GEAR UP FOR ASDAL ARGENTINA!

By Cynthia Mae Helms and Hernán Hammerly

What's there for us in Argentina this summer? Besides the business meetings and presentations, there will be tours, posters, exhibits, and a swap shop. Come to the Universidad Adventista del Plata (UAP) prepared to share and participate, especially as we introduce the idea of poster presentations and a swap shop.

Unlike any previous conference, we will start with a day tour from Buenos Aires to the University. Housing will be slightly different in that we will not be staying in the dormitories but in hotels which are within walking distance to the conference site. Like the conference held in Mexico, we will be conducting the sessions in English and Spanish.

Join us for the third conference outside North America, but the fourth international conference since the Association's inception. The first one was held in Canada, second in England, and the third in Mexico. See the details below and start gearing up for this Argentinean experience.

Tours

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

After the opening ceremony in Nogaró Hotel (NH), we will take a charter bus tour from Buenos Aires to UAP. The first stop will be El Ateneo Grand Splendid, an old restored theater transformed into a unique bookstore complete with cafeteria and art galleries. The second stop is the National Library. After a walk of 8-9 blocks, we will enjoy a late buffet-style vegetarian lunch at the Adventist Granix Restaurant on Florida St., the main pedestrian street in Buenos Aires.

Just outside Buenos Aires, we will visit the library of San Andres University, a new private institution sponsored by a Scottish Society. It has one of the best library services in the country. From here, it will be a long ride (approximately five hours) to UAP. A box supper is included.

Friday, June 28, 2002

Brief tours will be offered in the afternoon. Watch for further announcements.

Sabbath, June 29, 2002

This Sabbath afternoon tour takes us to the beginnings of the Adventist work in Argentina. We will go to Diamante, the city where the first baptized Adventist families migrated from Russia in 1890 to escape adversity. After several crop failures, they left for the United States where they were converted to Seventh-day Adventism. This spurred them to return to Argentina to spread the gospel. We will go near the place where they spent their first Sabbath and converted one family. We will also go to Crespo where the first Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church in South America was established. The original church is no longer there, but we will have a chance to visit the current church, the SDA historical museum, and the pioneers' graves. We will have dinner at a restaurant in Crespo where vegetarian (but not vegan) options will be available.

Housing

Housing for the start of the conference in Buenos Aires is not included on the Housing Reservation Form. Attendees who are not joining Keith Clouten's tour may refer to the NH web site for reservations or find other hotels within their price range through other means. Information about the NH is as follows: Web site - http://www.hotelbook.com/static/welcome_26000.html; Address - 562 Julio A. Roca Ave., Buenos Aires C1067 ABN, Argentina; Phone - (54 11) 4331-0091; Fax - (54 11) 4331-6791. Since the conference officially starts in NH, this is probably the most convenient place to make reservations. If you need assistance, please contact Hernán Hammerly.

While at the University, conference attendees will be housed in hotels around the University campus. All hotels are within walking distance. Public transportation is available in the form of "remisses" (cars which hotels will call upon request). There are a variety of options for hotel rooms as described in the housing form attached to this issue. The registration and housing forms are also available on the ASDAL web site.

Transportation

Since some people are traveling on their own and others are with Clouten's tour, we will try to show the differences so that you can be better prepared to plan your trip. The information below has been coordinated with Clouten.

To the Conference

Attendees are urged to arrive in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, June 25. The best opportunity to get tourist information brochures in English is at Ezeiza International Airport at a Secretaría de Turismo booth on the right side just after the door that follows the customs control.

Librarians who have notified the onsite coordinator of their arrival on June 25 will be greeted by an English-speaking representative of the Local Arrangements Committee. The representative, who will be carrying an ASDAL sign, will help arrange for transportation from the airport to downtown Buenos Aires and give advice on how to deal with money exchange.

Conference attendees arriving on other days are on their own and must for safety reasons arrange both the transportation and price in advance with a shuttle bus or taxi company at their airport booth. Do NOT arrange with individuals offering transportation on their own. There are different options from Ezeiza International Airport to downtown Buenos Aires. The shuttle bus options are as follows: (a) Ecuador Turismo costs $11-$15; (b) Manuel Tienda León Company operates every 30 minutes (their terminal is Avenida Santa Fe 790), cost is $15; (c) San Martin Bus operates every hour and charges about $11. Taxis cost $30 to $35.

