• e z The Atlantic Provinces Library Association Volume 62, Number 2 ISSN 0001-2203 September/October 1998

CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SLIS

SCHOOL OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION STUDIES one of the most articulate heralds of print's demise. For his FRIDAY LECTURE SERIES part, McLuhan, in seminal works such as The Mechanical As part oj its continuing education programme, SUS presents a Bride and Understanding Media, felt that he was describing series ofFriday lectures. These lectures are open to the public at the enemies of the book. As Dr. Gordon put it, McLuhan no charge. The synopses reprintedhere originally appearedon the turned in the fire alarm only to be charged with arson. Citing SUS web site at passages from McLuhan's books, interviews, and his personal correspondences, Dr. Gordon underscored the ease with which his views were taken out of context and later JANUARY 23, 1998 misrepresented by a popular med ia incapable ofunderstand­ "THE BOOK AS TECHNOLOGY: WHAT McLuHAN TAUGHT AND WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT HE TAUGHT" ing the subtle processes outlined therein. DR. TERRY GORDON, DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH One of the most important distinctions McLuhan drew DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY was between technologies that were obsolete, and those that were obsolescent. Obsolescence implies an active process, On Friday, January 23rd, 1998, Dr. Terry Gordon ofthe inevitably following the advent of new technologies. Older, Department of French, Dalhousie University, delivered a more established technologies subsequently undergo lecture entitled "The Book as Technology: What McLuhan transformations that alter their basic functions and mean­ Taught and What People Thought He Taught". In outlining ings. Returning to the book, McLuhan accordingly traced the Marshall McLuhan's views on the book, Dr. Gordon hoped rise of print cu Iture and its subsequent obsolescence in the to explain and clarify some of the popular misconceptions face of rapidly expanding electronic media, film and surrounding McLuhan's bod y of work, particularly with television in particular. regards to print media. Studying the effects of new media on individuals and (continued on next page) societies was a central preoccupation for McLuhan. Dr. Gordon, who recently completed the authorized Marshall McLuhan biography, Escape into Understanding, chose one of his subject's most powerful indictments for the book's Inside This Issue... title. Throughout the talk, Dr. Gordon challenged the audience, as his subject had done decades before, to join him From the President's Desk 2 on a voyage of discovery in which we strive to understand technologies in relation to one another and in relation to APLA Executive 1998-99 4 ourselves. Margaret William Trust Fund Award 4 All media, including the book, McLuhan regarded as technologies. A technology, according to McLuhan, is any APLA Conveners 1998-99 5 extension ofourselves, whether ofour physical selves or of APLA '98 Session Reports 9 our minds. As new media develop, they do not replace the News from the Provinces II old technologies so much as they complicate them. McLuhan, then, was concerned with uncovering the pro­ Review: Electric Library Canada 16 cesses by which new media interact with and transform older SUS Occasional Papers Series 17 ones. Coming Events 19 According to Dr. Gordon, McLuhan loved few things more than reading a book. He actually likened television to Eileen Wallace Research Fellowship 19 bacteria or poison. He was and still is, however, identified as Page 2 APIA Bulletin September/October 1998

From the President's Desk

Ciao.... well, summer days have structure and leadership. Dr. English organization whose strength is come and gone.... though this summer will submit a report, with derived from the commitment of its was sunny, warm and very dry, it was recommendations, to the Minister of members. Not only do we survive on too short.... so I hope everyone Canadian Heritage by November 30, their financial commitment (i.e. enjoyed every minute ofit with plenty 1998. APLA, as a stakeholder, wi II be membership dues) but also on the of fun and adventure! submitting a brief to Dr. English by individuals who volunteer their time One item ofimportance that came September 15, 1998. to the many activities that make out this summer is the forthcoming The APLA Executive meeting APLA. In fact, while money is review of the National Archives of will be held in Antigonish on October important, volunteers are the Canada and the National Library of 17 and 18. Among the items to be lifeblood of our organization. If you Canada. Dr. John English discussed are Advocacy training, feel you can devote some time and (Department of History at the Provincial workshops, and the hiring energy to the many activities going University of Waterloo) will be of an Executive Director for this on, please contact us. You can call or consulting stakeholders on the future Association. I welcome suggestions E-mail either myself, Penny Marshall role of these institutions. Part of the or comments from any APLA (Vice President-President Elect), any consultations will include an member regarding these issues or any member of the Executive, or any of examination of NA and NL's other matter that he/she wishes to the Conveners of the Interest Groups mandates, collections/acquisitions, have considered at the upcoming or Committees. We need your access, preservation, information Executive meeting. support! management issues, organizational One final word.... APLA is an - Francesco Lai

JANUARY 30, 1998 CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continu edfrom page I) "ON ENCOUNTERING THE DIGITAL NEWSPAPER: WHAT DO READERS Finally, Dr. Gordon outlined McLuhan's Tetrad of EXAMINE? WHY? WHAT FACILITATES THE PROCESS?" ELAINE TOMS Media. These, McLuhan maintained, are the essential DALHOUSIE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES questions, applying to any medium or technology, that need to be answered if we are to understand the processes by The seventh lecture in the 1997/1998 SUS lecture series which new and old media interact with one another: was presented by Dr. Elaine Toms ofthe Dalhousie Univer­ I. What does it extend? sity School of Library and Information Studies. Dr. Toms 2. What does it obsolesce? presented the results ofher recent study which examined not 3. What (older medium) does it retrieve? digital newspapers per se, but the issues ofwhat people read, 4. What does it reverse or flip into when pushed to its why they read what they read, and how the reading process extreme form? can be facilitated . According to Dr. Toms, people acquire Media, McLuhan held, always work in pairs. As one information in three ways. Facts are acquired about some­ interacts with and supplants the other, both undergo pro­ thing people can clearly define (using search engines), or cesses that rarely, if ever, leave their respective characters about something they cannot fully describe but .will recog­ unaltered. nize on sight (via lists of categories or networks of nodes), Throughout his life, McLuhan was disturbed that we or are acquired in an accidental, serendipitous fashion. The were moving towards the twenty-first century with nine­ last category, the unplanned encountering of a piece of teenth century perceptions. His careful and articulate information, was the major emphasis of this study. No insights, according to Dr. Gordon, pointed the way towards systems exist at present that take the serend ipitous encounter an escape into understanding -- not only of medias' effects into account. In an attempt to attract readers, system devel­ on one another, but of their effects on individuals and opers are currently emphasizing glitz and gadgetry over societies as well. content. - Marc Bragdon, first year student, 1997-98 Dr Toms' experimental study was designed to test the effectiveness of two types of menus and two types of "Items-to-Browse" tools. The47 participants were presented (continued on next page) September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 3

CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continuedfrom page 2) A preliminary analysis of reader motivations indicated that participants most frequently cited "personal" reasons for with a Halifax newspaper in electronic form ; the information selecting an article; for example, the article related to a contained in the paper had previously been categorized and reader's work. Reader motivation fell into three broad indexed by Dr. Toms, and the graphics had been removed. categories; partially apperceptive (readers perceive the world The participants were divided into two groups and provided in terms of their own interests), partially format specific with one of two tasks; either explicitly to search for answers (related to the specific characteristics of the newspaper), or to specific questions, or implicitly to read the paper as the partially curiosity and /or instinctive. In ex amining what participant wished. This implicit task provided opportunities facilitates the reading process, Dr. Toms found that menus for encounters. Participants identified, rated and ranked were used significantly more often than the other tools, and articles ofinterest and stated their reasons for this . They also were the top ranked tool for browsing. However, more specified the order in which they would have liked to have interesting articles were identified from the list of sugges­ seen the arti cles. tions (the least used tool) than via the search tool. Dr. Toms Dr. Toms found that people examined approximately 20 suggested that , in interacting with the digital newspaper, articles per session, and found about 16 items via the menus readers examine the volume of articles, scan many menu and 4 items via the "items-to-browse" category. The most Iistings but make qui ck selection decisions, and that they popular category examined was News, with Science and require a stable, directional tool. Technology articles being the least popular. Those surveyed In highlighting the conclusions that emerged from this examined proportionally the same num ber ofarticles in each study, Dr. Toms stated that readers rely on diversions to category as the number that were available. However, the y unearth the most interesting information, and need textual spent approximately the same amount oftime in each menu cues to direct their focus. Choices made were both predict­ category, regardless of the number of art icles examined. able and whimsical. She emphasized that readers strongly Therefore, whether it wa s a top-rated News article or one in prefer to direct the ir own browsing, and want neither the less popular Science and Technology section, a similar directed pathways nor controlling mechanisms. period of time was accorded to each. The most popular - Andrea Talbot, secondyear student, 1997-98 articles were contained in "capsule" (i.e. highly condensed) form and included those with such titles as "Canadians struggle at Olympics" and "Neighbourhood controversy (continued on page 6) centres around IO-year-old."

