0:00 - Background and path to WKU
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: The Reference Department at the University of Kentucky in the Spring of 1983 was in shambles; the library and the whole university had been on a hiring freeze for two years; virtually all the Reference Department had resigned, retired, or left, and a once rather famous department had been reduced to only two or three people, and was being staffed by volunteers.
Segment Synopsis: Dr. Coutts relates his early life, education, and how he got to WKU.
Keywords: American Library Association, Midwinter Convention; Archivo General de Indios; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Canadians; Houston, Texas; Huey P. Long; Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; Library newsletters; Library signage; Louisiana State University; Margaret King Library; Paul Willis; Rice University; Robert Penn Warren; San Antonio, Texas; Seville, Spain; Troy Midd
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
12:39 - Rice University and WKU
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: The entire reference staff was housed in a glassed enclosure in the middle of the reference reading room, which we referred to as kind of the glass bowl, the fish bowl, eight of us in the glass enclosure with just two telephones.
Segment Synopsis: Talks about meeting his wife at LSU and moving on to Rice in Houston, then to WKU.
Keywords: Baker and Taylor; Blackwell's North America; Collection Development Policy; Coordinator of Bibliographic Instruction; Coordinator of Collection Development; Dana Boden; Dr. Michael Binder; Fondren Library; Helm Library; Houston, Texas; Janice Masannat; Library approval plans; Library discounts; Library liaisons; Library subject specialists; Library vendo
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
21:28 - WKU Extended Campuses
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: This had never been done before; in fact there were no telefacsimile machines in the city that I know of, certainly no library was using them in Kentucky, and we had difficulty getting money to pay for them, and I was able to talk a vendor into treating them as a subscription, and we actually leased computers and telefacsimile machines to establish this telefax network, which later became a model for other institutions.
Segment Synopsis: The origins of providing library service to WKU's extended campuses.
Keywords: Access Services; Education Resource Information Center (ERIC); Elizabethtown, KY; Extended Campus Library Services; FAX requests; Glasgow, KY; Harley Brooks; Leisure reading leasing program; Mary Weldon Public Library, Glasgow, KY; McNaughton Leasing Plan; Nelson McNaughton; Owensboro County High School; Owensboro, KY; Russellville, KY; Sally Ann Koenig
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
27:28 - Early Library Technologies
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: In May of 1988 we established the first CD-ROM index put out by the same company, called Academic Index, from Information Access Corporation, and the beauty of it was that it indexed 375 magazines and journals and the New York Times.
Segment Synopsis: The first automated library systems for browsing periodical indexes.
Keywords: 3M Security Systems; Academic Index; Business and Professional Women of Glasgow; Business Index; CD-ROM; Compact Disc Read Only Memory; ERIC; Funding for technology; Glasgow Campus Library; Information Access Corporation; Java City cafe; LANs; Library checkers; Library security systems; Local Area Networks; Magazine Index; Newspaper Index; Pioneer Electron
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
36:58 - Department Head
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: In April of 1993, we began having the very first training workshops on how to use this new thing called the Internet.
Segment Synopsis: Early 90's were an era of fast growth in library technologies.
Keywords: Cindy Etkin; EBSCO; HTML programming; Internet access; Internet training workshops; Kecnet; Leisure periodicals; Library instruction; Library online catalogs; McNaughton Plan; Periodical cover advertising; Sally Ann Koenig Strickler; TopCat; WKU Library's first website
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
42:35 - Ice Storm of 1994
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: Sometime after 10:30 I received a call from Dean Binder, telling me that the library was flooding, and asking me to take charge of doing what I could, if I could do anything, to try to rescue...The state was shut down with ice two inches thick, all highways had been closed by the governor, all the roads in the city were closed by order of the police, so I set out in my Honda car, and drove from my Whispering Hills neighborhood; it took me an hour and twenty minutes because I was petrified of driving very far. There was no one else on the road; no one else was that crazy.
Segment Synopsis: Talks about the worst natural disasters in the library.
Keywords: Burst pipes; David Runner; Dr. Michael Binder; Flooding; Frozen pipes; Garrett Conference Center; Gaye Perkins; Government Documents; Heating and air conditioning problems; Helm Library; Icy roads; Inclement weather; January 17 1994; Jonathan Jeffrey; Periodicals; Reference Room; Riley Handy; Road closures; Serials; Steam lines flood; University Archives; Wate
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
51:24 - Innovations and Improvements
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: R.L. Stine was at the top of children's best seller books, and Robert Waller, his book had become the number one best selling book in the country; I think this marks the only time in the history of our experience with book festivals that we had the number selling adult fiction and children's fiction at the same time, so extraordinary endeavor.
Segment Synopsis: The origins of extended library hours, instructional labs, Faraway Places, and the SOKY Book Festival.
Keywords: Barnes and Noble; Bell South Community Internet Workshops; Chinese librarians; Computers in Libraries; Downing University Center; Dr. Michael Binder; Elaine Moore; Extended library hours; Fundraising; Goosebumps books; Grants; Haiwang Yuan, Library webmaster; Info Lab; Instructional Lab; Janice Masannat; Kentucky Library and Museum; Library Instruction; Li
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
62:33 - Speaker Series
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: Our first sponsor was Coca-Cola, and they remained as our sponsor until WKU signed and exclusive contract with Pepsi Cola, at which time they informed us they no longer wished to continue sponsoring anything at Western.
Segment Synopsis: Relates the story of how the libraries' speakers series came about.
Keywords: African-American Artists in Bowling Green; Barnes and Noble; Bell South Community Internet Workshops; Black History Month; Coca-Cola; Diversity; Faraway Places with Strange Sounding Names; Friends of WKU Libraries; Kentucky Live!: Southern Culture at Its Best; Kentucky Virtual Library; Nancy Baird; Peggy Wright; PepsiCo; Perry Como; Potter College; Wome
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries
70:36 - Future of Libraries and Professional Service
Direct segment link:
Partial Transcript: I've just been reading a book on what some of the leading gurus in country think the library will look like in 2020; will we still have a library, will we still be offering those services that we offered in 1965, or will we have moved beyond them?
Segment Synopsis: Talks about where libraries are headed, and some of his service to the profession.
Keywords: ARBA; CD-ROM; Charles Patterson; CHOICE; Connie Foster; Decorating library administrators like Christmas trees; EBSCO; First computer in library; Friends of WKU Libraries; Future of libraries; Kentucky Virtual Library; KYVL; Library holiday parties; Library Journal; Library retreats; Reference book reviews; Reference Books Bulletin
Subjects: Academic Libraries Brian E. Coutts, 1948 Oral History Western Kentucky University Libraries