ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 178 / C h R L N ew s A C R L is s u e s fo r th e 8 0 s A C R L ’s two presidential candidates offer their views on the Association ’s future. Sharon A . H ogan Janice T. K oyam a TT his p re s e n ta tio n of s ta te m e n ts from A C R L ’s can d id ates for vice-president/president-elect is a n e w in fo rm a tio n serv ice fo r A C R L m e m b e rs. M any of th e issues an d concerns facing A C R L are discussed in fo rm ally a t m eetings, b u t w e have not h a d a n atio n a l forum av a ilab le to all m em bers. These statem en ts p rovide th e basis for an inform ed choice w h en you receive y o u r b a llo t in th e next few w eeks.— Sharon J. Rogers, A C R L vice -p resid en t/ president-elect. Sharon A. Hogan: W h a t w e fa ce. T o d ay th e re is no such th in g as a single challenge. A cadem ic an d research libraries, personified by th e ir professional staff m em bers, struggle d aily w ith m u ltip le forces, vectors com ing from an d m oving to w a rd diverse (and often oppos­ ing) ends. Pressures of fu n d in g , collections, te c h ­ nology, service, space, an d personnel affect v irtu ­ a lly a ll o f u s, u s u a lly s i m u lt a n e o u s ly . S o m e pressures b u ild up in tern ally ; others th re a te n to im plode from th e “o u te r w o rld ” of in fo rm atio n . Decisions m ad e n atio n ally a b o u t th e fo rm a t or dis­ trib u tio n of governm ent docum ents, for exam ple, have a p ro fo u n d im p a c t on how academ ic libraries go a b o u t th e ir business. Decisions a b o u t d a ta tra n s ­ mission an d access are even m ore disturbing. B ut w e d a re no t stop w ith surveying o u r ow n challenges. T h e p a re n t organizations w e serve are u n d e r im m ense in te rn a l an d external stresses of th e ir ow n. As th e tra d itio n a l post-secondary p o p u ­ la tio n shrinks an d n atio n al an d state fu n d in g for hig h er ed u c atio n declines, d em ands increase to ex­ te n d o p p o rtu n ities to n o n -tra d itio n a l students an d to bolster basic ed u catio n . T h e lib ra ry or le a rn in g c e n te r’s ro le to m eet th e te a c h in g an d research needs of its “host” m eans th a t it m ust not only a b ­ sorb th e shock of these changes b u t m ust also lead in a n tic ip a tin g them . A C R L as b u ffe r an d catalyst. G iven this envi­ ro n m e n t of c o n tin u al change w h ere th e only cer­ ta in ty is m ore u n c e rta in ty , A C R L can help us re ­ s p o n d w is e ly . As a n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n rep resen tin g academ ic a n d research lib rarian s in all types of surroundings, A C R L th ro u g h its elected officers can p ro v id e th e focus an d objectivity w e all seek. By b u ild in g on its stren g th s— th e w ork of dy­ n am ic sections, th e p re ced en t of exciting n atio n al conferences, e n c o u ra g e m e n t of ac tiv e c h a p te rs, an d liaison w ith discipline associations— A C R L ’s leadership can assist lib ra ria n s in th e ir efforts to ex­ plore, influence, an d ed u c ate o th er groups in th e hig h er ed u catio n com m unity. As p resid en t of A C R L , a responsibility th a t in ­ volves th re e years of h a rd w ork an d choices on b e­ h a lf of th e association, I w o u ld strive to see, to u n ­ d e rsta n d , an d to co n fro n t th e forces besieging our profession. I w o u ld assist th e m em b ersh ip in a rtic ­ u la tin g th e alternatives th a t various actions or in ­ actions w o u ld h av e on college o r research libraries an d w o u ld aggressively present those alternatives to n atio n a l ed u c atio n a l a n d discipline associations or legislative bodies. I w ould expect to m ake diffi­ c u lt decisions a n d d efen d th e m to o p p o n e n ts. I A fortunate choice. 94 of the Fortune 100 com ­p a n i e s c h o o s e ABI/- INFORM® as their busi­ n ess d a ta b a s e . S im ply b e c a u s e ABI/INFORM helps them solve business and manage­ ment problems. Enhance strategic plan­ ning. Speak with authority. And this valu­ able inform ation resource c o s ts n o m ore today than it did in 1982. ABI/- INFORM summarizes the major articles in more than 600 business publications worldwide. And Data Courier can p ro ­ vide you with the full text of most articles through an inexpensive article delivery service. It’s easy to see why the largest an d m o st s u c c e s s fu l c o r p o r a ti o n s choose ABI/INFORM. Fortunately, your organization can make the same choice. Call 8 0 0 /6 2 6 -2 8 2 3 to find out more. Data Courier Inc A pril 1984 / 181 vw ould also be a good listener, w illing to be p e r­ suaded to an o th er p oint of view by strong evidence a n d a r g u m e n t. H a v in g serv e d th r e e y ea rs on A C R L ’s B udget and F inance C om m ittee and h a v ­ ing headed an extrem ely active ch a p te r, BIS, I am well aw are of the financial constraints of th e o rg a­ nization and the sorts of trade-offs th a t are neces­ sary in the light of th e ACRL Long R ange P lanning M odel. T he altern a tiv e s are in fin ite , th e conse­ quences of any decision immense. Janice T. Koyama: M y i n t e r e s t in s e rv in g as th e A C R L V ice- P resident/P resident-E lect is based on a co m b in a­ tion of tra d itio n a l and n o n -trad itio n al experiences. F am iliarity w ith ACRL for m e began w ith active