NEWSLETTER
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
LIBRARIES
CALENDAR
Information on all workshops,
conferences, etc. are posted on the
bulletin board by the second floor
Staff Lounge in Library West.
IMPORTANT DATES
April 11,1990
"Electronic Services and All That
Jazz," Public Services Forum presen-
tation by Colleen Seale, Denise
Beaubien, and Mary Gay Anderson,
11 a.m., MSL Conference Room.
April 17,1990
CMS E-mail training, 10 a.m., 420
Library West. Contact Suzy Shaw
of Systems (2-0796) to sign up.
April 27,1990
Systems Forum, 11 a.m.-noon,
Room 420 Library West. See page 5
for details.
OTHER DATES OF INTEREST
April 9,1990
Application deadline for Advanced
Research Institute on July 8-27, 1990
on Urbana-Champaign campus of
the University of Illinois. Fee of
$300 includes housing, weekday
meals.
April 9 or 10, 1990
Workshops on Mini-Sabbatical Pro-
gram for 1990-91, sponsored by
OIR. See page 8 for details.
April 15, 1990
Deadline for 1990-91 Library/Book
Fellow program. See February is-
sue for details.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4
April 1, 1990
SHIRLEY SNYDER RECEIVES UF RECYCLING AWARD
Shirley Snyder, Building Management Coordinator for UF Libraries, was rec-
ognized for her exceptionally outstanding support to the University of Flori-
da Recycling Program during August January 1990. A Certificate of Recog-
nition from the University's Physical Plant Division and the University's
"Golden Trash Can" Recycling Award were presented to Shirley and five oth-
er individuals by Jerry Schaffer, Interim Vice President for Administrative Af-
fairs, in an Awards Ceremony on February 23. In notifying the Libraries of
this award, UFs Recycling Coordinator Al Krause remarked "Shirley has
done just a super job!"
In acknowledging the award, Shirley said "It's the Library staff and House-
keeping staff who made this program a success. Thanks to their help, the li-
braries have recycled over two tons of paper per month since the program be-
gan this fall." Shirley predicted that the amount of paper recycled by UF
Libraries would soon reach three tons a month.
All library staff who participate in the Recycling Program are to be commend-
ed for supporting this important program keep up the good work! We are
also grateful to the Housekeeping staff who collect the paper for recycling.
According to the February issue of Physical Plant's Shop Talk, recycling ef-
forts on campus diverted more than 5.75 million pounds of useful material
from the landfill, including paper, scrap metal and other material!
FROM THE DEPARTMENTS
AFA LIBRARY
New Staff
The AFA Library welcomes to its staff Jeanne Bunting, Senior LTA. Jeanne,
who holds a B.A. in art, previously worked as manager of Haralson's Arts
and Crafts in the Oaks Mall. Jeanne will be in charge of the library's technical
services operations.
Head of AFA Library to Edit New Periodical
Ed Teague has been invited by Haworth Press to develop and edit a new peri-
odical, Art Reference Services Quarterly, which will have a premiere issue in
1991.
continued on next page 0
April 18,1990
National Seminars, "Conflict Manage-
ment & Negotiation Skills," Gainesville,
$89.
April 26,1990
"Successful Communication Skills,"
Fred Pryor Seminars, Gainesville, $99.
May 1,1990
"For Women Only: Self-Esteem and
Peak Performance," CareerTrack@ Sem-
inar, Holiday Inn-West, Gainesville,
$40.
May 2,1990
"How to Work with People," National
Career Workshop, Jacksonville, $59.
May 2,1990
"Finance & Accounting for Non-
financial Managers & Supervisors,"
Fred Pryor Seminars, Gainesville, $195.
May 7 and 9,1990
"Newsletter Editing, Design and Pro-
duction," Promotional@ Perspectives
Seminar, Orlando and Tallahassee, re-
spectively, $270.
May 7-11,1990
Florida Library Association Conference,
Daytona Beach. Pre-registration, by
April 16, is $35 for FLA members, $80
for non-members, and $15 for parali-
brarians; one-day registration is $25 for
FLA members, and $40 for non-
members.
