ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries March 1987 / 125 ACRL issu es fo r th e 8 0 s A C R L ’s two presidential candidates offer their views on the Association’s future. Joseph A. Boissé Joan Chambers This p rese n tatio n of statem en ts from A C R L ’s candidates for Vice–President/President-Elect is an inform ation service for ACRL m em bers. M any of th e issues an d concerns facing ACRL are discussed inform ally a t m eetings, b u t this does not provide a national forum available to all m em bers. These statem ents provide th e basis for an inform ed choice w hen you receive your ballot next m onth. Joseph A. Boissé: In the past several years ACRL has been fo rtu ­ n ate to have as President a succession of extremely, com petent an d tirelessly energetic individuals. The Association is financially strong, enjoys solid sup­ p o rt from its m em bership an d has given serious a t­ tention to providing services to and program s for the m em bership. At the 1986 annual conference in New York, the S trategic P lan n in g Task F orce presented to th e ACRL Board its recom m ended Strategic Plan for ACRL. T h a t docum ent received Board approval on July 1,1986, an d is now in place. T he docum ent represents m uch h a rd w ork by m any individuals. It also is based on a great deal of grass roots consul­ tation. It is, in a very real sense, w here th e m em ­ bership of this Association w ants the organization to go. It is not an insignificant docum ent and im ple­ m enting it over th e next five years will require d ed ­ ication, energy, and persistence. I believe th a t th e most im p o rta n t com m itm ent I can m ake as can d i­ d ate for V ice-President/President-Elect of ACRL is to devote w hatever tim e an d effort is necessary to insure th a t th e Strategic Plan does not rem ain just a plan. I w ill w ork w ith th e m em bership, th e ap p ro ­ p riate C om m ittees, th e Board an d th e ACRL staff to move it from a blu ep rin t for action to reality. D u rin g th e past couple of m onths I have w ritten to m ore th a n tw o h u n d red colleagues in ACRL seeking to know about their professional concerns an d about their vision for ACRL. I have received several dozen replies eith er by m ail or by te le­ phone. T here is virtual unanim ous support for the p lan an d this is precisely because it is seen as ad ­ dressing m em ber hopes and concerns. L et m e sim ply com m ent on an d em phasize a few topics w hich grew out of those consultations and w hich are of special interest to me: 1. The role o f A C R L w ith in A L A . I have always advocated a strong ACRL w ithin a strong ALA. T he relationship betw een th e tw o groups has been storm y at times and it p robably will be so again in th e future. O n th e w hole, how ever, th e relation­ ship has been synergistic. If elected, my position will be to pursue a position of aggressive in terd e­ pendance w ith in ALA. It is tru e th a t th e p a re n t or­ ganization supports th e division in m any ways. But it is equally tru e th a t th e division contributes enor­ mously to ALA. W e m ust w ork to insure th a t the relationship rem ains equitable and th a t ALA con­ tinues to take into consideration th e interests and concerns of ACRL m em bers as association policy is developed. 126 / C & R L N ews 2. T h e A C R L stru ctu re. T h e re are m o re th a n a dozen sections w ith in A C R L . T h ey r u n th e g a m u t from very la rg e groups to very sm all groups. W e m u st recognize t h a t sim ply because of th e n a tu re of o u r profession, le g itim a te areas of in te re st w ill n o t alw ays a ttra c t la rg e n u m b e rs of in d iv id u als. T h e A sso c iatio n m u s t b e w illin g to s u p p o r t g ro u p s w h ic h it judges to be of v alu e b u t w h ic h m a y fin d it d ifficu lt to su p p o rt them selves. W e m u st c o n tin u e to strive to m e et th e professional needs of all of o u r m em bers. 3. E q u ity a n d re cru itm e n t. A C R L m u st c o n ­ tin u e to w o rk fo r eq u ity b o th w ith