College, and served as On-site Coordinator for the 1997 ASDAL Conference at La Sierra University.

Secretary: (2- year term, one position):

Violet Maynard-Reid is the Reference Librarian at Walla Walla College. She has served ASDAL in such capacities as the ASDAL Action Editor in 1994-1996 and was elected last year to the Adventist Resources Working Committee.

ASDAL Action Editor: (2-year term, one position):

Cynthia Helms is Head of the Department of Information Services at Andrews University. She has served as ASDAL Action editor since 1996, and was Secretary of ASDAL in 1992-94.

Constitution and Bylaws Committee: (3-year term, one position):

Tony Zbaraschuk is the Special Collections Librarian and Archivist at the La Sierra University Library.

Chloe Foutz is Library Director at Union College and has served ASDAL in a variety of positions including Treasurer and President.

Scholarship and Awards Committee: (3-year term, one position):

Marge Seifert is the Librarian at Collegedale Academy.

Paulette McLean Johnson is the new Reference Librarian at Pacific Union College. She served on the School Librarians' Planning Committee in 1993-94.

SDA Classification Advisory Committee: (3-year term, one position):

Stanley Cottrell, II is the Cataloging Librarian at Columbia Union College. He served on the Classification Advisory Committee in 1994-97.

SDA Periodical Index Board: (5-year term, one position):

Marilyn Crane currently holds the position of Cataloging Librarian at Loma Linda University. She has served on the SDAPI Board since 1992 and is also currently the editor of the SDA Classification Schedule.

Site Planning Committee: (3-year term, one position):

Loranne Grace is the Cataloging Librarian at Southern Adventist University. She is currently serving on the SDA Classification Advisory Committee for the 1994-98 term and was on the School Librarians' Planning Committee in 1992-94.

Clint Anderson is the Associate Librarian at Southwestern Adventist University. He served on the Literary Awards Committee in 1990-93.

Statistics Committee: (3-year term, one position):

Sharon Wion is the Periodicals/Reference Librarian at Southwestern Adventist University.

Peg Bennett is the Director of the McKee Library at Southern Adventist University. She was a member of the Cooperative Information Access Committee in 1994-96 and served on the Academic Rank and Tenure Committee in 1992-95.

Stan Cottrell, Cataloging Librarian at Columbia Union College, is Chair of the Nominating Committee.

By Randy Butler and Lee Marie Wisel

Friday, June 19 - Early Bird Special

2:00 p.m. The Library of Congress has planned a special exhibit for the American Theological Librarians Association (ATLA) conference which we will be able to visit only between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Fourteen divisions of the library will be contributing rare and fascinating items in many formats on many of the world religions. Everyone will be responsible for their own bus and metro fare, estimated at $8.00.

Sabbath, June 20

2:00 p.m. Trip to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Parkat Great Falls on the Potomac River. C & O Canal Boat Trips use a mule-drawn boat to travel the canal, leaving from the Great Falls Tavern and Museum visitor center. Costumed ranger guides describe the life and time of the canal era. Tickets are $7.50. If the weather does not cooperate, we will visit the Washington National Cathedral (Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul) and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The charge for transportation will be less than $5.00.

Sunday June 21 - Adventist Resources Section Pre-Session

9:00 a.m. "Dealing with Organizational Records in the SDA Library Setting" - Bill Cash, Director, Office of Archives and Statistics, General Conference

10:45 a.m. "New Ellen G. White CD-ROM Resources" - Tim Poirier, Associate Director and Archivist, Ellen G. White Estate

11:30 a.m. "Preservation of SDA Materials" - Merlin Burt, Chair, Archives and Special Collections, Loma Linda University

1:30 p.m. Business Session

5:30 p.m. ASDAL Board

7:00 p.m. ALICE Council

Monday, June 22

9:00 a.m. "GC Web Site" - Bill Cash, Director, Office of Archives and Statistics, General Conference and Jonathan Gallagher, News Director, Communication Department, General Conference.

10:30 a.m. "Internet Races" - hands-on instruction in Web searching.