May 8,1990
Florida Paralibrarian Caucus meeting,
2-5 p.m., during FLA (see above). See
pages 3-4 for details.
May 13-19,1990
Microcomputing in the 1990's: Unlock-
ing the Power," 1990 Mid-Year Meeting
of the American Society for Information
Sciences, Fort Lauderdale. Contact Tom
Kinney in Systems (2-0976) for details.
May 16-17,1990
"First National Conference on Acquisi-
tions, Budgets, and Collections," St.
Louis, Missouri. Fee is $175 before and
$195 after April 15 or $225 after May 11.
May 18 and 19, 1990
"Powerful Communication Skills for
Women," Orlando, $59.
2
BELKNAP COLLECTION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
An improvisation Class/Dance Demonstration and Discussion with New York
Choreographer/Dancer Dana Reitz was presented March 29th in the O'Connell
Center Dance Studio. The program was produced cooperatively by the Univer-
sity of Florida Theatre Department, Floridance, New Moves Productions, Inc.
and the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts. Dana Reitz studied with
Merce Cunningham, was a member of Twyla Tharp and Dancers, toured with
Laura Dean, and performed in the original production of "Einstein on the
Beach." Reitz's performances have been presented throughout the United States,
Europe and Australia; she has been awarded fellowships and two New York
Dance and Performance Awards. The appearance of Dana Reitz was sponsored
by the Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, as part of its
Master Artist-in-Residence Outreach Program. The March 29th performance
was open to local dancers/participants and to members of the University/
Gainesville community interested in the "cutting edge" of modern dance.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
It has come to the attention of Systems staff that there is entirely too much
redundancy in the names of library personnel. This greatly inconveniences our
computer databases, makes returning phone calls nearly impossible, and causes
havoc in general for all concerned. Therefore, in the interests of better name au-
thority control on a local level, the following steps will be taken immediately:
1) There will henceforth be no more than three staff members with the same first
or last name. That means no one will be hired with the first names of Barbara,
Carol, Debbie, Elaine, Mary, Pamela, Peter, Suzanne, or William. Forbidden last
names are: Brown, Davis, Jones, King, or Williams. This change will be retroac-
tive, which means that four Mary's, four Carol's, three Barbara's, two Peter's and
two Debbie's will be fired unless they change names. Facing a similar fate are
three Joneses and one Williams.
2) Everyone in the Libraries will be expected to have at least one unique name;
therefore, the following people will be expected to change one name or the other
immediately: Beth Alexander, Suzanne Brown, Debbie Collins, Maria Garcia,
Carol Harris, Mary Harris, Betty Jones, Lee Jones, Milly Jones, Barbara King,
Betty Mitchell, Carolyn Mitchell, Kathy Scott, and Priscilla Williams. Of course,
Barbara Jones, Barbara King and Carol King will be expected to change both
names.
Married couples following the quaint custom of using the same last name are
exempt from these policies. We will expect your prompt cooperation in dealing
with this important matter.
(APRIL FOOL!!)
Suzy Shaw
UPDATE ON PARALIBRARIAN CAUCUS EVENTS
Report on Staffs Fundraiser Event
I know everyone is anxious to hear how much money was raised at the pizza
and bake sale held on March 14. Library volunteers raised $381 to offset some
of the costs for staff to attend the FLA meeting!
continued on next page l
Obviously, it was a tremendous success, thanks in part to the hard work of
many volunteers-those who sold pizza tickets in advance, baked items for
the bake sale, and worked before, during, and after the sale. We greatly ap-
preciate everyone's support and understanding, particularly those who re-
ceived a small slice of pizza, and who only muttered "it's for a good
cause...." We certainly did not expect such uneven slices, and we do hope
that everyone had the opportunity to fill up with some of the delectable
goodies from the bake sale. Thank you, everyone, for so generously sup-
porting the efforts of the staff! (Thanks for the $20, Dolores, and, for paying
extra for a whole pizza and lots of goodies that were leftover, Jan.) Also,
the allocation of travel funds from the Libraries for support staff to attend
FLA had a tremendous impact on reducing the overall costs!
