Letter to the Editor

The special 25th anniversary issue of ASDAL ACTION arrived last week, and it's a great production. I can imagine the amount of time and hard work that has been put into it. Congratulations to you both on a fine publication which will stand as a wonderful record of ASDAL during its first 25 years.

Blessings on you both,
Keith

Kathy Demsky's Peruvian Adventure

(These pictures were taken at the library in Peru—after seeing their working conditions and how cheerful they are, we should not complain!!)

Have you ever wanted to climb to the heights of Macchu Picchu or explore the islands, which rise out of Lake Titicaca? Have you ever wondered how Peruvian women keep those little derby hats on their heads? What is the difference between an Alpaca, Llama, Vicuna, Huanaco? And how in the world are they related?

This summer my husband and I had the distinct privilege of traveling with two other architecture faculty members and 21 Division of Architecture students to the Universidad Peruana Union which is located approximately 6 miles south of Juliaca, Peru. We spent just over two weeks at the Universidad laying block in their new Evangelistic Center and becoming acquainted with so many people of a fascinating culture.

My role was to prepare the morning and evening worships, work with faculty and students on the building project and become familiar with the librarians and other faculty on campus. As worship coordinator I also played the role of nurse, mom and counselor to the architecture students. Some were homesick, just plain sick, or were having personal problems, which we took to God in prayer.

The library was the first building I noticed when we arrived on campus. In fact the big yellow school bus, which had picked us up from the airport, stopped right in front of the small modest block building. There was a simple brass plaque mounted by the entrance stating Bibliotheca Fernando Stahl. It was a touching experience for me to see this library and I was eager to become acquainted with the library personnel.

Before leaving Andrews University I had contacted the "librarians" at the Universidad Peruana Union, regarding what kind of books would be most useful for them. From our conversations and with the help of some friends we collected several suitcases and boxes of books to donate to the library. The day I took the books into the library's workroom it seemed like Christmas. The librarians and the two student workers were so excited about the new books. They handled each book like it was a box of chocolates. It was a joy to share what we could. I learned that by the time most books are translated into Spanish they are already ten years old. This is especially true of textbooks and materials on science. We also introduced them to some web sites where they would be able to get some ejournals and other educational materials free or at a great discount.

The director and his assistant do not hold degrees in Library Science at this time, however, they are both working towards an MLS by taking classes from, Universidad Adventista Union, which offers a degree in Library Science. The university in Lima is their main campus. However, their goal is to become independent of Lima.

The director Nestor Apaza and his assistant Gisella Aranda were most gracious people sharing with me how their system works. The library there serves 1100 college students and over 400 secondary and elementary students. The library is filled to capacity each afternoon. The public area is a room approximately 1400 square feet with about 30 tables. There are two public computers for accessing the books and materials. The library has a closed stack system so patrons are able to browse the computer in order to find the books they need. The patron then takes a little form to the circulation desk requesting the materials.

During my visit there the Universidad was in the process of preparing for accreditation. This meant among other things that the library was going to be able to purchase new chairs and tables. One morning when I visited the library Nestor and Gisella were looking at sample furniture deciding which would not only look good but also be of the best quality for long-term use. This furniture will make a major difference in the atmosphere of the library small though it is.

It is their dream that in a few years a new library will be built on campus. Perhaps we can go again for another building project. Adding to the limitations they work under the library is very cold most of the year. You will note from the picture that Gisella wears her coat, scarf and heavy gloves as she catalogs books. This is the practice all over campus. August was the end of their winter. The nights are very cold, freezing in fact. The temperature went to 20 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Clothes we washed and hung outside to dry would be frozen stiff in the morning. At the work site water used for mixing concrete was frozen. In contrast the daytime temperatures were very warm since Peru is so close to the equator.

Then you ask, "why was it so cold in the library?" They do not heat any of their buildings. Electricity is very expensive so people dress warmly to compensate. Every day I saw faculty and students leave the library or classrooms and sit outside for a time just to get warm.

It was apparent that the university could take advantage of solar heating. Yet that also would be an expensive option. The faculty and staff at the Universidad Peruana Union were highly educated and dedicated professionals. No matter what we might look upon as difficulties to work in by our standards this faculty courageously work to maintain high educational ideals.

When our work at the Universidad was complete we said goodbye to our new found friends and headed for Cuzco, Peru. This ancient city has been known as the naval of the world. From there we visited Inca sacred sites too numerous to count. Hiking on the "Inca Trail" in altitudes over 13,000 feet was difficult at times. The most beautiful experience for me was the day in Macchu Picchu with its breathtaking views and vistas. I highly recommend this experience.

And, yes, the Peruvian women can easily keep those little hats balanced just right on their heads and, no, they are not glued on. If you buy a scarf in Peru made of Vicuna wool (the softest wool in the world) you will need $600.00 and a certificate of purchase for it is illegal to purchase in any other way. The Alpaca is more commonly used for its soft wool and sweaters and scarves are easily affordable. The Llamas are used mainly for pack animals and the Huanaco's are very difficult to tame.

I would recommend this enriching experience to anyone interested in learning the history and culture of a very fascinating people. I especially recommend that one visit the Bibliotheca Fernando Stahl at the Universidad Peruana Union.

Kathleen Demsky is Director of the Architecture Resource Center, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI

Librarian — Minister Extraordinaire

Presentation by Bruce McClay
at the 25th Annual ASDAL Conference

I want to preface my talk with three things I think you should know: This is not a presentation in the usual sense of the word. No PowerPoint, No bells and whistles. I am simply going to talk about the ministry of the librarian. There are many ways that you can minister, but I am going to focus on one aspect — your positive interaction with students — something that means a lot to me. There is little library research and professional writing in this particular area. I did look. So, my talk is based largely on my observations and experience at both the University of TX & Walla Walla College.I share personal experiences that worked for me. I hesitated to do this for fear that it might be taken wrong — that I was bragging. So I want you to know that I don't always get it right. I am sharing some of the good times. You have those too.

A baseball bat in my hands it worth, oh, maybe, $15. A baseball bat in Barry Bonds hands could easily be worth a homerun championship.