1:00 p.m. Group Photograph

1:15 p.m. Business Session I

2:30 p.m. "Vision for SDA Librarians in the 21st Century" - Maynard Lowry, Library Director, La Sierra University

3:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions

7:00 p.m. SDA Periodical Index Board Meeting

Tuesday, June 23

7:30 a.m. Depart for General Conference, worship with General Conference employees, tour of Review & Herald Publishing Association, lunch in the Review & Herald cafeteria, tour of the Gettysburg National Military Park, (including a licensed battlefield guide, an electric map that uses colored lights to demonstrate the 3-day battle, and the cyclorama painting "Pickett's Charge," followed by dinner.

Wednesday, June 24

8:30 a.m. Business Session II

10:00 a.m. "Distance Learning" - Joseph Gurubatham, President, Home Study International and Griggs University

11:15 a.m. "Developing a Systems Approach to K through University Library Services." - Richard C. Osborn, Vice-President for Education for the North American Division

1:00 p.m. "Multiculturalism in Libraries" - Cynthia Helms, Head, Department of Information Services, Andrews University

2:00 p.m. Depart for Washington, D.C., to tour the Library of Congress and view the "Religion in America" exhibit (not the ATLA exhibit), followed by the banquet and Business Session III, ending with a bus tour of the National Mall stopping at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

Thursday, June 25

8:00 a.m. School Librarians Post-Session

Other Details

The full conference program will appear in the Spring issue of ASDAL Action. We will also publish conference details on the ASDAL home page: http://www.andrews.edu/asdal/

Anyone planning to attend the American Library Association conference in Washington, DC. June 26 to July 2 may continue to stay on campus and take public transportation to the conference.

Please see the attached registration form for financial information. International librarians, please use this form as the spring issue of ASDAL Action may not arrive in time for you to meet the registration deadline.

Three airports serve the Washington, DC metropolitan area: Washington National, Washington Dulles International, and Baltimore-Washington International. Ground transportation is available from all three. Door-to-door shuttle service from the three airports ranges from $19 to $28, plus tip. Washington National is the closest airport and it is served by the Metro system which will bring you to Takoma Park where a Ride-On bus will deliver you to the campus.

Randy Butler, Library Director at Southwestern Adventist University, is Chair of the Conference Planning Committee and Lee Marie Wisel, Reference Librarian at Columbia Union College, is On-site Coordinator for the conference.

By Petre Cimpoeru

Last summer, the General Conference Department of Education asked me to go to Romania to catalog for the SDA Theological Seminary in Bucharest for two months.

David Rios, Loma Linda University Library Director, became personally involved in the project by helping to procure the necessary supplies. Merlin Burt, chair of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, and Carlene Bogle, chair of the Department of Public Relations, relieved me of my duties for the duration of the project.

In addition to the professional and missionary aspects, the project also had a sentimental value for me. Since I left Romania almost 18 years ago, I had never been back. Many changes have taken place in Eastern Europe since the fall of the iron curtain and communism. I was curious to see these changes, as well as my relatives and friends.

The Romanian SDA Union bought a beautiful piece of property on the shore of Lake Cernica just outside the country's capital, Bucharest, for a new Theological Seminary. This replaces the old campus which was confiscated by the communist government. When completed, this new campus will be one of the largest Adventist campuses in Europe, including classrooms, dormitories for single and married students, dormitories for professors and their families, cafeteria, chapel, and conference rooms.

Construction has already begun. A large space was dedicated to the new library. At the time of my arrival in July, the library's walls had been installed, but not the roof. Although the initial arrangements were for me to be involved in the cataloging project, I was asked for advice regarding functionality of space, arrangement and preservation of archival collections, and especially automation.

I spent a good part of my time in the old building where the library is currently located. The library includes two rooms with approximately 7,000 books, mostly in Romanian and English languages. To accomplish the cataloging project, I brought from the United States MITINET/MARC software, which should be easy to use for non-professional librarians, and the Library of Congress (LC) Classification. With MITINET in MARC format, the library should be able to produce cards and labels, and create a database of MARC records which can be exported to an integrated system. Employing the LC classification was a premiere in Romania. The Romanian libraries, including the national library, use the Dewey Decimal Classification. One difficult problem which I encountered was the lack of trained librarians. There is not even one professionally-trained Adventist librarian in the whole country of Romania.

The first person assigned to work with me was a trained nurse. She had the desire to learn, but she did not have computer skills, competence in the English language, or any previous library experience. It was very difficult for her to create subject headings, a task which is challenging even for professional catalogers.

