For immediate release:
December 8, 2008

For more information, contact:
Kristina Justh
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
kristina@arl.org

ARL Statistics Webcast, December 10, 1:00 p.m. EST

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is offering a webcast on the findings of the ARL Ad Hoc Task Force on Best Practices for Counting Serial Titles and the way the work of the group has informed changes in the ARL Statistics 2007–08 survey. The webcast will be held December 10, 2008, 1:00-1:45 p.m. EST.

Joyce McDonough (Director, Continuing and Electronic Resources Management, Columbia University Libraries), a member of the task force, will discuss her engagement with the task force and how her library implemented new counting procedures for serials. Martha Kyrillidou (Director, ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs) and Julia Blixrud (Assistant Executive Director, External Relations, ARL) will offer background on the work of the task force and how the revised definitions are working for libraries.

To participate in the webcast, please do both of the following:

1. Call 1-800-935-3856 and enter Participant Code 784589#
2. Go to http://www.infiniteconferencing.com/join, select “Participant,” enter Participant Code 784589 (plus your name and contact info), then click “log in”

Note: all participant phone lines will be muted. If you have a question for the speaker, please use the online chat feature.

Additional Materials

The ARL Statistics 2007-08 mailing is available at:
http://www.arl.org/stats/annualsurveys/arlstats/08statmail.shtml

Please note the availability of an updated set of instructions for Web data entry.

In the coming weeks, a video that provides introductory material about the ARL Statistics program and additional instructions on how to use the online system will be added to the Web site.

Questions?

If you have questions about the webcast, contact Kristina Justh, kristina@arl.org or 202-296-2296.

If you have questions regarding the ARL Statistics 2007-08 data collection, post them in the http://libraryassessment.info/ blog.

An online chat is being scheduled to offer member libraries the opportunity to ask questions about the ARL Statistics data-collection process for the 2007–08 survey. The chat will be announced once it has been scheduled. A transcript will be available online following the event.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.