When the American Library Association met in Washington last June, the Library offered many "Experience LC" opportunities for attendees. Most coverage of the ALA convention was published in the August issues; the remainder of the coverage appears below.
More than 50 national and international visitors had the opportunity to "experience LC" during the American Library Association's annual conference in Washington. Responding to the Library's offer to spend "a day in the life" of an office of their choosing, conference participants came from as close as College Park, Md., and as far away as Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"It should be called the 'LC extraordinary experience,'" said Sasha Madacki, referral archivist at the Federal Archive of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who, along with four others, spent the day in the Chief of Staff's office. He chose this particular experience because, "My girlfriend advised me to go to the heart of the institution."
The experience was mutually beneficial. "The group brought a fresh perspective to the table," said Charles Stanhope, special assistant to Chief of Staff Jo Ann Jenkins. "They reviewed a draft document with fresh eyes and with new energy." According to Thomas Quigley, library branch head for the Vancouver Public Library, there was no holding back. "We even witnessed a few stormy discussions," he reported.
"I was very impressed with the facilitative leadership approach to conducting meetings," said Joyce Radcliff, technical assistant at the University of Southern Alabama. Corporate librarian Marie Dueurlein, Tower Group, Cambridge, Mass., agreed. "I was privileged to spend time with all the hard-working people in the Chief of Staff's office," she said. "I learned a great deal about Library administration." Ms. Radcliff, who interned briefly at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in 1996, opted for a broader view of the Library during this visit. She convinced her friend, Gloria Williams, of Mobile (Ala.) Public Library, to share the experience.
"Experience LC" was the brainchild of Associate Librarian for Library Services Winston Tabb, who wanted to offer ALA members a firsthand view of how LC functions daily.
In all, LC offered some 30 experiences, covering a broad range of Library functions such as reference service, cataloging, collection development, the application of information technology and technical training. Participants also had the opportunity to spend a day in the Law Library and the Copyright Office. Following is a sample of "Experience LC" highlights.
Reference Service
As a child, Eve Wider visited the Library and recalled being impressed by the lofty quotations adorning the Jefferson Building. She returned on June 30 as a librarian in the Business Library at the University of Pittsburgh, to experience a day in the Library's Business Reading Room under the direction of business reference librarian Richard Sharp.
"I wanted to see what business resources the Library of Congress has, and to confirm that it is a friendly place to send my students," said Ms. Wider.
For Annsofie Oscarsson of Sweden, this was her first visit to the Library during her 30-year career in the library field. Appointed head of reference five years ago at Umea University Library in Sweden, Ms. Oscarsson's first choice was to spend the day in the Main Reading Room.
Ms. Oscarsson is interested in the global state of reference. Prior to her visit to the United States, she contacted a number of people equally interested in the subject and received invitations to visit the reference departments of several university libraries such as Harvard, Brandeis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Comparing American and Swedish reference service, she observed, "We are getting closer to each other because of the technology. We share the same databases, and the same problems, such as whether to charge fees for service."
Ms. Oscarsson was the only international visitor among the nine persons who chose to spend a day in the Main Reading Room. However, other participants represented a diverse segment of the U.S. population, from Colorado, California, Indiana, Texas, New York and Hawaii.
"We attempted to match participants with reference specialists in their area of interest," said Elizabeth Jenkins-Joffe, reference librarian in the Main Reading Room, who coordinated each participant's daily schedule with the assistance of Main Reading Room supervisor Betty Culpeper and acting head of the Main Reading Room Barbara Morland.
Cataloging
ALA members interested in cataloging could choose from a wide range of experiences such as Cataloging-in-Publication (CIP), Computer Files Cataloging, Subject Cataloging, the Cataloging Policy and Support Office, Dewey, Copyright Cataloging, and Children's Materials Cataloging. Many of these experiences were "hands on."
"The goal of the experience was for participants to complete a CIP record," said Jane Gilchrist, Children's Literature team leader in the History and Literature Cataloging Division. Under the direction of Senior Subject Catalogers Jo Monaco and Divna Todorovich, participants Evelyn Brass (University of Houston Libraries) and Barbara Spivey (Albuquerque Academy) each created a catalog record and summary.
"Evelyn and Barbara will eventually be able to open the published book and see the CIP data they input and, it is hoped, feel as if they own a piece of the LC catalog," said Ms. Gilchrist. "But even more important, they had the opportunity to experience the Library of Congress as individual faces, not just an institution."
Collection Development
For Denice Adkins, a reference librarian at Colorado Christian University, it was not hard to choose among the many LC experiences. As a Ph.D. candidate in library science, working on a dissertation on "Library Services to Spanish-Speaking Children in Arizona," Ms. Adkins opted to spend two mornings in the Hispanic Division. Chief Georgette Dorn arranged for Ms. Adkins to meet with a variety of area specialists in the division.