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Publication Information APLA EXECUTIVE 1998-99

T he APLA Bulletin is the official Past President Vice President (Newfoundland) organ of the At lantic Provin ces Library John Teskey, Director of Libraries Stephen Field , Information Serv ices Libr arian Association. Frequency: T he APLA University of New Brun swi ck Memorial University of Newfoundland Bulletin is published bi-m ont hly. Wor k: 506-45 3-4740 Wo rk: 709-737 -3 165 Subscriptions: Institutions may subsc ribe Fax : 506 -453-45 95 Fax: 709-737 -2 153 to the Bulleti n for $5 5 per an num ($55US Ema il: j [email protected] Ema il: sfie ld@ morgan. ucs.mun.ca for foreign subsc riptions). Subsc riptions and claims for mi ssing issues should be sent to the Trea surer ofthe Ass oc iation c/o President Vice President (Prince Edward Island) The Sch ool of Library an d Inform ation Francesco Lai, Manager Mo ira Davi dson, Systems Librarian Studies, Dalhousie Univers ity, Halifax , NS Library and Information Servic es Provincial Library Ser vice Atlantic Food an d Horticultural Research Ctr B3H 4H 8. Back volumes are available from Work: 902-961-7323 Work: 902 -679-5508 Fax: 902-961-7322 Universi ty Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI Fax : 90 2-679-2311 Ema il: mcdavidson@gov .pe .ca 48 106. Submissions: Submission s should Email: laif@em. agr.ca be sent to the Editor or Assistant Editor. Deadlines for submissions are February 7, Vice President (Nova Scotia) April 7, June 7, August 7, October 7, Dec­ Vice President, President Elect Cathy Chisholm, ember 7. Advertising: All correspon den ce Penn y Marshall, University Co lleg e Librarian Information Services Librarian regard ing adv ertising should be sen t to the University Co llege ofCa pe Breton University Colleg e of Cape Breton Advertising Editor. A rate card is avai lable \Vork : 902-56 3- 1388 Work : 90 2-563-1675 upon requ est. Indexing: T he APLA Fax : 902 -563- 1177 Fax : 902-563- 1177 Bulletin is indexed in Canadian Periodical Emai l: pmarsh [email protected] Email : cchisho [email protected] b.ns.ca Index. Copyright: Indi vidu al authors hold the copy rig ht to arti cles publish ed in the APLA Bulletin . Under the co py righ t law s, Treasurer Vice President (New Brunswick) those who wish to reprint articles for any Elaine MacLean , Head , Technical Services Charlo tte Dionne, Chef du catalog ue use mu st co ntac t the indi vidual author for St. Francis Xav ier Library Bibli otheque Champlain permission . Wo rk: 902-867 -222 1 Universite de Moncton Fax : 902 -867 -5 153 Wo rk : 506-858-401 2 Ema il: emaclean@s tfx .ca Fax : 506-85 8-4086 Emai l: [email protected] This paper conforms to ANSI Standard Z39.48- 1984 Secretary Suzanne Sexty Vice President (Membership) Library Instru ction Co -ordinator Barbara Mc Do na ld, Head of Lending The editors can be reached at the following Memorial Unive rsity of Newfoundland Services addresses: Wo rk : 709 - 737-7427 Memorial University ofNewfoundland Fax: 709-737-2 153 Work: 709-737-3189 Editor: Email : ssexty@morgan. ucs.mun.ca Fax: 709-737-2153 John Neilson Government Documents, Data, and Maps Email : [email protected] Department Harriet Irving Library University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB E3B 5H5 Margaret William Fax: 506-453-4595; Voice: 506-453-4752 "Crt/sf ']//ltdAward e-mail: [email protected]

Assistant Editor: The Truste es of the Margaret Linda Hansen Ward Chipman Library, Williams Trust are pleased to University of New Brunswick ann ounce that the Trust has made its Saint John, NB E2L 4L5 Fax: 506-648-5701; Voice: 506-648-5788 1998 awa rd to Ms. Gwynith Evans in e-mail: Ihansen @unb sj.ca the amo unt of $ 1200. Ms. Evans, a native of St. John' s, Advertising Editor: Brian McNally Newfoundland, holds a Bachelor of Systems Librarian Arts (Honours) degree in History with Ralph Pickard Bell Library Mount Allison University a minor in Classical Studies (1989) Sackville, NB EOA 3CO fro m Memorial University and a Fax: 506-364-2237; Voice: 506·364 -2617 e-mail: bmcnally@mta .ca Bachelor of Arts degre e in Art History (1 992 ) from Carleton Uni versity. She will be pur suing a Master of Library and Information Studies at McGill University in September. September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 5

APLA: DIRECTORY OF CONVENERS, 1998-99

STANDINGCOMMITT EE CONVENERS Trustees Interest Group Judy He ron , President Communications Committee NB Library Tru stee s Association vacant 105 Scarl et Dr ive Gon do la Point, NB E2E 1S3 Intellectual Freedom C o m mitt ee Home: 506- 84 7-72 08 Lo uise McG illis, Libr ar ian Emai l: heron @nbnet.nb.ca Sir Wil fred G renfe ll Co llege Memorial Uni ver si ty of Newfoundland Work : 709-6 37 -6236, Fax : 709-6 39 -8 125 SPECIAL COMMITTEE CONVENERS Email: [email protected] gc.mun.ca Committee on C o py r igh t Memorial Awards Committee Richard H. Elli s, Univ ersity Lib rar ian Sheila Pearl, Lib rar ian Me mor ial University NSCC - Truro Campus Wor k: 709-737-7428, Fax: 709 -737-2 153 Truro, NS B2N IN6 Emai l: rhe llis@ mo rga n.ucs .m un.ca Hom e: 902-895-62 03, Fax : 902-893-56 10 Envoy : ILL. N STT REPRESENTATrvES Public Relations Committee Suzanne Sex ty APBR Society Board Representatives (see APLA Se cretary ) Laura Jante k Halifax Reg ion al Libr ary INTERESTGROUP CONVENERS Work : 902-490-5823, Fax : 902-490-5747 Emai l: Ij ant [email protected] C ollections Development vac an t Hedy Armour 5262 Morris Stree t Com puters and Connectivity Halifax, NS B3J IC2 Peter Web ster, Head ofInformati on Services Phone: 902-425-3877 Sa int Mary's Unive rsity Work : 902-42 0-5507, Fax : 902-420-55 6 1 APLA CONFERENCE 1999 Ema il: pweb ster@ sh ark .stmarys.ca Susa n Co llins, Director o f Infor mation Se rv ices and Sys tems C onser va tion of Library Materials Ward Chipman Library vacant University of New Brunswick-SJ Work : 506-648-7500, Fax: 506-648-570 I Continuing Education Ema il: [email protected] Darlen e Tan, Regional Librari an Canadian Forest Ser vice, NRC Ian Wi Ison, City Lib rarian Wor k: 506 -452-354 1, Fax : 506-4 52- 3525 Sai nt John Free Pub lic Lib rary Email: [email protected] .ca Wor k: 506 -648- 119 1, Fax : 506-658-2903 Emai l: ian .w ilson @city.saint-j ohn .n b ca Francophone Interest Group Johanne Jacob FINANCIAL EXAMINER PEl Pro vincial Library Se rvice Peter Glenister Wor k: 902-888-8370, Fax 902-888-80 55 Bib liog raphic Services Libraria n Email: jj acob@ go v.pe.ca Mou nt Sa int Vincent University Wor k: 902 -457-6402 , Fax: 902-457-3 175 Library Instruction Email: [email protected] vaca nt Envoy: lL L.N SH V

Library Technicians LIBRARIAN SCHOOL STlJDENT ASSISTANT vacan t Amber Butl er Newspaper Interest Group Sch ool of Library and Inform at ion Stud ies Cha rles Cameron, Man ager Kil lam Library, Roo m 3621 , Da lhousie Univ ersity Provincial Resource Libra rv, St-John's, NF Ema il: ab [email protected] l.ca Work : 709-737-3946, Fa x ~ 709-737-2660 Emai l:ccame ro [email protected] Page 6 APLA Bulletin September/October 1998

CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continued/rom page 3) committed to this venture. The government is trying to ensure that the effort is supported and more gently facilitated by a series ofinitiatives such as SchoolNet and the Commu­ FEBRUARY 13, 1998 VIRTUALLY YOURS: CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMATION nity Access Program (CAP). ON THE INTERNET In conclusion, Bruno Gnassi stated that this transition to BRUNO GNASSI, MANAGER the cyber-environment was neither controlled nor controlla­ DEPOSITORY SERVICES PROGRAM ble . It was very much like taming a tiger - you either get it CANADIAN GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING right or the tiger goes away smiling. Bruno Gnassi presented his lecture on the process and - Rosemary Loeffler and progress of placing Canadian Government Information on Jennifer Svarckopf, second year students, 1997-98 the Internet. The Canadian Government is fully committed to electronic delivery of its services and programs. Before 1994, the Canadian Government was barely a presence on FEBRUARY 18, 1998 the Internet. Many agencies and officials considered the web MANAGEMENT EVALUATION OF TRENDS IN CORPORATE LIBRARIES DR. JAMES MATARAZZO, DEAN as a passing fad which contained mostly promotional junk. THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE Only II sites were in use at that time. Since 1994, the SIMMONS COLLEGE Canadian Government has been converting much of its publishing into electronic form and making that information Dr. James Matarazzo presented the results ofa longitu­ available on the Internet. Between 1995 and 1996, the total dinal study of corporate libraries, entitled "Management number of government institutions supporting Web-based Evaluation of Trends in Corporate Libraries". This study, dissemination of information grew sixfold. According to originally carried out in 1990, repeated in 1995, and due to Bruno Gnassi, the World Wide Web offered a cheap and be repeated in 1998, was interested in four major areas: why attractive alternative to print publishing. businesses start corporate libraries, why some of these Today, search and retrieval functionality has begun to libraries excel, why businesses close their libraries, and how make its appearance throughout the government. Under the performance of corporate libraries is measured. The GIFT (Government Information Finding Technology) and survey studied approximately 312 ofthe largest firms in the Champlain (a test Internet retrieval package developed by United States, in proportion to the size ofeach sector of the industry Canada), search and retrieval capability has been U.S. economy. developed across departmental servers. GIFT has allowed Dr. Matarazzo highlighted a number of significant full Boolean searches with seamless and transparent re­ changes identified in the second survey, completed in 1995. trieval. Champlain gave users keyword access to 73,000 It was discovered that 15% of the companies studied had resources distributed among 100 Federal servers. The closed their corporate libraries since the initial study. It was majority ofdepartments and agencies have Internet web sites also found that there was an increase in the number of with some 164 Federal institutions and agencies registered smaller libraries (i.e ., those with fewer than five full-time with the Canadian government's home page of home pages. employees), indicating that libraries had been downsized, Many of these sites support search engines and hold a and there continued to be a significant number of firms substantive amount of information. without evaluation criteria for their libraries. Dr. Matarazzo Fee for access is now beginning to make its appearance felt that the decline in the value assigned to electronic on government web sites - StatsCan is an obvious example databases by the managers supervising the libraries was also of this trend. Other recent trends include services that are significant, indicating a change in the role ofJibraries within carrying large amounts of government content but who see corporations. He argued that this trend reflected a need for themselves not as extensions of the government or as corporate librarians to re-exam ine their roles within corpora­ publishers but as Information Dissemination services. The tions. Access to Justice Network (ACJNet) is one such service. Dr. Matarazzo made a number of recommendations for This move to place information on the Internet is corporate librarians. These included: creating a new relationship between the Canadian govern­ • Given the smaller sizes of corporate libraries, be selec­ ment and the users of its information. There are a number of tive in the services offered. Instead of offering a more challenges that this model has created for the end user. The diffuse service to many, offer stronger service to a more technology must be available for use; the users must be select audience. comfortable with this technology and they must be able to • Find a 'sponsor' for information management. There is use it effectively. Presently only 7 to 8 percent of Canadian no concept of information management in most firms, households have access to the web. This small percentage is and the library will need management support. concentrated among the higher income brackets. The • Demonstrate the value of the library, library staff, and government is aware that the transition from print to the services to a particular manager/unit in order to garner Internet might not always be easily achieved. However, it is (continued on next page) September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 7

CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continued/ rom page 6) satisfy two notable requirements. First, they had to be test-beds addressing the needs of a user community apart allies in the strugg le for limited resources. from the one to which the project members belonged. • Align with what is strateg ically importa nt to the firm. Seco nd, they had to be co llaborative in nature. Partnerships • Understand the client's work. with various types of organizations (schoo l, governmental, • Become client-centered, not library-centered . etc.) were encouraged. Cooperation among the projects • Organize informati on for use. It is no longer sufficient themselves was also encouraged . to provide information for the client: col lect the infor­ The projects that were finally selected turned out to be mation, but also digest and interpret it. quite different from one another. One thing they did share in • 80% of the dem and at most firms is for interna l informa­ com mon, however, was the realization that, in building a tion. Focus on the internal information of the corpora­ research team, there was an acute need for a wide variety of tion, controlling the con tent rather than the containe r. expertise. Input from team members with backgro unds in • Manage the ' know ledge' of the firm . library scie nce pro ed to be particularl useful. C nse­ - Rainey Morehouse, secondyear student, 1997-98 quently, there has been a fundamental change in attitudes in the digital library community regardin g the place of tradi­ tional librarianship in the future of library service. MARCH 5, 1998 While the projects in question were only test-beds, other "DIGITAL LIBRARIES: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE." projects have subsequently attempted to create real, useable DR. EOIE RASMUSSEN, C HAIR OF LIBRARY SC IENCES digital libraries.The Digital Library Federation in the United SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES States has as its mission the bringing together of digitized UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, PITTSBURGH material for scholars, students, and citizens. Federation On Thursday, March 5th, 1998, Dr. Edie Rasmu ssen membe rs share the common beliefthat prob lems and issues presented a lecture entitl ed "Digital Libraries : Research and inhibiting the development of digital libraries are best Pract ice", based in part on her own experiences work ing on resolved through co llaborative, practical activity rather than digital library projects at the University of Pittsburgh. Her through further theoretical research. emphas is throughout was less on the technological aspects Some of the outstanding problems that must be resolved of building digital libraries than on the politics and soc iol­ before further progress is made include intellectual property ogy of community building, and how the community of rights, revenue streams and pricing models, scalability, individuals interes ted in digi tal libraries in the United States interoperability, and, increasingly, sustainability. The Pendore Digital Library Project, with which Dr. Rasmussen formed alliances. is herself involved, has lately come up agai nst this final A definition of the digital library, said Dr. Rasmussen, problem. One of the funding requirements is that the team depends very much on what peop le want it to event ually make their project self-sustaining. How this mean-particularly what the funding agencies believe it should mean. However, a few common characteristics can requirement will be met is still unde r consideration. Despite, or perhaps because of the hurdles lying ahead, be applied across the board . A digital library is not a single conc luded Dr. Rasmussen, people of all backgrounds, entity but a distributed repository of objects in many technical and non-tec hnical, have a role to play in the future locations. Linkages, as such, are transparent to end users. of the digital library. It is increasingly recognized as a There is also a wide-spread belief that universal acce ss to project involv ing much more than scien tific informatio n for information is one of the principle goa ls or missions of the digital library. Informat ion contained therein need not be scientific users. - Marc Bragdon,first year student, 1997-98 .' limited to doc ume nts and document surrogates. It may include digi tal artifac ts such as video, image, and sound. ) Most importantly, she stated, is the idea that some form of organization, whether human or automated, is necessary to MARCH 20, 1998 "liBRARY AND INF ORMATION PROVISION FOR A SOUTH ensure maximum usability for any digital library. AUSTRALIAN CI TY: Is THE ANSWER COMBINATION, RELOCAT ION, After touchi ng on both the growth of the digital library OR INTEGRATION? " idea, beginning with Vanneva r Bush's ground-break ing D R. LARRY AMEY work in the 1940s, and the technological drivi ng forces that DALHOUS IE S CHOO L OF L IBRARY AND INFORMAn ONS TUDIES pushed the idea beyo nd mere speculation, Dr. Rasmussen spoke about the Digital Libra ry Initiative in the United Dr. Larry Amey has been a professor at Dalhousie States. Supported by the National Science Foundatio n University since 1976. In this lecture he presented the (NSF), the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA), and findings of a study he conducted dur ing his recent sabbati­ NASA, the Digital Library Initiative made twenty-five cal. One of his areas of continuing interes t has been mill io dollars available to six different projects over a School-Community libraries. From his earlier research. Dr. period of four years. Success ful funding applicants had to (continued on next page) Page 8 APLA Bulletin September/October J998

CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continued/rom page 7) staffed, under-stocked, and poorly located. Unfortunately, Dr. Arney was unable to located anyone who had heard of Arney has determined that school-community libraries work this earlier study. best in small towns with populations of 3000 or less. In Dr. Arney then re-examined the library services avail­ addition, these libraries must be centrally located, and able in Whyalla in light of this earlier study. He found that accessible to the public from outside the schoo l building. To there had been many changes since 1977. The libraries were make this sort of venture work, the needs of both the public linked electronically to resources throughout South Australia and students must be met through a well-thought out and and all together gave the residents of Whyalla access to agreed upon plan that must be in place prior to the library's more than 2.5 million items. But, because the various opening. libraries are not connected to each other and their systems Dr. Arney travelled to South Australia at the request of are not compatible, the public was unaware that these the city of Whyalla in order to determine whether a improvements had been made to their libraries. school-community library would best meet the needs ofthis As a result of his own study, Dr. Arney recommended particular community. Whyalla has several libraries in place, that Whyalla not attempt to implement a school-community including the Spence Institute of TAFE, the University of library system. Instead, he believed that the needs of the South Australia satellite campus library, and two branches community would best be served by: of the public library. However, the city feels that these • Relocating the two branches of the public library to a resources are not meeting the needs of its 24 ,000 residents. single, central location at a major shopping mall. Dr. Arney examined the existing library and information • Integrating the electronic systems of all the libraries structures available in Whyalla and reviewed them in order systems in the area. to determine ifjoint use was feasible. During the course of • Explain, publicize, and promote all the library and a literature search, Dr. Arney found that a study on the status information systems available in Whyalla. ofthe libraries had been presented to the leaders ofWhyalia - Mary Thornton, second year student, J997-98 in 1977. This study found that the libraries were under­

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For more information contact your sales repr esentative, Dave Bugden at (50 6)488-2115 or toll free 1-877-328-3 627 25 Kodiak Crescent, North York , ON M3J 3M5 ..Tel: (416)630-2950 or 1-800-387-3178 Fax : (416)630-0274 or 1-800- 303-6697 www.nbs.com e-mail: [email protected] September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 9

APLA '98 Reflection I Reflexlon Wolfville, Nova Scotia Conference Reports (continued)

importance of our soft ski lis; the attitude we bring to a job. THE FUTURE OF LIBRARY TECHNICIANS Our field is a difficult and challenging one in which job opportunities have to be found by ourselves. You can visit their website at . The 1998 APLA Conference was held in beautiful There was further discussion involving forming some Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The conference was host to many type of organization for Library Technicians. It was sug­ informative and interesting sessions. The exhibitors at the gested that this could be done as part of APLA. We are conference gave us a wonderful opportunity to network with receiving great support from our colleagues in this matter. those who provide libraries with specialized services and Roger stated that it had been definitely been made clear that technology. library technicians wanted and needed a vehicle ofcommu­ The conference provided a unique opportunity for nication that would cover the Atlantic provinces. There is a library technicians/assistants. There were two sessions need for advocacy, continuing education and collective hosted by Roger Finigan, program support, Acadia Univer­ wisdom. sity that were specifically geared to Library Technicians. The conference was a very useful learning experience The first session was entitled "The Role of Library and I look forward to the 1999 conference to be held in Saint Technicians in Various Types of Libraries". Roger opened John, NB. I feel we should start thinking now of what we the session with a general overview of where library techni­ would like to see for library technicians at this conference. cians started and what we have become. In the beginning For those who have not joined the Library Technicians library assistants were trained in the simplest of tasks with listserve, and I encourage you to do so, here are the instruc­ limited exposure. We have certainly evolved and become tions: library/computer technicians. It was best put by Roger who said we were the "micromanagers" of the library. In a I . Address an email message to : [email protected]. constantly changing technological environment we have library.ns.ca learned to thrive on our adaptability. We need to focus on 2. Leave the subject area blank promoting ourselves and making people aware of what we 2. In the body of the message type only: subscribe It-l do . We have a vast array ofski lis to offer. The marketing of your name (PLEASE NOTE its LT-I, not # I) our skills becomes more important than the names that are Cancel any signature files and send attached to the positions. It was felt that there is a need for 3. Shortly a confirmation email will arrive in your mail­ a better relationship between support staff and librarians. box. That's it you are on the list! Through our discussion it was evident that there is a need for a professional association of Library Technicians. Here are two articles that you may be interested 10 The hour discussion was not nearly long enough to reading: discuss our many varied roles in libraries. Roger emphasized that we need to create job opportunities for ourselves by • St.Lifer, Evan. "We are the library! : support staffspeak promoting our vast array of skills. We are very adaptable out" . LIBRARY JOURNAL. 1995, November 1; 30-34. and th is becomes essential in our fast changing environment. We need to focus on marketing our skills and give less focus • Makinen, Ruth H. "Paraprofessional staff: a review and to the names put on the positions. report on current duty assignment in academic health The second session entitled" Support Services and sciences libraries in North America". BULL MED LlBR Professional Development Opportunities for LibraryTechni­ ASSOC. 1993 April 81(2): 135-140. cians" continued the previous day's discussion. We were - Karen Darroch joined by Harvey Ratchford, Director, Library/Info Techs South-East Health Care Corporation NSCC, Kingstec Campus. Health Sciences Library Harvey discussed programs available at Kingstec for LTs and where they hope to go in the future. He stressed the (Continued on next page) Page 10 APLA Bulletin September/October 1998

Conference Reports...continued as well. On one of the handout sheets, it said "When in doubt, be doubtful". Having a better understanding of how to evaluate a web site should help us when we have to try and convince our IN-CITE-FUL SURFING: FINDING AND EVALUATING patrons that they should be a little more sceptical of what THE BEST ON THE WEB they find on the web. As a matter of interest all did not go Speakers: Doug Vaisey and Joyce Thomson completely well in the session. One or two computers acted up, we lost our connection for a time but on the whole the computer gods smiled upon us and allowed Doug and Joyce Some of the critical factors for effective presentation to conduct a very worthwhile session. and audience participation in a workshop are prior prepara­ - Bill Kerr tion, handouts and checking ofvital resources. Doug Vaisey University ofNew Brunwwick-Sil and Joyce Armstrong ofPatrick Power Library, Saint Mary's University had obviously prepared well. Each participant was given an envelope with handouts dealing with topics such as "Key terms for Internet Work", THE RENAISSANCE OF INTERLIBRARY "Electronic References and Scholarly Citations of Internet LOAN PROTOCOL Sources", a selection of sheets outlining the characteristics Speaker: Barbara Shuh of 6 major search engines such as Alta Vista, Infoseek, and others, Evaluation Criteria and 2 sets ofexercises for hands­ on practice. In addition, we each had our own disc which In recent years major library vendors have developed a had been formatted to allow us access to the Web and to the new generation of ILL management systems which are search engines that Doug and Joyce wanted us to use . compliant with the ISO interlibrary loan protocol. This After some general talk about the web and its problems session focused on the role and benefits that these systems for the searcher, its vast number of sites and vast amount of have for libraries, as well as the history ofthe ILL protocol, information we started to discuss how one evaluates a web including early Canadian implementations, IPIG implemen­ site. What is it that makes one site a good reliable source of tations, and NLC 's role in current developments. information while another one turned up in that same search ILL protocol is a set of rules for system to system should be regarded with doubt and suspicion? One of our communication, regardless ofhardware used to run systems, handouts listed 5 traditional print evaluation criteria and the design ofsoftware used by the requester or the supplier, then applied them to a web site. and communications services used to transmit messages. We looked at Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Cur­ The protocol is very complex, however, with a well designed rency and Coverage. Having discussed them in general, we interface, it should be transparent to the end user. A good were given exercises to go through and apply them to management system will provide detailed tracking of ILL particular sites and particular topics. processes, and support 21 different kinds of messages that Sites that we were asked to look at included the follow­ go back and forth between sender and receiver. ing: Inventing the AIDS Virus, Women and HIV, the Cattle There has been a 'rebirth' ofthe the ILL protocol due to and BeefHandbook, Animal Welfare, the Great Taste ofthe a perceived need to identify and to control the rise in costs West, Joe Boxer Homepage, Facts about Growth Hormone, associated with interlibrary loan. Use of the protocol allows Border Enforcement Facts, Illegal Immigration is a Crime, a library to widen their community of borrowers/lenders, the Burmese Mountain Dog, Coalition to Ban DiHydrogen reduce the costs ofstaffing ILL service, have more efficient Monoxide. We had a sheet that asked us pertinent questions turnaround time, and better manage the ILL/DO process . about the site after we had decided wh ich of 5 types of web The National Library ofCanada has been very active in page it was . the development of the ILL protocol, and has been desig­ Was it: I) an advocacy web page, 2: a business/market­ nated by the ISO as the Interlibrary Loan Application ing web page, 3) an informational web page, 4) a news web Standards Maintenance Agency. NLC also works closely page, 5) a personal web page? Having decided that, we were with IPIG, the ILL Protocol Implementors Group. on the told to look at Authority, Accuracy, Advocacy, Objectivity, standards. Differences between the Canadian and IPIG Currency and Coverage. include modes of communications, encoding systems, Looking at each site carefully with the above criteria in protocol versions and field length. The gateway, or tran­ mind allows one to decide whether to use that page as a sponder at Cisti provides an interim solution in that it will reference or not. While most of us had already been using convert ILL messages between Canadian and IPIG pro fi le some of the evaluation criteria, it was most useful to see systems. For further information, visit w e bsite: them written down in a handy format and to realise that . there were other aspects we should take into consideration - Faye Hopkins Cape Breton Regional Library September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 11