A basketball in my hands would be good for a few laughs. A basketball in Shaq O'Neal's hands is worth millions.

So, what do you have in your hands? You are a librarian, so you have a degree in your hands, and, most of you have many years of experience. But what else do you hold in your librarian hands?

I would like to suggest that you hold immense potential, great gifts in your hands, and it is within your power to use or ignore what you hold.

You have the power of influence in your hands — the awesome opportunity to impact a life.

I suspect that librarians don't often think of themselves as ministers, but I want to correct that misconception. You are an extraordinary minister! I do know what I am talking about. I have served as a pastor — not a regular pastor, but an interim pastor. Currently, I serve as a lay preacher for the OR conference. I have also taught school for 20+ years, mostly on academy level, but with some college teaching too. There is NO calling that has allowed me as great an opportunity to impact the lives of students as being a librarian — not the ministry, not teaching.

Why? There are a couple of reasons. First, I am a neutral person. Pastors do tend to come with a built in barrier. Teachers too — after all they are in a position to evaluate and give grades and that sometimes can create a barrier to open, comfortable communication.

Librarians do have their barriers. Most are aware of the stereotyped perception of librarians — intelligent, but quiet and not much fun. Do whatever you can, anyway you can to break that perception: smile, easily and readily; share jokes; laugh; get involved in campus & student activities out of the library; have a make-your-own sundae day in the library at the end of test week. It is worth it if it shatters the perception. You'll find that some students will come to you with their concerns and needs when they might feel uncomfortable going to a teacher.

Another advantage is that students usually come to you with a need — true a resource or research need, but that opens the door just a crack. You will sometimes sense that there are deeper needs — issues percolating below the surface. Seize the opportunity. Don't be too afraid or too busy to ask, listen, and offer to pray for or with a student.

What about the students who work with and for you. Don't miss that opportunity. Example: I was working with two student library assistants resettling the library after painting. In the flow of conversation as we worked, we briefly touched on the subject of relationships among many other things. I shared a thought about how expectations are almost always a set up for disappointment, but intentions aren't. I completely forgot the conversation, but one of the students didn't. A year later, she was struggling through a difficult time with her boyfriend. They worked things out, and got engaged (now they are happily married). Later she said, "I remembered what you said about expectations. Thanks. That helped." Casual words in an easy conversational flow, impacted a life. Don't miss the opportunity to listen and to share.

As a general rule, seize, but don't seek the opportunity. There are some exceptions though — times when you might want to seek the opportunity. If you know someone is hurting, seek them out. I found out that a student's grandma, who she was very close to, was having a serious surgery. This was a student that I had interacted with several times. I had things to do in my office — emails to answer, orders to process, and I was way behind on ASADL business, so . . . what should I do? What would you do? It is safer, of course, to stay in the office and focus on business. I went looking for the student, caught her between classes, and asked if I could pray with her for her grandma. Almost a full quarter later, I discovered a note on my desk: "I don't think I ever told you how much it meant to me when we prayed for my grandma on the day of her surgery. So . . . THANK YOU!! I deeply appreciate what you have said and done."

I am lucky enough to be on a campus with only about 100 students, so I know and see most of them on a daily bases. What if you are on a campus with 1500 students? You can't go chasing after every hurting student. You will not even know when most are hurting. What about the ones you do know? You do know those that work for you, and some students who are regular library attendees. What about the others. You receive an email that one student's brother was killed in an automobile accident. You don't even know the kid, and as far as you know he has never been in the library. So? Could you send him an email letting him know that you care and the library staff prayed for him that morning? How long would that take? Would it be worth more than processing a book?

This is a good time to mention some research that does support what I am saying. As I said there is little research in librarianship, but there is a large body of research in education dealing with student retention and in health care that relates. Education has discovered that a major factor in student retention especially with first-year students is positive, continual interaction with faculty and staff. The first few weeks of the new term are crucial. You have freshmen working for you. You have freshmen wandering in your library. Get to know them, by name if possible. Let them know that you honestly care about their well-being. The best people in your library should be on the front lines. Orient your workers to customer service and remind them of it often. Life is such that the urgent frequently pushes aside the important, and we need to constantly be pushing the important back in front.

Doctor Karen Tetz, a professor on our faculty, has done a significant amount of research in how elderly patients perceive the quality of care provided to them by family caregivers. It should not come as a surprise, but she has discovered that the key is often relationships. Relationships influence the perception of the care and help received as much as the actual quality of the help itself. To transpose this idea into the library world — how you help a student or faculty member is just as important as what you actually help them find. Their perception of the quality of help your library provides will be determined as much by the relationship with the library helper as any other single factor.

You also have the power of belief, the gift of vision in your hands.

I gamble in my library. A student comes in looking like her pet dog just died.

"What happened?"

"I just failed the Acute test."

"I'll bet you didn't. What grade do you think you got."

"If I'm lucky a low C or high D."

"Na, I'll bet you an ice-cream at Baskin Robbins that you got at least a B. If you get a C or lower, I buy you an ice-cream, but if you get a B or above, you buy me an ice cream."

Guess what — I win more of those than I lose, and even when I lose, I still win. Know why? When we are eating ice-cream together, we talk. If I'm buying we talk about what happened and what could be done different next time. If I'm being treated then I get to make my point: "See I believe in you more than you believe in yourself! You are smart. You are going to be an excellent nurse."

I received the following email after a student took the State Boards. For those not acquainted with nursing, that's the test that determines if you are qualified to be a nurse. Four years of education comes down to one test. This was a student that struggled with learning and test anxiety. She had asked me to pray for her during the test.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement, for your prayers, for remembering when to pray, and most of all, for believing in me. I was told a couple of days ago a story about how you can strengthen yourself even when there are negative vibes from everyone surrounding you. It was actually quite an interesting story — I'll have to tell you some time. Anyhow, the trick is to think of someone who believes in you. The only people I could think of and truly believe that they believed in me was you, Michaelynn, and Michael. So, during the test, every time I felt my anxiety start inching up, I closed my eyes, said a prayer, and then thought of how much you three believed in me and knew I could do it. My nerves calmed down and I was able to keep going."

Then a later email: "I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm an RN. I'm a nurse. Gotta run — lots to do, but I promised I'd tell you when I found out."

