2020–2021 ANNUAL REPORT report cvr21.indd 1report cvr21.indd 1 10/28/2021 4:20:35 PM10/28/2021 4:20:35 PM annrpt21.indd 529annrpt21.indd 529 12/2/2021 9:23:05 AM12/2/2021 9:23:05 AM C&RL News December 2021 530 Jon E. Cawthorne ACRL’s 82nd President I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to lead ACRL during such a disruptive and remarkable time. Even as challenges in our local environments continue, I feel encouraged and inspired because of the focus, creativity, and sacrifice made over the last year in college and research libraries all over the country. With so much change, I must acknowledge and appreciate ACRL staff for their amazing work and individual financial sacrifice they made during the initial months of the pandemic. Kara Malenfant excelled in taking on the role of interim executive director and I want to thank her for her courageous leadership of the association this year. A special thanks as well to Carolyn Allen for her calm, consistent, and stellar work as Budget & Finance Committee chair. We could not have better leadership during a pandemic. I am excited and optimistic to work with ACRL’s new Executive Director Robert Jay Malone. He brings so many wonderful talents to our work and I know the association will continue to thrive through his leadership. The creativity of ACRL and our profession was on display through the amazing ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference. We had more first-time attendees and staff members from all levels of our college and research libraries than ever before. All of us—vendors, participants, and guests—were inspired by the many fantastic ideas presented at the conference. I will always remember Tressie McMillan Cottom’s analogy of libraries as a front porch! Speaking of great front porch examples, it was my honor and privilege to call each Academic Excellence Awards winner in 2020–21. Following the lead of former ACRL Presidents Lauren Presley and Karen Munro, I continued the tradition of focusing our President’s Program at the ALA Annual Conference on topics that advance our collective understanding of how we truly live up to ACRL’s Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Of course, I appreciate and recognize the ACRL Diversity Alliance Task Force along with our Board of Directors’ bold move to provide 50 complimentary ACRL memberships to members of the BIPOC community in a time of great financial uncertainty. I trust ACRL will stay committed and present to not only welcoming, valuing and respecting all underrepresented individu- als, but caring about how they enter, advance, and ultimately lead this noble profession. If I remind myself what life was like at the end of 2019, I can both recall the hope and promise of a new decade and how many of us were working to address the inequities and inequalities George Floyd’s murder brought to our collective consciousness in 2020. We now may realize creating greater equity and addressing inequality is work for all of us. I appreciate the work of the member leaders of our goal area committees in demonstrating how we bring ACRL’s Core Commitment to EDI into our profession. Just like everyone else, I experienced COVID-19 pandemic challenges—the deaths, the misinfor- mation, the exhaustion, and the still ongoing uncertainty. What I find both fascinating and hopeful is that a pandemic may also help us adjust or reconsider what we believe about our lives, our orga- nizations, and the good our profession can do for the world. I am sure our paths will cross again as we will learn, grow, and become the leaders this moment calls for within every college, university, and research institution. Message from the President annrpt21.indd 530annrpt21.indd 530 12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM December 2021 531 C&RL News Virtual Annual Conference Programs 2021 ALA Virtual Annual Conference Programs  2021 President’s Program – Making Change: Organizing for Action While Caring for Each Other  A Critical Conversation about Assessment of Student Learning in Academic Libraries  Change as Noun and Verb: A Transformational Approach to Change Efforts that Don’t Suck  Conducting and Supporting Research Synthesis: Librarian Roles, Competencies, and Collaborations  Confronting the Myth of Neutrality: Academic Libraries, Advocacy, and Free Speech  Copy, Paste, and Adapt: A Cross-disciplinary Collaborative Study of Information Literacy Retention  Designing Online Library Tutorials: Building Your Arsenal of Tools, Tips, and Tricks  Diverse Children’s Literature in K–12 Schools: Making Mirrors, Windows, and Glass Doors Visible  Diversity in Scholarly Publishing: Lessons Learned to Create a More Inclusive Future  Experiential Integration: Partnering to Publish a Student Journal and an Open Textbook  Generating Professional Best Practices to Combat Dis- and Misinformation, Resist Burnout, and Empower our Communities  How We Are Marching: EDI Efforts Across ACRL  Library Impact on Student Success  Online Instruction for All: Accessibility, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Online Instruction  Online Library Instruction Assessment: Passing Fad or Curriculum Staple?  Partnering to Amplify Underrepresented and Unheard Voices Using Digital Scholarship  Professional Connections During the Pandemic: Building and Expanding Social Networks in the Context of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Librarianship Experience  Take Up the Challenge: An Actionable and Accountable Racial Justice Program  The Power Went Out – Who You Gonna Call? Being Prepared for Library Emergencies & Communicating Quickly  Transforming our Libraries for Everyone: decolonization trials, tribulations, and successes annrpt21.indd 531annrpt21.indd 531 12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM C&RL News December 2021 532 Julie Garrison Vice-President/President-Elect I’ve had a remarkable year serving as our association’s vice-president/ president-elect. The time and effort that ACRL members invest in advancing our association and the profession serves as continual inspiration to me, especially considering current conditions. This pandemic and societal unrest have been unsettling, exhausting, and full of uncertainty. This time has also served as a new awakening as we experiment with new ways of connecting with each other and the communities we serve and grapple to understand what the future holds. During my vice-presidential year, working closely with ACRL staff, fellow Board members and I made many significant decisions, such as canceling the in-person ACRL 2021 Conference and transitioning to a virtual experience due to continuing pandemic conditions, deciding to undertake a review of the association’s awards program, funding a pilot BIPOC membership program, and considering how to set budget priorities in a tighter fiscal environment. We engaged in important discussions about ACRL’s and ALA’s future, including implications of Forward Together, the Transforming ALA Governance Task Force, and the 5-year ALA pivot strategy. Maintaining a strong member association and the value and benefits our members need and derive from ACRL were at the center of our discussions and decision-making. As ACRL vice-president, I had the distinct pleasure of working with the Leadership Recruit- ment and Nomination Committee (LRNC) and the Appointments Committee, both groups dedicated to helping connect members to the work of the association. In early conversations with members of both groups, we discussed ongoing efforts to advance the association’s Core Commitment to EDI and ways each group impacts this effort. The Appointments Com- mittee chair developed a collaborative process dedicated to increasing volunteer appoint- ments from diverse environments and backgrounds and made efforts to expand first-time volunteer appointments for ACRL division level committee service. LRNC has conveyed several opportunities for expanding representation on the Board and these ideas are currently being explored. The search for a new ACRL executive director lasted throughout my vice-presidential year and I was pleased to support Kara Malenfant in her role as interim executive director, along with the whole ACRL staff, throughout the process. As I look forward, to my year as presi- dent, I am excited that the search has concluded successfully, and Robert Jay Malone is now serving as our new executive director. It is a great honor and privilege to work on behalf of our membership and the profession as we dedicate our efforts toward leading during this transformational time. I’m grateful to the amazingly, talented, and capable ACRL staff, our dedicated Board of Directors, and member leaders from across the association, who have helped our profession continue to move forward and quickly pivot to meet these challenging times. Message from the Vice-President annrpt21.indd 532annrpt21.indd 532 12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM December 2021 533 C&RL News Robert Jay Malone ACRL Executive Director Upon starting as ACRL’s executive director in September 2021, I mar- veled at the many activities that moved the association closer to its vison of a desired future, a future where academic and research librarians and libraries are seen as central to a thriving global community of learners and scholars. Given the remarkable challenges in higher education these past two years, these actions testify to ACRL’s power as a source of mutual support and collective action. I found special delight in seeing ACRL’s dedication to EDI, which included funds to support 50 association memberships for BIPOC library workers. The 2020 ACRL Academic Library Trends & Statistics Survey also supported the core commitment with a special EDI trends section which received more than 1,700 responses. This year also saw Choice launch Toward Inclusive Excellence (TIE), a gripping initiative