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES

their customers. This represents an prompted decision makers to stop and ongoing process, the next step being a think about the library. Community Scan. Nova Scotia Re­ Cafe.com is the new community gional Libraries will receive a copy of access site located at the Strait Area the document. Education and Recreation Centre JazzEast has donated 200 jazz Cds (SAERC) which also houses the Port to the Halifax Regional Library's music Hawkesbury Branch Library. collection. Jazz East's relationship with Cafe.com is ajoint project of the Strait the library was established a few years Regional School Board, Human Re­ ago when local educator and saxophon­ sources Deve lopment Canada, Industry ist, Don Palmer started his "Journey Canada, SAERC, and Eastern Counties Through Jazz" spring Iibrary workshop Regional Library. These organizations series. Its popularity prompted JazzEast work together to introduce computers to donate Cds for the enjoyment of to schooI and library patrons, offering Academic Libraries local jazz fans. The first donation was both walk-in service and service by The Royal Bank of Canada has made in the Spring of 1996. (Halifax appointment. Two new computers and donated $50,000.00 to the Global Ac­ Chronicle Herald, July 2, 1998). a laser printer are available for the cess Centre located in the Vaughn public during school and public library Memorial Library at Acadia Univer­ Provincial Library System open hours. sity. The Global Access Centre gives The official launch of the Port Hawkesbury Branch Li­ students access to learning materials McLennan's of Petersfield web site brary staff have noted a 60% increase worldwide through the Internet. was held at the McConnell Library, in Internet usage in the last 12 months. Sydney on June II. The launch in­ With tourist season in full swing, many Public Libraries cluded online demonstrations of the visitors are using the Internet to investi­ Halifax Regional Library - The Job site, and an exhibit of paintings, photo­ gate their past in local Iists and genea­ Evaluation Process has been com­ graphs, and research papers of the logical collections. Internet access has pleted. The completion of this project McLennan's that can now be exam ined been beneficial to their research. means all jobs with the library system at . gram "Kids Connect @ the Library" standard job titles will apply. An ap­ Cape Breton Regional Library is was a success! Summer student, peals procedure has been established participating in three new CAP sites. Amanda Fraser, hired under a CLA for any staff member wishing to have Access to the Internet is now avai lable Canadian Heritage Grant, worked with their position re-evaluated. The next at the Sydney Mines and Dominion over 100 children. Activities included phase will be to apply one salary scale Branch Libraries. The Baddeck Pub­ puppet shows, crafts, games and much system-wide. Currently a market study lic Library will be connected in the more. For the first time, we had our of local and national institutions is near future. own web site for the program so kids being done in order to develop the new Colchester East-Hants Regional participated on line as well. An added salary scale. The final decision on sal­ Library has been working to broaden dimension to this summer program for ary scales wi II be brought back to the the public's awareness ofthe Library's kids was the Virtual Exchange Pro­ Library Board. branches, services, and potential. In the gram . Children from Pictou­ At its June 25 meeting, the Library past six months the community rela­ Antigonish Regional Library were Board gave the CEO authority to de­ tions department and staff have been linked with children in Hay River, velop a Request for Proposal for Archi­ examining methods of distributing NWT via web sites. The children tectural Design Process for the new information, particularly to the very shared experiences and information and Central Library. rural areas. learned about each other's community. The Regional and Branch Services CEHRL's "Friends of the Library" Launched on April 3, the Western Priorities for Halifax Regional Li­ had a very busy Spring. The Si lent Counties Regional Library's Adopt­ brary have been completed. This rep­ Book Auction focused on books se­ a-Book campaign has received tremen­ resents an internal scan of the library lected and donated by "important" dous support in Digby, Shelburne, and system allowing individual branches personages in town. This intrigued the Yarmouth counties. This third annual and departments to prioritize their public - they wanted to see what books campaign came to a close on June 30 resources in order to improve service to their community leaders chose - and (Continued on next page) Page 12 APLA Bulletin September/October 1998

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES continued... and has more than exceeded its goal of address by theme speaker, Jim Lotz. on Sunday, August 9. The stories ofour 1,000 new books! Workshops will present topics ranging region and the music that has grown WCRL found that the region ex­ from "Programming for Children", from them were heard to the delight of ceeded its 1997-98 circulation goal. An involving seasonal themes and music; the audience. estimated figure of 5% was actually a reading by author Linda Little; Li­ - Cathy Chisholm low! When statistics were complied brary Service in the 21st Century from Vice-President (Nova Scotia) the figure resulted in a 7.25% increase. the Library Technician perspective; to Plans are now well underway for stag­ a round table discussion on taking ing the first "Library Card Month" for NSLA into the 21st century. the region. The objective of this initia­ We invite everyone to join us in the tive is to double membership during the serene surroundings at Pictou Lodge month of September. WCRL is in the for an enlightening and refreshing process of securing sponsorship from weekend as we celebrate the 25th anni­ regional newspapers, radio, and cable versary of the No va Scotia Library TV stations. Association. We encourage those plan­ ning to attend to book accommodation Nova Scotia Library Association early by call ing Pictou Lodge at 1-800­ The annual Nova Scotia Library 495-6343. Association Conference will be held September 26 and 27 at Pictou Lodge, Misc ellaneous The Atlantic Institution Library Pictou, Nova Scotia, hosted by Pictou­ In conjunction with Centre Bras reopened in its new location on June I. Antigonish Regional Library. d'Or's 14th Annual Festival ofthe Arts The old library was needed for offices The theme of this year's confer­ (Baddeck, Nova Scotia), a Writer's because of changing correctional pol­ ence - Rural Library Services for the Ceilidh featuring well known authors icy . The new library, although smaller, 21st Century - will be addressed in Alistair MacLeod, Sheldon Currie, is much better designed for a prison many of the workshops and opening and George Elliot Clarke took place facility.

Bibfiotheq ue regionale York Regional Library - The provincial John Coutts Library Services Ltd. literacy for kids program took place in 6900 Kinsmen Court 9 branches of York Region. The pro­ P.O. Box 1000 gram has been so popular that 2 librar­ Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada ies were able to hire staffthrough other Internet: [email protected] programs and follow the guidelines 1-800- 263-1686 developed by NBLS. Education stu­ CQUITS Fax: (905) .15 6- 5064 dents provide one on one literacy tutor­ ing for young people so that ski lis are learned and not forgotten during the Your provider ofinformation, materials and s ervice s summer. from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom The regular Summer Reading Club attracted many children across the region and sparked the imagination of • Approval Plans • Continuations staffand children. In Florenceville, "Sir • Processing & cataloguing • New title information Andrew" recruited his guard to build the road (one cobblestone equals 5 • Fully EOI capable • On-line access books read) that would lead him to the fair "Lady Laura". • Competitive prices & terms Nashwaaksis Public School Li­ brary underwent a major faceJift, thanks to renovations at the school and Working as part ofJ!.our team . . . a major contribution from the City of Fred ericton. The library is planning to (Continued on next page) September/October 1998 APIA Bulletin Page 13

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES continued...

