A Call to Arms
2nd Annual
Friends Meeting
Board to decide
first project
The MTU Blanket
Fundraiser
Report on Tech
Tea
Board Members
The Sometimes
Annual Book Sale
A Call to ArmsI have seldom been asked the important question "Why does the Van Pelt Library need Friends?" I think this is because most people recognize that worthwhile causes need active supporters. Community libraries and arts organizations have long relied on such hardworking individuals for their survival.
A university library is somewhat different from a community-based organization, however. With the mission and privilege of serving the university community comes a support base for salaries and acquisitions which would be the envy of most general-purpose libraries.
There is a catch, however, and that is that the mission of a university research library is extremely broad and deep. In addition to being a community library, the Van Pelt Library has the responsibility to provide access to materials in all disciplines addressed at Michigan Tech, while also serving as a historical archive and an authorized government document repository; that's a very wide range of responsibilities.
Michigan Technological University has done much for the Van Pelt Library. The Van Pelt Library has annual expenditures of $2.4 million and has received budgetary increases in the last 10 years which average 3.1%. We appreciate the support the university adiministration has given to the Library
Yet, despite the support outlined above, costs associated with collection and collection management have outstripped appropriation. Budget increases and various special allocations authorized by the Provost have been absorbed into journal -- and book -- cost inflation and the implementation of new technology in the Van Pelt Library, including the purchase of the new Voyager cataloging system. Due to cost constraints, the number of journal titles subscribed to by the Van Pelt Library has shrunk by nearly 1000 titles in 10 years. Also while the number of monographs (books) acquired annually has remained approximately constant, 9 new Ph.D. programs have been added at MTU. The physical building of the library was built 30 years ago, and only minor repairs and painting have been performed in the interim -- funds for more major renovations are hard to come by. The building is too small for the current collection, forcing 70,000 volumes to be stored in the totally unsuitable Annex facility. Finally, the size of the university and community clientele has grown significantly in the last 10 years, rising from 364 to 791 graduate students, from 294 to 352 faculty, and from 5 to 14 Ph.D. programs.
The knee-jerk solution to this problem is to just allocate more money to the Library. This would certainly help! There is, however, widespread concern about investing in libraries in an era of expanding information technology. The internet is now a part of many of our daily lives -- World Wide Web addresses are routinely given on television and in print advertisements. A wide range of information is now being made available over the Web at no cost. Academic journals are beginning to show up in electronic format, and digitalization projects are ongoing all over the country. Maybe, some people say, we do not need libraries any more. Libraries, in this view, have become obsolete.
Hearing this view with an open mind we find some points to agree with. Information these days comes in a wide variety of formats from CD-ROMs to the internet. Collecting is not the only way to make this information available to our community -- we could make information services more widely available to our users, for example. We can also agree that when looking for information, computer search is preferable to obsolete methods such as the traditional (and beloved!) card catalog. Libraries everywhere, including the Van Pelt Library, have adapted to new technology by bringing in computers to provide information organization (replacing the card catalog) and to read new media (e.g. CD-ROM, computer disks). Having agreed with some aspects of this view, however, we must vehemently disagree that libraries are obsolete. One of the main functions of libraries is to collect and manage information. Even in the 21st century paradigm of high-tech forms of information, the decision must still be made of what and how to collect information and how to store and retrieve this information once it has been collected. Remember, electronic journals are not free, nor will they be, and soon, according to many predictions, the information on the internet will also have user costs associated with it.
Another role which will not be diminished by the information revolution is the educational role libraries have had of teaching new users how to find the information they need. While computers make a wide amount of information readily accessible, the goal of a researcher is to find a particular piece of information; form a library perpective it was predictable that one of the major roudblocks on the information super-highway is the choice and quality of the software search engine used when seeking information. The task of the internet search engine -- finding the desired information -- is the task which librarians have been tackling for hundreds of years.
Finally, the physical space of libraries continues to be important in an academic community as a place for students to meet, study, and gather information. With the increasing isolation caused by the growth in use of home computers, public space for collaborative work becomes more important and perhaps essential.
