ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 / C &RL News ACRL President’s letter 1985- A C R L ’s year in review . D e a r ACRL Colleagues: Each year, the President of the Association College and Research Libraries writes an open le ter to the members in or­ der to review the activi­ ties of th e Association during the past year. As you know, much energy has been expended this y e a r to w a rd s a long- range strategic planning effort. One year ago, a sample membership sur­ vey was done by mail to d eterm in e w h a t d ire c ­ tions, initiatives or pro­ grams were both feasi­ Sharon A. Hogan ble and desirable for the Association to pursue in the next five years. The results of th a t sample su vey were tabulated, computed and analyzed an formed the basis of the President’s Program in Ju of 1985. In Chicago, approxim ately 500 ACR members reviewed the top ten priorities th a t ha emerged from the mail survey. D uring the cour of the afternoon, discussions at small tables ce tered around these ten priorities. Consensus w reached on the following top five: publication continuing education, standards and accredit tion, liaisons and chapters. Not only was consensus reached on these five p r orities, but the discussions also concentrated o specific actions which could be taken by the Assoc ation in each of the priority areas. The discussio were very interesting for two reasons: 1) new ide w ere generated for program s or directions th ACRL could take in the next five years; and 2) became evident th at, in an organization as larg and diverse as ACRL, members working in one se tion, discussion group, or task force are not aw a of the full scope of ACRL activities. It was this second point which suggested the con­ of tent and organization of my President’s letter. I de­ t­ cided to review w hat the members of ACRL are currently doing in the areas th a t were designated as top priority. W hat follows is a review of both the ongoing programs of ACRL in each of these five ar­ eas as well as initiatives th a t have been started d u r­ ing the last year. Publications Support for publications was clearly the num ber one priority in both the mail survey of ACRL m em ­ bers and the attendees at the summer conference. There was support not only for continuing the high quality of publications but also in strengthening and broadening the publications program . C u r­ rently, ACRL has three serial publications, a series (Publications in Librarianship)‚ and fifty-two sep­ r­ arate publications ranging from pam phlets to full- d length monographs. ly Activities which revolve around or have influ­ L enced the publications program of ACRL during d the last year include: se • Support fo r section newsletters. Budget allo­ n­ cations for section newsletters were defined in a as policy statem ent by the Com m ittee on Budget and s, Finance, cooperative procedures were worked out a­ for production of the newsletters between the sec­ tions and the ACRL office, and a workshop was i­ held by the editor of C &R L News for editors of sec­ n tion newsletters. Currently, four newsletters are i­ being produced at the ACRL office. ns • Publication o f Books fo r College Libraries, 3r as edition. In response to repeated member requests a t for a new edition of BCL, an Ad Hoc Committee it was formed. The committee wrote an RFP, re­ e viewed the proposals, and recommended to the c­ ACRL Board th a t the joint proposal from Choice re and UTLAS be accepted. The ACRL Board voted to underw rite the publication of BCL III using the d January 1986 / 3 ACRL fund balance as risk capital. • Trial publication. Two pilot issues of a new journal entitled Rare Books and Manuscripts Li- brarianship are being u n d erw ritten by ACRL. During the last year, an editor and editorial board were chosen, m anuscripts were solicited, and a rti­ cles were chosen for publication. The first issue will be published early this year. • Guidelines fo r publication. In order to provide guidance to the sections, committees and discus­ sion groups on publication procedures, the Publi­ cations Com m ittee drew up “Guidelines for Publi­ cations Support Requests,” which was published in C&R L News, M arch 1985. • Review o f Choice. Under the leadership of Pat Sabosik, the new editor of Choice, and w ith the guidance of the Choice Editorial Board, there has been a com plete review of th e p u b lic a tio n of Choice including typography, editorial identity, content and