That is a very special note. By-the-way, it isn't me. I'm a channel. My Jesus has chosen to see students through my eyes. I was an encouragement to her, but she is an encouragement to me — to let students know that I believe in them — often, regularly, with passion, whether they are doing good or struggling — to let them know that I believe in them.

I Cor 15, "Christ's love compels us . . . so from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view." C.T. 224 ". . . see in every pupil the handiwork of God." Rich Carlson echoed this is his worship talk when he said, "see in each student a miracle in the making." Do you have that vision? Do you have the absolute belief in the awesome potential of every student? Do you tell them?

This last Friday, my wife (she's a mental health nurse) got a professional newsletter. The lead article reported on research in Learning Disabilities and ADHD in Adults. After stating that "Learning disabilities persist into adulthood and can affect college success" the article goes on to outline the factors that tend to improve an individual's success. Several are listed, but the one that caught my eye was this quote, "unconditional positive regard from parents and teachers." Did you catch that? I, of course, would add librarians. What a marvelous gift you have that you can give each student — your unconditional positive regard!

Have any of you seen the movie The Day After Tomorrow? Do you remember the library scenes? There is sudden, radical, and devastating climate change around the world. Torrential rains flood NY City and then a tidal wave sweeps in. A small group finds refuge on the upper floors of the NY City Public Library, where they fight for survival. A dramatic change in the upper atmosphere brings instant temperature drops to 150 below zero. People outside are frozen where they stand (much like the mammoths they discovered in Siberia chewing buttercups that were frozen before they could swallow). The ones fighting for survival in the library discover an old, unused-for-many-years, fireplace in a reading room, and then they search for fuel. Guess what they discover that they have a lot of? Books. In one scene a young man is ready to start the fire, and two librarians are there. They say, "What are you doing!? You can't burn books!" His reply is a classic of priority analysis, "Would you rather freeze to death?" Thankfully, they do start with the fairly extensive legal section of the NY Tax Code.

We are probably not going to freeze to death, but some day this world will end. Books and the preservation of knowledge is important — no question about that. History has demonstrated clearly what happens when knowledge dies. But books, with apologies to the archivist, are not worth much when a life is at stake — either here or for eternity.

Jesus spent much time talking about priorities. He said, "Woe to you. You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill, & cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters — justice, mercy and faithfulness. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn't leave the more important things undone."

George Summers referred to priorities another way. Do you remember his phrase, "Counting paper clips and saving rubber bands"?

In my library, I keep statistics. I count the number of books, periodicals and media items that circulate both in and out of the library. I even sometimes count students. Every year I send the statistics to Carolyn. She processes them and sends some on to administration and some even to ASDAL. It is a strange story of our world — not just libraries — that we count the least important and don't count the most important. No one ever asks: How many students did you pray with this year? How often did you laugh with a student or faculty? Did you hug a student when they were hurting? How often did you listen patiently to a student or faculty who needed to rant & rave a bit? Did you cry with a student or cheer for a student this year? How often did you say, "I'm proud of you. You will do well."? Those questions — the important ones — are never asked.

A word on hugging: We are sometimes afraid to touch for fear that it will be taken the wrong way, and we do need to be cautious, but sometimes a touch or hug can say more than any words. Two rules: always ask, and never — never — in private.

A baseball bat in Barry Bonds hands is worth a homerun championship. A basketball in Shaq's hands is worth millions, but what you have in your hands — what you hold in your librarian hands — is worth infinitely more. You can impact a student; you can change a life, like no one else on your campus can. I guarantee it. You ARE an extraordinary minister! Never, ever forget that!

Bruce McClay, ASDAL President, is Associate Librarian, School of Nursing Library, Walla Walla College, Portland, OR

Highlighted Minutes of the 25th Annual Conference Of the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians

"Christian Librarianship: Occupation, Vocation or Ministry"

June 11-16, 2005
Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska

Monday, July 11, 2005

Adventist Resources Section Pre-Conference
"Advancing Together"

Devotional - Rich Carlson, Union College Chaplain

Presentation: "Changing Structures for Adventist Heritage Centers" - Jim Ford in place of Merlin Burt

Presentation: "Bibliography of SDA resources appropriate for Heritage Collections" - Tony Zbaraschuk

Presentation: "Adventist Digital Library: Report on Standards" — Jim Ford
"Adventist Digital library: What next step can we take?" - Michael Campbell

Business Session

Tour of Union College Heritage Room

Poster session were show cased in the evening from 6-8pm
"Andrews University and the Open WorldCat Program" - Lawrence Onsager
"Beyond BI: Interdisciplinary Campus Connections that Market and Strengthen the Small Music Library" - Linda Mack
"Book Arts: Aesthetics, Collection, Creation" - Lauren Matacio
"Chapel Choices: Something for Everyone!" - Sallie Alger
"One Book, One Union: Motivating a College Campus to Read" - Sabrina Riley and Greg Okimi
"The ARC/EDRA Connection" - Kathy Demsky

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Welcome by Bruce McClay, ASDAL President

Devotional - Robert Fettrick, chair of Religion Department, Union College.

Greetings to the ASDAL group by David Smith, President of Union College

Keynote Address "The Wanderings of an Adventist Christian Librarian" - Dr. George Summers

Response - Larry Onsager
This segment honored Dr. Summers for his contributions of Adventist Librarianship.

PRESENTATION: "Managing Electronic Resource Collections: The Moving Metadata Target" - Mike Showalter, MLS Product Manager

PRESENTATION: "Taming the Kitty: the Trials and Tribulations of joining Michigan's MeLCat Resource Sharing System" - Steve Sowder, Sallie Alger

Lunch

PRESENTATION: "The Questia.com Factor - Symbol of a Professional Dichotomy" - Lauren Matacio, and Sabrina Riley

Business Session I

Prayer: Bruce McClay

Tony Zbaraschuk has been recommended Parliamentarian by the Executive Committee. The recommendation was voted by the members present.

President's Report - Bruce McClay

The main item that was accomplished this year was to work on the December/January issue of Journal of Adventist Education.