After the revolution of 1989, our church members in Romania undertook a lot of projects. There was an outpouring of energy after being under the control of the communist system for almost 50 years. They wanted to catch up with the West, but they lacked the necessary means to do it. In my discussions with the leaders of the church, I understood that one of their objectives is to get full accreditation for their BA program from the Education Department of the General Conference. The full accreditation is dependent on a few things including an organized library with cataloged books.

To help our church in Romania accomplish their most ambitious goal of library automation, I had to visit a lot of libraries to familiarize myself with the European automated systems installed in Romania. After studying their performance and reliability, I recommended the acquisition of TINLIB created by Electronic Online Systems International Ltd. (EOSI), a world leader in informational systems with systems installed in 45 countries. It took a good deal of negotiation with EOSI to cut the price down from $20,000 to $15,000, and then with the Euro-Africa Division in Switzerland to cover the cost, at least partially.

TINLIB provides access to the name and language authority files and includes a subscription to a card catalog. Besides its technical performance and reliability, the system has the following advantages: (a) faculty and students will have access to the national library catalog and catalogs of 30 other libraries which bought the system; (2) the Seminary Library personnel will import the records for the books already cataloged by the National Library, saving a lot of cataloging time.

During my last few weeks in Romania, the contract with EOSI was signed, the software was installed and training of library personnel began. The library of SDA Theological Seminary in Bucharest is now in a very select company of libraries which include the National Library (the leading library in Romania), Presidential Library, Library of Senate, Library of House of Deputies, and Library of the National Institute for Information and Documentation.

The Romanian project has made a good start. A database including hundreds of book titles was created using MITINET/MARC, and the TINLIB automated system was installed. With these modern tools, our church in Romania can transform their library into one of the most efficient and modern SDA libraries in Europe.

Petre Cimpoeru is Assistant Archivist/Reference Librarian at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California.

Andrews University invites applications and nominations for the position of Systems Librarian at James White Library, available July 1, 1998.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Reporting to the Library Directory, the Systems Librarian has oversight of all library automation systems and networks, including the Innovative Interfaces system. Specifically: directs the operation of the library Systems Office which provides technical support for microcomputers and peripherals; coordinates systems training for library staff; functions as the library's webmaster; advises in the application of library technology to the university's distance education program. Supervises two FTE staff members. The appointee will be expected to share time between the above responsibilities and professional duties in another library department.

QUALIFICATIONS: MLS from an accredited program; good organizational, analytical, interpersonal and communication skills; knowledge of library systems and emerging trends in information technology. Experience in the field of library systems is highly desirable. Some supervisory experience is also desirable.

RANK AND SALARY: The appointee will carry faculty rank and salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.

James White Library comprises the main library plus two branches, with a total staff of 12 librarians, 17 FTE support staff, and part-time student assistants. Library collections comprise 850,000 volumes and 3,000 journal subscriptions. The library provides services to four schools plus the SDA Theological Seminary.

For additional information or to submit an application, contact the Chair, Search Committee, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI 49014. Phone (616) 471-3379. E-mail: clouten@andrews.edu

By Marilyn Crane

We librarians are accustomed to constant change in our work world. It is part and parcel of our existence. There is one change that calls for comment. When an esteemed and beloved colleague leaves our midst for other endeavors, we cannot let such a person go without making sure he knows how much he and his contributions are valued. And so we find ourselves in the position of saying au revoir to Harvey Brenneise.

Harvey has been a constant in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) librarianship for nearly twenty years. His home base has been Andrews University (AU) where he was associate and head reference librarian and, more recently, resources development and systems librarian. Harvey has made his mark also in other ways that have had an impact on most librarians at SDA institutions. He has been an active voice and a motivator within the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians (ASDAL), a creative thinker and unflagging worker for the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI), and an animating force behind the Adventist Libraries Information Cooperative (ALICE).

Three of his colleagues wish to join in celebrating his creativity, vitality, and dedication in the following remarks.

Harvey, we let you go reluctantly, but with the knowledge that you will make an invaluable, truly unique contribution in your next endeavor. We will miss you -- a lot! Vaya con Dios.

Harvey and ASDAL

By Chloe Foutz

The 1982 ASDAL Conference at Columbia Union College included a tour of the National Cathedral. As we were walking around the grounds, a young librarian stopped me, introduced himself as Harvey Brenneise, and said that he was interested in becoming involved in ASDAL. I did not have the tiniest inkling that I was hearing what may have turned out to be the greatest understatement in the history of the Association!