Background
Virginia Gerster, a Library Assistant III at the Miami-Dade Public Library, is
the driving force behind the formation of the paralibrarian group. She suc-
cessfully petitioned the Florida Library Association to caucus. FLA ap-
proved the Florida Paralibrarian Caucus in the fall of 1989, and approved
funding for a speaker at the annual FLA Conference at Daytona Beach in
May 1990. As a result, a presentation by Debbie Wolcott on "Increasing Par-
aprofessional Potential" is scheduled for May 8, followed by a Caucus Busi-
ness Meeting, from 2-5 p.m. Ms. Wolcott is a past president of the Parapro-
fessional Forum in Virginia and is co-chair of an ALA/SCOLE
subcommittee on support staff issues.
As the next step, Virginia sent a letter to directors of a variety of libraries
throughout the state, together with a questionnaire for paraprofessionals.
The questionnaire was to assess paraprofessionals' interest in organizing un-
der FLA. She received quite a large response-approximately 545 surveys
were returned. Almost every respondent, 99% in fact, indicated his/her in-
tention of continuing to work in a library setting in the future, and 82% said
they may join FLA because of the Caucus.
Action at National Level
As mentioned above, there is interest on the national level regarding issues
relating to library support personnel. A grant has been submitted to ALA to
compile a background "casebook" that will characterize the status of library
support professionals, including the role of continuing education and other
related issues. The casebook will be used as the basis for a 1991 preconfer-
ence to develop an action agenda and provide role definition of support
staff in library settings.
Regional Informational Meeting
At the invitation of the Alachua County Public Library staff, Virginia gra-
ciously agreed to come to Gainesville to hold an informational meeting on
the Caucus. Approximately 15 staff members from the UF Libraries attend-
ed the meeting at Santa Fe Community College on March 16, together with
a slightly smaller contingent of enthusiastic support staff from the Public
Library. The group generated a list of concerns of support staff, and identi-
fied issues they would like to see addressed by the Caucus.
Many at the meeting were impressed with Virginia's enthusiasm, hard work
and dedication. As an individual, she has accomplished much in trying to
make this group a reality. What a wonderful resource-and inspiration-
she is! She has attended the annual Conference of Library Assistants (which
spurred her interest in establishing a group in Florida), and a leadership
training session sponsored by FLA. She has made numerous contacts
throughout the state in gathering support for organizing paraprofessionals.
She has collected articles and other information pertinent to the library para-
professional, and has corresponded with paralibrarian groups in other
continued on next page 1
May 30,1990
"How to Manage Projects," SkillPath Semi-
nar, Gainesville, $99.
June 1,1990
Deadline for submitting proposals for
OIR's Mini-Sabbatical Program. See page
8 for details.
June 21-22,1990
"Apple Macintosh in Libraries." Fee is
$195 for LITA personal members, $225 for
ALA personal members, and $255 for non-
members. Chicago.
"Imaging: The Future of Libraries:" Fee is
$145 for LITA personal members, $170 for
ALA personal members, and $195 for non-
members. Chicago.
June 22,1990
"Implementing Hypermedia Applications:
Nuts and Bolts." Fee for LITA personal
members: $125, for ALA personal mem-
bers: $150, and for Nonmembers, $175.
Chicago.
"Networking CD-ROM Technologies." Fee
is $60 for LITA personal members, $85 for
ALA personal members, and $110 for non-
members. Chicago.
GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON
LIBRARY ISSUES
The Florida Governor's Conference on
Library and Information Services will be
held in Tallahassee on December 3,4, and
5, 1990. One hundred delegates and
twenty-eight alternates must be selected
for the State Conference. There will be an
equal number of delegates selected from
the following categories: Citizen
Representatives, Elected/Appointed
Officials, Library-Support, and Library
Professionals. Selection of delegates to
attend the Florida Governor's Conference
is of major importance. These delegates
will act for the people of Florida and for
the library and information services field
in examining needs; identifying local,
state, and national issues; and proposing
recommendations for the White House
Conference as well as action to be taken
within Florida. Delegates to the White
House Conference, which will be held in
July of 1991, will be nominated from the
continued on next page
participants at the Florida Governor's Confer-
ence and appointed by the Governor of
Florida. To pick up a delegate nomination
form or an informational brochure on the
Governor's Conference, please stop by the
Directors' Office at 204 Library West.
