ASDAL Action

Volume 25, No. 1 Special Anniversary Issue Summer 2005

IN THIS ISSUE

Columns


FROM THE EDITORS

As we approach the 25th anniversary of ASDAL, it seems fitting to commemorate the occasion with a look back at where we've been as a group, to reminisce and to think about how things have changed in our profession and what issues have remained the same throughout the years—thus this special issue of ASDAL Action!

In looking back at past issues, some positive themes stand out: how much the library field has changed through technology (remember those typed and mimeographed issues of this newsletter!); just how international ASDAL has become; how strong a bond has formed among this group of SDA librarians; and how fortunate we are to belong to such a unique organization! Some less positive threads also weave through the discussions, some of which may always be with us: the attempts to encourage the School Library Section to grow; the lack of adequate funding to accomplish our mission; how to do more with declining staffing levels; how to learn and make the best use of all that technology we have at our disposal!

We hope you have as much fun reading this special issue as we did in putting it together, and that you enjoy this little walk down memory lane. Enjoy the ASDAL "firsts," the histories of ASDAL and the presidential messages, as well as think back on the "lighter side" of ASDAL and all the fun we've had together throughout the years. A big thanks to all of you who helped make this special issue possible — we're most grateful!

Your editors,

Sallie Alger and Linda Mack

Sallie Alger is Head of Bibliographic Services at the James White Library, Andrews University. Her first ASDAL experience was assisting Linda with ASDAL Action. She has also presented and worked on local arrangements at ASDAL conferences and is currently ASDAL Action editor.

Linda Mack is Director of the Music Materials Center, James White Library. She is grateful for the monetary and moral support her D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship added to her library school experience. She has served ASDAL as ASDAL Action Editor (2 terms), the Scholarship & Awards Committee, and is currently President-elect.




ASDAL FIRSTS

By Cynthia Mae Helms

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our association, let us reflect on our beginnings. The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians (ASDAL) began at Pacific Union College in June 1981 with Larry Onsager (Union College) as president; Peg Bennett (Southern Missionary College) as vice-president/president elect; Kit Watts (Andrews University) as secretary-treasurer, and Margaret von Hake (Columbia Union College) as editor. Union College was designated as the association's office and permanent mailing address at the 1984 conference. We became incorporated as a non-profit organization in the state of Nebraska in 1987.

Logo, ASDAL Action

Watts was responsible for the idea of an ASDAL logo and for having it designed and printed. Von Hake named the newsletter ASDAL Action and created the masthead by using the logo from the stationery. She used stick-on letters and extended the horizontal line off the L to underline the word Action. For a smaller version of the logo for the editorial box, she used the logo from the official envelope. It was a tedious job to prepare the newsletter during those days because it had to be done on a typewriter which meant starting over several times when corrections had to be made. Von Hake remembers that the logo was black rather than red and that the printer reproduced the masthead in orange; however, the first four issues of the newsletter were in brown because that was the color that the printer had at that time. We give credit to Violet Maynard-Reid for the blue logo which we currently use and which thankfully is in electronic format.

ASDAL Action started with eight pages and slowly increased in length as more and more people contributed. The only exception was the Spring 1987 issue with four pages. The first issue with more than ten pages was dated January 1984 and edited by Keith Clouten. The Oct. 1984 issue contains the first and only full-page cartoon we have ever had in ASDAL Action. The cartoon done by Bob Mumford was borrowed from Canadian Union College's Your Emergency Guide to CUC Library. The first issue that reached the 20-page mark was dated Fall 1992 with 21 pages under the editorship of Linda Wildman Mack.

Features, Columns

Besides official business, feature articles, and news from librarians and libraries, regular columns comprised the backbone of ASDAL Action. The first columns appeared in the 1990's. Here they are, the first time they appeared, and their first columnists: Adventist Resources Section (v. 10, no.1, Fall 1990) - Gary Shearer; School Librarians' Forum/Column (v. 13, no.1, Fall 1993) - John Kihlstrom; and Preservation Corner (v. 18, no. 1, Fall 1998) - Randy Butler. The first two columns are still being published, but by different columnists.

Job Placement

Our Association has some very outstanding firsts that we can be proud of. One of them is the Job Placement Service established at Pacific Union College in 1982 with Taylor Ruhl as the contact person. This service was later renamed Job Referral Service in 1984 and discontinued in 1992. Job Openings are currently being posted on the ASDAL web site.

SDA Periodical Index

Another first that we can be proud of is the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI). According to Ruhls' article, "The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians, 1981-1991: A History" in ASDAL Action, (v. 11, no. 2, Winter 1992, p. 13), "...The index would not exist had ASDAL not been established and functioned on behalf of the Index as it has." The SDAPI was transferred in 1992 from Loma Linda University to Andrews University. In 1993 there were discussions of its electronic access and by 1994 James White Library loaded it on its public access catalog, JeWeL. It has also been issued as a CD-ROM since 1998. The indexing and searching of SDA periodicals are now much more convenient than they were in the 1950s when some academic libraries did cooperative indexing of selected SDA periodicals.

SDA Classification Scheme

A major breakthrough in Adventist librarianship is the Classification Scheme for Adventists and Ellen White covering BX 6101-6189 developed by Keith Clouten and Warren Trenchard. It provided a range of 40 numbers for Adventists and 5 numbers for E.G. White. While it was announced at the first ASDAL conference in 1981, it was not until 1983 when a committee composed of Clouten, chair; Carol Crider; Peg Bennett; and Nelia Wurangian was formed to refine and recommend any actions. After its adoption at the 1984 conference at Keene, Texas, a standing committee was assigned to be responsible for its use and future development. The currently updated scheme is available on the ASDAL Web site.

Website, Listserv

Our profession was experiencing revolutionary changes with the impact of technology on our work. Harvey Brenneise, former head reference librarian, resources development librarian, and systems librarian at Andrews University and twice president of the Association, brought us up with the times by designing the first ASDAL Web site and setting up the SDA-Librarians' listserv both of which resided at the Andrews site. The listserv was announced in the Fall 1993 issue of ASDAL Action. The listserv is still being managed from Andrews by Steve Sowder; the Web site eventually assumed an organization domain when Stan Cottrell took over the job of Web site coordinator.

ALICE Consortium

ALICE took off for "wonderland" in 1998 with ten institutions: Andrews University, Columbia Union College, Florida Hospital College, La Sierra University, Loma Linda University, Oakwood College, Pacific Union College, Southern Adventist University, Union College, and Walla Walla College. The idea of cooperative access dates back to 1996 when the Cooperative Information Access Committee voiced the need for an Adventist Electronic Library Consortium "for identifying and evaluating electronic resources as well as for sharing." The name ALICE which means Adventist Library Information Cooperative was coined by Clouten.

SAIL

Another term coined by Clouten was SAIL. Established in 1995, SAIL originally stood for Services to Affiliated Institutional Libraries and later for Services to Adventist International Libraries. Clouten announced this service offered by Andrews University during his term as overseas libraries coordinator. Although it is not really an ASDAL project, it is the fulfillment of the idea of a Library Resources Clearing House back in 1984. At that time, ASDAL worked on addressing the need to help Adventist libraries outside North America who were requesting materials for their collections. (See ASDAL Action, Vol. 3, No. 1, Jan. 1984, p.11).

ANGEL

ANGEL is another cooperative venture which was officially started in 1981 by Southern Missionary College (now Southern Adventist University). Its purpose was to develop and process the collections of the church schools in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference. Initially there were 63 schools in the system. In 1983, the acronym ANGEL which initially stood for Adventist Network of Georgia-Cumberland Elementary Libraries was changed to Adventist Network of General Educational Libraries with the addition of other conference and educational levels. It is currently under the professional leadership of Katherine Hunt. Again, this is not an ASDAL project but it is one of the firsts in Adventist librarianship.

International Leadership

Although ASDAL is based in the United States (U.S.), there has always been an international perspective from the very beginning. The 1983 membership report revealed that we had representatives from "West Indies, South America, Hawaii, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Africa, and England." The first president from outside the U.S. was Keith Clouten (1988-1989) who was then the library director of Canadian Union College (now Canadian University College). The first president from outside North America was Per Lisle (1997-1998), library director of Newbold College. These may be debatable statements because both of them are really from outside North America — Clouten, an Australian, and Lisle, a Norwegian, but I am referring to the countries where they were employed when they served as president rather than their countries of origin. This brings us to the idea of international conferences.

International Conferences

The first conference held outside the U.S. was at Canadian Union College, Canada in 1993 and the first conference outside North America was at Newbold College, England in 1995. Those of us who attended the Newbold conference observed the variety of new attendees from all over the world. There were representatives from 20 countries and 5 continents. One unique experience was that of seeing and touching hand-written Bibles in Russian. One ASDAL member probably carries an unpleasant memory of falling off the bunk bed and breaking an arm. And there must be two librarians who would recall temporarily getting lost and coming back to Newbold in a taxi after the tour bus left them and someone else had to track them down. We stepped outside the comfort of our English-speaking world and held the first conference in a Spanish-speaking environment when we went to Montemorelos University, Mexico in 1999. This was where we walked across a hanging bridge and some of cooled us off by lying on the floor of Library Director Adan Suriano's office on Sabbath afternoon. The first conference held in the southern hemisphere was at the Universidad Adventista del Plata, Argentina in 2002.

International Chapters

The first chapter that held its own conference is the European chapter, organized by Ralph Köhler in Germany in 2003. This is also the first chapter to issue its own publication, ASDAL Action Europe, in the 1990's under the editorship of Annette Melgosa. Unfortunately, this publication did not last very long. Köhler is also credited for establishing the German version of SAIL. The Mexico conference (1999) gave birth to the Inter-American and South American chapters while the England conference (1995) gave birth to the European chapter. The fist African chapter was organized by Wendy Young in 2004.

Special Internet Sections

ASDAL has had two long standing sections, the Adventist Resources Section (ARS) and the School Library Section (SLS). After a day-long Adventist history seminar held prior to the conference held at Atlantic Union College in 1986, the ARS was born. The first officers of the working committee were Don Yost, chair; Marilyn Crane, secretary; and Louise Dederen, Gary Shearer, and Jim Nix, members. Nix is considered the founder of ARS. At the 1987 conference held at Pacific Union College, the SLS announced their first officers as John Kihlstrom, chair; Lorabel Midkiff, membership secretary; and Ruth Stickney, recording secretary.

Hilts Scholarship

Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Margarete Ambs Hilts, the Hilts scholarship was established in 1983 in memory of her late husband D. Glenn Hilts, librarian with a total of 44 years of active service at various SDA educational institutions — Union College, Atlantic Union College, La Sierra University, and Loma Linda University. The first Hilts scholarship was awarded to Christina Keslake Cicchetti of Walla Walla College as announced at the fifth annual conference. Cicchetti is a former president of ASDAL.

Transportation

We have gone far and wide via plane or car to attend our conferences. How about recalling some of the other fun rides we have had besides the usual bus rides for our day tours and field trips? Our first cable car ride was to the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park, Canada in 1993. I remember one person who was not quite thrilled about taking that ride but when she was told that if she had signed up for supper, that's where she was going to get it—she finally rode the car and got her share of lasagna. How about our first boat trip to go and see a library? That was during the Florida Conference in 2004 when we were split into small groups to ride the boats that took us to Rollins College. One conference held at Andrews University also gave us a chance to ride a boat but that was an architectural tour on the Chicago River.

Romance

ASDAL has also given a couple a pleasant ride into marriage as we witnessed the first ASDAL romance of Stan Cottrell, cataloging librarian at Columbia Union College (CUC), and Genevieve Steyn, library director at Southern Adventist University (SAU). They tied the knot at the Korean SDA Church in Collegedale, Tennessee on June 6, 2004. CUC's loss was SAU's gain as Cottrell moved from Maryland to Tennessee and assumed the role of technical services librarian.

Individuals

Here are a few interesting facts about some of our members. Receiving his degree from the University of Southern California in 1973, Dr. George Summers gets the credit for being the first Adventist to receive a Ph.D. in Library Science. The first Adventist librarian to receive a Ph.D. in Library Science since the birth of ASDAL is Dr. Jannith Lewis who received her degree from Indiana University in 1982. The first librarian to win in a cherry pit spitting contest is Marley Soper. He projected at an amazing distance of 34 feet and 3 inches at the 1985 conference held at Andrews University. Teresa Thompson of Lincoln, Nebraska may just be the first librarian to be on oxygen therapy while at work. A small student thought that what she had was a "bugger-catcher" — and was he serious!

I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this article by responding to the message I sent to the listserv, by corresponding directly with me, or by writing those articles in ASDAL Action that preserve our Association's history.

Cynthia Mae Helms, is Head of the Information Services Department, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.




MEETINGS OF SDA PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIANS PRIOR TO THE FORMATION OF ASDAL

By Harvey Brenneise

The earliest documented meeting of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) professional librarians occurred in February 1951 at Emmanuel Missionary College (EMC) in Berrien Springs, MI. The minutes of the 1957 meeting state that two such meetings of librarians had been held "in recent years," and noted that the results of the 1951 meeting had been negligible. In 1951 the librarians present agreed that an SDA periodical index was an urgent necessity, recommending that it be undertaken by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC).

Most meetings of SDA librarians prior to the formation of the Association of Seventh Day Adventist Librarians (ASDAL) in 1981 took place in conjunction with meetings of SDA academics held every 3-6 years during the 1950s to 1970s. These meetings had various names, including Intercollegiate Departmental Conference, North American Higher Education Convention (NADHEC), General Conference Department of Education Quadrennial Session of College and University Teachers, and North American Division Quadrennial Council for Higher Education (QCHE). Meetings were held in 1951 at EMC, 1957 at Washington Missionary College (WMC), 1961 at Southern Missionary College (SMC), 1965 at La Sierra College (LSC), and 1968 and 1976 at Andrews University (AU). Meetings were ordinarily held in August, and were divided into sections by discipline.

Each SDA college and university library sent representatives to these meetings. In early years there was often only one representative per institution, but attendance in later years more closely resembles that of a current ASDAL conference. The librarians' section of these meetings usually published extensive proceedings of its meetings. These proceedings were more thorough than anything currently being produced by ASDAL, and are a delight for the historian because of their completeness. They always include a list of attendees and actions taken by the group. In addition they include either summaries or virtual transcripts of meetings, summaries of or the complete text of papers presented and often copies of supporting documents. The 1951 meeting was held February 4-7 at EMC in conjunction with the American Library Association (ALA) midwinter meeting in Chicago. No official proceedings as such were produced. However, the Pacific Union College (PUC) Library contains a bound copy of PUC Library Director Lois Walker's documents from that meeting, which include a tentative program, transcripts of some of the papers read, and recommendations. Anna Blackney of EMC chaired the meeting. The topics discussed were a mixture of general professional subjects and those of specific SDA interest.

The program included the following topics: library techniques, circulation, censorship, book selection, buildings, compact shelving, departmental libraries, bibliographic instruction and orientation, student assistants, what the faculty expect of a college library, a proposed SDA periodical union list, SDA microfilming, and an "index to denominational periodicals."

SDA librarians love surveys. Dorothy Ferren reported the results of a survey of 11 SDA college libraries for their circulation policies. Harry Casey strongly advocated censorship of the materials coming into the libraries. "The word censorship brings to mind the perusal of letters and correspondence by experts or critics to eliminate any spurious, offensive, objectionable material that might be detrimental to a person, country or nation. I would therefore assume that censorship of books in our libraries by those concerned would eliminate similar objectionable features and characteristics in the light of the best standards and principles of the SDA denomination." He quoted extensively from Ellen White's writings, particularly about fiction and surveyed SDA college libraries on their censorship policies. He presented lists of characteristics that might make books suitable or unsuitable for SDA college libraries. Among the unsuitable characteristics were obscene and profane language, extreme realism, humorous references to illicit sexual relations, portrayal of nudity, uninteresting books that in all probability will not be read, modernism, ridicule of God, popular novels, fiction (except classics) fiction not needed for classes, books on theater and dancing, books for graduate students, novels based on the life of Christ and other Biblical characters, and popular fiction. Virtually any book other than a technical one was subject to censorship. Many present agreed with him that "in the light of the Spirit of Prophecy [Ellen White], we are a little lax in the censorship of books." Attendees reported that war books, Betty McDonald's writings and fiction required by the Department of Education in Alberta were problems. However, one librarian stated, "If we had only books whose sentiment could be underwritten by our denomination we would not have a library of real comprehensiveness." Casey concluded that SDA librarians should and do censor materials. "It certainly behooves us, in the light of the Spirit of Prophecy and these days of shifting and slipping standards and the nearness of the end, to take unusual care in the choice of the very best literature for our youth." In Lois Walker's hand are these notes: "What about books on communism?" and "Belles on Their Toes has pages on girls smoking."

Floda Smith reported on departmental libraries in the liberal arts college. She advocated departmental libraries for the sciences, so that they could be near the laboratories, and reported the experience at Union College (UC) with its departmental libraries in physics, chemistry, biology, educational/curriculum, nursing, the academy (secondary school), and the elementary school.

Alfred Brandon of Atlantic Union College (AUC) reported on SDA library science instruction. He expressed a need for training school librarians, and concluded that only PUC had a real program in library science. Barbara Phipps, in her report on training student assistants, stated, "It is this start in the library methods class and the work in the college library that gives the impetus for professional library training, and librarianship as a career. While none of us would insist that we have been an unmitigated blessing to the profession, there are six of us professional librarians in our colleges today as a result of Miss Blackney's requirement at EMC of library methods for student assistants. Her patience in training us, and her enthusiasm for quality in library service inspired us and started us toward a satisfying career."

Stanley Brown's presentation, "The Size and Organization of the College Library Staff," contained 12 pages of detailed SDA library statistics, concluding that more staff was needed. Arlene Marks studied the possibility of producing an SDA periodical index, and estimated the cost of 7,000 entries per year (without inclusion of union conference or division papers) to be between $3,500 and $9,000 per year. Estimating 100 potential subscribers, she concluded that libraries could not afford to pay $350-$900 per year for an index. She suggested heavy financial support from the colleges, with the GC and North American SDA publishers as two other potential sources of income, and suggested Takoma Park as the place of publication. She also spoke of the need for retrospective indexing, and special SDA subject headings. "If we could find a young man (or woman) with the 'bibliographic urge' and practical business ability of Mr. Wilson, a theological training, some practical knowledge of the library, a prodigious capacity for work, and a willingness to devote his life to the compiling of a denominational index, the success of an index might be assured, at least from an editorial standpoint."

Anna Blackney revised the 1951 resolutions before sending them out. They were as follows: that teachers be more active in selecting and censoring general reading books; that librarians and library architects be involved in new library buildings, modular construction be used and departmental libraries be discouraged; that bibliographic instruction be given freshmen, library workers and upperclassmen, and that library training for teachers be available; that SDA libraries use the ALA Library Score Card to survey themselves and use it to improve library quality; that there was too much dependence on student labor, and that specific standards for the number of professional librarians based on the size of student body be used; that a union list of SDA periodicals be compiled; that a cooperative SDA periodical index be begun, specifying the procedures; and that SDA materials be microfilmed.

Alfred Brandon chaired the 1957 meeting held at Washington Missionary College, for which it was admitted a "very heavy agenda had been prepared." Those present saw shop talk as being a major benefit of the meeting. The SDA periodical index was again a major issue. D. Glenn Hilts was elected interim chairman, to serve as coordinator until the next such meeting. The list of those present reads like a who's who of Adventist library pioneers, including Oscar Schmidt of AUC, Barbara Phipps of EMC, D. Glenn Hilts of LSC, Jannith Lewis of Oakwood (OC), Lois Walker of PUC, Myrtle Watrous of SMC, Floda Smith of UC, Anna Blackney of Walla Walla College (WWC), Theofield Weis of WMC, Alfred Brandon of the College of Medical Evangelists (CME), and Mary Jane Mitchell of the SDA Theological Seminary.

Included in the 95-page proceedings is an interesting introduction of SDA libraries and librarians, including statistics on staff, collections and buildings. For example, at that time the EMC library had 52,000 volumes, 2 3/4 professional staff, 1/2 clerical staff, and 225 student hours per week. The building was seen as "inadequate; new addition promised; construction plans not yet definite." Open forum discussions on a number of topics were held. In discussing circulation policies it was noted that "teachers' loans were discussed, but no solution reached." The entire text of the 1953 edition of Hilts' Classification Scheme for Works of Mrs. E. G. White is included in the proceedings.

The proceedings include the entire text of a number of papers that were read. "Cooperative Indexing of SDA Periodicals" was presented by Lois Walker. She gave the history of other cooperative indexing projects, including Catholic (unsatisfactory), the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and a group of 5 seminaries. In a survey, Walker found that only LSC, UC and WMC were currently doing SDA indexing, with La Sierra's the most complete. However, there was no uniformity among them. She also noted many problems of indexing periodicals, especially denominational ones. For example, she asked, "How does one find subjects for rather elusive materials such as an article by Elder Branson entitled 'How Long Halt Ye Between Two Opinions,' being a dissertation on staunch and careful Adventism?" She also analyzed ways of sharing indexing cards and the potential cost of a cooperative index. She figured that indexing 16 periodicals would take 17 hours per month for a total of 857 cards per month. She estimated the cost per college per month to be $198.10, not including professional time. "If other colleges are like PUC, each can have all the student help desired and no questions asked." She allowed that if the indexing were to be done in some central place with each college paying its share, considerable propagandizing might be necessary. In an appendix, Walker included ATLA's procedure manual. Walker indicated that a list of SDA subject headings was needed, and called for retrospective indexing.

Presentations were given by Hilts on La Sierra's indexing, and by Weis of the WMC index of SDA periodicals, which ceased in 1945 due to lack of funds. Previously it had been a National Youth Administration project (which ceased in 1943). Hilts led an afternoon workshop on indexing SDA periodicals. He noted that La Sierra's use of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) with an SDA supplement constituted subject cataloging rather than indexing. Included in the proceedings is La Sierra's index procedure manual.

There was an extended panel discussion entitled "The College's Objectives, the Curriculum, and the Library," which largely revolved around accreditation issues. Jannith Lewis noted that the Southern Association required a minimum annual expenditure of $30 per student for library expenditures. She also reported that a visiting evaluator had noted that "You are brave. You have Karl Marx on the shelves."

Floda Smith presented "Book Selection of Academy Libraries." She sent a questionnaire to 65 SDA secondary schools (statistical data not included in the proceedings). She noted that many used the GC book list for academies (1940, rev. 1954) and suggested that the college librarians might assist in supplementing and updating this list possibly by utilizing rotating summer workshops. The librarians present urged that properly educated librarians be hired by academies.

Anna Blackney presented the results of a questionnaire on bibliographic and library science instruction AUC and PUC were the only institutions that reported a library science minor. Mrs. Mitchell called for standardizing bibliographic instruction, noting that "consistently the AUC men know how to use the library," because religion majors there were urged to take a library science course. Graduates of other institutions did not do as well in the Seminary Library.

Richard Schwarz answered "No" to his own question, "Shall we Have a Union List of SDA Periodicals?" at least not until there was a periodical index, concluding that it would have limited usefulness. He then outlined how it could be done, with his reluctant cooperation.

The librarians didn't spend all their time in meetings. They took tours of the Ellen G. White Estate, Review and Herald Publishing Association Library, Seminary Library, National Archives, Library of Congress, and University of Maryland Library.

Round table discussions were held on a large number of issues, including evening library use [cooperate with the dorms], the function of the faculty library committee [not usually active, though one used it as a parachute to get out of difficulty], professional reading, and phone calls for patrons. Yet another survey found that one urban Adventist library hired a student to answer the phone for community students because many young ladies use the library in the evening and it seemed advisable to maintain a service so that parents could call, while another library only called students to the phone when summoned by administrative officers of the school.

