v.3 no 4                                                            November 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS

New Council on Information Services to Advise Provost, IR
by Nelson Markley, Provost

During the last few months the importance of communications in achieving the vision of a truly integrated information environment at Lehigh has come to the fore. It has captured the attention of all of us working on LEWIS. Pat Battin, consultant and former Lehigh trustee, discussed this issue with Don Bolle and me during her visit last September, and the Visiting Committee confirmed its importance. We are beginning to take concerted action in the communications arena and seek your support and assistance.

As the LEWIS Project moved into its active phase, it became evident that there was an increasing need for the various user groups to be kept well informed, and in a timely manner, of developments that relate to their responsibilities. The various groups involved in implementing the enterprise-wide software also need support in maintaining clear channels of communication all across the campus. To accomplish this goal, we added Jean Farrington to the LEWIS team to work with the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee to ensure that all such communication needs will be met and that the campus community will be kept fully apprised of progress and significant developments. In addition to heading this new communications effort, Jean will continue to enhance communication between Information Resources and the Lehigh community.

The establishment and articulation of policy is, I believe, another valuable form of communication. It first requires key leaders to work together, to think carefully about the underlying issues, and to define a set of principles that can provide a basis for understanding and cooperation. Secondly, once proposed, policies must be explained to the larger community and understood by them. And, once understood, sound policies provide a good foundation for easier further communication. Every step of the process depends critically on communication between components of the university.

I am convinced that the dearth of campus policies in the information resources area inhibits campus communications about and with Information Resources. For example, we do not have a clear written policy on desktop equipment and support, and IR staff can spend hours of valuable time attempting to solve problems on obsolete equipment.

Consequently, one of the challenges I believe we must meet this year is the creation of effective written campus policies on a range of information technology issues. With Don Bolle's able assistance I have recently moved to address this problem with the formation of the Advisory Council for Information Services (ACIS) as a first step toward setting university wide information services policies. I was pleased to announce a few weeks ago that Professor Mohamed El Aasser (pictured on the left) will chair the Advisory Council for Information Services. The other members of ACIS are: Denise Blew, George DuPaul, Jason Honsel, Rosemary Mundhenk, and Susan Sherer. In addition, Don Bolle would serve as an ex-officio member. The Information Resources staff will provide appropriate support for the Council's work.

The initial focus of the Council will be on constructing policy. To begin the process I am asking the Information Resources staff under Don's leadership to develop draft policies in a number of areas such as the following:

• Acquisition and support of personal computers and workstations,

• Acquisition and support of desk top software,

• Design, support, and maintenance of electronic classrooms,

• Interface between the campus Web environment and unit Web sites,

• Selection, implementation and support of instructional technology,

• Identification and management of charge back services.

These draft policies will be reviewed by ACIS and refined collaboratively with Information Resources before being widely circulated for comment. After comments have been received on a draft policy and given due consideration by ACIS, I will seek their advice on its implementation, and, of course, carefully communicate these policies to the campus community.

In coming years I envision the ACIS evolving and growing in value to the campus. I see no reason why its size, composition, or charge should remain static, rather it should be dynamic and reflect the information issues facing Lehigh at any given time. The goal should be the creation of a valuable vehicle for obtaining campus advice on priorities, and planning relating to the operation and development of all aspects of the university's information resources and related technologies. ACIS must always be in a position to provide sound advice to the Provost and the Vice Provost for Information Resources from the perspective of campus users. ACIS is intended to be a very important part of effective campus communications on all information resources.

Good communications will also be an essential part of the search for a Vice Provost for Information Resources that we have just begun and should be beneficial beyond the search. When I charged the Search Committee chaired by Professor Shapiro, I stressed the importance of two-way communications with the campus. Not only is it important for its members to keep the campus informed about the progress of the search through their chair; it is equally important for them to listen carefully to the campus community and understand the community's views and needs. This process has already begun.

Over the past few months, the search committee has been quietly preparing to begin their task and has opened a constructive dialogue with the IR staff. They have met with several key groups and have spent considerable time discussing the desirable characteristics of the individual we would like to head this extremely important part of our institution. Among the characteristics they have identified as needed are superb communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with constituents at all levels of the university.