The conference officially starts on Wednesday, June 26 with registration, devotional, and opening ceremony at the NH in downtown Buenos Aires. Immediately following a brief break, the charter bus tour will start at 10:00 a.m. and end at UAP about 11:00 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to sign up for this tour to be assured of a ride from NH to UAP.

For those who have signed up for the "Conference Tour" itinerary with Clouten, their payment covers transportation from Ezeiza International Airport to NH on Tuesday, June 25, hotel accommodation and meals on June 25, and breakfast on Wednesday, June 26. The rest of the trip is under the auspices of the ASDAL conference as coordinated by Hernán Hammerly. Therefore, librarians going with Clouten should sign up for the ASDAL-sponsored day tour in order to get a ride to the University.

After the Conference

On Monday, July 1, there will be a charter bus from the University to the Buenos Aires airports. The cost will depend on the number of passengers but we are currently calculating it at $35-36/person. Make your reservation on the registration form. This does not include meals.

The bus will leave the University in Libertador no later than 5:15 a.m. in order for some attendees to catch their noon flights at the Aeropaque (domestic airport). The owner of the charter bus will stay with the rest, take them to a good place to eat, and visit places of interest in Buenos Aires. Then later in the afternoon, he will take them to Ezeiza (international airport). Be sure to have $30.50 for airport tax.

If you are not with Clouten's itinerary, you must sign up for this bus trip if you want a sure ride to the airport/s. If you are with Clouten's itinerary, the bus from the University to the airport is covered by your payment to him.

Posters, Exhibits, Swap Shop

Would you like to make a poster presentation? Would you like to show some displays? Let us know by filling out the application form on the ASDAL web site.

Bring a supply of administrative, management, instruction, or marketing materials from your library and lay them on the "Swap Shop" desk to share with other attendees. Pick up materials relevant to your needs and take them back with you to your place of employment. Enjoy the joy of sharing-give and take!

Program

The conference will be held at the Raúl Cesán Auditorium in the basement of the same building where the E. I. Mohr Library is located unless specified otherwise. "Posters and Exhibits" will be located at the entry hall of the Library. The "Swap Shop" will be available at all times in one designated area of the Auditorium.

Cynthia Mae Helms, ASDAL President-elect, is Head, Department of Information Services at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan (helmsc@andrews.edu) and Hernán Hammerly, Onsite Coordinator, is Library Director at Universidad Adventista del Plata, Argentina (bibdir@uapar.edu).

CONFERENCE TRAVEL & TOUR UPDATE

By Keith Clouten

The South American Experience Tour sponsored by Boomerang Tours, in conjunction with the ASDAL conference, has attracted a lot of attention. The tour has a maximum capacity of 40 persons, and by mid-January there were 38 paid bookings, of which 15 are librarians. The tour includes Argentina (with two nights at Iguazu Falls), the Andes of Bolivia (La Paz and Lake Titicaca) and Peru (Puno, Cuzco, Macchu Picchu, Lima), returning to the U.S. on July 11. The complete tour information and cost are available on the ASDAL web site (www.asdal.org) by clicking on the conference information and then the "South American Experience Tour."

Recent events in Argentina have drawn quite a lot of attention in the news media. A U.S. State Department advisory against travel to Argentina, issued during the December riots in Buenos Aires, was rescinded early in January. At the date of this writing (mid-January) the situation is calm, and anyone planning travel to Argentina is simply cautioned to avoid any areas where large groups have gathered. There is good reason to hope that the country's economic and political situation is becoming stable. Those who have paid deposits to Boomerang Tours for travel and tours are assured that their money is protected and fully refundable up to March 1 in the unlikely event of conference cancellation. An update will be sent before that time to all who have registered for tours or travel.

Keith Clouten, Coordinator of Boomerang Tours, is Library Director at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan (clouten@andrews.edu).

THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

By Annette Melgosa

I am part of the "international librarian" crowd. I've often wondered what exactly that term is supposed to mean. To whom am I seen as international? To those I work with who see me as an expatriate and foreigner? To those back home who see me as working "somewhere" over there? Is it something I am or something I do? Will this label disappear if and when I move back to my home country? Or does it refer to the fact that I have international experience or serve an international constituency?

Actually, I hate the differentiation made between locations and nationalities. It seems to me that our profession, more than any other is "international" or "global" by its very definition. Isn't our job to collect meaningful information wherever we can and introduce people (increasingly wherever they may be) to it? It seems that our entire profession is one of inclusiveness-one of drawing the world closer together in meaning and understanding. And professionally, this "drawing together" is one of my great passions--cooperation, cooperation, cooperation!

I joined the library profession late and quite by accident. But one of the things that made me want to stay was the spirit of cooperation between librarians. Being one of a handful of "foreigners" in my library program in London, I appreciated the spirit of collegiality among professors and fellow students. When I began my career in England, the exhilarating experience of sharing and testing ideas with European colleagues kept me wanting to learn more. And upon joining ASDAL several years back, I immediately sensed a professional bond with colleagues in North America. Even occasional correspondence with ALA conference presenters has confirmed this notion of a "brotherhood or sisterhood of librarians." Here, in Asia, my job provides me with plenty of opportunity to cooperate. This confirms once more that the bonds of cooperation within the library profession are strong enough to span the world.

So now you know my passion. It is in seeking ways to cooperate in the task of preserving and making knowledge available everywhere for everyone. It is persuading others to cooperate in order to provide people everywhere with the opportunity to search for wisdom. In this way, we help people work and live together harmoniously as our Christian faith affirms. Working together to preserve that which is good in our global society and make it available to all is what it's all about!

I feel humbled and honored to be able to serve ASDAL this year. And I feel right at home. Why? Perhaps it is because, in many ways, ASDAL exhibits this spirit of cooperation.

Your desire to maintain the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship shows your will to preserve Seventh-day Adventist librarianship by lending a helping hand to new professionals. At the end of 2001, the scholarship was established with the Community Foundation of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties (California) as an endowment fund. Your continued support to help us reach our investment goal of $20,000 will provide scholarships for bright new professionals in the years to come.

The Adventist Libraries Information Cooperative (ALICE) is another way in which ASDAL membership has risen to the challenges of cooperation. By working together, ALICE members offer increased library services for decreased cost. This year saw the inclusion of three schools from outside of North America. The future of ALICE and its cooperative efforts seems brighter than ever.

Perhaps Adventist Resources Section is the star when it comes to cooperation. It not only created the SDA Periodical Index and the SDA Obituaries Index, but it continues to maintain both along with a resource web page. These products, now in use around the world, testify to how far cooperative efforts can reach.

As ASDAL continues to become more "international" and "global" (whatever these terms mean), I would encourage all of us to make efforts in small, local ways to create cooperative ventures whereby our libraries and consequently our constituencies can experience the benefits of participating in and sharing knowledge and wisdom globally.

I look forward to seeing as many of our members as possible in Argentina at our 2002 Conference. I also look forward to meeting new colleagues throughout South America. New doors of opportunity and new challenges await us all in 2002. And I am pleased to confirm that, in ASDAL, cooperation continues.

Annette D. Melgosa, ASDAL President, is Associate Librarian at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, Silang, Cavite, Philippines (amelgosa@aiias.edu).

CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED

The Nominating Committee presents these candidates for ASDAL office. Ballots will be mailed separately.

