IUL News for October 16, 1995, Volume 22, Number 41

LETRS OPEN HOUSE OCT. 16TH

The Library Electronic Text Resource Service (LETRS) invites everyone on campus to come to its Open House on Monday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and explore its exciting collection of electronic texts and software. LETRS is located in the Research Collections of the Main Library, on the first floor next to the reference desk.

Established in 1992, LETRS is designed to help humanists participate in the technological revolution, explain LETRS Co-Directors Mark Day and Richard Ellis. Several electronic resources for the Humanities are accessible from the campus network: the Oxford English Dictionary, the English Poetry Full-text Database, the Complete Works of Jane Austin, and the Database of African-American Poetry, a recent addition.

Other recent additions to LETRS' electronic texts collection and services include:

* The Indian Question, a collection of full-text documents, maps, and portraits of Native Americans, including Indian Treaties, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs statistics, and guides to U.S. National Archive materials.

* A digital archive of Spanish medieval texts featuring encyclopedias, dictionaries, legal and scientific texts, travel books, biographies, treatises of chivalry and nobility, and poetry. The collection comes with powerful analytical and search software.

* The Victorian Women Writers Project, a collaborative project among IU faculty, students, librarians, and technical staff, to produce highly accurate, SGML-encoded transcriptions of literary works by British women writers in the late Victorian period. With this collection, made freely available through the World Wide Web, IU will provide a significant contribution to the corpus of materials available to Victorian scholars worldwide.

In addition to building an innovative collection of electronic texts, LETRS helps Humanities scholars identify how they can use electronic resources to further their research, for if scholars are to take full advantage of the opportunities LETRS has to offer, they need to understand what these tools can do for them.

"Electronic texts make it easier for people to analyze the history of words, or find concepts and themes as they occur throughout a large body of literature," Day explains. "Students tell us that using our resources, they can do in six hours what it would normally take them six months to do."

Day notes that there is growing use of LETRS by students whose professors encourage them to use the facility's electronic collections.

"Our faculty advisory committee is very supportive and enthusiastic of the facility," Ellis says. "They know this is where libraries are going, and they want students to be familiar with these resources."

Aaron Kleist, a graduate student and associate instructor in Comparative Literature who also works as a LETRS consultant, points out that once someone discovers how electronic resources can enhance their research, they become regular users of LETRS. To help people associate its resources with actual scholarship, LETRS includes case studies on its Web page, located at http://www. indiana.edu/~letrs/. Here, LETRS also gives a complete description of its resources and services, and encourages users -- and potential users -- to ask questions.

LETRS welcomes students and faculty to tour its facility any time, not just during the Open House.

--Lisa Champelli (lchampel@indiana.edu) 812-855-9294

YOU ARE INVITED...

There will be an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the new quarters of the Archives of African American Music and Culture and the Black Film Center/Archive. Celebrations will be Tuesday, October 24, 1995 from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm in the Smith Research Center, Suite 180. That evening at 7:00 pm in Whittenberger Auditorium, there will be a special screening of The Glass Shield with film maker Charles Bennett. Plan to attend both events.

--Pat Steele, Acting Dean

FALL FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGN TO BEGIN SOON

The Fund-Raising Committee, formerly known as the Social & Program Committee, will begin its annual Fall Fund-Raising Campaign next week. Committee members and other volunteers will begin circulating color brochures and price guides Monday, October 16. Orders will be accepted until Friday, November 3. Completed orders will be available for pickup and distribution Thursday, November 16, and Friday, November 17, in the Preservation Department, Main Library. Money will be collected upon delivery. We will be selling snack items from Uncle Al's Pecans, located in Terre Haute, again this year. Uncle Al has added 12 NEW items to his stock, including dried apricots, chocolate caramel pecan patties, and chocolate pretzels! This means there are now 60 different items available for purchase! There is something for everyone. Surely you or someone you know bakes during the holiday season and could use a package of walnuts or would appreciate a gift of chocolate-covered pecans. REMEMBER: The earliest you would need to pay is November 16.

The proceeds collected from the fund-raising campaigns benefit all library support staff. The monies supply refreshments for the General Support Staff meetings, fund the Staff Merit Award and contribute to the Family Relief Drive, to name a few uses. Please support us as we try to support you! If you would be interested in volunteering to take orders, need a brochure or price guide, or have any questions regarding the fund raiser, please contact Donna Bevers (DKCHAMBE), Chairperson, Preservation Department, Main Library, 855-5647.