Soon Harvey was involved in several committees on which he has served with distinction. On the Scholarship Committee, for example, I simply mentioned that we received several applications each year from librarians outside the United States and that they could not meet the requirements for GRE, etc. Harvey promptly checked the IFLA standards and drafted changes that provided for international applications.

He served also on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, much of the time as chair. During his tenure the governance documents were expanded and refined. Adu Worku once told me that his first memories of an ASDAL conference were Chloe and Harvey discussing (?) the Bylaws!

Through the years, many of the informal sidewalk, cafeteria, or dormitory lounge "committees" (the precursors of change in ASDAL) involved Harvey and others whose time and expertise keep this Association functioning.

And let us not forget Harvey's untiring effort to sample every possible variety of ice cream at each conference site!

We have had the annual conference at Andrews more frequently than at any other location and Harvey has been very instrumental in planning several of those conferences and the first overseas conference at Newbold. Harvey has twice served as ASDAL president, the only member up to this point who has had that honor.

There have been few conferences since Harvey became a member when he has not made at least one presentation on a timely issue. He has been a frequent contributor to ASDAL Action. He has been at the forefront of almost every ASDAL discussion on automation and has generously shared expertise and advice when others have had questions or problems. And he is responsible for ASDAL's presence on the Web.

We salute you Harvey, for your outstanding contributions!

Harvey and the SDAPI

By Keith Clouten

A series of computer-generated diagrams known as SIRDS (Single Image Random Dot Stereograms) fascinated me at the home of some friends recently. Several of us could stare at one of those diagrams until we became cross-eyed and were able to see nothing but a mass of tiny colored dots on a flat surface. Then along came another person who, after focusing on the diagram for a few moments, suddenly saw a graphic and detailed object in three dimensions.

There is something about these responses to SIRDS that reminds me of Harvey Brenneise. Many of us stare at numbers and reports, trying to figure out what they mean to the task at hand. Harvey looks at the same sets of dots and discerns something in a completely different dimension. His is a special ability that projects the humdrum present into a future of interesting possibilities. Call it vision, imaging, creative imagining, paradigm pioneering, or whatever you will.

According to my set of minutes of the SDAPI Publications Board (or committee as it used to be), Harvey joined that body as the AU representative ten years ago in 1987. He was certainly an active participant when I became an elected member in 1990. During the next two or three years -- while most of us focused our attention on severe budget problems and wondered whether we could generate enough income to continue production of an annual printed Index -- Harvey was already out in front dreaming about an electronic version and how it could become a reality.

Indeed it did become a reality in 1994, thanks to Harvey's persistence and effort. When the SDAPI emerged as an electronic database searchable worldwide via the Internet, some of us thought we had finally caught up with the future. But again, Harvey was running ahead of the pack, talking about incorporating full-text with the index citations. It's a dream that is on the road to fulfillment in the near future.

Will that be the final point of arrival for the Index? Last summer at ASDAL's La Sierra conference, Harvey discussed the bold concept of a mega-database that will incorporate the widest possible range of Adventist resources, past and present, citations as well as full-text Some of us are wondering how and when we will get there. But clearly the flag has been planted out there ahead of us, and it will not surprise me if we find ourselves on site sometime soon.

Thanks, Harvey.

Harvey and ALICE

By Gilbert Abella

To pinpoint the exact date when someone first suggested the idea of a consortium of SDA libraries would certainly be difficult. But no one disputes that in the earliest informal broaching of the subject, among members of ASDAL, one enthusiastic, outspoken supporter of the idea was Harvey Brenneise.

A number of years would pass before a practical plan would emerge. By 1995, changes in the world of librarianship and development of the Internet had created a set of circumstances suitable for the creation of the consortium. Throughout this entire period, Harvey championed the cause with contagious zeal -- working with appropriate ASDAL committees and continuing a campaign of dialogue with members of the Association. His official and unofficial work paid off. The formal proposal for the creation of the consortium gained overwhelming support and final approval. The date set for the official implementation of the project was September 1, 1996. The name chosen was Adventist Library Information Cooperative (ALICE).

Paradoxically, what had taken so long to accomplish, the creation of ALICE as an entity under the umbrella of ASDAL, was the easy part of the project. The really difficult challenges--determining the technical and financial details, the nuts and bolts of the consortium-- was still ahead. To handle all of that and do what seemed to be an impossible job, the administrative council of ALICE chose a most capable person, Harvey.

