Volume 18, No. 1

Fall 1998

The recent eighteenth annual meeting of ASDAL was by all accounts a resounding success. Whether listening to inspiring worships and thought-provoking presentations or touring Washington, D.C. at night, members from around the world enjoyed a rich fellowship together under the auspices of Columbia Union College. I am pleased to report that Chris Cicchetti has already begun the time-consuming task of preparation for ASDAL '99 in Montemorelos, Mexico.

It is customary for each new president of ASDAL to share a few thoughts with members in the first newsletter following the annual meeting. In keeping with that tradition, I would like to reflect for a moment and then report on an action recently taken. It was a pleasure to see nearly 50 colleagues and friends at the annual meeting. Having the advantage of being at the podium to handle introductions, I was able to see the group as a whole, eyes front. I could not help but notice how the organization has grayed over the years. Of course I am not the same young man who joined ASDAL some 14 or 15 years ago either! But it is not the fading of youth per se that concerns me, it is simply the fact that in the next dozen years or so half or more of the membership will retire. I am concerned that the number of new, including (dare I say) younger, potential members will not equate favorably with the number retiring.

Unless my observations are indeed at odds with reality, our organization and SDA librarianship in general has a future anomaly to confront: too few professionals to fill too many positions. The balance between job openings and potential employees has been fairly steady until late. The future retirement of large numbers of Baby Boomers threatens to tip this balance. (This is obviously a problem across the broad academic range.) As an organization and individually we need to more actively recruit our colleagues who are not members and promote the profession at all levels of education. Meeting the immediate and future needs is one thing, expanding opportunities is another. Wouldn't it be nice if all of our institutional and educational leaders really understood what librarians do and recognized the need for more professional librarians at all academic levels? An expanded SDA job market would attract more young scholars to the profession. I do not have a solution to this dilemma, but I do know that it is a shared concern. Personally, I would like to see our organization address this issue in a future forum. A demographic study might even prove interesting.

Like the other participants at the annual meeting, I thoroughly enjoyed and learned something new from each of our speakers. But one presentation in particular caught my attention. In the course of our meeting, Dr. Richard Osborn, secretary of education for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, addressed the group on the theme of greater inter-institutional cooperation across Adventist academe. He specifically challenged us as librarians to find new ways of sharing resources and/or expertise at all academic levels, K-16. Of course, this was like preaching to the choir, considering our own high level of consortium building (e.x. ALICE) and other cooperative efforts.

However, his call did strike a chord in regards to a problem that many of us have discussed at one time or another: how to improve service to all our patrons through inter-institutional planning and sharing. I was intrigued by the challenge of building and expanding interconnectivity through resource and expertise sharing with our K-12 colleagues. After talking with Chris Cicchetti and several others, I decided to establish a special task force to thoroughly study and review this issue. With all the economic, political, and attitudinal permutations involved, the group will have to think on a broad scale and dare to imagine.

The following individuals have agreed to serve on what I have designated as Task Force 2000: Nancy Kim (Redlands Jr. Academy), Co-chair; Paulette McLean Johnson (Pacific Union College), Co-chair; Bob DuBose (Loma Linda Academy); John Kihlstrom (Spring Valley Academy); Katherine Hunt (Southern Adventist University); and Loranne Grace (Southern Adventist University). The group has the advantage of many years of service on a variety academic levels, often within their own careers. Task Force 2000 is "charged with the responsibility of developing proposals for the promotion and implementation of greater cooperation and sharing of services and resources between K-16 SDA Libraries." I hope that you will join me in supporting this group with your own ideas and suggestions. I have discussed Task Force 2000 with Dr. Osborn and he is equally excited about the opportunity to make some progressive assessments and model proposals for change. I have asked the group to make a preliminary report next year at Montemorelos and, with Dr. Osborn's assent, a final report at the NAD Education Convention in Dallas in the year 2000. In addition to the Task Force report, he has also asked ASDAL to chair and moderate the librarian breakout sessions. I have heartily accepted this offer on behalf of ASDAL.

I do not have a new vision or mission for ASDAL. I want only to see our organization grow in influence and service. We have an exemplary history of nearly two decades of dedicated service upon which to build. I am confident that we can find new ways and means to meet the growing demands upon our profession.

Randy Butler, ASDAL President, is Library Director at Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, Texas.

"Seventh-day Adventist Libraries:
Today and Tomorrow"

June 22-June 25, 1998
Columbia Union College
Takoma Park, Maryland

By Jamie Walker

Monday, June 22

8:10 a.m. Worship by Keith Clouten

8:40 a.m. Charles Scriven, president of Columbia Union College spoke to the group.

9:00 a.m. Bill Cash and Jonathan Gallagher presented the General Conference web site.

1:15 p.m. Business Meeting

VOTED: Minutes of last year's meeting be accepted.

Editor's report by Cynthia Helms. VOTED: To accept the report.

Tony Zbaraschuk was appointed parliamentarian. The Executive Board appointed Stan Cottrell as web coordinator. [Linda Maberly has since agreed to be Membership Coordinator]

Ballot results were read:

President-elect: Chris Cicchetti

Secretary: Violet Maynard-Reid (1998-2000)

ASDAL Action editor: Cynthia Helms (1998-2000)

Constitution and Bylaws Committee: Chloe Foutz (1998-2000)

Scholarship and Awards Committee: Paulette Johnson (1998-2001)

SDA Classification Advisory Committee: Stan Cottrell (1998-2001)

SDA Periodical Publication Board: Marilyn Crane (1998-2003)

Site Planning Committee: Loranne Grace (1998-2001)

Statistics Committee: Peg Bennett (1998-2001)

Per Lisle read the members of the committees, and noted that chairs need to be elected.

