Library Fair 1995
Library Fair 1995 attracted an estimated 400 visitors on October
19. Hands-on demonstrations of many library services ranging
from World Wide Web Home Pages in several branch libraries to
large-type screens for library users with limited vision were
offered by the Libraries' staff. Popular stops were the
Preservation display and the Special Collections table. The
Library Fair presented information about interlibrary loan
services, acquisition and cataloging, the Internet, and the
Libraries' 18 branches. Borrower's cards were issued to 98
Smithsonian staff that day. The door prize, a beautiful diary
hand bound by Conservator Janice Stagnitto with a cover of
handmade linen, was won by Katherine Krile of SITES in a drawing
from a pool of attendees holding borrower's cards.
A noon program on "Intellectual Property in the Electronic Age"
in the Ripley Center Lecture Hall was attended by about 100
persons. Dean Elizabeth Aversa of Catholic University School
Library and Information Science spoke on the impact of the
information revolution on the end user, and how libraries are
addressing the issues. Dr. Robert Kahn, president of the
Corporation of National Research Initiatives, delivered a timely
and lively talk on the establishment of the national information
infrastructure.
Library Fair 1995 was organized by a Task Force chaired by Martin
Smith with Tom Baker, Tom Bickley, Suji DeHart, Martin
Kalfatovic, Ned Kraft, and Janice Stagnitto serving. Thirty-
eight others from every department in the Libraries took turns
working at the fair.
Martin Smith
Department Head
Central Research Services
(all photos above by Richard Strauss)