From the Director

Libraries in this country have had a long tradition of sharing through interlibrary loan and other resource sharing projects. In keeping with this tradition, the Washington State University Libraries have recently embarked on a special resource sharing project with the libraries at Colorado State University.

As you may remember, Colorado State University Libraries suffered a devastating flood several years ago that damaged a considerable amount of their collections. Some of the items were totally destroyed, but others were only partly damaged. Since that flood, the CSU Libraries have been working diligently to replace, repair, and restore the affected sections of their collection.

In December 1999, the CSU Libraries approached us about contracting with them for high/production digital replacement of damaged pages in their collection. CSU wanted to partner with 4 research libraries with compatible collections for this intensive, year-long effort. They proposed establishing a dedicated department at the WSU Libraries that would transmit digitized copies of hundreds of replacement pages of damaged sections of books and journals each week. CSU would subsidize the staffing, furniture, equipment, telecommunication costs, and other expenses incurred for this year-long project.

After consultation with appropriate individuals in the WSU Libraries and the University Administration, we agreed to be one of the 4 libraries. (The other 3 participating libraries are the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and the University of Massachusetts.) Everyone with whom I consulted at WSU agreed that if there was any way we could assist our colleagues at Colorado State University to recover from this disaster, we wanted to do it. The special unit is being located on the 4th floor of the Holland Library and is being administered by Kay Vyhnanek, Head of Interlibrary Loan. The CSU Libraries have already had considerable experience with high speed digital transmission of replacement projects with other institutions, and have assured us that the books and journals can be returned to the shelves expeditiously so WSU library users will not be inconvenienced by the project. By the time you read this issue, the actual operation will likely have begun in earnest.

Nancy L. Baker

Director of Libraries

bakern@wsu.edu, 509-335-4558

During the last part of 1999, people using the WSU Libraries' web pages were asked to complete a brief survey regarding their use of the pages. Approximately 650 people responded to the survey and provided valuable insight into what they were looking for and whether or not they had been successful in finding what they wanted. This information will be of help as the Libraries strive to improve the Web pages to make them more useful. The information may also be used in designing user education to help information seekers use online library resources more effectively and efficiently.

Beginning in January 2000, WSU Libraries users were given the ability to renew material they had checked out of the WSU Libraries. The so-called "self-renewal" feature was added to Griffin. You can access the self-renewal feature by clicking on "Your Circulation Record" button from the Griffin home page at URL http://griffin.wsu.edu/. You can see what you have checked out of the WSU Libraries by entering your name, user ID, and PIN. The self-renewal feature allows you to renew all of the items you have checked out or to select specific titles to renew. There are certain cases where you will not be able to renew items -- when you have exceeded the number of items you can check out of the Libraries, or if the items are overdue or recalled.

In response to repeated requests from library users, the WSU Libraries is developing an A-Z electronic journals list located at: http://www.systems.wsu.edu/griffin/indexes.htm. This list is in constant flux, but it is an attempt to provide increased access to our electronic journals. Additional access to e-journals is provided via Griffin records. We are in the process of improving wording on hot-links in Griffin records and broadening access to remote users in addition to those who use the WSU network. Please take a look at the list and send comments to Janet Chisman at chisman@wsu.edu or 509 335-4941. Future plans for the list include adding information on which campuses have access to each journal.

Users of Biological Abstracts, Vet (veterinary science and animal health) and Beast (animal production and dairy technology) now have Web-based access to these resources. We have switched from compact disks loaded locally to accessing these via the SilverPlatter server and their WebSPIRS search software. This change allows wider access (those with MACs can now use), and they can be reached from non-WSU computers if proper identification is supplied. The databases are still limited to access for those affiliated with the Pullman campus, which includes experiment stations, extension offices and extended degree program students. Another feature is a "Check Holdings" option offered after each reference. When the user clicks on this, a search is run in Griffin to see if it is available at WSU. Try this new access from the Database List on the WSU Libraries web site: http://www.systems.wsu.edu/griffin/indexes.htm. We will be discontinuing the CD Access (CDA) program at some time in the near future, so please give this new access method a try.

After a round of usability testing, the WSU Libraries identified some major problems with the Griffin catalog. This spring (possibly by the time you read this article), there will be a modified main search page which includes a new button for a Journal/Magazines/Newspapers section of the Griffin catalog for searching these types of publications only (well almost only!). It should make retrieval of journals easier by blocking out other types of publications and media. There was also a major problem with our number search options, so we will provide a "Call Numbers, ISSN/ISBN, etc" button which links to a screen with examples and explanations of the different types of call numbers and international standard number searches.

In what is likely to become a growing trend, the WSU Libraries has received and cataloged the first WSU thesis to be submitted in digital form. The Graduate School and the Libraries did the planning for this in late 1998 so the receipt and cataloging went smoothly. The thesis in question was submitted by G. Reid Asbury, Department of Chemistry, and is titled "Fundamentals and applications of high resolution and electrospray ion mobility spectrometry." The digital thesis is mounted on the Libraries' server. The bibliographic record describing the thesis is in Griffin and is hot-linked to the thesis so users can click on the link and go directly to the digital text.