VOTED: that the following serve on the Resolutions Committee: Paulette Johnson, Randy Butler, Clint Anderson.

VOTED: that the following people serve on the Nominating Committee: Gary Shearer, Marilyn Crane, Morris Iheanacho, Bob Baldwin, Cynthia Helms.

Reports:

Adventist Resources Section report given by Jim Ford. VOTED: that this report be accepted.

Ad Hoc Committee on Site Location. Approximately 24 people expressed interest in going to Montemorelos for next year's meeting. VOTED: that next year's meeting be held at Montemorelos.

Maynard Lowry is going to check on the possibility of having the year 2000 meeting at Kingsway.

2:50 p.m. Presentation by Maynard Lowry "Vision for SDA Librarians in the 21st. Century."

3:55 p.m. Dismissed to breakout sessions.

Wednesday, June 24

8:05 a.m. Worship by Jim Nix

9:50 a.m. Business Session.

Reports continued.

School Librarians given by Nancy Kim.

Scholarship and Awards Committee noted that the recipient will be announced later.

SDA Classification and Advisory Committee report given by Marilyn Crane. New version will be on web page.

SDA Periodical Index report given by Keith Clouten. 25th anniversary is coming up and index is financially stable. With the upcoming indexing of German periodicals the index will become international in scope.

ALICE report given by Keith Clouten. ALICE has decreased costs to libraries. Maynard Lowry will be project manager.

Overseas Library Coordinator report given by Keith Clouten who pointed out that ASDAL is becoming international.

Constitution and Bylaws Committee report given by Chloe Foutz who mentioned two proposed revisions.

1. Revise standing rule 27: Present wording: "The ballots must be received by the president on or before May 31." Proposed wording: "Ballots shall be distributed by mid-March and must be returned by May 31." VOTED: to accept change of wording in standing rule 27.
2. Add standing rule 28: "When a member requires an official letter of invitation to an Association meeting in order to obtain a visa, the letter shall be issued by the Treasurer or a person designated by the president." VOTED: to accept the addition of standing rule 28.

Publicity Coordinator report given by Cynthia Helms. An announcement about the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship was sent to all union papers and divisions.

Ad hoc committee for paraprofessionals report given by Adu Worku. This report relates to academic library staff and notes that attention should be given to paraprofessional titles. There was a motion that David Rios be a member of the Planning Committee for next year's meeting. VOTED: that David Rios be placed on the Conference Planning Committee.

10:10 a.m. Presentation by Joseph E. Gurubatham. "Distance Education and the Academic Librarian." He spoke of distance education emphasizing distance education methodologies, use of technology in distance education, and the library and librarians and distance education. He concluded with the future of distance education.

11:15 a.m. Presentation by Richard C. Osborn. "Developing a systems approach to K through University Library Services."

1:15 p.m. Presentation by Cynthia Helms: "Developing Multiculturalism in Academic Libraries."

8:00 p.m. Meeting called to order by Per Lisle. Treasurers report by Lee Wisel. The $1000 scholarship has been awarded, but not yet collected. VOTED: That we accept the report..

Reports of breakout sessions will be printed in ASDAL Action.

VOTED: Ad hoc Anniversary Committee will consist of four from the US and one from overseas to plan the 20th anniversary of ASDAL. Members are Chloe Foutz, Keith Clouten, Annette Melgosa, Norma Greaves, Marilyn Crane. VOTED: that Chloe Foutz be chair of the committee. The committee will exist until the anniversary.

Lee announced that Joyce Biggs is the recipient of the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship.

Resolutions Committee Report was given by the committee.

8:30 p.m. Per Lisle passes gavel to Randy Butler. Session declared closed.

Jamie Walker, ASDAL Secretary, is Catalog Librarian at La Sierra University, Riverside, California.

By Carolyn Gaskell

Library directors explored the various library employee titles used by the General Conference (GC) for service records. Titles were collected for professional librarians from all libraries represented, including the international libraries. Carolyn Gaskell is in the process of drawing up a categorized list for perusal at next year's conference. Other groups to be surveyed include: School Librarians, Special Librarians, Home Study Institute, and international librarians not represented at this year's ASDAL. The ultimate goal is to approach the GC with a standardized list differentiating appropriately between the types of professional positions as well as between professional and technical positions.

Brief queries were made as to whether libraries were experiencing difficulties with patron access to Internet sites. WWC was working on an acceptable use policy. No one else indicated a need for such a policy.

Use of ASDAL libraries by non-primary clientele was also briefly discussed. No ASDAL library seems to have difficulty with over-use by such patrons.

Carolyn Gaskell is Library Director at Walla Walla College, Walla Walla, Washington.

By Keith Clouten

A proposal to place the complete schedules of A Classification Scheme for Adventists and Ellen White on the ASDAL Web site is being studied.

The classification scheme, which offers a modification and expansion of the Library of Congress schedules for Adventists (BX 6101-6189), was originally developed at Canadian Union College in 1980-81 by Keith Clouten with assistance from Warren Trenchard. By 1984 the scheme was in use by at least a dozen libraries, so it was adopted by ASDAL which is now responsible for its updating and publication. Marilyn Crane of Loma Linda University libraries is the current editor, guided by a standing committee of ASDAL. The classification runs to almost 90 pages, including index, in a loose-leaf format to facilitate annual updates.

The SDA schedules are crafted to reflect existing LC models, including subdivision tables for Christian denominations. The scheme provides an extensive range of numbers for Seventh-day Adventists as well as for Ellen White. Religion catalogers at the Library of Congress use the scheme as a reference in their ongoing development of the BX 6100 schedules.

