In Surprise Move, Bailey Resigns from U. of Houston
-- Library Journal, 11/15/2006
Charles Bailey, longtime assistant dean for Digital Library Planning and Development at the University of Houston (UH) Libraries, and publisher of the popular Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography (SEPB), abruptly announced his resignation, effective January 31 of next year. Bailey declined to comment specifically but issued a statement suggesting that his decision to end nearly 20 years of service at the UH libraries was rooted in a disagreement with the current administration. Bailey's web resources include SEPB, Scholarly Electronic Publishing Resources (SEPR), and the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog (SEPW). On his web site, he noted that his work with the SEPB, SEPR, and SEPW would continue but would now be hosted on his own domain.
Bailey asked to have his statement published in full:"During my thirty-one-year career, I have always viewed myself as a technological change agent. In the current environment, academic libraries must make difficult resource allocation choices between maintaining print collections, supporting ever-growing collections of licensed electronic resources, and fostering new modes of scholarly communication. There is no universal 'right' choice. Each library must realistically make its own decision about what the right mix of these activities is in light of unique local circumstances. At this stage of my life, I believe that I can best serve my particular passions in the realm of scholarly communication and digital libraries elsewhere, although I am grateful for the support I have received at the University of Houston Libraries from many colleagues, both past and present, and I am especially grateful to Robin N. Downes, former Director of the UH Libraries. For those interested in following my continued digital publishing activities, they can do so at www.digital-scholarship.com."
In 2003, Bailey was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker for his pioneering work with library technology over the years. In 1983, he introduced the use of IBM microcomputers in the library at Johns Hopkins University. In 1988, he developed IRIS, one of the first expert systems, which integrated CD-ROM databases at UH to steer users to the most appropriate resources. In addition, Bailey offered the system to other educational institutions for free, making it one of the earliest pieces of open source library software. That year he coauthored proposals for statewide resource sharing that ultimately led to the development of TexShare in 1994. By 1989, he was one of the original members of the Imagineering Interest Group of LITA (Library and Information Technology Association).