What followed was certainly the most intense flurry of activity that ASDAL had ever seen. In order to coordinate all the simultaneous projects, including the choice of appropriate databases and the negotiation of the pricing structures with the vendors and with the members of the consortium, Harvey flooded the administrative council and all operative personnel with an overwhelming stream of e-mails and phone calls. Those who were at the receiving end often wondered if they should bless or curse him for his incredible productivity and his unwavering determination to create a workable infrastructure for ALICE.

Today many thousands of students, faculty, and staff of SDA institutions benefit from increased access to databases provided through ALICE. Perhaps it is appropriate now to describe Harvey's contribution to Adventist higher education with a paraphrase of Winston Churchill's deathless prose: "Never in the history of Adventist librarianship have so many owed so much to a single person."

Marilyn Crane is Catalog Librarian at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California. Chloe Foutz is Library Director at Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska. Keith Clouten is Library Director at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. Gilbert Abella is Chair of Public Services at La Sierra University, Riverside, California.

GETTING STARTED IS HALF THE JOB

Nancy Kim, Coordinator and Author

At the ASDAL Conference last summer at La Sierra University, the school librarians expressed a strong interest in either actively participating in the ALICE Consortium or in forming a consortium to meet their specific needs. At that time the ALICE Councel invited me to sit in on their e-mail business sessions to get a feel for how they conduct their business and/or to see if what they are doing could benefit school libraries.

At the beginning of this school year I made out a questionnaire for school librarians to survey their interest in and ability to participate in a consortium. I sent this questionnaire to all the Union Departments of Education in the United States requesting that they copy it and send it to all their school librarians. I thought that it would be worthwhile to publish the results of this survey at this stage for general information but also on the chance that some school librarians who might not have received the survey form might read this issue of ASDAL Action and have the opportunity to respond.

So far I have received 15 responses. Six have come from schools in the east, five have come from schools in the Midwest and four have come from schools in the west. Four schools have no interest in becoming a member of ALICE or similar cooperative. These four schools have enrollments of 22, 89, 94, and 138 students. Two of these schools are located on the west coast and two on the east coast.

Three schools are definitely interested in becoming a member of ALICE or similar cooperative but there is no possible way for them to afford the services. Two of these schools are on the east coast and the other is on the west coast. Their enrollments are 20, 140, and 171.

Five schools indicated that they are definitely interested in becoming a member of ALICE or similar cooperative if the per student cost is from $2 to $4. One of these schools didn't give the number of students enrolled; the others have enrollments of 130, 155, 170, and 235 students. One of these schools is located on the west coast and the other four are in the Midwest.

Three schools marked that they are definitely interested in becoming a member of ALICE or similar cooperative no matter what the cost though one indicated that they would hesitate if the cost was over $10 per student. The enrollments at these three schools are 150, 211, 275. Two of these schools are on the east coast and one is located in the Midwest.

I included a list of some of the more prominent vendors which offer their services to school libraries. The list included EBSCO, H W Wilson, IAC, NEWSBANK, SIRS, Inc., UMI, and a write-in choice. Out of the 15 responses, ten did not mark any preferences from among the choices given nor did they write in any other vendor. Among the five schools which marked their preferences one marked EBSCO, two marked H W Wilson, one marked IAC, one marked NEWSBANK, three marked SIRS, Inc., four marked UMI. (Those responding could mark as many companies as they wished.)

Eleven of the school librarians who filled out the questionnaire are interested in membership in ALICE or a similar consortium. Cost of the services is definitely an issue for most schools. The size of the enrollment seems to be a contributing factor with larger schools showing a stronger interest. Geographical location of the schools had no impact on the responses. The lack of response from some areas of the country does indicate that some Unions have not yet sent out the questionnaire.

Getting started is really only half the job and I feel that I have just gotten started. I welcome comments, responses, suggestions from any and all who read this article. I would especially like to hear from many more school librarians to get a better sampling. If you are a school librarian please contact me and I will send you a copy of the questionnaire. If you are a college/university librarian, give my address and phone number to any school librarians you know. I can be contacted at 130 Tennessee Street, Redlands, CA 92373; e-mail - rja@deltanet.com.