During the next several weeks and through the early portion of next year, the search committee plans to meet with various campus groups regarding their perception of information needs, the type of individual we should be looking for, and other issues that the committee should consider as we interview potential candidates. This is an opportunity for the campus to inform the thinking of committee members.

Although I am confident these new communications strategies will have an impact before the academic year ends, I also expect that other good strategic ideas will emerge to enhance campus communications concerning our information services, that have become so enormously important and pervasive in the academic world.

Linderman Rejuvenation under Study
by Jean Farrington

Linderman Library (built in 1887 and added on to in 1929) is one of Lehigh University's architectural gems and is home to the University's humanities collections and its rare books and manuscripts. In the past year, staff in Information Resources began to explore renovating and rejuvenating Linderman for the 21^st century.

The rise of the World Wide Web as a powerful tool for information delivery and new approaches to teaching (more teamwork, more interdisciplinary programs) are challenging the traditional concept of the academic library. In order to preserve the architectural richness of Linderman, and at the same time outfit it as a vibrant and inviting library center for the humanities, it is essential to re-think how the space is configured and what activities should occur there.

Over the past year, Sue Cady and Jean Farrington visited a number of universities and research libraries with library buildings of a similar age that are currently under renovation: Columbia University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and the New York Public Library. Here at Lehigh, the two met with the leadership in Information Resources, hosted discussions and building tours for IR staff, and met individually with the chairs of the Lehigh humanities departments to solicit their comments on how they and their students currently use Linderman and its collections and what they would most like to see in a rejuvenated facility. In September, a specialist in library building programs from the firm of Shepley, Bulfinch in Boston toured the library for a preliminary look at the possibilities.

Next steps include a focus group meeting with some humanities faculty in early December and the hiring of a library building consultant to assist in developing a plan for how the library spaces might be utilized to meet program needs for the millennium. Possibilities include wired seminar rooms for use by faculty with small classes, the creation of an institute for the study and creation of text, or the establishment of a formal humanities center. The provision of proper climate control for collections and people, easy building access, and re-lighting and re-furnishing throughout would be part of any rejuvenation effort.

For more information on how other libraries have re-adapted their buildings to meet changing times, there is an excellent Web site that includes links to some of the libraries mentioned above (http://www.arl.org/transform/buildings/index.html ).

IR Spins New Web
by Joe Lucia

Over the past several months, an Information Resources staff task force has developed a new design for the Information Resources Web site. The major goal of this design effort is to simplify access to IR services and resources for the Lehigh community. To meet this goal, IR has reduced the number of clicks necessary to get to frequently-used pages, added better navigation links, and attempted to clarify (and apply consistently) the terminology that describes IR services and resources.

The new design, when fully implemented, will include a much-improved search engine for all on-campus Web pages. Navigational "tabs" at the top of all key pages will provide direct access to Computing & Media, Library, Telephone, Course Material, and Help Desk services. The top-level pages for these major service areas will also incorporate news and announcements related to library collections and information technology at Lehigh. Many pages on the site will feature a "shortcuts" pull-down menu for direct access to the most frequently visited IR services and links. A consolidated "requests" page, bringing together Web forms for all major service areas within IR, will also be accessible from most pages. A reorganized, more detailed (and searchable) IR staff and service directory is currently under development and will be available by the time the site goes "live" for the Spring, 2000 semester.

The new design will be completed by mid-December. A "beta" version of the redesigned site can now be viewed at http://www.lehigh.edu/ir/ir.html.

Fax Service Ends

Since the early 1990s, a fax subscription plan has been offered to the Lehigh community through the use of e-mail (for receipt) and the network server (for sending). All Department heads and all individual subscribers to this fax service were notified in early September that it will be discontinued on December 1. The cost of making the existing service Y2K compliant and the number of alternatives in use now, or widely available, contributed to this decision. Users who prefer an e-mail based fax service similar to the Lehigh one are encouraged to use a commercial alternative, eFax.com, that is simple and relatively low-cost, indeed free for incoming fax service. Several IR staff members subscribe to this service and find that it is easy to implement and works very well. The specifics of this service are described at http://www.efax.com. Users with questions about the status of their current Lehigh fax service may contact telephone services at x85002.