reopen September 1st: new paint, new toyes durant ce spectacle. De nom­ Youth Employment Strategy Grant carpet, some new books, new circula­ breux jeunes ont recu plusieurs prix through Industry Canada. Stacey tion desk in order to better serve the d'encouragement. Fel icitations aux Grant and Jan Ferguson have been public. jeunes pour leur grande participation a hired to train public library staff in the Perth Andover Public Library cette activite provinciale! use of the Internet. The project will will be closed September 7th to 21 st. La premiere reunion du Forum continue through mid-December. Thanks to funding from the three levels regional de la Bibliotheque regionale of government, the expansion is well du Haut-Saint-Jean, s'est tenue Ie 16 Association ofProfessional Librarians under way and patrons will reenter a juin 1998, au bureau regional , sous la ofNew Brunswick larger brighter more spacious library. presidence de madame Jocelyne Le­ The annual meeting and conference Aficionados of movies must see Bel, directrice regionale, La prochaine is set for October 2nd and 3rd in Fred­ Ricky Six, a suspense thriller or horror reunion du Forum regional aura lieu au ericton. The theme "Library links: the movie directed by Peter Filardi, filmed mois d'octobre prochain. Dans Ie cadre human element in access to and provi­ partially in the LP Fisher Library du Programme A lphabetisation dans les sion of information" will be presented (Woodstock). The library has been bibliotheques publ iques, une journee de by 7 speakers from various back­ transformed for effect, repainted in formation a Ete organisee le 5 juin grounds: Suzanne Alexander, Goose darker colors, books changed, windows dernier, au bureau regional de la Bi­ Lane Editions, Philip Lee, darkened. Will we recognize it? bliotheque regionale du Haut-Saint­ editor-in-chief Telegraph Journal. Re­ Decentralized from NBLS, Interli­ Jean. Les coordonnatrices du pro-gram­ sponding librarians are Jean Ann brary loans for the York Region will me dans la region, responsables de Ledwell, Francesca Holyoke and Ella now be handled at the Headquarters, bibliotheque, directrice regionale, et Ie Fairley. The Governor General will thanks to InterLend, a software pack­ bibl iothecaire aux Services d'extension, speak of her literacy initiative for NB age supplied by NBLS and our own ont assiste A cette journee de forma­ and Gwynneth Evans (NLC) will subscription to Amicus. tion. De nombreux echanges et discus­ provide the national and international During the next year, all 20 sions entre les participants(es) ont eu perspectives on literacy. For the first branches will be going online for circu­ lieu. Madame Reinelde Theriault, time, simultaneous translation will be lation starting with Fredericton Public Agente pedagogique au District sco­ provided on site. Library November 17th and the last laire no 3 a donne une pre sentation tres La 6e assemblee annuelle et branch connected by September '99! interessante ayant pour titre : "Les conference de I' Association des strategies pour apprendre A Iire" . bibliothecaires professionel(le)s du Bibliotheque regionale du Haut­ Cette journee de formation a permis Nouveau-Brunswick aura lieu aFred­ Saint-Jean - Le Club de lecture d'ete aux participants(es) de vivre une expe­ ericton les 2 et 3 octobre 1998. "La 1998 sous Ie theme de l'epcque medie­ rience de ressourcement tres enrichis­ bibl iotheque branchee au service des vale avec pour slogan "Les Chevaliers sante. gens: un maillon essentiel dans la de la lecture", s'est term ine Ie 14 aout chaine de l'information" presente dernier dans toutes les bibliotheques New Brunswick Library Service / d iverses perpectives. publiques et bibliobus de la region du Service des bibliotheques du Nou­ - Charlotte Dionne Haut-Saint-Jean. Cette annee encore, Ie veau-Brunswick - We are pleased to Vice-President (New Brunswick) Club de lecture d'ete a connu un im­ welcome Sylvie Nadeau, who assumed mense succes dans la region du the role of Regional Librarian for the Haut-Saint-Jean : - Inscriptions : 2,093 Chaleur Regional Library in - Livres Ius :72 , 3 10 - Contrats term i­ Campbellton on September 14, 1998. nes : 1,413. Connie MacLeod left her position as Lors de la fete de cloture, un public Senior Systems Analyst at NBLS as of nombreux (parents et enfants) a assiste August 28. Peter Chasejoins our staff au spectacle des artistes Nadine Walsh as her replacement October I, 1998. et Jean-Francois Blais de la celebre An important automation milestone troupe montrealaise, "La Compagnie will be reached this fall as both the Medievale". Le s deux artistes ont pre­ Campbellton Centennial Library Academic serite un spectacle ayant pour theme Ie (October) and the Fredericton Public Lynne Murphy took up her new Moyen-Age. Le spectacle a ete fort Library (November) move to auto­ position as University Librarian at the apprecie par Ie public. Humour, jeu mated circulation. University of Prince Edward Island theatral et scenes d'action se sont co­ NBLS has been awarded a second (Continued on next page) Page 14 APIA Bulletin September/October 1998

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES continued... on August 17. She comes to the Island Association, the National Literacy and has moved to Toronto to work with from McGill University. Welcome Secretariat, a division of H.R.D.C. and the CBC Radio Archives. Cathy back to the Maritimes, Lynne! Also, the Provincial Library Service, five Browne has left the Gander campus to Betty Jeffery ofAcadia University has Education students were employed to take a position with Environment extended her exchange with Janet offer one-on -one literacy tutoring in Canada. Arsenault of UPEI for another year. eight library locations. Holland College has revised its Over 100 participants were referred Public Libraries library web pages to include a section from local schools and 97 have com­ The Provincial Information and on sea rching the CBCA database and pleted the nine weekly sessions. The Library Resources Board and the an expanded section on searching the five tutors have worked enthusiastically District 7 School Board have part­ Internet which includes a glossary and with each of the children. Positive nered to create a new school-public instructional pages. The URL is results are seen in the excitement and library service in Burin. The new . from the parents and the progress ob­ cially opened on Jul y 8, and it is lo­ served by the tutors. The program of­ cated in the former Integrated School Public fers a number of benefits for children Board office building. The new facility The Summer Reading Club "A with reading difficulties, including is over 4 times the size of the old pub­ good knight's read/Les chevaliers de making reading a fun activity and intro­ lic library, and it boasts 8 new comput­ lecture" has had a very successful turn­ ducing the children to the public li­ ers provided through the Community out on the Island. Over 300 children brary. Access Program, which is funded by registered in Charlottetown alone. Industry Canada. Some of the projects initiated by Chil­ School librari es Enhanced computer services, in­ dren's Librarian Barb Kissick and her School libraries have an additional cluding extended public Internet ac­ student staff include the library's own 4,000 non-fiction volumes in their cess, have been added to Western and Bayeux Tapestry, the Magna Carta collections this fall thanks to the De­ Labrador Division branch libraries colouring book, the Domesday book partment of Education's decision to including Churchill Falls, Cartwright, and medieval fashions. Participation grant $4 .00 per student for library ma­ Woody Point, Ramea, Wabush, Norris was also very high in many of the rural terials. The grant is to be matched from Point, Port au Port, and Burgeo. The branch libraries. For example, the pub­ each school 's operating fund. The Pro­ last three locations are new lic library in Souris had 43 participants vincial Library Service ordered and school-public library joint services. from Grade I to 6 and the program processed the additional volumes dur­ Other news from Labrador comes from included making almond cardamon ing the summer. Happy Valley, where two local students cakes and jousting! - Moira Davidson have been hired to develop a website The Provincial Library Service Vice President (PEl) for Labrador oral and photo history using the magazine has incorporated the holdings of the Them Days archives. This project was done with Department of Education's Media support from Industry anada's Centre into the AbbyCat system. The Schoolnet Digital Collections Program . Media Centre has approximately 7,000 Staff of the St. John's Public Li­ videos in VHS format which are pri­ braries held a I day workshop on June marily intended for classroom use in 15 on the theme of"Team and Change" the school system but which are now at the Boat House, Quidi Vidi Lake, St. available for borrowing to an yone with John's. The session, conducted by 2 a library card. The Med ia Centre is individuals from the provincial govern­ moving from the Dymaxion system , ment's Employee Assistance Program, MediaNet, for booking and circulation concentrated on dealing with change, videos to Dynix's Media Scheduling stress management, and team work. module. Public Internet access has been set A pilot project modeled after the up at the Marjorie Mews and Michael College Libraries New Brunswick summer literacy pro­ Donovan branches in St. John's. One The College ofthe North Atlantic gram was initiated on PEl this summer. Internet machine has been set up at has experienced departures at two ofits Through a multi-partnership ofthe PEl each location. Family Literacy Advisory Committee, campuses: Kelli Bellew has left her the PEl Professional Librarians' position with the Topsail Road campus (Continued on next page) September/October 1998 APIA Bulletin Page 15

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES continued...