Nancy Kim is Librarian at Redlands Junior Academy, Redlands, California and Library Consultant at the Southeastern California Conference, Riverside, California.

Marilyn Crane, Coordinator

Recent Books, Theses, & Periodical Articles

Agromartin, Roberto Ouro. Propuesta de un paradigma Adventista de la psicologia. Libertador San Martin, Entre Rios, Argentina: Editorial Universidad Adventista del Plata, 1997. 213 p. A proposal for a Seventh-day Adventist paradigm for psychology intended to be read by psychologists, pastors, educators, and health educators. The author is a faculty member at River Plate Adventist University.

Christmas in my heart, compiled and edited by Joe Wheeler. New York: Doubleday, 1996. 277 p. ISBN: 0385486570. $22.00. Christmas in my heart: a second treasury, compiled and edited by Joe Wheeler. New York: Doubleday, 1997. 273 p. ISBN: 0385490291. $16.00. Selections from the popular series of the same title originally published by Review and Herald Publishing. Association. Dr. Wheeler was formerly chair of the Communications, English, and Modern Language Department at Columbia Union College.

Congreso Iberoamericano de Educacion Adventista. Compilacion de exposiciones y ponencias. Libertador San Martin, Entre Rios, Argentina: Universidad Adventista del Plata, 1997. 147 p. A report and papers from the 1st Ibero-American Congress on Adventist Education held at River Plate Adventist University.

Dudley, Charles E. Thou who hath brought us: the development of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination among African-Americans. Brushton, NY: TEACH Services, 1997- . 207 p. (2 v. in 1). ISBN: 1572580860. $25.00. A history of African-Americans and the "establishment, growth, and development of the Seventh-day Adventist Church." The first two volumes are subtitled: "From the cross to emancipation, 31-1863" and "Climbing up the rough side of the mountain, 1863-1900." Elder Dudley has served the Seventh-day Adventist church for more than 49 years as a pastor and conference administrator and he is related to author Alex Haley.

Griffith, Chris. Learning to know Jesus: a study guide for The Desire of Ages. 2nd edition. [S.l.: The Author], 1995 (407 Viewcrest, Port Angeles, WA 98362). 288 p. Arranged in the order of the Desire of Ages chapters, a series of questions are asked and accompanying Biblical and Ellen White references are supplied to suggest answers.

Griffith, Chris. Lessons Jesus taught: a study guide for Christ's Object Lessons. [S.l.: The Author], 1996 (407 Viewcrest, Port Angeles, WA 98362). 135 p. Arranged in the order of Christ's Object Lessons chapters, a series of questions are asked and accompanying Biblical and Ellen White references are supplied to suggest answers.

Jornadas Iberoamericanas de Creacionismo. Compilacion de exposiciones y ponencias. Libertador San Martin, Entre Rios, Argentina: Universidad Adventista del Plata, 1997. 117 p. A report and papers from the 1st Ibero-American Conference on Creationism held at River Plate Adventist University.

Kopel, David B. and Paul H. Blackman. No more Wacos: what's wrong with Federal law enforcement and how to fix it. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1997. 524 p. ISBN: 1573921254. $25.00. The authors, an attorney and a criminologist, share their concerns about the U. S. government's actions at Waco and propose remedies to the excesses they perceive. Useful information appears in the appendices: a chronology, cast of characters, negotiation tape summaries, etc. Mr. Kopel has written two other books on the subject of gun control, and Mr. Blackman is research coordinator for the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action.

Marilyn Crane is Catalog Librarian at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California.

Florida Hospital College

Florida Hospital College Library has now arranged for students to have access to the Electric Library both in the library and at home. The service should be available to the students by February 1. This is another in a series of database entry points provided by the LIRN consortium in which FHC is active. Searchbank is already available, as is ABI Global via ProQuest Direct.

For the second year in a row, FHC has increased the student headcount during the second semester of the year. The count at present is just over 520 students which is nearly a 40% increase over last year at this time.

The FHC Library is considering a change in name because the library at present has three distinct departments in three areas (in two buildings). These areas are the library, the learning center, and the computer lab. Names being considered at this time are: (1) Information and Resource Services, and (2) Academic Support and Resource Services.