A motion was made and then voted to formally thank Annette for all the work she did on the issue. Patricia Beaman was responsible for the ASDAL ad placed in the journal. Each Adventist college and university that does not subscribe to the Journal of Adventist Education received a complimentary copy.

A report was given on the Hilts Scholarship fund. Mrs. Hilts gave ASDAL $10,000. The lawyers needed to be paid, that left $7,141.48 of the $10,000. This amount added to the scholarship brings the total to $21,607.52. This means we can begin awarding the scholarship.

Bruce asked Paulette to share an innovative way of raising money for the scholarship. Mrs. Holman passed away. In her memory, library staff raised $300. Paulette asked administration to match that amount. The amount donated did not match the funds, but added to the initial amount raised.

Secretary's Report - Marge Seifert

Moved and voted to accept the minutes of the 24th ASDAL Conference held in Florida published in the Fall ASDAL.

ASDAL Action Report - Sallie Alger

ASDAL Action will need more articles this coming year. Needed are book reviews, more personal information of what is going on your library, more about the people in each library. Please send information. There could possibly be a change in the style of the newsletter by putting an article or feature on the front page.

Announcement of new elected officers and committee members

President elect - Ruth Swan (1 yr. + 1 yr. as president)
Constitution and Bylaws Committee - Tony Zbaraschuk (3 year term)
Scholarship and Awards Johanna McClay (3 year term)
SDA Classification Advisory Board Stan Cottrell (3 year term)
Site Planning Committee - Ralph Koehler (3 year term)
Statistics Committee - Jim Ford (3 year term)
SDA Periodical Index Board - Paulette Johnson (5 year term)

Coordinators
Oversees Library 2 yrs. - Sergio Becerra
Publicity - Christy Berry
Membership - Genevieve Cottrell - 1 year

Executive Committee recommended the SDA Librarian's Listserv Coordinator be an official position. This person maintains and manages the listserv.

Moved and voted to table this issue till the Thursday business session.

The following were nominated and voted for the Nominating Committee:
Adu Worku
Christina Thomson
Carlene Drake
Lauren Matacio
Larry Onsager

The following were nominated and voted for the Resolutions Committee:
Heather Rodriguez-James
Warren Johns
Paulette Johnson

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Missouri River Valley Tour - Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitors Center, Arbor Day Farm and Arbor Lodge, Peru State College Library and an evening dinner cruise

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Devotional - Rudy Dennis, Union College Band Director

PRESENTATION: "The Seventh-day Adventist Librarian—Minister Extraordinaire" - Bruce McClay

Panel Discussion: "Faculty Status Revisited" - Linda Mack, Chloe Foutz, Carolyn Gaskell, Margaret von Hake, Annette Melgosa, moderator.

Business Session II

Prayer: Bruce McClay

Our parliamentarian, Tony Zbaraschuk, had to leave early. Tony appointed Carolyn Gaskell to take his place at the business sessions today.

Treasurer's Report - Lee Marie Wisel

Annual Financial Statement for May 31, 2004 to May 31, 2005
Balance on hand May 31, 2004	$11, 631.28
Income	$27, 035.06
Expenses	$18, 983.87
Lincoln SDA Credit Union-March 31, 2004	$4,963.24
Lincoln SDA Credit Union-March 31, 2005	$5,013.13

There are a couple of irregularities in the report this year. We owe Andrews University about $300.00 for the SDA Periodical Index. Florida Hospital College sent $500 for the SDA Periodical Index to Lee. She deposited the money, and then had to write a check to Jim Ford.

Domain registry refund

Lee got notice from the domain registry company, then found out it was a scam. She did pay the correct domain registry company out of her own money. She is trying to get the money to pay herself back.

Last year it was asked that the ASDAL books be audited. Lee checked with several sources. Executive committee has the responsibility for seeing that is accomplished. Moved and voted that the treasurer's report be accepted.

Adventist Resources Report - Jim Ford

Reported on the presentations at the ARS meeting on Sunday.

Reported on guidelines for images set up by a taskforce They are on the web at: www.andrews.edu/car

Report on the brief discussion of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) vs. typing. Jim Ford was re-elected to the planning committee of Adventist Resources.

Mary Ann Hadley was elected to serve on the planning committee as well.

Overseas Coordinator Report - Annette Melgosa

Oversees planning committee designed a special workshop day for ASDAL for oversees librarians.

Annette had the opportunity to visit 4 libraries during the year.

Journal of Adventist Education asked Annette to coordinate the special library issue. A number of ASDAL members wrote articles. The special issue came about as a result of the existence of ASDAL.

In the ALICE Board there is a growing feeling that the church needs to become involved to help coordinate some of the activities we (ASDAL) have been doing on our own. They could help bring other institutions online. ASDAL needs to send a representative to the GC Board of Education to address some of these issues.

A suggestion for another issue of Journal of Adventist Education could be issues in higher education.

Should we set up a liaison from ASDAL to the GC Education dept?

Publicity Report - Patricia Beaman

Florida Hospital College included an article in the September 2004 Southern Tidings.

Journal of Adventist Education gave us a free 1/2 page color ad. That included free design.

Notices were sent to the North American Union papers regarding the 2005 ASDAL meeting.

An announcement of ASDAL 2005 was placed on PlusLine.org

Membership Report - Genevieve Cottrell

ASDAL has several new members this year. We currently have 104 members. Genevieve hopes to work with Lee on the membership list.

An e-mail was received from South America with questions about joining ASDAL.

Web Site Coordinator Report - Stan Cottrell

The website was moved from the Columbia Union College server to the Southern Adventist University server during this past year.

Stan has begun a blog about the conference, and will keep it going throughout the year. It will also have information about new things on the web page.

A thank you was given to Stan for his work following his report.

SDA Classification Report - Stan Cottrell

The schedule that is on the website is the latest one we have. Marilyn has not had time to do many changes in the last year. She promises to add the new divisions in. E-mail Marilyn if there are new E.G. White books that are not on the list.

There was a question about the Dewey Decimal system. Maybe we can get a cutter system together for the E.G. White materials. Union College assigns a W for books by E.G. White, with a cutter number for the title.