ln other news, a Young Canada University Libraries correspondence pertaining to the Works in Heritage Institutions grant Three new appointments have been Moravian Mission in Labrador which has been obtained by St. John's Pub­ made to Memorial University's Centre was begun several years ago with the lic Libraries to hire a student to work for Newfoundland Studies. Joan Centre's acquisition of British and with Newfoundland Collection Librar­ Ritcey is the new Head ofCNS, replac­ North American papers on the topic. ian Brenda Parmenter on the creation ing the recently retired Anne Hart. The Centre for Newfoundland of a web page for the Guide to Genea­ Colleen Field, meanwhile, has been Studies Archives has been the recent logical Materials in the Newfoundland hired to fill the tenure-track position of recipient of a number of archival col­ Collection, and to place selected genea­ Public Services Librarian. Laura Scott lections, including those ofthe Scandi­ logical materials on the web . will be working part-time at the Centre, navian Society of Newfoundland. The Library collections and services are whi Ie continuing some of her duties in CNS Archives has also received a being promoted in the St. John's area the Queen Elizabeth II Library's $6,000.00 grant from the Control of through the introduction of a new col­ Collection Development Division. In Holdings program of the Canadian umn in the "Lifestyles" section of The other staff development news, Joan Council of Archives to carry out ar­ Evening Telegram newspaper every Ritcey and Archivist Linda White rangement and de scription of the pa­ fourth Friday. were elected as Vice-Presidents of the pers of former Newfoundland Premier The St. John's Library Board has Newfoundland Historical Society, Thomas G. Rideout. received a hooked mat entitled Union wh iIeBert Riggs was elected Treasurer Mine at Till Cove from well-known of the Association of Newfoundland Olher News Newfoundland mat maker Lois and Labrador Archives. Paul A letter dated June 23 was sent by Saunders as a prize for its October 30 Hebbard, who has worked at the CNS the APLA Vice-President (Newfound­ ticket draw. The proceeds for the draw Archives since 1995, was awarded the land) to Ms. Luanne Leamon, the will be used for the purchase oftalking CLA's H.W. Wilson Scholarship of Chairofthe Literacy Strategic Planning books. $2,000.00, and is now embarking upon Unit recently created by the provincial The website entitled 1880's New­ a two-year MA program in archival government in Newfoundland to inves­ foundland: A Pictorial, which was studies at USC's Green College with an tigate the allocation of resources to developed by the Provincial Informa­ accompanying fellowship of $10,000. combat illiteracy in thi s province. The tion and Library Resources Board The Centre for Newfoundland purpose of the letter was to remind Ms. and Memorial University's Centre Studies held a reception on Jul y 8 to Leamon of the importa nce of libraries for Newfoundland Studies, was re­ celebrate the acquisition of the Ger­ in the struggle to erad icate illiteracy, cently accorded recognition by Yahoo! man-language Moravian Archives and to urge that the libraries in New­ Can ada, who selected the site as their Papers relating to Labrador from 1750 foundland and Labrador be considered pick-of-the-week for June 29-July 3. to 1908. These papers, obtained when decisions are made as to alloca­ through arrangements made with the tion of resources. At the time of this Special Libraries Archiv der Brueder Unit aet in Germany article, there had not yet been a reply Ron Knowling has been hired by by Dr. Hans Rollman of Memorial from Ms. Leamon. the provincial Department of Human University's Department of Religious - SIeve Field Resources and Employment Policy Studies, complete the collection of Vice-President (Newfoundland) Planning Division, where he is working as a database administrator in connection with the Churchill Maritime: (902) 883-8966 Falls power project. Karen Wallaceburg Truro: (902) 893-3477 Halliday has taken a new position IluJrnl Ontario: (519) 627-3552 with the Salvation Arm y's College BookbinRjgg Fax : (519) 627-6922 for Officer Training in St. John's. Kim Ha m mond has been tempo­ rarily reassigned from her posit ion DICK BAKKER with the provincial Department of MARITIME SALES REPRESENTATIVE Justice to the Labrador Hydro project, where she is working in an PERIODiCALS information management capacity. LIBRARY BOOKS 95 Arnold Str~et Wallaceburg, Ontar io • I Website: http ://www.kent.ne t/bookblnding N8A3P3 ~ E-mail: 760 15.554 @compuserve .com Page 16 APLA Bulletin September/October 1998

PREMIUM CONTENTS WITH ELECTRIC LIBRARY CANADA HTTP://WWW.ELIBRARY.CA BY ANDRE GIONET

Electric Library Canada operates on the Internet, but it is For a complete listing of Canadian sources, you can visit the not a regular search engine. It searches only in a collection of following link: copyrighted materials, and ignores Web sites. Electric Library Canada is operated by Rogers Media Inc., under license from U.S. firm Infonautics Corporation, creator ofthe original Electric Library. Electric Library Canada aims at Basic Searching being "your personal online research centre", and to deliver The basic search screen has a blank line in which you can "100% full text articles" from newspapers and magazines. type in a query. The line that says Ask a question and click Go! means that you can type your query in natural language, Pricing or, ifyou prefer, as ifyou were asking a questions to a person. The complete pncmg structure is not outlined in the A check list lets you limit your search to certain contents: general information pages. For an individual account (e.g. for Magazines, Maps, Books & Reports, Newspapers & News­ your personal use at home) the rates are $12.95 a month or wires, Transcripts (Radio, TV & Govt.), or Pictures. Another $89.95 per year. These rates are a flat-fee, unlimited use check list lets you choose ifyou want to search all content or model. Information about corporate subscriptions (e.g. limit your search only to Canadian content. Finally, a pull­ schools, libraries, businesses) was not available, but it is down menu lets you limit your search to one particular subject stated that an institution can purchase a Iicense allowing for area. varying numbers of simultaneous users. For example, a search with the query "Information about oil and gas exploration in Atlantic Canada" (without the quotes), Contents limited to Canadian content, retrieved 5 documents. The first The Canadian version expands the original Electric citation was: Library by including Canadian content. At the time this article was wr itten, Electric Library Canada claimed to have Well begins 'exciting' oil play in the following holdings: Quebec. ; Score: 80; Oilweek; Harvie, Will; 06-08­ ~ 9, I49,875 newspaper articles 1998; Size: 5K; Reading Level: 7. ~ 829,889 magazine articles ~ 427,390 book chapters Clicking on the title of the article will give you the full­ ~ 1,103 maps text of the article. We learn that Shell Canada drilled for oil ~ 96,218 television and radio transcripts on Anticosti Island, and bought 24,000 hectares of possibly ~ 58,519 photos and images oil-rich lands in New Brunswick. Interestingly, the natural language query "oil and gas Despite its name, the content of Electric Library Canada exploration in Atlantic Canada" (without the quotes) yielded is overwhelmingly American. In their launch release, Rogers 87 documents. Media Inc. said that the portion ofCanadian content was to be When looking at a document, tabs allow us to return augmented in the upcoming months. In addition, the follow­ either to the result list or to move straight back to the search ing information was available on Electric Library Canada's screen. Web site: More Advanced Searches Canadian content consists ofover 50 Cana­A more advanced search mode is available by clicking on dian magazines including such trusted the Iink that says Search Options. You get the same options names as Maclean's, Canadian Business and as with the basic search, plus: Canadian Geographic. Additional Canadian content includes The Toronto Star, Gage ~ Select Search Type: Natural Language Search or Boolean Canadian Dictionary and Thesaurus, The Search (and, or, not) Canadian Global Almanac, The Canadian ~ Select a publication date range: Encyclopedia, Colombo's All Time Great ~ Limit your search by bibliographic information: Author:, Canadian Quotations, Canada and the Title:, Publication: World Backgrounder and many more. (continued on next page) September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 17

HTTP://WWW.ELIBRARY.CA (continued. ..) After consulting Electric Library's documentation on Boolean searches and making several trials, it makes no Natural Language Search: Electric Library recommends that difference whether or not you enter your Boolean operators in you enter your keywords in a meaningful order, just like a capitals. question you would ask another person. CONCLUSION Boolean Search: the Boolean operators are AND, OR, NOT. Electric Library Canada seems more like a work in Although this is not documented, Electric Library supports the progress than a mature product. Its target seems to be more use of double-quotes for phrase searching. The following the general consumer than the professional searcher, despite shows Boolean queries and the results obtained on all content: promises of an upcoming business edition and an evident • atlantic canada = 17 documents desire to attract libraries. This would be consistent with the • "atlantic canada" = 10 documents history of Infonautics Corporation, the owner of the Electric • atlantic canada and "oil and gas" and exploration = 8 Library concept. From the start, their target market was documents consumer online services (eg. Prodigy, AOL, Compuserve) • oil and gas and exploration and atlantic canada = 150 instead of institutions. documents Electric Library Canada has a lot of interesting content, • "oil and gas" and exploration and "atlantic canada" = 17 with a growing Canadian presence. However, the akwardness documents* of its search engine doesn't make it an efficient tool for libraries and information services. Natural language and *It is interesting to note that this query yielded J7 documents Boolean searching seem temperamental, to go by the results on August 23, but gave a "No Documents Found" message on obtained during testing. Also, the lack ofquery nesting, either August 28. by using parentheses or a form makes it harder to do genuine advanced searches. However, the use of parentheses for nesting queries does Overall, Electric Li brary Canada may be an interesting not work. The following examples show the results obtained service for the home user who is easily satisfied or with time with nesting queries: to try different searches. However, it is not so good for the professional librarian who is expected to deliver answers in a • scuba diving AND (gear OR equipment) = 30 documents minimal time. Time will tell, and we'll have to see how this • scuba diving AND gear OR equipment = 30 documents product develops.