PERSONNEL NEWS
LIBRARIANS
New Appointments
Barbara Pactor-Visiting Assistant Librarian,
Access Services
Paula Hamilton-Visiting Associate Librarian,
Special Collections
Rita Smith-Visiting Instructor Librarian, Cata-
log
USPS
New Appointments
Jeanne Bunting-Senior LTA, AFA
Justino Llanque-Chana-LTA, Marston Science
Library
Elizabeth Peterson-Senior LTA, Catalog
James Wright-Accountant, Acquisitions
Promotions
Janet Belaski-Clerk, Circulation, to LTA, Refer-
ence
1990 UFLA OFFICERS
President John Van Hook
Vice President David Shontz
Treasurer Mona Mosier
Secretary Razia Nanji
Membership Donna Alsbury
Member at Large Yael Herbsman
Past President Deborah Fairbanks
IN SYMPATHY
We extend our deepest sympathy to Rosa
Mesa, Latin America Bibliographer, whose
husband, Danilo, passed away recently. Our
thoughts are with Rosa and her family.
4
states to find out how they were formed. Did you know that more than
20 states have paralibrarian organizations? Well, it appears that Flori-
da's time has finally arrived!
One of the highlights of the meeting was Virginia's announcement that
FLA, according to Executive Secretary Marjorie Sealey, would reduce
the $40 pre-registration fee to $15 for paralibrarians!! At that moment,
it was evident that probably all UF staff who wanted to attend the FLA
meeting could now go for free!
Getting Paralibrarians Involved
What's needed at this stage is a commitment of time and effort to form
a steering group, and "the rest will be history." What a marvelous op-
portunity this is for support staff to enhance their leadership, organiza-
tional and communication skills! Once a core of dedicated individuals
is in place, all paraprofessionals can benefit from the group's organiza-
tion. Each person can decide whether to be involved on a small or a
large scale.
This caucus can present the paraprofessional with many opportuni-
ties-to learn of new technologies and developments in libraries of in-
terest to staff, to interact with peers in the exchange of information and
ideas, to identify needs for further education and training workshops
and career development, and to serve as a forum for a variety of other
issues of concern relative to career enhancement, under the umbrella of
the Florida Library Association. FLA members have the opportunity to
join other interest groups, also. Active participation makes for a chal-
lenging work environment, and therefore, a motivating work environ-
ment. Paraprofessionals, you don't have to work in a "vacuum." You
can contribute to your field; you can make a difference!
The trip to FLA on May 8
By April 2, the list of staff who want to attend the FLA meeting should
be finalized within departments; after this date, names will be added
only to a list of alternates. The Libraries are providing vehicles from
the University for the day. Attendees will be contacted to determine
who will ride in the university vehicles, and who will ride in personal
cars. Daytona Beach, here we come!
Barbara Jones
RESULTS OF UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN
The University pledged more than $431,089 during the 1989 Campaign.
This is an increase of 9.4% over last year. The level of participation was
50.3% which was an 8% increase over the previous year. The average
gift was $95.35, compared to $92.26 in 1988.
The big winner on campus, based on the highest percentage of partici-
pation, was the College of Journalism and Communications at 76%.
The Library's participation rate was 45%. The efforts of Peter Bushnell,
Library Coordinator, and of all those who contributed to the success of
this program, are appreciated.