No Reports from
Scholarship Committee
Statistics Committee
Constitution and Bylaws Committee

ALICE Board Report - Carolyn Gaskell

Total membership is steady at 17.

New databases this year are American Humanities Index and Communications and Mass Media Complete.

ALICE could not find a Project Manager this past year, so Carolyn has been acting in that capacity. There will be a recommendation to the ALICE Council that Margaret Von Hake chair the ALICE board (2 year term) and Carolyn Gaskell act as Project Manager for two years of a three year term.

The ALICE web page has been updated and new members added.

Inquiries from Zaokski Seminary, Hernán Hammerly on behalf of a school in Bolivia, and Nancy Vyhmeister working with the GC in developing a graduate program in Religion and leadership for Helderberg College, Babcock University (Nigeria) and the University of East Africa - Baraton (Kenya). Future institutions: Solusi University (Zimbabwe) and University of Central Africa - Kigali (Rwanda)

Recommendations to the larger ALICE Council:

1. Procedures for withdrawal from a database project
2. A lobbying effort with the GC, in concert with SDA PI, ARS, etc. to increase their support for libraries worldwide in relation to the above. Board of Higher Education.

SDA Periodical Index Report - Jim Ford

The meeting consisted of a lot of technical talk.

The Index is on a lean budget, they are getting by, but there is not a lot of cushion.

The next edition of the CD ROM will be available by mid August.

Talked about the future of the CD ROM - Folio runs on a very old computer.

The good news is that we have about 4,000 links from the Index, to Ministry Magazine, 1,300 to Journal of Adventist Education.

Union papers have a variety of formats for electronic versions. We need to find a standard way of doing their files so they can be linked also. We will work at that project this year.

Do we get any money from the two Adventist publishers? There is not a regular funding source from them. We have upon occasion received money from them.

The need is for print and online formats. English is the language used, so divisions will need to translate for their area of the world.

They are looking at a manual for schools that will be funded by the GC. They are interested in publishing standards for the tertiary level.

PRESENTATION: "The Uncommon Commons" - Ruth Swan

Breakout Sessions

Reports from Breakout Sessions

Public Services/Instruction - Christy Berry

Technical Services - Sallie Alger

Directors - Genevieve Cottrell

Business Session III

European Chapter - Ralph Köhler

The chapter had a conference in 2003, the next one will be held July 24-27, 2006, Colognes, France.

They have three divisions with different languages; will have more training at the next conference.

The have a mailing list to share together.

They have a small SAIL Germany program.

They have visitations to schools.

Friedensau is planning a new library building. The goal is to finish in 2008.

If you have ideas for planning, let Ralph know.

South American Chapter - Sergio Becerra

Sergio mentioned that the Argentina went through a very tough economic situation. The acquisitions budget was cancelled for a couple years, except for periodicals. Things are getting back to normal now. River Plate Adventist University has quite a large enrollment of foreign students from all over the world. They have about 500 new foreign students this year.

Speaking about the chapter, Sergio said they haven't done very much with our project, have had ideas about cooperation in Spanish speaking countries. There is such an imbalance between the schools. Some have professional librarians, others do not. They have sent librarians from Bolivia to Argentina. The Montemorelos librarian came for a week. GC education department has been stressing professional librarianship.

Brazil is working at digitizing the Review. This is coming from the White Estate.

The Chile University is planning on building a new library. The present building is badly designed.

Goals:

• Continue supporting non professional librarians in their desire to get a degree.
• Would like to hold a conference in 2-3 years.
• Would like to initiate the digitizing of Adventist Review in Spanish.

ASDAL Africa chapter

Linda Mack read a report from Wendy Young. Linda has also received a couple of e-mails from Wendy.

We started in July 2004 gathering SDA librarians in Africa. So far we have 23 members with more lined up.

Three newsletters have been circulated. Members have signed up for an email newsletter.

Wendy proposes that ASDAL Africa members be charged a special fee. African librarians want to associate with other professionals.

Moved and voted we empower Wendy to establish the ASDAL Africa chapter.

Inter-America - Heather James

Northern Caribbean University has been going through accreditation, Adventist and other accreditation.

The school did get accredited. They were given recommendations for the library. The school has given 10% of capital to increase library resources.

They have been doing renovation to the Technical services area. They need additional staff, but won't get that.

Finally administration understands we need to improve our holdings, databases, books, and computers.

Constitution and Bylaws Committee - Steve Sowder

The following changes are all insertions:

Article X
The Membership coordinator will contact the members that have allowed their membership to lapse and ask them to reconsider.
Moved, voted

Article XII
Distance Education Coordinator will be appointed by the Executive Committee.
Moved, voted

Article XIII
Listserv Manager
Moved, voted

Article XIV
Moved to adopt a change in the numbering of the articles.
Moved, voted

New business:

Issue of rank

Moved to reestablish the standing committee for rank and tenure.

We must choose how big the committee needs to be, chosen from the floor.

The committee consisted of five people in '93-'94, the last time the committee was working.

It will consist of five members, keeping it the same number as originally.

It would be helpful to have a training workshop, a station where we could teach each other something. This would work well for Technical services - to show each other techniques, instruction in a specialized technique. Instead of having breakout sessions, do training.

Moved that the executive committee study the possibility of sending an official representative to oversees chapter meetings or conferences.
Voted.

Why don't we have a library school in Adventist universities? There were a number of schools giving minors years ago. Many library schools in the U.S. have closed; they are not easy to maintain. There is the matter of ALA accreditation as well. A library school would be very expensive to operate.

Monday we mentioned expanding the SDA PI to include books. If there is an interest in this, we should begin to talk about this. It would be a good idea. We need to look at the materials scanned by the GC Archives, then need to link to those items to give added full text. Maybe we need a parallel program, where we need to do pilot work. Warren Johns is willing to begin the process.

A suggestion was made to have an ASDAL representative work with the GC. Moved that ASDAL empower the executive committee to study the best way to create a liaison to the General Conference.
Voted

ALICE discussed sending a three person delegation to GC Education meetings.

We need to lay initial groundwork by discussing this with Garland Dulan, then trying to get on their agenda.

They could link to ALICE and SAIL, from the GC web site. Garland feels there is a five year window for education. We need someone to coordinate efforts with databases etc. ALICE would like to begin this discussion.