President-elect:

Paulette Johnson, Associate Librarian, Pacific Union College, Angwin, California

Secretary:

Marge Seifert (2002-2004), Director of Public Services, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee

ASDAL Action Editor:

Lauren Matacio (2002-2004 continuing), Head, Bibliographic Services Dept., Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan

Constitution and Bylaws Committee:

Petre Cimpoeru (2002-2005), Reference Librarian/Associate Archivist, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California

Scholarship and Awards Committee:

Margaret von Hake (2002-2005), Library Director, Columbia Union College, Takoma Park, Maryland

SDA Classification Advisory Committee:

Stanley Cottrell (2002-2005), Cataloging Librarian, Columbia Union College, Takoma Park, Maryland

SDA Periodical Index Board:

Gilbert Abella (2002-2007), Library Director, La Sierra University, Riverside, California

Site Planning Committee:

Marilyn Gane (2002-2005), Head, Periodicals Dept., Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan

Statistics Committee:

Sharon Wion (2002-2005), Periodicals/Reference Librarian, Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, Texas

Linda Maberly (2002-2005), Technical Services Librarian, Pacific Union College, Angwin, California

Chloe Foutz, Chair of the Nominating Committee, is Library Director at Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska (chfoutz@UCollege.edu).

HILTS SCHOLARSHIP ESTABLISHED WITH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

By Lee Marie Wisel

The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians (ASDAL) has established the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship Fund with The Community Foundation of Riverside, California. The Community Foundation will be accepting contributions, sending receipts, investing the money, managing the fund, and when the time comes, distributing the scholarship to the student selected by ASDAL.

The Hilts Scholarship is awarded to a Seventh-day Adventist who is pursuing an advanced degree in Library Science. We are aware of the graying of our profession and the need to attract new individuals to it. Recipients of the scholarship are currently working at Andrews University, Canadian University College, La Sierra University, Southwestern Adventist University, and Walla Walla College.

Because of the lack of funding, the Hilts Scholarship has not been awarded since 1998. At last summer's annual conference the Association voted to move forward with creating an endowment to fund the scholarship. Our goal is $20,000! Yes, that is a lot of money, but we already have a start from contributions that members have made in the past. Maynard Lowry has also solicited over $5,000 from the library directors.

Please send your tax deductible gift to: The Community Foundation, 3800 Orange Street, Suite 230, Riverside, CA 92501. Checks should be made payable to the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship Fund.

Lee Marie Wisel, ASDAL Treasurer, is Reference Librarian at Columbia Union College, Takoma Park, Maryland (lwisel@cuc.edu).

REPORT ON PROJECT GOLIATH

By Wolfhard Touchard

Project GOLIATH, providing electronic databases and useful web sites to the Lake Union Conference church schools and academies, was introduced December 14 to the faculty of Ruth Murdoch Elementary School. These databases are available free of charge to all Michigan school libraries by the State of Michigan; however, they require a user name and a password. Training in the use of these databases occurred on February 8 by a specialist from the Michigan Library Consortium.

Sabrina Riley, Instruction Librarian, and Randy Siebold, Specialist in Instructional Design & Technology at Andrews University, were invited to the December 14 training session.

Riley's topic was Information Literacy for K-8. "Information literacy," according to Riley, "prepares students to function in a technological world ... and teaches students to transform information into wisdom by thinking critically, using discernment and skill when it comes to locating, evaluating, and using information. Students should have a basic understanding of these concepts by the time they complete 8th grade."

Siebold demonstrated how to use Curriculum Resources Center Linking Educators (CIRCLE) http://circle.adventist.org/. CIRCLE is a clearing house of curriculum and other resources for Seventh-day Adventist educators. Its purpose is to serve "busy educators with: (1) quick and easy access to databases online, (2) links to quality web sites at a click, (3) full order information on Adventist resources, (4) materials for all levels, K-16+, and an opportunity to share your lesson plans, course outlines, most useful printed or online resources." CIRCLE in itself is a treasure!

Wolfhard Touchard is Reference and Database Librarian at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan (touchard@andrews.edu).

REVIEWS

Mezlekia, Nega. Notes from the Hyena's Belly; an Ethiopian Boyhood. New York: Picador USA, 2000. 355 p.

The value of this autobiography lies not in the fame of the author himself but in the insights that it gives of Ethiopian day-to-day life, the beliefs and philosophies that govern the people plus the educational, political, and historical descriptions that are woven into them. The hard life in Ethiopia, as described by the author, was characterized by drought, "shiftas" (thieves), unequal treatment, and political unrest.