aimed at publishing important work on racial and social justice. As Jon and Julie noted, the ACRL 2021 Conference, “Ascending into an Open Future,” took place as a virtual-only event due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The well-received and well- attended conference featured more than 300 live and on-demand programs on topics such as open access, information literacy, collection development, collaboration, EDI, and social justice. The annual RBMS Conference was also held online this year due to the pandemic. Themed “Power, Resistance, and Leadership,” the conference generated record-breaking interest from registrants and booksellers alike. As the world struggled with the pandemic, ACRL volunteers, amazingly, continued their work for the betterment of the association. The ACRL Board approved a task force to review the association’s awards program, pausing it for 2021–22. This allows for fully assessing the program’s impact on the profession, on future sustainability, and on ACRL’s Core Commitment to EDI. ALA priorities also affected ACRL this year, including ALA Executive Director Tracie Hall’s pivot strategy, which continues efforts to examine ALA policies in relation to its membership divisions. I place finances on a higher plane of my responsibilities and am pleased to report that, through careful stewardship, preliminary data on ACRL’s fiscal performance in 2020–21 shows the asso- ciation on track to conclude the year 300% or $1 million better than budgeted. This is a testament to our stellar staff and member volunteers. ACRL can accomplish so much because of these dedicated volunteers and staff. My respect for academic and research librarians, fostered over a lifetime of research, has deepened as you, amid profound struggles, have provided unrivaled support for students and for scholars. Thank you for also dedicating energy toward serving your professional home—ACRL. I am especially grateful to the ACRL Board of Directors and our 2020–21 President Jon Cawthorne for their steady work advancing ACRL’s Plan for Excellence. A special thank you to the many donors, Friends, corpora- tions, and libraries who contributed to ACRL’s successes, and to staff member Kara Malenfant, who so magnificently led ACRL through many long months as interim executive director. I encourage you to review this report and learn more about ACRL’s accomplishments in FY21. Letter from the Executive Director annrpt21.indd 533annrpt21.indd 533 12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM12/2/2021 9:23:06 AM C&RL News December 2021 534 The Friends of ACRL donations support ACRL’s mission in key areas, including the ACRL Advancement Fund, ACRL Conference Scholarship Fund, and RBMS Scholarships Fund. Since the establishment of the Friends of ACRL in 1998, 1,458 donors have become Friends and contributed more than $467,000 to support for ACRL initiatives. Money from the Friends Funds has been used to provide scholarships for ACRL professional development activities, support for the Library Copyright Alliance Project, Project Outcome, and providing open access for C&RL News backfiles. Thanks to our 305 donors who contributed more than $44,100 to the Friends of ACRL in FY21 (September 1, 2020–August 31, 2021). A complete list of Friends of ACRL is avail- able on the ACRL website at www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/givetoacrl/donate/friends2021. A list of contributors to the ACRL 2021 Conference Scholarship Campaign may be found at https://conference.acrl.org/campaign/. ACRL also expresses its sincere appreciation to its sponsors for their generous dona- tions to the various programs and events the association has offered throughout the year. Thanks to your support, ACRL members benefited from enhanced programs and services this year. A complete list of sponsors is available on the ACRL website at https://www.ala.org/acrl/acrl-2021-2022-sponsorships. Friends of ACRL and Sponsorships Advancement Fund RBMS Scholarships Fund ACRL Conference Scholarship Fund http://www.ala.org/acrl/give 3 w ay s t o g ive ! annrpt21.indd 534annrpt21.indd 534 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM December 2021 535 C&RL News 25 li br ar ia ns a nd lib ra ri es re ce iv ed A C R L a w ar ds in 2 02 1 1,384 members of ACRL’s largest interest group, the Academic Library Services for Graduate Students Interest Group 123 in d ivid u als received sch o larsh ip s w o rth $29,297 to th e A C RL 2021 an d RB M S 2021 virtu al co n feren ces 221,485 total visits to online ACRL standards, guidelines, and frameworks in FY21 Fifty-eight current members of the 3,660 registrants and exhibitors a�ended the ACRL 2021 virtual conference 21,994 TWITTER FOLLOWERS 8,394 FACEBOOK LIKES 1,298 INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS 400 PINTEREST FOLLOWERS 2,132 YOUTUBE CHANNEL SUBSCRIBERS ACRL by the Numbers ACRL by the Numbers annrpt21.indd 535annrpt21.indd 535 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM C&RL News December 2021 536 ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference In October 2020, the ACRL Board of Directors announced that the face-to-face portion of the ACRL 2021 Conference scheduled for April 14–17, 2021, in Seattle, Washington, was canceled because of the serious health risks posed by COVID-19. Thanks to the dedication and expertise of our conference planning committees led by Conference Chair Beth McNeil, presenters, and ACRL staff, the ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference was held April 13–16, 2021. The virtual conference attracted 3,661 registrants and exhibitors who explored the complex issues impacting the future of library service. Themed “Ascending into an Open Future,” the virtual conference included more than 300 programs addressing issues affecting higher education and libraries such as social and racial justice, qualitative data analysis, innovation and problem solving, instructional collaborations, student success, copyright policies, mentoring, sustainability practices, remote learning, first- generation students, information ethics, and more. The conference also featured author Tressie McMillan Cottom and journalist Mona Chalabi as keynote speakers along with invited presentations from Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, Meredith Brown, and We Here administrators Jennifer Brown, Jennifer Ferretti, and Charlotte Roh. In addition to the variety of programming, conference highlights included interactive discussion groups, eye-popping posters, a social wall, networking opportunities, and prizes. ACRL 2021’s virtual event platform offered multiple ways to connect with colleagues from around the world, including 1:1 text/video chat, chat rooms, sentiment features (applaud/like/heart), polling, Q&A with upvoting, and gamification. The ACRL 2021 Virtual Exhibits highlighted the best services and tools in the profession, featuring live demos and prizes from exhibitors and sponsors. COVID-19 Response and Impact The COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a major impact on our communities this year. The ACRL Value of Academic Libraries Committee sponsored a free ACRL Online Discussion Forum Monday, August 9, 2021, to share findings from a survey asking what protocols academic librar- ies used during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safe library operations (services, resources, spaces, personnel interactions). While the survey findings are specific to academic libraries, they are relevant to public and other libraries and other academic entities. The forum highlights survey findings followed by questions from participants. A new ACRL Consulting service, Regenerating the Academic Library, also launched this year with a focus on the impact of the massive changes in higher education and academic libraries as a result of the pandemic. Year in Review annrpt21.indd 536annrpt21.indd 536 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM December 2021 537 C&RL News Robert Jay Malone Named ACRL Executive Director Robert Jay Malone became the new executive director of ACRL in early September 2021. Malone comes to ALA from the History of Science Society (HSS), where he served for 23 years. As the HSS’s first executive director, Malone furthered the organization’s advocacy agenda; promoted equity, diversity, and inclusion; oversaw and implemented strategic plan- ning; created a fundraising infrastructure; served on a 22-member board; and worked with hundreds of volunteers. Malone earned a B.A. in History and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Science, all from the University of Florida. ACRL’s Plan for Excellence This report highlights ACRL’s many accomplishments during the 2021 fiscal year across the four strategic goal areas highlighted in the Plan for Excellence—the value of academic libraries, student learning, research and scholarly environment, and new roles and changing landscapes—along with the association’s enabling programs and services. The Value of Academic Libraries ACRL made significant progress on the association’s goal of assisting academic libraries in demonstrating alignment with, and impact on, institutional outcomes this year. The association provides support and training to ACRL liaisons to other higher education organizations and disciplinary societies so that they are prepared to talk about the value of academic libraries in those contexts. The ACRL Value of Academic Libraries (VAL) Committee announced the launch of a Learning Analytics Toolkit in January 2021. The toolkit is a freely available professional develop- ment resource that library professionals can use to learn more about learning analytics and how they intersect with academic libraries. In addition to providing foundational knowledge about learning analytics, the toolkit provides users with up-to-date publications about privacy and ethics, student