The survival of ALICE is at stake. Many institutions are offered much better bargains regionally. The primary responsibility for each of us is to our institution. The casualties would be our sister overseas institutions. This is an ALICE issue in function, but need to lay groundwork. ALICE negotiates very well, but GC could do it better, and we must convince them of that.

Next year's conference will be at Southern Adventist University. ALA is June 22-28, 2006.

We are hoping to hold ASDAL before ALA.

Marge Seifert, ASDAL Secretary, is Public Services Librarian, McKee Library, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, TN

School Library Section Report

By Wolfhard Touchard

Our conference was held on July 14, 2005 at Union College with the theme "Preparing Your Library / Media Center for the 21st Century."

There were seven in attendance, including one from another Christian church school, and the program consisted of many timely and important presentations:

• Worship: "Refreshed in Faith and Reassured of His Saving Grace" Wolfhard Touchard (unfortunately, the cough medicine in my attache case leaked and destroyed the video of Jim Cimbala).

• "How to Evaluate Your Library / Media Center" by Wolfhard Touchard, Reference & Database Librarian, Andrews University.

• "Moving from a Card Catalog to Going Online" - Steve Sowder, Systems Librarian, Andrews University.

• "Preparing Students for College: Information Literacy for K-12 and Beyond" - Sabrina Riley, Library Director, Union College.

• "Guidelines for Writing a Selection Policy" - Cynthia Helms, Head of Information Services, Andrews University.

• "Free Databases and How to Get Them" and "How to Use These Databases - Boolean Searching" - DeForest Nesmith, Librarian, Union College.

• "Library Certification - Professional Development" - Paulette McLean Johnson, Library Director, Oakwood College

• "How and Where to Buy Books" - Bernard Helms, Acquisition Associate, Andrews University.

• "How to Develop a Balanced Collection" - Wolfhard Touchard.

Thus ended another very meaningful and profitable conference. Such a conference is not possible without the dedicated librarians from church school and academy libraries!

Wolfhard Touchard, Reference and Database Librarian, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI

FROM A DISTANCE . . .

In May, 2005, Marilyn Gane, our association's first distance education coordinator, was interviewed via streaming video by Shirley Freed, President of Adventist Virtual Learning Network (AVLN) at AVLN's first ever online conference. Gane related the pioneering efforts of ASDAL members at AVLN's first conference in Celebration, FL in 1999 where collaboration was promoted as the key to success. Adventist librarians were used as proof that great strides could also be made by collaboration for the fledgling grass roots effort. Ann Greer, Gane's successor, and Peg Bennett, retired library director from Southern Adventist University, did a power point presentation at the first conference to show the ease of their distance learners accessing their electronic library interface.

In addition to Gane's representation for ASDAL at AVLIN's 2005 online conference, Greer presented a PowerPoint presentation on "Library Practices in E-Learning: Research Support." As well as presented a paper entitled "Adventist Administrators, Instructors, and Librarians: Meeting the Challenges of E-Learning." As more and more Adventist institutions choose the electronic medium for teaching and learning, librarians may feel free to contact ASDAL's distance education coordinator at for ideas to help make the challenge smoother.

Resources of Interest

Conferences:

Internet Librarian, Monterey, CA
October 24-26, 2005
http://www.infotoday.com/il2005/default.shtml

International Conference of Asian Digital Libraries, Bangkok, Thailand
December 12-15, 2005
http://www.allconferences.com/conferences/20050427214159/

Special Libraries Association Leadership Summit, Houston, TX
Jan 18-21, 2006
http://www/sla.org/content/resources/leadcenter/LeadershipSummit/06leadsummit/index.cfm

ALA Midwinter Conference, San Antonio, TX
Jan 20-25, 2006
http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/midwinter/2006/home.htm

Computers in Libraries, Washington D.C.
March 22-24, 2006
http://www.infotoday.com/cil2006/default.shtml

Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, Chapel Hill, NC
June 11-15, 2006
http://www.jcdl.org

Adventist Virtual Learning Network Online Conference
June 19-22, 2006
http://www.avln.org

ALA Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA
June 22-28, 2006
http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/annual/2006a/2006an.htm

Ed-Media World Conference, Orlando, FL
June 26-30, 2006
http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm

Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Madison, WI
August 2-4, 2006
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Seoul, Korea
August 20-24, 2006
http://www.ifla.org/IV/index.htm

Additional Distance Education Conferences
http://www1.uwex.edu/disted/conf

Online Reading

D-Lib Magazine
http://www.dlib.org/back.html

OCLC: Libraries and the Enhancement of E-learning
http://www.oclc.org/index/elearning/default.htm

American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/whitepapersreports.htm

Another URL for your Bookmarks and Favorites

Slade, Alexander L. (2005)
Library Services for Distance Learning: The Fourth Bibliography
http://uviclib.uvic.ca/dls/bibliography4.html

Ann Greer is Distance Education Librarian at McKee Library, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee. Submissions for "From a Distance" may be sent to ()

ADVENTIST RESOURCES COLUMN

By Marilyn Crane

LaRondelle, Hans K. Our Creator Redeemer: an introduction to biblical covenant theology. Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 2005. 189 p .ISBN: 1883925487. The essence of the book is best expressed in the dedication: "To all who seek a better understanding of the historical development of the plan of redemption in the Bible".

Schomburg, Lloyd. Dale Hoover: under His wing. [Portland, Tenn.]: Wilks Publications, 2005. 153 p. ISBN: 0976324415. The story of Dale Hoover, who as a young Air Force flight engineer and co-pilot, served over 8,000 hours of flight time during World War II, the Berlin airlift, and in Korea. His life path changed when he became a Seventh-day Adventist and, later, a pastor.

Marilyn Crane is Interim Chair, Dept. of Archives and Special Collections, Del E. Webb Memorial Library, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA

BYTES AND BITS

Andrews University

If you remember about a year ago we made an announcement that we would be cataloging about 2,500 S.D.A. periodical titles onto OCLC. Warren Johns worked on this project and has performed original cataloging on over 50 titles.