In 1957 the librarians' section voted many resolutions and recommendations, including establishing a mimeographed SDA librarians' newsletter to be edited by Floda Smith, clearing student records with the library before they could check Out of school, distributing Hilts' SDA subject headings, establishing a committee to prepare an SDA supplement to the ALA code, reproduction of La Sierra's SDA periodical index, microfilming Ellen White periodical articles and the Review and Herald (general church paper), calling on the General Conference to assist in increasing the number of professional librarians in SDA colleges, establishing a minor in library science at Potomac University to train teacher/librarians, improving college bibliographic instruction, calling on the GC Education Department to sponsor a trained librarian to assist academy librarians, developing a bibliography of SDA publications, having SDA librarians meet every four years with other college faculty, developing a cooperative who's who of SDA librarians, and using the Seminary list of religious books as a core list for overseas schools. Most importantly, the section voted a lengthy SDA periodical index working agreement.

The proceedings of the 1961 meeting at Southern Missionary College take only 28 pages, primarily because they include summaries rather than full text documentation. However, this meeting also had a full agenda. Oscar Schmidt chaired the meeting because Hilts was absent due to illness. Rather than presenting papers, specific and general problems were discussed, for which summaries are given.

The following topics were among the many discussed. Grace Prentice discussed "Indexing of Denominational Periodicals." Because the Union College and Loma Linda University (LLU) libraries were not indexing the journals that they had agreed to do at the previous meeting, two titles were transferred to other libraries. Lenoa Silver discussed "Recruiting of Librarians." She asked, "Is the stereotype idea of a librarians justified? Introvertive, too bookish, unfriendly, sarcastic, too busy to help, etc." There was discussion of the possibility of asking Andrews University to offer a master's degree in education with a major in library science. AU Library Director Mary Jane Mitchell described the Dewey/Library of Congress (LC) reclassification project at Andrews. Lois Walker and Mitchell described their experiences in planning a new library, and Mitchell told of some of the misadventures of building the new James White Library (AU). It was voted to revive the newsletter edited by Floda Smith, and 28 other problems were "briefly noted"!

Two sections of resolutions were voted in 1961—new resolutions and revised versions of 1957 resolutions that had not been acted on. New resolutions included: that SDA publishers give library discounts, that Ministry magazine use LCSH and the Hilts list of SDA subject terms in its subject index, that the GC list the romanized version of the actual name of foreign institutions along with the English name under which it appears in the Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, that the OC Education Department adopt a plan of giving grants-in-aid to assist students to go to library school in return for a two year internship in an SDA library, that study be given to centralizing indexing of SDA periodicals, that thanks be given to those church entities that had acted on the 1957 recommendations, that the proper training of school librarians was urgent, that SDA publishing houses use LC cataloging in publication (CIP) service, and that college librarians have faculty rank. Seven previous recommendations were revised and re-endorsed, most importantly the index working agreement.

The 1965 meeting was held at La Sierra College. Thirty-five librarians attended, representing all the institutions of higher education in North America and some from academies and hospitals. As usual, the agenda was very heavy, and many presentations were made on a variety of topics. A number of library vendors made demonstrations of their products. A full-day field trip was taken to Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale Sanitarium Library, the Voice of Prophecy, Huntington Library and Art Gallery, and a Newport Bay boat cruise. In addition to the joint minutes with the other sections, the librarians produced a 123-page set of proceedings. Oscar Schmidt chaired the meetings.

Eight recommendations were made in 1965. They were as follows: a request for a discount from denominational publishers at least equal to those received from other publishers, as well as making materials available on a standing order basis; a recommendation to "our" publishers to include their offerings in Books in Print; a recommendation for the forthcoming Review and Herald index to be similar to Wilson indexes and be made available in book or keypunch card form and that the GC Publishing Department set up an editorial office to expand the Review index to include other SDA periodicals; a recommendation to the editors of the Journal of True Education to make its index a true annual index, a request that Andrews University prepare a full-page advertisement for colleges with minors in library science to appear periodically in The Youth's Instructor, a recommendation to the GC Education Department to require that a demonstration library with a competent librarian be required as part of the teacher training program at each college or university having an elementary or secondary demonstration school.

The 1968 meeting was held at Andrews University. The only documentation found was the librarians' section report contained in the 694-page official report of the conference entitled "Relevant Teaching for Revolutionary Times." At this meeting there was a joint meeting of librarians with faculty from English, modern languages, administrators, board chairmen, and secretaries of education. The topic of the meeting was "improper literature" (i.e. containing profanity and/or sexual realism) allegedly being taught in some academies as a result of its being taught in the colleges. There was consensus that reports of the situation were exaggerated. The minutes of the English section note that no one at the meeting expressed the view that all non-factual narrative was condemned by Ellen White.

George Summers presided at the librarians' section meetings. He also presented the keynote, "Librarianship and the New Technology," which was in harmony with the theme of the section, "Academic Libraries of Tomorrow—Today." Grace (Prentice) Holm presented a paper on the feasibility of changing an academic library from Dewey to LC classification. This paper, along with Summers' keynote address and a paper by Barbara Phipps on library orientation, are contained in full in the proceedings. Several library vendors made presentations, most having to do with then-new technology.

Thomas Geraty of the GC met with the group to again discuss the proposed index to SDA periodicals. He reported that the college administrators had looked with favor on this idea in their meeting at Walla Walls in 1967. However this action had never been reported to the librarians. An ongoing SDA Periodicals Index Committee comprised of Mary Jane Mitchell, D. Glenn Hilts, Floda Smith, George Summers and Margaret von Hake was appointed to work on this project.

A panel discussed the ALA Freedom to Read Statement and book selection in the SDA library. The desirability of obtaining copies of doctoral dissertations written by SDAs was discussed, and a continuing librarian recruitment committee was formed. The group toured the libraries at University of Notre Dame and Goshen College.

The most important resolution of the 1968 sectional meeting concerned the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index. The section recommended that it be sponsored by an educational institution or the GC, that an experienced indexer do the work, that an experiment be done to determine cost, and voted a list of 26 journals to be indexed (including Spectrum, the only one not published by a church organization).

Elwood Mabley was elected interim chairman of the section until the next meeting. The general council also made several recommendations affecting libraries. These were: to recommend an immediate and substantial increase in library funding for the purchase of materials for English departments, that librarians make every effort to choose materials compatible with the aims of Adventist higher education, that ways to improve bibliographic instruction be sought, that Junior college credits not be accepted for a certificate in school librarianship, that library statistics be a part of the GC Education Department statistics program, and that a librarian be appointed as a member of the GC Education Department to coordinate services in all types of Adventist libraries.

The next meeting, in 1976, was again held at Andrews University. The proceedings of this meeting total 173 pages, and include much supplementary material (especially items handed out by Don Yost of the GC Archives). Fifty librarians are listed as participants, the largest group to date. Elwood Mabley gave the keynote, followed by a presentation on the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index given by Grace Holm, and computer use on SDA campuses by Alice Gregg, with a panel reaction. Grace Holm, James Nix and Mary Jane Mitchell were appointed to meet with board chairmen, presidents and finance officers to emphasize the urgent need to properly finance the index. Interest groups met for mini-sessions, and Johnnie Givens of Austin Peay State University made a presentation on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) "Standards for College and University Libraries." Apparently this was the first instance of the SDA librarians inviting someone not a church employee to make a presentation at their conference.

Robert Olson of the White Estate gave a presentation entitled "Playing the Numbers game!, or the Placement of Prophetess of Health: A Study of Ellen G. White." In it he made a number of interesting suggestions, including the idea that if Adventists could easily borrow the book from a library they might not then feel the need to purchase their own copy, thus unjustly enriching the errant author. He especially urged that libraries obtain multiple copies of the various White Estate rebuttals of the work, and that these be made readily available to the public.

Maurice Hodgen spoke about the need for oral history projects, and Bill Hessel about the status of faculty rank and tenure for Adventist librarians. Marley Soper led a tour to three Chicago libraries—the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago, the John Crerar Library and the Newberry Library. Jim Nix gave an important speech entitled "Cogitations of an Adventist Bibliophile," in which he discussed how to tell if an Adventist book is rare. He also pled for more cooperation among Adventist libraries in the preservation of Adventist materials. There were also presentations on a number of topics related to the preservation of Adventiana.

Margaret von Hake made a successful motion that the librarians meet every other year for a 2- to 4-day conference. Xerox was chosen to microfilm the Weis Index. Don Yost concluded the conference with a one-day seminar on the management of archival collections. Bob Cooper agreed to be the newsletter editor, and Charles Davis was elected interim chairman.

Only three other recommendations were voted at the 1976 session, the last such meeting held. These were a funding formula for the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index, that a professional librarian be part of academy accrediting teams, and an endorsement of the ACRL statement on faculty status of academic librarians (which statement is included in full in the general report of the conference).

In conclusion, it is clear that Adventist librarians in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s clearly felt a need to meet and discuss mutual problems, conduct cooperative projects, develop professionally and get to know each other. in those years when the GC discouraged Adventist professionals and academics from forming their own professional associations, these meetings were enormously beneficial. Both the quantity and quality of the discussions are exemplary and gave ASDAL a good tradition on which to build. The need for the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index and attempts to develop it were a constant throughout this period, as was the need to preserve the Adventist heritage and properly index, organize, distribute, catalog and describe its documents. Other important ongoing topics were the need to improve the quality of Adventist school libraries and training of school librarians, recruiting Adventist college librarians, and faculty rank and tenure.

It is also clear that meeting only every four years was not sufficient to be able to effectively conduct business, although meeting at the same time as other Adventist academics surely was positive. The need for a newsletter to bind the members of the profession together is also apparent. Twenty volumes of the SDA College Library Newsletter were published between the late 1950s and 1981. The newsletter had an uneven publication schedule and participation by colleges was less than complete It is doubtful that a complete file of these currently exists in one location.

Many of the "traditions" of ASDAL, from the too-full agenda to the fun and educational tours, were set in this pre-ASDAL period. Present SDA librarians can only be thankful that these librarians laid such a good foundation on which to build. If they had been able to solve all the problems that were discussed how little there would be to do now!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians (February 4-7, 1951: Emmanuel Missionary College, Berrien Springs, MI). [Proceedings.]

Intercollegiate Departmental Conference (August 2 1-27, 1957: Washington Missionary College, Takoma Park, MD). Proceedings of the Librarians' Section.11

Intercollegiate Departmental Conference (August 23-29, 1961: Southern Missionary College, Collegedale, TN). Proceedings of the Librarians' Section.

North American Division. College & UniversityTeachers Section Meetings (August 18-25, 1965: LaSierra College, Riverside, CA). Education, English,Modern Languages, Librarians, Health & Physical Education. Minutes.

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Department of Education. Quadrennial Session of College and University Teachers (August 18-25, 1965: La Sierra College, La Sierra, CA). Section Meeting. Librarians. Proceedings.

North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Quadrennial Council for Higher Education (August 20-27, 1968: Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI). Official Report: "Relevant Teaching for Revolutionary Times."

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, North American Division. Higher Education Convention (August 9-16, 1976: Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI). Report.

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Department of Education. Quadrennial Session of College and University Teachers (August 9-16: Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI). Librarian's Section Meetings. Proceedings.

This paper was first presented at the June 1991 ASDAL Conference and was published in ASDAL Action, Volume 11, No.2 Winter 1992. At the time, Harvey Brenneise was Head Reference Librarian, James White Library, Andrews University




THE ASSOCIATION OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST LIBRARIANS, 1981-1991: A HISTORY

By Taylor D. Ruhl

It is especially interesting to have been asked to review the history of ASDAL at this meeting, for today, June 26, is the tenth anniversary of the official establishment of ASDAL at Pacific Union College. At the North American Division Higher Education Conference held at Andrews University in 1976 it was announced that the next quinquennial meeting would be held at Pacific Union College in 1981. However, as enrollments began to drop precipitously and the cost of travel increased in the late 70s and very early 80s, it was apparent that no such meeting was practical and that one would not be held. With the announcement in early 1981 that the American Library Association (ALA) would meet in San Francisco, the library faculty at Pacific Union College invited their Adventist colleagues to meet at their campus just prior to the ALA conference. Although Adventist librarians had previously gathered for dinner at ALA meetings, there had not been any organized effort to meet in formal session outside of the NAD higher education meetings.

The meeting at PUC was chaired by Charles Davis, then Director of Library Services at what we knew as Southern Missionary College, because he had been appointed chair of the library section meetings that would have been held as part of the NAD meetings in 1981. It could be said, then, that Charles was the first president of ASDAL although he never formally held that title.

The first issue of ASDAL Action published in October, 1982 noted that "nearly 40 librarians, most of whom were from eight North American Adventist colleges, met at PUC before going on to attend the ALA conference in San Francisco." The major actions reported were: To organize a Seventh-day Adventist professional association. To establish an advisory board to assist in the continuing publication of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index. And to recommend that a placement service for professional librarians be set up at the Pacific Union College Library. That year best wishes were extended to retiring librarians Mary Jane Mitchell, Barbara Phipps and Floda Smith, all of whom attended the conference. Lawrence Onsager, newly appointed director of the Union College library, was elected president of the association, and Peg Bennett, then Catalog Librarian at Southern College, was elected president-elect, responsible for planning the next conference program.

The second conference was held at Columbia Union College in July of 1982. At that time ASDAL had grown to a membership of 116. This conference in noted both in its minutes and in the memories of those who attended as being dominated by continued landmark discussion of the status and future of the Index. ASDAL's constitution and bylaws were first presented and accepted at this meeting as well. At this meeting the General Conference Department of Education presented the need for coordinated gathering of statistical information regarding NAD libraries, and ASDAL assumed yet another important cooperative function. Peg Bennett, now director here at Southern College, assumed the presidency of ASDAL at the conclusion of this meeting and Maynard Lowry, director of libraries at Loma Linda University became president-elect.

In 1983 ASDAL met at Loma Linda University. Jim Nix, chairman of the department of Archives and Special Collections at Loma Linda, served as program chairman for Maynard, and the major focus of the conference was the collection and preservation of Adventist materials. At this meeting it was announced that the Hilts Scholarship for SDA library science students had been established, another major landmark in the activities of ASDAL. Yet another significant cooperative venture was begun at this meeting with the establishment of a committee to study a classification scheme for Adventist materials within the Library of Congress BX Schedule chaired by Keith Clouten. Keith Drieberg, then librarian at Auburn Academy (Washington) was elected vice-president.

The fourth session of ASDAL convened at Southwestern Adventist College on June 19, 1984 and is remembered first for the near-century daytime temperatures. Attendance was down to thirty, but this was the first ASDAL gathering at which all twelve NAD centers of higher education were represented. [Is that a goal that may have been forgotten and should be revived. It seems that this has seldom been achieved.] At this conference, an amendment to the Association's by-laws was passed which provided for the appointment of a permanent executive Treasurer, and Chloe Foutz, now director at Union College, was elected to the new office. Harvey Brenneise was elected vice-president.

Andrews University hosted the fifth annual session of ASDAL. Association records indicate that the first ASDAL scholarship winner, Christina Keslake from Walla Walla College, was announced at this conference, implementing yet another important cooperative venture in Adventist librarianship. Being a General Conference year, this session is remembered for its broad attendance, particularly by overseas librarians. Among significant discussion was consideration of the impact of the new publication, Current Christian Abstracts, on the SDA Periodical Index. Jannith Lewis was elected vice-president.

New England and Adventist history dominated the sixth annual conference at Atlantic Union College which was preceded by an Adventist history tour conducted by Jim Nix. During that tour the grave of Robert Harmon, brother of Ellen White, was relocated in Maine by members of the tour group. The SDA Index was again a major item of discussion, especially regarding what ASDAL's role in the Index should be, what the role of ASDAL in the selection of Index editors should be, and who would hold the copyright, ASDAL or Loma Linda University. It is significant to note that this was the first time the Index editor was commended for timely publication. The new SDA classification scheme was presented, accepted, and made available by subscription. ASDAL voted at this meeting to incorporate to protect individual officers from liability and to protect the assets of the association. For some reason which remains to be known, I accepted election to the office of vice-president as this meeting concluded.

Returning to the location of its inception, ASDAL met at PUC in 1987 for its seventh annual meeting. For the first time a guest speaker was invited to an ASDAL conference, and Evan Farber, well-known director of the Earlham College library, presented the topic of course-related bibliographic instruction. Keith Clouten became president-elect at this meeting.

In 1988 ASDAL met at Oakwood College. One of the outstanding events of that session was the first discussion between Adventist librarians and Adventist publishing where open and constructive discussion chaired by Kit Watts, now Assistant Editor of the Adventist Review and formerly Periodicals Librarian at Andrews University, lead to a better understanding of the needs and concerns of these two distinct and important Adventist information sources. Margaret von Hake, director of the Columbia Union College library, became president-elect.

Moving away from the sites of ALA in order to visit yet another Adventist campus, ASDAL met at Union College in 1989 a meeting highlighted for many by a delicious feast of pizza and pasta at Valentino's during a mid-western thunderstorm. A controversial and memorable presentation on library management by Herbert White, Dean of the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University, was the significant program presentation of the conference and marked the second time a guest from outside the denomination was invited to an ASDAL conference. Another first in Adventist library cooperation was the establishment at this conference of an ASDAL literary award and the appointment of a committee to oversee it. Marley Soper was elected vice-president.

With General Conference scheduled in Indianapolis and ALA in Chicago, it was natural for ASDAL to return to Andrews University in 1990 for its tenth annual conference. The SDA Periodical Index was again a significant agenda item with the presentation and acceptance of a governance document which marked a major milestone for ASDAL, its relationship to the Index; and for the Index itself. The recent trend in using guests from outside the denomination continued with a guest presenting a seminar on stress management and the keynote banquet speaker discussing culture and librarianship. Many attendees enjoyed presentations and performances from the concurrent music conference in session at Andrews as well. Joel Lutes was elected vice-president at this conference.

As ASDAL meets for the eleventh time during its tenth anniversary week it is most appropriate to be reviewing what events lead to the development of the association as well as the history and accomplishments of the association. Since this is the purpose of this presentation, rather than to be a cumulative secretary's report, it is important to ask now, what accomplishments and trends can be seen from these ten years and ten conferences?

Certainly the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index was repeatedly a topic of discussion and action. I would propose to you the possibly bold opinion that the Index as we know it today, timely and professional, would not exist had ASDAL not been established and functioned on behalf of the Index as it has. In addition, I would submit to you that the relationship between the library at Loma Linda University, the Index and ASDAL has come through the past ten years strengthened and improved through cooperation and cooperative communication made possible by ASDAL.

Interlibrary cooperation within the North American Division has obviously been fostered through the functions of ASDAL in a way or to a degree that would not likely have occurred without ASDAL The Index itself is really a prime example of this, but other important examples are the SDA LC classification scheme, the ASDAL scholarship, the job referral service, and the SDA literary award to name a few. Adventist librarianship and Adventist education are enriched and strengthened by what was begun ten years ago with the formation of this association.

Adventist librarians have personally been enriched by having had the opportunity to attend conferences at all but Walla Walla College where we will meet next year, La Sierra University, and Canadian Union College among the NAD system of higher education. We have been blessed by the fellowship and friendships that ASDAL has made possible. Certainly I thank ASDAL for the privilege of a close friendship with David Rios, twice an ASDAL roommate, former Index editor, and now director of libraries at Loma Linda. And I wouldn't have missed for anything all the good times and laughs, as well as serious discussions, enjoyed with Chloe Foutz.

So what of the future? Is there still a purpose for ASDAL? Will it remain strong and vital? And what is needed to make that happen. I propose to you that we need to seriously review, as we have here in the last few minutes, the significant accomplishments of ASDAL and their importance and pledge ourselves, our institutions, and our staffs to the continued support of Adventist library cooperation through ASDAL. I propose to you that we seek a means of challenging each Adventist librarian, ASDAL member or not, to recognize the need for ASDAL and the need to support it. As we reviewed the significance of the 1984 conference at Southwestern Adventist College it was noted that for the first time every NAD institution of higher education was represented. Should that become a recognized, promoted goal: to seek the representative attendance of at least one librarian from every BHE institution? Perhaps it would lend strength to ASDAL and make an important, continuing statement as to its importance.

We can see gratifying success behind us and significant opportunity and need before us. ASDAL must be kept functioning in a strong and vital way.

This paper was first presented at the June 1991 ASDAL Conference and was published in ASDAL Action, Volume 11, No.2 Winter 1992. At the time Taylor Ruhl was Director of Library Services, Pacific Union College.




THE ASSOCIATION OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST LIBRARIANS, 1991-2005

By Cynthia Mae Helms

The last historical review of the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians (ASDAL) was done by Taylor Ruhl, covering the years 1981-1991. My role is to pick up from where he left off and cover the last fifteen years of our Association's history. During these fifteen years, we witnessed the automation of libraries and the impact of technology on our work, the changes in personnel including those that transferred to fund raising/development, the struggles of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI) to keep afloat and successfully become available on the Internet, the establishment of an endowment for the Hilts Scholarship, the efforts to make ASDAL more international, the demise of the Literary Awards and the birth of ALICE, the various projects of the Adventist Resources Section, and the survival of the School Library Section.

Fiscal Year 1991 - The 11th annual conference with Marley Soper presiding and hosted by Southern College. During this time when the Literary Awards Committee was actively awarding authors and adding adult fiction and children's book awards, SDAPI and the Hilts Scholarship were going through financial difficulties. It was announced that the General Conference was going to withdraw its support of the SDAPI and that Mrs. Hilts was no longer going to send scholarship money in advance. There was some call for discontinuing the Job Referral Service but some members felt that it should be given one more chance even if the institutions were utilizing mass mailings to hire librarians. Harvey Brenneise contributed to the Adventist publication world by completing a five-year (vols. 16-20) index to Spectrum.

Fiscal Year 1992 - The 12th annual conference was held at Walla Walla College under the presidency of Joel Lutes. It centered on the theme of technology — a theme that frequently came up in subsequent conferences. Once again SDAPI made big news as it moved from Loma Linda University to Andrews University. Excitement filled the air as plans to meet outside the U.S. become more real. Canadian Union College would be the site for the 1993 conference and Newbold College for 1995. Since Newbold was the first conference to be held outside North America, the Association took the necessary steps of planning in advance by forming an Ad Hoc Committee for Planning the 1995 Conference. The usefulness of the Job Referral Service came up once again and this time it was decided that such a service be discontinued.

Fiscal Year 1993 - This year the conference was held outside the U.S. for the first time. The 13th annual conference held at Canadian Union College focused on "The Practical and Philosophical Issues for SDA Librarians" and was chaired by Carolyn Gaskell. This year marked the birth of the "SDA-Librarian" listserv. Literary awards were given to Alden Thompson for his book Inspiration and to Clifford Goldstein for his book How Dare You Judge Us, God; the Hilts Scholarship was awarded to Stan Cottrell. The SDA Library Cooperation Committee recommended a survey of libraries regarding interest in group purchasing of electronic resources. ASDAL Action included the first "School Librarians Column" which provided a bibliography of administration and collection development resources.

Fiscal Year 1994 - The theme for the 14th conference held at Andrews University was "The Electronic Library of the Future." There were presentations not only looking forward to the future but also looking back into some libraries' electronic beginnings. For the first time in ASDAL's history, the host institution provided an Internet room for "Internet addicts" and dedicated a half-day to hands-on training for Internet use. The business sessions were presided over by Lee Marie Wisel. Two session highlights were the cessation of the Purchasing Planning Committee and the formation of the Cooperative Information Access Committee. The literary award went to Tricia Padgett (pseudonym) for The Tempting of Audra Gray. No applications for the Hilts Scholarship were received. This year was characterized by libraries working on consortium agreements in their regions, meeting the demands for more information access, and coping with the shock that goes with the different access protocols. Southwestern Adventist College Library moved into the new Chan Shun Centennial Library.