Marley Soper

Newbold College

In June 1997 The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education submitted its report to the British Government (For full text, please refer to http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/). Its brief had been to make recommendations on how the purposes, shape, structure, size and funding of higher education, including support for students, should develop to meet the needs of the United Kingdom over the next 20 years. While Newbold is a very small player in this context, and falls outside many of the structures the report addresses, the work is highly relevant to the future of the college. In the years to come Newbold will have to operate in the environment which the report anticipates, and cannot afford to ignore the challenges it identifies. A main thrust throughout the report is the emphasis on clear institutional strategies for dealing with these challenges.

Many of the trends that are identified in the report and the recommendations that are made have implications for library and library and information services. For instance, there is emphasis on teaching students transferable information skills that will facilitate lifelong learning. Also, the committee predicts that the use of electronic sources of information and computer assisted learning materials will increase dramatically in years to come. This last observation may not be particularly original. But for a small, somewhat inadequately funded institution like Newbold it could represent a major problem to develop the technical infrastructure and expertise necessary to deliver thekind of networked information services envisaged in the report. It will certainly require some careful planning and significant investment.

In response to this situation a number of steps have been or are in the process of being taken. A position of Director of Educational Resources has been created in order to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the development of library and computer resources. A process to revise the college's information technology strategy has been set in motion. And some solid work on determining the right mix of collection based services and services based on remote access to resources has been carried out by Annette Melgosa. Her work will form the basis of an updated resource acquisitions policy that will be developed over the next couple of months. A lot more work is still ahead of us in all these areas, but we feel we have made a good start.

Newbold is also in the middle of a number of changes in the personnel that are involved in the delivery of educational resource services. Per Lisle has been appointed to the new position of Director of Educational Resources. He will continue as Librarian, but will in due course shed some of the responsibilities he carries for the day-to-day running of the library. Annette Melgosa is under appointment to theAdventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines and will leave us at the end of February. This will be a real loss to us. Annette has made a significant contribution in several areas dusting the four years she has been has worked in Newbold College Library. She has also recently completed her MA in Library and Information Studies at the University of London.

Lynda Baildam has been chosen to take Annette's place. Lynda comes to us with considerable teaching experience and her responsibilities will include library user education, support for student research and contact with the teaching staff. She will start working for us on 1 September. Our computer services are now looked after by Eddie Howson. Eddie joined the Newbold staff from South Bank University in London in April 1997 and moved to his present position on 1 January 1998. We are also planning to make two more appointments in the near future, one in the library and one in computer services.

Per Lisle

Southwestern Adventist University

The Library recently received the gift of a complete set of the U.S. Supreme Court Reports - Annotated Lawyers Edition. In addition, the Union office has closed its legal library and donated its contents to our library. We were especially pleased to receive the 2nd Edition of the Texas Law Digest in the Union gift. In the future, we hope to update most of our legal sets via CD-ROM with West Publishing. The Library's New York Times Best Sellers shelf is nearly always empty! The Best Sellers have become runaway hits. The Communication Department started a monthly Book Discussion Club that has become very popular based on our Best Sellers. We have also expanded our video collection with recommendations for old and new "classics" from the faculty.

The University has initially approved a new program in Criminal Justice to begin in the fall semester, 1998. In reality, this will be a 2+2 program coordinated with Hill College (HC), our local community college. HC has a well established and thriving Criminal Justice program, but many of its students would like to go on for a Bachelor of Science degree as well. Southwestern will offer a core of Criminal Justice courses in conjunction with the traditional liberal arts curriculum leading to a BS Degree in Criminal Justice. The program will require additional part-time and full-time help. Randy Butler has agreed to serve as director of the program through its establishment. He will continue to serve as University Librarian, but he will devote increasingly more time over the next several years to the development, accreditation, and marketing of the new major. With two more graduate classes, Randy will be able to teach Political Science component classes (he used to teach Constitutional Law at Andrews). Southwestern has been talking and thinking about a Criminal Justice major for years, but HC and student interest have finally brought the discussion to a vote and decision. The University will need to hire an additional librarian in the coming months to help cover Randy's partial loss to the Library.

The University Library will host a spring book sale in April and will possibly start a Children's Reading Hour Program next year using volunteers. The Advancement Office is still working on grant proposals for the Library's online catalog. It remains the Library's top priority.

Randy Butler

Walla Walla College

Carolyn Gaskell has been elected President of the Northwest Association of Private Colleges and Universities: Libraries Section for 1997-1998. She has also been elected as Vice Chair of Faculty Senate for 1997-1998 and therefore also chairs the Senate Executive Committee.