VIDEOCONFERENCE ON "MASS DEACIDIFICATION FOR PAPER-BASED COLLECTIONS"

The University of Notre Dame will serve as a downlink site for a videoconference on mass deacidification on Thursday, October 26, 12:00-2:00 pm (Central Time). Mass deacidification, a process that slows degradation of paper by raising its pH level, has been identified as one possible solution to the problem of the deterioration of books and manuscripts produced on highly acidic paper. Participants will learn about the history of mass deacidification, the role of the process in preservation programs, the status of deacidification research, and funding issues related to the process. The panel, moderated by Robert DeCandido (New York Public Library), includes Sally Buchanan (University of Pittsburgh), Kenneth Harris (Library of Congress), Sue Kellerman (Penn State), Randall Russell (Preservation Technologies, Inc.), and Chandru Shahani (Library of Congress).

For more information and registration contact: Patricia Karpinski, Preservation Department, Notre Dame University Libraries, 219/631-8207 (phone), 219/631-6772 (fax), Patricia.A. Karpinski.1@nd.edu (e-mail). There is a $2.00 charge for non-Notre Dame participants and seating is limited to 400.

--Lorraine Olley, Head, Preservation Department

***BAKE SALE***BAKE SALE***PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

The Libraries' Support Staff Council will be hosting a Halloween bake sale, Tuesday, October 31, in the ground floor lobby (adjacent the ATMs). The scheduled hours for the bake sale are 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, with the closing time contingent on the amount of donations received. Hot and cold cider will be available, along with caramel apples, popcorn balls and many other goodies. If your unit is already planning a party for that day, please just make a little extra and drop it off for the bake sale. Don't worry if you don't have time to make anything. Feel free to donate purchased items from a bakery or grocery in lieu of home-made ones or just grab an extra bag of candy when you shop for your trick-or-treaters! Monetary donations are also accepted (Checks should be made out to: LSSC and should be given to Donna Bevers, Janice Lorenz or Jay Wilkerson). Any support that can be given will be appreciated.

Your contributions will make the sale a success! All donations should be taken to the Ground Floor Conference Room that morning between 7 and 9 am. However, if you are in a branch library and would like to donate but are unable to get your treats to the Main Library, call Donna Bevers (855-5647) and make arrangements to have your bake sale goodies picked up that morning. If at all possible, please pre-package items for selling (e.g. 1-2 bar cookies or 3-4 small round cookies per baggie, 1 popcorn ball, cupcake or slice of fruit bread per baggie, etc.). This makes pricing and handling during the sale much easier. If you have any questions, contact me (DKCHAMBE). THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

--Donna Bevers, Chair, Fundraising Committee, LSSC

LSSO FALL MEETING

How's the search for the new Dean coming?

How's reclassification going?

What's CWA up to?

Questions? Need answers? Well, we have answers and MUCH, MUCH MORE at the:

The LSSC needs your support by way of attendance, without your attendance our efforts to provide a better working environment for staff are greatly diminished! In return for your participation, we plan to keep you informed of library events and developments, provide you with a voice in direct communication with the "powers that be" and provide support for maintaining morale.

The LSSO Fall Meeting Agenda is as follows:

Introductions
LSSC Treasurer's Report
Family Relief Drive Report
Fund Raising Committee Report
Dean Search Update
Suggestion Box
CWA

Break

Random Drawing for $25
Reclassification Update
Dean's Report
Guest Speaker - Paula Bourne

For those of you new to the libraries, The Suggestion Box is located in the Third Floor Staff Lounge in the Research Collection Tower. Suggestions placed there will be read at the meeting. People who can address questions about what is happening at the Library have agreed to be present for this segment of the meeting. We plead with you to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions or make suggestions!

The Random Drawing is our way of giving something to the library staff with no strings attached. You don't need to attend a meeting, meet quotasor invent a money saving device or procedure to be qualified for winning $25. All you need to be is yourself, library staff!

The Guest Speaker, Paula Bourne, is from Human Resources. Paula is a unique individual! She has a great deal of positive energy and is willing to share it with us. Her presentation is guaranteed to make you feel better about your job and your work environment, assuming you want to feel that way! Keep an eye out for future e-mail messages and posters regarding Paula's presentation.

--Jay Wilkerson, LSSC, Chair, 855-0984, WILKERSJ@ucs.indiana.edu

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE

With the addition of Encyclopedia Britannica Online to its growing collection of online resources, Indiana University Libraries on five IU campuses provide their faculty, staff and students with round-the-clock access to a world of authoritative information. The IU campus libraries subscribing to the innovative reference tool include Bloomington, Indianapolis University Libraries, East, Southeast and South Bend.