A survey of subscribing libraries in 1991 revealed that some 20 Adventist libraries worldwide were using the scheme either partially or totally. This suggests that an online version might prove useful, particularly in providing catalogers with instant access to editorial changes and additions as they are made. Catalogers requiring paper copy for their work could either print directly from the web pages or (if they lacked web access) request a print version from the publisher at the cost of U.S. $10.00.

For more information about the classification, or to comment on the proposal, contact Marilyn Crane (editor) at the Del E. Webb Library, Loma Linda University (mcrane@dwebb.llu.edu), or Keith Clouten (publisher) at James White Library, Andrews University (clouten@andrews.edu).

Keith Clouten is Library Director at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

By Chris Cicchetti

The theme of the 19th ASDAL annual conference is "Working Together: Cooperation Among SDA Libraries." We are looking forward to meeting and sharing with our colleagues, especially in the Inter-American and South American Divisions. Please put this on your calendar, and start making plans now to attend.

An outline of the schedule is as follows:

Friday, June 18

Early arrival and registration

Sabbath, June 19

Church and Sabbath Afternoon Tour

Sunday, June 20

Arrival and registration

Adventist Resources Pre-Session

Monday, June 21

Keynote Address

Tuesday, June 22

Tour

Wednesday, June 23

Last day of meetings

Banquet

In order to facilitate reports and discussion of the Task Force 2000, which is working on proposals for the promotion and implementation of greater cooperation between K-16 SDA libraries, the School Librarians Section will meet jointly with the main conference. Translation services will be provided in both English and Spanish.

Montemorelos University will provide transportation from the airport in either Monterrey, Mexico or McAllen, Texas. Transportation from Monterrey will cost approximately $35.00 U.S.; transportation from McAllen will cost approximately $60.00 U.S. Please plan to let Montemorelos know well in advance at which airport you will arrive.

Watch future issues of ASDAL Action for further information.

Christina Cicchetti, ASDAL president-elect and program chair, is Curriculum/Reference Librarian at La Sierra University Library, Riverside.

By Keith Clouten

On August 25, 1998, a major new extension to Avondale College Library was officially opened. Named the Jeremic Wing for the principal donor, the nearly 20,000-square-foot addition places this library among the five largest in the denomination in terms of floor space.

I was privileged to be present for the opening ceremony on a weekend which coincided with my fortieth homecoming. As the first Avondale librarian with professional training in 1961, I was also invited to present a brief history of the college's library development. The August 25 event was also a reunion of past and present library directors, including Brian Townend (remembered by several ASDAL members), Michael Rigby (an alumnus of Andrews University), Paul de Ville, and Jo Lloyd, the present director.

The new library extension features an expanded Ellen G. White / SDA Research Center for the South Pacific Division, a fully integrated audiovisual center, an upgraded educational curriculum laboratory, and much new space for the library's collections. The curved exterior of the Jeremic Wing preserves the "round house" feature of the original part of the building. The expanded facility provides an attractive and spacious library environment for the college as it continues to provide quality undergraduate and graduate programs.

"We've been looking forward to this new wing," said Jo Lloyd, library director. "It will, in effect, more than double our floor-space, accommodating a great deal more reference books and periodicals, as well as providing more study space."

Keith Clouten is Library Director at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

By Ruth Maddox-Swan

Swan, R. (1990). Perceived Performance and Disconfirmation of Expectations as Predictors of Customer Satisfaction with Information Services Quality in the Academic Library. Dissertation. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

This brief summary of my recent Ph.D. dissertation comes in response to several requests for information made during the last ASDAL conference at Silver Spring, MD. It was a pleasure to see each one. I was rather secluded during the three years that I worked towards completing my studies. I graduated from the Florida State University May 1998 with a Ph.D. in Library and Information Studies. I am thankful to all that encouraged the process. My dissertation title was Perceived Performance and Disconfirmation of Expectations as Predictors of Customer Satisfaction with Information Services Quality in the Academic Library. Disconfirmation of expectations as used here is the difference between the quality of service one expected and the perceived quality of service received. An expectation of service quality is either confirmed or disconfirmed. If expectations are met or exceeded, the result may be customer satisfaction.

I have always been interested in ways in which educators might tailor the learning environment to best suit the needs of its clients. I am very interested in the study of learning styles and of customer satisfaction. My motivation for choosing research tools that measure customer satisfaction in the academic library environment stemmed from the fact that in this technological age, clients increasingly have more options for meeting their information needs. They are not as dependent upon libraries as they once were. There was a rather lengthy letter to the editor in last night's (10/14/98) Huntsville Times that negatively compared the public library to a national book chain. If libraries are to remain a vital part of the academic arena, librarians will have to somehow discover the information needs and wants of customers (from a subjective point of view) and meet those needs. Increasingly, I am hearing reports around the country of library services (along with library budgets) being shifted to other departments on campus. In the past, and perhaps even now, we have decided for our customers what their information needs were and how they would be met. We have largely based evaluations of library service quality on the quantitative measures of items such as library holdings, and circulations. This approach is changing in favor of combining quantitative measures with qualitative measures of service quality. Our discipline has not had valid and reliable tools for measuring customer satisfaction with service quality and for diagnosing our service shortfalls.

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of the performance-based SERVPERF and the disconfirmation-based SERVQUAL scales in the setting of the academic library. Both tools, one a sub-set of the other, originated in the marketing field. They have been widely used in the for-profit sector and in some non-profit settings. The study also sought to explore what service quality factors are important to customers of the academic library. The relationships between overall customer satisfaction and selected study variables were explored to explain what accounts for the most significant variation in customer judgements of satisfaction.

