The Charleston Conference: Informative, Fun and Informal
Conference overview by Fannie M. Cox with contributions by Dawn Marie Devine and Gloria G. Harvell
Fannie M. Cox
Overview
"Is Bigger Better?" was the theme for this specialized conference on issues relating to book and serial acquisition. The conference started with four preconferences on Wednesday 1 November, and lasted until Saturday 4 November, 2000. Over 609 librarians,vendors, and publishers had a broad choice of topics and several types of session formats in which to participate, ranging from keynote addresses, beastly breakfasts, concurrent and panel sessions to lively lunches, so there was something for everyone. The conference headquarters was in the Lightsey Conference Center on the campus of the College of Charleston adjacent to the historic Westin Francis Marion Hotel where many of the sessions also took place. The weather was pleasant, with sunny 60-degree days and cool nights. This article presents the flavor of the conference from the perspective of two librarians (an acquisitions librarian and an electronic resources librarian) and a publishing company sales manager.
The Charleston Conference has grown since its inception 20 years ago. It roots can be traced back to a"common room" in a dorm where its founder, Katina Strauch, Head of Collection Development at the College of Charleston, held the first conference, which had 24 attendees and eight speakers. The conference organizers, called directors,said, "Don't be shy! Don't be formal! Say what you think! And ask questions!Have fun!" This year the conference directors were: Rosann Bazirjian(Pennsylvania State University), Stuart Grinell (Ambassador), Heather Miller(SUNY Albany), Jack Montgomery (Western Kentucky University), Vicky Speck(ABC-Clio), and Katina Strauch (College of Charleston Libraries). Unlike the other bigger, conferences (ALA, ACRL PLA, MLA, etc.) that might have a division or roundtable to meet the needs of this facet of librarianship, it is not associated with an association. Nevertheless, it continues to grow and, while growth is good, it has its problems. Keynote addresses and a few panel sessions experienced a large overflow of attendees. To handle the overflow, the remarks of the speaker or panel were simulcast into adjacent meeting rooms. The overflow continued to be a problem because several of the concurrent sessions were standing room only or else had people hovering outside the door trying to hear their preferred topic. For the many people who were interested in some aspect of electronic resources, from consortia plans to usage statistics, seats at these sessions were scarce.
During the noon breaks on Thursday and Friday, discussions called "lively lunches" were held in meeting rooms of the hotel. These sessions were optional, but speakers delivered papers or led discussion groups on such topics as: "Trials" (Jim McGinty, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts); "New Publisher, New Publishing" (Stephen Rhind-Tutt,Alexander Street Press); "Knowledge Commons" (Digby Sales, University of Cape Town); "How Vendors Can Help Provide Access to E-Journals" (Arlene Hanerfeld,UNC Wilmington and Merrill Smith, EBSCO) to name a few. These sessions provided an atmosphere conducive to a working lunch, where attendees could continue to immerse themselves in everything the conference had to offer.
On Thursday evening, the conference's 20th anniversary gala, sponsored by Grove's Dictionaries/Nature Publishing Group, was held at the new SC Aquarium. This is a magnificant facility, where conference goers enjoyed full access to the sights and sounds of the Aquarium for their strolling and eating pleasure. The food was quite good and plentiful. It was a lovely evening to pay tribute to the person who started it all, Katina Strauch,who found herself being roasted.
The "beastly breakfast"sessions were held early on Saturday morning. A few of the topics and presenters for these sessions were: "Plagiarism Concerns with E-Resources: My Teacher Won't Let Me Use That" (Susan Campbell, York College); "Staff Health Issues During Renovaton: Is the Water Safe to Drink?" (Erika Hirsch, University of Florida);"Recruitment of Library Faculty: Where Have All the Librarians Gone?" (Pam Cenzer, University of Florida); "The Care and Feeding of Collection Development Relationships with the Teaching Faculty" (Anne Marie Breaux, Yankee Book Peddler); and "Customer Service for E-Journals: Is Anyone Being Served?"(Michele Crump, University of Florida).
Events . . .
On Wednesday afternoon,the Second Annual Charleston Advisor Vendor Showcase opened and a buffet lunch was served. It was a very relaxed and cozy atmosphere. Vendors were not crawling out of the woodwork. They were quite nice and informative. In addition, there were several great receptions sponsored by various vendors and publishers. That evening, two receptions were held: MCB University Press and Institute of Physics Publishing; on Thursday, PsycINFO hosted a reception and Grove's Dictionaries/Nature Publishing Group sponsored the 20th anniversary gala at the SC Aquarium. On Friday, public librarians on their own met for dinner, and everyone had the option of attending the landmark Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon for dinner and a live band. Again, the food was very good and that event featured Chuck Strum from the New York Times who spoke on "Reflections from the New York Times." The Dungeon was also open for tours. The Dungeon is believed to be where citizens of Charleston met to protest the British Tea Tax and to be the birthplace of the state's government (http://www.ccpl.org/ccl/east_bay_second.html).
When Strauch was asked about the highlights of the conference, she said, "Its informality and the fact that publishers, vendors, and librarians are together in the same place, no exhibits, no high volume sales pitches, just talking about issues that concern all of us. I want people to talk to each other more openly and frankly in Charleston than they do in other places in order to get some real results on issues." In 1989, she began publishing a newsletter, Against the Grain,as an extension of the conference to help people stay in touch and informed. In an article written by Christian M. Boissonnas, "Katina's Baby: the Charleston Acquisitions Conference at 15," Boissonnas wrote why the conference was a success and continues to grow. In the article, he also mentioned how this newsletter has grown from ten pages "to a slick 100-page publication (Vol. 7 No. 5, November, 1995) with lots of pictures and graphics (p. 294).
Overall, the conference provided a very informal, pleasant atmosphere for librarians, publishers, and vendors to interact and meet those people behind the e-mail address, the byline,or the voice on the other end of the phone.
Fannie M. Cox,Electronic Resources Coordinator University of Louisville Ekstrom Library, Louisville, Kentucky. E-mail: fmcox@louisville.edu
Reference
Boissonnas, C.M. (1996),"Katina's baby: the Charleston Acquisitions Conference at 15", Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 281-99.
Second Annual Charleston Advisor Vendor Showcase
The showcase was held on Wednesday afternoon. Those attending the preconference were treated to a buffet-style lunch and a wonderful opportunity for vendors and librarians alike to get together and gather information on products, developments, and goals. Although there were several concurrent sessions throughout the day, the showcase allowed the conference participants to visit the tables during breaks in the presentations. As this was my first Charleston Conference, I was able to distribute all the literature, and at the same time made several new contacts who were interested in MCB's Emerald database. I was also able to finally meet several contacts with whom I had conducted business over the phone. As the day ended, the management set up a wine bar and hors d'oeuvres so that the librarians who had been in sessions throughout the day could walk through the showcase in a more relaxed manner. In sum, it was a positive experience.
Dawn Marie Devine,Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: mailto;dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
Keynote Address
"Is Bigger Better?"
Nancy Eaton, Dean of the University Libraries at Penn State, shared her reflections on the theme as it applies to collection development and acquisitions. She stated that as libraries try to capture the financial and service benefits of larger purchasing coalitions and aggregated collections, they run the risk of homogenized collections and impersonal collections building. We must have a strategy to balance technology with demands and to retain the personal connections with patrons, while still providing collections valued by them. A concern that came forth was that librarians need to maintain a "personal touch" as libraries grow so that both the internal staff and the end user are not overwhelmed by the vast array of information provided to them." Eaton suggested mass customization and networking to link people, machines, and content to accomplish this goal. Publishers need to be more responsible and not to go away, but to work together. Selectors need to be detailed about that which they choose to focus on in collections and not lose sight of their end goal: keeping the personal in the growing role of libraries. In summary, bigger is not always better, but success= "large" and "small" in combination.
Dawn Marie Devineis Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
Gloria G. Harvellis Acquisitions Librarian, Virginia State University Johnston Memorial Library Petersburg, Virginia. E-mail: gharvell@vsu.edu
Concurrent Sessions and Panels
E-journal vs P-journal: A Use Statistics Comparison John McDonald, California Institute of Technology
The usage study presented on Thursday afternoon by John McDonald evolved into one of the more well-attended and thought-provoking discussions of the conference. McDonald's hypothesis was, simply put, as follows: the use of e-journals should negatively affect the use of p-journals. He went on to explain in depth that online journals are quickly becoming the most important topic of discussion in collection development. Referring to a paper that Judy Luther wrote on the topic, entitled "The White Paper on Journal Usage Statistics," McDonald also questioned whether the use statistics that publishers provide are as valuable as they can be. This point contributed to post-presentation discussion amongst the publishers present. As Caltech has been gathering usage statistic information since 1997, and are well versed in the leitmotif of use comparison, he expressed the view that promotion, convenience, and user behavior are the most significant aspects of the increased use of e-journals on campuses nationwide. The comparison presentation stimulated several questions regarding the caveat of needing access to real usage statistics to prevent duplication and that added content propels usage. In conclusion, his hypothesis proved to be false that increases in used of e-journals does not negatively affect use of print journals to an equal degree. Use of print journals often stays true or decreases only slightly.