success, potential outcomes, sources of data, and examples of libraries’ contributions to learning analytics. The VAL Committee sponsored a free ACRL Online Discussion Forum in March 2021, high- lighting findings from ACRL Library Impact Grant recipients. The forum featured Deb Baker, Manchester (NH) Community College, on failing forward when a student success intervention doesn’t work. Liz Cheney, California State University–Northridge, shared affordable learning solutions for student success at a Hispanic-serving institution, and Kathleen Baril of Ohio Northern University discussed how personalizing student services for developmental writing students can improve academic and retention outcomes. Year in Review annrpt21.indd 537annrpt21.indd 537 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM C&RL News December 2021 538 Year in Review A monthly VAL Spotlight Series: Practices of Equity & Social Justice was launched on ACRL Insider in February 2021. The series features librarians from various corners of librarianship discussing what it means to integrate equity and social justice into their practice and assessment, as well as how they are working toward that goal. Project Outcome for Academic Libraries continues to be a vital part of the VAL initiatives. Based on a model developed by PLA, this free toolkit is designed to help academic libraries understand and share the impact of essential library programs and services by providing simple surveys and an easy- to-use process for measuring and analyzing outcomes. The standardized surveys allow libraries to aggregate their outcome data and analyze trends by topic and program type. Training and resources are provided to participating libraries so they can use data-driven results to advocate for their library. Several upgrades were made to the toolkit in 2020, including redesigning the survey management page to make it more user friendly and adding qualitative visualizations to the data dashboards. As of September 2021, Project Outcome for Academic Libraries has 3,854 users. 653 academic libraries have created surveys can collected over 79,000 responses. ACRL’s Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (SLHE), another important component of ACRL’s VAL work, has been visited more than 15,500 times this year. National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System/ACRLMetrics The ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey incorporates the Integrated Postsecond- ary Education Data System (IPEDS) Academic Library Component and makes the results available through ACRLMetrics. The 2021 survey closed on April 7, 2021. The response rate for academic libraries in the United States was 52.1% with 1,639 respondents. The survey also received an additional 33 responses from academic libraries outside the United States. The survey also enabled participants to easily transfer their IPEDS responses to the institutional keyholder for the IPEDS Academic Component. The ACRL/ALA/ARL IPEDS Task Force completed revisions to the instruc- tions for counting digital/e-serials to include COUNTER 5 in advance of the 2020 IPEDS survey launch in September 2021. Student Learning The following activities are examples of ways ACRL moved towards meeting the association’s goal of assisting librarians in transforming student learning, pedagogy, and instructional practices through creative and innovative collaborations this fiscal year. The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education has introduced a new way of thinking and practicing to the academic library community and continues to bring both inspiration and challenge to librarians as they explore new directions in information literacy practice and research. The ACRL Framework Sandbox, an openly accessible platform and repository for librarians and their educational partners to discover, share, collect and use ongoing work related to the ACRL Framework in practice and professional development, was visited more than 78,000 times this year. The Sandbox now provides access to 294 resources, including more than 70 resources that were added or revised this year. The online version of the Framework itself has been accessed more than 90,000 times this year. annrpt21.indd 538annrpt21.indd 538 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM December 2021 539 C&RL News ACRL published Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs: Structures, Practices, and Contexts related to student learning and information literacy issues this year and offered a variety of e-learning offerings focused on student learning and information literacy topics, including “Develop- ing Signature Pedagogies in Information Literacy,” “Hidden Architectures in Information Literacy,” and “Thinking Critically About Information in Uncertain Times.” Several ALA Annual Conference sessions provided additional opportunities for librarians to gain additional skills in these important areas. Perspectives on the Framework, a column focusing on the Framework and edited by the Student Learning and Information Literacy Committee, continues to appear bimonthly in C&RL News. Research and Scholarly Environment ACRL’s scholarly communication program helps accelerate the transition to more open and equitable systems of scholarship. Due to the impact of the ongoing pandemic, presenters from the ACRL RoadShow “Scholarly Communication: From Understanding to Engagement” adapted their curriculum for a three-part live webcast series. Launched in April 2021, the series explored what scholarly communication looks like today. The webcast series was directed at those with administrative responsibilities, with new leadership assignments in scholarly communication or digital publishing, as well as liaisons and any others who are seeking to advance their professional development in scholarly communication. The ACRL RoadShow “Building Your Research Data Management Toolkit: Integrating RDM into Your Liaison Work” has also been converted for a digital environment and is available to be licensed to institutions, chapters, and consortia for a customized online experience. ACRL raised awareness of important scholarly communication issues by offering a free ACRL Presents webcast, “Celebrating Open Access Week: Building Structural Equity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications,” in October 2020, featuring a panel of recipients of the 2019 Scholarly Communications Grants. Scholarly Communications Grant recipients also participated in a panel presenting their research at the ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference. In May 2021, ACRL and SPARC collaborated on a free Negotiations 101 workshop focused on providing a better foundation for librarians tasked with negotiating on behalf of their library. A Negotiation 201 webcast series was presented in July 2021 to expand on the Negotiation 101 pre- sentation. The series provided one-hour deeper dives into specific concepts of negotiating strategy and how they can be put to use. Year in Review “I value how ACRL members continuously challenge them- selves and each other to grow and evolve. Despite being a large organization, it really feels like a community of practice. The ACRL Framework, along with countless webinars and conference sessions, has fundamentally changed my approach to teaching information literacy. I appreciate the opportunities we have to learn from each other.” – Alice Wilson, ACRL Member of the Week annrpt21.indd 539annrpt21.indd 539 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM C&RL News December 2021 540 In July 2021, ACRL published Stories of Open: Opening Peer Review through Narrative Inquiry by Emily Ford, which examines the methods and processes of peer review as well as the stories of those who have been through it. Stories of Open is the first book to go through the Publications in Librarianship book series’ open peer review process. The association also published two additional books, Open Educational Resources: CLIPP #45 and Reflections on Practitioner Research: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals, on scholarly communication-related topics this year. Monthly articles on scholarly communication issues and trends in C&RL News play an important role in disseminating a body of knowledge for the field. The Scholarly Communication Toolkit, developed and maintained by the Research and Scholarly Environment Committee (ReSEC), continues to provide content and context on a broad range of scholarly communications topics and offers resources and tools for the practitioner. The freely- available toolkit features sections on topics such as fair use, public access mandates, and library publishing in addition to more fully developed sections on open access publishing and repositories. The ACRL Scholarly Communication Discussion Group and Scholcomm discussion list continue to be important venues for strengthening the association’s role in supporting new models of scholarly communication. New Roles and Changing Landscapes The New Roles and Changing Landscapes goal focuses on assisting the academic and research library workforce in effectively navigating and fostering change in higher education environments. Fostering Change: A Team-Based Guide was published in October 2020. Written by Brianna Marshall, Dani Brecher Cook, and Cinthya Ippoliti, this open access guide is a practical tool for teams immersed in the labor of leading change in the library and on campus. It’s intended to help place people at the center of every change process and give individuals across academic libraries the tools to spark, lead, and sustain change, no matter their organizational position. A free introductory webcast on using the guide was presented in October 2020. A call for up to two facilitators to help launch an online cohort program based on Fostering Change was announced in March 2021. Sojourna