A sample of 384 students of Florida State University was selected to receive one of the modified service performance scales. Forty percent of the sample responded to the mail survey. Along with the mail survey, focus surveys were used to gather data for analysis. The results of the focus interview and focus mail questionnaire yielded several findings that I can share at a later date in full. Study results confirmed that the five dimensional service quality structure as developed by SERVQUAL developers is valid in the setting of the academic library. The five dimensions of service quality as proposed by Parasuraman et. al are: Reliability, Tangibles, Assurance, Responsiveness, and Empathy. Descriptions of the dimensions may differ, however, from descriptions given by customers of non-library service providers. The two most frequently mentioned factors important to customer satisfaction related to reliability and to customer-staff-relations. Results also suggest that customers of the academic library may place a higher value on some dimensions of service quality than do customers of other service providers. User characteristics were weakly correlated to values of overall customer satisfaction. Of this set of variables, income was the strongest.

One item for further study might be to investigate the factors that directly promote dissatisfaction with academic library services. The full dissertation is available from Dissertation Abstracts. I can be contacted at rswan@oakwood.edu for further information or for assistance with conducting customer studies.

Ruth Maddox-Swan is Director of Media Resources at Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama.

Herstory

By Nancy Kim

I have a challenge for all of you school librarians- well, actually two challenges. First, go to the biography section of your library and compare the number of biographies you have about men to the number of biographies you have about women. When I did this, I was astonished to find that in my school library, out of the approximately 15 shelves of biographies, only half of a shelf are biographies of women. This revelation raised several important questions for me. Does this ratio accurately reflect the population ratio? Does this ratio mean that men have accomplished that much more than women? Do readers want only biographies about men? Aren't publishers producing biographies of women? And then a painful question: what am I doing about this inequality?

My second challenge for you is to take the following quiz and see how you score. The quiz uses the same format as the well-known TV game show Jeopardy. You read the answer and then try to come up with the correct question. The answers will be printed in the next issue of ASDAL Action.

1. She was known as the "Moses of her people."
2. She was the first woman to drive a car across the United States.
3. She wrote to her husband at the Continental Congress, imploring him to "remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."
4. She disguised herself as a man and fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
5. George Washington's mother's maiden name.
6. A Greek poet who lived on the island of Lesbos around 600 BC.
7. An ancient Egyptian queen known for her supposed beauty.
8. This first century alchemist invented the double broiler as a source of gentle, even heat for her experiments.
9. Keeper of the Lime Rock Lighthouse, she became famous for her rescues of boaters at sea.
10. Crippled by polio as a young child, she taught herself to walk again and later went on to win three Olympic gold medals in track and field.
11. This Indian princess befriended the Jamestown settlers and later traveled to England, where she met the Queen.
12. She was awarded a lifetime pass on the railroad for her part in averting a train disaster during a fierce storm in Iowa in 1881.
13. She carried pitchers of water to the men fighting the battle of Monmouth during the Revolutionary War and later took over operation of her husband's cannon when he was wounded in battle.

On October 18, Chris Cicchetti and I presented a workshop entitled Introducing Women's History through Children's Literature at the 16th Annual Conference of the Association of Adventist Women. We ended up branching out from just history and also included historical fiction, folk tales, and picture book stories in our presentation.

As a result of doing this workshop, we have a tremendous bibliography that we would love to share. Just write or call, and I will mail a copy to you.

Nancy Kim
130 Tennessee Street
Redlands, CA 92373
rja@deltanet.com

Credit for the quiz goes to Chris Cicchetti.

Nancy Kim is Librarian at Redlands Junior Academy, Redlands, California

What will the future bring?

Over the past few months I've seen the pile of e-mail/listserv printouts under my desk grow to over a foot high, the budget gobbled up by the need to replace the four-year-old workstations, and my knowledge of technology shrink despite evenings spent studying. Feeling disconcerted, I decided to find out what other people caught in the same trap had to say about surviving constant change. Not surprisingly, there are numerous books published each year on this very topic. As Negroponte, an author we will soon visit, indicates, "The value of information about information can exceed the value of the information itself." The authors discussed in this essay have outlined their philosophies for living and learning in a time that has been called both the Information Age and the Digital Age. Their views run the gamut from academic to personal, although overall, they share an optimistic outlook on the effect new technology is having, or will have, on individuals and, through them, our society.

Breivik, Patricia Senn. Student Learning In the Information Age. Phoenix, AZ: American Council on Education/Oryx Press, 1998.

Dertouzos, Michael. What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives. SF: HarperEdge, 1997.

Dyson, Esther. Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age. NY: Broadway Bks., 1997.

Gilster, Paul. Digital Literacy: Personal Preparation for the Internet Age. NY: John Wiley, 1997.

Negroponte, Nicholas. Being Digital. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

Shenk, David. Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut. SF: HarperEdge, 1997.

Tapscott, Don. Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1997.

The discussion of technological innovations offered by both Dertouzos and Negroponte benefits from their respective positions as Director of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science and the Head of the MIT Media Lab. Their writings help to dispel media hype, to separate science from fiction, by explaining why an innovation is or is not possible based on the technology that currently exists or is under development. Dertouzos sets up futuristic scenarios and then describes the technology that would be required to perform the various functions. What Will Be is one of the few books to include a glimpse of how countries other than the United States are dealing with the new media.

Dertouzos has coined the metaphor "Information Marketplace" to describe the physical and functional elements of the Information Age. He intentionally mixes technical and humanistic viewpoints, in an attempt to bridge the gap that "has existed since the Enlightenment between faith and reason." He illustrates the good that could flow from opening ourselves to both sides.

Negroponte believes that we are already experiencing the "post-information age." Like his colleague, he has created his own catch phrases, juxtaposing physical means of delivering goods and information or "atoms" with digital information or "bits." "Being Digital" means becoming an audience the size of one. He predicts that humans will gain control of the unending information flow by using intelligent agents, software tools programmed with a sole individual's likes and dislikes, that continuously searches the Net to retrieve only "relevant" information. The dark side of this new age is examined superficially in the short epilogue.

Negroponte's book is loosely based on his own columns printed in Wired magazine. This magazine is directed toward a young adult population in whom Negroponte, like Tapscott, expresses great faith. Tapscott's Growing Up Digital, describes the "Net Generation," the more than 90 million people, who, in the year 2,000 will fall between the ages of 2 and 22. This group is the first generation to grow up surrounded by and embracing digital media. Tapscott is chair of a think tank called the Alliance for Converging Technologies. He uses research from this organization to counter predictions that the N-Gen will be a group of socially inept, selfish brats, who lack a sense of community responsibility. Interviews were conducted with a relatively small sample, 300 N-Geners, with the goal of identifying characteristics and learning styles. He states, "Evidence suggests that they process information differently than their predecessors; they have new tools for self-development and making their way through adolescence." These observations are accompanied by many, often entertaining, examples of N-Gen learning.

Two authors, Dyson and Shenk, have compiled guides for coping with the Information Age. Dyson, editor of the newsletter Release 1.0 and a high-profile woman in the world of technology, has forged a career out of exploring emerging information technologies, their related issues, and future trends. Shenk is a fellow emeritus of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, a journalist for such magazines as Wired, and a public radio commentator. Both authors employ minimal jargon, so their ideas are accessible to readers unfamiliar with the online world.

Dyson's book is an "intellectual biography" in which she explains how she arrived at her somewhat Pollyanna-ish philosophy of life. Three themes of Release 2.0 may be characterized as personal responsibility, self-governance, and freedom. The author states, "The Net gives awesome power to individuals (the ability to be heard across the world, the ability to find information ... With this greater ability to exercise their rights, or abuse them, individuals will need to assume greater responsibility for their own actions and for the world they are creating." Her design for living, enumerated in the final chapter, reads a bit like Robert Fulghum's kindergarten lessons: "don't get into silly fights," "assert your own rights and respect those of others," "contribute to the communities you love or build your own," and "always make new mistakes."

Shenk expresses a more pessimistic view. Like Clifford Stoll, in Silicon Snake Oil (Doubleday, 1995) he points to the "data smog" or information overload that he believes is dragging down the level of our discourse and causing society more harm than most want to admit. Shenk describes a society that favors speed above content, image above text, instant reaction above thorough analysis. The final chapters outline five antidotes for a "return to meaning." His solutions, although practical, only touch the surface: filter, edit, simplify, integrate, and help improve the government.

Most of the authors describe technologies that will automatically filter information, taking the selection process out of human hands. Breivik and Gilster, however, focus on the need for information literacy. Breivik, Dean of University Libraries at Wayne State University, introduces the reader to the concept of information literacy through a survey of the movement's historical background. Having established a foundation, she defines and justifies resource-based learning where the goal is to create an active learning environment where material is made relevant to students' out-of-school lives. The author identifies barriers or "disincentives" that must be overcome when making a commitment to resource-based learning. A framework is outlined that librarians can follow in establishing their own programs.

Gilster directs his words to a more popular audience, the new Internet user. He has separated out the computer-related information skills and coined the term "digital literacy." Basic concepts and vocabulary related to the Web, e-mail, newsgroups, and chat rooms are outlined. Practical examples based on the author's own information needs take the reader through the process of using the various Internet resources. Another Gilster catch phrase, "knowledge assembly," is used to describe the research process. Emphasis is placed on first gathering information from Internet-based resources, then "contextualizing" these multiple media (personalized news services, newsgroup postings, Web sites) with print resources.

After browsing these and other publications, I'm better informed, if not much closer to knowing what the future will bring. It's somewhat reassuring to know that I'm not alone in that boat. One positive result did occur: I threw out the stack of printouts. For a rounded vision, I'd recommend Dertouzos, Shenk, and Breivik. Some of our faculty who are less comfortable with technology have expressed appreciation for Digital Literacy.

Stephanie Carter is Faculty Librarian at Centralia College, Centralia, Washington.

Marilyn Crane, Coordinator

Avondale and the South Pacific: 100 years of mission. Edited by Barry D. Oliver, Alex S. Currie, and Douglas E. Robertson. Cooranbong, NSW: Avondale Academic Press, 1997. 133p. ISBN: 0959933727 (paper). $21.00. Topics covered include: the history of Seventh-day Adventist mission in the South Pacific, the role of women in mission, motivation for mission service, and the influence of western missionaries in Melanesia. A lengthy appendix attempts to comprehensively list Seventh-day Adventist missionaries to the South Pacific from Australia and New Zealand. (Available from The Press, PO Box 19, Cooranbong, NSW 2265, Australia.)

Baybrook, Gar. Heresies of the Christian Church. Payson, AZ: Leaves of Autumn Books, Inc., 1998. 2 vols. $48.00. An alphabetic listing of terms that the author considers to express heresy or that have come to describe heresy in the Christian religion. Some are familiar, such as Arianism, while others are doctrines that are not accepted by the whole of Christianity, such as "immaculate conception" or "keys." A bibliography is included.

Brand, Leonard. Faith, reason, and earth history: a paradigm of earth and biological origins by intelligent design. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1997. 332 p. ISBN: 1883925150. $30.00. Three main themes are presented: "an overview of how the scientific method works. . ., an analysis of data in biology and earth science to illustrate how a scientist who is a creationist thinks," and "an alternate interpretation of earth history."