He also found at least 500 more already on OCLC, downloaded them into our local catalog, JeWeL, and cleaned them up. Warren has left the James White Library and will be living in Loma Linda, but we hope to continue with this project at some point and will let you know about its progress. If anyone would like to help with this project, just let me know!

Sallie Alger

* * *

Columbia Union College

Consortium Expansion: The Maryland Interlibrary Consortium (MIC) has expanded with the addition of Villa Julie College, which is located in Stevenson, near Baltimore. MIC was originally founded by Hood College in Frederick, the Loyola/Notre Dame Library in Baltimore, and Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg to enable these private college libraries to automate. In 1998 Columbia Union College joined the consortium, which has a shared on-line catalog and employs a courier to pick up and deliver electronically generated consortium loans. The addition of Villa Julie College brings the combined holdings of the member libraries to over 900,000 volumes and 611,817 titles.

New Databases: Weis Library has added Literature Online (LION) and ProQuest Nursing Journals to its databases for 2005-2006.

Staff News: Reference Librarian and ASDAL Treasurer Lee Marie Wisel was Program Chair of the 2005 Maryland Library Association conference, which was held in Ocean City, Maryland in May, and she has been appointed to co-chair the Volunteers Committee for the ACRL National Conference in Baltimore in 2007. In addition to her professional association responsibilities, she is the current president of the Columbia Union College Alumni Association.

Kathy Hecht, Serials Technician, also attended the 2005 Maryland Library Association conference.

Jane Ogora, Access Services Librarian; Lee Wisel; and Margaret von Hake, Director, attended the 2005 ASDAL conference at Union College.

Margaret von Hake

* * *

Friedensau

The Friedensau University library has a new website: http://Bibliothek.ThH-Friedensau.de A young volunteer created this new site. We also have new OPAC Access online: http://bibliothek.thh-friedensau.de/webopac/FriedBIB/BIB/

Online Access to SDAPI Germany is now available at: http://bibliothek.thh-friedensau.de/webopac/friedbib/aufsatz/ To select a German SDA-article please type your key word in one field and combine this with the syntax: ?ac in the second search field (?ac means: Adventist code). This enables you to select articles from only Adventist periodicals.

In 2004 we made the decision to build a new library building. Now we are in the planning stage. Every month a group of architects and other planners meet to plan the building. The actual building process will start in 2007.

There is a new consortium for ATLA and ATLAS in Germany. Friedensau University library is a new member of a group of German theological libraries that built a consortium for ATLA and ATLAS with OVID. Since April we have had campus wide access to these two databases.

Ralph Köhler

* * *

Helderberg College

"Ubuntu"

We have had a busy time here at Helderberg College, with a number of overseas visitors and many local events of interest.

Firstly we have started what we call ASDAL-Africa. This chapter now has 25 members but we hope more will join. Our Adventist Universities in Africa all have growing libraries and enthusiastic librarians. We have referred them to the ASDAL web pages and hope they have been browsing, and that some will join and attend conferences. They have huge constituencies, large numbers of students and very busy academics. We can learn much from them about coping with resource-sharing within their libraries.

Next, we have been able to attend many meetings, workshops and seminars, presented through the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) and its "Interest Groups". We take turns attending, and some of the topics presented recently have been on technology, copyright issues, advocacy, information literacy, and the importance of the human element. At a conference of clients of our South African Bibliographic Information Network (SABINET Online) the heads of libraries from all over South Africa heard presentations on how to improve the people dynamics in various aspects of our work. The lectures presented by experts in their fields, were informative and stimulating, and we were able to have some good clean fun afterwards as well. The venue was on the west coast of SA, an area known for its very unique culture and quaint dialect of the Afrikaans language, and the conference attendees were able to taste a little of this.

The recent emphasis on the human element fits in with our South African management philosophy of "Ubuntu". Loosely translated it means "I am a person through other people", and this philosophy permeates the way an African thinks, and creates certain expectations. Key values are: group solidarity, conformity, compassion, respect, patriotism and human dignity. In business this would translate into working together to achieve competitive goals, not edging each other out. In a service organisation such as a library it means we have to pay closer attention to user's needs, developing their information skills and making sure that the experience contributes to their success. You will understand that in Africa different attitudes prevail and that meeting expectations sometimes demands that alternative rules be implemented to let users feel we are on their side too.

At the conference we heard the story of an uneducated woman from a disadvantaged background who first worked hard to educate her children before she was able to start in midlife to educate herself to be a librarian. She was given a position in a disadvantaged area not known to her, where she had to begin a public library in part of the school building. Her methods were creative (out-of-the-box) but she has been spectacularly successful and has a humming group going in her vibrant library — children in the morning, a pre-school group comes once a week, and then in the afternoons she has all sorts of adult groups learning various skills, and in the evenings she has computer lessons for people home from work. She even lugs books to the local hospital. All this was achieved by raising money through appeals to shop owners and other groups in the community, for funding. There is little government funding, but she has made it happen by learning about her people and what they needed, and so her local appeals for help were heard and appreciated. From such humble beginnings, here she was at a prestigious conference addressing a learned national group and telling her story and her methods, quite unfazed. Wow!

This made me think that we Seventh-day Adventists should also have the spirit of "Ubuntu". Maybe we could use a different word for our solidarity, but the realisation that we can only be efficient by working through the skills of others will help us to pay less attention to our own status and more on communal achievements. Since joining the library profession I have been impressed by the self-less sharing of knowledge within the profession, quite unlike the personal ambitions of academia in general. So being Seventh-day Adventist Christians and Librarians as well, should inspire us to further efforts of outreach and generosity, and the realisation of what we can do to uplift less fortunate communities.

Wendy Young

* * *

La Sierra University

Cindy Parkhurst has joined the La Sierra University Library faculty as Chair of the Public Services Department. Holding graduate degrees in both law and library science, with a specialized interest in copyright law, she brings some unique qualifications and skills that will be very useful here. Cindy had worked at the Western State University College of Law Library in Fullerton since 1990, most recently as the Library Director.

Congratulations are in order to our long-time circulation supervisor, Sandra (Browning) Hartson for her summer wedding. We wish her and her new husband Paul much happiness.

