June 24, 2005

UCSD Librarian Is ‘My Favorite Martian’ To National Library Group

By Paul K. Mueller

Elliot Kanter, reference librarian and bibliographer at the University of California, San Diego, is the 2005 recipient of the Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) Recognition Certificate, also known as the “My Favorite Martian Award.”

The MARS organization, part of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association (ALA), administers the award, which is given to an individual to recognize excellence in service to the group.

The award’s humorous nickname is a reference to the 1960’s television comedy of that title.

“I am delighted to announce that this year's choice for ‘My Favorite Martian' is long-time member Elliot Kanter,” said Doris Ann Sweet, the MARS chair. “He’s been actively involved since early 1984, when he volunteered to intern with the Direct Patron Access to Online Databases Committee. In addition to his MARS, RUSA and other ALA activities, Elliot is recognized as a supportive mentor to other Martians and, in his quiet, thoughtful way, is the embodiment of the spirit of MARS.”

Kanter will receive his award at the MARS Chair's Program, “ E-Reference Services: What Are Our Users Telling Us?” on June 26 during the 2005 ALA Annual Conference held in Chicago.

“The ALA is a huge organization, with more than 64,000 members,” Kanter said. “But for those who participate actively, its work and its ‘community’ typically take place in the federation of smaller bodies that build the association from the ground up. MARS is one of those groups. I've been a member since I became a librarian and came to UCSD in 1982.”

Back then, when the University of California was introducing the prototype Melvyl Catalog as a future alternative to card catalogs, Kanter said, the idea of library computers delivering information to people was a new one.

“My first MARS committee assignment in 1984 -- direct patron access to online databases -- was testing the boundaries. ‘Direct’ meant empowering people to search databases themselves, instead of librarians needing to do it for them. And this was before the Worldwide Web. Direct access meant ‘dumb’ terminals, CD-ROM workstations and a few databases on the Melvyl catalog,” said Kanter.

“Now, direct patron access to information is the rule rather than the cutting edge. Google and all its relatives give people a sense of autonomy, a feeling they can find whatever they want, whenever they want, entirely on their own. Not surprisingly, the MARS program I'm involved in planning for 2006 is about what librarians can do to help improve the chances that those ‘autonomous’ information seekers will really find what they need.”

RUSA, a division of the ALA, is responsible for stimulating and supporting excellence in the delivery of general library services and materials to adults, and the provision of reference and information services, collection development, and resource sharing for all ages, in every type of library.

Media Contact: Paul K. Mueller, 858-534-8564