Eickmann, Helen. Looking for a better country. Brushton, NY: TEACH Services, Inc., 1996. 92 p. ISBN: 1572580704. $5.00. This is a memoir detailing a couple's personal odyssey through four countries during the outbreak of World War II . It also describes their personal struggle with unbelief which finally triumphs in a conversion experience. (Also available from the author, 447 Milkwood Drive, Redding, CA 96003-4127, (530) 241-1191.)

Heirs of the Reformation: the story of Seventh-day Adventists in Europe. Edited by Hugh Dunton, et al. Grantham, England: Stanborough Press Ltd, 1997. 274 p. ISBN: 1899505113. $13.00. This book, intended for the lay reader, brings together the various strands of the Reformation experience from a variety of countries and times. The rise of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is discussed against this background.

LaRondelle, Hans K. How to understand the end-time prophecies of the Bible: the Biblical-contextual approach. Sarasota, FL: First Impressions, 1997. 501 p. ISBN:0965920208 (casebound) or 0965920216 (adhesive bound). $30.00. The focus of this work "is the prophetic discourse of Jesus in Matthew 24 and its parallel chapters in Mark and Luke, the apocalyptic outline of Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, and John's Apocalypse." (Available from First Impressions, 3915 Balsam Court, Sarasota, FL 34243-5234.)

Madaba Plains Project: the 1989 season at Tell el-Umeiri and vicinity and subsequent studies. Volume 3. Edited by Larry G. Herr, et al. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1997. 373 p. ISBN: 0943872715.

Zvandasara, Nkosiyabo Z. Leading the leader: a leader's practical guide to dealing with manipulative followers. Berrien Springs, MI: Lesley Books, 1997. 149 p. ISBN: 0966044207. $16.00. Christian leaders need to emulate Christ's leadership style, which was not one of manipulation. The first chapter is devoted to that theme, and succeeding chapters deal with types of manipulators in the church and how to deal with them. (Available from the author, 500 Garland C2, Berrien Springs, MI 49103, (616) 471-6878.)

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

By Randy Butler

During the last ASDAL conference, several participants asked me about preserving various family items. I thought that perhaps a column in ASDAL Action dealing with preservation and conservation of specific items might be helpful, and Cynthia Helms has kindly agreed. It has been eleven years since I did a similar column for the Society of California Archivists, but I am willing to give it my best with your help. I would like to hear from our readers, my fellow colleagues, on what concerns you have regarding preservation at work or home. Send me your questions, by mail or e-mail, regarding everything from policy issues to specific item treatments, and everything in-between. I promise that if I cannot answer your question(s) myself, I will find someone who can. We will try to keep the answers simple and practical.

You will notice above that I used two terms almost interchangeably, preservation and conservation. So, before we proceed further let me first explain the terminology. Preservation refers to the broad, overall "umbrella" of policy and decision making. Conservation refers to the specific process of item(s) treatment. Let me illustrate, a decision to store all paper documents in acid free boxes and folders would be a preservation decision. The process of rehousing the individual items would be a conservation action. Better yet, the process of removing paper clips, staples, and other foreign materials from paper is an act of conservation. Obviously, there is some overlapping and gray area between the terms and their application, but in general the above definitions hold true.

I would like to respond to one question I was asked at ASDAL. Perhaps you have thought about this question as well: Can you permanently flatten old folded letters or rolled documents? You must first ask yourself why you want to flatten the item. If it is to frame or place it in a folder or sleeve so that it can be more easily read, you might want to reconsider and just leave it alone. If the future use and utility of the letter or document warrants flattening, then you should proceed. Paper has a memory and no matter what technique is used it will always want to re-fold, re-curl, or roll-up. This is due to the fact that the individual fiber chains that make up paper have been permanently damaged, and the damage cannot be totally reversed. If the ink on the item has flaked or even turned a rust color, the flattening process may cause further damage. Ink that is flaking off the paper and looks rusty is made of iron gall (mixture of iron fillings, oak gall, and water). Because of the ingredients, iron gall ink (universal use in 19th century and early 20th century) is not stable and can be easily damaged by extensive handling, pressure, light, temperature, and humidity. Flattening an item involves handling, humidity (moisture), and pressure. Always consult a specialist before you attempt the following process.

The following steps describe how to flatten paper. First, test the ink for solubility. Touch an ink dot or jot with a "touch" of distilled water on the tip of a small brush or even a toothpick. If the ink "feathers" out, proceed no further and return the item to storage. Second, if the ink does not "feather" you can now proceed to humidification. Place the item (it is best to humidify each item separately) folded or rolled in a small open plastic pan or container. Next, place that container in a larger plastic pail or bucket that contains several inches of distilled water. Put a little non-metallic weight (not on the item) in the smaller container to keep it from floating. Be sure that the water in the pail is well below the top of the smaller container's walls. Third, place a lid on the pail/bucket but do not seal it tight. Leave it ajar. Fourth, check the item every twelve hours. When the paper unfolds/curls easily, lay it between two sheets of acid free blotter paper (multi-layers of paper towels will do at home). Place a sheet of glass (plate glass works very well) or weighted plexiglass on top of the sandwiched materials. Check the item every four to eight hours, and change the blotting papers each time. Finally, when the item remains flat after removing the coverings, you have completed the task. Be sure to wear clean cotton gloves at all times when handling paper items.

CAUTION: If the paper item/s require/s more than 24 hours to unfold/curl, check thereafter every four hours. After 24 hours you seriously risk the paper material to mold and/or mildew. In a lab we use OPP or Thymol to prevent mold, but you will not have that option at home. Replenish water in the pail as needed but be careful not to drip any water on the item. Also, when completed you should place the letter or document in an acid free folder or Mylar sleeve and place it away from sunlight preferably laying flat. NEVER humidify photographs. That requires a professional conservator.