in o u r profession a n d w ith in th e g re a te r society in w h ic h w e o p e ra te . F u r th e r m o r e , w e m u s t d e v o te som e of o u r r e ­ sources to th e task of re c ru itm e n t. A re c e n t survey of college fresh m en c o n c ern in g th e ir fu tu re profes­ sional p lan s co n clu d ed th a t 0 % w e re in te re ste d in lib ra ria n s h ip . T h a t is in to le ra b le . W e m u st d e ­ velop a strateg y for re c ru itin g generally a n d espe­ cially fo r actively re c ru itin g u n d e rre p re se n te d m i­ n o ritie s to th e ran k s of a c a d e m ic a n d re se a rc h lib ra ria n sh ip . 4. C o n tin u in g ed ucation. In m y o w n poll of col­ leagues this su rfaced as th e m ost fre q u e n tly m e n ­ tio n e d concern. A C R L has a lre a d y do n e m u c h in this a re a a n d has b een w o rk in g w ith its c h a p te rs to e s ta b lis h a n e f f e c tiv e d e liv e r y n e t w o r k . T h a t p a rtn e rs h ip — A C R L a n d its c h a p te rs— m u st co n ­ tin u e a n d m u st be en h a n c e d ho w ev er possible. T h e c h a p te r s e n a b le us to r e a c h o u t e a s ily to t h e g rassroots level in th is a re a ; w e m u st th e re fo re stre n g th e n th e c o o p e ra tiv e e ffo rt a n d ex p an d it to th e extent possible. 5. Access to in fo rm a tio n . T his last item e n c o m ­ passes a v a rie ty of issues all of w h ic h w ill affect, in one w a y o r a n o th e r, h o w o u r p a tro n s w ill fin d th e in fo rm a tio n th e y need. W e m u st b e c o n sta n tly vig­ ila n t to insure th a t new technologies a re n o t used to lim it access to in fo rm a tio n b u t r a th e r to e n h a n c e it. W e m u st n o t b e h e s ita n t to re p ro a c h th e p riv a te sector for p u ttin g unnecessary a n d u n ju stifiab le b a rrie rs b e tw e e n in d iv id u als a n d th e in fo rm a tio n th e y need for th e ir w ork. A nd w e m u st ta k e p rid e in o u r role of conservators a n d tra n s m itte rs of o u r c u ltu re . I w o u ld consider it a n h o n o r to serve th is o rg a n i­ z a tio n as its V ice-P resident a n d th e n as its Presi­ den t. Joan Chambers: If elected p resid e n t of A C R L , I w o u ld assum e o f­ fice rig h t in th e m id d le of th e tim e lin e for im p le ­ m e n tin g th e S trateg ic P la n th a t w as a p p ro v e d by th e A C R L B o ard on Ju ly 1, 1986. T h e genesis of this p la n w as th e reco g n itio n t h a t to co n tin u e as a d y n a m ic a n d f in a n c ia ll y s o u n d o r g a n i z a t i o n , A C R L n eed ed a stru c tu re d p la n n in g process. T h e basis of th e p la n w as th e A ctivity M odel for th e 1990s, w h ic h w as developed by a n A C R L c o m m it­ tee a p p o in te d in 1980. B eginning w ith th e ir sta te ­ m e n t of m ission, goals a n d objectives, a n d b u ild in g on th e 1984-85 m em b ersh ip survey a n d th e 1985 P re sid e n t’s P ro g ra m , th e A C R L S trateg ic P la n n in g T ask F o rce developed th e S trateg ic P lan. As th e larg est ALA division a n d as a n o rg a n iz a ­ tio n rep rese n tin g diverse interests, A C R L n o t only needs th e sense of p u rpose a n d d irec tio n p ro v id ed by a system atic p la n n in g process, b u t also th e sense of u n ity a n d c o n tin u ity such a process c a n b rin g to a n o rg a n iz a tio n of e v e r-c h a n g in g officers. T h e S trateg ic P lan a n d its im p le m e n ta tio n m e rit th e c o m m itm e n t, su p p o rt a n d activ e involvem ent of all m em bers a n d officers of A C R L . In a d d itio n , th e officers w ill need to id e n tify a w a y to ev a lu a te th e effectiveness of th e S tra te g ic P la n in ac h ie v in g A C R L ’s goals a n d c a rry in g o u t its m ission. I am es­ p ecially co m m itted to th e p la n because I believe t h a t it is d irectly responsive to th e five p rio ritie s d e ­ te r m in e d b y th e m e m b e rs h ip : s tr e n g th e n a n d b ro a d e n th e p u b lic atio n s p ro g ra m ; ex p an d c o n tin ­ uin g ed u c atio n