ACRL New England
Chapter News Online
Fall 1999, No. 88
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ACRL New England
Chapter News Online |
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In this issue
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Pioneering Electronic Reserves The topic of electronic reserves is still hot for libraries--two programs sponsored this year by the Continuing Education Committee have been sold out. The spring program, which was co-sponsored by the Information Technology Interest Group, was held on May 26 at the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s O’Leary Library and attracted over 160 attendees from New England and beyond. The program, "Electronic Reserves: Experiences from the Pioneers," presented how-we-did-it stories, cautionary tales, intense discussions of copyright, equipment, and workflow issues, and a consideration of alternatives to e-reserves. Joanne O’Keefe and Anne Muchoney described the e-reserves program at Brandeis University, reprising and updating their popular session from last fall’s program. Since the service began in 1997, O’Keefe and Muchoney "counted everything." The resulting statistics have proved "invaluable" in documenting the growth of the e-reserve service. For example, in just five semesters, the number of classes using e-reserves grew from four to 58; the number of students enrolled in those classes grew from 98 to 2,338. Such statistics demonstrate the kind of progress that "attracts attention in high places." Irving Stephens of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Library focused on "The Technological Payoff" of electronic reserves. Indeed, the nitty-gritty issues of hardware and software were important to the audience, judging from many of the questions to Mr. Stephens and other presenters. As at Brandeis, RPI kept statistics to measure the impact of e-reserves. RPI found that e-reserves had a significant impact on paper reserves: article loans were significantly reduced and the library was able to get rid of half its photocopiers. Jim Douglas described the start-up of a new e-reserve service at Nichols College. The computing environment at Nichols is particularly conducive to e-reserves, as it is both robust and homogeneous--the campus is well-networked; every student owns a laptop with standardized hardware and software; and the library provides laser printing. Reflecting the "pioneers" theme of the program, Mr. Douglas described e-reserves as a progressive service which "improves the image of the library as a technology-savvy information provider." Andrew White and Denise Hersey of Connecticut College sounded a cautionary note with their presentation, "Electronic Reserves: Don’t Let This Happen to You." They described the e-reserves service at Connecticut College as successful, but told of mistakes made and lessons learned. One of their recommendations to libraries contemplating e-reserves was to involve all necessary staff during the pilot phase rather than involving a select few and then ultimately handing the project over to other staff. Linda Collins of Wheaton College presented a provocatively different view as she described her library’s decision to "resist the bandwagon" of e-reserves. Collins made her case by describing the environment at Wheaton, where faculty make heavy use of coursepacks, which are compiled by academic departments, and produce their own course Web sites, which may include reserve-type readings. Collins described the Wheaton faculty as having a "culture of self-sufficiency," in which the library does not wish to take copyright clearance and web production away from faculty. Dave Davis and Nicole McKenna of the Copyright Clearance Center focused on that aspect of e-reserves which garners the most intense and uneasy interest. They described the CCC’s respective positions on copyright holders and users (or "licensees") and took several questions from the latter in this audience. Common complaints from libraries to the CCC are that it takes too long to obtain permissions, that denials are frequent, and that costs for use of copyrighted material are high. Davis and McKenna noted that publishers are wary of digital uses of copyrighted materials and thus tend to take longer to approve permissions and do issue frequent denials. The price for use is also set by the rights holder, who may increase it to discourage digital use. The program provided a range of considerations, both pro and con, for those in the audience who are contemplating e-reserves at their own libraries. Additional information may be found at the following Web sites. Brandeis University Libraries Electronic Reserves: Rensselaer Libraries and Information Services Class
Reserves: Nichols College Conant Library Electronic Reserve
System: Connecticut College Research and Information
Resources: Wheaton College: Copyright Clearance Center: |