Library Newsletter Staff: Editorial Committee: Cecilia Botero, Mona Mosier, Colleen Seale; Carl Van Ness; Editorial Assistant, Barbara Jones;
Departmental Liaisons, Elizabeth Alexander, Stephanie Baldwin, Elaine Bryant, Suzanne Brown, Channie Christian, Mary Jane Daicoff, Melanie
Davis, Rick Donnelly, Peter Foust, Steve Fuquay, Sidney Ives, Erich Kesse, Barbara King, Chuck Lipsig, Tom Kinney, Rosa Mesa, Pam Pasak,
Wendy Scott, Bob Singerman, Shirley Snyder, Ed Teague, Carl Van Ness, Priscilla West, Carol Whitmer, Susan Woods
Visit of 3rd AFA Asst.
Head Candidate
Deadline for Nov-
ember issue of the
Library Newsletter
Systems Forum 27
11 a.m.-noon,
420 LIB W. Topic is
NOTIS Merged Head-
ings Index
SEARCH AND SCREEN COMMITTEES AT THE UFL
Search and screen committees, composed of a representative group of
library staff members, help the Libraries fill vacant librarian (and
sometimes A&P) positions. Because librarians are faculty, the Univer-
sity requires that such a committee conduct all searches for perma-
nent librarian positions. This policy is part of UFs Affirmative Action
effort and is designed to ensure (1) that search procedures seek out
and recruit blacks, women and other minority candidates and (2) that
procedures are as objective as possible to ensure fair and equitable
treatment of all candidates. It is important that the Search Committee
work closely with the Library Personnel Officer throughout the pro-
cess because the actions of the committee would provide the basis for
legal defense against accusations of constitutionally impermissible ac-
tivities.
When there is a vacancy in a department, the Department Chair and
the Division Director develop a list of possible names for a search
committee. After the Director and LPO approve the list, the Division
Director appoints the committee. Committees usually have members
from different areas of the Libraries to represent a broad view. The
committee is chaired by a person with previous search committee ex-
perience. Usually the membership represents different levels of expe-
rience, with one or two less experienced staff members given an op-
portunity to participate and develop their governance skills. If the
position has significant interaction with USPS staff, a USPS member
will often serve on the committee. For Affirmative Action reasons,
neither the Department Chair nor the Division Director to whom the
position will report can serve on the search committee. People who
are in the supervisory line for a position are considered "hiring au-
thorities" and therefore cannot also serve as recommenders in this
process.
The committee is advisory in nature. Its primary role is to develop a
strong candidate pool and to bring their ideas and experience into the
process of screening candidates' applications. After narrowing the
field of applicants, members make phone calls to references of the
highest rated candidates and to the candidates themselves. They rec-
ommend which candidates should be interviewed. The Division Di-
rector in consultation with the Department Chair (and with the direct
supervisor if that is not the chair) reviews that recommendation.
Based on the views of all involved, the Director authorizes travel
funds for interviews.
After the interviews are completed, the committee writes an assess-
ment and makes a recommendation on which candidates are accepta-
ble for the position and which are not. The committee summarizes
the assessments that are submitted by all those who interviewed the
candidates (except for the hiring authorities). The Director has final
hiring authority for the Libraries. The perspective provided by the
committee and their analysis of the strengths of the candidates are im-
portant elements in the decision-making process. Assessments by the
Supervisor, Department Chair and Division Director are also impor-
tant facets of the final decision as they represent the immediate envi-
ronment to which the candidate will be assigned. For all candidates,
there must be widespread acceptance by staff members who will in-
teract with the candidate after employment. Through this process,
we hope to identify and select librarians who will be successful col-
leagues in the University of Florida Libraries and who will enjoy a re-
warding career in the field of academic librarianship.
-Wendy Scott, LPO
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
David Shontz, Peggy Hsu, "Book Reviews in Psy-
chology and Related Fields" in Behavioral & Social
Sciences Librarian, Vol. 8 (1/2) 1989, Haworth Press.
PARTIAL LISTING OF ACTIVE LIBRARY
COMMITTEES
This new feature of the newsletter is designed to
provide staff with current information regarding
active ad hoc committees. Further information can
be sought from committee chairs. This listing will
be expanded in coming issues to include all
committees.