a n d professional d ev e lo p m e n t o p ­ p o r tu n iti e s ; p r o v id e a n d p r o m o te s t a n d a r d s , guidelines a n d in fo rm a tio n a b o u t a c c re d ita tio n ; serve as liaison for m em b ers a n d th e ir lib rarie s to th e rest of th e h ig h e r e d u c a tio n co m m u n ity ; a n d su p p o rt A C R L C h a p te r activities. A long w ith th e p la n , th e re a re o th e r activities a n d p ro g ram s w h ic h are a lre a d y established a n d ongoing th a t I believe m e rit c o n tin u a tio n a n d a d ­ v an c em e n t, such as th e a n n u a l aw a rd s th a t recog­ nize a n d h o n o r m em b ers of th e A ssociation. B oth th e system atic p la n n in g process a n d th e ongoing ac tiv ities n ee d to b e c o n tin u o u sly in fu sed w ith fresh ideas. As a n officer, I w o u ld en co u rag e in n o ­ v atio n a n d ensure o p p o rtu n itie s for c rea tiv e th in k ­ ing in o rd e r to re ta in th e A ssociation’s v ita lity a n d responsiveness. My th ird a re a of focus w o u ld b e to w o rk , as a m e m b er of th e B o ard , w ith th e elected a n d a p ­ p o in te d officers a n d m em b ers of th e su b -u n its of A C R L — 182 com m ittees, 13 sections, task forces, ad hoc com m ittees, a n d discussion groups. I b e ­ lieve th a t th e actions of th e B oard should fa c ilita te those activities th a t reflect th e goals a n d objectives of A C R L. In a d d itio n to w o rk in g w ith th e B oard a n d o th e r a p p o in te d a n d e le c te d o ffic e rs, as p r e s id e n t, I w o u ld su p p o rt th e efforts of th e A C R L sta ff a n d as­ sist w ith th e ir d ev elo p m en t of a n a n n u a l o p e ra tin g p la n to im p le m e n t th e S trateg ic P lan. I believe it is in th e best interests of A C R L to w ork co llab o rativ ely w ith ALA a n d to fo rm a lli­ ances w ith th e o th e r divisions to address issues of m u tu a l co n cern a n d to achieve sh a re d goals. As p resid e n t, I w o u ld p ro m o te co o p e ra tio n a n d seek to id en tify m u tu a l interests a n d sh a re d goals. T h e A C R L in itia tiv e in th e a d m in istra tio n of th e D iv i­ sional L ea d ersh ip E n h a n c e m e n t P ro g ra m , fu n d e d by th e J. M orris Jones A w a rd , is an exam ple of a p ro g ra m w h ic h has en c o u ra g ed co o p e ra tio n a n d u n d e rsta n d in g am o n g th e divisions a n d ALA. O ver th e p a st few years, I h av e observed th e in ­ March 1987 / 127 creased activity on th e p a r t of A C R L presidents in atte n d in g C h a p te r m eetings an d p a rtic ip a tin g in p rogram s to a ttra c t new m em bers. T h e effort to re ­ c ru it new m em bers a n d to re ta in c u rre n t m em bers is an ongoing effort best shared by all of us w ho b e ­ lieve th a t m em bership in A C R L m u tu a lly benefits th e in d iv id u al, th e Association, an d th e profession. I have observed, as w ell, th e expanding role of th e President in serving as an advocate a n d in re p ­ resenting th e Association in th e higher education co m m u n ity . I am c o m m itte d to e n h a n c in g th e aw areness of those concerned w ith higher e d u c a ­ tion a n d to increasing th e ir u n d ersta n d in g of th e role of lib raria n s as full p a rtn e rs in th e academ ic enterprise. I believe th a t th e Association has benefited from com p eten t leaders a n d m em bers w ho have volu n ­ teered th e ir tim e a n d effort to shape th e Association a n d to influence its fu tu re direction. In ad d itio n , th e Association has been fo rtu n a te to a ttra c t an ex­ ceptional staff a n d Executive D irector. As presi­ d en t, I w ould endeavor to m a in ta in a b alan ce b e­ tw een co n tin u ity a n d change w hile focusing on th e seven areas identified above. I w o u ld endeavor, as w ell, to c arry on th e tra d itio n of th o u g h tfu l a n d re­ s p o n sib le d e c is io n -m a k in g a n d fis c a lly so u n d b u d g etin g established by m y predecessors. F inally, in re tu rn , I w o u ld enjoy th e pleasure