Born in Jijiga where the inhabitants of the north are Christians and of the south are Muslims, Mezlekia describes his Orthodox background through the eyes of his uncle Priest Yeneta. Parishioners kiss the crucifix and make humble confessions. Through generations, the church has developed euphemisms that make confessions more bearable. After hearing a man confess that he had "fallen off the bed," Mezlekia confessed that he too had fallen off the bed because of a nightmare but his confession brought muffled laughter, a slap on the back, and a pinch on his ear. He learned later on that "fallen off the bed" meant indulging in sex during the fasting period.

Physical punishment was recognized from early childhood on to adulthood. Early in his school life he feared the "perpetrator," a whip made from a bull's penis. When he was older, he was punished by being plunged into a goat pouch filled with the goat's blood, urine, and feces. Torture in prison for activists included the "snake," which was a two-tongued whip, and other forms of torture with picturesque terms such as "helicopter," "spread eagle," and "pilgrim."

During his high school days, he became exposed to the evils of serfdom. He joined demonstrations that advocated "Land for the tiller." Reading books on "scientific socialism" and "progressive thought" from China and Moscow took priority over his school work. He got involved in discussions of the EPRP behind closed doors. What he thought was a letter from a secret admirer turned out to be a recruitment tactic for him to join a cell. When he felt that his life was at stake, he decided to join the Western Somali Liberation Movement. Later, he and his childhood friend Wondowossen ran away from home and enlisted with the guerillas.

Read through the many experiences he went through during these different stages of his life and feel the poignancy of the loss of his best friend and the difficulty he faced in breaking the sad news. Watch him change from a child to a soldier and discover how he manages to escape several brushes with death. Enjoy some of the author's humor as he describes the "flies" as being a part of his life and of every family. These shy creatures "slept on the family bed, used the family washroom and dining room, and partook in funerals. They never said thank you for the free meal they received."

The Ethiopian concept of "wax and gold" is explained from a literary standpoint. Ethiopian poetry called "kinae" has a "bronze" meaning which is the obvious message and a "gold" meaning which is the hidden message. Because of feudal oppression, this was a way by which people conveyed biting messages to the cruel lord while delivering sweet messages to other listeners. The intricate way of interspersing Ethiopian fables and parables with his personal experiences; the use of terms like "perpetrator" to refer to a whip; the title of the book itself and other references to the hyena, which has a second meaning, make this book a typical illustration of the concept of "wax and gold." Readers of the book Wax & Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture by Donald Nathan Levine (University of Chicago Press, 1962; Midway reprint edition, 1986) will be able to relate to this concept.

This book, originally published in Canada, is a winner of the Governor General's award.

Morell, Virginia. Blue Nile; Ethiopia's River of Magic and Mystery. Wash. D.C.: Adventure Press, 2001. 324 p.

Virginia Morell, on an assignment from the National Geographic, describes her trip on and along the Blue Nile. The members of this expedition led by photographer Nevada Wier were willing to challenge this "big, rangy river churning through unbridled land." The White Nile is longer and tamer than the Blue Nile because of its dams. The Blue Nile, on the other hand, is only half the distance of the White Nile and yet it contains a mystery that lures explorers.

The tortuous journey on rafts from Ethiopia to Sudan would have been easier if there was unity among the members of the group and if they had a guide who was easy to get along with. The originally designated guide was unable to join the crew due to medical problems and so the group ended up with someone whose autocratic form of administration oftentimes caused disharmony. A man of few but sharp words, he was more interested in doing 17 miles a day than getting to know the people and taking pictures of the area.

The details of their two-month adventure are interspersed with debates and arguments over decisions regarding where to spend the night, what to give or not to give the people who lived along the shores, etc. Listen to their discussions, watch them splash through the cascades, feel their tension as they are interviewed by bandits in the guise of soldiers, experience the thrill of listening to an impromptu concert of wet pipes, cringe at the sight of crocodiles chasing them, hike the dry lands with no trace of people for two days, and hang on for dear life as swelling waters rise at an increasing speed.

