east central network/Illinois vocational curriculum center

susie shackleton, librarian
east central network/illinois
vocational curriculum center
springfield, Illinois

The East Central Network/Illinois Vocational Curriculum Center (ECN/IVCC) began in 1972. It has always been located in Springfield, Illinois. The center has two names because they each refer to a different contract.

The ECN is funded by the United States Department of Education to provide technical assistance to a twelve-state region. The twelve states include Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. The ECN is one of six regions in the National Network for Curriculum Coordination in Vocational-Technical Education (NNCCVTE). The NNCCVTE was set up in 1972 to promote better communication among curriculum developers, to share each state developed curriculum with all the other states and to provide technical assistance within each region. There is no one region which dominates the others. They are all autonomous and they all report to a project officer in Washington, D.C. The director for each of the six regions meet three times a year to discuss policy which affects the entire NNCCVTE.

The IVCC is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). From 1972 to 1980 the IVCC was located at ISBE, but due to the need to expand the library facility, the library moved in 1980 to Sangamon State University. The IVCC is still funded entirely by ISBE. The IVCC serves the Division of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education (DAVTE) within the ISBE. The IVCC houses all DAVTE contract final reports, products developed each fiscal year with DAVTE project monies, and all materials purchased each year through DAVTE projects. The IVCC provides workshops, newsletters, bibliographies, and free loan materials to interested vocational educators in Illinois.

Because the center is part of the NNCCVTE, the loan policy is very liberal. Anyone anywhere in the United States and Canada can write in, call in, or visit the center and receive six materials on free loan for one month. The primary clientele tends to be vocational teachers, administrators, and students majoring in vocational education programs at colleges and universities. Over the years the center has been visited by interested educators from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Jamaica, and the Philippines. Although the center does not loan materials out of the country, sources will be provided to locate whatever is needed.

The center currently has close to 29,000 materials in the collection. There are around 27,000 books, 1,100 audiovisual materials, 500 films, and 100 pieces of microcomputer software. All materials are loaned for one month, except the films which are scheduled for two-week periods, and the software — much of which is available only on demonstration at the center. The center continues to grow by about 3,000 items each year. The materials primarily cover the five vocational areas — business, industrial arts, home economics, health, and agriculture. There is a professional section which includes materials in the areas of advisory councils, career education, research, cooperative education, administration, occupational orientation, special needs, program management, job training and partnership act (JTPA formerly CETA), adult education, and state plans. The center also has a reference section containing many bibliographies, directories, and handbooks pertaining to vocational education. There are also areas which become highly popular and the collection expands to meet that need. In the past these areas have been metrics, solar energy, sex equity, and entrepreneurship. The current area of thrust is high technology.

The center receives very limited funds with which to buy materials. The majority of the collection is the result of our receiving curriculum guides shared through the NNCCVTE, materials that come from ISBE projects or from ISBE consultants, and finally materials which publishers supply for free because they know they will receive a great deal of exposure at the center.

In 1982 the center began to collect task lists. These are listings of the tasks necessary to perform the skill needed for a particular occupation. The center has collected over 800 task lists currently used all over the United Sates. The task lists have become so popular that the printed list of them — The Task Listing Catalog is in its fourth edition. This catalog is free as are all the task lists. Six task lists can be requested at one time. Since it is becoming expensive to print the catalog every three or four months, plans are being made to make the catalog available electronically through the center's electronic bulletin board.

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The center set up an electronic bulletin board in 1982. Anyone who has a microcomputer and a phone modem can access the bulletin board by calling 217/786-6737. The bulletin board is up from 12 noon each weekday till 8:00 a.m. and from Friday 12 noon to Monday 8:00 a.m. The bulletin board contains messages both from the center and to the center. Patrons can leave messages for each other. Anyone can load software they wish to share and it can be down-loaded at any site.

Since 1982, the center has employed a full-time microcomputer specialist. This person provides technical assistance and workshops both around the state and at the center. The specialist also maintains the bulletin board, advises on the development of the software collection, supervises the software demonstration center, and manages the evaluation of vocational software for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory which maintains the Resources in Computer Education (RICE) data base on BRS. The demonstration center at the ECN/IVCC currently has an Apple lie, TRS 80 III, Commodore 64. Timex, and a Kaypro. The center plans to acquire an IBM PC or PC Junior and an Atari.

The collection currently is not accessible electronically. The library maintains a title and subject card catalog. In 1981, the center and the other five regions in the NNCCVTE started a private file on BRS. This data base is called Vocational Education Curriculum Materials (VECM) and it went public in April of 1983. Each state supplies bibliographic data for state developed curriculum products.

Since the majority of the collection is not available on-line, the center maintains eighty-six different bibliographies with complete bibliographic information and abstracts. Bibliographies currently range in size from 5 to 80 pages. Patrons can request six free bibliographies at onetime. The bibliography titles include:

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Library patrons can find out about the center in a variety of ways. The center puts on between sixty to eighty workshops a year, both at the center, and at sites around the state and out-of-state. The center has a newsletter, the IVCC MEMO, which is printed monthly except for June, July, and August. Two thousand MEMOs are printed each month and disseminated to all Illinois high schools, community colleges, universities, area vocational centers, and correctional institutions around the state. The MEMO is also sent to anyone who asks to be put on the mailing list. The MEMO informs educators about new materials and activities and events at the center. The ECN/IVCC provides displays at about ten to fifteen educational conferences a year. The center has many brochures which are often included in workshop packets by workshop coordinators who wish to spread the word about the existence of the ECN/IVCC. Finally, potential patrons find out about the center through other colleagues.

Anyone who is interested in contacting the center can call 800/252-8533 (toll-free in Illinois) or 217/786-6375, or write ECN/IVCC, Sangamon State University, E-22, Springfield, IL 62708.

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