ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries April 1986 / 263 ALA candidates on ACRL The three candidates for ALA vice-president/president-elect share their views on academic and research librarianship. iR ecen tly the ALA presidential candidates were asked to give some thought to ALA/ACRL relations and academic librarianship in general for this spe­ cial C&RL News feature. Their statements may aid you when you vote for ALA officers on this spring’s ballot. Margaret Chisholm: Quality is never an accident. Quality is a goal to be achieved in the services each academic library provides and in the accomplishments of each indi­ vidual professional. ACRL has dem on­ strated a commitment to quality. Quality and ex­ cellence in program s and services must be the mutual goals of ACRL and ALA. Through careful plan­ ning, sincere effort, in­ telligent direction and skillful execution, li­ brarians working in aca­ demic and research li­ Margaret Chisholmbraries have achieved an im pressive range of goals. Academic and research libraries have never been free of obstacles. Yet, history clearly indicates that librarians have persevered and have moved ahead in difficult times to achieve notable accom­ plishments. The paradox, however, is that no matter what commendable progress is made, new, unprece­ dented concerns continually surface to challenge academic and research libraries, as well as all other libraries. Overwhelming and pervasive challenges are found in declining budget support, rapidly chang­ ing information technology, internal budget crises, increasing sophistication of patron needs, complex copyright regulations, the competition of the pri­ vate sector and the pressing needs for resource shar­ ing. All of these call for change, for creativity, and for innovative solutions. The need for a high level of professional development, enhanced programs in bibliographic instruction, opportunities for mentoring, the escalating need for public relations programs, institutional development programs, the recruitment of capable, effective personnel and the ever present need for space also are ongoing concerns. A question I must answ er is: As Vice- President/President-Elect of the American Library Assocation what can I do to address these chal­ lenges and concerns? I will stress leadership. I am convinced that within ACRL there are great numbers of persons with talent, with expertise in automated systems, in finance, in public relations, in bibliographic in­ struction, fund raising and all other areas of con­ cern. Solutions can be found by identifying, sup­ porting, and training leaders. There must be a search for new, young leaders, particularly women and minorities. Both small businesses and large corporations have realized this need to encourage and develop leaders and are holding leadership seminars, training institutes, and making manage­ ment development a top priority. I would imple­ ment a similar program. Talent must be identified, and skills must be enhanced. With a vision, a com- 264 / C & RL News mitment, a plan, and a program, we can develop leaders to meet the challenges of our times. Leaders must emerge who will have sophisti­ cated skills in working with legislators at the state level and with Congressional members at the na­ tional level. Leaders within the profession must work with administrators and Boards of Regents at the campus level, primarily for the purpose of in­ creasing funding. It is imperative that every aca­ demic and research library work tow ard increased visibility and a higher level of resource allocation on every campus. Leaders must be able to work with local and national media to “tell the story’’ and communicate the needs of academic and re­ search libraries. Leaders must be identified who can work coop­ eratively with experts in developing automated sys­ tems and networks and in implementing the opti­ m um an d a p p ro p ria te levels of in fo rm a tio n technology. Resource sharing is essential, and lead­ ers with vision must coordinate these efforts. I will give attention to enhancing the relation­ ships between ACRL and ALA. By recognizing m utual goals, leaders w ithin ALA and w ithin ACRL can work constructively to achieve them. The Operating Agreement must be open for con­ tinuous evaluation and scrutiny, and adjustments should be made when appropriate to meet chang­ ing needs. Symbiosis should characterize the relationship in that there should be a flow of benefits that are m u­ tually exchanged betw een ALA and ACRL. A strong ACRL means a strong ALA, and a strong ALA means a strong ACRL. Synergism must also characterize the relation­ ship, as the whole must be greater than the sum of the parts. The strength of ALA depends on the unity of all libraries. Unity is essential for speaking with impact and for working effectively to meet the needs of member institutions and individual members. The major part of my professional career has been in higher education. For seven years I had the particularly valuable experience of serving as Vice- President of a major research university. During that time I worked closely with budgets, personnel and university policies as they related to the entire campus as well as the library systems. These experi­ ences have provided me with knowledge and in­ sights that are of critical importance in dealing with the current concerns of college and research libraries. I have served as a member of Council for two terms and am serving my third year on the Ex­ ecutive Board, Through these experiences I have developed a good understanding and appreciation of the current and future goals of ACRL and the re­ sources needed to fulfill its mission. Again, quality is never an accident. Quality pro­ grams and services demand vision, commitment, and dedication. The gratification in reaching our goals makes the efforts worthwhile. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with each of you in our m utual effort to achieve q u a lity in our p ro fessio n al lives and in our libraries.—Margaret Chisholm, Director, Gradu­ ate School of Library and Information Science, University o f Washington, Seattle, Washington. Charles W. Robinson: To pass myself off as an expert, or even very knowledgeable about ACRL or academic librari- anship in general is patently ridiculous. Neverthe­ less, as an ALA member and as a past president of an ALA division, I have been an admirer of ACRL as an organiza­ tion, and as a librarian, I ’m convinced that aca­ demic libraries have the same basis of public sup­ p o rt as do p u b lic li ­ braries. ACRL is a hotshot di­ vision in ALA, for a Cr: Lois Pearson good reason: academic Charles W. Robinson lib ra ria n s find it wise a n d /o r advantageous, for whatever reason, to be members of ACRL, and their participation is enthusiastic and capable. Hence, ACRL is the largest and richest division and has the most active program in ALA. In many ways ACRL is the most im portant division—if you don’t think so, look at the representation from aca­ demia on the Council and among the officers of the Association for the past twenty-five years. In these days of creeping federalism in ALA, any president who ignores the wishes of the divisions, and partic­ ularly ACRL, won’t get very far. T h at’s the reality, and as an active member of several divisions, I’m comfortable with that. Put somewhat simplistically, Americans support public and academic libraries for one chief reason: they are a good thing for children and students. We deal with both in public libraries, and academic li­ braries specialize in the latter. We forget this basis for financial and philosophical support at our peril, but it’s my opinion that our users don’t, and the health of our libraries often reflects the extent to which we respond to the demands and needs of the people who walk into our buildings. The most im portant responsibility of the top hi­ erarch y of ALA—th e C ouncil, th e Executive Board, and the officers, is to assure that our profes­ sional organization stays on a steady course of im­ provement of library services to library users—and by far the greatest proportion of library users are children and students. How we provide these ser­ vices is the main business of the divisions, and of course our individual libraries, which are im ­ proved and inspired by staff involvement in ALA. The voice of ALA represents us all to the library users of the nation, to national and local legislators, A pril 1986 / 265 to other professions, to business and to our own profession. This voice is multiple, because it comes from Council resolutions, the Executive Director, and the current president of the Association. I have likened the position of president as akin to that of a chairman of a Board of Trustees—representing to the world outside the organization the mission and accomplishments of us all—the divisions, the round tables, the committees, and the profession it­ self. Any president is likely to be the product of the members. That is why it is so important to have good communication, advice, and counsel from those most closely involved with improvement of li­ brary services—the divisions—to the president of ALA. What is ACRL most concerned with in the com­ ing year? To some extent, this will depend on events, but in a larger sense, I am certain that their interests are identical to those of a majority of the members of ALA: legislation, funding, pay equity, the status of the divisions, long-range planning, the impact of technology’ on our mission, intellectual freedom, and education for the profession. As a long-time member of ALA, I am no stranger to these issues, and as a long-time member of the pro­ fession, I am no stranger to their relationship to the interests of our users. If I can assist in the linkage of our professional interests to the interests of users of all kinds of libraries as an officer of ALA, I'll feel that I will have made the same kind of contribution which has made the Association effective in the past. Robert D. Stueart: “Energies for Transition," the theme for this year's ACRL National Conference in Baltimore, is a challenging one for academic libraries as we ap­ proach the 21st century. F unding, technology, personnel recruitment, collection management and services are but a few of the major issues which are addressed in that program and which have intensified in inter­ est and in ways they are addressed, since the first ACRL National Confer­ ence, “New Horizons for Academic L ib raries." which was held in Bos­ Robert D. Stueart ton only eight short years ago. ACRL has clearly benefited from those conferences and I am committed to continuing their development for the good of the w hole Associ­ ation. That Boston conference provided a role model for others to come, including subsequent ACRL conferences and other ALA divisional con­ ferences. As a member of the planning committee for that first conference and co-editor of its Pro­ ceedings I was privileged to work with some of the liveliest, most imaginative, most service oriented individuals in our profession—people who care more about the benefits of their work than any­ thing else. Those traits of academic librarians have been confirmed through examples of colleagues in the three large academic/research libraries in which I have worked. They are reconfirmed as I talk with members and address issues: through consulting and advising academic libraries—I currently serve on two university library visiting committees and tw