"I selected this experience to see how the national library treats Hispanic resources and to see what is available for my own research," said Ms. Adkins. "I was amazed at how many resources are online," she said, referring to the Handbook of Latin American Studies; Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-1995; and "The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures," a recent addition to the American Memory collections.
Ms. Adkins wasn't the only member of the family to "Experience LC." Her husband, Michael Sauers, a librarian and Internet trainer at the Bibliographical Center for Research in Aurora, Colo., opted to critique the THOMAS legislative information Web site. "Michael has been wild about THOMAS since it first became accessible in 1995," said Ms. Adkins.
"I previously worked as a legislative intern for the New York State Assembly," said Mr. Sauers. "So, naturally, I was interested in a system that tracked legislation at the national level."
Information Technology
Tim McCarthy, instructional support technician at the State University of New York at Buffalo, also spent an afternoon evaluating THOMAS, perhaps with a somewhat different perspective. Armed with a "mouth stick" or "oral prosthetic," Mr. McCarthy was, in part, assessing THOMAS's accessibility to persons with disabilities.
"I'm a very independent person, which contributed to my decision to enter the library field," said Mr. McCarthy. "I was originally a psychology major, but during a reference interview with a health sciences librarian, I observed how the use of online resources had the potential to minimize or eliminate my disability," he explained. "I decided shortly thereafter to earn a master's degree in library science."
Maryle Ashley, manager of Systems Development Group 2 in Information Technology Services, will review Mr. McCarthy's comments, along with those of the two other participants, and incorporate suggestions where appropriate.
Technical Training
Thom Saudargas, library applications specialist for technical services at the College Center for Library Automation in Tallahassee, Fla., proved that the Library could also learn from those given the opportunity to "Experience LC."
"Thom has already implemented an integrated library system (ILS) for 62 libraries that comprise Florida's community college network," said Tim Carlton, who hosted Mr. Saudargas's day in the Technical Processing and Automation Instruction Office (TPAIO).
"An integrated library system effectively turns librarians into 'integrated librarians,' which means they are not only catalogers but own a piece of public service too," said Mr. Saudargas. He acknowledged the enormous importance of providing technical training throughout the process. "You can't expect people to implement an ILS or any other system for that matter unless they are effectively trained," he said. "The move toward an ILS represents a big change, but with proper training, it shouldn't scare anyone."
Law
Carolyn Tanen, assistant cataloger for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Library in New York City, took advantage of the law-related experiences that the Library had to offer. She not only spent a day in the Law Library's Collection Services Division, but she also spent two days with the Law Team in the Social Sciences Cataloging Division.
"Ours is a highly efficient operation with a 'bottom line,' and we are particularly busy at the end of each quarter," said Margaret Loewinger, leader of the Law Team. "Therefore, I had some concerns about hosting a visitor on June 22 and June 23. But I'm glad we did, since it was well worth it for the Library to make a valuable contact in a Circuit Court law library, particularly one that has recently implemented an integrated library system. We are hoping Carolyn's library will participate in the Program for Cooperative Cataloging."
Ms. Tanen was moved by the Library staff's efforts to accommodate her hearing disability as well as that of a permanent member of the Law Team. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, Ms. Tanen has not found the corporate world as accommodating as government agencies. Ms. Tanen was equally impressed with accommodations in the Law Library, where Rose Marie Clemandot, chief of the Collection Services Office, communicates with a hearing-impaired staff member through sign language.
Copyright Office
Copyright staffers Peter Vankevich, Bill Poole and Larisa Pastuchiv introduced "Experience LC" participants to the history of the U.S. copyright law. In return, they received a briefing on the history of "legal deposit" in eastern Europe from Eva Kodric-Dacic of the State Center for Library Development in Ljubjana, Slovenia, who opted to spend the day in the Copyright Acquisitions Division.
"The system of legal deposit developed in Slovenia for very different reasons than in the United States," said Ms. Dacic. "It grew out of a system of government censorship," she explained. "Prior to distribution, all printed works had to be reviewed and, in many cases, edited by the government." Eventually it evolved into a system driven by archival and educational purposes, but it was not until 1993 that legal deposit was required in Slovenia as a means for proving copyright ownership.
Sarah Wenzel of Boston University Library also benefited from an overview of the history of copyright in the United States and Eastern Europe. "I selected this experience because I don't know as much about the copyright law as I should," said Ms. Wenzel. "I specifically chose to spend a day in the Public Information Section since Boston University Library is one of the few university libraries in the area that is accessible to the public.
"Everyone I've met at the Library of Congress has been very friendly and helpful," said Ms. Wenzel. "The Library has obviously made a huge effort to make this a wonderful experience for ALA conference attendees."
