ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


170

An ongoing concern of ACRL presidents has
been a recognition of the impossibility of ac­
tively involving every willing member in the af­
fairs of the division. One of the prime objec­
tives of my term in office has been to facilitate
the involvement in division affairs of minorities,
women, and others who have not previously
had the opportunity to participate. I am satis­
fied that, to a modest degree, I succeeded in
the implementation of this objective.

The president’s ceremonial duties this year
involved attending the inauguration of Presi­
dent James Brickley at Eastern Michigan Uni­
versity in Ypsilanti; the ACE Conference in
Washington, D.C.; and speaking engagements
to chapters in Madison, Wisconsin, and St. 
Louis, Missouri. I am grateful that Beverly
Lynch, Connie Dunlap, Richard Olsen, A. P. 
Marshall, and others were able to help out by
absorbing some other ceremonial assignments.

Also, I’ve called together a committee to
evaluate the ACRL executive secretary. The
evaluation report is to be presented to the
ACRL Directors Board in July. This commit­
tee is chaired by Joanne Harrar and the other
members are: Richard Ducote, Mel George,

 

 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 

 

and Avery Williams. I am duly grateful that 
Dr. Harrar accepted this assignment on top of 
all her other numerous duties and in spite of 
the fact that she was just getting used to her 
new position at the University of Maryland.

Lastly, I hope that I have been able to set 
the tone for a healthy and meaningful organi­
zational dialogue to start taking place concern­
ing the role and relationship of the division of­
fice and the executive secretary with the ACRL 
Directors Board, the ALA Headquarters, and 
the ALA Executive Board.

Thank you for electing me your ACRL presi­
dent. I t  has been a pleasure and an honor to 
serve you. And it has been a year of growth 
and development for me. The year was sad­
dened by the illness and death of Allie Beth 
Martin. Since it was she who selected the 
theme “Celebrate!” for our Centennial Confer­
ence, it is my hope that the implementation of 
all of our program plans will be successful 
enough to serve as a fitting celebration to her 
spirit.

Louise Giles 
President, AC RL

Richard Gilman Folsom Library Dedicated

The Richard Gilman Folsom Library at Rens­
elaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 
as dedicated on May 15, 1976. Named for the 

ecently retired president in recognition of his 
ccomplishments as Rensselaer’s twelfth presi­
ent, the library construction was made pos­
ible through a multi-million-dollar enabling 
ift from Rensselaer alumnus Erik Jonsson. Ac­
ording to James C. Andrews, director of li­
raries, the design capacities include 500,000 
olumes, seating for nearly 900, and 66 private

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study rooms. Construction consumed 10,000 
cubic yards of reinforced concrete. Energy-sav­
ing features include tinted insulating glass win­
dows and recirculation of heat generated by 
lighting fixtures and equipment. The building 
was designed by Quinlivan Pierik & Krause, 
architectural firm, Syracuse, New York. The 
functional design of this handsome new library 
building is the result of countless hours of col­
laboration among Rensselaer’s librarians and 
faculty members.