In a work environment you can do larger humidification projects using a plastic trash can and a pail.

Randy Butler is Library Director at Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, Texas.

Andrews University

Welcome and Farewell

We are delighted to welcome two new librarians to our staff this year. Steve Sowder comes to us from Southwestern as our Systems Librarian. To his extensive experience in computing center management and software programming, Steve recently added an MLS from North Texas University. Joining our Information Services Department is Sabrina Pusey, a 1998 graduate from the library / information science program at University of Michigan. Sabrina is in charge of library instructional services to our diverse student populations.

Last June we lost our head of Technical Services, Sallie Alger, to the University Development Office. We were sorry to lose Sallie, but as I have always said: Anyone who enjoys ingathering ought to be doing it. We are currently searching for a new Head for the Technical Services Department.

Dragon Team Success

Here at James White Library (JWL), we are excited about the accomplishments of our "Dragon Team." With all the campus talk about Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and problem-solving teams, we decided to try the team approach ourselves. Ten library staff members, representing different departments and levels, volunteered to form a team to tackle the problem of periodicals access.

Once upon a time, JWL had a firm handle on its periodical resources. Every periodical on our print subscription list was cataloged with holdings information. You could quickly check if a particular title was held by the library, and if it wasn't our Interlibrary Loan department went into high gear. We held firmly to the reins of bibliographic control, and the ride was generally smooth.

But that was then. This is now, and the bibliographic horse has bolted clean away. It started when we got involved in online searching, but then came the Internet, and when that exploded into the great graphical Web, the good old horse suddenly turned into a dragon, and we found that we were in for a rough-and-tumble ride. We tried to pass it off as the new "ownership plus access" paradigm, but we soon discovered that we were grappling with very complex issues.

The Dragon Team began its work by defining the problem: New databases appear constantly (currently JWL subscribes to over 100); there is much overlap in their content; they lack a common interface or search engine; they present widely different search strategies; what they contain today may not be available tomorrow; some databases are indexes only, others combine indexing with abstracts and/or full-text, which may mean text only without illustrations or graphics, or it may mean the entire content including sidebars. And so on.

What it boiled down to was this: If you wanted to know whether our library had a specific periodical article, it took us quite a while to come up with the answer. And it wasn't always the correct answer. We might spend twenty bucks to obtain your article through Interlibrary Loan, only to find afterwards that we overlooked some full text database that contained exactly what you wanted.

By the end of summer the Team had developed its dragon-taming strategy. It had two phases. Phase One is now available and comprises a new database which is an alphabetical listing of over 7,800 titles entries of which nearly 6,000 are unique periodical titles. About half of that number are print format held within James White Library. Each entry on the list is a hot-link to the source of that journal, whether it is print or electronic. In the case of print, the link takes you directly to our catalog record. For electronic titles, the link connects to the appropriate database (such as EbscoHost or ABI/Inform), or to OCLC's Electronic Collections Online in the case of e-journal subscriptions. You can reach this new journal list from the JWL web page, by clicking on "Index to Available Full-Text Journals." The index includes a useful Keyword Search feature.

The Dragon Team is well on the way to completing Phase Two of its project, which will provide a topical search for locating citations from several full-text databases. The team's key function is the responsibility of not only defining the problem and finding a solution to the problem but also implementing the solution. Team members are: Sallie Alger (Technical Services), Jim Ford (Heritage Center), Norma Greenidge (Cataloging), Bernard Helms (Acquisitions), Cynthia Helms (Information Services), Laurie Matacio (Cataloging), Judy Nelson (Reference), Terry Robertson (Seminary Library), Steve Sowder (Systems) and Sharon Straw (Periodicals).

Keith Clouten

***

Canadian University College

Over the past year, the CUC Library experienced a 43-percent increase in circulation, due in part to our participation in NEOS, an Alberta consortium of 21 libraries. Both students and faculty are enthusiastic about The GATE (NEOS Libraries' Catalog) and the convenience of document delivery. Requests to other libraries are made using DRA's circulation request function, and arrive via courier in two or three days. For those students who like to borrow directly from other libraries, they can now return all items here.

The periodical databases provided through membership in ALICE are also extremely popular, especially the full-text capability of EBSCOhost Academic Search. Our decision to offer free printing of full-text articles adds to the convenience of this terrific resource. A big thank you to all of you who make ALICE work! It continues to be a tremendous boon for us as local consortia have not yet been able to offer similar benefits.

Joyce Van Scheik

***

Florida Hospital College

Going into its sixth year, Florida Hospital College (FHC) continues to grow. The unofficial enrollment count at this time is around 550 students. The credits taken has also seen a big jump, and we are now beginning to wonder where to put all the students. The dorm, the classrooms, and the parking lot are full to overflowing!

FHC was recently accepted into a group known as Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF). Membership makes it possible for FHC to request grants and support for our students from the state legislature. ICUF and Library Information Research Network (LIRN) are now working together to obtain additional databases for our libraries. LIRN has been furnishing the FHC with access to IAC and UMI databases for the past year.

FHC's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program has been approved by the regional accrediting association (SACS). We have now added the Occupational Therapy Assistant program which is attracting considerable attention. That program will officially begin in January. The library is rapidly adding books and periodicals to meet the demands of those new students.

Marley Soper

***

Loma Linda University

We are happy to share some of the highlights here at Loma Linda since our last report. The most visible locally are the painting, new carpet, and new 3M security systems in the lobby. The new furniture is on order and some of the finishing touches are still to be completed. The other floors will receive their turn in phases.

We received foundation funds to upgrade portions of our library systems. We also were able to purchase the equipment for Ariel. This should be up and running by the beginning of November.