It is a great challenge to manage the library for current users while developing plans for the library in a future which is difficult to predict. Putting off the decision, however, only ensures that we will not have the library/information facility we need now or in the future.
Here's where the Friends come in. The Van Pelt Library needs advocates -- people who will help get out the message to all quarters that the Library is needed and appreciated, people who will spend their valuable time working to improve the Library one step at a time by raising funds or providing volunteer labor, people who will contribute to public discourse on the role of libraries to help to accelerate the evolution of a consensus on what kind of library we need in 20 years -- and what kind of library we need now for the community we are serving today.
The Friends are these people. Our efforts will benefit a wide constituency
and help to guide MTU in its missions of education, scholarship, and service
to the community. Thank you for joining us.
2nd Annual Friends MeetingBoard to decide first projectThe goal of the Friends is to support the Van Pelt Library and its patrons. Due to the gnerosity of donors to the Friends and the success of the booksale and the blanket sale, we are now able to begin planning our first benefit project.
The process for choosing our project began with a list from Library Director Phyllis Johnson. Secondly, the library staff were asked to identify projects for the Friends. Finally, the Friends board also generated a wish-list of library improvements/additions.
The complete wish-list of projects brought to the attention of the Friends board (arranged in order of increasing purchase price) is given below:
The MTU Blanket FundraiserReport on Tech TeaFollowing Riggs' presentation, Faith Morrison from the Friends of the Library moderated a panel discussion of the future of libraries. Serving on the panel were several members of the MTU faculty and staff: University Librarian Phyllis Johnson, Brenda Helminen from Information Technology, and two faculty members from the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Drs. William Shapton, and Walter Olson.
A wide variety of views were expressed in the discussion. Professor Shapton stimulated a great deal of discussion by saying that he preferred to have all the resources he needed in his office -- his personal book and journal collection and the internet. Librarian Johnson pointed out that most people do not have the ability to arrange their working space that way. Members of the audience expressed their frustration at how difficult it is to search on the internet -- and actually find useful information. Brenda Helminen replied that the trouble was because "the internet was designed by a bunch of computer scientists -- and I can say that because I'm a computer scientist myself!" The internet has so far not benefited from the extensive experience of librarians in organizing and storing large quantities of diverse information.
The Tea was quite successful and provided the Friends with a wonderful opportunity to publicize their activities. We would like to thank everyone who came and who thereby contributed to its success.
Board MembersNancy Fisher (1997), Treasurer
June Hawthorne (1997), vice Chairman
Kim Hoagland (1999)
George Love (1997)
Faith Morrison (1996), Chairman
Betzabe Praeger (1998) Terry Reynolds (1997)
Peter Van Pelt (1998)
Edward Yarbrough (1996), Secretary
Raymond Yarbrough (1998)
Phyllis Johnson, University Librarian, ex officio
Fred Dobney, Provost, Michigan Tech, ex officio
The Board of Directors of the Friends of the Van Pelt Library metts
monthly on the first Thursday of the month in room 309 of the Van Pelt
Library. Due to the July 4 holiday, the July meeting will be July 11, 1996.
There will be no August meeting.
Board meetings are open to the public, and Friends are especially encouraged to attend. Members interested in a position on the board should contact Faith Morrison, or attend a board meeting for more information.
For more information on the Friends of the Library, please call 906-487-2050 or 906-296-0644.
The Sometimes Annual Book SaleThe book sale was a tremendous success, netting over $2100 for the library -- more than triple the amount of the previous sale. 4,000 items were collected by the Friends and organized and priced by library staffers Bob Marr and Ellen Seidel. The Friends Booksale Committee, chaired by Betzi Praeger, whipped volunteers into a frenzy of book organizing and selling on the sale day. The thanks of the Friends go out to those who volunteered, donated books, and shopped. A special thanks to Erik Nordberg who helped to pick up many of the rare books which made the sale such a success.
Our goal for next year? Triple sales again!