SUS OCCASIONAL PAPERS SERIES ABOUT THE OCCASIONAL PAPERS SERIES PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION I MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS

Library and Information Studies and out in the Chicago Manual of Style 14th Mission co-published by Vine Press in the edition or the MLA Handbook for Writ­ The Occasional Papers Series is a United Kingdom. ers of Research Papers 4th edition. forum for the dissemination of refereed Over sixty titles addressing a wide Manuscripts in the order of scholarly works: treatises, bibliogra­ range of information related topics 100-200 pages are accepted on 3 1/2 phies, checklists, conference proceed­ have been published in the Occasional inch disk, however a printed version ings, and compilations of essays on Papers Series, making it the strongest should accompany your file. Please topics of interest to a worldwide com­ such publishing undertaking in the use either Microsoft Word for Windows munity of readers, especially, librarians country. or WordPerfect 5.1 (or higher) for DOS and other information professionals. Titles are distributed by mail, and or Windows for your submission. Deci­ In addition, it is a forum for the can be ordered in a number of different sions as to the quality of submissions encouragement of research in the field ways. are made with the aid of referees, with for first-time authors and others whose royalties being paid to accepted practical contribution, innovation, or Manuscript Submissions authors. critical analysis merit special recogni­ Proposals or completed tion. manuscripts of high calibre are wel­ comed for consideration by the Series Publication and Distribution Editor's note Please note the most recent editor, Dr. Bertrum H. MacDonald. Established in 1971, the Occa­ additions to the Series on the next page. Submissions are accepted year-round, sional Papers Series is published at and should follow either the format set Dalhousie University by the School of Page 18 APLA Bulletin September/October 1998

Occasional papers Series NO. 60 this makes for a very searchable, useful resource. MIDWlFERY IN CANADA, 1980-1997: A BRIEF This title is strongly recommended for health care profession­ HISTORY AND SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF als , policy makers, students, and researchers alike. Its balanced PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH - LISE L. HACKETT approach and careful annotations make this a model health sciences bibliography, one that will be con sulted extensively by "I would recommend this for purchase by health libraries and those with an interest in the ongoing midwifery debate. also to my students as an excellent example of health sciences bibliography." (Dr. Joanne Marshall, Faculty of Information Occasional papers Series NO. 61 Studies, University of Toronto.) THE FAR NORTH AND BEYOND: AN INDEX TO The resurgence of midwifery as an alternative to medical CANADIAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY IN intervention during childbirth has inspired considerable debate in GENRE MAGAZINES AND OTHER SELECTED medical and political circles over the past decade. This is the first PERIODICALS OF THE PULP ERA, 1896-1955 - JOHN BELL comprehensive annotated bibliography on midwifery in Canada. Lise L. Hackett, a former Community Health Nurse in Montreal English Canada's tradition offantastic literature remains both and currently responsible for Reference Services at the Education one ofthe least explored and most fertile areas ofstudy for literary Library of McGill University, has assembled an impressive and cultural historians alike. Up to now the absence of relevant collection ofover two hundred relevant items. While much of the historical treatments has obstructed research in the field . With the material is scholarly or professional in nature, several lay publica­ publication of John Bell's comprehensive bibliography, The Far tions are included in order to prov ide the mo st complete overview North and Beyond: An Index to Canadian Science Fiction and possible. Apart from empirical and descriptive studies, other types Fantasy in English-language Genre Magazines and Other Selected of material the author considers to be important to the midwifery Periodicals of the Pulp Era, 1896-1955, a detailed picture of debate, such as articles, books, dissertations, and government English-Canadians' contribution to the development of the genre publications and reports, are included as well . Whatever kind of is finally emerging. information a student, researcher or legislator might require on the Mr. Bell, co-founder of the national science fiction conven­ topic, the chances of finding them here are excellent. tion, Canvention, and the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy The careful annotations and index are equally impressive. For Award (now the Aurora Awards), focuses on one of the most each item, the author provides a succinct description of the colourful yet neglected periods in North American publishing, the contents, thus aiding researchers in assessing a given item's so-called "Pulp" era. For six decades the inexpensive and ex­ relevance. While entries are conveniently arranged in chronologi­ tremely popular pulp magazines inundated newsstands allover the cal order by date of publication, and then sub-arranged by author continent, leaving their mark on popular consciousness while or title, she also includes a comprehensive author/title index. All defining much of the appeal the genre holds for its contemporary readership. In many ways, Bell relates in his compelling introduction, these magazines created modem science fiction and fantasy. [ARRm[lEAn His careful research reveals a far greater degree ofCanadian participation in the "pulps" then has hitherto been recognized. The Far North and Beyond details the contributions of eighty-one Canadian writers and artists to six hundred issues of seventy-six different Eng­ Canadian lish-language magazines. This bibliographical Owned• & Operated information is presented in five separate indi­ ces : author, title, artist, magazine, and series. Your Canadian The author and artist indices also provide, where possible, a biographical source reference Supply Company for each creator entry. This title is a must for scholars, 1998 =.:..-=--==--= researchers, and libraries concerned with Cana­ dian science fiction and fantasy in particular Call US 10 receive and Canadian genre studies in general. Ever your copy ot careful to err on the side of inclusiveness, The Carr Mct.een 's new 1998 Far North and Beyond succeeds in go ing where Mainlin e cetetoque. no Canadian index has gone before.

Tal: 1·80(}.26&-2123· Fax : 1·80(}.871·2397 E-mail : cmcleon@carrmclean .CB September/October 1998 APIA Bulletin Page 19

COMING EVENTS

The Nova Scotia Library Association annual conference is set for September 25-27 at the Pictou Lodge. Complete conference information is available on the Internet at: . From this web site, you can regi ster online or print off a registration form to mail in. If you are planning to stay at the Pictou Lodge you should book immediately, as rooms are going quickly. This message is being posted to several internet addresses, we apologize for any cross postings. Please pass on this information to anyone interested. Ifyou need more information, contact Peggy Hiscock at 902-755-6031 or .

NAWeb 98, The Virtual Campus, Fredericton, NB, Canada, October 3-6, 1998, sponsored by the WWW Courseware Developers and the Department of Extension and Summer Session, University of New Brunswick. For more information: .

1998 Conference on the State of Higher Education in the Maritimes, "Transitions - Strategies for Working Together". Hotel Beausejour, Moncton, New Brunswick, November 18-20, 1998. Sponsored by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission . For further information: Louise Grady at ./ Conference 1998 sur l'etat de I'enseignement superieur dans les Maritimes, "Transitions - Strategies pour travailler ensemble". Hotel Beausejour, Moncton, Nouveau-Brunswic, 18-20 novembre I998. Pour de plus amples renseignements: Lousie Grady a .

Integrating Government with New Technologies: How Policy Drives Technology, December 7 and 8, 1998, Government Conference Center, 2 Rideau St., Ottawa. Co-sponsored by Treasury Board Secretariat, the National Archives ofCanada and Public Works and Government Services Canada. For full program and registration details: .

APLA '99, May 27-30, 1998. Saint John Trade and Convention Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick. For more information: Susan Collins at or Ian Wilson at .

EILEEN WALLACE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IN CHILDREN'S LiTERATURE

The Eileen Wallace Research Fellowship in Children's Literature, valued up to $5,000 (Cdn) per annum, invites proposals for research and scholarship using the resources of the University of New Brunswick's Children's Literature Collection. Proposals are welcomed from anyone who can provide evidence of competence and scholarly background and outline a practical and worthwhile project using the resources of the Collection. Application form s are available from: Office ofthe Dean ofEducation, The University ofNew Brunswick, P.O .

Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5A3, (506) 453-4862). Deadline for application is March I st of any year, with fellowship to be awarded after July l " of the same year. Page 20 APLA Bulletin September/October J998

It's Vast . It's Fast . It's Economical. Electric Library Canada'" invites you to check • Updated content every 24 hours via satellite out Canada's newest online reference service. and direct links. No where else can libraries and schoolsfind a • Easv-to-use interface designed for both the reference databaseas diverse and complete in novice and sophisticated researcher. one location. Available today for a surprisingly • Elimination of quickly outdated CD-ROM affordableflat fee that will accommodate even subscriptions. the most restricted budget. • Minimized supervision of young users with Librarians, teachers, and researchersalike optional " Internet-safe" browser. can say goodbye to time-consuming searches • Discounted pricing for district and through endless Web site links. Electric Library consortium licenses. Canada provides instant and unlimited accessto millions of 100%full-text magazine, newspaper Electric Library Canada- it'sworthlooking into. and journal articles. along with newswires, books, radio and TV transcripts, pictures, maps, For a FREE 3D-DaV Trial go to: and volumes more. All from recognizable www.elibrary.ca/trial Cana dian, U.S. and international sources you Username: elc98pubseptoct Password: dog know and trust. Expires: October 31, 1996

Forsales inquiries, please contact: Electric Library Canada: ' -888-298-0114 Public Libraries and Post-Secondary Institutions Gage Multimedia: 1-800-661-1115 ext. 430 K-1 2 Schoolsand Cegeps