Reprint from Collections & Connections
Fall 1997, Vol. 2, No. 1

Each July, both the Libraries and the Museum advisory councils are realigned.

This year, Interim President Barbara Burch appointed Joe Fragale* and Ann Rose Richards and re-appointed Shelby Bale, paul Cook and Regina Newell to three-year terms on the Libraries Advisory Council.

Others Currently serving with them are David Broderick, H.B. Clark, Ron Grim, Lowell Guthrie, Tim Hulsey, James Hyatt, Alecia Marcum, Harold Matthews, Mike Owsley, Leon Page, Albert Petersen, Jr., and David Wiseman.

Dr. Burch also appointed two new members and re-appointed nine to second terms on the Kentucky Museum Advisory Council. Newly appointed are Rick Kelley and Cheri Natcher; re-appointments are Barry Bray, Jerry Cohron, Sarah Glenn Grise, Dianne Howerton, Carl Hall, Kevin Kirby, Whayne Priest, Anna Senter and John Wigodsky*.

Connie Allen, Mallard Benton, David Cole, Carl Dobson, Sarah Ellis, John Grider, Richard Grise, Bob Kirby, Jerry Martin, Bob Otto, Ruthi Steff, stephen Todd, Ferris Van Meter and honorary member Kristen Bale round out the Museum Advisory Council.

University Libraries wishes to acknowledge the contributions made by the Advisory Council members and thank them for their interest and support.

*Since their appointments in July, Fragale and Wigodsky resigned because they left Bowling Green.

~ Earlene Chelf

Since coming to Western in 1985, I have collaborated with my library director colleagues at the state universities to develop several services based on cooperation and mutual understanding. With the passage of the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997, our cooperative spirit and willingness to work together have reached new heights.

Through our consortial organization-known as SAALCK (State-Assisted Academic Library Council of Kentucky)-we have developed a plan for the establishment of a Virtual University Library for Kentucky. When funded, it will serve as a foundation for the Commonwealth Virtual University, itself a collaborative initiative of Kentucky's public institutions of higher education and major element of the legislation for providing off-campus education throughout Kentucky.

Virtual libraries are basically libraries without walls, delivering essential library resources via the Internet's World Wide Web. In our proposal, the resources that would be accessed electronically include abstracts, indexes and the full text of a core collection of academic journals as well as Kentucky-oriented materials. In addition to serving as vital support for the off-campus courses offered through the institutions' distance learning programs, the Kentucky Virtual Library will greatly enrich both the traditional library materials (in "hard copy") and the electronic library resources available from the state's campus libraries.

For additional information on the new, exciting and promising development, I invite you to visit the SAALCK web site at http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/SAALCK/

~ Michael Binder

The University is pleased to announce the acquisition of Prof. Joseph Blotner's archives assembled in preparation of his recently published biography of Robert Penn Warren. Blotner, professor Emeritus from the University of Michigan, is best known for his definitive biography of William Faulkner. Likes the Faulkner study, Blotner's biography of Warren was authorized by the writer and his family, and it will take its place as the most important resource on the author.

Prof. Blotner spent seven years in producing his definitive work. Over this period he developed an extensive collection of Warren materials including books, papers, letters, taped interviews, and various other materials. The resulting archive is the most important compilation of information about Warren not already located or housed in a research library. Because of his long connection with Western's Center For Robert Penn Warren Studies, which he also consulted in his research, Blotner first offered us his archive, though it was actively sought by Vanderbilt and other libraries.

Our Center, with help from the English Department, Potter College, and the Office of Academic Affairs raised the $6,000 asking price. Prof. Blotner indicated that this figure represented the amount of unreimbursed funding he had incurred assembling his archive.

The Kentucky Library will receive the Blotner archive this fall and plans to house it with our Robert Penn Warren Library; a formal dedication will take place at our annual meeting recognizing Warren's birthday next April.

Editor's Note: The writer is a Professor of English, WKU.

~ Joe Millichap