of m an y new a c q u a in ta n c e s , th e s a tis f a c tio n of o u r s h a re d a c h ie v e m e n ts , a n d th e b e n e fit of o u r m u tu a l grow th an d developm ent. E d ito r ’s Note: Joseph A . Boissé is u niversity li­ brarian at th e U niversity o f C alifornia, Santa Bar­ bara. Joan C ham bers is director o f libraries at C ol­ orado State U niversity, Fort Collins. ■ ■ The Martinus Nijhoff Study Grant In 1986 F red erick C. L yn d en , assistant u n iv er­ sity lib ra ria n for tech n ical services, B row n U niver­ sity, w as th e first recip ien t of th e M artinus N ijhoff I n te r n a ti o n a l W e st E u ro p e a n S p ecialist S tu d y G ra n t. In S eptem ber 1986 L ynden traveled to th e N etherlands, F ra n ce, an d W est G erm an y to p u r ­ sue his pro ject on g ath erin g d a ta on th e prices of E u ro p e a n lib ra ry m aterials an d encouraging th e p ro d u ctio n of E u ro p e a n academ ic book an d serial p rice indexes. T h e p ro ject included visits to v en ­ dors, bookselling associations, a n d lib ra ria n s to study h ow price d a ta from E u ro p e is collected an d dissem inated. T h e study trip lasted tw o weeks, a n d consisted of interview s of selected dealers, university lib ra ri­ ans, collection m an ag ers, a n d book tra d e associa­ tio n officials. In ad d itio n to interview ing these in ­ dividuals, L y n d en collected sam ples of price d a ta , price studies, an d collection budgets. His com plete study w ill be finished in early M arch, b u t he has re­ p o rte d some te n ta tiv e conclusions w hich follow: •A lth o u g h th e re is general d a ta available from p u b lish in g /b o o k se llin g associations a v a ila b le in F ra n ce, G erm an y , a n d th e N etherlands, vendors are really th e best source of in fo rm atio n on foreign price trends for “acad em ic” titles. •A c tu a l in flatio n rates for foreign titles are not as high as exchange rates. I t is th e declining value of th e d o llar w hich is im p erilin g budgets. L ib rarian s sho u ld th e re fo re sp en d tim e tra c k in g c u rre n c y changes w hich are heavily affecting th e costs of fo r­ eign titles. • O n e prom ising w ay of dealing w ith th e c u r­ rency changes is to tak e ad v a n tag e of p rep ay m en t plans offered by vendors on th e ir serial lists. •A s studies by lib raria n s in F ra n ce, G erm an y , a n d th e N eth erlan d s proved, local cost studies are an effective m eans of calcu latin g th e cost rise on foreign titles supplied to institutions. • T h e r e are sources of d a ta on price trends of foreign m aterials w hich can be used for co m p ari­ son purposes: F ra n ce, Livres H ebdo; G erm an y , B uch u n d B uchhandel in Zahlen; an d th e N eth e r­ la n d s , S tic h t in g S p e u r w e r k ’s B o e k e n - T ite lp ro d u k tie . • T h e In te rn a tio n a l P u b lish in g A ssociation is concerned enough a b o u t th e price increases th a t it has polled libraries ab o u t th e effects of high priced serials on th e p u rch asin g of m onographs. • I n ad d itio n to being able to p ro d u ce general d a ta on th e prices of m onographs supplied on b la n ­ ket ord ers, som e vendors c a n now su p p ly d a ta w hich is institution-specific. Those vendors w hich ca n n o t do so are now seeking to provide such a ser­ vice. •A ll of th e p arties visited w ere inform ed ab o u t th e existence of a new d ra ft in te rn a tio n a l sta n d a rd for price indexes for lib ra ry m aterials. In one case, th a t of th e G e rm a n n atio n al price study for books w h ere sta n d a rd U N ESCO subject headings are a l­ re a d y used fo r re p o rtin g prices a n d booksellers w ish to use a very sim plified subject schem e, th e s ta n d a rd w ill provide justification for th e co n tin ­ ued use of th e U N ESCO subject system. • A prom ising m eth o d to price trends m ore ac­ cu rately is to record an average price p er page. This m ethodology is used by th e G erm an a n n u a l, B uch u n d B uchhandel in Zahlen (Bogen