Fiscal Year 1995 - The Association continued pursuing the electronic theme as this 15th conference dealt with "The Global Electronic Village: Sharing Human and Information Resources." This was a "defining moment" in our history when we took the major leap to hold our first conference outside North America. With the General Conference sessions being held in Holland, it was a great opportunity to have the ASDAL conference at Newbold College, England, and to have tours before and after the conference. It was also an opportunity to hold the first joint meeting with international directors of Ellen G. White Research Centers and for SDA librarians from a wide range of countries to attend. It was a rare experience to hear reports from 16 SDA institutions from around the world. At this meeting Keith Clouten announced the establishment of SAIL and President Harvey Brenneise announced that SDAPI and Religion Index were available from the Andrews University Web site at a cost to participating institutions. At the business meeting, we voted to publish the conference proceedings separately. We acquired a modernized logo through the efforts of Editor Violet Maynard-Reid. Hilts Scholarships were awarded to Sarah Endres and Bruce McClay.

Fiscal Year 1996 - For the 16th annual conference, we made a quick change of sites from Atlantic Union College to Columbia Union College. Once again the emphasis was on electronics— "Serials Collection Development in the Electronic Age." Fiscally, SDAPI was able to come out in the black due to the support of the North American Division (NAD) and the General Conference for the past and present years in addition to the ongoing payments received from the NAD educational institutions. Retrospective conversion of the index had been made possible by donations from Loma Linda University and La Sierra University. This also marked the 10th anniversary of the Adventist Resources Section. ALICE was born with a string of six projects lined up for the future. Decisions made at the annual conference under the presidency of Adu Worku were to discontinue both the Literary Committee and the publication of conference proceedings and to hold an international conference every five years. Several changes were made in the Hilts Scholarship application procedures. One important decision affecting everybody was that every member would be able to vote for Association officers. This was different from previous years when elections were held onsite at the conference and only those who were present were able to cast their votes. Under the new procedure, nominees would be announced in the Winter issue of ASDAL Action, ballots had to be sent out by mail with sufficient timing so that the president could receive them by May 31, and then the list of new officers would be published in the Fall issue of ASDAL Action immediately after the conference. ASDAL Action (16:2, Winter 1997) published the first set of nominees. The Hilts Scholarship that year went to Sabrina Pusey Riley.

Fiscal Year 1997 - Chloe Foutz, fondly referred to as the "Mother of ASDAL" was the president this year. Once again, this 17th annual conference, held at La Sierra University, focused on technology, "From There to Here: Electronic Document Delivery in the Electronic Age." Some of the actions taken at this conference were the establishment of an Eastern Africa chapter, the preparation of a revised set of guidelines for overseas libraries, the creation of an umbrella database for Adventist resources, the formation of a planning committee for the conference to be held at Montemorelos University and an ad hoc committee on document delivery. Under the sponsorship of the Eastern Africa Division, Keith Clouten held the first African Adventist librarians' conference in Kenya. Canadian Union College joined the Central Alberta Library Consortium and Walla Walla College inaugurated its Innopac. Karin S. Thompson was the recipient of the Hilts Scholarship.

Fiscal Year 1998 - After pursuing the topic of technology for the past several years, ASDAL's 18th conference, held at Columbia Union College, shifted away from technology and focused on "Seventh-day Adventist Libraries: Today and Tomorrow." However, technology was integrated into the conference with the fun-filled "Internet Races" instruction on Web searching led out by Lee Marie Wisel. Under the presidency of Per Lisle, the Association took the necessary steps to plan three years in advance for the 20th anniversary in 2001 by appointing an ad hoc Anniversary Committee. The "School Librarians' Column" in the Winter 1998 issue is worth noting because this is where the school librarians expressed a desire to join ALICE or a similar consortium. Joyce Biggs was this year's recipient of the Hilts Scholarship and the last one to date to receive it.

Fiscal Year 1999 - In response to the previous conference's keynote speech by Dr. Richard Osborne, North American Division educational secretary, President Randy Butler formed "Task Force 2000" to develop proposals for cooperation and sharing among K-16 SDA libraries. The 19th conference was held at Montemorelos University, Mexico with the theme "Working Together: Cooperation among SDA Libraries." It was the first bi-lingual conference and the first time for seminary librarians to meet as a group. Adilson Pavan on Brazil's first national meeting of Adventist librarians, educators, and library paraprofessionals, on the theme "The Creative Library and its Role in the School of the Future." Nancy Kim reported on behalf of the School Librarians Task Force. ASDAL received a new web address (http://www.asdal.org) and approved the formation of the Inter-American chapter and South-American chapter. The SDAPI announced three major advances, namely: to issue the SDAPI and obituary index as a CD-ROM, to use the Folio software, and the possibility of providing full text to some key SDA magazines. A new column, "Preservation Corner" was introduced in ASDAL Action (18:1, Fall 1998).

Fiscal Year 2000 - We experienced a presidential crisis this year when halfway through the year, President Christina Cicchetti resigned from her post. Maynard Lowry, President-elect, fulfilled the role of President as well for the remainder of the year but declined to continue another year. But as it had always been in the past, the year ended with another good conference! With the General Conference meetings being held in Toronto, Canada, it was convenient for the 20th ASDAL annual conference to be held at Andrews University, Michigan. The theme for the conference was "The Library's Role in the Changing Teaching/Learning Environment." Expecting a large attendance of librarians from overseas, Andrews University offered workshops before and after the conference. At the conference, Peg Bennett referred to the SDA Catalog search engine as one of ASDAL's contributions to distance education. There was a suggestion for the School Library Section to work with the Adventist Virtual Learning Laboratory in acquiring electronic databases. Editor Cynthia Helms surveyed membership interest in electronic delivery of ASDAL Action and by the next renewal period, members could indicate whether they preferred to receive electronic or print copies. Carolyn Gaskel produced a bibliography of Adventist historical sites on the Internet in ASDAL Action (19:1, Fall 1999).

Fiscal Year 2001 - The 21st annual conference was a celebration of ASDAL's 20th anniversary at the very place where it started in 1981 - Pacific Union College with the theme "Bridging the Past and the Future: Engaging Our Past, Examining Our Present, Embracing Our Future." At the annual conference, Web Master Stan Cottrell announced the plan of putting the SDA Classification scheme on the association's Web site. The solution to the presidential succession was reached when Gilbert Abella took charge as president of the Association. The Hilts scholarship awards had not been given since 1998 due to lack of funding and so this year's decision to create an endowment with the Community Foundation of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties is considered a major accomplishment. The SDAPI Board voted to revert to the Innovative software for the online version of the index. The term "information literacy" gave a new twist to bibliographic instruction. The 20th volume of ASDAL Action introduced a new column entitled "From a Distance," an evidence of how distance education had added a new dimension to our work.

Fiscal Year 2002 - As we marked our 22nd annual conference and third international conference, we ventured into another Spanish-speaking country. Universidad Adventista del Plata, Argentina hosted the regular members as well as a significant number of librarians from South America and Central America with the theme "Shaping Adventist Librarianship in the 21st Century." It was an opportunity to listen to a panel of five Latin American librarians report on their libraries. Annette Melgosa presided at this conference which voted to create a committee to work on a Library Manual as requested by the General Conference Department of Education, to add Job Openings to the ASDAL Web site, and to approve the formation of the Inter-American and the South American chapters. The ALICE Council announced their new Web page and access to EBSCO Premier and ATLA fulltext. This conference opened up more opportunities for participation through posters, exhibits, and a swap shop.

Fiscal Year 2003 - Web coordinator Stan Cottrell added the SDA Classification, all issues of ASDAL Action in full text, and job openings to the ASDAL Web site. We had a total of 14 job openings in SDA libraries this year. ASDAL Action introduced a new column "Random Surfing" and it had a special emphasis for each issue. Another quick switch in conference sites occurred this year, from Kingsway College to Atlantic Union College. Cynthia Helms presided over the 23rd annual conference and the theme was "Libraries, Leadership, and the Future." The attendees of the conference voted to transfer the archives from Union College to Andrews University, to increase the dues, and to establish a liaison between Adventist Distance Education Consortium and ASDAL. In June 2003, the Adventist Virtual Learning Network awarded ASDAL the Organization Collaborative Spirit Award for the "powerful spirit of networking and collaboration in Adventist education."

Fiscal Year 2004 - One month after ASDAL's annual conference, the European chapter under the leadership of Ralph Köhler, held its own conference in Germany around the same time as the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) meetings. The theme was "SDA Libraries in the Unified Europe: Mission and Vision for the 21st Century." Ruth Swan and Keith Clouten from the U.S. were there to give their support through their presence and presentations. The 24th annual conference was hosted by the Florida College of Health Sciences and held at the Florida Hospital Seventh-day Adventist Church. The theme was "Thinking Outside the Box." During the presidential term of Paulette McLean Johnson, ASDAL voted to purchase an advertisement in the Journal of Adventist Education special issue on libraries, to continue the overseas coordinator, to become an organizational member of the Adventist Professional Network, and to audit the treasurer's work at the end of every three-year term.

Fiscal Year 2005 - Here we are in 2005! We have read and heard about the inauguration of the Center for Adventist Research which is a combination of the Adventist Heritage Center and the EG White Research Center at Andrews University. Wendy Young has organized an African chapter with 23 members and she reports that three newsletters have been circulated so far. This year being another General Conference year, we are hoping to have a large attendance at the 25th annual conference, particularly from our sister institutions from around the world.

In addition to the main conference, the following sessions are available: Adventist Resources Section Pre-Conference — "Advancing Together," School Library Section Concurrent Session — "Preparing Your Library/Media Center for the 21st Century," and Post-Conference Session for international librarians and other interested librarians — "Communication: Key to Successful Library Leadership." We support and encourage President Bruce McClay, President-elect and Conference Chair Linda Mack, and Onsite Coordinator Sabrina Riley as they coordinate the conference at Union College, Nebraska with the theme, "Christian Librarianship: Occupation, Vocation, or Ministry."

The 2005 conference is the 25th annual conference since the first meeting in 1981 but ASDAL does not turn 25 years old till 2006. That's when we all go to Southern Adventist University to experience another wonderful conference. So, for now we can summarize what has transpired in the last 15 years as follows:

This article is based on previous issues of ASDAL Action and the Conference Minutes on the ASDAL Web site. Acknowledgements go to the authors of articles in ASDAL Action and the secretaries who wrote the Conference Minutes.

Cynthia Mae Helms, former secretary, editor, and president of ASDAL, is Head, Department of Information Services, James White Library, Andrews University.




ASDAL IN ACTION

By Lauren Matacio

Although preceded by two other newsletters, The Library Clock, which began in 1948 at Washington Missionary College, and the Seventh-day Adventist College Library Newsletter published from 1957 to 1981, the official publication of the formalized Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians began in January of 1982. Conceived at the Pacific Union College (PUC) librarians' conference June 25-26, 1981, the newsletter's first editor, Margaret von Hake of Columbia Union College, made it a reality. Margaret originated the name "ASDAL Action," it was approved by the ASDAL officers, and ASDAL Action was born.

The first issue contained brief articles about the beginning of the association, minutes of the meeting at PUC, news from SDA libraries in the United States (called "News Notes"), an editorial, brief editorial box, and membership form. It was 8 pages in length, with regular layout, printed on 11 x 17 in. paper which was folded in half. The orange masthead was created by Margaret. A photograph of attendees of the previous years' conference or the site of the next year's conference was included in each issue. Two issues (winter and spring) were produced each year. This format remained constant throughout von Hake's two-year editorship. ASDAL Action was off to a good start.

In 1984 the new editor, Keith Clouten, brought a growth spurt to the fledgling publication. The size doubled from 8 to 16 pages average length, a table of contents and photograph appeared on the cover of each issue, various fonts and sizes of type were used, and illustrations such as photographs, drawings, and cartoons were frequently included. The content of the newsletter began to expand too. "Feature" articles became a regular feature. Personal experiences, opinions, interviews, institutional reports, and the first review—of an Ellen G. White laser concordance—joined ASDAL business and conference information. Library news followed a cataloging format: news about people was under the heading "Personal Entry;" news about libraries was under the heading "Subject: Libraries;" and announcements were under the heading "Tracing Notes." New members were called "Added Entries." Colorful quotations about books and libraries contributed to the interest of the publication. Here's one of my favorites from Bookman's Bedlam by W. Hart Blumenthal: "Lady Gough assured herself a measure of immortality by forbidding the placing of books by male authors in her library alongside books by female authors-unless, of course, they were married."

The first noticeable difference in ASDAL Action under Joel Lutes' editorship (Fall 1985-Spring 1987) was a change from the orange masthead previously used to alternating red and green masthead. The table of contents moved to the second page. Bylines which included the author's name and institution, became more frequent. The editor's box included the names and addresses of ASDAL officers. "The Editor's Corner" became a regular column in which editor Lutes conveyed opinions about SDA librarianship and suggestions for the budding organization. News about libraries and librarians returned to the heading "News Notes." In addition, volume 6 (1986-1987) contained 3 issues—fall, winter, and spring.

Volume 7 (1987-1988) brought a total new look to ASDAL Action. Editor Gilbert Abella used a sleek new masthead and column layout, printed on textured cream-colored paper to give the publication a more sophisticated appearance. The traditional ASDAL group photo was eliminated. Library news became known as "News from the Field." The first article for school librarians by Christina Keslake and Randy Butler's first preservation article were both seen in vol. 7, no.2.

When Taylor Ruhl became editor in the fall of 1988, ASDAL Action returned to its former look with red masthead and a regular layout. The table of contents was back on the front page and "News Notes" reappeared. Several new features were added as the content became more professional. Book reviews were a standard column. The first scholarly article, "Librarians in SDA Colleges and Universities: A Recruitment and Retention Problem," by Maynard Lowry, was highlighted in vol. 8, no. 2. Harvey Brenneise submitted the first "Letter to the Editor" in vol. 8, no. 3. Three issues per volume became the norm from 1988 on.

The return of columns heralded the editorship of Linda Wildman, which began in 1990 and continued until the spring of 1994. The increasing sophistication of word processing programs enabled her to incorporate different sizes and types of fonts and graphics such as lines and boxes. The table of contents, termed "In This Issue," appeared in the lower left or right corners of the first page. The author's name, position, and institution was given at the end of each article under a dividing line. The "Adventist Resources Column" began in vol. 10, no. 1. "Announcements" and "Library News" were regular columns. Linda also added unique sections such as "Chronicling SDA Academic Libraries," a digest of library news reported in student newspapers of SDA colleges in North America. The editor's box came complete with ASDAL officers, membership information, purpose and frequency of the publication and contact information for article submission. The "School Librarian's Column" emerged in vol. 13, no. 1, fall 1993 and asterisks came into use as dividers between articles in this issue.

Violet Maynard-Reid became ASDAL Action editor in 1994. During her first year a beautiful new blue masthead was created. It first appeared in the spring issue of vol. 14. The editor's email address was added to the editorial box. All of the previously established columns continued to grow and thrive. In the fall of 1995 ASDAL Action Europe began. Edited by Annette Melgosa, it was sent to 21 Adventist educational institutions in Europe. It continued for three years.

An international and scholarly emphasis was pursued by the next ASDAL Action editor, Cynthia Helms (1996-2000). Reports from Russia, East Africa, India, and many other countries broadened our knowledge and appreciation for colleagues around the world. The first non-English article was published during her term. It was written in German by Friedensau University Library director Ralph Köhler and translated into English by Wolfhard Touchard, Andrews University. Both versions were included in ASDAL Action. News items were separated into two columns—"Library Directors' Reports" and "Announcements" until vol. 18, no.1 (Fall 1998) when a new catch-all column "Bytes and Bits" was inaugurated. "Preservation Corner" by Randy Butler became a regular in the fall of 1998. Email addresses were added to the author information at the end of each article. In the year 2000 ASDAL Action got a face-lift. The table of contents became the cover sheet.

During this time ASDAL's first web site was created, based at Andrews. It is reported in the Fall 1996 issue and became part of the editorial box in the Fall 1997 issue. Thanks to Harvey Brenneise, ASDAL Action was soon available on the web. Steve Sowder took over this delightful task in 1998 and it was quickly passed to Stan Cottrell, who completed mounting all the back issues on the web site in 2002. Since 2000, the current issue of the publication is password accessible only to paid members of the association. Archival copies of the electronic version are available to the public on the web.

In 1999 Lauren Matacio became Assistant Editor of ASDAL Action and was elected editor in 2000. "ASDAL: Looking Back" was added to v. 20 (2000/2001) to whet readers' appetites for the 20th anniversary celebration. The growth and development of distance education prompted one of ASDAL Action's newest columns, "From A Distance," coordinated first by Marilyn Gane (2001-2003) and Ann Greer from 2003 to the present. Unfortunately, ASDAL Action also said good-bye to a column in 2001. "Preservation Corner," written by Randy Butler, was discontinued after Randy took over full-time duties as Professor of History and Criminal Justice at Southwestern Adventist University. This interesting column has been missed the past few years.

Each issue of volume 23 (2003/2004) focused on a special topic of interest to librarians. The fall issue featured marketing, the winter issue emphasized technical services and systems, and the spring issue focused on human resources. Many interesting articles were submitted for the special topics that year. Since Keith Clouten's retirement in 2003, ASDAL Action has been blessed with Keith's engaging library-related travel diaries from Germany, Ghana, and Lebanon.

Sallie Alger was elected editor of ASDAL Action in 2004. Her first year has been a busy one with the added responsibility of preparing this special Silver Anniversary issue for publication.

That's the historical view of 25 years of growth and development of ASDAL in Action from the beginning to the present and from the front cover to the back page.

This updated paper was first presented at ASDAL's 21st Annual Conference, June 2001. Lauren Matacio, former ASDAL Action editor, is Instruction Librarian at the James White Library, Andrews University.




A BRIEF HISTORY OF ALICE

by Carolyn Gaskell

Meeting at Columbia Union College in July of 1996, ASDAL paved the way for the creation of the Adventist Library Information Cooperative (ALICE). According to the minutes, Harvey Brenneise and Keith Clouten brought the proposal for an electronic consortium, called the Adventist Library Information Cooperative, before the ASDAL business session on July 2, 1996. It was Keith who came up with the acronym ALICE. The Adventist Information Cooperative Memorandum was presented for review. A lively discussion ensued. What were the concerns? That ALICE be:

After some modification from the floor and further discussion, the revised ALICE Memorandum was finally passed by ASDAL on July 3, 1996. The motion was actually "That we accept Keith's 'Adventist Library Information Cooperative (ALICE) Agreement' as originally moved Tuesday July 2." All library directors of those libraries interested in participating in ALICE met that evening at 7 PM to breathe life into the consortium.

After some legal loose ends were taken care of, the Adventist Library Information Cooperative (ALICE) officially came into being on September 1, 1996. Keith Clouten, at that time Library Director at Andrews University, was elected ALICE's first Chair. Gilbert Abella was its first Projects Manager. There were 10 original members of ALICE, all from the U.S.

Interestingly enough, ALICE didn't make it into the ASDAL Bylaws until 2001. While all library directors of ALICE libraries are members of the ALICE Council, the only time all have met together, since the historic 1996 meeting of Charter members, was the 2000 ASDAL conference at PUC. As you might infer, most of ALICE's work is done via email.

In 1999 ALICE added its first non-NAD library. Project Manager Joel Lutes was very persuasive negotiating with EBSCO and convinced them to accept the Universidad de Montemorelos (UM) as part of the ALICE consortium. This acceptance set a precedent. From that point on, additional non-NAD or overseas libraries were able to join without a problem, though EBSCO has changed the way it handles renewals for them.

Today, seventeen Seventh-day Adventist academic libraries located in seven countries and one territory are members of ALICE. The consortium licenses 12 databases, though no one library subscribes to all twelve. The most popular database remains Academic Search Premier. While it seems like we've had Academic Search Premier forever, it has only been four years since we switched from Academic Search Elite. Again, it was Project Manager Joel Lutes who negotiated successfully with EBSCO to obtain favorable pricing for the upgrade.

In 2003 ALICE bid a fond farewell to its founding father and current Treasurer, Keith Clouten, who retired as AU's Library Director. In fact, of the original ten founding library directors, only four are still active in ALICE. All the others have either retired or moved on to other positions within their institutions or at other universities. Another farewell occurred in 2004. Joel Lutes, one of ALICE's most able Project Managers, stepped down from this position. This year (2004-2005) might be characterized as one of treading water, since the Alice Chair has also been acting Project Manager. The priority has been to hold the consortium together and make sure the database licenses renew seamlessly. Since both positions of ALICE Chair and Project Manager are currently up for election, 2005-2006 could involve big changes for ALICE.

Carolyn Gaskell, current chair of ALICE and acting Projects Manager, has been the Director of Libraries at Walla Walla College since 1989.




HISTORY OF THE ADVENTIST RESOURCES SECTION OF ASDAL

By Jim Ford

At the 5th annual ASDAL conference held at Andrews University in July 1985, it was voted that "three people be elected to plan a program for those members who are interested in Adventist Heritage at the next ASDAL conference... Jim Nix, Jim Ford, and Gary Shearer were elected." At the same meeting there was a second action which gave the ASDAL president power to "invite people who are interested in Adventist Heritage collections to join and participate in ASDAL." So began the official organization of the Adventist Resources Section.

Prior to the official action Jim Nix from the heritage room at Loma Linda University was quite active in ASDAL encouraging discussions on topics related to the collection, preservation, and use of Seventh-day Adventist materials. It was his involvement which led to the formation of the Adventist Resources Section (ARS). The first ARS meeting, "a day long seminar on the collection and preservation of Adventist materials," was held in June 1986, at Atlantic Union College. This set the tone for future ARS meetings. Most meetings are a day long pre-conference, though a couple have been post-conference or even in the middle of the main ASDAL conference. The themes are always related to the collection, preservation, and use of Seventh-day Adventist materials.

Anyone can join the meetings of ARS as there is no official membership procedure. If you have an interest in what we are discussing please join us. The programs usually take the form of several formal presentations, discussions, and reports. A planning committee of five individuals, who serve staggered three year terms, plan the programs.

Over the years ARS attendees have discussed, encouraged, and supported a wide variety of topics and projects. These include but are not limited to:

Jim Ford, current Adventist Resources Working Committee Chair, is Associate Director of the Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University.




THE D. GLENN HILTS SCHOLARSHIP

By Maynard Lowry

Having retired in 1973 as Director of the Library as Loma Linda University, La Sierra Campus library, D. Glenn Hilts concluded a long and distinguished career in librarianship. He served as librarian as Union College and while there was the first SDA to complete a program of professional study in librarianship. For many years he also served as librarian at Atlantic Union College and then at La Sierra College/Loma Linda University.

At La Sierra, he met his second wife, Margarete Ambs. She was a professor of modern languages. Together they were often seen at library functions on campus and continued to be great friends of the Library until Glenn's death in 1982.

For several years after Mr. Hilts death, his wife, Margarete, funded a scholarship award made annually by the Association of SDA Librarians. It was first awarded in 1985, to recognize excellence in scholarship and to encourage individuals with leadership potential to seek employment in a Seventh-day Adventist library. Sixteen students benefited from the scholarship assistance during the time that the awards were made. It was always Margarete's wish that the scholarship continue after her death; and, in her will she provided for a distribution to the scholarship fund now established at the Community Foundation of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

The scholarship is now funded with a combination of funds contributed by ADSAL members and others and a bequest from the Hilts estate.

H. Maynard Lowry, PhD, is executive director of planned giving and major gifts at La Sierra University. He was formerly the Library Director at La Sierra and has served ASDAL as president and other positions.

