Just when you thought cuts to the Knight Library's periodicals collection couldn't go any deeper, library officials are once again having to purge the shelves, thanks to the inability of library budgets to keep pace with the relentless effects of hyper-inflation in the publishing industry.

This time, they will cancel up to 2,500 less-read publications, a task that will save $500,000 in phases over the next three years.

The first 500 titles, compiled in consultation with many faculty members, are listed on the library's Web homepage at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/uo/libhome/colldev/cutintro.htm

Hard copies of the list also have been distributed to departmental library representatives, and lists are available at the Knight Library's reference, reserve and current periodicals desks, as well as at reference desks in the Science, Architecture and Allied Arts and Map libraries.

For each department, cuts--ranging from 9 percent to 23 percent--are based on an averaged inflation rate applied to broad discipline categories. In a few cases, cuts were adjusted to prevent any fund's allocation from dropping below 1990-91 expenditure levels.

April 19 is the deadline for reviewing the list of potential first-year cuts. Faculty are asked to notify their departmental library representative about titles that have mistakenly appeared on their own departmental lists and to point out those on other departments' lists which could be saved by cutting one or more titles of equal cost from their own department's account.

After any final adjustments are made, the cancellation of titles for this year will begin May 3.

"I regret that this situation is upon us again, but we are taking every step possible to help mitigate the effects," says University Librarian George Shipman. "We share many faculty members' frustration with needing to cancel valuable journal subscriptions, yet unless we take this step now, we very soon will not have the discretionary funds to purchase new scholarly books to address the university's teaching and research needs."

The latest cut represents approximately 20 percent of the annual serials budget. With projected inflation and budget increases, the admittedly drastic action will provide some stability to the library for at least three years, enabling it to rebuild a reasonable balance between book and journal acquisitions, Shipman says.

The reduction is a continuation of a cutback that began during the 1992-93 academic year. Then, librarians reduced the library's serial collection by 1,500 publications, at a cost savings of $350,000.

The reasons for the latest round of cuts remain the same as before, according to Deborah Carver, assistant university librarian for public services and collections. Following a pattern of imbalances established throughout the 1990s, the cost of scholarly publications rose last year by more than 13 percent, she says, while the average annual budget increase for the library is just 3.5 percent.

In addition, Carver says, production costs soared, foreign exchange rates dropped, and the costs of postage and paper rose. She doesn't foresee the trend improving any time soon.

"We predict costs will continue their upward trend," she says. "To what extent, it's hard to be real specific."

Faculty and graduate student researchers are affected more severely than the undergraduate student population, says Carver.

"Faculty use journals that tend to be more esoteric or more expensive," she says. "On the other hand, undergraduates tend to use what's available and will sacrifice content for availability. They're usually not working on original research."

The massive reduction of periodicals is far from unique to the Knight Library. In fact, the university follows a worldwide trend of public and private library cuts, according to Faye Chadwell, head of collection development.

"I'm really concerned that we are doing such a significant cut," she says. "We are down to cutting into muscle and bone."

As in other library systems, the Knight Library staff are fighting back. They are cooperating with the OSU library to share access to obscure materials, Chadwell says. Efforts include sharing of cancellation lists to avoid duplication and expanding their interlibrary loan services.

In addition, Chadwell says, more and more librarians will order a specific article on demand, rather than paying for an entire periodical.

Chadwell says as more and more periodicals begin publishing electronically, the cost, while hard to predict, likely will decrease. In addition, libraries are exploring new methods of electronic document delivery, and universities are investigating lower-cost alternatives to the current publishing model for faculty research.

--BARBARA GUARDINO, COMMUNICATIONS INTERN

Seven classified and four management service staff will be honored for their noteworthy achievements and outstanding contributions during a Recognition Award reception from 3:30-5 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, in the Alumni Lounge of Gerlinger Hall.

President Dave Frohnmayer is expected to make a special presentation at 4 p.m.

Classified Employee Recognition Award winners are Nancy Blake, Oregon Bach Festival; Paul Jasheway and Kenny Ly, Business Affairs; Georgia Scott, Geological Sciences; Tina Songer, Career Center; Connie Tapp, Law; and Daniel Wectawski, Facilities Maintenance and Service.

Recipients of the 1996 Management Service Recognition Award are Marjorie Bigelow, Public Safety; Rachele Raia, Romance Languages; Gary A. Smith, Printing Services; and Laura Willey, Knight Library.

Recent national news--from beatings in California to arrests in Corvallis--demonstrates that racism continues to infect our country's psyche. And recent incidents have shown that our campus in Eugene is not immune to this disease. While we are not immune, we need not accept this particular evil.