scope. To date, changes include a deci­ sion to move tow ard editorial features and theme issues, a complete redesign of the magazine, the ad­ dition of LC classification letters to reviews, the de­ velopment of a m arketing plan, and an exploration of additional by-products or services th a t could be spun off from Choice. • M em ber-generated publications. A p a rtia l listing illustrates the wide variety of publications being w ritten, approved and supported by the v ar­ ious units of ACRL. A cadem ic a n d R esearch L ib ra ry P ersonnel Study G roup, “ 1985-1995: The Next Decade in Ac­ ademic L ib ra ria n sh ip ,” a commissioned p ap er published in the May and July issues of College &- Research Libraries. Bibliographic Instruction Section, “L ibrary In ­ struction Clearinghouses 1985: A D irectory.” Bibliographic Instruction Section, “BIS H an d ­ book,” 1985 revision (also available in ERIC). College Libraries Section, “Checklist on Closing College Libraries” (will appear in a future issue of C&R L News). College Libraries Section, “Clip Note #5: Mis­ sion Statements for College Libraries, 1985.” Com m unity and Junior College Libraries Sec­ tion, “Services to Disadvantaged Students Com ­ mittee H andbook” (in progress). E d u catio n an d B ehavioral Sciences Section, “Guide for the Developm ent and M anagem ent of a Test Collection W ith Special Emphasis on Aca­ demic Settings.” 1985. E d u ca tio n an d B ehavioral Sciences Section, “Directory of C urriculum Materials C enters,“ 2d edition, 1985. E d u ca tio n an d B ehavioral Sciences Section, “C ataloging Practices and Resource Sharing of Curriculum Collections in Academic Libraries” (in progress). Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, “G uide­ lines on the Selection of General Collection M ateri­ als for Transfer to Special Collections,” in C &R L News, July/August 1985. Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, “G uide­ lines on T heft” (in progress). W om en’s Discussion Group, “W om en’s Study Collection Development: A Checklist” (in prog­ ress) . Continuing Education R ather th an being viewed only as coursework, continuing education should encompass a broad range of activites th a t contributes to professional developm ent. These m ight include reading the professional lite ra tu re , a tte n d in g n a tio n a l, re ­ gional or chapter conferences, or participating in courses or workshops. The im portance of profes­ sional development to the members was unders­ cored during the President’s Program w ith atten d ­ ees stressing th e need for m ore activ ity at the regional and chapter level and delivery of courses and workshops at the lowest possible cost. ACRL provides a variety of opportunities for professional developm ent from the publications discussed above to the program s and activities listed below: • Conference Programs. 18 program s were put on or co-sponsored by 13 sections, 1 committee and 3 discussion groups at the ALA Conference in C hi­ cago last July. Of these, 12 were taped and are available from ALA; papers from the Law and Po­ litical Science Section, the Slavic and East E uro­ pean Section, and the University Libraries Section programs are to be published. • Research Clinic. The Task Force on Research held a fantastically popular Research Clinic at the ALA Conference in Chicago which drew 230 p a r­ ticipants. Another clinic is scheduled to be held in New York. • CE Courses. Nine courses th a t drew 127 p a r­ ticipants were offered as preconferences in con­ junction w ith the ALA Annual Conference. • Fourth National Conference. The Conference C om m ittee for the ACRL F ourth National Confer­ ence, “Energies for T ransition,” to be held in Balti­ more, April 9-12, 1986, continued their second year of hard work in planning for the conference. National conferences are intended to provide an opportunity to listen and reflect on issues in aca­ demic libraries aw ay from the hubbub of the busi­ ness and com m ittee meetings of the ALA confer­ ence; but they require a concentrated effort both by ACRL m em bers serving on th e C onference C om m ittee and by the ACRL staff to plan and exe­ cute. • W orkshops on H u m a n itie s Program m ing. W ith the support of grant funds from NEH, w ork­ shops are being held to train academic and public librarian teams in the art of hum anities program ­ ming. The goal of the workshops is to describe joint applications for grants to encourage the use of