From your 1998-99 OCLC Users' Council Delegates:
Arlene Luster Marcia Talley
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ph: 808-449-2209 ph: 410-293-6905
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tom Storey +1-761-5032
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Nita Dean +1-614-761-5002
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WINNERS OF THE OCLC INTERLIBRARY LOAN ESSAY CONTEST NAMED
DUBLIN, Ohio, June 28, 1999--Barbi G. Lehn, director of library services,
Sinte Gleska University, Mission, South Dakota, is the grand prize winner of
the "What the OCLC Interlibrary Loan Service Means to Me" essay contest,
sponsored by OCLC and its U.S. regional networks and international
distributors in honor of the 20th anniversary of the OCLC Interlibrary Loan
(ILL) service.
Receiving $500 prizes were: Voit Gilmore, writer/lecturer, Pinehurst, North
Carolina; Gretchen Hamlett, reference librarian, Delta Public Library,
Delta, Colorado; Marc A. Olshan, professor of sociology, Alfred University,
Alfred, New York; and Jemima Perry, circulation supervisor, City of
Calabasas Library, California.
Ms. Lehn was presented with the $1,000 prize at the OCLC President's
Luncheon on June 28 in New Orleans in conjunction with the 1999 American
Library Association Annual Conference.
As director of library services at Sinte Gleska University, which is located
on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, Ms. Lehn delivers library and information
services to American Indians. Her library is affiliated with the MINITEX
Library Information Network, the South Dakota State Library, and the South
Dakota Library Network.
In her essay, Ms. Lehn paid tribute to the role OCLC plays in building pride
in the university's students about their Indian heritage.
"As part of automating the library, the 12 collection codes had to be
entered into OCLC," wrote Ms. Lehn. "I took advantage of this to rename the
'Indian' and 'Indian Reference' special collections. Young people had been
objecting to these terms. I went to Albert White Hat, a Lakota language
instructor, and asked him for the Lakota words for the phrase 'we remember
ourselves.' He rendered it as 'Unkiciksuyapi.'
"Now, when I take tour groups through the library, and I show them the
special collections, I explain what the name of the
collection--Unkiciksuyapi--means. I tell the story of how it is in a
worldwide database, how next century's technology can be used to preserve
the past centuries' culture. This makes people around here proud again.
This is what the OCLC Interlibrary Loan service means to me."
Mr. Gilmore said that the efficiency and thoroughness of the OCLC ILL
service, coupled with the support of the Moore County Public Library,
inspired him to participate in the essay contest.
"It is clear that the OCLC network works well and smoothly--and it is
equally clear that the knowledge, dedication and skill of Library Technician
Diana Belvin and her colleagues combine to produce pleased patrons such as
me," wrote Mr. Gilmore. "This then is a resounding salute to the 20 years
of invaluable OCLC service to our literary life and a deep bow of gratitude
to the network team who make the service so valuable to our lives."
The Moore County Library, Carthage, North Carolina, is a member of the
Sandhills Regional Library System, which is affiliated with the Southeastern
Library Network.
Ms. Hamlett said that the OCLC ILL service helps her small, rural library
better serve the community. " OCLC Interlibrary Loan service means we have
access to materials far beyond our own limited scope. It means our small
staff has capabilities extending beyond our own collection and that we may
speak confidently with our customers, knowing our resources are varied and
wide."
The Delta County Public Library is affiliated with the Bibliographical
Center for Research.
Mr. Olshan uses the OCLC ILL service to help him in his research. "OCLC
delivers the information that allows me to move from inspiration to finished
product. Every article or chapter I've written was constructed on a
foundation of some key source, some necessary reference, some vital piece of
information uncovered through OCLC."
Alfred University's regional network is Nylink.
Ms. Perry said that the OCLC ILL service helped her rediscover the books she
read growing up in London after World War II. "What does OCLC mean to me?
It means the whole world of books is mine again. It means I have been given
back my childhood."
A panel of regional network directors and OCLC staff chose the winning
essays from over 300 entries received from five countries.
"It was extremely difficult to choose these winners from among the wonderful
essays submitted for this contest," said Phyllis B. Spies, vice president,
OCLC worldwide sales. "We appreciate the creativity, thought and time all
of the entrants put into their compositions."
The winning essays will be printed in the July/August issue of the _OCLC
Newsletter_ and in a monograph that will be published later this year.
Since the OCLC ILL service began operation in 1979, libraries and OCLC have
built it into one of the world's foremost interlibrary loan networks. More
than 6,000 libraries have used the ILL service to arrange 91 million
interlibrary loans. Last year, 8.2 million interlibrary loans were
conducted using the OCLC ILL service.
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a
nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization
whose computer network and services link more than 34,000 libraries in 67
countries and territories. OCLC is dedicated to the public purposes of
furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs.
In the United States, more information is available (via telephone:
+1-614-764-6000 or 1-800-848-5878; fax: +1-614-764-6096; or e-mail:
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Europe office, located in Birmingham, United Kingdom (phone: +44 121 456
4656; fax: +44 121 456 4680; or e-mail: [log in to unmask]). In Asia and the
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+1-614-764-6189; fax: +1-614-764-4331; or e-mail:
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in Montreal, Quebec (phone: +1-450-658-6583 or 1-888-658-6583; fax:
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Caribbean, contact the OCLC Latin America and the Caribbean office in
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More information about OCLC, its affiliated U.S. regional networks,
international divisions and distributors is available on the OCLC Web site
<http://www.oclc.org/>. (TS/ND)
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