We do not tolerate racist behavior at the University of Oregon when it takes the form of yelling insults out residence hall windows. We do not tolerate it when it surfaces as "prank" letters sent to students of color.

Racism is not to be forgiven because it takes the form of an April Fool's Day joke. It is not overlooked because the insults are yelled during the pressures of Finals Week.

Racism is not explained away as part of a growing national trend. It is not excused because demagogic leaders are giving it voice. It is not made morally acceptable because some voters across the nation adopt racially charged positions on questions from immigration to education.

None of this gives us leave on this campus to regress into thoughtless, hurtful, ethically flawed and juvenile behavior.

We do not tolerate racism at the university.

And we will take action to make certain that racial incidents are dealt with swiftly and surely. I have been advised by both the university Office of Public Safety and the Office of University Housing that any reports of racially based incidents on our campus will be answered quickly.

I have already called for a joint meeting of the university's Race Issues Task Force and Racial Issues Advisory Council. We will use this gathering to discuss the recent incidents and find ways to best ensure a campus climate that will discourage their recurrence.

There are opportunities for us all to help broaden our understanding of the insidious effects of racial and ethnic intolerance.

Primitivo Rodriguez, co-founder of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, is spending the next two weeks in Oregon as the university's 1996 Wayne Morse Professor of Law and Politics. I encourage you to attend his public lecture on April 16, in the EMU Ballroom, on issues of economic and political integration between Mexico and the United States.

Then, in early May, the university will host an extraordinary gathering of Holocaust scholars at public events during its "Ethics After the Holocaust" conference.

It may seem a far leap--even an unimaginable leap--from slurs yelled out a residence hall window to the horrors of the Holocaust. It is, regrettably, not unthinkable. When we as a community allow or condone racist behavior of any sort, we have taken the first step onto a slippery ethical slope that denies our fellow humans essential respect. We cannot, and with your help, will not take that first step here.

Our campus ought to be, in every way, a special place where we encourage the free, open and respectful exchange of ideas. We must--and we will--work together to keep this a safe and accepting place for all of our students, faculty and staff.

Laura Littlejohn is not used to being recognized for her daily routine, so when she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for management service earlier this year, it was a real surprise.

"I never thought the little things I do for people are anything special. It is fun for me, and it is what I do every day. I do not think twice about it," she says.

Littlejohn, who began her UO career in 1982, currently is a School of Music office manager.

"I like to make people happy," she continues, "and add a little spice to someone's day. It could be as simple as drawing a little picture on a memo, or handing out chocolates for Easter. Things like that are really important to me, and I enjoy doing them. They are just part of my daily routine."

Part of her routine includes mentoring a young girl from her neighborhood, even though Littlejohn has never thought of herself as a mentor.

"We`re buddies, and we just have fun together. We go to movies, camp, hike, bike ride. I have helped teach her the clarinet and some art history. I like to help her learn and accomplish things on her own," she says.

The young girl moved in with her grandparents at age 11, but her grandfather died shortly thereafter. Littlejohn stepped in to help both the grandmother and young girl adjust to living on their own. Six years later, Littlejohn has enjoyed being able to "see her and her interests develop."

Littlejohn does find time for her own interests, which include snow shoeing, skiing, hiking, camping, bowling, photography and studying languages. In addition, she manages and plays clarinet for the Eugene Symphonic Band.

But, it is clear she is most devoted to helping make her friends and co-workers smile.

"I may not be able to perk up everyone, but at least it is fun to try," she says.

--COURTNEY HEDBERG, COMMUNICATIONS INTERN

Representatives of the Oregon Public Employes Union and of UO management will meet soon to seek better ways to relate and address important issues facing employees in the work place.

OPEU members of the new Labor/Management Committee are Risa Haberman, East Asian Languages and Literatures; Bart Lewis, Business Affairs; and Simon Thompson, Law Library.

Management representatives on the team are Eric Buckles, Human Resources; Rachele Raia, Romance Languages; and Alan Smith, Facilities Maintenance and Service.

"This is a new and exciting experiment designed to enhance communication and cooperation," says Buckles, Human Resources employee relations manager. For information, call 6-2965.

Disability Awareness Week stars comic

Chris "Crazy Legs" Fonseca, who has turned his life as a Mexican with cerebral palsy into comic gold, will headline the April 24 free public performance, "Come Laugh With Us," during Disability Awareness Week. The 8 p.m. show in the EMU Ballroom also will feature the "Dynamic Duo" comedy team, Bjo Ashwill and Gweneth van Frank. Other April 23-28 events include an information and technology fair with adaptive technologies, a media and disabilities forum and the Universal Design Education Project's "Power and Place" workshop. For a complete listing, see the Calendar or call 6-3211.