The WSU community now has online access to thousands of journal titles online. These include journals covering a full range of scientific, humanities, and social science subjects, as well as government publications, and even some monographs. Implementing and maintaining the links from bibliographic records to the information providers or journal sites is a new part of the responsibilities of the Technical Services Division of the WSU Libraries. ABI Inform exemplifies one example of the maintenance burden. When the WSU Libraries first obtained access to the journals covered by this service, the information was on tapes mounted on the Libraries' server. Then the Libraries moved from tapes to online access. The links for more than 300 titles all had to be corrected to indicate the new URL. That exercise is being repeated as the WSU Libraries moves from one service provider to another with a fair amount of regularity in the highly competitive Internet publishing world.

The WSU Libraries is interested in hearing from WSU Faculty who have databases (text and image) that they would like to share with a broader audience. By mounting such databases on the Libraries' server, the entire WSU community will have access to them, as will Internet users. Examples of databases already available include a definitive bibliography on Yellowstone, an important bibliography on Women, Work and Gender, and the World Civilization image database. By having these databases available on the Libraries' server, interdisciplinary use of the content is encouraged and facilitated. If you are interested in this service, please contact Alan Cornish (images) at cornish@wsu.edu or (509) 335-1895 or Jerry Becker (text) at beckerg@wsu.edu or (509) 335-2012.

The WSU Libraries (Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections unit) is one of five libraries selected for the Digital Images Initiative Pilot Project by the Washington State Library. This project will test the digitization of 600-700 photographic prints from the Frank S. Matsura Collection located in MASC. The project will result in new statewide access to Matsura's work through the Web. The test will also help determine the cost and logistics of converting images, and the training necessary.

Matsura's photography provides a unique record of Okanogan County local history from 1907-1913, as well as a record of the settlement period of Washington State, the interaction between settlers and indigenous peoples, frontier life, and the development of cities. His apparent talents as a photographer and his experiences as a Japanese immigrant at the turn of the century make his visual documentation of Eastern Washington especially valuable. Internet access to digital images of the photographic prints, with extensive metadata indexing, will greatly enhance the rich cultural and historical resource available in our Frank Matsura Collection.

Laila Miletic-Vejzovic, Head of MASC, will be the Project Manager and Trevor Bond, Special Collections Librarian, will be responsible for the Pilot Project. MASC will provide assistance and training to the Ellensburg Public Library and to the Special Collections Department at Gonzaga University Library in regard to digitization and indexing, i.e., creation of metadata (Dublin Core.) Al Cornish, Systems Librarian, will provide technical support, training, and assistance to MASC, Ellensburg Public Library, and Gonzaga. Our Collections & Systems office will also provide server support for those two libraries.

Also selected as pilot organizations are the UW's Suzzallo/Allen Library, Gonzaga's Foley Library, Port Townsend Public Library, Jefferson County Historical Society, and Jefferson County Library System. For more information about the Digital Images Initiative Pilot Project, contact Laila Miletic-Vejzovic, vejzovic@wsu.edu, (509) 335-2739.

The WSU Energy Library in Olympia is the latest library to join the WSU/EWU online catalog Griffin. Their bibliographic records have been added and the staff in Olympia are busy doing maintenance on those records to bring them into compliance with standards established for Griffin records. The holdings of the Energy Library are available to the rest of the WSU community through Interlibrary Loan. Many of the holdings are government documents and technical reports related to various aspects of energy.

Work continues toward implementation of a statewide online catalog of the holdings of the six public university library systems. When fully implemented, faculty and students at any of the six schools will be able to view the holdings of the other library online catalogs and to borrow from the other schools. A courier system will deliver books and other library materials around the state in a timely manner. When completed, it is estimated that approximately 4 million titles will be available to university communities statewide. The statewide online catalog will be known as Cascade. We will keep you posted about this exciting development.

Sieg Vogt, Reference Librarian and Head of Social Sciences Collection Development, was presented with the William H. Flanigan Award for Distinguished Service as an Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Representative in October 1999. The award, a very distinct honor, was presented to Vogt at the ICPSR Biennial Meeting in Ann Arbor. He is one of only 4 individuals from U.S. universities to receive this award in the history of ICPSR. The others have been from Princeton, Yale, and Northwestern. In the presentation, it was noted that Vogt has worked with more Ph.D. students who have used ICPSR data than any other ICPSR representative. Congratulations to Sieg Vogt for a great job promoting and assisting students with this important resource.

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Library Update is edited by Kathy Schwanz, Cooperative Academic Library Services-Spokane, schwanz@wsu.edu, 509-358-7925, and Sharon Walbridge, AD for Technical Services, Holland/New Library, walbridg@wsu.edu, 509-335-9623, with the assistance of Nancy A. Wagner, Library Administrative Office, Holland/New Library, wagnern@wsu.edu, 509-335-4558.

Visit the WSU Libraries Homepage at http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu.