<AefaJn200WBKM6_slD@andrew.cmu.edu>
Approved-By:  Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pacs-l
Date:         Fri, 11 Sep 1992 09:31:42 CDT
From:         "William Y. Arms" <wya+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject:      Fwd: Chronicle Article

----------------------------Original message----------------------------

Several recent postings have noted a paraphrase by the Chronicle of
Higher Education of some of my remarks on the changing role of library
administration.  I hereby disown authorship of the words attributed to
me!  Here is the thinking behind that section of the article.

Computing allows information services to develop at a university,
independent of the libraries.  The PACS-L bulletin board is an example.
So are WAIS, Gopher, etc.  Our own Mercury electronic library will allow
independently managed databases on private or departmental servers.
This situation creates a tension between the vitality that independent
services generate, the information glut that faces faculty and students,
and the traditional role of the library.

The situation resembles the tensions between personal computers,
departmental computing, and computing centers that universities saw
during the 1980s.  Today, at most research universities, computing is
truly decentralized. Coordination amongst the various groups is informal
and pragmatic rather than centrally directed.  (The excellent computing
at Carnegie Mellon comes from a combination of sources. Computing
Services is responsible for the central facilities, notably the campus
network.  Many departments have independent computing installations and
staff; some are very strong indeed.  Thousands of individuals have their
own computers.  Most of the computing power on our campus was not
purchased centrally, but by departments, research projects, individual
faculty, and students.)

Will the same structure develop with electronic information?  My guess
is "yes".  Libraries have limited resources.  Today, the books, papers,
and periodicals on my shelves are available only to me.  When I put them
online I can share them with the rest of the university and with
colleagues across the world, and I will use my resources to do so.  In
aggregate, such efforts by individual faculty and departments may well
exceed what the libraries can do with their resources.

Distributed computing will allow these various efforts to complement
each other.  Some campus-wide coordination is desirable, but not
essential.  Libraries can not assume an automatic right to control what
happens.  He who pays the piper calls the tune.  Departments and
individuals who invest their own resources will expect to control what
they do with it.

We are beginning to see initiatives in individual disciplines, from
classics to computer science, that reach across many universities.
(Carnegie Mellon is involved in a project with five top computer science
departments.)  Librarian skills are vital in such activities, but the
natural focus for leadership is the discipline as represented by the
academic department and the professional society.  (There are important
copyright implications here.)

If my guess is correct, the role of the libraries will be different at
every university.  Clearly traditional library services will remain the
heart of the library for the foreseeable future.  Some libraries will
succeed in coordinating information across their campuses, but, in the
bigger research universities, I would expect to see the pattern for
electronic information to be the same as we have in other computing --
central libraries coexisting with independent departmental and personal
services.

Any other guesses?

Bill Arms
Vice President for Computing Services
Carnegie Mellon University
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