HILTS Scholarship Winners
1985Christine Keslake Cicchetti
1986Daniel Maxwell
Linda Wildman Mack
1987William Stuivenga
1988Randall Butler
1989Stephanie Carter
1990Carol Nicks
Richard Scott
1991Sheila Clark
1992Brett Cemer
1993Stan Cottrell II
1994Sarah Endres
1995Bruce McClay
1996Sabrina Riley
1997Karin S. Thomsen
1998Joyce A. Biggs



RERFLECTIONS ON THE SCHOOL LIBRARIANS SECTION

By Nancy Kim

The first ASDAL Conference I attended was at Canadian Union College in 1993 and the last one I attended was at La Sierra University in 2001. During these nine years I attended five conferences—about one every other year. I was able to attend two of these conferences just because they were hosted by PUC and La Sierra, schools within driving distance for me. My school generously provided my travel expenses for the three that were farther away.

I really enjoy ASDAL Conferences. I've benefited from every session of every conference I've attended even the ones not specifically for school librarians. I've heard tremendous presentations by leaders in the church and in SDA librarianship. I've been able to travel to new places. I've socialized and networked with SDA librarians from around the world.

In preparation for writing this column for the 25th anniversary edition of ASDAL Action I read through all of the school librarians' articles in the issues archived on the Internet. It seems that it was several years before the need for a school librarians' section was realized. And then there are several lapses over the years between contributions to the Action with the most consistency in the '90s. But the included articles were good and specific to the K-12 librarian.

I also read the annual conference topics for school librarians through the years and was impressed by the relevance and value of the presentations. Current issues and trends were addressed. In fact, I wish that I could attend the upcoming conference at Union College. The school librarians' agenda lists several sessions I could use.

School librarians as members of ASDAL have always been a nebulous group. Because of the larger number of K-12 schools compared to colleges/universities just contacting members and/or potential members is a challenge. Many K-12 librarians are only part-time librarians. Few K-12 schools provide financial support for conference attendance.

But school librarians have been a part of ASDAL throughout the 25 years of the association. ASDAL has provided a place to belong. It has also modeled, hand-held and loved. And perhaps most importantly ASDAL has provided a vision for K-12 librarians. Thank you, ASDAL and congratulations on your 25th anniversary.

Nancy Kim is past coordinator of the ASDAL School Library Section and is Librarian and IT (Instructional Technology) Coordinator for Redlands Adventist Academy.




A PROGRESS REPORT ON THE SCHOOL LIBRARY SECTION

By Wolfhard Touchard

In November 2002 I received the following mandate from the officers of ASDAL to—

  1. Continue a forum for discussion of mutual challenges and professional concerns of SDA school librarians.

  2. Enhance communication between SDA school librarians.

  3. Promote librarianship and library services to SDA institutions.

  4. Improve professional skills through seminars, workshops, etc.

  5. Develop strategies for keeping students focused on educational activities while using the Internet.

  6. Make suggestions for interesting new biographies for the middle grades (6-8).

  7. Help shape the direction and plans for SDA School Libraries.

  8. Affirm academy and church school librarians, teacher/librarians and library volunteers.

  9. Promote library services to students & teachers.

Regarding the above concerns, the following has been accomplished:

In summary: it has been my goal to lay a foundation of communication tools for school libraries. My work has been blessed by our heavenly Father, AND if it wouldn't have been for many of you, this assignment would have been much more difficult. Therefore, Thank You so Much!

Wolfhard Touchard, Chair of the ASDAL School Library Section, is Reference and Database Librarian at the James White Library, Andrews University.




FROM COMPASS & MAP TO GPS:
A Brief History of Seventh-Day Adventist Periodical Indexes

By Daniel J. Drazen

It officially began as a three month experiment that has lasted, with a few interruptions, for almost forty years. Though an index of Seventh-day Adventist periodical literature was envisioned as early as the 1950s, the modern history of indexing Seventh-day Adventist periodicals began in the 1960s in Kettering, Ohio. From 1967 to 1968, Myrtle and Richard Scharffenberg produced an Index to SDA Periodicals. It started with just twenty-three titles and relocated from Kettering to Chico, California, in 1968. It was what the Scharffenbergs referred to as "the compass and map" through the church's periodical literature. This Index was originally intended to be used by church libraries; the list of magazine titles indexed did not include Conference publications though it did include special interest titles (Israelite, Life and Health) and children's publications (Our Little Friend and Primary Treasure).

Though no other editions of the Scharffenberg Index were produced after 1968, that did not spell the end of an idea. At the Quadrennial Council on Higher Education meeting at Andrews University in 1968, the decision was made to consider whether a current index to Seventh-day Adventist publications was a possibility. A continuing committee was formed chaired by Mary Jane Mitchell.

With Keith Clouten and Marilyn Crane in charge, the pilot project went forth at Loma Linda University. As a way of determining production costs, it was decided to index only the publications that appeared in the first three months of 1969. The number of titles to be indexed was raised to forty-seven, practically double the number of titles covered in the Scharffenberg Index. These included world division, North American union conference, institutional and departmental publications. Children's papers, including Guide, were excluded.

What became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index appeared in January 1971 as a semi-annual publication, with Grace Prentice Holm as the editor (1971-1977) and a list of periodical titles that had expanded to fifty-nine. Published by Loma Linda University libraries, it received financial support from North American colleges and universities, publishing houses and other institutions for what would originally be a three-year trial period. Despite lacunae (1973-74 and 1979-1981), the Index continued to be published out of Loma Linda University at La Sierra under several editors: Althea Holmes Fletcher, 1977-83, and Edward Collins, 1983-1992.

In mid-1992, the Index moved to the Andrews University campus with a new editor, Daniel J. Drazen (1992-present). The Index was on the verge of the most dramatic change in its history, as a new word was about to enter everyday language: Internet. The Index would continue to be published as a hard-copy annual for the next five years (having switched to an annual from a semi-annual format in 1982) but this would change when the Index as a whole became searchable online in late 1994, and when the Index began being issued in a CD-ROM format in 1998.

What Myrtle and Richard Scharffenberg had envisioned as a "compass and map" is now more like a global positioning system. But the vision of an index of current SDA periodical literature has become an ongoing reality.

Daniel Drazen is currently Editor of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index.




PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
1981-2004

Early in ASDAL's history, writing a presidential message to the ASDAL membership became a tradition. Reading these messages gives one another historical perspective on the Association's growth and development. Most presidents provided their message to the Fall issue of ASDAL Action subsequent to the assumption of their presidency. Some presidents provided more than one message. Harvey Brenneise holds the record for the most presidential messages—five distributed over his two terms. Sometimes no presidential messages were published. There no doubt were several reasons for this. In one case snow and Canadian mail problems were blamed, in other cases perhaps either the current editor didn't "nag" enough, or the president just didn't write one. In such cases, the editors have taken the liberty of substituting various other items. All former presidents were contacted for their current thoughts on their ASDAL presidencies and these contributions have been inserted in the appropriate places as "Reflections, 2005." The editors wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all presidents who have contributed to this section.

1981/82: Larry Onsager

"FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 1 No. 2 June 1982

Greetings!

I hope the preview of the ASDAL program which appears in this issue excites you as much as it does me. This has been a busy year. In October, Peg Bennett and Kit Watts met in Minneapolis to write a first draft of our constitution and start the planning for our meeting. All presidents of a newly-formed organization should have help of the caliber I have had this year. Peg has taken some ideas and suggestions and has planned an exciting program. Kit suggested the idea of a logo and followed through with having it designed and printed. She has been very active in soliciting members and passing on correspondence she has received. Margaret von Hake, the editor of ASDAL Action, has redesigned our newsletter and has spent many hours planning for our visit to CUC.

That ASDAL is needed is apparent by comments in letters we have received. Academy librarians have expressed a definite interest in our organization if they have a Place in it. From Australia we have received a request for a "corresponding members" category. I have received requests that we exchange student newspapers and look into the possibility of co-operative computer databases among Adventist libraries.

At last count we have 116 members in ASDAL. I hope this meeting will continue to generate the kind of enthusiasm generated at PUC. We hope to see you in July.

"LETTER FROM ASDAL'S FIRST PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 21 No. 1 Fall 2001

This letter was read at ASDAL's twentieth anniversary conference, June 2001.

I have always believed that communication between the Adventist college and university librarians could only strengthen their ability to serve faculty, staff, and students. I am very proud to have been your first president.

Looking at your web site and thinking about the first steps we took twenty years ago to get this organization started, I feel like my efforts were puny compared to what you are doing today. Writing a constitution and bylaws seems very pedestrian compared to work you are doing in consortium buying, distance education, and international cooperation.

Twenty years ago, Kathy Dunn and I had just written an article for The Journal of Adventist Education, "Will Computers Revolutionize College Libraries?" In the article we discussed the use of OCLC for shared cataloging and sharing resources using the Interlibrary Loan Subsystem. OCLC was developing a system for online check-in of periodicals. We stated, "As computer costs go down and labor costs increase, it is likely that even small academic libraries will have automated circulation systems."

For the future, we discussed the online catalog as "one of the payoffs" for small academic libraries. Telefacsimile promised to further revolutionize interlibrary loan operations depending on how the technology developed. We projected electronic mail as another means of transmitting documents "that may be used extensively" in the future. Reference sources were projected as "the materials most likely to disappear in printed form."

Our conclusion was that "small academic libraries can best increase their efficiency and service by participating in library computer networks. Indeed, in order for small academic libraries to progress into the future as viable entities, capable of supporting the academic programs of their mother institutions, they must become participants in computerized library networks." Today, the Internet has provided us with a computerized network beyond anything we could have dreamed about at that time. I am excited to again be involved in Adventist libraries and look forward to integrating future technologies into our libraries.

Today, as I look at the future, I realize what a wonderful time it is to be working in a library. At my current library, we had been sending scanned interlibrary loans as MIME email attachments. When this became impossible because of firewall problems, my new interlibrary loan technician went out on the Internet and found a solution. He discovered the DocMorph website (http://DocMorph.nlm.nih.gov/docmorph/default.htm) sponsored by the National Library of Medicine. The DocMorph software can be used to change Ariel tiff files into pdf files. The pdf files are then sent as email attachments and read with Acrobat Reader. This has been a solution that works well because many students already have Acrobat Reader or can readily load it on their computer.

The DocMorph Server is an experimental prototype web server for processing library information through the World Wide Web. It is designed and operated by the Communications Engineering Branch, part of the National Library of Medicine's Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications. Besides converting tiff files to pdf files, it will split multi-page tiff files into separate pages, use optical character recognition (OCR) to convert your images to text, and will also convert images or text to synthesized speech. NLM has an ongoing R&D program in document imaging on the DocMorph server that includes all aspects of electronic document conversion, document transmission and document usage.

Another exciting technology that I became aware of while attending a recent meeting was announced by Lee Jones, President of the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City. Norsam Technologies (http://www.norsam.com/) uses focused ion beam technologies to provide analog storage of information and images on nickel plates that last for thousands of years. Depending upon how many pages are stored on the Rosetta, users may employ viewers as simple as optical microscopes to read and retrieve the etched information. For the most detailed retrieval, Norsam's coordinate transfer program works with an electron microscope and a PC. It can locate any page on a plate, simply by mapping its coordinates on an (x,y) axis. This means that a user may type in a target page number and the software will locate it, magnify it and display it on the screen for optical viewing and optional printing.

Reflections, 2004

"ASDAL Beginnings"

I have just been rereading the first few issues of ASDAL Action about what was happening in Adventist librarianship in 1981. One of the things that really struck home was how fortunate I was to have Peg Bennett, Kit Watts, and Margaret von Hake to work with as we put together the constitution and bylaws, logo and the ASDAL newsletter.

Much of what happened was put together in a hotel room in Minneapolis-St. Paul. It was really an idea whose time had come. Everyone pitched in and made it happen.

Peg planned the first meeting with zeal—she was amazing! Kit's creativity quickly turned out a logo. Margaret speedily took on the task of publishing a newsletter.

I remember being coerced into running for president by Jim Nix and Kathy Dunn on a day when I really wasn't feeling very good. The meeting is sketchy in my mind. I think that was the time that I roomed with Keith Clouten. The airlines had lost Keith's luggage and he was trying to put together a set of clothes to wear to the meeting. I can't remember if I provided Keith with a handkerchief or socks. Keith and I differ on the details.

As I browsed through the first few issues of ASDAL Action, I noticed some issues that never go away—like "rank and tenure" and how much technology has advanced. We were all predicting that computers would transform libraries, but the changes have been way beyond anything we could have dreamed.

I found many familiar names like Jim Nix, Warren Johns, Maynard Lowry, Keith Clouten, Kit Watts, Margaret von Hake and others who have taken on different roles which gives the past and present a continuity that always surprises.

The zeal with which Adventist librarians at all of the colleges and universities took part in ASDAL from the very beginning really made a statement about the need for ASDAL.

I am sure the next 25 years holds many surprises for the library world. Change is always with us, as is it was in the past. That is part of what makes being a librarian a fantastic profession! I am sure ASDAL will continue to play an important role in this future. Hold on to your hats—the next 20 years are going to be fun!

Larry Onsager, First ASDAL President, 1981/82

1982/83: Peg Bennett

"A WORD FROM YOUR PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 2 No. 1 February 1983

Dear ASDAL Members,

Though our first Conference is now history, the aura of fellowship and camaraderie continues to linger. It was a personal privilege for me to establish new friendships, as well as to continue and enliven existing ones. A big thank you is due each of you attendees for the impact you had on the Conference. We have a terrific group, and I am convinced that our Association can make significant contributions to our profession and our denomination. We sorely missed those of you unable to attend the Conference and look forward to seeing you at our 1983 meeting in Loma Linda, California.

The Conference evaluations will be most helpful in planning for this year's meeting. All except one wished to continue the mini-session concept, and many suggested computers and library automation as topics for future Conferences. In addition, a number desired a separate session for school librarians. Be assured these suggestions have been studied as we draft strategy for the coming Conference.

Continue to alert potential members to ASDAL—the greater the input from our membership, the more benefit we all can derive. Share your suggestions with us—this is your Association!

Reflections, 2005

Since this was a few years ago, recalling specifics presents a challenge to this ol' gal, but I do remember how very important my fellow officers were—always willing to assist when needed, so I must begin by thanking once again Maynard Lowery, Jannith Lewis and Margaret von Hake.

Since we were just beginning our organization, we had a few hurdles to overcome. The NAD Education Department was pretty determined that we should join their group rather than have our own organization. But of course we had no intention of being subsumed under them, so numerous letters (yes, snail-mail) went back and forth concerning this. Finally we in effect said "Thanks, but no thanks - our final word", and they capitulated.

I also recall requesting from the GC Legal Department permission to use the term "Seventh-day Adventist" in our organization's name, which required sending them a copy of our Constitution and By-laws that the executive committee had hammered out the previous year. After some time, permission was obviously granted.

For the 1983 Conference at LLU, I wanted to accomplish two goals: first, that ASDAL be an organization providing professional growth, and second, that school librarians be included. Working with LLU, Maynard was able to arrange 1 hour of graduate credit for 30 clock hours and CEU credit for 25 contact hours. A number of school librarians attended, and Eileen Lantry offered a school library workshop with a mini-session, Computers in Libraries, by Keith Drieberg. ASDAL even elected a school librarian as Vice-President.

One humorous incident occurred during the business session. Someone from the floor suggested that we change the name of our newsletter, ASDAL Action to something else, and Kit Watts, then Serials Librarian at AU, leaped to her feet waving her arms, and said "I move that we never change the name!" Spoken like a true Serials Librarian!

We had an excellent group in those early years, and ASDAL has continued to improve with time. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to serve this fine organization.

Peg Bennett, ASDAL President, 1982/83

1983/84: Maynard Lowry

"President's point of view"

ASDAL Action Vol. 3 No. 1 January 1984

It has become the custom for the president of the Association to share a few thoughts with the members. I have three points that I want to share with you. First, each of us is an important contributor to the teaching/learning team and educational processes in our institutions. Second, the Association acts as an important network for the exchange of ideas and for professional support. And third, we have an opportunity to develop this network with even more involvement and participation than has already been demonstrated.

As I reflected about this opportunity, I thought back to the reasons which influenced me to become a librarian. Like many of you and many other librarians I began my professional career in teaching. It was always a frustration to me to discover that no matter how much I prepared for my classes, there was always more material which might have enriched the instructional activity. I used to spend hours in the school library going through books, always coming away with the realization that I had only scratched the surface.

Based on my past experience and knowledge of libraries, and based on what I perceived the contribution of librarians to be to the process of education. I decided to change professions and become actively involved in helping both students and faculty in the teaching/learning process.

During one of my first interviews for a library position I was asked why I was now switching careers. It wasn't difficult for me to make a response. I said that I didn't feel that I was leaving the teaching profession, but rather I was expanding my contribution to the teaching/learning process.

There are times when each of us feels that perhaps our optimism has been misplaced about the value of libraries and librarians. Rather than despair, it is our challenge to educate those we serve about the place of the library. Libraries are not frills or superfluities. They are essential information resources, more important than ever in an age of technology. Our role is to educate through service and assistance to the faculty, students and others. By opening up the realms of knowledge available in libraries to those we serve, we provide each with a tool for life-long learning.

There are times when we need positive reinforcement regarding our contributions to the learning activities which take place around us. The Association provides opportunities for this, and I am glad to see it functioning this way. I have received letters from other librarians sharing problems and asking for advice on how we might handle a particular problem. I know that many others have received and given the same kind of advice as well. We have much to offer each other by way of experience and support.

With an Association whose membership includes academic, public, school and special librarians it is still important to remember that we share a common profession with common standards and skills regardless of the subject matter with which we deal. It has been gratifying to me to see the membership grow so quickly. In particular it has been gratifying to see so many school librarians participate in the Association. The potential for growth among this particular group is tremendous. But the benefit is even greater to those school librarians who join. We recently completed our third conference where a major segment of the program was devoted to the school librarian. This is the first step in developing a network which encompasses librarians in all types of institutions and settings.

I would like to see the membership grow even more. This can happen most effectively if you know of someone who might benefit from membership, but who may not know of our Association. Please let them know and urge them to join.

It has been a purpose of the Association to meet the needs of Adventist librarians which other associations cannot meet. We have tried to "re-invent the wheel."

It has been a concern of mine to make the Association a forum for the further professional development of the members. This has already been done to some degree by holding the annual meeting at a site near that of the American Library Association annual meeting site. Members are thereby more able to attend these important meetings.

Furthermore opportunities exist to develop through direct participation in the Association's annual program. Here members have an opportunity to gain experience which will serve them in other settings.

Some of you may be asked to make a presentation at the up-coming meeting at Southwestern Adventist College in Keene, Texas. Others may have ideas to share with you in one of the sessions being planned by the Program Chairman, Keith Drieberg. If you are asked to participate please respond affirmatively. If you have something to share which would be of interest to a wider group of your professional peers, please volunteer for the program. Let's get involved in our Association.

Reflections: 2005

ASDAL was founded to promote professional development and an exchange of ideas among its members; and to give voice and advocacy to the profession of librarianship within the SDA education sector. We have achieved much in 25 years. There remains work to do.

A great success of the association has been the internationalization of the membership. This success however, has been largely individual. While we've tried, regrettably, we've less impact institutionally among the worldwide network of SDA colleges and universities that have sprung up. Many institutions still lack adequate library resources to support the scope and focus of their educational missions. Those in positions of educational leadership in the church seem still to largely overlook the reservoir of expertise that our members can bring to the teaching/learning process.

Another success has been the promotion of professional development among the membership. Annual conference attendance has been excellent in most cases. However, I still believe we've relied too much on talk with each other, rather than extending the dialog to our non-SDA colleagues. ASDAL is necessary, but not sufficient as a source for professional development.

ASDAL has had success in attracting new professionals. But now, more than ever, we have a need to replace those maturing individuals who have or will soon retire. The D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship needs much greater support that it has received from the membership thus far. It has been and will continue to be as an important stimulus to attract others interested in our profession.

Our work is not yet done, nor will it ever be complete. We must continue to strive to achieve old and new goals. May the next 25 years be marked by new achievements.

Maynard Lowry, ASDAL President, 1983/84

1984/85: Keith Drieberg

Keith Drieberg, Librarian at Auburn Academy at the time, was elected president of ASDAL for the term 1984/85. Apparently his presidential message didn't make it across the Canadian border for publication in ASDAL Action (see below). We understand that he has changed careers, and ASDAL hasn't seen him of late. The editors were unable to contact him for Reflections, 2005.

ASDAL Action Vol. 4 No. 2 January 1985

STOP PRESS! It's not that the President doesn't have a point of view (see Contents on cover), but we haven't been able to discover it, crystal balls notwithstanding. Doubtless it is somewhere in the custody of Her Majesty's Royal Snail.

Keith Drieberg, ASDAL President, 1984/85

1985/86: Harvey Brenneise

"MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 5 No. 1 November 1985

Greetings to the ASDAL members. It was so good to see so many of you last July at the conference. The organization must be healthy if half the members attend the annual conference. I see many signs that ASDAL is maturing organizationally. I believe that the constitutional changes made at Keene have been very helpful, especially the establishment of a long-term treasurer and address. This has enabled us to stabilize many of our activities. I believe that the confusion over memberships is also finally behind us. Another bit of good news is the new ASDAL listing in the 1986 Encyclopedia of Associations (entry 8534).

I am pleased with the timely appearance of the 1984 issue of the SDA Periodical Index. Thank you, David Rios, for showing us that it is possible to produce a professional product within a reasonable time frame. Though it has had its problems, the new computerized process has no doubt played an important part in this. Now that some of the inevitable glitches of a new procedure are behind us, I expect that even more will be possible. I have great hopes for the future of the index. I would especially like to see the gaps filled and an aggressive marketing program begun.

After the conference was over I had the (mistaken) idea that I could relax for awhile on ASDAL business, but such has certainly not been the case. Jannith Lewis, Lee Parson and Jim Nix have already been making great progress in planning next year's conference at Atlantic Union College. The program and tours will especially feature our New England Adventist roots. I hope that at that time we can more formally establish an ASDAL subgroup or roundtable which will regularly communicate and meet to discuss the many challenges and opportunities of collecting and preserving Adventiana. I know that Jim and his committee are already planning a good program on that topic. I would like also to see the same kind of ongoing program for the school librarians. Whatever else happens, I plan to leave myself enough time to enjoy next year's conference. In order to allow for a more leisurely pace, the conference planners have decided to start the 1986 conference a day earlier than has been customary, on Monday evening.

I recently spent some time in Washington, DC. As I usually do on such trips, I went to the General Conference on ASDAL business. I was not able to make much progress on the overseas library project because key people were either out of town or were not yet in Washington. I have spoken to George Akers, incoming GC Education Secretary, and he is committed to improving the facilities and collections of overseas SDA libraries with appropriate and equitable assistance from North America. The next stage in this project is data collection regarding specific needs of these libraries, which should be done within the next several months. I hope that we will be able to get this project beyond the talking stage in the near future.

While at the General Conference, I also spent time discovering more about how the various departmental publications are distributed. Many of us who try to collect this material, along with that produced by other levels of the church polity, have been frustrated with our seeming inability to get relatively complete collections in a timely manner. Among other things, I discovered that many, though not all, publicly-distributed GC publications are warehoused and distributed by the Central Departmental Services, which publishes a Catalog of Supplies, a loose-leaf "books in print" of about 50 pages that is regularly updated. This is available on request from that department, and they will also place an organization on their mailing list for updates.

They will not, however, accept standing orders, which have been a major difficulty for many libraries—for example, how to obtain the GC and NAD working policies every year without having to reorder. I have no solution to this problem yet, though I think there are some possibilities that should be discussed at next year's conference if there is interest.

Those who attended this year's conference might remember the discussion relative to ASDAL's proposed organizational membership in the Association of SDA Educators. A motion was passed asking the secretary to search the minutes of the past conference for an action on this matter, which would then be reaffirmed. The problem turns out to be that although this proposal has been discussed at three conferences (Loma Linda, Keene, Berrien Springs), apparently no formal action has ever been taken. However, the sentiment of the members has never been favorable to this proposal. I will ask for an official vote on the matter next summer.