- ad hoc. Canelas. LMG Subcommittee on
Standarized Use of Performance Evaluation
Forms. Status: disbanded. Recommendations,
submitted to LMG, will be sent to library staff for
discussion.
- ad hoc. Canelas. Preliminary recommendations
due 3/30/90 to Technical Services Management
Group. Committee on Preservation Microfilming:
Queueing and Cataloging Considerations.
Charge: Compile, document and review policy
and interdepartmental procedures relating to
queueing and cataloging of preservation
microforms, and to make preliminary
recommendations. Chair: Peter Busnell;
Members: Dot Hope, Tom Kinney, Nelda
Schwartz, Bob Singerman.
-ad hoc. Canelas. Preliminary recommendations
due 4/15/90 to Technical Services Management
Group. Committee on Serials Holdings. Charge:
Compile, document and recommend policy and
interdepartmental procedures relating to the
MARC Format Holdings record in LUIS. Chair:
Nancy Williams; Members: Gary Cornwell, Susan
Duser, Frank Orser, Jo Talbird and Colleen
Thorburn.
-ad hoc. Canelas. OCLC Equipment Committee.
Status: discharged. Recommendations approved;
equipment ordered to arrive approximately June 1.
SYSTEMS FORUM
The April Systems Forum will be held on April 27
from 11 a.m. to noon in Room 420 Library West.
The topic will be the NOTIS Merged Headings
Index (MHI). Speakers to be announced. All
library staff are welcome to attend!
5
UPDATE ON MOVES
The following publications have been re-
ceived from the Research Libraries Group.
Copies may be obtained by contacting one of
the secretaries in the administrative offices.
1. Vacancy Announcement-Program Offi-
cer for AMSC
2. Agenda for Public Services Steering
Committee Meeting of March 8-9, 1990
3. Minutes from CMCD Steering Commit-
tee and Conspectus Sub-committee
meetings held in January 1990
4. Network Operations Statistics, February
1990
5. Monthly/Year-to-Date Member Activity
Summaries: September 1989 through
February 1990
6. Monthly/Year-to-Date Searching Activi-
ty Reports: September 1989 through
February 1990
7. Memo announcing New East Asian/
Shared Resources Publication, "The On-
Site Access Guide to RLG East Asian
Collections"
8. Summary minutes of the February 1990
RLG Board Meeting
9. RLIN Training Schedule
10. UFBD Update 2 Changes-
Supplement to RLIN Publications
11. RLIN Performance Report
12. Press Release-RLG Awarded $120,216
DOE Title II-D Grant for Interlibrary
Loan Workstation
13. Press Release--Vatican Archives
Records to be accessible through RLIN
14. Press Release-RLIN "Personal Access"
enhancements improve searching facili-
ties for all users
15. Press Release-RLG and Soviet Informa-
tion Institute agree to exchange data
TRIP REPORTS
The following reports were recently added to
those available through the Library Personnel
Office.
American Library Association Mid-winter
meeting, reports submitted by Peter Bushnell
and Frank DiTrolio, Chicago, January 6-11,
1990
Erich Kesse, RLG Preservation Steering
Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C.,
February 12, 1990
Following on our earlier articles, here is the latest news on moves. The ba-
sic reason for the moves is our very severe space crunch. Libraries are
considered full when their shelves reach 85% of capacity. Last June, Li-
braries East and West reached nearly 87%. And our welcome increase in
staff has also caused severe space pressure. By state adopted formula, UF
is short 50% the library space it needs. The only long-term solution will be
a new building. A library committee (R. Bennett, C. Hanson, P. McKay, P.
Stern, J. Swanbeck, S. Grube, and C. Turner) is outlining functional re-
quirements for a library addition. Dale Canelas is writing a formal build-
ing program which will be reviewed by UF Facilities Planning in May,
then sent to Tallahassee for approval and will, we hope, lead to funding
for an architect and a firm spot on the BOR building schedule. Last year,
we were 19th on the UF list on the basis of a report written by Dale Cane-
las three years ago.