involvem ent in the revival of th e C alifornia C h a p ­ ter and in th e later years of holding various ch a p te r offices including the presidency. W ith in ACRL it­ self I have served on a divisional standing com m it­ tee, on com m ittees in both “type of lib ra ry ” and “type of activity” sections, and have been a regular p a rtic ip a n t in several discussion groups. I have also been active on com m ittees of another ALA division w hich enables m e to b ring a different perspective to ACRL. My experience on th e C alifornia L ib rary Ser­ vices B oard (CLSB), w here I am halfw ay th rough a four-year gu b ern ato rial ap p o in tm en t as the re p ­ resentative for all academ ic libraries in th e state, has given m e an un d erstan d in g of the n a tu re and im p o rtan ce of b o ard activities, organization, and involvem ent. CLSB is a m odel b o ard th a t is well ru n an d th a t enjoys excellent relatio n s w ith its staff. I w ork w ith b oard m em bers from all types of libraries and from various segments of the public- at-large (disabled, econom ically disadvantaged, lim ited and non-English speaking), and it has been extrem ely valuable to h ear user perceptions of li­ braries from th e lay board m em bers. I have also en­ joyed p articip atio n in policy decisions w hich direct a n d a d m in is te r c o o p e ra tio n a m o n g a c a d e m ic , public, school, institutional and special libraries th ro u g h o u t C alifornia. At the cam pus level, one of m y em phases as d i­ rector of the u n d erg rad u ate lib rary a t UC Berkeley has been to establish regular com m unication c h a n ­ nels w ith a p p ro p riate faculty, cam pus ad m in istra­ tors and professional staff. I am com m itted to im ­ p r o v in g th e v is ib ility of th e l i b r a r y in u n d e rg ra d u a te affairs p articu larly and to p a rtic i­ p a tin g fully in the b ro ad er academ ic environm ent at Berkeley. These efforts have been successful in tra n sfo rm in g th e lib ra ry into a v ital p a r tn e r in m any academ ic support program s and services. My experiences have provided a fram ew ork for m any of m y ACRL concerns and ideas w hich are categorized here u nder th ree general subject areas. C hapters /M em bers. I believe th a t ACRL m ust support chapters both financially and p ro g ra m ­ m atically at the highest affordable level. T he d e­ t p n t t t p w v f e t m c l elopm ent of the special p ro g ram m in g funds and he w ider distribution of ACRL C E courses have rovided us w ith a good sta rt in this direction. W e eed to study fu rth e r this im p o rta n t netw ork stru c­ u re and consider delivering m ore services th ro u g h he chapters, increasing aw areness of c h a p te r ac­ ivities th ro u g h w ider dissem ination of C hapter Topics, and recognizing chapters th a t have been a rtic u la rly effective in fu rth e rin g A C R L goals ith a special aw ard . As for m em bers, I am con­ cerned ab o u t those w ho feel they do not have a oice in ACRL or access to enough opportunities or p articip atio n . Some feel left ou t or overlooked ven after serving successfully on section com m it­ ees or as officers. I believe th a t efforts m ust be ad e to involve new m em bers and to recognize ex­ eptional contributions and service w ith increasing eadership responsibilities. In order to provide for direct com m unication betw een the m em bership and th e B oard, an “open fo ru m ” tim e d u rin g B oard m eetings m ight be a good idea. T he A C R L Board. Speaking of the ACRL B oard itself, it is always an im p o rta n t elem ent in the of­ fice of the president and is p articu larly crucial this year. W ith a new Executive D irector, th e officers and m em bers of the B oard will need to provide spe­ cial support and cooperation to the staff d u rin g the transition period. I am also interested in im proving o rien tatio n for new B oard m em bers, considering changes in representation of the Activity Sections C o u n c il, c o n tin u in g fo llo w up on th e A ctiv ity Model and th e ad hoc task forces’ reco m m en d a­ tions, and providing stronger liaison and coopera­ tion w ith o ther ALA divisions in response to the J. M orris Jones ALA D ivisional L eadership E n h an c e­ m ent P rogram . A C R L and higher education. Perhaps the most far-reaching is m y concern regarding the role of A C R L in h ig h er e d u c atio n . As in d iv id u a l a c a ­ dem ic lib raries an d lib ra ria n s strive to becom e m ore active p artn ers in th e academ ic enterprise, so m ust ACRL increase its efforts to be our collective voice w ith other professional and scholarly org an i­ zations and agencies w hich share our interests. To this end, w e should seriously consider the recent recom m endations from the ad hoc Task Force on A cadem ic L ibraries and H igher E d u catio n for im ­ p lem entation. I t is an honor to be a ca n d id a te for ACRL office and an awesom e responsibility to lead such a pres­ tigious and influential organization. I am enthusi­ astic and eager to w ork w ith all of you if elected an d , no m a tte r w h a t the outcom e, will continue to serve ACRL w ith dedication and com m itm ent. ditor's note: Sharon A . H ogan is acting director o f em ple University Libraries, Philadelphia. Janice . K oyam a is head o f the M o ffitt U ndergraduate ibrary, University o f California, Berkeley. ■ ■ E T T L