Printing Services sets open house April 18

In appreciation for the patience, flexibility and understanding shown by faculty, staff and students during its recent move to downtown Eugene, Printing Services invites its campus customers to an open house from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at its new home, 318 E. Broadway in the north half of the Register-Guard Building. "Our staff will be available for questions, and refreshments will be served," says Director J.R. Gaddis. To ease parking, he advises using the free LTD bus pass to ride downtown from the North Station. Call 6-3794.

Fair to show off educational technology

The Knight Library and the Faculty Consultants Network invite faculty and staff to an Educational Technology Fair from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, April 19, at the Knight Library. "Techniques for Teaching with Technology" will offer sessions for both novices and experts throughout the day. For information, call JQ Johnson, 6-1746, or browse the program at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~jqj/fcn/techfair

International internships offered

Undergraduate and master's degree students in all majors are eligible for a new comprehensive international internship program. Global Graduates is funded with a $4 million, four-year grant from the U.S. government. The innovative program offers students hands-on work experience with immersion in a foreign culture and language, integrating this experience into their degree program. The April 15 application deadline for this summer's first internship placements has been extended; May 15 is the nominal deadline for fall term. For information, call Kathy Poole, the UO Global Graduates program coordinator, 6-1212, or browse http://www.orst.edu/dept/int_ed/global_grads/

In the spotlight

Chang-rae Lee, Creative Writing, has been named winner of the 1995 PEN/Hemingway Award for his widely acclaimed Native Speaker. He also is recipient of the 1995 Barnes & Noble Inc. Discover Great New Writers Award which recognizes the finest work by a first-time American novelist featured in the bookstore chain's 1995 Discover program.

The Lundquist College of Business site on the World Wide Web overseen by Nancy Melone, Management, has been designated a "4-Star" site by The McKinley Group in its Magellan Internet directory. The site is at http://biz.uoregon.edu/

Seven faculty members have been selected 1996-97 Oregon Humanities Center Research Fellows. They are Françoise Calin and Evlyn Gould, Romance Languages; Scott Delancey, Linguistics; Andrew Morrogh and Richard A. Sundt, Art History; Karla Schultz, Germanic Languages and Literatures; and Cynthia Vakareliyska, Russian.

On the move

Jon V. Jaqua, who has directed the state of Oregon's widely praised economic development programs since 1992, will become executive director of the UO Foundation in early June. He succeeds Paul Eberle, who left in August 1995 to become associate vice chancellor for advancement at North Carolina State University. Jaqua, 47, is a 1970 graduate in business management from Lewis & Clark College. He formerly served on the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship advisory committee.

Robert Z. Melnick, Landscape Architecture, is the new dean of Architecture and Allied Arts. The interim dean while the university conducted a year-long national search, Melnick succeeds Jerry Finrow. A fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Melnick is a 1970 graduate of Bard College and earned a master's degree in 1975 from the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Sara Brandt has returned as half-time constituency development officer for Education.

Lidia Yukman, English graduate student, has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position at Pacific University, teaching creative writing (fiction) and American literature.

James Van Buskirk, Mathematics; Raymond Mikesell, Economics; and C. Bennett Pascal, Classics, have been awarded professor emeritus status on their retirements.

In print

Sean Russell, a computer and information science student employed by Greg Bothun, Physics, is the author of Ballistic Simulator and Voltage Circuit Simulator applets, both included in a chapter on "cool applets" in Hooked on Java: Creating Hot Web Sites with Java Applets by Arthur van Hoff, Sami Shaio and Orca Starbuck (Addison-Wesley, 1996).

Provost John Moseley spearheaded development of a Web site on changing roles and responsibilities of university faculty by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges Council on Academic Affairs. The page is a product of the "Megatrends" session during last fall's NASULGC annual meeting. Browse http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~nasulgc/index.html

Gina Psaki, Romance Languages, has published an edition/translation of Le Roman de la Rose ou de Guillaume de Dole, a 13th-century romance in Old French (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995).

In memoriam

Friends and co-workers planted a flowering dogwood tree on the east side of Johnson Hall on April 11 during a memorial service for Ruth Taylor, Academic Affairs management assistant, who died April 3 in Eugene of a gunshot wound. Taylor, 41, worked in Biology and in the President's Office before moving to Academic Affairs in November 1988. A graduate of Fresno Pacific College, she received a master's degree in marriage and family counseling from Northwest Christian College in June 1995. Make contributions for funeral-related expenses to the Ruth Taylor Memorial Fund at any US Bank branch. Make memorial contributions to Overseas Missionary Fellowship International.

Nora Nawar-Hansen, Educational Policy and Management and GTF in Student Life, died April 5 of cancer in Eugene. She was 33 and had worked as acting resident dean of students at the University of California at San Diego before beginning her doctoral degree studies at the UO.