The movements now in progress will enable us to switch many functions
between Library East and West so that each building can be used most ef-
fectively until there is a new building. Library East will house the Special
Collections, LAC and Judaica, Acquisitions, Catalog, Preservation, and
Systems. Library West will house the general collections arranged in logi-
cal sequence, Circulation, Reference, Documents, Periodicals, Microforms,
Interlibrary Loan, and administration. Internal walls will be removed in
Library West so that it can be filled with the books now in the Library East
stacks, and Library East will be renovated to provide excellent security
and climate for the Special Collections. We are now midstream in moving
books so that walls in Library West can be removed this summer. First,
those numbers that fit well with branch collections (370s & Ls, Education;
Ms, Music; and 700 779 & Ns, AFA) are being moved permanently to the
branches. Other materials (300s, 500s, 600s, and 790s) are being moved
temporarily to the first floor of Marston for the period of Library West con-
struction. Judaica is moving to East 4th floor and stack E with the LAC,
and Systems will move into Judaica's old quarters. Some archival and
general compact storage material will move temporarily to a records stor-
age facility. Belknap, P.K. Yonge, and Rare Books will move to the first
floor of Library East until their quarters on the 2d floor are renovated.
Newly hired librarian Paula Hamilton is working with Special Collections
to plan for housing the special collections in both temporary and perma-
nent quarters. Along with the books, people and library operations are
moving. Reference and Collection Management staff are moving into their
combined quarters on the 1st floor of Library West, Acquisitions is moving
to the 2d floor of Library East, and Personnel is moving to the 3d floor of
Library West. A new user seating area has been created just east of the
Reference Room. Microforms will be moved into the north part of the area
formerly used by Acquisitions. Archives processing will temporarily
move into the south part. In the summer the upper floors of West will be
closed so that walls can be removed. At the end of this 60-90 day project,
books will be moved back into West in call number order.
So many moves at once can be confusing and a bit disconcerting. We are
constrained by construction deadlines, budgets (this year we have OPS $
to move, next year is uncertain), and a desire to cause as little inconven-
ience as possible to library users. The cooperation of library staff and li-
brary users is both essential and very much appreciated. We still have
several months of difficulty ahead until we're into an improved arrange-
ment wrought by the reconfiguration of Library East and Library West.
The glory of a new addition is still to come-and by the end of this
century.
Carol Turner
RLG PUBLICATIONS
OTES FROM PRESERVATION
ide And Seek = Space And Time
te young voice on the telephone is that of a Turk, Selim. "Bir dakika olsun is-
"rahat edelim," he says. "Let us rest, if only for a minute." He reminds me of
ines from a Thom Gunn poem, "On the Move,"
'At worst, one is in motion, and at best,
teaching no absolute, in which to rest,
ae is always nearer by not keeping still."
ith this wisdom, I believe that I either know how fast we are moving books
ut not where they are, or, know where they are but not how fast we are mov-
ng them. Similarly, my father went bald not knowing why; but at least I know I
ave a receding hair line because I am slowly pulling out hairs.
ioks can be like young Turks and old men. They reveal their wisdom in
ongues or in riddles like poems. They can grow bald naturally or out of mis-
eatment. I have spoken too often but not enough about the diseases and de-
truction of books, about the plagues and pestilence which afflict them, and
bout their protection and proper treatment. And now, I will take my moment
f rest. Yes, that's right! I am going to play god, pretending this is my seventh
ay of creation, and just sit back and marvel at creation. The most marvelous
hing about young Turks and old men are their tall tales and hidden stories. If,
hen, books are like young Turks and old men, what might you expect to find?
iokbinders have all manner of creativity; and books reflect this creativity in all
f their parts. But, what hidden stories do they hold. As library staff we have to
egard books for their words. We don't appreciate them enough for themselves.
So relax, kick back, and
take a look at some of
these hidden stories.