We welcome Carol Lindsey to our staff this year as the new Periodicals Technician. She comes to us from Texas and has been a real asset to the department in the short time she has been with us.

WWC has subscribed to the Cambridge Internet Database Service Small Institution Evaluation Program which allows us access to the Complete Cambridge Sciences Collection for the current year plus their complete archives. The Cambridge collection includes biological sciences, microbiology, and other biology-related databases. Since neither our faculty nor our students were using Biological Abstracts, we deselected it. The Cambridge collection as well as the Life Sciences Collection of Current Contents and the Biosis collection of OCLC FirstSearch, which our patrons prefer, support our engineering, environmental sciences, and other programs. The total cost of the service was only slightly more than the print price for Biological Abstracts and we are serving a greater number of campus programs.

This fall, the School of Nursing Library received their first Internet access and now can utilize our OPAC and make use of its Web pages. Plans are underway to create a Web page specifically for the Portland Campus Library and the databases most important for the Nursing curriculum. Shirley Cody, Librarian at the School of Nursing, can now be reached via e-mail at codysh@dosgate.wwc.edu.

Over the summer, all our Web pages received a new look--thanks to one of our student employees, Steve Bergherm. Over Christmas break, direct links were added to each of the most used OCLC and Cambridge Scientific databases. Check us out at http://dewey.wwc.edu/

Carolyn Gaskell

Having received the latest ASDAL Action, I could not help but let you know how much I appreciated the article on Mr. Glenn Hilts. I can and would gladly second everything that Maynard Lowry wrote about Mr. Hilts.

When I was a young school librarian with only three years' experience in a library after taking a minor in library science at Walla Walla College, Mr. Hilts took the risk of calling me to La Sierra College (LSC) to be a "cataloguer." This was scary. However, he allowed me the time to finish an MS in Library Science at the University of Southern California.

Mr. Hilts patiently led an inexperienced fellow through many learning experiences which made the acquiring of an advanced degree much simpler. His knowledge of what was then called Library Science exceeded many of the teachers under whom I sat at the university.

After working at the LSC library for 12 years, I received the call to go to the Walla Walla College library. I made the move only at the encouragement of a co-librarian, Lois Walker. But it was my working with Mr. Hilts and my observing him directing the LSC library that gave me the courage to accept that call and accept the directorship of the WWC library for 21 years.

As I read over the list of members (which is not an easy task any more because of macular degeneration), not only was I pleased to find the names of many of my friends who are also now retired, but happy to see how the organization has grown internationally. It is now a far cry from that small group of librarians who gathered at Pacific Union College that spring to organize into an association for the cooperation among Adventist librarians. My best wishes to each of the members who are carrying on in this age of electronics, which has left some of us amazed at what is taking place in the field of librarianship.

By Elwood Mabley, retired, former Library Director at Walla Walla College, College Place, Washington.

Welcome, New Members

The treasurer is pleased to announce the new members of our association. We say "Welcome" to the following:

Sandra Browning, Circulation Supervisor, La Sierra University; Joy Norman Cavins, Librarian, Oakwood College Academy; Elsie De Leon, Media Specialist, Ringgold Middle School; Brenda D. Glennie, Library Technician, La Sierra University; Bernard Helms, Acquisitions Associate, Andrews University; Johannes Kovar, Librarian, Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen; Jo Lloyd, Head Librarian, Avondale College; James Luke, Library Systems Administrator, Loma Linda University; Peter Marks, Student, University of New South Wales; Giny McConathy, Children's Information Assistant, Fort Collins Public Library; David Mendoza, U.S. Dept. of Justice; Randi S. Myklebus, Librarian, Middle East College; Daegeuk Nam, Director, Korean Sahmyook University; Tina Otter, Student, Wayne State University; Anwar Saudagar, Student; Steve Sowder, Director, Administrative Computing, Southwestern Adventist University; George Summers, Retired; Teresa Ann Thompson, Student, University of Iowa; Datha Tickner, Librarian, Monterey Bay Academy; Loida Samillano Tillo, Librarian, Mindanao Sanitarium & Hospital; and Mukhtar Younis, Ali Town Christian Colony.

ASDAL Action Deadline

The deadline for the Spring issue is April 15, 1998. Contributions may be sent by e-mail, postal mail, or fax (please see editorial box).