h u ­ manities resources for adult program m ing in li­ braries. Four workshops were conducted this year. • Accreditation Vists. The Com m ittee on Stan­ 4 / C &R L News dards and Accreditation is working on a CE pack­ age to help librarians who are preparing for ac­ creditation visits by either university accrediting teams or an accrediting team for a specific depart­ ment or program. • Chapter Programming. ACRL chapters are in p art supported by funds allocated by ACRL as a whole. Approximately $6,000 was allocated last year. In addition, ACRL provides funding for C hapters Special P rogram m ing, a com petitive program reviewed and recommended by a com­ mittee of the Chapters Council th a t makes recom­ mendations to the ACRL Board. Last year, $6,459 was allocated tow ard special programming. • Future Offerings. The CE course offerings de­ veloped by ACRL are now being made available to regional conferences, to chapters and to single in­ stitutions. This will make courses more available to members who cannot attend national conferences. Standards and accreditation Standards and Accreditation was rated as the third highest priority by attendees at the Presi­ dent’s Program. It was clear from the discussions th at members look to ACRL not only to provide standards for libraries and library services but also to be an active promoter of those standards. Stan­ dards, guidelines, and inform ation about accredi­ tation is coordinated by the Comm ittee on Stan­ dards and Accreditation, but many sections are at work on standards or guidelines or checklists which define more specific services. Recent activity in this area includes: • Free standards. The ACRL Board passed a motion stating th at all standards should be pro­ vided free to anyone requesting them. • Type-of-library standards reconfirmed. The ARCL Board accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Standards and Accreditations not to adopt standards w ith a subject (discipline) orienta­ tion. • Current hearings. Hearings were scheduled by th e A u d io -V isu al C o m m itte e on th e “ A CRL Guidelines for Audio-Visual Services in Academic Libraries” and by the College Library Standards Committee on the revision of the “College Library Standards.” • O ther reviews. Eleven o th er stan d ard s or guidelines are currently under review by the Com­ mittee on Standards and Accreditation or commit­ tee units designated by them. • A id fo r librarians preparing fo r accreditation visits. A CE package is being developed, as de­ scribed under continuing education. Liaisons Members felt very strongly th a t the Association of College and Research Libraries should serve as the voice for members and their libraries to other organizations of higher education or groups who are influential in higher education. The range of activities in this area includes visits by members to other organization/association meetings, programs presented at non-library conferences, discussions w ith executive directors and elected officials of other organizations, and responses to publications or reports which concern higher education. At­ tendees at the President’s Program in July felt th at these liaisons should be broadened and strength­ ened. Activity by ACRL during the last year in­ cludes: • Support fo r m em ber activity. The ACRL Pro­ fessional Association Liaison Committee was cre­ ated to prom ote cooperative efforts w ith other higher education associations. The committee is to carry on the work of the Bibliographic Instruction Liaison Project on a broader scale, i.e., to help li­ brarians participate in the programs of other asso­ ciations. There are funds in the ACRL budget to support registration fees and partial travel for li­ brarians who will give papers on library-related topics at meetings of non-library professional asso­ ciations. • O ther conferences. T he executive director made visits to the national conventions of ASIS, SLA, MLA, and ARL. Ten key members partici­ pated actively in the AAHE national conference in April. • Contacts w ith national organizations. Visits to the headquarters of the American Association of Higher Education, ACE, AAC, and the Chronicle of Higher Education were m ade in January by the ACRL President and Executive Director. 