From your 1999-2000 OCLC Users' Council Delegates: Arlene Luster Marcia Talley [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] ph: 808-449-2209 ph: 410-293-6905 I thought the following readings, compiled for the upcoming OCLC Users' Council Meeting in October, would be of general interest to Fedlink librarians, so I am forwarding them on to you. Happy reading! -- Marcia 16 September 1999 OCLC Users Council Memorandum TO: User Council Delegates CC: User Council Alternates From: Jennifer Morris, OCLC User Council Executive Committee, Delegate-at-Large Subject: Discussion Preparation and Optional Readings for October 1999 Users Council The theme for the coming year is "A New World: OCLC, Libraries, and Users in the 21st Century." As requested by the Executive Committee, I have identified some materials you may want to browse in preparing for the October Users Council Meeting. The topic for this meeting is "The User View of the Expanding Library World." Each of the speakers we have lined up should offer provocative and useful insights into how libraries, networks, and OCLC are expanding information availability to users. Specifically, we will address the following key questions: * How are library users changing in their composition, expectations, and experiences and how do they access and use both information and knowledge? * What are the likely impacts of these changes on libraries and OCLC? * What will constitute a successful and sustainable library in the 21st century? * What can libraries, networks, and OCLC do together to better serve library users? During the type-of-library small group discussions on Monday, October 4 from 3-4:30, you will be asked to consider especially the last two questions: What will constitute a successful and sustainable library in the 21st century? And, what can libraries, networks, and OCLC do together to better serve library users? Some electronic and print sources are suggested below from which you may want to select a few to read either before or during the October meeting. As usual, workstations in the Communications Room at the Smith Building will be configured to offer access both to the Web and e-mail. Opening Keynote Speaker, Steve Coffman There continues to be a great deal of discussion following Steve's initial article on Building Earth's Largest Library. You can visit the web4lib archive and do a search on Coffman. This will pick up most of the discussions in the thread. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive.html Coffman, Steve. "Building Earth's Largest Library: Driving into the future," Searcher, March 1999 http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/mar/coffman.htm And the follow-up by Coffman: "Response to Building Earth's Largest Library," Searcher, July/August 1999: http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul/coffman.htm Mike Dahn's response: "Building Earth's Largest Library: One Librarian's Plan of Action," Searcher, July/August 1999 (web-only): HTTP://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul/dahn.htm Walt Crawford's response: "Gutting America's local libraries: Informal comments on "Building Earth's Largest Library." (web-only) August 30, 1999. http://home.att.net/~wcc.libmedx/gutting.htm OCLC ILL Task Force Shirley Baker of Washington University and Chair of the OCLC ILL Task Force, will report on progress to date. Information on the Task Force objectives is at http://www.oclc.org/oclc/ill/objectives.htm Library Users and Usage Changes David Ferriero from Duke University will be speaking on "What Changes are Taking Place in Library Users and Usage?" His colleague John Lubans, Deputy University Librarian at Duke University has written two articles on student use of the Internet: http://www.lib.duke.edu/staff/orgnztn/lubans/john.html Another study of student use of the Internet is the fall 1998 survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. In it, more than half (54.2 percent) of all freshmen said they participate in Internet chat rooms. Nearly three-quarters (72.9 percent) engaged in "other Internet use." A full 80.4 percent of students said they play computer games at least occasionally. http://ace-webtest.nche.edu/stylesheet/news/press_release/1999/01January/fre shman_survey.html Beloit College in Wisconsin has once again assembled a list of ways in which entering first-year students differ in their frame of reference, not only from their teachers and advisors, but from those just a few years older than themselves. Below is their "peek into the mindset of today's first-year college students... through the class of 2003 list." http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/releases/mindsetlist.html This is a very current, useful summary of how various libraries are focusing on new services for library patrons, using the 'My Library' technique to create a user-centered, customizable, Web-based portal service to the library's set of information services. Winter, Ken. "'MyLibrary' can help your library," American Libraries 30 (7) August 1999: 65-67. And finally, an actual book (!) on user expectations. Hernon, Peter and Ellen Altman. Assessing Service Quality: Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers. ALA, 1998. c.256p. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-8389-3489-7. pap. $40. "The authors suggest new ways to think about library services, clarify the distinction between service quality and customer satisfaction, present strategies for developing a customer service plan, identify procedures to measure service quality and satisfaction, and challenge conventional thinking about these powerful principles. ...The bibliography is replete with library literature indicating the wide-ranging adaptation of these vital components in libraries and the prevailing awareness of how important it is to focus the operations of a library around the expectations of the customer. Numerous excellent tracking forms and survey and satisfaction instruments provide mechanisms to carry out a commitment to satisfying the needs of customers, especially for leading librarians who long ago tossed that useless suggestion box." (From a review by Dale F. Farris in Library Journal; New York; Apr 15, 1999.) CORC, Metadata, Dublin Core Due to high interest in these topics at our May 1999 meeting, Terry Noreault, V.P. Office of Research has been asked to not only bring us up to date but give us a glimpse into the future. An introduction and description of the CORC project by Thomas B. Hickey, Chief Scientist at OCLC. http://www.oclc.org/oclc/research/publications/review98/hickey/corc.htm A paper proposing a mechanism for using the Dublin Core for search and retrieval in Z39.50, by Ralph R. LeVan, Consulting Research Scientist at OCLC. http://www.oclc.org/oclc/research/publications/review97/levan/dublincoreandz 3950-v1_1.html Gorman, Michael. "Metadata or cataloging? A false choice." Journal of Internet Cataloging 2 (1) 1999: 5-22. Gorman recommends a "both-and" solution, a four-pronged hierarchical approach whereby resources deemed most valuable would get full MARC/AACR2 treatment. The next level down would get enriched Dublin Core records; below that, minimal level Dublin Core treatment, followed by full-text keyword searching via web search engines.