The D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship was awarded this year to Christina Keslake, a graduate of Walla Walla who is now attending library school at Drexel University in Philadelphia. That's the good news. The bad news is that there is virtually no money left in the scholarship fund. If something dramatic does not happen in the next month or so, I do not believe it will be possible to award the scholarship next year. I would really like to see this scholarship endowed, but it will take some time to gather enough money to establish a perpetual endowment. I urge those of you who can and are so inclined to contribute toward this fund. We are currently in the process of closing out our account at Southern College (with thanks to them for their assistance) and establishing a scholarship fund account in Lincoln. It would be pleasant indeed to have more money to place in that account. The treasurer would be pleased to accept your contributions. Chloe assures me that all ASDAL money is safely deposited in a federally-insured financial institution.

Cordially, Harvey Brenneise, President

"MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 5 No. 2 April, 1986

Even though the February snows are just beginning to melt into the mud of March, it will not be long until we meet again at the sixth annual ASDAL conference, this time in historic New England. I know that Jannith Lewis is working hard to put together an excellent program, that Lee Parson is putting together an exciting and educational package of local tours, that Jim Nix will be leading an inspirational denominational history tour to be followed by a one-day pre-conference on the preservation of SDA materials, and that Donna Wheeker will have a worthwhile program for the school librarians. And, of course, there will be stimulating and exciting business sessions! Last year's session was so lengthy that the officers have decided to have several smaller sessions rather than one long session.

The overall conference theme will be twofold—looking back at our historic New England roots while at the same time planning how to cope with what appears to be a difficult future. After hearing various reports of disaster, near disaster or impending disaster, I have suggested to Jannith that we spend some time discussing the SDA library in an era of financial crisis and institutional retrenchment. Perhaps a course in printing money would be most useful!

The committee appointed last summer to study the needs of SDA libraries outside the U.S. and Canada has been gathering information, but there remains much work to be done. Frankly, the biggest challenge will be to convince the General Conference that they need to fund such a project. They also seem to be feeling the financial pinch. There will be a report on this subject at the conference. In the meantime, I continue to fill my files with letters from overseas librarians requesting assistance.

One of the achievements of this year that I am particularly pleased with is the successful awarding of the D. Glenn Hilts scholarship to Christina Keslake, who has been in library school at Drexel this year. She has received the full amount of the scholarship by now. With much appreciation to Southern College for holding the scholarship money on deposit there for several years, we have transferred all scholarship funds to Lincoln so that our Treasurer will have immediate control of it and access to it. She assures me that we are receiving the highest interest possible with this amount of money. Mrs. Hilts has generously continued donating $1,000 annually even in the years when the scholarship was not awarded, so there is currently over $3,000 remaining in the account. Of this, $1,000 is reserved for next year's winner, but that still leaves almost $3,000 to begin endowing this scholarship. I am very pleased that some of you have donated to increase of this endowment. I think that we should aim for at least $10,000 in the endowment. I will be listening this summer for suggestions about how this can be accomplished. Chloe also informs me that 6 or 7 individuals have requested the application materials, and I am sure that we will again be able to award the scholarship this year. I just hope we will have positions for these new graduates! I also understand that one of these applications is from outside the U.S. and Canada. This might create one problem, as our rules now state that the winner must attend an ALA-accredited library school. I am sure that the Scholarship and Awards Committee will be able to find a way so that ASDAL will not be a North America-only organization and that this fund can be used to develop professional librarianship in other parts of the world.

I look forward to seeing you in June.

Sincerely,

Harvey Brenneise, President

Reflections, 2005

As Harvey was also President 1994/95, his current reflections are found with the messages of his 2nd term.

1986/87: Jannith Lewis

No presidential message was published during Jannith's tenure, but the written record verifies that she has been an active member of ASDAL for its entire existence as well as meeting with SDA librarian groups prior to ASDAL's organization. Besides serving as President, she was also a member of other committees such as the ALICE Council, the Site Planning Committee, and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. She was the first woman member of ASDAL to obtain her PhD in Library Science.

Reflections, 2005

Dr. Lewis, now retired from the Directorship of the Eva B. Dykes Library at Oakwood College, remembers, heading the planning team for the very first ASDAL conference at Oakwood College. She is currently engaged in research and writing historical pieces on persons associated with the college.

Jannith Lewis, ASDAL President 1986/87

1987/88: Taylor Ruhl

As no presidential message was published during Taylor's term, he adapted his welcome for the 1988 ASDAL Conference at Oakwood College and published it as an Editorial (he had just begun a term as ASDAL Action editor).

"Editor's corner"

ASDAL Action Vol. 8 No. 1 Fall 1988

Did you attend the 1988 ASDAL Conference? If not, you missed something personally and professionally enriching. Why attend an ASDAL Conference? Have you ever asked yourself this?

In 1976 Adventist librarians met at Andrews University as part of a North American Division Higher Education Council. The next such meeting was to be held at Pacific Union College in 1981. Although that meeting was not held, Adventist librarians met at PUC prior to the ALA conference in San Francisco and formed ASDAL. The Oakwood conference marked the seventh campus to host ASDAL, followed by a Sabbath afternoon visit at Southern College, the eighth campus ASDAL has visited. Next year ASDAL will meet on a ninth campus, Union College. I enjoy visiting other Adventist campuses. That is one of the reasons many people attend ASDAL.

Many people also attend ASDAL because of the friends they make and meet there and are reminded of the fellowship they look forward to in eternity. Those who attended the Friday night vespers at Oakwood will long remember the rich blessing received from it. Attending ASDAL is inspirational.

During the 1982 meeting at Columbia Union College Maynard Lowry gave a presentation on the methods and uses of time studies, a management tool that has been highly valuable to me in the years since. ASDAL has always been a valuable learning experience for those who attend.

ASDAL has contributed new life to the SDA Periodical Index since 1981 when its future seemed doubtful. ASDAL has been the source of scholarships for new Adventist librarians. ASDAL parented the valuable Adventist LC classification schedules. ASDAL has also made very significant Contributions to the collection and preservation of Adventist materials. In these and many other ways, ASDAL has contributed to improved service at the libraries represented by its members.

When you work on behalf of an ASDAL committee or function during the months between conferences, do you realize that you are thus helping extracurricular that received low priority and will be done after your real work is done? Friends, the work of ASDAL is an appropriate, vital part of our work as Adventist librarians. On all of our college and university campuses, rank and tenure committees consider your activity in and contributions to professional organizations like ASDAL. There are valid reasons for this interest, because of the relation between such activity and the quality of your work and your contributions to your campus. That is why academic rank and tenure are, in part, based on membership and participation in organizations like ASDAL.

Whether you are an academic librarian, ASDAL needs your contribution and participation. ASDAL is an important part of being an Adventist librarian. "For just as in a single human body there are many limbs and organs, all with different functions, so all of us, united..., form [ASDAL], serving individually as limbs and organs to one another. With continued energy and enthusiasm, [let us] serve the Lord [through ASDAL]." (Romans 12:5, 11)

Reflections, 2005

The thing that stands out the most in my mind from my years working as an ASDAL officer and committee member are the accomplishments we made in getting the SDA Periodical Index current and automating it.

I also began the Adventist librarian placement service which ASDAL asked the PUC library to host. I'd bet that program is no longer even in existence. That grew out of the concern that I and fellow library directors had at that time for having access to a continuing supply of Adventist librarians.

Taylor Ruhl, ASDAL President, 1987/88

1988/89: Keith Clouten

"A SIN OF OMISSION?"

ASDAL Action Vol. 8 No. 2 Winter 1989

Adventist librarians have never been guilty of burning Adventist authors at the stake. Instead we have simply ignored them.

We do, of course, give a lot of attention to the products of their creativity, the books that they write. We buy them, accession them, catalog them, process them, shelve them, protect them, and loan them. In spite of the advancement of technology and some predictions, books are still the sine qua non of our libraries, and Adventist books are a very significant part of our collections. They are, of course, what make our libraries unique.

But, as a group, we librarians have given little thought of encouragement to the people who write our books. In the world of librarianship at large, authors are certainly not ignored. They are featured at library conventions, they speak at library forums, they are the recipients of library association awards, and their books are reviewed by librarians in library journals.

By contrast, consider the typical Adventist author. Once his or her book is accepted by one or the other of the only two Adventist publishing houses in North America, there is little else to anticipate. Generally there are no critical reviews to guide the author in improving writing style. There are no "outstanding book" awards to recognize literary excellence. In many cases, the only feedback comes in the form of royalty checks. It should come as no surprise that Adventist publishers find a dearth of quality in the manuscripts that come their way.

As an Adventist library organization, we can and must do something about this. We may have made a beginning last summer at Oakwood when we invited a panel of four authors and editors to express their concerns and perceptions. That brief encounter was stimulating as well as challenging.

The idea of an ASDAL award for an outstanding book deserves consideration. Such an award might be given annually or only as often as a set of criteria are met. With appropriate publicity, it could do something positive for Adventist authors, publishers, booksellers, and for ASDAL itself. Please think about the idea, and come prepared to discuss it at next summer's ASDAL Conference at Union College. Better still, think of someone who might be challenged to at least partially fund such an award!

There may be other and better ways to recognize the wonderful people who author our books. But whatever we do, let us not remain guilty of ignoring them!

Reflections, 2005

Experience is a good teacher, if we are willing to be good learners. Sometimes we score a hit, and sometimes we're way out in left field.

During my term as ASDAL president I introduced the idea of an ASDAL Literary Award. Its purpose was to provide public recognition of literary talent among Adventist authors and encourage creative writing. We formed an ASDAL committee for the purpose and chose several books to receive an ASDAL Literary Award. But the scheme faltered after about three years and the committee ceased to function. I think the award was a good idea, but perhaps we would have been wiser to work collaboratively with SDA English teachers who have their own organization. A collaborative award would have had greater validity and status.

My first ever presentation to ASDAL occurred at the inaugural meeting that was held at PUC in June 1980. This was only six months after our move from Avondale College to Canadian Union College. On arrival at CaUC, I learned that the local library committee had taken a decision to switch from Dewey to LC, and was counting on me to make it happen. I'd had little exposure to LC (it wasn't used in Australia at that time) so I embarked on a steep learning curve. In the process I discovered that the BX section of LC was woefully inadequate for Seventh-day Adventists, and I made a rash decision to correct that. At the 1980 PUC conference I was the newest kid on the block, but I shared a proposed expansion of LC for Ellen White materials on which Warren Trenchard and I had worked. My peers at the conference encouraged me to continue with the project, in spite of my lack of experience. A couple of years later the project was adopted by ASDAL and is still published as A Classification Scheme for Adventists and Ellen White.

Keith Clouten, ASDAL President, 1988/89

1989/90: Margaret von Hake

"ASDAL AND THE FUTURE: Editorial from ASDAL's President"

ASDAL Action Vol. 9 No. 3 Spring 1990

The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians was organized on June 25, 1981, thrust into being by the unanimous vote of nearly forty librarians gathered at Pacific Union College for what became the first ASDAL conference. It was hoped that the formal organization would make the SDA library community a stronger and more visible force in the institutional structure of the denomination; that it would serve as a vehicle for sharing common concerns, for promoting professional growth, for exploring diverse interests based on professional specialties, and for gaining leadership experience through participation in Association activities. In varying degrees, all of these aims have been fulfilled.

As it prepares for its tenth annual conference, ASDAL has a number of challenges before it. Among them are the following: (1) Membership growth and diversity: In spite of many solid accomplishments as an organization and excellent annual conferences, membership in ASDAL has dropped since its early years, almost 20% in fact. There is an enthusiastic and dedicated core of school librarians who are active in the organization, but academic librarians continue to be most prominent in the Association's activities and seem to be better able to find funding for conference attendance. (2) Recruitment of librarians: As few new faces come into the profession, as librarians retire, and as various factors make positions outside the denomination more attractive, there is increasingly a shortage of librarians to meet the needs of the denomination, especially on the college and university levels. There is also a need to make Adventist young people aware that librarianship is an attractive, challenging, and rewarding profession, both within and without denominational walls. (3) Organizational impact: Although ASDAL is recognized by the denomination as a legitimate professional organization and has brought about some changes in perception, we need to find ways in which it can be more of a force in denominational policy-making, particularly in respect to (a) recognition of the need for professionally organized and staffed school and hospital libraries, (b) clarification and standardization of the status of librarians in academic settings, and (c) financially-backed acknowledgement of the crucial role of the library in the educational and informational process.

Each of the above challenges is formidable in itself; taken together they make the task before us seem overwhelming. However, the dedication, talent, professionalism and energy of the individuals who make up ASDAL are also formidable; focused and channeled, they can bring about accomplishments beyond anything originally envisioned. It is my hope that both individually and collectively ASDAL members will reaffirm their commitment to SDA librarianship and to the Association that they will attend the conference at Andrews, bring their ideas for meeting the challenges, and propel ASDAL into its tenth year with greater vigor and determination than ever.

Reflections, 2005

There are a number of things that come to mind when I think of my 1989-1990 ASDAL presidency. One of the incidents that positively shouts out from my memory is probably permanently etched there because of the degree of embarrassment that I felt at the time. The annual conference in 1990 was held at Andrews University. I drove there from ALA in Chicago, along with Margaret Duncan, CUC Cataloging Librarian, and Elvina Tomenko, a CUC student who had been librarian at the SDA seminary in Russia. We left Chicago in time, we thought, for me to arrive at Andrews to chair an ASDAL officers meeting. We experienced unexpected delays, and I was relieved to arrive only a few minutes late for the meeting. However, to my horror and chagrin, the meeting was just breaking up—the three of us had somehow missed the fact that there was an hour's time difference between Chicago and Berrien Springs. Not an auspicious start to my official presidential activities at the conference!

More pleasant memories include how impressed I was by the newly built Chan Shun Hall, where many of the conference meetings took place; the introduction of an attractive ASDAL brochure developed under the leadership of Linda Wildman, Publicity Coordinator; and the excellent conference program planned by then President-elect Marley Soper. A very enjoyable tour day included a visit to author Gene Stratton-Porter's home, of special interest to me because of nostalgic pleasure in her works which started when as a child I found The Harvester on my parents' bookshelves.

Another outstanding memory from that time was joining Chloe Foutz in manning the ASDAL booth at the General Conference session in Indianapolis. The main reason I drove from Maryland to the ALA and ASDAL conferences was that doing so enabled me to carry in the trunk of my car a folding bookcase to be used to display copies of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index at the booth. I've never forgotten that there were seemingly hundreds of people who came by the booth—and Chloe knew every one of them!

That GC session also includes an incident which will always stand out in my memory as an example of an immediate answer to prayer. It doesn't really have anything to do with my presidency except that had I not been ADAL president, I would not have been there. I have an American cousin who lives in Germany. In 1990 he and his wife were delegates to the session (or perhaps observers, I don't remember which) from Marienhoehe School in Darmstadt. I hoped to see him there but was not able to locate him through the register. On Sabbath, as I sat high up on one side of that huge auditorium, I prayed that somehow I would be able to find him among those thousands of people. After a while, I was impressed to move from the side around to the back center, right on an aisle. As I sat there, my cousin came walking up that aisle directly towards me. Later, as he and his family and I had lunch together, he told me that he had been taking pictures when it occurred to him that he could get a better picture of the whole assembly by going up there. Coincidence? I don't think so!

Margaret von Hake, ASDAL President, 1989/90

1990/1991: Marley Soper

"FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 10 No. 1 Fall 1990

It was good to see many of you at the conference this summer. Perhaps sometime in the future some of you may be interested in seeing the candid videos I made of those of you who attended the Brenneise Gardens' breakfast. For some reason I felt that I had made better acquaintances with many of you this year. Perhaps that is one benefit of accepting an ASDAL office which involves planning a conference. I had to talk to a number of you last year for the conference planning and it really helped to remember names and voices.

I think that one of the important functions of our organization is to get to know one another better. In our state of Michigan I have been attending several library organization meetings, and I have found it important as well as interesting to know the librarians of the state, particularly those in similar libraries as mine. This week, for example, I plan to call a director friend of mine at Alma College in central Michigan to ask about some rumors I have heard about problems he is having with a certain OPAC system. I'm not sure I would want to approach him in an informal manner had I not met and talked to him several tithes at various meetings in the past.

I think that all SDA librarians should join ASDAL. Make sure that your membership is up-to-date. (Where can we find any other organization that we can join for just $10?) Then each director should try to see that at least one other librarian beside him or herself can attend the annual conference and pass the privilege around each year.

Without doubt, the 1990 conference had the most international flavor of any of our meetings. It was great to have participation of librarians from more than ten countries.

Reflections, 2005

It has been a while since I was President of ASDAL; I believe it was from 1990 to 1991. My emphasis that year was the development of some standards for overseas college libraries in an effort to help them meet the needs of their students. I had made several trips overseas for affiliation purposes on behalf of Andrews University and I wanted those libraries to be an important part of any college associated with Andrews. ASDAL was interested in helping develop those standards. I wrote the first and second draft of those standards and they were later edited and further improved during the following years. I think those standards are no longer used, but they seemed to be important at the time and may have helped persuade some overseas administrators to support the development of their libraries.

I recall that our annual ASDAL conference was held at Southern that year (1991). One of the highlights of that meeting for me was the visit by Desmond Doss who lived just south of Chattanooga at that time. He was recently honored on Memorial Day (2005) in a PAX TV special.

Desmond Doss invited me to visit him in his home during the weekend following the conference. His home was full of memorabilia and photos. He enjoyed showing me the photos of himself with various presidents of the United States.

When Mary Jane Mitchell attended the first ASDAL conference in 1980 at PUC her primary interest was the SDA Periodical Index. She felt that only by working together would an index ever be a possibility. The SDAPI was the primary item of discussion at ASDAL conferences during the early years of the organization.

Marley Soper, ASDAL President, 1990/91

1991/1992: Joel Lutes

No presidential message was published during Joel's term, but as he was a prolific editorial writer during his term as ASDAL Action editor, we have taken the liberty of including one of those pieces.

"THE EDITOR'S CORNER"

ASDAL Action Vol. 6 No. 3 Spring 1987

Having completed two years as the editor of ASDAL Action, I find myself somewhat nostalgic and yet thinking critically as I look back on the last two years of ASDAL's progress. There have been many good ideas offered and yet in some cases very little outside support for some very necessary projects.

One excellent suggestion, the development of a clearinghouse for distributing materials to libraries outside the North American Division, appears to have been stalled, if not put to rest, because of a lack of funds and support from the General Conference. What might have been a very useful service has failed to materialize, and thus we continue to maintain the status quo.

Another idea, one that I have supported in my editorials this year, is the development of a branch of ASDAL that would concern itself with the issues that relate to school libraries. Yet, in spite of mailing complimentary issues of ASDAL Action to all the academy libraries in the North American Division and even sending the last issue containing conference information to every junior academy library in the Pacific Union Conference, the response has been minimal.

In case someone may be thinking that I believe that ASDAL is a failing organization I simply say, NO WAY! We have succeeded in organizing a form for sharing statistical information. We have succeeded in helping the SDA Periodical Index get back on its feet, with much of the credit going to Maynard Lowry and David Rios for their strong leadership. We have also held some very educational conferences.

However, we have not always succeeded, as was shown by the two examples given above. It is the reason for these failures that concerns me. Might it be that too many of us have taken the attitude of "Let George do it." If we are guilty of that, attitude, then we are forgetting one of the major reasons that ASDAL exists, simply because there is power in numbers. If ASDAL members would use their lobby powers, more might be accomplished. It takes more than just a few people to make major projects succeed. To alert denominational and institutional leaders of the libraries' needs that must be met in order for their information needs to be fulfilled requires a concerted effort. One or two violins will only be ignored. If we are not willing to unite as an organization and EVERYONE lobby together in making the needs of libraries known to those who make the decisions, then we had better keep our dreams and ideas to ourselves and be satisfied in making small changes.

Personally, I believe that ASDAL can succeed in bringing major improvements in the provision of information to our denomination's institutions. However, whether or not WE will succeed depends on each individual's decision whether to become involved in the lobbying process or to remain indifferent and passive. The body is greatly handicapped without a voice, legs and arms. The choice is yours, but your decision will affect our denomination.

Reflections, 2005

That has been so long ago I really can't remember much about it. I do remember that when I was president-elect and program planner we had a very good discussion about the mission of ASDAL (it was our tenth anniversary). It might be time to do it again. I wish I could remember more, I must be getting old.

Joel Lutes, ASDAL President, 1991/92

1992/93: Carolyn Gaskell

Reflections, 2005

Excitement filled the air as librarians gathered at the historic 1993 ASDAL Conference. For the first time ASDAL was meeting out side of the United States. Held at Canadian Union College in July of 1993, the conference focused on the practical and philosophical issues of SDA librarianship. As ASDAL President that year, it was my privilege to preside over the conference's business sessions. Keith Clouten, then Library Director at CaUC, and his staff did a marvelous job in putting together an interesting conference program. There were also exciting tours to the Canadian Rockies, Ukrainian Heritage Museum, Edmonton, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.

ASDAL Banquets are memorable occasions and 1993's was no exception. It was this year that Stan Cottrell was awarded the D. Glen Hilts Scholarship and the Literary Awards Committee announced that Alden Thompson's book Inspiration had won an ASDAL Literary Award. September 21, 2003, on behalf of ASDAL, I was privileged to present the award plaque to Alden during the first WWC faculty meeting of the year. Alden still fondly remembers receiving the award. In fact, he reminded me of it earlier this month after his presentation on faith and learning at our May (2005) faculty meeting. Alden observed that after ASDAL chose to honor Inspiration, the association seemed to have ceased presenting Literary Awards. While it is true that the Literary Awards Committee was short-lived, and that some think Inspiration a controversial book, I really don't believe the life span of ASDAL's Literary Awards had anything to do with its choosing to honor Inspiration, in spite of Alden's inference.

ASDAL members were incredibly busy during 1992 and 1993. CUC celebrated its 50th anniversary. Planning for the first non-NAD ASDAL conference, at Newbold College, was well underway. The SDA Periodical Index had weathered a major storm and, under the able guidance of Keith Clouten, undergone a sea change. By the time the 1992 conference was held, the Index had moved from LLU to AU, new software was being used, and a new editor and managing editor were at its helm.

We were also on the cusp of the technology wave. Terms such as Internet, Bitnet, electronic mail, ftp, remote logins, and databases sprinkled our conference conversations. AU provided its first public access OPACs on September 14, 1992 and by the winter of 1993 had named their online catalog the now familiar JeWeL. Many of us were still using periodical indexes on CD ROMs, though several were running them on local area networks (LANs).

The theme of the 1992 conference was "Libraries and Technology." Nancy Baker, Director of Libraries at Washington State University, spoke on "The Future of Academic Libraries." She predicted that libraries would experience increased dependency on document delivery and that the library would come to be viewed as a "service," with librarians functioning as navigators, rather than a "place." True to her prediction, we soon heard our colleagues promoting the concept of "just in time" in place of "just in case." By 1994, we were talking about the virtual library and the library without walls. The Web opened up a whole new world for libraries and computers and technology are now ubiquitous in our facilities. More recently, library consortia have started direct borrowing programs to facilitate book borrowing between libraries. Yet, in a mere eleven years we have come full circle and are once again talking about the importance of the library as "place."

ASDAL still had a Rank & Tenure Committee back then. At the 1992 ASDAL Conference, Taylor Ruhl presented the results of his survey on rank and tenure for librarians at NAD colleges and universities. Once again this is a hot topic and will be discussed at the 2005 annual conference.

Finally, at the end of 1992-1993, I exchanged my role as ASDAL President for that of Chair of the ARS Working Committee. That started a journey that took me down a whole new road.