IR People

IR welcomes new staff members who have joined the organization recently. Cecelia Kilian, who formerly worked in the Lehigh University Bookstore, has joined IR as an Information Delivery Assistant. We also welcome back George Motter as a Senior Specialist in Information Management.

On October 27th, President Gregory C. Farrington and Interim Vice Provost for Information Resources Donald M. Bolle participated in a panel at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Long Beach, California. The panel presentation was entitled "Through the Financial Lens: Making IT Investment Decisions."

Jean Farrington, Director for Staff and Resource Development, was recently inducted into the Lehigh University chapter of Phi Beta Delta, an honor society for international scholars and students.

Tim Foley, Director for Client Services, authored "Implementing Service Standards to Manage Client Expectations". It was published in the Proceedings of the ACM SIGUCCS `99 conference (November 99).

Senior Instructional Technology Consultant on the College of Education Team Gale Fritsche presented "Disaster Recovery and Y2K Issues for Personal Computers" at the 1999 regional American Payroll Association Conference in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on September 26, 1999.

Valerie VanBilliard, IR Help Desk Assistant, was profiled in the September/October 1999 issue of Library Mosaics, a publication for library technical suport staff.

Project Muse expands to Other University Presses
by Kathe Morrow

Since its introduction in 1995, Project Muse of Johns Hopkins University has been the premier source of Web based scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. From its beginnings with the pioneering electronic journal Post Modern Culture to its current offering of over 40 titles published by Johns Hopkins University, the project's goal has been to provide access to a broad range of scholarly journals in many disciplines. With this goal in mind, Project Muse has recently announced that beginning in early 2000, it will expand to include full-text online access to titles from nine additional university presses. This will bring the total of journal titles offered to 110, more than doubling the size of the collection. The list of publishers that will be participating are Carnegie Mellon University Press, Duke University Press, Indiana University Press, MIT Press, Oxford University Press, Pennsylvania State University Press, University of Hawaii Press, University of Texas Press, and the University of Wisconsin Press.

It is expected that even more titles will be added to the offerings in the near future. The initial expanded offerings will be in areas in which these presses have established strong reputations, such as literary theory and criticism, history, cultural studies, philosophy, social sciences and performing arts. The new titles represent a broad array of interests, including African-American literature, gender studies, medieval studies, higher education, health policy, political science, and Asian culture and history.

Over the next year, additional titles in science and medicine will also be added to the collection. All new titles in the expanded collection will be cataloged and available from the online catalog, ASA, as are the current Muse offerings. A list of the new titles will also be available in early 2000 from the Lehigh Virtual Library Web page under the menu choice Electronic Journals by Publisher.

NPR's Terry Gross Featured Speaker for April Friends Dinner

The Friends of the Lehigh Libraries are pleased to announce that Terry Gross, host of National Public Radio's interview show Fresh Air, will be the speaker at its spring dinner, scheduled for Tuesday, April 18th, 2000. Terry Gross has perhaps done more to promote books and reading than any other contemporary figure. She says, "I usually read one or two books a day for the show, so I read at a breakneck pace. I enjoy reading on vacation and on long plane trips, when I can read slowly; sometimes I stick to dead authors so I won't be tempted to draw up interview questions as I read."

Fresh Air, originating on WHYY in Philadelphia, is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, one of public radio's most popular programs. Each week nearly two million people tune in to the show broadcast on more than 170 National Public Radio (NPR) stations across the country, as well as in Europe on the World Radio Network. Its Web page is located at: http://whyy.org/freshair/.

"If you want to understand a political conflict, it helps to understand the culture in which that conflict is taking place", Gross says. "When there is a crisis in a foreign country, we sometimes call up that country's leading novelist or filmmaker to get that cultural perspective." Fresh Air's interviews, which are much more in-depth than most news interviews, have helped listeners understand the roots of religious fundamentalism, meet doctors who care for war victims, and understand the difficulties facing education reformers among many other things.

Tickets for the dinner and Gross' talk will go on sale early in the new year. Members of the Friends of the Libraries can purchase tickets at a reduced price.