Interview with Barry Baker, August 19, 2016

Interview Summary

At the time of this interview, Barry Baker was the Director of Libraries at University of Central Florida. He talks about how he became interested in libraries during his years as an undergraduate at LSU when he was employed as a student worker at the university library. He went on to earn his master's degree in library science from LSU and talks about the specific areas within the field of library science he was most interested in during graduate school and his early employment. Baker talks about working at the University of South Carolina library, and the plans made by director Ken Toombs to renovate the facilities. He talks about his next job after leaving USC at Appalachian State University, then at the University of Georgia.

Baker talks about how he became involved with ASERL and the structure of the organization during its early days. He talks about how the organization began to change and became more focused on projects. He talks about some of these projects in-depth, including SOLINET, KUDZU, and RapidILL among other resource sharing programs and ideas for future innovation.

Baker describes the changes he has seen in technology, specifically in the field of automation, throughout his library career. He gives specific examples, including how libraries' use of OCLC has changed since the days of punch cards to the availability of information on the Internet. He tells anecdotes about libraries he has worked for creating their own software and library systems, and discusses some of the issues caused by changes in technology. He talks about the general lack of awareness of what services and resources libraries provide. He discusses finances and budget issues libraries are currently facing, including the ever-increasing cost of journal subscriptions.

Interview Keyword

University of Central Florida (UCF) Louisiana State University (LSU) Southeastern Library Network, Inc. (SOLINET, now part of LYRASIS) University of South Carolina (USC) Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC)

Interview LC Subject

Universities and colleges--Finance Library resources. Technological innovations Academic librarians Library science. College facilities. Academic libraries. College buildings.

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.