Carolyn Gaskell, ASDAL President, 1992/93

1993/94: Lee Wisel

Reflections, 2005

In 1992-93, as president-elect, I worked with Keith Clouten to plan the first ASDAL conference held outside the United States at Canadian Union College in College Heights, Alberta, Canada. Guest speakers included Gary MacDonald, Director of the Computing Centre at the University of Calgary and Margaret Law, director of Alberta's Parkland Regional Library System. The tours included a visit to Banff National Park with dinner atop Sulphur Mountain and a trip to Edmonton and the Ukrainian folk heritage center.

Notable happening during 1993-94 included:

The 1994 ASDAL conference at Andrews University focused on the electronic library. We had a half-day hands-on training session in the use of the Internet. Other topics were electronic mail and privacy. We thought it necessary to offer an "Internet room" for use of the Internet addicts. Our tours were to Amish country and a river cruise/architectural tour of Chicago.

In general our libraries were converting to online catalogs or adjusting to their new OPACs. We were also busy adding CD-Rom databases to our collections.

It's hard to believe so much has changed in so short a time.

Lee Marie Wisel, ASDAL President, 1993/94

1994/95: Harvey Brenneise

"A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 14 No. 1 Fall 1994

The theme of the ASDAL conference in June was the electronic library of the future. Immediately after the ASDAL conference I attended the ALA conference in Miami Beach. I spent almost the entire conference in the exhibition hall viewing electronic information resources. It was a particular disappointment that only two other Seventh-day Adventist librarians were in attendance at the conference. We dare not fall behind in the rapid changes in libraries, and it appears evident that libraries that do not or cannot keep up with the pace of technological change will soon be obsolete.

Patrons have made it very clear through their actions that for some sorts of information (bibliographic, in particular, but increasingly other types as well) that they prefer electronic formats to print and will, in fact, often use an incorrect electronic resource rather than a better one in print. If they do not find the resources in our libraries that they want, they will go elsewhere.

A significant problem facing all SDA libraries determining their electronic strategies is a significant lack of economic resources. This is partly due to the small size of all of our institutions in relation to similar institutions, and partly due to institutional under funding. Unfortunately, most information vendors (though there are some exceptions) charge all customers the same price—UCLA the same as Loma Linda, Michigan State the same as Andrews. However, our students often have the same information needs as those at much larger institutions. This was very evident when I recently visited some state university libraries in Ohio and Indiana. They were crowded with users, and offered many print and electronic indexes (though hardly anyone was using the print ones). We must find ways to make these electronic resources available to our users, or they will find us irrelevant and go elsewhere for their information needs or even their entire education.

One way to fund these needs is to re-evaluate our information priorities. This past summer the James White Library did a major evaluation of our indexes with the view to making as many of them as possible available in electronic form and networked if feasible. In order to afford this, however, we had to cancel many print indexes, including such venerable ones as Physics Abstracts, Biological Abstracts, and all remaining H. W. Wilson indexes other than the venerable Readers' Guide. We simply could no longer justify duplicating print and electronic or purchasing seldom-used print indexes when there are viable electronic resources available. However, this paradigm shift also required some new ways of doing business. We no longer can "own" all our information resources, and must be willing to pay for them on an as-needed basis in some cases. Libraries must realize that they are more than paper warehouses.

Another possibility is the establishment of library consortia to purchase or lease jointly what the individual members cannot afford individually. Established consortia are not equally available in all areas of the country for SDA libraries to join, and some do not offer what is needed or may simply not be available to SDA libraries. However, the ubiquity of Internet makes geographical proximity no longer a necessity in establishing electronic consortia. It is quite possible for SDA libraries to establish an electronic consortium so that many small libraries can share the enormous cost of mounting electronic resources. As many readers will be aware already, ASDAL established a committee at the annual conference to begin planning for such a consortium.

I will devote a future column to the electronic future of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index, but it already is available to the cyber world via the Internet. In my conversations with the American Theological Library Association just this week (Oct. 14), it appears quite possible for SDA libraries to share at a reasonable price the Religion Indexes currently tape loaded on JeWel here at Andrews University. We could easily share other databases among ourselves rather than each library trying to do their own tape loads and/or CD-ROM networks. The growth of the Internet outside North America will soon make it possible for us to share electronic information with SDA libraries in developing countries, which is a welcome development. (In fact, this column is being sent from the author at Andrews to the editor at Walla Walla via the Internet.)

There is not space here to discuss the needs for staff development and resources in order to accomplish this task, but they are significant. We dare not let this historic opportunity pass. I do not believe we will succeed unless we work together. This will require vision, patience and much time. I am sure it will be a key topic at future conferences, including our first outside North America, to be held next June at Newbold College in England. I hope to see many of you there.

"A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 14 No. 2 Winter 1995

As you will see elsewhere in this issue, the planning process for the annual conference at Newbold College in England this summer is proceeding. This conference will focus on the twin themes of electronic access and the international aspects of Seventh-day Adventist librarianship. We will work hard, but there will also be a few chances to "play." I hope to see many of you there.

In my last column, I promised to discuss what I see as future possibilities, even imperatives, for the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index. As most of you know, the database is now (mostly) loaded into JeWeL, the local electronic catalog system at Andrews University, and is available to the world by telnetting to library.libr.andrews.edu. I will enumerate below what I see as some of the future tasks in making this database as useful as possible. The electronic index currently includes data from 1983-1995, plus part of 1980 and all of 1981.

One obvious task is to complete database cleanup and do authority work on it. Because data which we loaded was produced by 3 indexers using 2 computer systems at 2 institutions, a number of irregularities were introduced into the database. This becomes obvious when one looks at the entire database as a whole rather than as individual years in a printed index. In the past, the index was seen as "cast in cement" once and then forgotten. We now have the capability of correcting and updating not only past errors, but changes in indexing policies, headings, etc. In addition, authority work needs to be done on both names and subject headings and these authority records entered into the database so that users can see and use the cross references. This cleanup work has begun, and so far is being carried on by Dan Drazen, the editor, as well as a student worker, Holly Van Buren.

Another needed task is to key records into the electronic database from the printed indexes for the years that the index was produced manually. When cleanup is a bit further advanced, it is my hope that Holly will be able to continue this job, which has already begun.

Another dream of mine is to begin retrospective indexing of the vast holdings of SDA periodicals going back to the first issue of the Review & Herald, and even the Millerite publications. While some of this may be able to be done by the index staff, now that we are down to a single employee (the editor) it is unlikely that this will proceed very fast without additional help. I am hopeful that I can find several retired librarians or others who would be willing to help. As some readers will recall, there are still also two "gaps" in the indexing for the 1970s that should be filled electronically.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about having the index available over the Internet is that it is not only available for use by anyone with Internet accessibility, but it can also be contributed to by anyone on the Internet (who, of course, has received proper authorization to do so). Experimentally, we have been trying this with obituary records, both from Walla Walla College (thank you, Sheila Clark) and La Sierra University (thank you, Vera May Schwarz). It makes little difference whether the person enhancing the database is 5 feet from the computer or 5,000 miles. I hope that we will be able to find capable volunteers with Internet access (and this could include doing work at home via a modem to a local Internet node and then to the computer at Andrews) and work out proper procedures so that some of this work can proceed. If no one contacts me, I'll go looking for you!!

Historically, one of the first examples of SDA cooperation in indexing was the cooperative SDA periodical index (done on cards). We now have the capability of sharing the same sort of information electronically, and I hope we don't miss this opportunity.

Another goal of this index, which includes both the SDA Periodical Index itself and SDA Obituary Index (developed cooperatively under the leadership of the Adventist Heritage Center at Andrews), is to complete the obituary indexing in the near future. Again, this will be most easily accomplished via the Internet.

Other types of data that would be useful in this index are indexing of major "unofficial" SDA-related publications, and articles about SDAs in the "secular"" press. It would also be nice to index more of the non-English SDA press.

We must also look in the future to linking the index to the full text of SDA publications. Many of these are already being produced in electronic form, and we need to negotiate with the publishers to electronically archive these data in the index so that we may not only be able to search them by keyword but also display the full text of articles.

The future is rapidly approaching where we will be able to share large amounts of information via the developing international information superhighway. Let us make sure that the information we make available in our corner of that highway is of the highest quality and is as comprehensive as possible.

"A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 14 No. 3 Spring 1995

This will be my last message to the membership before many of us meet at Newbold College in June. I believe it's an exciting time for SDA librarians, while at the same time a sobering one. Latest reports show an attendance approaching 50 at this conference, with excellent international representation. I am really looking forward to seeing many "old" faces as well as meeting many "new" ones. I am especially excited about the potential for finding ways to better deliver information to our diverse groups of users.

During the last several months, I have traveled to Tennessee, Pennsylvania and California to library meetings and have conversed with some of you personally, by phone, or electronically. The common thread in all of this is the need for cooperation among our libraries in meeting common goals.

A meeting with great potential for our common future was one held over lunch at a restaurant in Berkeley during the recent Innovative Users' Group meeting, with representatives from Innovative Interfaces, Inc., and librarians from Pacific Union College, La Sierra University and Andrews University. We discussed the possibility of developing a consortium to actually share library online catalogs over long distances. We are currently investigating the technical feasibility of such a move.

There have been other discussions regarding the sharing of commercial electronic databases among SDA libraries over the Internet. In fact, the first of these to be made available will be the American Theological Library Association (ATLA Religion Indexes One and Two) database, currently being loaded at Andrews. Arrangements have been made with the vendor to make this possible, and further negotiations will be held in the future so that the smaller and/or international institutions can also take advantage of this. At present, time seems to be the biggest limiting factor—staff time in working out the many details to make this possible.

At a recent conference of the Association of SDA Historians (held in Collegedale in April), I gave a presentation on the present situation and future prospects of libraries generally and SDA libraries in particular. I'm afraid I may have left them in shock. One of the things I pointed out is that compared to many other academic libraries, our level of funding (and often staffing) is deplorable. We must continue to work to improve our ability to deliver the right information at the right time to our users. For small institutions like ours, this will require that we work closely together.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible next month in England and working with you toward our common goals.

Reflections, 2005

At this important milestone in the history of ASDAL, I want to take this opportunity to bless your efforts, in the past and into the future, as well as to thank you for the many pleasant hours we spent together. I want to thank you for trusting me enough to elect me twice to lead the organization. I have very positive memories of what we accomplished together as well as the fun we had during our annual conferences. These memories are a treasured part of my personal life journey.

I particularly enjoyed the times we could visit (and even tease) each other during our numerous tourist excursions near the places where conferences were held. Many of these destinations were educational (of course!) as well as fun to visit. Just the other night I was watching a movie called Hanging Up, where they visit the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, and I recalled our visit there. The BBC (that is "back of the bus club") was always fun, as was the "seat of the scornful," usually established near our sleeping quarters at a conference as a place we could visit and comment on life in general. And no conference would be complete without bantering with Chloe Foutz!

In re-reading my past messages, I am struck by the following themes and accomplishments made by ASDAL. First is the move toward more and more digital resources. I am particularly proud of the transition of the SDA Periodical Index (and obituary index) to electronic form, and am pleased to know that more and more of the "old" material is now included. I hope in the future that this will include large quantities of full-text, in English as well as in other languages, as much of the written Adventist heritage is preserved in the form of periodicals.

Another theme I see is the increasing internationalization of ASDAL, which is entirely appropriate given the demographics of the SDA church. I am pleased to have been a part of that effort, including holding conferences outside North America.

I am also pleased that many of the collaborative ventures started in earlier times have borne fruit, and I believe that many more will take place in the future.

And lastly, I see great strides in preserving the written records of the SDA Church, which are the unique responsibility of ASDAL libraries, and making more and more of them available electronically.

Congratulations and blessings to each one of you.

Harvey Brenneise, ASDAL President, 1985/86 & 1994/95

1995/96: Adu Worku

"A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT"

ASDAL Action Vol. 15 No. 3 Spring 1996

In 1970, Alvin Toffler wrote a best seller entitled Future Shock. In that book, Toffler wrote about an emerging technological culture bringing with it a rapid rate of change in society. He describes the technological and societal changes as both sudden and massive and warned that there would be confusion and dislocation.

In 1980, Toffler published a follow-up study in his book, The Third Wave. In this book, he outlined three major civilizations or waves in human history. The first was the Agricultural Revolution and its culture. The second was the Industrial Revolution which transformed agrarian culture fundamentally. And the third is the Information Revolution which is now transforming industrial society just as fundamentally. In The Third Wave, Toffler puts special emphasis on new technological systems, especially those in electronics.

In 1994, Toffler published yet another book entitled, Creating a New Civilization: the Politics of the Third Wave. In this book, Toffler declares that the "Third Wave information-age society" is now calling for fundamental changes in existing societal institutions. He adds, "....the Third Wave is not just a matter of technology and economics. It involves morality, culture and ideas as well as institutions and political structure. It implies, in short, a true transformation in human affairs."

As part of society, Seventh-day Adventist institutions are also undergoing fundamental changes. As Adventist librarians, we have been keenly aware of and directly impacted by the Information Revolution Toffler has eloquently described in his three books. As information professionals, we have deliberately set out to stay relevant and make a difference in this challenging new world. The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians (ASDAL) embodies our collective resolve as we strive to enhance our services and create new ones. The good news is that we can now take advantage of opportunities brought by advances in electronic and telecommunication services. We can survive and thrive if we cooperate and share resources in fundamentally new ways.

Two years ago, ASDAL held its 14th annual conference at Andrews University and initiated serious discussions on the virtual SDA library. In fact, the "Virtual SDA Library" was the theme of that conference. After presentations and discussions on the subject of the virtual SDA library, the ASDAL Cooperative Information Access Committee was established as a standing committee charged with the responsibility of identifying and evaluating electronic resources and services for sharing. The committee has since been busy talking to electronic information vendors, evaluating electronic communications and databases, comparing costs of databases, and promoting consortium issues among SDA college libraries.

Until last year, ASDAL was largely a North American organization despite the fact that membership was not limited to librarians in North America. Before 1995, ASDAL annual conferences took place only in North America. However, in June of last year, ASDAL created a defining moment in its history by taking the annual conference to Newbold College in England. For the first time, there was a large contingent of international Adventist librarians representing more than 20 countries around the world. Appropriately, the conference theme last year was "The Global Electronic Village: Sharing Human and Information Resources." The presentations made and the views and desires expressed at that conference were sincere and promising. We left Newbold College with renewed commitment and determination to move forward with plans and proposals for an SDA consortium.

This year, ASDAL's conference theme is "Serials Collection Development in the Electronic Age" and it ties in very nicely with the work of the ASDAL Cooperative Information Access Committee which will soon share concrete proposals on electronic resource sharing in the context of an SDA consortium. Such proposals will focus on specific electronic indexes and full-text databases. In other words, we are fast moving from talking to acting.

It is often the case that ideals, hopes, and missions are challenged at the level of details. Working out the details of resource sharing will be possible. But they probably will not be easy. Keith Clouten raised some of the details of consortium with SDA library directors recently and asked the following questions. Will the proposed SDA consortium be mission driven? What happens when local, state, and regional consortia provide more and better advantages and conveniences than a SDA consortium? How de we decide?

I would like to think that we will be mission driven in making decisions on resource sharing and commit human and financial resources for the common good. ASDAL's member institutions are part of the body of the Seventh-day Adventist Church which is committed to its constituencies worldwide. Technological electronic revolutions have provided us with unique opportunities to share with sister institutions and fellow believers without depriving ourselves as we share. The good news is that information is not depleted as it is used. There may be some inconvenience or perhaps even some sacrifice as we share human and information resources. Some of our institutions are better funded and administratively supported than others. If we enter into resource sharing with the attitude of what is there in it for me, we may find enough reasons to hold back. Hopefully, our commitment to Christian mission and Christian education will tip the balance in favor of an SDA library consortium. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The amount of giving is determined by the intensity of belief."

Reflections, 2005

I have more recollections about my ASDAL vice presidency than my presidency. The first reason for this is the fact that I did far more work as vice president than I did as president the following year. The second reason is that ASDAL was at Newbold College when I was vice president and program planner. Newbold College was chosen to host the ASDAL Annual Conference in 1995 because of the General Conference Session also hosted in Europe that year. The attendance that year was truly international and Per Lisle and Annette Melgosa gave us all a royal treatment. (No pun intended)

This year's ASDAL Conference coincides with another General Conference Session and I hope and expect a repeat of 1995. I hope to see Adventist librarians from around the world well represented in this year's conference. It is both interesting and educational to meet brothers and sisters from around the world. Such encounters are bound to give interesting and valuable insights, perspectives, and reality checks in terms of resources, technology, and professional development and practice. Union College, here we come!

Adu Worku, ASDAL President, 1995/96

1996/97: Chloe Foutz

"THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS"

ASDAL Action Vol. 16 No. 1 Fall 1996

ASDAL has just completed 15 years of service to SDA librarianship: Sixteen interesting and rewarding conferences, meeting at most of the SDA colleges and universities in the US and at two outside the US; constant refining of our governance documents, which indicates that we are a vibrant, living organization; renewal of SDA librarianship through conference presentations and through the award of several D. Glenn Hilts scholarships; promotion and support of school librarianship and Adventist resources through the formation of two ASDAL sections; and enhancement of resources in a variety of ways, most recently through the formation of ALICE.

Although we may not have foreseen the development of the NET and the WEB, it was with exciting, cooperative ventures like ALICE in mind that this organization was formed—cooperation which may serve as a model for other organizations.

If ASDAL is to continue to succeed in its current programs and others which are yet undreamed of, we need the efforts of all our members. Would you like to be on a specific committee?—your president welcomes volunteers! Would you like to make a presentation at the 1997 conference?—there is a call for presentations elsewhere in this newsletter. Would you like to write an article or a news item?—the editor would be glad to hear from you. Are there changes which you think would improve the organization? What can we do to better serve you? Please let us know where you would like to use your talents to further the mission of SDA libraries around the world.

Reflections, 2005

In the Fall, 1996, issue of "Action" I briefly summarized ASDAL's first 15 years of service to SDA librarianship—a significant milestone since some doubters had not expected us to last two years! The sixteenth year was busy with several of our continuing concerns: funding the Hilts Scholarship and the SDA Periodical Index (which had just delivered the largest issue in its history!); the graying of our profession; encouraging and involving school and overseas librarians and the increasing impact of the internet on librarianship.

The 1996 conference had approved two items which we spent much time refining and implementing—the formation of ALICE (how the E-Mails flew!) and the first mail-in ballot which enabled many who could not attend conferences to vote. By the spring deadline, I reported that more than 60 ballots had been returned.

At the 1997 conference I hosted a brainstorming session for all attendees. This resulted in excellent feedback on the future direction of ASDAL. It was exciting to report that the 1995 recipient of the Hilts Scholarship had been hired as Reference and Bibliographic Instruction Librarian at the University of Texas Pan American Library—that new librarian was Bruce McClay who is the current president of ASDAL and who is now employed by Walla Walla College.

The strength of any organization is in its members and it was an honor and a pleasure to serve as ASDAL president and in other offices through the years where I was constantly impressed by the dedication, creativity, vision, hard work and professionalism of SDA librarians.

Chloe Foutz, ASDAL President, 1996/97

1997/98: Per Lisle

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

ASDAL Action Vol. 17 No. 1 Fall 1997

My six-year-old son Martin always asks "Why?" when I tell him to do something. That used to annoy me considerably until it dawned on me that I also demand to know why I am doing things. In fact, having the objectives of what one is doing clearly in mind is crucial to a successful outcome. According to the ASDAL constitution the organisation exists to enhance communication between Seventh-day Adventist librarians, to serve as a forum for discussion of mutual problems and professional concerns of SDA librarians, and to promote librarianship and library services to SDA institutions.

It is probably safe to argue that throughout its history ASDAL has never lost sight of these objectives and that there is evidence of success in a number of areas, the annual conferences and ALICE being just two examples. The challenge now is to continue in this tradition and to ensure that ASDAL remains capable of assisting and supporting SDA librarians and libraries in a rapidly changing environment.

The ASDAL conference at La Sierra University in June identified a number of issues that ASDAL will address in the coming year as part of the pursuit of its objectives. For instance, it was voted to create an umbrella database that includes the SDA Periodical Index, the Obituary Index, the SDA Dissertation Bibliography, the Adventist Pioneer Library and other appropriate materials. It is not clear when this will become a reality, but planning will start shortly. ASDAL will also continue its involvement with the ALICE consortium. A committee was formed to investigate the feasibility of a document delivery service linked to ALICE. An ad hoc committee was set up to study certification and a curriculum for paraprofessionals in SDA libraries.

Reports on the progress of work in these and other areas will be given at the 1998 ASDAL conference at Columbia Union College. However, if you have ideas or opinions you feel ASDAL needs to consider before that time, I would encourage you to write to me or one of the other ASDAL officers. A full list of ASDAL officers and committees can be found elsewhere in this issue of ASDAL Action and also on the ASDAL web page http://www.asdal.org/

Reflections, 2005

I was involved with two ASDAL firsts. With Harvey Brenneise and Annette Melgosa I organised the first ASDAL conference outside North America in 1995. Two years later, in 1997-1998, I believe I was the first European ASDAL President.

Both of these ventures involved considerable risk to the organisation. In 1995 I was relatively new to Adventist librarianship and knew nobody, not even Harvey. And nobody knew me. I have since learnt that some thought I was a woman while others were convinced I was a somewhat elderly man. Which I have now become—an elderly man that is!

The first outing in 1995 was to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon where we saw the play, Romeo & Juliet. The return journey to Newbold was exciting because the bus caught fire and we had to evacuate it very quickly! Standing in the dark next to a motorway with a large group of people I hardly knew did nothing for my confidence. Thankfully, our driver sorted out the problem and took us back to Newbold without any more drama.

At Columbia Union College in 1998 the conference delegates soon discovered the danger involved in having a Norwegian peasant chairing the business sessions. Several sessions were chaired without shoes. The only pair I had brought got wet in a Washington rain storm and took days to dry. Also, I had neglected to swot up on Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised and underestimated the difficulty of counting hands in a dark auditorium. Not that it mattered. It was all put down to what the Resolutions Committee termed 'international authenticity'. And there was no shortage of encouragement, advice and help.

Per Lisle, ASDAL President, 1997/98

1998/99: Randall Butler

"THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE"

ASDAL Action Vol. 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, another is expanding opportunities. 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 of 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.

Reflections, 2005

I have very fond memories of ASDAL and its wonderful members. I "retired" as library director at Southwestern Adventist University in July 2004. I continue to serve the library as its Preservation Officer, but my primary responsibilities are now focused on chairing the criminal justice program and serving as a commissioned police officer (reserve) — I just completed police academy at age 59! I can now jump over tall buildings and out run locomotives! I have always embraced new challenges and opportunities and that is one of the things I really respected about ASDAL members, librarians and archivists are challenged every day to provide outstanding service in a diminished budget climate. What I admire most about the library and archives community is the dedicated and passionate commitment to service, ASDAL has always promoted the enhancement of service to immediate constituencies and communities at large.

I came into the library community at a time of great change and opportunity. I take pride in having been on the cutting edge of implementing electronic resources and related services at Southwestern. ASDAL has always been on the "cutting edge" of the profession. But ASDAL is much more than a professional association, it is a community of people who lift up and sustain each other, and have fun together to! As to my own contribution to ASDAL, I had the privilege of being president for the first annual meeting held outside of the U.S., and of course I thoroughly enjoyed providing a conservation column for the news letter. So, happy birthday ASDAL and best wishes to all its members.

Randy Butler, ASDAL President, 1998/99

1999-2000: Chris Cicchetti & Maynard Lowry

"THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE"

ASDAL Action Vol. 19 No.1 Fall 1999

Whew! What a summer! If you made it to Montemorelos University (MU) last summer, you know that ASDAL's second conference outside of North America was a huge success. Five years ago, ASDAL met for the first time outside of North America. That meeting at Newbold College, England resulted in the creation of the European Chapter of ASDAL. At the recent conference in Montemorelos, Mexico, ASDAL birthed two new chapters: the Inter-American Chapter and the South American Chapter. ASDAL is well on its way to becoming an international organization.

