At the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS) meeting in November 1997, I participated in a panel discussion entitled: "Downsizing and brief cataloging and their effects on Slavic library collections in North America." My presentation was entitled: "The Experience of the University of Pittsburgh Library." I gave a history and analysis of the ULS technical services reorganization and its implications for the technical processing of Slavic language materials. 

New England Historical Association, April 26, 1997: "Considering All Things Not Much Spoiled: Childhood of Elites in Antebellum Cincinnati, the Lytle Family as a Case Point" 

IFLA, September 2, 1997: "Using the World Wide Web to Complement Print Journals: the Experience of Cataloging and Classification Quarterly" 

Evan Cornell, Reference and Instructional Librarian, Bevier Engineering Library 

Presentation at the 1997 Frontiers In Education Conference: "Writing as a Teaching Tool" session based on the paper "Teaching Freshman to Write Technical Reports and Navigate the Library: A Win-Win Situation." 

Ray Anne Lockard, Head, Frick Fine Arts Library 

Presented the 18th George Wittenborn Award at the conference convocation for the outstanding art books published during 1996 at the Art Libraries Society of North America 1997 Conference in San Antonio 

Co-Moderated Panel entitled: "Tiptoeing into the Library Closet: Que(e)rying and Accessing Our Collections" at the Art Libraries Society of North America 1997 Conference in San Antonio 

Abstract: The rise of lesbian and gay studies as a scholarly discipline at some universities has led a few scholars to begin to examine art history and some artists' works from the lesbian/gay perspective. Yet, many art librarians are not informed of this new field. Those of us who wish to collect materials on lesbian/gay artists and art history have difficulty doing so because relevant titles are not adequately publicized in mainstream sources, carried by standard vendors, or covered by traditional reviewing sources. This session was designed in response to the December 1995 dialogue on ARLIS-L (list-serv) on whether or not these materials should be published or made accessible at all. Speakers included: Lisa Reitzes (Professor of Art History, Trinity University) on researching archival records for information on a lesbian architect; Mimi Hernandez (University of Arizona) on Collection Development Issues; Al Willis and Ray Reece (UCLA) on New and forthcoming Titles; and Sherman Clarke (NYU) on Providing bibliographic Access to Lesbian/Gay Materials. 

Co-Moderated Panel entitled: "Tracing Our Histories and Discovering Our Past: The Founders and Leaders of Art Libraries" (marked the 25th anniversary of ARLIS/NA) Presented a paper on this panel entitled: " 'Aunt Helen': Pittsburgh's Gentlewoman Avenger" [on the history of the Frick Fine Arts Library at Pitt] preceded by a paper presented by Patricia Barnett, Director of the Frick Art Reference Library, NYC on the history of that library. 

Abstract: Celebrating such milestones as the 25th anniversary of ARLIS/NA caused us to take pride in our organization's accomplishments, but it also presented us with responsibilities and opportunities. One of them is to examine our history before documentation is lost, we retire, or we forget. ARLIS/NA began to examine aspects of our history in the paper on George Wittenborn at the 1996 conference in Miami Beach. Few people have, however, studied the founders of, or early librarians in, our art libraries. The speakers in this panel addressed who some of those individuals were; what motivated them to develop art collections and libraries; how they evolved over time; and the historic, cultural, or personal factors that drove that evolution. The co-moderators hoped that the session would encourage other ARLIS/NA members to plan similar sessions; preserve relevant documents in their own institutions, conduct oral histories, and publish the results of their research to educate ourselves and promote our profession. Panelists spoke on Miss Helen Clay Frick (Frick Art Reference Library, New York and University of Pittsburgh), John Cotton Dana (Newark Public Library), Samuel Putnam Avery (Columbia University), and Belle DaCosta Green (Morgan Library in New York). 

Co-Moderator of panel entitled: "Pink Papers and Lavender Files: Preserving Lesbian and Gay Art History in Archival Collections." Speakers included: Patrick Moore, Director of the Estate Planning Project for Artists with AIDS (funded by the Getty Center); John Smith, Archivist, The Andy Warhol Museum; Janet Parks, Drawings Curator, Avery Library, Columbia University, on a collection of architectural drawings by architects who have died from HIV/AIDS; and Stephen Nonack, Boston Atheneum on researching an exhibition on Boston's lesbian and gay community in 1994. 

Delivered a paper entitled "From Exclusion to Inclusion: Are We Serving Our Clients with the Reference Sources We Have?" on a panel entitled: SERVING DIVERSE COMMUNITIES / BUILDING DIVERSE COLLECTIONS; at the ARLIS/NA conference in 1998, Philadelphia 

Creating a Library Environment That Fosters Diversity, Summer 1997, School of Information Sciences. Prof. Sue Alman. 

Lecture on Lesbian/Gay materials, collection development and public services issues.  Social Sciences Information Resources Class, Fall Semester 1997, School of Information Sciences. Professor Sue Alman   

Presentation to Pittsburgh Chapter of P-FLAG, May 11, 1997: "The Revolving Library Closet Door: Moving Through, Getting Stuck, and Pushing Forward" 

Member of a panel on "Being Out at Work," Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, January 21, 1998. Audience of Pitt and CMU students. 

Lisa A. Mitten, Social Sciences Bibliographer/Head, Collections Services Department 

Contributed a bibliography on 20th century American Indian policy for the panel session "Indian Self-Determination and Sovereignty: An Asssessment, 1975-1997" at the invitation of the the organizers of the National Policy History Conference entitled "The Unintended Consequences of Policy Decisions" held at Bowling Green State University, June 5-7. 2. 

Co-taught SIS workshop on Multicultural Children's Literature, July 1997 

Sachie Noguchi, Japanese Bibliographer & Japan Information Center Coordinator 

Digital Library Workshop No. 9. University of Library and Information Science, Tsukuba, Japan - March 5, 1997 

• Invited and presented a paper entitled University of Virginia / University of Pittsburgh Japanese Text Initiative. This paper is the first formal progress report on this project , focusing on the history, problems encountered, impacts, and future plan. 

Ammon Ripple, Reference/Public Services Librarian, Information Sciences Library 

Co-taught the following three day workshops with Elizabeth Mahoney and Rachel Callison at the School of Information Sciences in the summer of 1997: 

Searching the Web (2 sections) 
Reference Resources for Librarians on the Internet (1 section) 
Both workshops were designed to provide librarians and educators with the necessary skills to use the Internet effectively as a reference and teaching tool. 

Karen Rondestvedt, Slavic Bibliographer 

"Overview of Indexing Sources in Slavic Linguistics." 
Presented as part of panel "Indexing Sources in Slavic Studies" at annual meeting of American Association for the Advancement Of Slavic Studies, November 1997. 

Abstract: There is no single adequate indexing source for this Slavic linguistics. The presentation consisted of an overview of how the field is indexed and a partial list of indexing sources. Sources include linguistics indexes, language and literature indexes, Slavic studies indexes and indexes/lists of contributions in Slavic studies by country of publication or residence of the writer. 

Kate Thomes, Head, Bevier Engineering Library 

American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, June 1997. 
Moderated session on Electronic Course Reserves and Copyright Issues 

Phil Wilkin, Social Sciences Bibliographer (History, Medieval Studies, Political Science, West European Studies, Environment/Geography) 

I was one of four people who gave a panel presentation at the Fifth Biennial International Conference of the European Community Studies Association. Panel title was Europe on the Internet. The focus of the panel was how Internet resources can be used to facilitate teaching European Union studies.