Dawn Marie Devine,Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: mailto;dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
Simon Says "If You Subscribe on Paper, It's Free Online"
This session featured Lia Hemphill of Nova Southeastern University; David Fritsch of Faxon/RoweCom;Sherrie Sullivan of Swets Blackwell; and Hazel Woodward of Cranfield University,UK. Throughout the discussion of "free access," an interesting slant arose on what the librarians call the publishers' perspective as opposed to what the librarians perceive. Libraries have witnessed in recent years an enormous amount of mergers, acquisitions, and publisher offerings, and all agreed they need to be discerning about which are of value. The subscription agent representative made a point of bringing up the importance of being involved in the relationship between publisher and librarian, as they provide a service and want it to be as seamless as possible. Although many points that were relevant specifically to librarians came up, the publishers in the audience made it a point of bringing up their "part of the pie" so that librarians knew how closely they worked with the subscription agents to make things work and viable for all. Finally, Ms. Hemphill raised the point that there needs to be a constant awareness of the steps involved with maintaining collections once the "free" database is up and running. I found this discussion to be extremely enlightening from a publisher's perspective, and appreciated the candid comments throughout so that we could learn from both the end user and the librarian.
Dawn Marie Devineis Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: mailto;dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
Libraries of the World Unite! Consortia
"Excellent connections in a consortium" was the theme of this discussion which featured Angee Baker of SOLINET; Tom Peters of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation; and Oakley Coburn of Wofford College, S.C. Each speaker stressed the need to work together to make relationships between publishers, vendors, librarians, and end users functional and profitable. As Peters commented, consortia relationships were becoming "absolutely fiscally necessary". The demands of usage data, coupled with archiving responsibilities, are issues of vital importance to librarians,and this came up repeatedly. Furthermore, the "hot issue" between publishers and libraries was that the latter are entering a "massive potential to restructure",and the point was made that more vendors need to realize they must work with consortia, not against them. When the publishers in the audience were invited to comment, MCB's new Marketing Director, Bill Russell, reiterated the significance of working with and not against the librarian culture. As an advocate of consortia purchasing in my visits to MCB customers throughout the country, I too have found that both listening and acting expeditiously are vital ingredients in consortia unity so that we can ensure a symbiotic and positive relationship.
Dawn Marie Devineis Consortia Sales Manager MCB University Press North America, E-mail: mailto;dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
Let the Data Speak! How We Manage Electronic Journals and Databases at the University of Louisville
Fannie Cox, Electronic Resources Coordinator, Technical Services and Weiling Liu, Director, of the Libraries' Technology Office, reported that the university has five libraries on campus and none of the usage statistics is collected the same way. Managing electronic resources is no easy task, and publishers, aggregators, and vendors provide access to electronic resources through interfaces that are independent of each other. It was stated that a common difficulty with electronic resources is that there is no reliable source or efficient way to collect usage statistics. In addition, data collected from vendors, publishers and aggregators arrive in different forms or not at all. Therefore, with their usage report from the vendor and tracking software associated with a link, they were able to get some statistics. Freeware software was used to track and capture the link. They did not have the URL for freeware software information available, but they are willing to send the information when asked, along with a copy of the handout.
Gloria G. Harvellis Acquisitions Librarian, Virginia State University Johnston Memorial Library Petersburg, Virginia. E-mail: gharvell@vsu.edu
Lively Lunch Sessions
Trials: Jim McGinty, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
This "lively lunch"discussion centered on the ups and downs of providing free trials to potential customers in libraries. In spite of the ephemeral nature of the lunch and learn discussion, both publishers and librarians alike contributed energetically to the forum. One point that was made was that "librarians need to become savvy shoppers", and publishers and librarians need to "work together" to make the relationships viable. When discussing usage statistics, one librarian commented that "use and importance are not necessarily the same" and that publishers and librarians need to explore new arrangements together. Trials inevitably lead to discussions of usage statistics; I was able to mention MCB's usage statistic developments and simple free trial advantages. Interestingly enough, some of the participants disagreed on the ease with which trials can be set up. I made it a point to address the group and let them know that our technical customer support team in the UK was always ready to help with trial access, and that MCB were flexible and ready to move forward with them immediately.