Preisen) an d m ay be useful in o th er studies as a m easure of price changes. •V e n d o rs a n d publishing/bookselling associa­ tio n officials, a w a re of th e British a n d G erm an dis­ crim in ato ry price practices, w ere u niform ly upset ab o u t this “re stra in t” of tra d e a n d w ill be w orking 128 / C&RL News actively to discourage these practices. • T h o s e organizations w ith co m p u ter records are best able to trac k price changes in lib rary m a te ­ rials an d provide inform ation to custom ers or us­ ers. It is essential to provide such in fo rm atio n to li­ b raries for use in th e ir b u d g e t ju stific a tio n an d p la n n in g for collection developm ent. •A s E u ro p e an vendors an d libraries au to m ate th eir processes, they need to be m ad e aw a re of the requirem ents of N orth A m erican libraries for li­ b ra ry m aterials price d ata. T he first N ijhoff Study G ra n t provided an op­ p o rtu n ity for L ynden to follow up on a proposal m ad e in 1977 a t a L IB E R (Ligue des B ibliothèques E uropéenes de Recherche) m eeting in Leiden. It was agreed a t th a t m eeting th a t LIB E R should try to publish natio n al indexes for academ ic books. It was suggested th a t indexes be pro d u ced from four co u n tries w h ich to g e th e r p ro d u c e th e p rin c ip a l p a rt of E u ro p e an publishing o u tp u t: G reat B rit­ ain, F ran ce, G erm any, an d th e N etherlands. It was also agreed th a t indexes conform to a sta n d a rd defined by LIB E R w hich included th e use of th e UNESCO classification for subject headings and to ta l n u m b e r of publications p er subject heading. A lthough G re at B ritain continued to produce its A cadem ic Book Price Index (C entre for L ib rary an d In fo rm atio n M anagem ent), no other country h ad produced one by 1986. T herefore, th e L ynden study m ay assist in th e renew al of th e earlier effort by identifying th e organizations w hich can p ro ­ duce price d a ta an d th e individuals w ho have both th e expertise an d interest in th e p ro d u ctio n of such indexes. It is clear th a t any fu tu re effort w ill re­ q uire cooperation am ong vendors, lib rarian s, an d book tra d e association officials. L y n d en ’s research w as m ad e possible thro u g h th e first an n u al g ran t from th e M artinus N ijhoff C om pany, T he H ague, T h e N etherlands, in a p ro ­ gram ad v ertised by A C R L ’s W estern E u ro p e a n Specialists Section. F unds w ill be given annually to encourage th e study of some aspect of th e acquisi­ tion, organization, or use of lib ra ry m aterials from or relating to W estern E u ro p e .— W E SS N ew slet­ ter. ■ ■ ACRL a ctio n s, J a n u a ry 1 9 8 7 Highlights of the Midwinter meetings of the ACRL Board of Directors. The Board of D irectors of th e Association of Col- lege an d Research L ibraries m et tw ice d u rin g the ALA M idw inter M eeting in C hicago, Illinois: on Sunday, Ja n u a ry 18. 1987, an d T uesday. Ja n u ary 20, 1987. ALA Divisions T he B oard m ade a reco m m en d atio n to th e ALA C om m ittee on P rogram E v alu a tio n an d S upport (COPES) th a t it include in th e proposed Policies of th e A m erican L ib ra ry Association in R elation to its Divisions a policy p erm ittin g divisions to earn in ­ terest. To be eligible to p a rtic ip a te in th e interest­ g e n e ra tin g p ro g ra m , a div isio n w o u ld h a v e to show a t th e beginning of tw o consecutive years a fund balance equal to a t least 50% of th e previous year’s expenses. CO PES w ill be exam ining th e p ro ­ posed policy fu rth e r a n d w ill subm it a final d ra ft to ALA C ouncil a t th e M id w in ter M eeting 1988. T he B oard also recom m ended to CO PES th a t charges to divisions for new services be established only after m u tu a l discussion an d agreem ent b e­ tw een ALA a n d its divisions; a n d th a t a com m ittee of division officers m eet w ith representatives of CO PES specifically to discuss proposed charges for O rder/B illing an d Subscription Services.