The book gives a historical review of former Blue Nile expeditions and relates touching stories of how people have sacrificed themselves to fulfill their craving for adventure. What makes this book interesting is the way the author makes regular flashbacks to the time when she lived in Ethiopia as a teacher in the Haile Selassie University (now Addis Ababa University). The author is not just one tourist in a foreign land, but one who was returning to a place she had learned to love. And although the nationals referred to these fair-skinned adventurers as "ferenjis" (foreigners), Morell was not exactly a foreigner.

To get a glimpse of this book, look up the article "The Blue Nile: Ethiopia's Sacred Waters" in the National Geographic web site. Read the field notes of the author and the photographer. Listen to the author reading from her journal or link to her web site.

Mezlekia's book and Morell's book complement each other. Morell's occasional Amharic expressions and references to Ethiopia and its people are seen from an outsider's point of view while Mezlekia's descriptions are from an insider's point of view. Both books refer to the abundance of "shiftas" or thieves. The fact that these "thieves not only want your things and money but also your lives" is supported by the chapter "The Blue Nile: Two Different Expeditions, 1968 and 1972" (pp. 107-126) in the book Quest for Adventure: Ultimate Feats of Modern Exploration by Chris Bonington (Wash. D.C.: Adventure Press, 2000).

The "wax and gold" concept found in the "kinae" as explained by Mezlekia is described by Morell as "insult poems." The original term "wax and gold" is from the Amharic expression "semna werk" which refers to the lost-wax method of producing gold jewelry. When you remove the wax (the words' literal meaning), you will find the gold (the cutting truth). The Amharic language lends itself to puns and verbal subterfuge. This concept is also a subtle description of the people who are "once aloof and warm, open and secretive."

Both books refer to the fall of Haile Selassie's empire, although they give two slightly different accounts of how the emperor's life came to an end. Morell's book reveals that the emperor's body was exhumed from under the palace 16 years later and placed in a crypt in the Menelik Mausoleum. Both books refer to the common cries for "Land to the Tiller." They also talk about the religious life of the people, their belief in the medicine man, and their respect for saints and monasteries/old churches.

If you want the thrill of revolutionary escapades in Ethiopia, read Mezlekia's book. If you want to read explorers' thrilling adventures in Ethiopia's unknown watery nooks and corners, read Morell's book. These books are highly recommended for the general reading collection of libraries with strong multicultural emphasis, or for those libraries that develop collections dealing with African culture.

By Cynthia Mae Helms, Head, Department of Information Services at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan (helmsc@andrews.edu).

ADVENTIST RESOURCES COLUMN

By Marilyn Crane

Bradford, Charles E. Sabbath roots: the African connection, a Biblical connection. Barre: L. Brown and Sons Printing Inc., 1999. 234 p. ISBN 1578470560. $15.00. As the title implies, the keeping of the creation Sabbath has a long tradition in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia. This contribution to Christian history, long unexplored, is hidden no longer. (Contact GC Ministerial Association.)

Expanding humanity's vision of God: new thoughts on science and religion. Edited by Robert L. Herrmann. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2001. 360 p. ISBN 1890151505. $14.00. This book explores religion and science issues and includes a chapter, "The scientist as believer," by Seventh-day Adventist theologian, Richard Rice.

Readers of the column will want to be aware of the web page for TEACH Services, Inc. at www.lnfbooks.com. This company publishes facsimile reprints of Adventist titles that have been out of print (Clever Queen, Facts of faith, Restless missionary, and others) as well new titles (Camp meeting sermons and His story in the stars).

Marilyn Crane is Special Collections Cataloger at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California. (mcrane@dwebb.llu.edu).

FROM A DISTANCE . . .

By Marilyn Gane

As we all know, the world of online databases, and more recently the proliferation of electronic journals, is radically changing both the way our students use library resources and the locations from which they use them. No longer are the databases solely provided on the library's computers when the building is open. We now have legitimate distance education students wanting access to even more services than their on-campus colleagues.