J. Cunningham, Social Sciences and Assess- ment Librarian at the University of Richmond, was appointed as a facilitator for the program in summer 2021. Registration for the Fostering Change Cohort opened in July 2021, and the twelve-week pro- gram debuted in fall 2021 for teams of librarians, library workers, and/or administrators from institutions planning an organizational change. A free ACRL Presents webcast “ACRL Presents: Introducing the Fostering Change Cohort” was held in August 2021 to provide information on the new program. A virtual version of the “Open Educational Resources and Affordability” RoadShow launched in February 2021. This three-part webcast series increased understanding of the basics of open educa- tional resources (OER) and how libraries can be involved in affordability initiatives. The series was Year in Review annrpt21.indd 540annrpt21.indd 540 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM December 2021 541 C&RL News Year in Review designed for attendees new to the topic of OER, including librarians with leadership and adminis- trative responsibilities, liaisons, or any library staff member interested in building a foundational knowledge of affordable and open educational resources. The New Roles and Changing Landscapes committee also focused on the role of user experience (UX) librarianship during the pandemic by hosted a free ACRL Presents webcast, “Let’s Keep Doing This! Found UX Opportunities in the Midst of the Pandemic” on February 18, 2021. In several lightning talks, presenters shared a UX initiative established at their institution during the pandemic that is working well and that they hope continues post-pandemic, along with key points and resources needed to put the initiative into place. ACRL Consulting Services Delivered by a knowledgeable, experienced team of consultants, ACRL Consulting Services works with libraries to design and assist with library reviews and planning activities, organizational change and development initiatives, staff retreats, and campus collaborations. A new service, Regenerating the Academic Library, launched this fiscal year, focusing on the impact of the massive changes in higher education and academic libraries over the past year. The service helps libraries through the process of regeneration—emerging from crisis, navigating a dramatically altered landscape, and rebuilding for the future. Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion As the higher education association for librarians, ACRL is dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive communities in the association and in academic and research libraries. This core commitment permeates the work of the association, cutting across all ACRL sections, committees, interest and discussion groups, and communities of practice by acknowledging and addressing historical racial inequities; challenging oppressive systems within academic libraries; valuing different ways of knowing; and identifying and working to eliminate barriers to equitable services, spaces, resources, and scholarship. The unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic brought heightened social awareness of systemic racism, oppression, and institutional violence; and economic recession—all of which disproportionately impact communities of color. The ACRL Board of Directors has approved funds to support up to 50 memberships for ALA and ACRL (a value of over $200 per membership) for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) library workers, especially those who serve underrepresented populations. The three-part virtual ACRL Leadership Council series held in September 2020 focused on advancing ACRL’s Core Commitment to EDI, providing ACRL leaders with frameworks for anti-racism work within their respective institutions and ACRL, and to emboldening us all to action. Led by anti-oppression consultant McKensie Mack, the series featured two large group sessions—There’s No Such Thing As Race Neutral: Developing Strategies for Anti-Racist Librarianship and Taking Action, Seeking Repair: Organizing for Anti-Racism—and small group discussion focusing on There’s No Such Thing As Race Neutral. annrpt21.indd 541annrpt21.indd 541 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM C&RL News December 2021 542 Year in Review ACRL issued a statement in October 2020 recommending that North American research libraries continue to collect and preserve valuable print materials, even as the global COVID-19 crisis and associated financial circumstances may compel them to shift, at least temporarily, to digital formats where available. Also in October 2020, ACRL joined 28 organizations in signing onto the “Statement Urging Retraction of Executive Order Prohibiting the Inclusion of ‘Divisive Concepts’ in Employee Training Sessions” from the American Historical Association urging the retraction of the recent executive order prohibiting the inclusion of “divisive concepts” in employee training sessions carried out within the federal government and by federal contractors and grantees. In March 2021, ACRL issued a statement standing in solidarity with the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and amplifies ALA’s Executive Board in recognizing and condemning anti-Asian hate crimes. ACRL affirmed APALA’s March 3, 2021, statement which noted that the association “recognizes and strongly condemns the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes that have permeated our country over the past year.” As a member of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), ACRL additionally signed on to an ACLS Statement Condemning Anti-Asian Violence that, in part, encourages “educators, lawmakers, and community leaders to take this moment to listen closely to Asian and Asian- American voices and work with them in stemming this latest scourge of prejudice and violence.” Choice this year announced the launch of a new content vertical, Toward Inclusive Excellence, focusing on racial justice, and the appointment of Alexia Hudson-Ward, associate director of research and learning at MIT Libraries, as its editor-in-chief. Learn more about the program in the publications section of this report. The work of the ACRL, PLA, Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS) Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force continued this year. The task force is charged to create a framework for cultural proficiencies in racial equity that can be used in public and academic libraries. As part of its ongoing commitment to furthering EDI, ACRL is supporting Lyndon Batiste as its 2020–21 Spectrum Scholar. Batiste is a student at the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies. The ACRL Dr. E.J. Josey Spectrum Scholar Mentor Program addition- ally paired 33 ALA Spectrum Scholars interested in careers in academic librarianship with ACRL members to mentor them this year and has now paired a total of 246 Scholars with mentors since its establishment in 2003. This year the committee overseeing the program introduced several new tools to help the pairs develop their relationships, provide suggested discussion topics, and prompt them to communicate with each other regularly. The ACRL Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion LibGuide contains a wealth of information on ways we have implemented the association’s Core Commitment to EDI, including the ACRL Diversity Alliance; standards and guidelines; information on conference and online learning programming; links to books, articles, and other publications focusing on EDI topics; a calendar of association activities; and suggestions on ways you can get involved in this important work. More than 1,650 academic libraries completed a survey on EDI practices as part of the 2020 ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey (and the results were published in the 2020 edition of the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics). annrpt21.indd 542annrpt21.indd 542 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM December 2021 543 C&RL News ACRL Diversity Alliance The ACRL Diversity Alliance unites academic libraries who share a commitment to increase the hiring pipeline of qualified, talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. The ACRL Diversity Alliance grew out of an initiative led by founding members American Uni- versity, the University of Iowa, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University. There are currently 58 ACRL Diversity Alliance member institutions. Enabling Programs and Services In addition to the four Plan for Excellence goal areas, ACRL serves its members, along with the academic and research library community, through a wide variety of programs and services. Highlights of the regularly recurring operations relevant to the ability of ACRL to lead academic and research librarians and libraries in advancing learning and scholarship are reported below. Member Engagement ACRL’s membership activities build on retaining core membership while recruiting from new and diverse communities. As of July 2021, the most recent numbers available at the time of this report, ACRL had 8,662 members. The association continues to look for ways to partner with ALA to improve member retention. ACRL sections offer 15 vibrant and dynamic communities that nurture individual development and foster a deeper connection to the profession. Sections continue to offer successful mentoring opportunities along with programming and social events to create community among new and continuing members. In addition, ACRL’s 17 interest groups address emerging areas of interest in academic librarianship and our 17 discussion groups provide avenues for members to connect around issues through informal networks for exchanging ideas and problem-solving. The Distance Learning Section was renamed the Distance and Online Learning Section (DOLS) in September 