o ARL/OMS com m ittees; th ro u g h my speaking—in keynote addresses at several ACRL chapters, at seminars such as a recent OCLC one, etc.; through w ritings—including the two-volume Collection Development treatise, Academic L i­ brarianship: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, and on topics in columns of C C RL News from “Bibliographic Instruction” to “Continuing Edu­ cation.” My activities in over 20 years of ACRL membership have been such that ACRL/New’ En­ gland has voluntarily endorsed my candidacy. Major issues facing librarianship—including ac­ cess to information and First Amendment rights, funding, personnel recruitment, development and utilization, pay equity, and association management—are topics which I have been ad­ dressing in solicited remarks before ALA groups. Threats from sources, such as the federal govern­ ment's OMB, indicate a fundamentally flawed un­ derstanding of librarianship and the role of li­ b raries in the in fo rm a tio n provision chain. Attempts at limiting access to information must be attacked with all of our forces. Likewise, in the preparation of those entering the profession, we must be sure that we have ade­ quately defined standards for entrance and then work together to ensure that those standards and guidelines are enforced. The ALA Accreditation Task Force, on w hich I serve, is examining stan­ dards and the involvement of all appropriate asso­ ciations in the preparation of individuals entering the profession. I would like to be able to devise strategies to address this issue in a concrete way. Unfortunately space limitations do not permit me to elaborate on those or others about which I have concerns and to which I am committed to address­ ing in a significant way. ACRL, as the largest division of ALA, has taken a leadership role in the development of national conferences, in the development of its long range strategic planning process, in an extensive and im­ pressive publications program, and in the develop­ ment of standards for types of academic libraries, to mention but a few, and those are examples of the leadership role ACRL has assumed. Priorities, identified in both of ALA's recently completed leadership and membership surveys, chart the course of the Association’s future. That course must be forged through the expertise, enthusiasm and ef­ forts of units of ALA, and must draw on the experi­ ence of the divisions. The concerns of academic li- 266 / C & R L N ew s b rarian sh ip p erm eate the Association because ACRL members are involved in many units, round tables, committees, ALA Council, and other divi­ sions. This is a sign of health and must be encour­ aged. Just as much of the strength of ACRL comes from strong chapters, the strength of units becomes the strength of ALA. Challenges cannot be a d ­ dressed in isolation. Priorities in planning and pro­ gram m ing must be developed by ALA in coopera­ tio n w ith all units w hich are c o m m itted to a common goal. T hat strength is achieved through the dedication of both membership and staff. As one who has been actively involved in ACRL and academic librarianship over the years, having served on several committees and chaired others as well as on the Editorial Board of College and R e­ search Libraries and the Journal o f Academic L i­ brarianship, I would welcome your support and w ant to actively solicit your participation in m ak­ ing our Association a strong and responsive one.— Robert D. Stueart, Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, Sim ­ mons College, Boston, Massachusetts. ■ ■ C a n d id a tes fo r ALA C ouncil These A C R L members need your vote. T he following members of the Association of College and Research Libraries are either nomi­ nated or petition candidates for ALA councilor in the spring 1986 elections. Members are encouraged to vote for these candidates to increase ACRL’s voice in the affairs of the American Library Associ­ ation. Robert J. Adelsperger, curator of special collec­ tions, Library of the Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago. Elaine M. Albright, director of libraries, Univer­ sity of Maine at Orono. Patricia Senn Breivik, d irecto r, A uraria L i­ brary, Denver, Colorado. Timothy A. Brown, university librarian, Boise State University, Idaho. Daniel W. Casey, trustee, Solvay Public L i­ brary, Syracuse, New York. E. Dale Cluff, director of libraries, Texas Tech University, Lubbock. David A. Cobb, map and geography librarian, University of Illinois, Urbana. Joan Collett, director, St. Louis Public Library, Missouri. William J. Crowe, assistant director for techni­ cal services, Ohio State University, Columbus. Marva L. DeLoach, head, Cataloging and Rec­ ords M aintenance Division, Illinois State Univer­ sity, Normal. Wesley Allen Doak, state lib ra ria n , Oregon State Library, Salem. Maurice J. Freedman, director, Westchester Li­ brary System, Elmsford, New York. George C. Grant, director of library services, Stockton State College, Pomona, New Jersey. Carla D. Hayden, library services director, Mu­ seum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Mary F. Hicks, assistant librarian, California State University, Sacramento. Evelyn M. King, assistant director for collection in terp retatio n , Texas A&M University, College Station. Carol L. Learmont, associate dean, School of Library Serviçe, Colum bia University, New York. LeRoy J. Lebbin, director, Michigan Tech Uni­ versity Library, Houghton. Sul H. Lee, dean of university libraries, Univer­ sity of Oklahoma, Norman. Leslie A. Manning, associate dean for technical services and autom ation, Kansas State University, M anhattan. Katherine M. Mawdsley, assistant university li­ brarian for public services, University of Califor­