A World Wide Web information service developed by Britannica Advanced Publishing, Inc., Britannica Online includes all of the more than 65,000 articles featured in the 15th edition of the renowned Encyclopedia Britannica, plus hundreds of articles not yet in print. In addition to embedding more than 700,000 hypertext links to related information within the encyclopedia, Britannica Online incorporates hundreds of links to external Internet resources. Britannica Online also provides access to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth Edition) and the Britannica Book of the Year.

Faculty, staff and students at the participating IU campuses who connect through IU's computer network to Britannica Online from either their campus library's home page or by directly entering the easy-to-remember URL (http://www.eb.com) in the locator window of standard Web browsers such as Netscape and Lynx, will automatically gain entry.

"It's nice because there's no login, says Julie Bobay, Head of the Electronic Resources and Services Dept. at IUB Libraries. "If you're an authorized user at one of the participating campuses, you can search EB Online from an IU computer or by dialing into the campus network."

The acquisition of Britannica Online was made possible through a CIC cooperative subscription agreement, says Bobay. When Britannica announced the online release of its well-respected encyclopedia in 1994, its subscription fee was prohibitively expensive. The CIC's (Committee for Institutional Cooperation) negotiated rate allowed the five IU campus libraries to participate along with libraries at the University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Minnesota, Northwestern and Pennsylvania State.

Besides permitting many people to use this valuable reference simultaneously, online access to an encyclopedia -- particularly one as comprehensive as Encyclopedia Britannica -- increases the searcher's options for quickly locating information on a vast array of topics.

While the multi-volume print edition of Britannica can be very useful in finding specific articles and information, Britannica Online can do much more because it employs a sophisticated search engine that enables users to search by keyword using natural language and Boolean search techniques.

"In addition to being an authoritative and reliable resource, Britannica Online provides a window to high-quality Internet resources," Bobay says. For example, a search for information on the Holocaust retrieves a hypertext link to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Home Page.

"By its very nature, an encyclopedia serves to organize knowledge," observes Bobay. "Britannica Online pulls Internet resources into this framework."

Relative to the 44 million words that appear in Britannica Online, the number of hypertext links to Internet resources is small -- but growing. "It's very time-consuming to add links to reliable Internet resources," notes Bobay, "but Britannica is continually working to expand this valuable feature of EB Online."

Authorized users who experience problems accessing Britannica Online should contact Bobay at (812) 855-3766, or via e-mail: bobay@indiana.edu.

--Lisa Champelli (lchampel@indiana.edu) 812-855-9294

SERIALS CANCELLATION REQUESTS

The following serials cancellation requests have been received.

The titles below are the last copies in the IUB Libraries. Fund managers who wish to assume any of the titles should contact Laura Gabbard, Serials Department (855-4262 or lscurtis@silver. ucs.indiana.edu) within 2 weeks following the date of this newsletter.

Fund F3 (Slavic Foreign Serials Grant)
-FROM THE LOGICAL POINT OF VIEW
-POLISH DIGEST (SHEBOYGAN, WIS.)
-POLISH LIBRARIES TODAY
-REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE LAW
-RUSSIA & THE SUCCESSOR STATES BRIEFING SERVICE
-SLOVAK REVIEW (BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA)
-THIS IS KYYIV
-TIMES OB BUCHAREST
-URANIIA (MOSCOW, RUSSIA). ENGLISH

Fund 25 (Economics)
-COMMON MARKET NEWS
-CONFERENCE ON EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND EXECUTIVE
  COMPENSATION. ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND        
  EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
-PLANNINGWEEK which includes:
     -ROYAL TOWN PLANNING INSTITUTE. PRACTICE ADVICE NOTE
     -TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING SUMMER SCHOOL. REPORT OF
PROCEEDINGS

Fund 47 (Political Science)
-COSLA DIRECTORY
-GENERAL SYSTEMS
-NASIRE DIRECTORY
-NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT DEFERRED COMPENSATION
  ADMINISTRATORS.  CONFERENCE. CONFERENCE REPORT
-NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT DEFERRED COMPENSATION
 ADMINISTRATORS.  MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
-PUBLIC LAW
-REGARDS SUR L'ACTUALITE
-SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
-SURVEY OF 457 PLANS

Fund 71 (Music)
-COMPUTERS & MUSIC REPORT

Fund 80 (Library Tools)
-MUSIC CATALOG (WASHINGTON, D.C.)

Fund 81 (Psychology)
-JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY (MICROFILM)
-PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW (MICROFILM)

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