Dawn Marie Devineis Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
If Barbie's So Popular, Why Do You Have to Buy All Her Friends? Going Electronic
This lively lunch session with Evelyn Fazio of ME Sharpe; Anthony Watkinson, Consultant; and Chris Beckett of CatchWord covered the publishers' perspective of how, in an increasingly competitive market of electronic packages, they are offering value to the library as a customer. Watkinson's point of "increased access is key" answered an attendee's question concerning the internal marketing of the new e-acquisitions. He stressed that alerting the end user to the benefits of the package would inevitably increase usage. He and Chris Beckett of CatchWord discussed the "cannibalization of revenue" and how costs are so high now that packages are driven by this common factor. In sum, the comment "go on line now for need, not for the money" was central to the presentations. As Beckett pointed out, "Publishers need distribution strategies and technology partners."
Dawn Marie Devineis Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
Beastly Breakfast Sessions
Customer Service for E-Journals: Is Anyone Being Served?
In this early morning session by Michele Crump, University of Florida, the audience was primarily comprised of collection development representatives and acquisitions managers,with relatively few publishers on hand. Eleanor Cook made a point of saying that there is "no such thing as a free online journal!" with which many agreed. I spoke up and introduced myself, asking if descriptions such as "no additional cost" would be more acceptable to everyone there and most agreed. They proceeded to discuss the hidden costs in the new world of electronic packages and that nothing is truly "free." Margaret Landesman said that perhaps more libraries should acknowledge the smaller, more quality-driven publishers as opposed to the larger packages which she felt drained funds from the smaller publishing houses. Finally, the librarians brought up the frustrations of catalogue updates and vendors who do not alert their library customers to changes when they occur. I mentioned MCB's developments for 2001 with CatchWord and that we automatically add new partners to a technical update e-mail listserv so that everyone is aware of the changes ahead. Chris Beckett of CatchWord also made a point of addressing some of the issues about which librarians were genuinely concerned. As one of the publisher representatives present, I appreciated the frank comments which I could then relay back to my colleagues in the UK. I felt this was one of the more valuable experiences from my first Charleston conference I gleaned information to share with my colleagues in the hope of embracing change and essential positive feedback from the library world.
Dawn Marie Devineis Consortia Sales Manager, MCB University Press North America. E-mail: dawn.devine@mcb-usa.com
The Care and Feeding of Collection Development Relationships with Teaching Faculty
Anne Marie Breaux, the Yankee Book Peddler representative, led an interesting breakfast session on the role faculty play in collection development. Many libraries are faced with the same problem of getting more faculty to take an active role with the library. She informed us that writing and reviewing approval plans with faculty can be tricky. Generally, faculty chooses many specifics, causing the approval plan to be very detailed and the plan ends up with nicks. She suggested that librarians go out to faculty before starting an approval plan and inform them that they can come over to view the books. Faculty may not take into consideration interdisciplinary subjects and topics related to college life. In addition, a change in their liaison person could trigger a change in the profile. This session was standing room only, with people outside the door trying to listen. Several suggestions were offered from the group to get faculty participation:
Use approval list to inform faculty of new books.
Send choice card out to faculty and request they return for ordering.
Write to Deans and Department Chairs to inform them of who is responsible for materials from their discipline.
Develop a close relationship with the faculty and bring the faculty over to the library.
Involve faculty in weeding, but check behind them for series and core collection.
Develop a newsletter that promotes the library.
Invite faculty (chair and liaison) to a two-hour luncheon get Friends of Library to sponsor.
Plan a professional week have an open house for new faculty who will then return to their departments with information which may cause other faculty to become involved.
Ask to meet with faculty during departmental meetings.
See if department has a library liaison.
Hold a "brown bag lunch" series on library services.
Hold vendor fairs.
Hold afternoon get-togethers.
Fannie M. Coxis Electronic Resources Coordinator, University of Louisville, Ekstrom Library,Louisville, Kentucky. E-mail: fmcox@louisville.edu
Gloria G. Harvellis Acquisitions Librarian, Virginia State University Johnston Memorial Library Petersburg, Virginia. E-mail: gharvell@vsu.edu