6 / C & R L N e w s • W a sh in g to n contacts. S h aro n Rogers a tte n d e d re g u la r m eetings of h ig h e r e d u c a tio n re p re s e n ta ­ tives in W ash in g to n . • W r itte n responses. T h e A C R L executive d i­ recto r resp o n d ed to p u b lic a tio n s by N IE a n d th e C arn eg ie A ssociation. Chapters A C R L C h a p te rs rep re se n t a u n iq u e o rg a n iz a ­ tio n al p a tte rn a m o n g ALA divisions a n d p ro v id e a m echanism for th e p a rtic ip a tio n of a c a d e m ic li­ b ra ria n s in th e m ission a n d goals of A C R L w ith o u t necessarily a tte n d in g n a tio n a l conferences. D u rin g th e last y ear, c h a p te r-re la te d activities in c lu d ed : • N e w C hapters. T h e a d d itio n of tw o c h a p te rs in N e v a d a a n d M o n ta n a , b r in g in g th e to ta l of A C R L ch ap ters to 35. • F unding. C o n tin u e d s u p p o rt for c h a p te r a c ­ tivities th ro u g h th e C h a p te r A llocation fo rm u la ad o p ted as p a r t of th e A C R L b u d g e t. In a d d itio n , th e A C R L B oard a t th e C h ic ag o co n feren ce passed a m otion sta tin g th a t th e m in im u m a llo c a tio n is to be $100 b eg in n in g w ith th e 1986-87 year. • Special F u n d in g . In th e seco n d y e a r of th e C h a p t e r s S p e c ia l P r o g r a m m i n g , f u n d s w e r e a w a rd e d to te n ch ap ters. • A C R L O ffic e rs/S ta ff Visits. T h e re w e re a to ta l of ten ch ap ters visited by A C R L officers a n d staff. Awards, m em bership, and governance An o rg an iz atio n w h ich exists u n d e r th e aegis of a larger o rg an iz atio n or w h ic h is a com plex as A C R L cannot hope to o p e ra te for one y e a r w ith o u t a t te n ­ tion to m e m b e rsh ip , g o v e rn a n c e a n d s tr u c tu re . T h is la s t y e a r w a s no e x c e p tio n . N o te w o r th y actions are: • R e c o g n i tio n o f o u t s t a n d i n g s e rv ic e o r r e ­ search: A cadem ic or R esearch L ib ra ria n of th e Year: Jessie C arn ey Sm ith. O b e rly A w a rd : J a m e s E . S im o n , A le n a F . C hadw ick, an d Lyle E. C ra k e r. Samuel L azero w A w ard : A nne L H ig h sm ith . D o c to ra l D isse rta tio n F e llo w sh ip : J o a n n e R. E uster an d Vickie L. G regory. M iriam D udley A w ard : C a ro ly n K irk en d all. •A p p ro v a l of tw o n ew aw ard s: M artinus N ijhoff In te rn a tio n a l W est E u ro p e a n Specialist Study G ra n t (a w a rd e d by W ESS). E xhibition C a ta lo g A w a rd (a w a rd e d by R B M S). •In c re a se d a tte n tio n to m e m b e rsh ip needs a n d recru itm en t processes resu ltin g in a 4 .2 % in crease in personal m em bers a n d a 3 % increase in in s titu ­ tional m em bers. •C o n tin u e d A C R L in itia tiv e in th e a d m in is tra ­ tion of th e D ivisional L e a d e rsh ip E n h a n c e m e n t P rogram fu n d ed by th e J. M orris Jones A w a rd . In its second year, th e p ro g ra m has e n c o u ra g e d co o p ­ e ra tio n a n d u n d e rs ta n d in g a m o n g th e divisions an d b e tw e e n divisions a n d A LA . A C R L jo in e d w ith th e o th e r divisions in re c o m m e n d in g a c o n tin ­ u a tio n of this p ro g ra m by sta ff o f ALA. • P a r tic ip a tio n by m e m b e rs of th e A C R L B o ard in a p la n n in g session as p a r t of th e ALA stra te g ic p la n n in g process. • P a r tic ip a tio n b y m e m b ers of th e A C R L E xec­ u tiv e C o m m it t e e in r e v ie w in g t h e O p e r a t i n g A g reem en t b e tw e e n A LA a n d its divisions. • A p p ro v a l of a n electio n cycle to im p le m e n t th e b y -la w c h a n g e w h ic h re stru c tu re s th e m e m b e rsh ip of th e A C R L B o ard of D irecto rs. • A p p r o v a l o f a s e p a r a t e r e s e r v e f u n d f o r C hoice. E v en a b rie f rev iew of th e activities of A C R L r e ­ m in d us all of th e b r e a d th , d e p th a n d a m o u n t of a c ­ tiv ity e n g a g e d in b y th e m e m b e rs h ip . I t is th is stre n g th w h ic h en ab les A C R L to g a rn e r th e re ­ s o u r c e s f o r r e d i r e c t i o n b a c k in t o t h e o rg a n iz a tio n — to s u p p o rt o n g o in g activ ities, to ex­ p a n d those activities o r to u n d e rta k e n e w in itia ­ tives. In o rd e r to choose a m o n g th e m a n y possible a lte rn a tiv e s, th e A C R L lo n g -ra n g e stra te g ic p la n w ill set a d ire c tio n so t h a t th e re w ill b e a ca re fu l b a la n c e b e tw e e n m e e tin g th e c u rre n t needs of th e m e m b ers a n d p ro v id in g a tra n s itio n fo r th e ir f u ­ tu r e needs. Sharon A . H ogan A C R L P resident ■■