We are still implementing portions of our Innovative Interfaces Inc. system. Interlibrary loan is the latest module. The cataloging of serials continues.

Carlene Bogle, Chair of Public Services, is the President of the Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona this year. She has previously served in other capacities in this organization.

Archives and Special Collections personnel are excited about the Grainger-Burden materials (letters, diaries, artifacts) that were donated. The materials include photographs of the William C. Grainger, Thomas Burden, and G.I. Butler families, including a daguerreotype of G.I. Butler in the mid-1850s. As W.C. Grainger was an administrator at Healdsburg College and a missionary to Japan, the collection reflects the work in these places.

Petre Cimpoeru has nearly completed scanning and describing the Loma Linda photographs. By the beginning of 1999 he will begin with the photographs of individuals.

David Rios

***

Southern Adventist University

The librarians and library staff members were trained in PowerPoint during the summer, and those who completed training were given the software for personal use. This was provided by the Southern Adventist University administration and taught by one of our faculty members as continuing education. Using this training, our Circulation Supervisor, Karen Morgan, had produced a PowerPoint presentation for new faculty members to familiarize them with the library and placed it on the web for them to refer to at their leisure.

Brian Jackson has been working this summer to have our electronic reserves ready for fourth summer session, and is working on providing electronic access for our library orientation modules used by all Composition and Speech students.

Loranne Grace has been elected as Vice President of the Chattanooga Library Association, and is in charge of planning the programs this year.

Peg Bennett

***

Southwestern Adventist University

The Chan Shun Centennial Library begins a new academic year with a new online system called SILC (Southwestern Internet Library Catalog). The systems acronym was selected from several dozen submitted by students and faculty during a "Name that Catalog" contest. Although installed in May, the circulation and cataloging modules have not made a smooth transition from our old Bibliofile Intelligent Catalog. Even though the new system is with the same company (TLC), we have had serious problems with lost records, duplicate bar codes, lost multi-volume sets, etc. It may take us a full year or longer to resolve all the problems. In October the company will deliver the serials and acquisitions modules. We hope that the transition will be much smoother!

We have continued to expand our electronic data resources through several state-wide and regional consortiums. Our latest electronic acquisitions include several specific West's Law products.

The Library has received significant budget increases for books and periodicals.

It was with real pleasure that three of the staff were able to attend ASDAL: Clinton Anderson, Randy Butler, and Sharon Wion.

We have expanded our service hours to midnight on Sunday - Thursday, and from 9 - midnight on Saturdays. Early indications are that the campus will have another increase in enrollment this year.

Randy Butler

***

Walla Walla College

Peterson Memorial Library hosted the 31st Annual Library Meeting for the Northwest Association of Private Colleges & Universities: Libraries (NAPCU), October 15 & 16. The conference was jointly planned by Carolyn Gaskell, NAPCU President, and Henry Yaple, Library Director of Penrose Library at Whitman College. Featured speakers were from the Walla Walla Valley, Washington State University, and PORTALS (a consortium of academic and public libraries in Portland, OR.). Sessions covered personality types, rare books, non-primary clientele, politics of the Web, and how technology affects learning. Over 20 people attended the conference.

A new member joined Peterson's staff in August. June Waggoner is the new Acquisition's Technican. She comes to us from Moses Lake, WA. We are happy to have her on our staff.

Carolyn Gaskell

***

Thank You

I wish to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your support and kind expressions of sympathy upon the death of my father during the ASDAL Conference. The prayer in the meeting and the personal words from many members gave me the strength to drive home, pack, and return to the Baltimore Washington International Airport to fly to Reno. The card signed by the conference attendees gave me strength to cope in the weeks to come.

I have concluded that if one has to get bad news, the best place to get it is when he is surrounded by friends.

Bob Baldwin

***

Maryland Librarians

ASDAL members in Maryland are "taking over" academic librarianship leadership positions. Margaret von Hake is president-elect of the Congress of Academic Library Directors (CALD). CALD is composed of directors of public and private two- and four-year colleges in Maryland. Bob Baldwin is president-elect of the Maryland Community College Library Consortium. Sixteen of the eighteen community colleges in the state are active in this consortium.

Bob Baldwin

***

Ellen G. White Bibliography

A digital version of The Bibliography of Ellen G. White Titles is now available and keyword searchable at http://151.112.2.51/heritage/. This bibliography/database is an alphabetical list of over 600 titles used for published works by Ellen White. Included are actual titles, title variations, and related titles with cross reference. New titles will be added as they are published. Questions can be addressed to Marilyn Crane at mcrane@dwebb.llu.edu or Del E. Webb Memorial Library, Loma Linda, CA 92350-0001.

Marilyn Crane

***

Membership Renewal

Is your membership current?

ASDAL membership renewal forms were mailed in August. Please check the mailing label on this issue of ASDAL Action to be sure that your renewal has been received by the treasurer. If the mailing label reads "1998" your renewal has not been received and this will be your last issue of Action.

Please refer any questions to:
Lee Marie Wisel, ASDAL Treasurer
Weis Library, Columbia Union College
Takoma Park, MD 20912
E-mail: lwisel@cuc.edu

Lee Marie Wisel

***

ASDAL Dinner at ALA Midwinter

You are invited to join a group of colleagues for dinner on Sunday evening, Jan. 31, 1999, during the American Library Association Conference in Philadelphia, PA. If you plan to attend please contact Lee Marie Wisel.

Lee Marie Wisel

***

Volunteer Librarians Needed

Interested in establishing new libraries in Micronesia Mission? Housing and utilities will be provided. Airfare not included. Please write Pastor Wilbur Claus (1025552031@compuserve.com) for more information.

Joyce Garrigus