So the question is: How do we offer seamless services to our off-campus students while still maintaining the integrity of our license agreements? How do we authorize, authenticate, and train our students in the use of these services from a distance? Many of us have struggled with detailed emails explaining how our off-campus students should configure their web browsers to use the library's databases. Thankfully those days appear to be over. This month's column is designed to give you just a couple of options for software that can authenticate and authorize your off-campus students to use your library's licensed and/or restricted services. Also included are vendors' web sites and the contact names and email addresses of ASDAL members who are currently using these products successfully.

Gary Benton, Library Systems Technician at Walla Walla College (WWC) and Steve Sowder, Systems Librarian at Andrews University (AU) explain two options below.

EZproxy

The Peterson Memorial Library at WWC has been providing off-campus access to library databases through EZproxy for almost two years (since April 2000). When off-campus users come to the library's web site and select a link to an IP-address-authenticated database, EZproxy prompts them to enter the name and password they use to logon to the campus network. If the name and password are valid, they enter the database, which detects their IP address as an on-campus IP address.

No browser configuration is required. The user's name and password are authenticated via the FTP server. Several other methods are available, including POP, IMAP, CGI script, and text file.

EZproxy runs on several platforms, including Linux, Windows NT/2000, and Solaris. Information Services installed EZproxy on the college's Linux/Apache web server. The cost of EZproxy at $500 is very reasonable for this type of product.

More information and a fully functional evaluation copy of EZproxy are available at http://www.usefulutilities.com/ezproxy/.

On the minus side, technical support is available only via email. However, there is an active listserv created by the State University of New York for discussing topics related to EZproxy. The listserv is open for all to join. Information on how to subscribe can be found at http://www.usefulutilities.com/ezproxy/listserv.shtml. Overall, WWC has been quite pleased with EZproxy.

For more information contact Gary Benton at bentga@wwc.edu.

Southern Adventist University also uses EZproxy and is pleased with it. Contact Ann Greer atgreer@southern.edu for information.

CGIproxy

James White Library at AU has been using another product, CGIproxy, for approximately one year. CGIproxy is another program that allows Internet users access to resources that would otherwise be restricted. Many resources on the Internet provide access to customers that pay a subscription fee for access. Each customer has a unique IP address. Access to the customer is given by recognizing the IP address of that customer.

In some instances the customer will wish to provide someone not within their IP address access to their resources. An example of this is a university (for example, Andrews) wishing to provide access to its students that are not on campus.

The university does that by substituting the IP address of the off-campus student with the IP address of the campus (the proxy). The Internet resource sees the proxy IP address instead of the real IP address of the student and allows the student access.

Of course, the university has the burden of verifying that the student really is a registered student and should be granted such access. All registered students at Andrews are given user names and passwords which are conditional on their registration and are based on their student ID numbers and email addresses. No browser configuration is required.

All databases and services requiring authentication are marked with a restricted access symbol. Students simply type in their user names and passwords to gain access.

CGIproxy is really just a computer program that lives on the campus server and does its work from there. It is available free of charge from http://www.jmarshall.com/tools/cgiproxy/.

For more information contact Steve Sowder at sowder@andrews.edu.

Conferences

And finally, here are some dates for your calendar:

Tenth Off-Campus Library Services Conference
April 17-19, 2002, Cincinnati, Ohio
http://ocls.cmich.edu/conference.htm

AVLN Distance Learning Conference 2002
June 23-28, 2002, Southern Adventist University
http://www.avln.org/conference/index.htm.

Marilyn Gane, Chair of ASDAL's Ad Hoc Committee on Distance Education, is Coordinator of Off-Campus Library Services at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan (mgane@andrews.edu).

BYTES AND BITS

Andrews University

January 2002 is the launching date for the ERes system from Dokutek. This electronic reserve system enables librarians and teaching faculty to place items on electronic reserve through document scanning, placing links to documents, placing links to audio and video, or faxing documents directly to the server. E-reserve items are readily accessible to off-campus students.

The library has contracted with Bell and Howell (formerly University Microfilms) for the digitization of all Andrews University dissertations. More than 700 doctoral dissertations will soon be available online to students and faculty.

JSTOR's "Botany and Ecology Collection" of 30 key journals will be available online shortly to students and faculty. The Arts and Sciences I collection of over 100 journals, which we subscribed to two years ago, has been heavily used.

