April has been a very busy month; it seems that each month library and campus activities increase. The Libraries Strategic Plan has been accepted by the Provost and copies are being shared with all Deans and Vice Presidents. The Strategic Plan is also accessible from the Libraries Home Page. Much appreciation goes to all the staff for their help and input to finalize this document which will drive most library activities in the 1998-2000 biennium.

The SAALCK (State-Assisted Academic Library Council of Kentucky) met with consultant William Potter on April13-15 to finalize the proposal for the Virtual Library. Also involved in these meetings were members of the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and their newly appointed Advisory Group on the Commonwealth Virtual Library, chaired by Jim Nelson, State Librarian and Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. Miko Pattie, now working with CPE, successfully planned and arranged these complex meetings which included university, community college, technical and vocational school, private institution, public librarians, the Kentucky Library Network, and Information Technology directors. The Kentucky model for the Commonwealth Virtual Library is unique in the nation and we are hopeful that it will receive funding in this very competitive situation. Two more meetings with the consultant are planned in May.

We hope to sign our contract with Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. this month to begin implementation in May. Weiling Liu and Cindy Page attended their first Voyager Users' Group Meeting (VUGM) in Chicago April 24-25.

The Libraries will be purchasing a substantial number of new books in the next two months, thanks to careful and diligent planning and management by Collection Development. We will also obtain several new electronic full-text databases and reference works during the next several months. Faculty and students are very excited about this; they appreciate that they will soon have access to Lexis/Nexis.

Staff and faculty evaluations have been finalized and merit pay determinations are in process. Congratulations to all for doing a good job this past year.