ASDAL owes a huge debt for the success of this summer's conference to the vision of Adan Suriano, Librarian at MU. He campaigned for several years to get ASDAL to agree to hold a meeting at Montemorelos, and then worked tirelessly with his staff in preparation for this event. Without his initiative, ASDAL would be two chapters short! Thanks again, Adan.

Next year's conference at Andrews University, which follows closely on the heels of the General Conference Session, promises to be another international conference. Our two previous international conferences have provided a wonderful foundation, and I am sure the conference planners at Andrews will make 2000 a banner year for ASDAL as well.

The year 2000 brings some possibilities for increasing ASDAL's influence on the K-12 educational system. So far, despite years of efforts, ASDAL's membership is largely composed of librarians in higher education with school library members being few and far between. The North American Division is asking ASDAL to participate at the division-wide teachers' convention next summer. We need to focus our energies on making an impact on the educators present there. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. Randy Butler's creation of Taskforce 2000 last year was a good beginning but many more of us need to get involved. Nancy Kim, ASDAL's Coordinator of the School Library Section, has done a terrific job but it is too big a load for one person. She needs a committee to work with her on plans for the Dallas conference and other initiatives, such as bringing some school libraries into ALICE. I urge you to contact Kim and volunteer to assist her with her efforts. Also, talk to school librarians in your area and urge them to become involved with ASDAL. Support ASDAL's efforts on their behalf.

Best wishes for a productive year.

Reflections, 2005

What I really remember is my year as president-elect. I was in charge of planning the 1999 conference held in Montemorelos, Mexico. My firsthand experience of Mexico was limited to the tourist area of Tijuana, and I spoke no Spanish. I sent e-mails in English to Adan Guzman, the Library Director at Montemorelos University, and he replied in Spanish! I am still grateful to Gilbert Abella and David Rios for the time they spent translating messages for me. And I'm sure that thanks are owed to staff in Montemorelos for their help in translating at that end. It was a challenging year, but it remains one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. My thanks to ASDAL for the opportunity, and I would encourage others to pursue the leadership opportunities ASDAL affords them. Service to the association is well worth the effort involved.

Chris Cicchetti, ASDAL President, 1999/00

"PRESIDENT RESIGNS, VEEP TAKES OVER: A Letter from the President"

ASDAL Action Vol. 19, No. 2 Winter 2000

I am writing to resign from the position of ASDAL President. I have agonized over this decision because I strongly support ASDAL's mission and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of its leadership. However, I have come to the conclusion that my personal circumstances prevent me from effectively discharging my duties as President, and that it would therefore be detrimental to ASDAL for me to continue in this office. Maynard Lowry, the President-elect, will take over the duties of ASDAL President, effective immediately.

I thank you all for the confidence you have shown in electing me president, and I wish you all the best. ASDAL is truly making a difference in Seventh-day Adventist Libraries, and I know it will continue to do so. I thank all of you for your friendship and support. I leave with many warm memories of my friends at ASDAL.

Christina Cicchetti, President

"A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE ASSOCIATION"

As those who have served the Association as Vice-President/President-elect know, it's the year of presidency that has the greatest appeal. The pressure is off, so to speak. It's the Vice-President's role to bring together a top-notch program that appeals to a diverse membership. It is a significant challenge and a considerable amount of work. Such depends upon working remotely with committee members through telephone, email, and snail mail. When a program comes together, it's with a great sense of satisfaction. That glow, as it were, should be enjoyed as the Vice-President assumes the new office of President.

It is with great regret that we accept Chris Cicchetti's wishes and resignation as the President of our Association, and we send her our very best wishes. She deserved to bask in the success of the recently completed conference in Montemorelos that she so ably planned with the assistance of our hosts there. This was to be her year. We regret that she will not be continuing in her role as President and that she will be absent to receive the appreciation of the membership in person.

Thank you Chris, for your hard work and commitment to ASDAL. You've done a great job for the Association in several capacities. We've appreciated your leadership. We'll miss your fellowship. Good work!

With every best wish,
Maynard Lowry, Vice-President/President-Elect

2000/01: Gilbert Abella

"THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE"

ASDAL Action Vol. 20 No.1 Fall 2000

As our association prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, I would like to reflect both on the achievements of the past and on the challenges of the future.

Looking back at the accomplishments of the last 20 years, ASDAL can be proud of a steady growth and a list of impressive attainments. Let me just mention a few: we were able to sustain a steady growth through the years, we provided professional development and nurture for our members, we led the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Periodical Index, we provided guidance for both individual libraries and Church organizations responsible for their operations, we created a scholarship fund, we assisted members and potential members to find employment, and through ALICE we changed the way SDA academic libraries purchase access to databases. Right now we are a growing, vibrant, and truly global organization.

Yet, in spite of an impressive chain of successes and achievements, we have to face important challenges ahead. Among these, there is one that I believe we need to address right now with determination, enthusiasm, and generosity. I am talking about encouraging and nurturing a new generation of librarians.

Although many new members have joined our ranks since the creation of this association some 20 years ago, the infusion of "new blood" has not been large enough to fill all the needs for librarians in the SDA educational system all over the world. As some of the founding parents of ASDAL begin to retire, we need to replace them with well-trained professionals.

We need to encourage bright, creative, and capable people to pursue graduate degrees in library science. However, mentoring and encouragement are not enough to create a new generation of competent librarians and to sustain the growth and relevance of our association. In order to fill all the professional positions that will become available in SDA libraries during the next decades, we need to create a viable endowment to provide scholarships every year.

In this context, I was delighted to learn that our past president, Maynard Lowry, plans to pursue some fund raising for this specific purpose. He also indicated that he will be making a very significant donation to the Hilts Scholarship Endowment Fund. As grateful as I am for his assistance and generosity, I realize that in order for this project to succeed, all of us need to support it.

Elsewhere in this issue of ASDAL Action you will find an article from the Chair of the ASDAL Scholarship and Awards Committee providing further details about the scholarship. Please join Maynard Lowry and me in contributing to this worthy cause.

Let us do everything we can to ensure that the brightest chapters and the most outstanding achievements of ASDAL are still in the future.

Reflections, 2005

The most cherished memories I keep from my term as ASDAL president were the interactions I had with the other members of the steering committee. It was definitely an enriching experience which I would recommend to all my colleagues. If you are invited to participate in the leadership of this organization, please remember that this is not only a wonderful avenue for service, but also an opportunity to grow professionally and to make a unique contribution to the Association. If you fear running for office and you are terrified by the possibility of winning the ballot, remember that ASDAL is led by a team, and therefore people will help and support you. Do you qualify to serve as ASDAL officer or president? Obviously you do. You have chosen a profession of service and willingness to help and to serve is what is needed to participate in the leadership of this association. Please just say "yes" the next time a member of the nominating committee asks your permission to include your name on a ballot.

Gilbert Abella, ASDAL President, 2000/01

2001/02: Annette Melgosa

"THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE"

ASDAL Action Vol. 21 No. 2 Winter 2002

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. As 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.

Reflections, 2005

I think the two biggest things that happened in 2001-2002 were (1) the establishment of the Hilts Endowment Fund and (2) the International Conference in Argentina. I remember the conference as an achievement because it was so far away from North America and it had a good turnout. The Hilts Endowment Fund I see in a somewhat different light. I believe that establishing it as an endowment fund was the right thing to do, but I feel rather sad that we still have not reached the amount that we need in order for it to function as it should. Especially with the profession (and Adventist librarians, especially) losing many librarians to retirement, it is something I wish I could have done more to promote.

Another item from that period that is still unfinished is the Library Manual for the GC Education Department. At the ASDAL Conference in Argentina, ASDAL voted to set up an ad hoc committee to work with the GC Education Department on producing a manual. There has been talk back and forth but, to date, the manual is still not published. However, it is still active and we (the ad hoc committee) hope that it will be done in 2006.

Annette Melgosa, ASDAL President, 2001/02

2002/03: Cynthia M. Helms

"THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER: The Shaping of Adventist Librarianship in the 21st Century"

ASDAL Action Vol. 22 No. 1 Fall 2002

To those of us who are used to attending conferences in a North American setting, ASDAL 2002 in Argentina gave us a different perspective. Meeting in another country outside North America strengthens our international membership and gives us a chance to gain first-hand intercultural experiences. Attendees for this last conference came from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States. There were several first-time attendees from South America and South Africa. Some of those who came from South America actively participated in the panel discussion and the breakout sessions.

People are different in many ways and we need to see librarianship in different parts of the world. We also need to see how our jobs relate to those around us, to compare what we do with what others do, and most of all to learn from each other. We must never lose sight of the fact that we need to see our professional roles in the context of the Seventh-day Adventist church and its organization. After all, we are not just librarians— we are Seventh-day Adventist librarians.

Argentina gave us a glimpse of what it is to make the most of what we have. I greatly appreciated the creativity of the Local Arrangements Committee in making our conference supplies similar to other conferences in spite of the financial situation of the country. The folders, some of which were in Spanish and others in English, were made in the Library's bindery. The conference bags were sewn locally. As expected of any international conference, things were done quite differently and the country's values became evident. We experienced Argentinean warmth and hospitality.

This is what an international conference is all about—learning, adjusting, acculturating, appreciating, and becoming broad-minded! It also gave us the opportunity to enjoy the nice, pleasant, cool weather during a time when we usually consider it summer here in North America. Thank you so much, Argentina! Kudos to Hernán Hammerly, the Local Arrangements Committee, and his staff!

One outcome of this conference was the formation of the South American chapter of ASDAL. The members plan to translate a couple of ASDAL Action articles into Spanish and hopefully publish them in the near future.

Their newly elected officers are as follows:

Regional Coordinators:

As the South American chapter strives to reach out to their fellow librarians in that part of the world, Ralph Köhler is striving towards activating the European chapter by planning an ASDAL Europe conference in Germany this coming summer. I urge members from the European countries to support Ralph in this endeavor. If the rest of us would like to support Ralph by attending that conference, please contact him for more information.

One other facet in the shaping of Adventist librarianship is information sharing. Since the Association meets only once a year as a group, we need to utilize different channels of communication. We are proud to let you know that the ASDAL home page has two additional features. The most recently revised "SDA Classification" scheme is now available on the ASDAL web site. Job hunters will be pleased to see a list of "Job Openings." Walla Walla College has posted the first job announcement. I invite all library directors to make use of this feature and help keep it current. I urge everyone to utilize the SDA-librarian listserv more often in communicating with other members of the Association.

The shaping of Adventist librarianship is evident in the changing composition of our association. Our founding fathers and original members of the Association are getting ready to retire. Some librarians are changing careers. Others are moving out of SDA employment. Some terms of office are coming to an end and the committees experience a change in dynamics as new officers are elected to fill empty slots.

After the Argentina conference, I received a resignation from Violet Maynard-Reid who is stepping down from her membership in the Nominating Committee. The Executive Committee has been busy appointing officers to various committees. Below is the latest report of officers and committee members:

The changing population and composition of SDA librarianship clearly shows the need to hire new librarians to replace those who are leaving for one reason or another. We need to open our eyes and utilize the personnel we have in our own libraries. There are staff members out there who are qualified to function professionally; there are student workers out there who are eager to step into the world of librarianship. Why look outside when we may just have the person we need right under our own roof? One way of recruiting librarians is through the Hilts Scholarship. Donations to this fund are always welcome. Since this has now been established as an endowment, only the interest will be used for scholarship purposes. The treasurer reports that we are only "about 1/3 of the way to being able to offer a scholarship."

The biggest challenge we face this year is the School Library Section. We would like the school librarians to keep up their membership. Let us make this Association relevant to their needs. We are calling on volunteers who are willing to advocate for them, to work towards meeting their needs, and to establish a way of communication even if they are not able to come to the annual conferences. One suggestion was for them to at least maintain a virtual presence through electronic communication. We realize that it has not always been financially easy for them to attend our conferences because of the lack of administrative support. School librarians, we would love to hear from you.

We voted to write a handbook for libraries around the world. Since this was requested by the General Conference Department of Education, it will be funded by them. This project will be under the leadership of Annette Melgosa, past president, who initially received the request. The handbook will include school libraries, college and university libraries. This is a great leap forward and a worthy cause not only for the school librarians but also for the academic librarians. If you would like more information about this manual, direct your questions to Annette.

We look forward to a fruitful year of volunteering, participating, and contributing to the cause of this Association. I challenge the coordinators to do something worth reporting at the end of this year. I also challenge the committees to work together and carry on their discussion in the most convenient way possible—email, chat mail, telephone, etc.—whatever it takes to carry on the work that is before us. And don't forget to pay your membership dues.

I just received the minutes of ASDAL 2002 conference in my mail today. Sandra Browning is an example of service to the Association. She did not function as secretary because we as a body elected her to that position but because she has willingly donated her time and effort to function in lieu of Violet Maynard-Reid who did not come to Argentina. Not only did Sandra take notes, she has gone the second mile by writing the final report. She deserves a great big hand! Wonderful job, Sandra.

After performing the great task of collecting and reviewing possible sites under time pressure, the Site Planning Committee finally presented the Executive Committee with proposals for the next conference site. The Site Planning Committee composed of Ralph Köhler (Chair), Marilyn Gane, and Ruth Swan also deserves a round of applause. We are now ready to announce that the ASDAL 2003 conference will be held at Atlantic Union College. Watch the web site for the latest developments. The Conference Chair is President-elect Paulette Johnson and the Onsite Coordinator is Margareta Sbacchi. Let these people know if you would like to participate.

We appreciate the dedication of such members. We can all do our share no matter where we are or whatever we do. Together, we can make the difference and contribute to the shaping of Adventist librarianship in this century.

Reflections, 2005

The transition from president-elect to president was marked by problems dealing with conference sites. When I was president elect, I had to deal with the problem of holding the conference at Argentina during a time of political and economic unrest. Thanks to Hernán Hammerly's encouragement and persistence. Then when I took over the presidency, I had to deal with the switch from Kingsway College to Atlantic Union College (AUC). Thanks to the Site Planning Committee under Ralph Köhler's leadership and to AUC's onside coordinator Margareta Sbacchi and her staff. I specially admire Sbacchi for her ability to cope with the difficult role of hosting us at a time when her husband was in critical medical condition.

During my presidency, one major task was the revival of the School Library Section—a challenge that Wolfhard Touchard willingly picked up. During my presidency Stan Cottrell announced that all ASDAL Action back files, the SDA classification scheme, and Job Openings were added to the ASDAL web site.

One historic event that was widely discussed during my term of office but did not occur till after our meeting at Atlantic Union College was the ASDAL Europe conference coordinated by Ralph Köhler at Friedensau University, Germany.

At the annual conference at AUC, I was pleased to see a roomful of posters and handouts, an idea I initiated at the previous conference. Some of the discussions at the business sessions were the transfer of the archives from Union College to the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University, the recommendation to appoint a distance education coordinator to replace the Ad Hoc Committee on Distance Education, the first-time increase in ASDAL fees since its inception, and the suggestion that a library director be included in the Statistics Committee.

I certainly would not forget how some of us ooohhhed and aaahhhed at one librarian's "glow-in-the dark" pajamas in the women's dorm or the unique experience of having dinner at Longfellow's famous Wayside Inn. Neither would I forget the fact that we honored five retiring library directors, two of whom were my former bosses (I don't play favorites). It still makes me chuckle when I recall Margareta Sbacchi and Lee Marie Wisel looking like twins in their look-alike dresses at the banquet and reveling in the attention they got from such a coincidence.

Cynthia Helms, ASDAL President, 2002/03

2003/04: Paulette McLean Johnson

"THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER"

ASDAL Action Vol. 23 No. 1 Fall 2003

Greetings, and thank you for allowing me to serve as president of the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians' (ASDAL) for this year. As I pondered what to write, I asked myself whether the president's letter should be informative, reflective, motivational, or something else. I'll let you decide, but I'd like to share four Cs that are significant to ASDAL in 2003-04.

It is a year of unprecedented change. At our 2003 conference we celebrated the decades of service given by five outstanding Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) librarians. Their retirements, combined with career changes among other colleagues, have created a ripple effect on library personnel that will be felt for a long time. Even as this academic year progresses, there are talks of more imminent retirements.

This change in leadership provides opportunities for promotion on one hand, while it highlights the challenge of recruitment and retention on the other. The job listing site advertises positions yet to be filled. How do we get bright, young undergrads or even high school students to consider librarianship as an attractive and rewarding career? How do we attract SDA librarians to denominational employment? What do we need to do to keep librarians employed in SDA institutions satisfied and fulfilled in their professional role?

Another action at the 2003 conference was the vote to increase annual dues so a portion could be allocated for public relations. At a recent College Fair where the library was represented, a student asked, "Is it true that you need to get your masters (degree) to be a librarian?" I responded, "Of course," then explained that the Master of Library Science is the recognized professional degree. Increased publicity about ASDAL and the profession is one step in the right direction. Other steps might include listing ASDAL in the Adventist Professional Network, being visible and active on campus, being excited about our work, securing funding for employees interested in pursuing graduate studies in library science, and generously supporting the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship.

This is also the time for increased cooperation between academic and school librarians and also between ASDAL members worldwide. The School Library Section, under the able leadership of Wolfhard Touchard, has made strides in this area. In addition to hosting the pre-conference, Touchard has developed an excellent Web site, http://www.andrews.edu/library/RefDesk/ASDAL/sls.html, that promotes ASDAL to academy librarians and provides easy access to a wealth of resources appropriate for K-12. Involvement in CIRCLE, the SDA clearinghouse for curriculum and instructional materials (http://nadeducation.adventist.org/), provides opportunities for greater cooperation. The First ASDAL European Chapter Conference, hosted by Ralph Köhler and with Keith Clouten as the main speaker, is an example of international cooperation. As we continue to grow, we seek ways to be relevant to all our members.

Your personal and professional contributions make ASDAL thrive. Continue to give of your time and expertise to committees, conference programs, and individuals in your sphere of influence. Communicate with ASDAL officers about issues that are important to you and help us make this a productive and fun year.

In June 2003, ASDAL received the Organization Collaborative Spirit Award presented by the Adventist Virtual Learning Network. This award recognized ASDAL's "powerful spirit of networking and collaboration in Adventist education."

Thanks so much! A special word of thanks to Margareta Sbacchi, Library Director, Atlantic Union College (AUC), and her team for hosting a memorable and successful annual conference held at AUC, June 13-18, 2003. Conference attendees expressed appreciation by saying, "Thank you to all who were involved here at AUC. Hospitality at it's best. Thank you, thank you."

Reflections, 2005

I think of the 2003-2004 year as the year of transition. For ASDAL, the baton was passed from the pioneers, five of whom retired in 2003, to the "babies" of ASDAL, as Joel Lutes describes the under fifty (wish I could say under forty) year olds. I was a rookie, and without the help of former President, Cynthia Helms, and Treasurer, Lee Wisel, I would have had no clue.

Thanks to email, we were able to conduct business year-round. A few of the voted actions included Article 14 of the Bylaws that outlines the relationship between ASDAL and the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University. To help realize the $20,000 goal for the Hilts Scholarship Fund, $4000.00 from ASDAL's reserve was approved for transfer to the Fund. ASDAL agreed to become a corporate member of the Adventist Professionals Network; and audit ASDAL's finances at the end of each treasurer's 3 year term.

The best part of the year was the annual conference planned by Bruce McClay, Deanna Stevens, and her onsite team. Those who attended will remember that the conference modeled its theme, "Thinking Outside the Box", by including several guest presenters who had a magical touch. It was also a wonderful time to visit with colleagues and enjoy the sights of Disney and other Orlando landmarks.

In 2003, ASDAL was the recipient of the Adventist Virtual Library Learning Network Award for exemplary collaboration. ASDAL sweethearts, Stan and Genevieve finally tied the knot; Loranne Grace retired, and we were saddened by the passing of Dr. Margarete Hilts.

On the personal side, the transition continued as my family and I adjusted to life and work at Oakwood College. It was a memorable year and the beginning of a new relationship with ASDAL.

Paulette McLean Johnson, ASDAL President, 2003/04

2004/05: Bruce McClay

"THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER"

ASDAL Action Vol. 24 No.1 Fall 2004

Letter from the President (not Bush, sorry)

Wow! I graduated from library science school eight years ago, and now I am president of a professional organization. That is scary, but "thanks" to all who were not afraid to vote for a newbie. Going to library school was the best decision I ever made (next to saying "I do" in 1969). I love being a librarian. I get to relate to the best people on this earth — intelligent, good looking young people (and I don't have to give them grades), and the most committed group of professionals I have ever known. Being fairly new in the profession gives me two advantages (or disadvantages — depending on your perspective). First, I don't know what all the traditions are, so if you have creative, inventive, library-shaking ideas, this might be a good time to share them. Second, I am brash enough to believe that I know what really counts — friendly, quality customer service. I am passionate about that, and believe that it is possible, in an age when many reports indicate decreasing student library use, to turn libraries into centers of student learning and activity.

We had an exciting summer with our conference in Orlando. Thanks to all who helped make it an enriching and enjoyable experience, and a special thanks to Deanna Stevens and her team at the Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences (FHCHS) Library. They truly made it a memorable experience. The evaluations clearly show that the conference achieved its goals of fellowship, inspiration, learning, and professional growth. The area that received the lowest evaluations was the Disney tour. It is surprising how something can look so good in theory and on paper, and yet disappoint a little in reality. Even then, it received more positive marks than negative. We were privileged to have the Central Florida Library Cooperative and Terri Fivash, both non-ASDAL members, as presenters. Perhaps we can continue to involve others in our programs.

Linda Mack, President-elect, and Sabrina Riley, on-site coordinator, are working on plans for the 25th Annual ASDAL Conference at Union College this summer. Twenty-five years — we need some sort of celebration! Since it will fit with the General Conference session in St. Louis, MO, this is a marvelous opportunity to include many librarians that rarely get to attend an ASDAL conference. Special programs and workshops that will appeal to our international librarians are being planned. Let's work together to welcome them to ASDAL. We tend to group with those we know and speak our own language — human nature, I guess. This conference will be an opportunity to make new friends and expand horizons. Don't miss it.

One thing to watch for (besides the faculty member who thinks the library is useless) is the December 2004/January 2005 issue of the Journal of Adventist Education. This is a special issue on libraries. The journal has offered a half-page free ad to ASDAL. Patricia Beaman, our Publicity Coordinator, is organizing the creation of the ad. ASDAL is working with JAE to arrange for copies of this special issue to be sent to all Adventist colleges and universities. Of course, many of our colleges and universities already receive JAE, so a comparison of the subscriber list with a list of all colleges and universities will be made. Generously, the Journal of Adventist Education has offered to sell us as many copies as we need for $1 each, plus the actual cost of mailing. It is great to have free, positive publicity. Send a copy to that faculty member who thinks the library is useless.

We will continue to wrestle with issues that we have wrestled with before: attracting bright young people into the profession; convincing students and faculty that the library is a vital link in the learning process; reaching out to school and academy librarians in a way that will be meaningful to them; convincing boards of the need for increasing financial and administrative support; and keeping our priorities straight in a demanding, changing, and crazy library world. We are already working on many of these issues. As we continue to talk together and work together, this time around we will get a little closer to the final solution.

ASDAL is YOUR organization. Your ideas, participation, and contributions make ASDAL a success. Many of you have given of your time and expertise to make ASDAL a success, and some have done so year after year after year, with little thanks or recognition. I know that it has not been easy to fit ASDAL needs into already bulging schedules. Right now at least four of our colleges are seeking librarians, so some of you are already pulling double duty. Thank you for your faithfulness and commitment. We are a small organization. You are still needed! Continue to share your time, talents, and experience and ASDAL will thrive. Don't, and it will wither.