Keith Clouten (clouten@andrews.edu)

* * *

Southern Adventist University

After 30 years at Southern Adventist University (SAU), Peg Bennett retired as of December 31, 2001. She began her work at SAU in 1971 as Cataloger and became Library Director in 1986. Peg made a valuable contribution to McKee Library as well as to the library profession as a whole. Her vision, energy, and perseverance made many dreams become reality. She is enjoying retirement and we all wish her well.

Genevieve Steyn is the new Library Director. She came to SAU in June 2001 as Religious Resources Librarian from Helderberg College in South Africa where she was Head of Technical Services at Pieter Wessels Library. Steyn is just getting her feet wet as Director but likes the team approach at SAU. The library staff is looking forward to many years with her as Director.

McKee Library realizes the need to promote and market its services. A Public Relations Committee was formed in 2001 for this purpose. At the start of each semester multi-colored balloons with meetme@thelibrary printed on each balloon are placed in strategic places around campus publicizing the library. Patricia Beaman and Genevieve Steyn represented the library profession at the SAU Annual Health Careers Fair, January 24, 2002, with a display on Health Services Librarianship. Marge Seifert is actively involved in promoting the library through library tours, individualized attention, and faculty-requested class instruction.

The marketing of library services to faculty and students has resulted in an increase in Interlibrary Loan services. An ARIEL station has been added to augment this service.

A decision was made to subscribe to Academic Search Premier over Academic Search Elite offering more full text access to our students. ATLAS has been added to our electronic resources collection. Continual improvements and enhancements are being made to the library web site which can be accessed at http://library.southern.edu. Distance education students are served by the Electronic Library which can be accessed at http://library.southern.edu/disted.

Genevieve Steyn (gsteyn@southern.edu)

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Position Open - Access Services Librarian

Applications are still being accepted for the position of Access Services Librarian at the Weis Library at Columbia Union College. The Access Services Librarian is responsible for organizing, administering, and managing the access services of the library. Access services include circulation, stacks, reserves, interlibrary loan, copyright compliance, training and supervision of student staff, and responsibility for staff and public access computers. The library is in the process of migrating from the CARL system to Endeavor Voyager, and the incumbent will be involved in the implementation, training, and utilization of the system. The Access Services Librarian will also be expected to participate in providing reference services.

Required: MLS from an ALA-accredited program or equivalent; experience in library public services; experience with automated systems; personal computer skills; familiarity with OCLC; and excellent supervisory, interpersonal, and communication skills. Preferred: Academic library experience, experience with CARL or Endeavor, and experience working with a consortium. Salary range: $35,654 - $51,685, depending on qualifications and experience.

Fax resumes to Margaret von Hake, Library Director, at 301-891-4204; send via email to mvonhake@cuc.edu; or mail to Columbia Union College, Weis Library, 7600 Flower Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912.

Margaret von Hake (mvonhake@cuc.edu)

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Adventist Resources Section

We regret to inform that Per Lisle resigned from the position of Chair, Adventist Resources Section (ARS) of ASDAL. Jim Ford has been appointed to the ARS Committee and has been voted in as the new ARS Chair by the ARS and Executive Committees.

Annette Melgosa (amelgosa@aiias.edu)

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Electronic Resources for School, Church, & Home

Electronic Resources for School Libraries, Church, & Home is a web site which lists free electronic databases for home and school use. It provides links to 26 selected subjects from automobiles to Bible studies, online dictionaries, encyclopedias, and worldwide newspapers. There is also a link to 1,500 international search engines. Most of the entries are reviewed by Choice, College & Research Libraries, School Library Journal, Library Journal, and other professional magazines. Check it out: http://www.andrews.edu/~touchard/school-li.html.

Wolfhard Touchard (touchard@andrews.edu)

From the editor . . .

Read any good books lately? Book reviews are needed for the Spring issue of ASDAL Action. Is your library trying something new this term? Share your experiences and insights with your SDA colleagues around the world. Plan now to submit something for the next issue. The deadline is April 15, 2002.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Lauren Matacio