Luisa Hall joined the staff recently as our Media Services Assistant, providing some much needed support for Chris Drake.

Several departures to note since our last report include Jamie Walker and Chris Cicchetti, both to the University of La Verne, Monica Flores to Mt. San Jacinto Community College, and Gilbert Abella to Pacific Union College.

Several enhancements have been made to our Library building during the past few years. The Heritage Room was expanded with the addition of a new reading room completed in early 2004. This area provides much needed seating and study space to better accommodate the use of the Heritage Room collections. Re-carpeting of the library continued this summer as the original carpet is being replaced with patterned carpet tiles. Key to this process was locating a carpet company able to move our book stacks fully loaded. Additional electrical outlets have also been installed to facilitate the use of laptops throughout the building. Although wireless access is available in the Library, many students prefer to use power cords.

Kitty J. Simmons

* * *

Southern Adventist University

We live in exciting times here at McKee Library. We recently purchased the suite of ExLibris products and August 1, 2005 we went live with the new OPAC. The Periodicals Department is busy setting up prediction patterns for our 1100 periodical titles and automating their periodical check-in. Circulation no longer uses cards to check library materials in and out. Students are able to log in to the catalog and view "MyAccount". The new catalog has many more features than our old catalog and faculty and students are being instructed by our Public Services Team. The Technical Services department is busy entering orders in the new acquisitions module and catching up on the cataloging backlog that resulted from freezing the catalog for several months. The next few months will be spent on implementing MetaLib, SFX, DigiTool and Verde.

McKee Library is also in the process of the development of a master plan. We have contracted with McCarty Holsaple McCarty, Inc located in Knoxville, TN to evaluate our current facility, do a needs assessment and develop a master plan. Engineers toured our facility at the end of August and will report their findings to us shortly. Mid-October library staff, administration and faculty interviews were conducted. A student and faculty survey will be administered during November. We hope to have a final master plan by the end of January 2006.

This year we have expanded our liaison program to include every library staff member. Previously each librarian would be responsible for several Schools or Departments. Three liaison teams are responsible for closer collaboration with the Schools and Departments assigned to them and are working amongst other things on collection development and maintenance, instruction and training, syllabi, bibliographies, and the integration of resources in course content.

We have long felt the need to develop and establish our identity on campus and therefore contracted with a student majoring in Visual Art and Design to develop a logo for the library. A small group of library staff met with him to discuss our mission statement, vision, goals, and ideas for what we envisioned a logo to symbolize. The logo was developed, presented to, and accepted by the staff. Marketing and University Relations has approved the logo for on-campus use. Any external communication requires the use of the Southern logo. (see below)

During the summer the Center for Learning Success relocated from the space they occupied in the library for several years to their new location allowing us to reclaim much-needed space. We offered part of the space to the new Writing Center which opened at the end of the summer. The remainder of the space is being used as a multi-purpose room for training and instruction, large group viewing of media resources, workspace for PR activities, meetings, and group study. A laptop cart and 20 laptops have been purchased and will be used for training and instruction. We will also be able to check these laptops out to students for use in the library.

Conference and workshop attendance

Ann Greer attended the CUPA-HR conference in Orlando, FL September 2005. Dan Maxwell attended Internet Librarian in California, October 2005. Frank Di Memmo and Marge Seifert attended a one day workshop entitled "Marketing Academic Libraries" October 2005. Carol Harrison attended a two-day book repair workshop September 2005.

Genevieve Cottrell

* * *

Union College

In August we hired Tomas Bartulec to be the new Evening Supervisor for the Union College Library. Tomas comes to us from the Czech Republic and as his wife's family is native Nebraskans, he promises to stay more than one year!

Our third annual library fair, held September 8, explored the theme "To the Library and Beyond!" As a first, this fair was planned and conducted entirely by our student assistants and they did a very creative job. Using library resources we explored space, road a space ship (the elevator—decorated with silver spray painted cardboard) and ate and drank the food of astronauts (bite size snacks and Tang).

We've begun a major initiative this year to organize some of the miscellaneous collections which have been added to our Heritage Room over the years as well as to put in place policies governing use of these materials.

Hopefully in a few months we'll be able to better share with you what is available at Union College.

Sabrina Riley

Librarian Position Posting

REFERENCE/INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN

La Sierra University is seeking an innovative, service-oriented Reference/Instruction Librarian. This position reports to the Chair of Public Services.

Brief Description: Provides reference services and research consultation. Collaborates with faculty to plan and implement information literacy programs such as course-integrated presentations and support materials, library orientations and tours. Assists the Chair of Public Services with collection development and marketing/outreach activities. Creativity and the ability to relate well with a diverse population of faculty and students are essential.

Qualifications: Library Science Master's Degree-accredited program. Some teaching experience in an academic library or other setting is preferred. Must have effective written and oral communication skills. Familiarity with electronic information services and library systems and their application for reference and instruction is essential.

Must have strong computer skills. Familiarity with web-page design and development and course management software such as D2L is highly desirable. Physical demands: Must be able to function in classroom and office environments with occasional lifting (15-25 pounds) and pushing book carts.

Position Available: September 15, 2005

Salary Range: $36,228-$40,922. This is a faculty appointment.

Application: Submit an application, résumé, and three professional references to:

Dell Jean Van Fossen, Director, Human Resources
La Sierra University
4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, CA 92515
Phone: (951) 785-2088 Fax: (951) 785-2087
E-mail:

La Sierra University is a religiously qualified equal opportunity employer. Applicants are especially encouraged from women, minorities and persons with disabilities. Faculty and staff are recruited with specific attention to their membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Kitty J. Simmons

A few bad library jokes taken from the Internet—

A young boy refused to do his homework, and his father was trying to convince him to do it. He said to his son: "When Abe Lincoln was your age, he was studying books by the light of the fireplace." The son replied: "Well, when Lincoln was your age, he was President!"

* * *

A kindergarten teacher asked the children just before she escorted them to the library, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in the Library?"

Annie replied, "Because people are sleeping."

* * *

Q. If you travel to Eastern Europe, why won't you find any books in Prague's public library?

A. They're all "Czech"ed out!

* * *

Why did the sparrow fly into the library?

It was looking for bookworms.