2020. ACRL staff worked with ALA to transition our community and topical email discussion lists to ALA Connect spaces this year. The transition allows our member communities to better manage conversations, ensure access, help with continuity, and streamline engagement. ACRL’s social media presences continue to grow and provide our membership with new avenues to connect with colleagues and the association. The association held a virtual orientation session this summer for incoming leaders and offered a webcast to help members volunteer for ACRL committees. Year in Review “ACRL has always been THE organization for academic librarians, and for me has been a great way to meet colleagues and to collaborate with others in the profession. I have enjoyed and appreciated the leadership opportunities that I’ve been able to pursue as well as the professional rela- tionships that have grown out of my membership in ACRL.” – Laura Bowering Mullen, ACRL Member of the Week annrpt21.indd 543annrpt21.indd 543 12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM12/2/2021 9:23:07 AM C&RL News December 2021 544 Year in Review ACRL AWARD RECIPIENTS 2021 Division Award Recipients  Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award (Donor: GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO) Julia M. Gelfand, Applied Sciences and Engineering Librarian at the University of California (UC)–Irvine  Excellence in Academic Libraries Awards (Donor: GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO) University: Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California College: Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina Community College: Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, Oklahoma  Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award (ACRL and Core) Mark E. Phillips, Associate Dean for Digital Libraries, University of North Texas Section Award Recipients  CJCLS Awards (Donor: EBSCO Information Services) Learning Resources Leadership Award Yumi Shin, Coordinator of Reference and Access Services, Lamar State College, Port Arthur Community College Learning Resources Program Award Anjali Parasnis-Samar and Alice Wilson, both of Monroe Community College  DOLS Routledge Distance Learning Librarianship Conference Sponsorship Award (Donor: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group) Natalie Haber, Online Services Librarian, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga  EBSS Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award (Donor: American Psychological Association) Kaya van Beynen, Associate Dean of Library Research & Instruction, University of South Florida  IS Awards IS Innovation Award (Donor: EBSCO Information Services) Alexandria Chisholm and Sarah Hartman-Caverly, Reference and Instruction Librarians, Penn State Berks IS Ilene F. Rockman Instruction Publication of the Year Award (Donor: Carrick Enterprises) Alison J. Head, Barbara Fister, and Margy MacMillan, for their report “Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms: Student Experiences with News and Information, and the Need for Change” IS Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award (Donor: ACRL Instruction Section) Nicole Pagowsky, Associate Research & Learning Librarian and Information Literacy Instruction Program Manager, University of Arizona  PPIRS Marta Lange/SAGE-CQ Press Award (Donor: SAGE-CQ Press) Jill Severn, Archivist and Head of Access and Outreach, University of Georgia and Director, Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia  RBMS/Leab Exhibition Catalogue Awards (Donor: Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab Endowment) Brochures Category Recipient and Innovation Category Honorable Mention: The Rosenbach Museum for Chart Your Own Voyage; Catalogs Category Recipient: The Getty Research Institute for Käthe Kollwitz: Prints, Process, Politics; Digital Category Recipient: University of Delaware Library Special Collections for Votes for Delaware Women; Innovation Category Recipient: Free Library of Philadelphia for Our 5 Senses Activity Booklet and Seek & Find; Student Category Recipient: Haverford College for Crossing Borders: From Slavery to Abolition, 1670–1865; Honorable Mention: Haverford College for Who Created the New and Copied the Old: Printed Books of the Fifteenth Century  STS Oberly Award for Bibliography in the Agricultural or Natural Sciences (Funded by the Eunice Rockwood Oberly endowment) Jen Kirk, Government Information Librarian at Utah State University, and Helen F. Smith, Agricultural Sciences Librarian at Pennsylvania State University, for their work “An Inventory of Published Soil Surveys of the United States” (Awards continued next page) annrpt21.indd 544annrpt21.indd 544 12/2/2021 9:23:08 AM12/2/2021 9:23:08 AM December 2021 545 C&RL News A number of ACRL committees, interest groups, discussion groups, sections, and the Board of Directors are working virtually and taking advantage of ALA Connect and other virtual meeting systems to keep the work of the association moving forward year-round. ACRL Committee Members 2020–21 We are pleased to acknowledge the ACRL leaders and volunteers who have worked hard to move the profession and the association forward in 2020–21. ACRL could not accomplish as much as it does without the passionate commitment and expertise of its volunteers. We thank all our member volunteers for their service. Awards Since 1923, the ACRL Awards Program has recognized and hon- ored the professional contributions and achievements of academic libraries and librarians. This special recognition by ACRL enhances the sense of personal growth and accomplishment of our members, provides our membership with role models, and strengthens the image of our membership in the eyes of employers, leadership, and the academic community. In 2021, 25 outstanding individuals and institutions received ACRL awards recognizing their accomplishments. ACRL’s top honor, the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award, was presented to Julia M. Gelfand, Applied Sciences and Engineering Librarian at the Univer- sity of California–Irvine. Gelfand exemplifiesexcellence in academic and research librarianship through her leadership, service, and passion for the profession. ACRL continues to present the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award to recognize the staff of a community college, a college, and a university library for exemplary programs that deliver outstanding services and resources to further the educational mission of their institu- tion. This year’s recipients were the Davidson College E.H. Little Library (Davidson, NC); the Tulsa Community College Library (Tulsa, OK); and the Loyola Marymount University William H. Hannon Library (Los Angeles, CA). Sponsored by ACRL and GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO, the 2021 awards included a virtual presentation ceremony for each recipient library. Year in Review  ULS Outstanding Professional Development Award (Donor: Library Juice Academy) Nimisha Bhat, Hailley Fargo, Chelsea Heinbach, and Charissa Powell, members of the editorial team for LibParlor  WGSS Achievement in Women’s Studies Librarianship Awards (Donor: Duke University Press) Career Achievement Jane Nichols, Associate Professor and Head of the Teaching and Engagement Department, Oregon State University Significant Achievement Nicola Andrews, Instruction and First Year Experience Librarian, University of San Francisco (Awards continued from previous page) Julia M. Gelfand, 2021 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year annrpt21.indd 545annrpt21.indd 545 12/2/2021 9:23:08 AM12/2/2021 9:23:08 AM C&RL News December 2021 546 At its January 2021 meeting, the ACRL Board of Directors approved a proposal to pause ACRL’s Awards program for the 2021–2022 program year in order to engage in a critical programmatic review. During this review period, ACRL will not promote or jury any of its annual awards, and award committees will instead work with, and provide input to, a task force charged to make recommendations for the program’s future. The Board felt that the pause provides an opportunity to fully assess the awards program’s impact on the profession, future sustainability, and connection to ACRL’s core commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion following a year of unprecedented and ongoing challenges permeating through the communities that ACRL members serve. Publications Monographs ACRL’s monograph publishing program was very active during 2020–21, releasing 14 new books, including titles on information literacy, library outreach, open educational resources, student wellness, practitioner research, and more. A complete list of titles is available in the table on page 548. The 2019 edition of Academic Library Trends and Statistics was issued in October 2020. The full back catalog of ACRL monograph publications is available in a variety of formats through the ALA Store and Amazon. E-books of ACRL monograph titles are also available for purchase by libraries through EBSCO and ProQuest. As previously noted, ACRL published Stories of Open: Opening Peer Review through Narrative Inquiry by Emily Ford, book number 76 in the Publications in Librarianship (PIL) series, in July 2021. Stories of Open examines the methods and processes of peer review as well as the stories of those who have been through it and is the first published book to go through the PIL series open peer review process. Mark Shelton was named the next editor of the PIL series, a peer-reviewed collection of books that examine emerging theories and research, this year. Shelton, director of Library Services at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, succeeds Daniel Mack, associate dean of Libraries, Collection Strategies and Services at the University of Maryland, as PIL editor. Serials ACRL continues to make enhancements