I recently attended a con-
ference at which the
stamping and embossing
of 19th century book cov-
ers was discussed. Ap-
parently, the hidden sto-
ry of these books could
be found in secret marks
and designers initials. Il-
lustration 1A shows de-
tail copied from Char-
lotte Curtis Smith's Bob
Illustration IA. Knight's Diary At Poplar
Hill School. Illustration
2A shows detail copied
rom George Barton's The Bell Haven Eight. Illustrations 1B and 2B show en-
arged detail; notice the designer's mark, "IOI". Illustration 1A attempts to hide
he mark in a pillow. Another example of the hidden mark is found in books
rom Jas. A. Braden's The Auto Boys' Adventure series. Illustration 3 shows detail
rom one volume which does not include a mark. Illustration 4, however, tries
o hide the mark in the apostrophe; not the initials, "CD". These marks reveal
mething of a book's printing history, and of the book artists rarely mentioned
n bibliographies. My favorite form of hidden story is hidden entirely from
"ew, and is found only as the book deteriorates. It is standard bookbinding
practice to line the spine with cloth and paper, then form the spine covering
ver it. Once the spine covering is formed the lining lies hidden. I believe that
he spine lining can express the soul of a book. In contemporary binding, we
continued on next page (>
Illustration ZB
Illustration 3.
Illustration 4.
OIR'S MINI-SABBATICAL PROGRAM
Proposals for projects designed to improve
instruction at UF are due at the Office of In-
structional Resources on June 1, 1990.
OIR will conduct two workshops in Room
1012 Turlington Hall, on Monday, April 9, at
4:05 p.m. and at noon on Tuesday, April 10,
to discuss guidelines and answer questions.
For additional information, see the bulletin
board outisde the Staff Lounge on the sec-
ond floor of Library West.
PUBLIC SERVICE FORUM VIDEOS
The Public Service Forums are being video-
taped and made available through the Re-
serves Desk. At this point the first Forum,
which featured Rich Bennett's excellent re-
view of circulation policies, procedures and
issues, is available. Video of the next Forum
on April 11, an electronic services update by
Colleen Seale, Denise Beaubien, and Mary
Gay Anderson, will be available shortly af-
ter the session.
FACULTY COMMITTEE
To seek advice and communicate with users
about plans, changes and services, a new fa-
culty advisory committee has been formed
for Library East and West. The committee,
composed of appointees from departments
primarily using East and West, met with
Carol Turner on March 8 and will meet
twice a semester.
line our spines with blank
paper. There is no soul
here! But, in times past,
spines were lined with LAST SONGS
newsprint which captured FROM
the day's events. That his- VAGAB ONDIA
tory, though hidden, be-
comes part of the book, as
much as the Kennedy and
King assassinations have
become a part of me.
Sometimes a binder would
use sheet music. I have
heard tales of someone l
finding an original Mozart
manuscript lining the spine
of a Viennese prayerbook.
More commonly however,
lining was simply scrap
from dead books. Many
Yiddish books from Lithua-
nia survive only in these
scraps.
At times, the spine lining
can have even more pro-
found meaning. It can
serve as the bookbinder's
equivalent of the poet's Illustration 6.
poem or
the young
Turk's face, beaming on the other end of the connection.
Such examples of spine lining actually capture the spirit
and soul of the binder. Illustration 5 exemplifies the book-
binder as poet. Found on the spine of a 19th century histo-
ry, it depicts a funerary urn and reads, "Mark time dost
thou?" Perhaps its binder was aware that his book would
decay, or that I would attempt to conserve it. (I relined the
conserved book using an acid free copy of the original.)
Certainly, it expresses a sense of humor. Illustrations 6 and
7 exemplify what only a face can. Found in a copy of Bliss
Carman's Last Songs From Vagabondia, it depicts a willful
woman whose humble downcast glance has been waiting
over 60 years for us. Age and use have set her free. She
seems an answer to a riddle contained in "The Girl in the
Poster," a poem within the book.
"In a volume great and golden,
Would better beseem a sage,
Her downcast look is holden;
But I cannot see the page."
Do you think the three men on the cover tried to point her
out? It is unusual that lining should be so perfectly aligned.
I hope you've enjoyed this idyll. Excuse me, I still have
that young Turk on the telephone.
Erich Kesse
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