MCB ALA WORKSHOP EXPLORES PARTNERSHIPS IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE

Citation

Barbara Watstein, S. (1999), "MCB ALA WORKSHOP EXPLORES PARTNERSHIPS IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 16 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.1999.23916fac.002

MCB ALA WORKSHOP EXPLORES PARTNERSHIPS IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE

Introduction

The 2nd MCB University Press/ Library Link Workshop was held during the ALA Midwinter Meeting, January 29, 1999 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. The workshop provided librarians and information professionals with an opportunity to discuss core issues concerning information management from a global perspective. The workshop also offered an opportunity for participants to network with their peers and to meet MCB University Press staff in person.

The challenges facing publishers and librarians in the information age are both multifaceted and enormous. Publishers are wrestling with the challenge to embrace new technologies, the challenge to transition from print to electronic, the challenge to maintain existing revenue streams, and the challenge to change relationships with librarians and institutions. Publishers are also faced with the challenge of revisiting, and in some cases redefining, their roles. The role of the publisher has always been to maximize the dissemination of information. How has this role changed or evolved in the electronic publishing age? Today, concerned about bottlenecks to the effective and efficient provision of information resources, many information professionals worldwide are engaged in an ongoing debate over what it means to provide global access to content. Are these concerns relevant to publishers? Should they be? And what does this debate have to do with the role of publishers anyway?

Librarians are also wrestling with challenges, including the challenge of keeping pace with the new resources and skills required of both staff and library users, the challenge of keeping abreast of new technologies, and the challenge of ensuring that users make the most use of library resources. Like their counterparts in publishing, librarians are also faced with the challenge of revisiting, and in some cases redefining, their roles. The role of the librarian has always been to facilitate access to information. How has this role changed or evolved in the information age? Librarians worldwide are engaged in an ongoing debate over what it means to provide global access not only to information but also to information resources. This debate has everything to do with the role of librarians today and as we enter the next millennium.

Today, both publishers and librarians are concerned about bottlenecks to the effective and efficient provision of both information resources and information. Both are concerned about how they can best provide solutions and opportunities for their customers or their users in the electronic age. Publisher and librarian partnerships, MCB proposes, are the way to go. Toward this end, MCB has identified challenges facing such partnerships: resourcing the role of the librarian, determining archival responsibilities, getting a better handle on the access versus ownership debate, and creating subject gateways. Breakout sessions at the workshop afforded participants the opportunity to focus on these specific challenges.

Resourcing the Role of the New Librarian

Key questions in this debate include: What do librarians and researchers want in the future? What are value-added services? Will publishers and the Internet eliminate libraries, librarians, or both? What is the role of the new librarian? How have the teacher and facilitator roles of librarians changed in recent years? How can publishers and vendors help librarians in their new role?

Archiving

Here, the bottom line drives the discussion: Who is responsible for archiving: Authors? Publishers? Aggregators? Individual libraries? National libraries? Regional or national consortia? Or, are there other emerging players to watch ­ third parties such as JSTOR, for example? To what extent do librarians trust these various organizations or associations to provide archival services? How expensive is archiving anyway? A related question concerns what is actually archived ­ the information, the searching technology, or both? And, how does it deal with linking? How does one deal with online links relating to articles anyway?

Access versus Ownership

Access versus ownership continues to be hotly debated in the electronic age. Who owns the information? To what extent is a library's decision to purchase based on the vendor's ­ or the publisher's ­ ability to provide archival resources and support? Have there been changes in federal laws that impact these issues? And what about authors' rights in the electronic age? How are authors impacted by the shift to licensing? Are access and ownership really the key issues anymore?

Subject Gateways

With the increasing number of both texts and journals in electronic format, the need for both basic and increasingly sophisticated subject gateways to minimize what has been called the "bureaucracy of access" has escalated dramatically in recent years. Participants acknowledged that good front-ends would go a long way towards reducing user frustration. They also agreed that users need author links, the ability to create subject lists and subsets, the ability to link to Websites and publishers' databases, and the ability to link to other resources, including online catalogs, print journals, and others. The problem of information overload was discussed and all agreed that the role of the librarian as mediator has never been more critical.

For Further Information

For further information about the current issues discussed at the Midwinter workshop, join Library Link, an online information and discussion forum for librarians, researchers, lecturers, and students. Library Link is supported by the journals published by MCB in the field of library and information management. Library Link is split into two main sections: Librarians as Service Providers and Library Management and Continuing Education. To join Library Link, go to the homepage at http:www.mcb.co.uk/liblink/nethome.htm. Follow the link "First-time visitors click here." Follow the link to the "application form." Submit the application form to become a member of Library Link. It's that simple.

Sarah Barbara Watstein is Director, Academic User Services, University Library Services, James Branch Cabell Library, Richmond, Virginia. swatstei@saturn.vcu.edu