to the online versions of College & Research Libraries (C&RL), College & Research Libraries News (C&RL News), and RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage in the Open Journal Systems platform. C&RL News, the official newsmagazine and publication of record of ACRL, will adopt an online-only publication model beginning in January 2022. The December 2021 issue will be the final print issue of the magazine. The ACRL Board of Directors and C&RL News editor-in-chief sought input from the Budget & Finance Committee, C&RL News Editorial Board, ACRL Publications Coordinating Committee, ACRL Membership Committee, and ACRL Section Membership Committee on a variety of potential publication models Year in Review annrpt21.indd 546annrpt21.indd 546 12/2/2021 9:23:08 AM12/2/2021 9:23:08 AM December 2021 547 C&RL News for the magazine. These representative groups of the ACRL membership agreed that the transition to an online-only model is in the best interest of the publication and association moving forward. The shift to an online-only publication model brings C&RL News in line with C&RL journal, which moved to an online-only model at the beginning of 2014. In June 2021, C&RL published a special issue on the evolving role of academic librarians, featuring articles highlighting the ways in which librarians assert their expertise and engage with the changing envi- ronment while modelling professional values, excellence in service, intellectual humility, agility and patience. The articles in this issue investigate the activities and efforts from area studies librarians and subject specialists to scholarly communications librarians to those dedicated to instruction and teaching. Kristen Totleben was appointed the next editor of C&RL by the ACRL Board of Direc- tors this year. Totleben, librarian for Modern Languages & Cultures at the University of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries, will serve as editor designate from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, when she will assume full editorial responsibility for the journal. In the position of editor, Totleben will also serve as chair of the C&RL Editorial Board. She succeeds Wendi Arant Kaspar, professor of Library Practice at Texas A&M University, as C&RL editor. C&RL’s Facebook and Twitter presences are home to updates on preprint and current articles, book reviews, highlights of past articles from the journal’s history, and exclusive content from C&RL editors and researchers. RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, & Cultural Heritage launched a new reviews portal this year. The online portal is an extension of the Reviews section in the biannual print issues of RBM and expands the journal’s capacity for reviews beyond the limitations of print page count. ALA JobLIST ALA JobLIST (joblist.ala.org), the online career center operated since 2006 by C&RL News in partnership with ALA’s American Libraries magazine, continues to develop improve- ments to the service to serve job seekers and hiring employers well in any environment and shares timely job search, hiring, and career advice through its popular social media channels. Advertisements for open positions dropped sharply in 2020 as institutions responded to the uncertain environment caused by the pandemic, but saw a faster and stronger recovery than anticipated. By the spring of 2021, job ad activity had returned to historically normal levels. ALA JobLIST continues to provide financial support for the ALA JobLIST Placement and Career Development Center, operated by ALA’s Office for Human Resource Develop- ment and Recruitment at major ALA and ACRL conferences. Since these conferences were virtual throughout FY2021 due to the pandemic, the Placement and Career Development Center’s focus has been on offering occasional webinars and other virtual development opportunities throughout the year. December 2020 Vol. 81 No. 11 ISSN: 0099-0086 Decembee Vol. 81 NNo ISSN: 0099-0 er 202200 o. 111 0086 ACRL 2019-2020 Annual Report Issue A s s o c i a t i o n o f C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s College & Research Libraries Year in Review annrpt21.indd 547annrpt21.indd 547 12/2/2021 9:23:09 AM12/2/2021 9:23:09 AM C&RL News December 2021 548 CHOICE Choice has continued to expand its content offerings, garnering an audience that now numbers some 60,000 members of the academic library community who regularly engage with our sites and platforms. These content offerings include our professional-development webinars; The Authority File podcasts; a newsletter program that now attracts a readership of 19,000; and the Choice research program, publisher of white papers on topics in academic librarianship. Underwritten by academic publishers and service providers, content from these programs is available free of charge. The highlight of the year for Choice has been the launch of Toward Inclusive Excellence (TIE), a multimedia platform devoted to social and racial justice. Under the general editorship of Alexia Hudson-Ward, associate director of Research and Learning at the MIT libraries, the service explores issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion, particularly, though not exclusively, as they affect the academic library community. TIE incorporates weekly blog posts as well as occasional podcasts and webinars, in which contributors explore the intricacies of racial identity as they relate to implicit bias, systemic racism, and ableism, among other pertinent topics. Notable in this regard have been recent interviews with Martha S. Jones on the role of Black women in the fight for universal suffrage and with Steven Rogers, who discussed his recent book, A Letter to My White Friends. During fiscal 2021, Choice also introduced a new series of feature-length reviews of impor- tant and timely titles in racial and social justice. The scope of these reviews is broader than the standard Choice content, allowing for a more thorough examination of key works, with additional consideration for how the text under review sheds light on racist systems and racial inequities or proposes means of dismantling them. New ACRL Books in 2020–21  Academic Library Job Descriptions: CLIPP #46  Approaches to Liaison Librarianship: Innovations in Organization and Engagement  Creativity: A Toolkit for Academic Libraries  Faculty-Librarian Collaborations: Integrating the Information Literacy Framework into Disciplinary Courses  Fostering Change: A Team-Based Guide  Leading Together: Academic Library Consortia and Advocacy  The Library Outreach Cookbook  Open Educational Resources: CLIPP #45  Reflections on Practitioner Research: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals  Stories of Open: Opening Peer Review through Narrative Inquiry (ACRL Publications in Librarianship No. 76)  Student Wellness and Academic Libraries: Case Studies and Activities for Promoting Health and Success  Teaching about Fake News: Lesson Plans for Different Disciplines and Audiences  The Teaching with Primary Sources Cookbook  Training Research Consultants: A Guide for Academic Libraries ACRL PUBLICATIONS Year in Review (Publications continued next page) annrpt21.indd 548annrpt21.indd 548 12/2/2021 9:23:09 AM12/2/2021 9:23:09 AM December 2021 549 C&RL News Year in Review ACRL Serials  College & Research Libraries (https://crl.acrl.org)—The official open access, online- only scholarly research journal of ACRL.  College & Research Libraries News (https://crln.acrl.org)—Publishes articles on the latest trends and practices affecting academic and research libraries and serves as the official newsmagazine and publication of record of ACRL.  RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage (https://rbm.acrl.org)—ACRL’s journal covering issues pertaining to special collections libraries and cultural heritage institutions. Choice Publications  Choice magazine—Each monthly issue offers 600 new reviews, a bibliographic essay, and upcoming titles worth knowing.  Choice Reviews on Cards—Choice reviews, and just the reviews, on cards.  Choice Reviews—The completely rebuilt Choice Reviews gives subscribers immediate access to a comprehensive archive of nearly 200,000 reviews representing a quarter-century of scholarship.  Resources for College Libraries—Copublished with ProQuest, Resources for College Libraries helps undergraduate institutions identify the essential titles for learning.  ccAdvisor—A creation of Choice in partnership with the Charleston Advisor, ccAdvisor is the searchable, authoritative, peer-reviewed guide to scholarly academic databases. Blogs/Online Publications  ACRL Insider (https://acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider)—ACRL Insider keeps the world current and informed on ACRL activities, services, and programs.  ACRL LibGuides (https://acrl.libguides.com)—ACRL LibGuides allow membership units to advance the work of ACRL by providing resources for the profession, such as toolkits and bibliographies.  ACRLog (https://acrlog.org/)—The issues blog of ACRL features posts on current issues in academic and research librarianship from the blog team.  Keeping Up With…(https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with)—Online current awareness publication featuring concise briefs on trends in academic librarian- ship and higher education. ACRL Social Media  Facebook (www.facebook.com/ala.acrl)  Twitter (www.twitter.com/ALA_ACRL)  Instagram (www.instagram.com/ala_acrl)  Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/acrlala)  YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/ALAACRL/) (Publications continued from previous page) annrpt21.indd 549annrpt21.indd 549 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM C&RL News December 2021 550 Year in Review Choice published two white papers this year. “Ebook Collection Development in Academic Libraries: Examining Preference, Management, and Purchasing Patterns” attempts to measure the significance of the ebook format within the collection, the procedures and preferences academic libraries have for acquiring ebooks, and the perceptions librarians have of the acquisition and management workflows. “Implementing and Managing Streaming Media Services in Academic Libraries” documents the opportunities streaming services provide through a review of existing literature, survey data analysis, and limited practitioner interviews. Choice’s subscription products also continue to enjoy steady usage. The Choice Reviews data- base now contains more than 219,000 reviews of academic monographs. During the 2020–21 academic year users ran more than 440,000 searches in just shy of 100,000 user sessions. While smaller in scope, ccAdvisor now contains 526 lengthy (2,000 words or more) reviews of digital resources and is available at 265 colleges and universities in the United States. During this past year, Resources for College Libraries (RCL) editors engaged in a “deselec- tion” initiative designed to maintain the integrity of a list designated as “core.” Simultane- ously, 1,061 titles were added to the RCL Plus database, resulting in a net decrease of total database holdings to 98,405. Reports, Papers, Online Publications Keeping Up With…, ACRL’s online current awareness publication series, continued issuing concise briefs on trends in academic librarianship and higher education. Each edition focuses on a single issue including an introduction to the topic and summaries of key points, including implications for academic libraries. The series’ offerings this year included information on open science and misinformation and news literacy, along with highlighting ACRL activities such as the ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference. ACRL released the white paper “Transforming Library Services for Computational Research with Text Data: Environmental Scan, Stakeholder Perspectives, and Recommendations for Libraries,” written by Megan Senseney, Eleanor Dickson Koehl, Beth Sandore Namachchi- vaya, and Bertram Ludäscher, in August 2021. This report from the IMLS National Forum on “Data Mining Research Using In-Copyright and Limited-Access Text Datasets” seeks to build a shared understanding of the issues and challenges associated with the legal and socio- technical logistics of conducting computational research with text data. Standards, Guidelines, and Frameworks The development of standards and guidelines for all areas of academic and research librari- anship is a core service of ACRL. These standards, guidelines, and frameworks are a key ACRL contribution to the profession. The ACRL Board of Directors approved a new ACRL Framework for Impactful Scholarship and Metrics this year along with approving revisions of A Standard for the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure of Academic Librarians; ACRL Standards for Academic Librarians without Faculty Status; and ACRL Standards for Faculty for Academic Librarians. The ACRL Board additionally approved three new Companion Documents to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education its June 2021 virtual meeting. The new documents are Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy annrpt21.indd 550annrpt21.indd 550 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM December 2021 551 C&RL News Year in Review for Higher Education: Politics, Policy and International Relations; Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Social Work; and Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Educa- tion: Women’s and Gender Studies. Education ACRL continues to offer a wide range of professional development programs and events to meet the needs of today’s academic and research librarians. ACRL Conference As noted at the start of this report, the ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference was held April 13–16, 2021. The virtual conference attracted 3,660 registrants and exhibitors who explored the com- plex issues impacting the future of library service. Themed “Ascending into an Open Future,” the virtual conference included more than 300 programs addressing issues affecting higher education and libraries such as social and racial justice, qualitative data analysis, innovation and problem solving, instructional collaborations, student success, copyright policies, mentoring, sustainability practices, remote learning, first-generation students, information ethics, and more. ACRL @ ALA Conferences The ACRL President’s Program at the 2021 ALA Annual Virtual Conference, “Making Change: Organizing for Action While Caring for Each Other,” featured activists, organizers, and intellectuals Dean Spade and Mariame Kaba in a conversation about how library workers can use organizing principles to fight against white supremacy and widening inequality through community action and mutual aid. The association sponsored an additional 19 section, committee, and individual live and on-demand programs at the virtual conference. on topics such as racial justice, student learning assessment, diverse children’s literature, online instruc- tion, emergency preparedness, the myth of library neutrality, and more. RBMS Conference The RBMS 2021 Virtual Conference, “Power. Resistance. Leadership.,” was held June 8–10, 2021. The conference critically examined the existing power structures that have shaped and continue to impact special collections and archives by exploring the power dynamics within our profession and the ways in which we experience, exert, and/or defy power. Conference programs provided participants tools and strategies to inspire and lead to transformative change. The conference had 751 total participants. RoadShows The ACRL RoadShow program brings high quality workshops directly to campuses covering a wide range of topics that help academic librarians tackle the greatest issues facing the profession. While the in-person workshops have been on hold due to the impact of COVID-19, workshop teams have pivoted the content from these workshops into new Off-RoadShow virtual learning opportunities. The Off-RoadShow program now features four multi-day virtual workshops that can be hosted by libraries and organizations for their communities on request, covering topics including Open Educational Resources & Affordability, Research Data Management, the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, and the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education. Pilot webcast series were also offered covering Scholarly Communication and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. annrpt21.indd 551annrpt21.indd 551 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM C&RL News December 2021 552 Year in Review Online Learning The ACRL online program offered 26 online events, consisting of 23 webcasts and 3 multi-week courses, this year on a variety of topics such as open educational resources and affordability, student wellness, leadership, makerspaces, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and more. More than 530 individuals and 120 groups participated in this year’s online learning offerings. ACRL Presents… Webcasts The ACRL Presents… program offers free occasional webcasts on issues of broad interest and importance to the academic and research library community. ACRL Presents… webcasts offered this year included “Reopening Campus During the Pandemic: Treading Water in the Deep End” (October 2020), “Let’s Keep Doing This! Found UX Opportunities in the Midst of the Pandemic” (February 2021), “An Insider’s Guide to Preparing for Promotion: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (March 2021), “Cultures of Collecting: Sustaining Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Collection Development” (May 2021), “Regenerating the Academic Library” (June 2021), and “Introducing the Fostering Change Cohort” (August 2021). ACRL-Choice Webinars ACRL-Choice webinars connect academic and research librarians with content and service providers, publishers, authors, and other experts. Since the launch of the program in 2013, thousands of participants have attended these free interactive webinars, inclusing approxi- mately thirty presentations each academic year. During the past twelve months, the program presented 43 webinars garnering 48,000 registrations and 24,000 attendance on such varied themes as EDIA issues in academic libraries, equitable staffing in the post-pandemic landscape, transitioning to open research, a guide to the APA Style Sheet, teaching environmental justice, using AI to enhance scholarly communication, and more. The high point of the program was a coproduction with ProQuest of “When You Picture a Scientist, Who Do You See?,” a conversation with, among others, Jennifer Doudna, Nobel laureate in chemistry, on diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. The webcast attracted more than 9,000 registrants and a live audience of 4,674. Scholarships Knowing that professional development is essential to the success of academic and research librarians, 92 individuals received scholarships in the amount of $24,008 for the ACRL 2021 Virtual Conference. The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) awarded 31 scholarships for the RBMS 2021 Virtual Conference worth $5,289. “I truly value the opportunities to learn various topics that ACRL provides throughout the year. As a small college librarian, these opportunities are beneficial to me in increasing my knowledge and expanding connections to other professionals. It also helps me stay up-to-date during ongoing changing times.” – Yumi Shin, ACRL Member of the Week annrpt21.indd 552annrpt21.indd 552 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM December 2021 553 C&RL News ACRL Speaks Out Continuing the association’s focus on advocacy, ACRL aims to increase its communication on major trends