As YOUR president, I welcome your ideas. Most of you have been in this profession longer than I have, so please share your experience, your reflections, and your goals for ASDAL. What things would you like to see us do that could help you? Contact me via email at mcclbr@wwc.edu. I look forward to serving you. Thank you for your vote of confidence. As we start a new school year, my prayer and wish for you is that you will have the best year in your library that you have ever had.

The happy heart enjoys a continual feast — Prov. 15

PS: On the personal side, since this is a letter rather than a formal article, I will share with you my four rules for a generally happy life. They have a lot to do with organizational success and happiness too:

Bruce McClay ASDAL President, 2004/05




ASDAL ACTION LITE

Compiled By Linda Mack and Sallie Alger

ASDAL's esteemed publication has traditionally been brimming with conference news, professional library developments—mostly serious stuff. To prove that SDA librarians do have fun, every now and then a flash of humor and other lighter fare make a brief appearance. The items presented here have been mined from the first 24 volumes of ASDAL Action. Enjoy!

Our second editor, Keith Clouten spiced up several issues with library/book related quotes, such as: "Never lend books-nobody ever returns them, the only books I have in my library are those which people have lent me."— Anatole France (Jan. 84); "Borrowers of books-those mutilators of collections, spoilers of the symmetry of shelves, and creators of odd volumes."— Charles Lamb (May 84); "There's nothing like a heavy book for throwing at noisy cats. And thin books are just the thing to put under shaky tables and chairs."— Mark Twain (Oct. 84); "I knew a gentleman who was so good a manager of his time that he would not even lose that small portion of it which the calls of nature obliged him to pass in the necessary house; but gradually went through all the Latin poets in those moments."— Lord Chesterfield; "Library Materials Must Not Be Taken Into the Washrooms."— Notice in a contemporary college library building (Jan.1985) (The use of the word "washrooms" may give away the identity of the library.). Following Harvey Brenneise's article regarding the rather "mixed" collection of publisher donated books collected in the ADRA warehouse ("a lavishly illustrated guide to gynecological surgery, and titles regarding successful American litigation and real estate practice") Keith inserted the quote: "Acquisitions, therefore, were usually gifts from the estates of people who had died and our local auctioneer gave us any books that he could not sell; we kept what we wanted and sent the rest to the Grenfell Mission, on the principle that savages would read anything."— Robertson Davies (Jan.85).

Keith's proclivity to the usage of library-related puns for sections of the newsletter ("Added Entries" for new members, "Subject: Libraries" for library news, etc.) also includes miscellaneous items, "Tracing Notes." These provide entertaining reading. "AU Library Director Marley Soper maintained just a little distance from other ASDAL conferees by booking into a motel four miles away at Cleburne. On the first morning he arrived at the meeting by bicycle (rather hot pedalling in near-century Texas heat!) Next day he turned up driving a modest little car. On day three he glided into the parking lot in a sparkling Lincoln Continental. This of course astounded the gathered librarians who marveled at his influence with the motel management. (P.S. It is rumored that on the fourth and final day, Marley arrived on foot.)" (Oct. 84).

Avelina Loriezo contributed an article "My library" where she describes in some detail her learning curve on being a librarian for the LLU Nursing School such as: encounters with "Betsi" and learning the gender of her full-length human skeleton. (May 1984). In his search of news, editor Keith Clouten sometimes initiated it by conducting interviews. In the course of his interview with Union College library director Larry Onsager regarding the move to the new library, Keith asked about any amusing incidents. Larry replied: "In the old library, little Sue Job tried to cope with over-enthusiastic students who grabbed and moved everything in sight. One fellow kept trying to drop boxes out of the second storey window. Others were throwing boxes at her (and me) from distances up to twenty feet. Surprisingly, little damage was sustained by the books! Chloe Foutz came frantically charging over at least twice to stop groups of students who were taking boxes to the wrong level in the new library. She sent one poor student back three times with the same shopping cart because the books were for the other level." (Jan. 85).

Following 5th annual conference news such as "Statement on Freedom of Information," church services, and a trip to Battle Creek, the following announcement was published "ANDREWS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN WINS TREE-MENDOUS AWARD. Continuing the tradition of SDA library scholarship, Marley Soper amazed and astounded his colleagues during a high point of the 1985 ASDAL conference by winning the cherry pit spitting contest at Tree-Mendous Fruit Farms. . . . (Of course, the competition was pit-itful!) He out puckered his opponents and projected the pit 34' 3". As host of the conference, Mr. Soper went to great lengths to amuse the group." (Nov. 85).

In an article "Serendipity in the Stacks," DeForest Nesmith describes events held to celebrate the 95th birthday of the Union College Library and the demise of the card catalog. Cash prizes were offered for finding cards describing the oldest books; there was a "Chance-Skill-Hysterical" Card Toss; time, creativity, balance, and equilibrium were tested in the Card Stacking and Card Structures events. "The card toss involved the greatest number of participants as students tried to control those pesky cards that were never meant to fly. Librarians have noted that even several weeks later those cards have turned up in strange places far from the assigned landing areas.... After the contests, a student was heard to comment, 'I didn't think that libraries could be so much fun.'" (Winter 87).

Linda (Wildman) Mack's article "Chronicling SDA Academic Libraries" reported on students' opinions on library hours. A suggestion from a LLU, Riverside student to fund additional library hours was "that the library charge an entrance fee of $1 or $2 for those utilizing extended hours." To the suggestion that "not enough students use the library to warrant longer hours" an angry student at Southern College responded that "the library should remain open even if only one student is using it." In the same issue, Keith Clouten's report from Canadian Union College informs members that "some sort of computer bug has definitely bitten his library staff." It seems that with the help of a government grant, the library had procured the necessary hardware to automate, therefore the staff was trying to complete retrocon in time for classes in the fall. But when it rains it pours: "An early August announcement turned the dream into a nightmare: funds were available to carpet the main floor of the library." In addition, "Somewhere in the foggy haze, when we were nearly delirious with computer fever, we purchased the Columbia Serials Management System-thus guaranteeing a prolonged bout of data entry and auto-frustration which is likely to last well into the 21st century." Another "Library News" item reported on the acquisition of an important collection on "Millerites, SDAs, Advent Christians, water cure and health reform." David Rios reported that "Jim Nix is walking around with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye." (Winter 91).

A tongue-in-cheek announcement was published as "R&H-Cataloging in publication-shenanigans. For librarians who have purchased Helen Godfrey Pyke's 1991 book The Heart and Soul of Landon Harris by Review & Herald, be aware that according to the author, the work is 100% fiction. The CIP gives subject tracings as 1. Harris, Landon. 2. Seventh-day Adventists—United States—Biography and a BX classification. These subject tracings are of course incorrect, and the book should be classified as American literature." (Winter 1992).

Ah, those editorial embarrassments. Regarding the previously published issue, editor Linda (Wildman) Mack wrote "On many occasions your periodicals librarian editor has had choice words to say about publishers that don't properly identify issues of serial publications. Now she must admit to having done the same. Please add: Volume 10, Number 2 Winter 1991 . . . ." (Spring 1991). She also couldn't resist her serials librarian terminology in sharing some personal news: "Periodical librarian Linda Wildman will undergo a title change when she assumes the position of Music Materials Center Librarian in July. She will also experience a name change when she marries Edward Mack on March 19 in Takoma Park, Maryland." (Winter 1993).

In an effort to set the weather fears of those traveling to the first conference outside the U.S. (Canadian Union College) to rest, Keith Clouten wrote: "Contrary to some stories circulating in foreign lands, blizzards are quite rare in July (in fact are unheard of) and planes arriving at Calgary do not land on a frozen lake. We suggest you leave your skis home for this trip." (Spring 1993). Compare with Sabrina Riley's effort to prepare us for Lincoln "July in Nebraska is similar to July in Michigan only hotter. It is humid (I understand that corn and irrigation systems are the source of this humidity), but not as humid as Florida." (By the time you read this, we'll know.)

By the 1990s we were all in the brave new world of computer-related challenges. In an article "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down" Harvey Brenneise reported on the challenges of helping patrons "know where they are in the system . . . to some, it's just the magic computer. That week he noted in the Religion Index search log attempts "to locate information about computers in medicine, and George Washington." (Spring 1993). In an article reporting on the beginnings of ASDAL's listserv "SDA Librarian Digest" Linda Mack reported on some of the early internet postings of library humor that now have taken on a life of their own. (Winter 1994). Another posting to SDA-Librarian was cataloging information for a box "De-Coll/age happenings." According to the 500 note, this apparently contained "1 matzo cracker and 1 packet of Bromo Seltzer." (Spring 1994). She also reported a family internet story: "I was taking my kids home one afternoon and suggested that we make a quick stop at the Berrien Springs Community Library to see if they had a book that Laurie had been wanting to read (a science fiction book). She said, 'Oh, we don't have to stop and check, we can check on the Internet when we get home.' When I explained that the public library's books couldn't be searched" on the internet yet, "She replied, 'I know that. I meant the King James Library." King James, James White—whatever the name—kids certainly have a jump on us (in their desire for using) computer technology." (Spring 1996).

Speaking of technology, reading Lee Wisel's report of an adventure at MLA Midwinter it sounds like SDA librarians could have made good use of a GPS: "SDA librarians met for dinner on Sunday evening. Dinner was preceded by a trolley tour of seldom seen parts of San Antonio due to the mistaken sense of direction of the 'tour guide,' ASDAL Treasurer, Lee Marie Wisel. (Winter 96).

Sometimes brevity is the soul of wit. The report from the Technical Services Breakout Session from the 16th Conference reads: "The group shared horror stories and commiserated with each other." (Fall 96).

SDA Librarians have enjoyed devising catchy titles for their presentations and papers. Add to Harvey Brenneise's previously mentioned "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down," DeForest Nesmith's presentation, "How to Use dBase-II to Tell dForest from dTrees" (Jan. 85); Cynthia Helms' article on BI, "Putting the Library Catalog and Other Yummies at our Patrons' Finger Tips-and Making them Finger Lickin' Good!" (Winter 96); Bruce McClay's two parts of "Catching the Greased Pig: Outcomes Assessment" (Winter 00 & Spring 01); Laurie Matacio's "Audio Addiction" (Spring 2000); among other titles of Randy Butler's extremely informative and valuable "Preservation Corner" columns, "A Bug's Life!" (Fall 99); "Copying 101" where he declares "The copy machine is a dangerous implement in the wrong hands. It is responsible for the proliferation of copies of copies of copies in a world already full of phonies. . . ." (Winter 01) and "Library RAP" (Spring & Fall 01); Keith Clouten, "Something Fishy at Andrews?" (Fall 02).

Perhaps it was his move to Florida that moved Marley Soper from cherry pit spitting to water-related metaphors. In describing Florida Hospital College's (FHC) activities in consortial arrangements with both ALICE and LIRN (a Florida group), he reported: "FHC is a little frog in a big pond with both groups, but it remains active and interested." He continued: "FHC started playing in the big pond when it got its regional accreditation . . . last summer." (Fall 96).

In 1996 ASDAL changed the way it votes. Rather than nominating and voting at the annual conference, the nominating committee prepares a slate of candidates and voting takes place by mail. Information on some of candidates on the first slate prepared under this new system included some items outside of library interests and qualifications: Randal Butler's interests include "hiking through ghost towns and spelunking in old mines." Marley "Soper is known as the 'motorcycle riding librarian'." Lee Marie "Wisel enjoys showing one of her parents' Shiloh Shepherds at American Rare Breed Association dog shows." Margaret "Von Hake's special interests include music, history (particularly the American Civil War), and collecting Sherlockiana." Annette Melgosa "enjoys doing Spanish-to-English translation and has translated 4 books for two European publishing houses." Petre Cimpoeru came to the United States from Romania in 1980 where he suffered religious persecution and where he was involved in underground publishing of Adventist literature." Nancy Kim "considers herself a 'militant librarian.'" (Winter 1997).

By the later 1990s, ASDAL's international profile had become well established. Keith Clouten, ever the evangelist for international sharing and cooperation, reported on a "Historic Meeting of SDA Librarians in Africa." The report of the meeting was impressive, but he couldn't resist a Post Script: "I will remember Africa for its friendly people . . . its educational and cultural achievements . . . its staggering problems . . . its urgent energy needs. . . . Africa is also an adventure. During the Nairobi conference I washed my underwear every two or three days and hung it to dry just inside the open window of my third floor hotel room. One afternoon I returned to my room to find one pair of under shorts missing and the windows closed." A lady from room service showed up to ask if he was missing some clothing. "Yes, I had. 'You left your window open,' she remonstrated. 'Oh, did the wind blow away my underpants?' I had my doubts. . . . 'No, no,' she said. 'A monkey was swinging down from the roof and stole your clothing. . . . You must not leave your window open.' I thanked her for the explanation and advice. But I still possess a mental image of one African monkey who is trying to set a new dress code for the species." (Winter 1997).

The same issue carried an article by Zeleny Terretta, "Zaoski Theological Seminary: Then and Now" describing with good humor the challenges that the librarians of the Russian Seminary Library face. The library "crammed into every available cubic centimeter of two smallish classrooms. . . Books were squeezed in vertically, precariously piled horizontally. When all shelves were full, the books were wedged behind the shelves, stacked in boxes, on windowsills, chairs, desks, and even the floor." Then there are the cataloging challenges, working in more than one alphabet, in temperatures ranging 46-53 degrees Fahrenheit. To keep warmish, catalogers sit on a little electric radiator. The patrons must also endure the cold: "Stringent book security measures are difficult to enforce when all students must study wearing heavy parkas, thick gloves, and fur hats." But they are "thankful for such progress in a few short years" and invite librarians to come and visit.

Another saga told with good humor was "Tales of a Library School Nobody," Sabrina (Pusey) Riley's account of Library School Adventures at the University of Michigan. From dealing with student assistants lacking in good sense to indifferent professors, Sabrina makes it through. (Spring 97).

One of the fine regular columns that have been a part of ASDAL Action over the years is "School Librarians' Column" and a particularly superb run was headed by Nancy Kim. In the Fall 1998 issue she reported on a workshop "Introducing Women's History through Children's Literature" that she presented with Chris Cicchetti at the 16th Annual Conference of the Association of Adventist Women. We challenge you to look up and take the "Herstory" Jeopardy-type quiz (answers are in Winter 1999 issue).

The Winter 1999 issue had us looking toward our first bilingual conference, "Down Mexico Way" (down for North Americans anyway). Keith Clouten, having just visited Montemorelos on Andrews business was able to give an enthusiastic endorsement of travel to Mexico: "Come to Montemorelos prepared for a great warm experience. The warmth will certainly apply to the friendly atmosphere, probably the food, and of course the balmy summer climate. And enjoy the difference! I like the advice which Insight Tours gives... 'Thou shalt not expect to find things as thou hast them at home, for verily thou hast left home to find things different.'"

In the same issue Hernán Hammerly provided an article "SDA Academic Libraries in Latin American Countries: An Overview from the Argentine Perspective." A statement of personnel issues will resonate with many librarians: "SDA libraries get their share of unrequested personnel. Burned out teachers who cannot stand the classroom or whose students say that they cannot stand them may be assigned to library services. . . . The need to provide a job for a relative of a valuable faculty member or administrator may find a solution to their problem in a library job. This is not a practice exclusive to our libraries." He then cites a recent case where a person had been convicted of practicing medicine for 42 years without a medical degree, but as his patients didn't complain of bad care, he was sentenced to community service-work in a library.

ASDAL has lost a few members to fund-raising jobs in the last few years. Keith Clouten was philosophical about Sallie Alger's transfer from head of Technical Services to the Andrews University Development Office: "We were sorry to lose Sallie, but as I have always said: anyone who enjoys ingathering ought to be doing it." (Fall 1998). (As many of you know (for various reasons), the ingathering didn't last and Sallie's back as head of Technical (now Bibliographic) Services.)

Print or Electronic, that is the question. Cynthia Helms tried to sort through members' responses to a survey concerning the future format of ASDAL Action. The analysis of the 86 responses are enough to make your head spin. So in the end "there will still be more print issues to come until we have studied the matter thoroughly." (Winter 00).

Remember Y2K? Peg Bennett wished us all a happy new year with the comment "after expending a lot of time cleaning up our computer programs, SAU came through Y2K with flying colors, as did most of the world it seems!" (Winter 00).

In the new millennium creative library outreach programs were increasingly in ASDAL news. A soup and salad affair hosted by Walla Walla College library personnel for faculty included presenting interesting facts such as: "There are more public libraries than McDonald's;" Academic librarians answer almost three times the number of reference questions than the number of persons that attend college football games. (Spring 01); Bruce McClay grabs the interest of his English BI sessions by singing "Lizzie Borden took an ax, and gave her papa 40 whacks" to introduce the research process to English classes. He recommends singing and dancing "if you can—have a little fun with your library presentation." His approach was vindicated by a young man's evaluation: "I thought this was going to be boring, but this library rocks." Sabrina Riley presented the Andrews experience of their first Library Fair but recommends that "you don't attempt to coordinate a library fair if you are simultaneously involved in planning one or more weddings." (Fall 01). Costuming entered the picture with Andrews Dean of Libraries Larry Onsager wandering the campus dressed up as the AU mascot, the cardinal, with library fair promotional material on his back. The McKee Library staff at Southern Adventist University dressed in baseball uniforms at the university's "Organizational Showcase" to get the students' attention. Walla Walla College (main and nursing campuses) had fun with bookmarks, chocolate and "mood" pencils to promote library services. (Fall 03).

How does that SDA Periodical Index get put together. Well, editor Dan Drazen tells us: "it's poetry." If you don't believe that: "I read magazines for a living." (Winter 2004)

Keith Clouten was back on the hustings again to encourage librarians to travel. After describing his time on the luxurious campus of Mission College, Thailand, he encourages librarians to help with needs in other places, too. "Not all mission guestrooms come with scroungy bathrooms or a supply of cockroaches and scorpions.... Most institutions treat guests as VIPs, and you can expect to be secure, comfortable, and well fed." (Winter 2001). And again, he's back, this time in Ghana. In addition to providing library assistance, he goes prepared to preach, but never knows what he's in for. First he's asked to preach for English speakers, then that's changed to a translated sermon for 1,500 people in the largest church in Ghana. "I argued with the Lord quite a bit that evening, but finally gave in. OK, Lord, just do whatever You want with me for the next twenty-four hours. That was a dangerous prayer, because I had to preach again at another church on Sabbath afternoon." He enjoyed Ghana tremendously including the names on the shops: "Showers of Blessing Hair Salon, King of Kings Bread, End Time Concrete Works, and (my favorite) The Hallelujah Pork Shop."

The most recent issue of ASDAL Action continues the tradition of providing something "lite"—Librarian Lightbulb Jokes, taken from the internet.

Linda Mack, former ASDAL Action editor is currently President-elect; Sallie Alger is current editor of ASDAL Action.




Executive Committees 1981-2005

1981-82
President: Larry Onsager
Vice-President: Peg Bennett
Secretary-treasurer: Kit Watts
ASDAL Action Editor: Margaret von Hake 		1982-83
President: Peg Bennett
Vice-President: Maynard Lowry
Secretary-Treasurer: Jannith Lewis
ASDAL Action Editor: Margaret von Hake 		1983-84
President: Maynard Lowry
Vice-President: Keith Drieberg
Secretary-Treasurer: Betty Lusk
ASDAL Action Editor: Keith Clouten
 
1984-85
President: Keith Drieberg
Vice-president: Harvey Brenneise
Secretary: Lou Anne Wood
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Keith Clouten 		1985-86
President: Harvey Brenneise
President-elect: Jannith Lewis
Secretary: Sue Job
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Joel Lutes 		1986-87
President: Jannith Lewis
President-elect: Taylor Ruhl
Secretary: Carolyn Gaskell
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Joel Lutes
 
1987-88
President: Taylor Ruhl
President-elect: Keith Clouten
Secretary: Carolyn Gaskell
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Gilbert Abella 		1988-89
President: Keith Clouten
President-elect: Margaret von Hake
Secretary: Alberta Holmon
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Taylor Ruhl 		1989-90
President: Margaret von Hake
President-elect: Marley Soper
Secretary: Alberta Holmon
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Taylor Ruhl
 
1990-91
President: Marley Soper
President-elect: Joel Lutes
Past President: Margaret von Hake
Secretary: Linda Maberly
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Linda Mack 		1991-92
President: Joel Lutes
President-elect: Carolyn Gaskell
Past President: Marley Soper
Secretary: Linda Maberly
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Linda Mack 		1992-93
President: Carolyn Gaskell
President-elect: Lee Marie Wisel
Past President: Joel Lutes
Secretary: Cynthia Helms
Treasurer: Chloe Foutz
ASDAL Action Editor: Linda Mack
 
1993-94
President: Lee Marie Wisel
President-elect: Harvey Brenneise
Past President: Carolyn Gaskell
Secretary: Cynthia Helms (1992-94)
Treasurer: Chole Foutz (1993-94)
ASDAL Action Editor: Linda Mack (1992-94) 		1994-95
President: Harvey Brenneise
President-elect: Adu Worku
Past President: Lee Marie Wisel
Secretary: Jamie Walker (1994-96)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (1994-97)
ASDAL Action Editor: Violet Maynard-Reid (1994-96) 		1995-96
President: Adu Worku
President-elect: Chloe Foutz
Past President: Harvey Brenneise
Secretary: Jamie Walker (1994-96)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (1994-97)
ASDAL Action Editor: Violet Maynard-Reid (1994-96)
 
1996-97
President: Chloe Foutz
President-elect: Per Lisle
Past President: Adu Worku
Secretary: Jamie Walker (1996-98)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (1994-97)
ASDAL Action Editor: Cynthia Helms (1996-98) 		1997-98
President: Per Lisle
President-elect: Randy Butler
Past President: Chloe Foutz
Secretary: Jamie Walker (1996-98)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (1997-2000)
ASDAL Action Editor: Cynthia Helms (1996-98) 		1998-99
President: Randy Butler
President-elect: Chris Cicchetti
Past President: Per Lisle
Secretary: Violet Maynard-Reid (1998-2000)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (1997-2000)
ASDAL Action Editor: Cynthia Helms (1998-2000)
 
1999-2000
President(July-December): Chris Cicchetti
President(January-July): Maynard Lowry
Past President: Randall Butler
Secretary: Violet Maynard-Reid (1998-2000)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (1997-2000)
ASDAL Action Editor: Cynthia Helms (1998-2000) 		2000-01
President: Gilbert Abella
President-elect: Annette Melgosa
Past President: Maynard Lowry
Secretary: Violet Maynard-Reid (2000-02)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (2000-03)
ASDAL Action Editor: Lauren Matacio (2000-03) 		2001-02
President: Annette Melgosa
President-elect: Cynthia Helms
Past President: Gilbert Abella
Secretary: Violet Maynard-Reid (2000-02)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (2000-03)
ASDAL Action Editor: Lauren Matacio (2000-02)
 
2002-03
President: Cynthia Mae Helms
President-elect: Paulette McLean Johnson
Past President: Annette Melgosa
Secretary: Marge Seifert (2002-04)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (2000-03)
ASDAL Action Editor: Lauren Matacio (2002-04) 		2003-04
President: Paulette McLean Johnson
President-elect: Bruce McClay
Past President: Cynthia Mae Helms
Secretary: Marge Seifert (2002-04)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (2003-06)
ASDAL Action Editor: Lauren Matacio (2002-04) 		2004-05
President: Bruce McClay
President-elect: Linda Mack
Past President: Paulette McLean Johnson
Secretary: Marge Seifert (2004-06)
Treasurer: Lee Marie Wisel (2003-06)
ASDAL Action Editor: Sallie Alger (2004-06)