and issues in libraries and increase its influence in public policy affecting higher education. Legislative Advocacy Public policy issues effecting higher education remain an essential focus of ACRL. The association acted on this focus in a number of ways over the past year. Each year, the ACRL Government Relations Committee, in consultation with the ACRL Board of Directors and staff, formulates an ACRL Legislative Agenda. Drafted with input from key ACRL committees, ACRL leaders, and the ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, the Legislative Agenda is prioritized and focuses on issues at the national level affecting the welfare of academic and research libraries. The 2021 ACRL Legislative Agenda focuses on eight issues that the U.S. Congress has recently taken, or will most likely take, action on in the year ahead. They are, in priority order, federal funding for libraries, net neutrality, the Affordable College Textbook Act, consumer data privacy, open access, the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act, federal funding for higher education, and the environmental impact of data centers. The 2021 agenda also includes a watch list of policy issues of great concern to academic librarians but where there is no pending legislation. Issues on the watch list are public access to federally funded research, the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Modernization Act, and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, along with other immigration issues. ACRL joined the ARL, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Histori- cal Association, the University of California Libraries, the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign Library, and the University of Iowa Libraries in September 2021 in filing an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court case Ahmad v. University of Michigan, a case involving the use of a public records request to circumvent a deed of gift. In late October 2021, ACRL joined 28 organizations in signing onto a statement from the American Historical Association urging the retraction of the recent executive order prohibiting the inclusion of “divisive concepts” in employee training sessions carried out within the federal government and by federal contractors and grantees. ACRL additionally partnered with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to develop a replacement for the current information literacy module and develop plans to promote the use of NSSE data with the academic library community this year. The association continues to be an active partner with ALA and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA). Over the course of the past year, LCA has acted on a number of important issues by issuing comments on pending legislation and court cases, joining briefs, and releasing papers and guides on a wide range of copyright and fair use issues including the impact of two copyright provisions in the omnibus spending bill—extending felony penalties to illicit streaming and establishing a small claims tribunal for copyright infringement—on libraries and library users, the Digital Copyright Act of 2021, a possible Digital Millennium Copyright Act reform bill, sovereign immunity, and a proposed section 1201 exemption for the purpose of preservation of DVDs. Year in Review annrpt21.indd 553annrpt21.indd 553 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM C&RL News December 2021 554 Year in Review Partnerships with Higher Education ACRL continues to work with higher education associations to strengthen both partnerships and the profession. The association maintains liaison relationships with a number of higher education associations through the Liaisons Assembly. ACRL currently has liaison relation- ships with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), American Anthropological As- sociation (AAA), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Chemical Society (ACS), American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), American Physical Society (APS), American Political Science Association (APSA), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), American Sociological Association (ASA), Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T), Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL), Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), Council on Undergraduate Re- search (CUR), EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), Geoscience Information Society (GSIS), Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC), International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC), International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Medical Library Association (MLA), Modern Language Association (MLA), National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience (NRC-FYEST), National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), Special Libraries Association (SLA), and United States Ag- ricultural Information Network (USAIN). Notably this year, ACRL joined the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities to jointly design and sponsor a three-part series on “Libraries in Shaping the Future of Higher Education” offered June 22, 24, and September 21. With leadership from Danuta Nitecki of Drexel University in her role as ACRL liaison to SCUP, the series brought together higher education administrators, planners, designers, and library stakeholders to discuss the challenges to higher education in a changing world and how more deeply to engage libraries can enable institutional achievement. Three webinars focused on the place of the library, as partners in ensuring student success, and in support for equitable access to knowledge. “In addition to all of the wonderful learning and professional development opportunities, I most value the role in advocacy that ACRL has assumed. ACRL has helped me to realize that librarianship can be more than a profession concerned with research, library administration, and the curation of informa- tion. ACRL has helped me see that librarians can have a role and voice in shaping the communities that we serve.” – Lyndon Batiste, ACRL Member of the Week annrpt21.indd 554annrpt21.indd 554 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM December 2021 555 C&RL News President Jon E. Cawthorne Wayne State University Vice-President/President-Elect Julie Garrison Western Michigan University Past-President Karen Munro Simon Fraser University Budget & Finance Committee Chair Carolyn Henderson Allen University of Arkansas ACRL Councilor Jacquelyn A. Bryant Community College of Philadelphia Interim Executive Director (Ex-officio) Kara Malenfant ACRL/ALA Directors-at-large Toni Anaya University of Nebraska–Lincoln Jessica Brangiel Swarthmore College Faye A. Chadwell Pennsylvania State University Kim Copenhaver Emory University April D. Cunningham Palomar College Jeanne R. Davidson Utah State University Caroline Fuchs St. John’s University Cinthya Ippoliti University of Colorado–Denver Kelly Gordon Jacobsma Hope College Year in Review ACRL Board of Directors, 2020–2021 Organizational Effectiveness and Vitality ACRL sustains the fiscal resources, staff expertise, and organizational structure necessary to advance the association’s Plan for Excellence. ACRL Staff Senior Program Officer Megan Griffin departed ACRL in June 2021 after 18 years of exceptional service. Throughout the years, Griffin worked on division and section elections, Annual Conference programs, IFLA appointments, ALA Connect, special events, awards, and more. As previously noted, Robert Jay Malone became the new executive director of ACRL in early September 2021. Many of you have had phone and e-mail contact with ACRL’s staff, of which there are 16.75 FTE positions in Chicago and an additional 22.4 FTE at the Choice office in Middletown, Connecticut. Take a minute to “meet” ACRL’s diverse staff on the association website at www.ala.org/acrl /aboutacrl/staff/contactacrl. In June 2020, the main ALA/ACRL headquarters in Chicago moved to a new location. The new address for the office is 225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601. ACRL’s office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (CST), Monday through Friday. All ALA staff have direct telephone lines. All prefixes are (312) 280-, followed by the four-digit extension. If you use the toll-free number (800-545-2433), you will be instructed to enter the extension of the person you wish to speak with. annrpt21.indd 555annrpt21.indd 555 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM C&RL News December 2021 556 Due to the timing of the ALA/ACRL financial closes, our usual budget report for FY21 was not available at press time. ACRL’s full FY21 finan- cial report, along with the final FY20 report, will be added to the ACRL website when data is available, with a notice posted in a future issue of C&RL News and on additional ACRL communications channels. Thank you for your patience. Financial Report Carolyn Henderson Allen Budget & Finance Committee Chair Budget & Finance Committee, 2020–2021 Carolyn Henderson Allen, University of Arkansas, chair Tara Baillargeon, Marquette University Erika Dowell, Indiana University Nathan Hall, Virginia Tech Madhu B. Kadiyala, Atlanta University Center Binh P. Le, Pennsylvania State University Scott B. Mandernack, Marquette University Joe Mocnik, Kansas State University Marla E. Peppers, California State University–Los Angeles Brian Rennick, Brigham Young University Kristen Grace Totleben, University of Rochester Julie Garrison, Western Michigan University, ex-officio Kara Malenfant, ACRL/ALA, ex-officio Allison Payne, ACRL/ALA, staff liaison Your #1 source for jobs in Library and Information Science and Technology. HRDR joblist.ala.org annrpt21.indd 556annrpt21.indd 556 12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM12/2/2021 9:23:10 AM