ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 7 0 / C&RL News M eet the candidates for ALA president By Ken Dowlin and Ann Symons Be sure to vote in the election this spring T he ACRL Board o f Directors posed the fol­lowing questions to each o f the candidates for ALA president and C&RL News is pleased to publish their responses. Each candidate was given 1,200 words in which to offer a brief open­ ing statement and to respond to the questions; their responses are identified under each o f the six questions. Ken D ow lin I have worked as director o f four library sys­ tems, as a consultant to libraries in the U.S. and abroad, a consultant with technology-based cor­ porations, and as an adjunct professor in one community college and two universities. Hav­ ing started my career as a bookm obile driver and working my way up to director o f one of the major libraries in the country, I understand the business extremely well. Having been president o f LITA when the operating agreement was being contemplated ensures that I understand the issues that con­ cern divisions. I also know the workings of ALA as a whole having served as chair of the ALA Awards Committee, and as a member of the ALA Council, the Planning and Budget As­ sembly, the ALA President’s Committee on Pres­ ervation Policy, and the ALA President’s Com­ mission on Freedom and Equity o f Access to Information. Serving on other national bodies such as the Library o f Congress Commission of the Future o f the Book and the LC/ALA task force on the Marketing o f the MARC record has given me an even broader perspective. Ken Dowlin Ann Symons I also have extensive knowledge o f the in­ terests o f chapters and regional organizations having served as president o f the Colorado Li­ brary Association, president of the Board of the Bibliographical Center o f Research, a member of various committees o f the Mountain Plains Library Association, and as chair o f the Tech­ nology Committee for the Western Interstate Comm ission on Education. In California, I founded the Greater Bay Area Library Council, serve on the Resource Libraries Task Force of the California State Networking Committee, and was a charter member o f the Board o f the Bay Area Book Festival. Author o f the book The Electronic Library: The Promise a n d the Process, I have published more than 80 articles, contributions to books, and papers. I have also produced a series of videotapes on the use o f library technology. I am a noted speaker on technology and library issues, having made presentations in most of the states and eight different countries. I hold an MLS from the University o f Den­ ver, a master’s degree in public administration from th e U n iv ersity o f C o lo ra d o , and a bachelor’s degree in history from the Univer­ sity o f Colorado. Ken Dowlin is manager, Dowtin2000, LCC, e-mail: k.en@dowlin2000.org; Ann Symons is librarian at Juneau Douglas High School in Alaska, e-mail: symonsa@jsd.k12.ak.us mailto:k.en@dowlin2000.org mailto:symonsa@jsd.kl2.ak.us April 1 9 9 7 / 271 A nn Symons I started my career as an academ ic librarian. W hen I cam e to Alaska there were no academic jobs so I took a position as a school librarian and promptly began to w ork with academ ic and public librarians to expand services to all our users. Just as I worked cooperatively at home in Alaska, I’ve worked cooperatively with ACRL members for more than a decade— on Council, on ALA’s Executive Board, as your treasurer, and now as chair o f ALA’s Intellectual Free­ dom Committee. I look forward to continuing our teamwork. I understand the association, its values, its pow er for advancing our informa­ tion and service agenda, and its m em b ers’ needs. I believe these are important traits for an ALA president. Working together I know we can achieve our goals. Q uest ions fo r ALA can d id ates 1. W hat is yo u r position o n the accep t­ ability o f ALA divisions, su ch as ACRL, to estab lish and publicly p ro m u lg ate th e ir ow n positions o n issues im p ortan t to the profession and germ ane to th eir ow n in ­ terests? Should divisions be encouraged to e stab lish re la tio n sh ip s, in d e p e n d e n t o f ALA, w ith relevant organizations, su ch as AAHE, fo r exam ple? Dowlin: It is important for ALA to develop as an organization that values the diversity o f not only its members but its divisions and chap­ ters. The relationship among all o f the units must b e organic in nature, not cast in stone. I was president o f LITA at the inception o f the Operating Agreement and I feel that ALA b e ­ com ing m ore o f a confederation and less cen ­ tric has been a big factor in membership growth and the effectiveness o f the association. Divi­ sions should be encouraged to develop col­ laboration w here it is in the interest o f all par­ ties. ALA must respect that need. At the same time, the divisions need to communicate with ALA leadership on goals and programs. There are issues that can be resolved or advanced only with the full participation o f all o f the di­ visions, chapters, and other units. Symons: ALA needs the expertise o f ACRL on issues o f importance to academic librarian ship and should actively encourage the divi­ sion to take leadership on those issues. At the same time, ACRL should use the clout o f ALA and its 57,000 mem bers w hen advocating its position or supporting policy issues o f impor­ tance to academic libraries. One o f ACRL’s goals is to collaborate with other professional orga­ nizations and associations o f higher education. ACRL was recently invited to participate in a national initiative on faculty roles and rewards. This is an exam ple o f the kind o f partnership that is essential for ACRL to do its work and it raises the credibility o f ACRL and ALA. I would actively encourage and support such efforts as ALA president. The w ork you do with outside organizations benefits all o f us. 2. The activities o f the ALA W ashington Office have focused prim arily o n m atters o f co n c e rn to public libraries. W hat would you do to exp an d the office’s activities to deal w ith issues o f co n c e rn to academ ic li­ braries? Dowlin: For the past several years the ALA W ashington O ffice has w orked hard on the successful revision o f LSCA and telecom m uni­ cations cost issues. On the other hand, having been on the ALA Legislation Committee I can tell you that the O ffice in Washington is usu­ ally juggling several dozen issues. The increase in the budget and the facilities has paid off handsomely for the public libraries and I would propose that it is time to focus on the needs of other libraries. The program developed by ACRL for the legislative and regulatory agenda should now b ecom e a priority. It is critical to have representation from all the divisions in legisla­ tive matters and even though the Legislation Assembly is charged with that responsibility there is more work to be done. Symons: The Washington Office works on many issues o f major significance to academ ic libraries. Most recently, the ALA Washington O ffice was able to represent ACRL’s interests in Geneva at the WIPO Treaty Meeting on copy­ right, intellectual property, and databases. Jim Neal, ALA Executive Board m em ber and an academ ic librarian, was ALA’s m em ber repre­ sentative. The Washington Office currently is involved with intellectual property and copyright legis­ lation, the Digital Futures Coalition, Internet II, intellectual freedom issues such as the Com­ munications D ecency Act, and access to gov­ ernm ent information. These are all viewed as issues o f concern primarily to academic librar­ ians. The ALA Washington O ffice fought for the inclusion o f academic libraries in the uni­ versal service provisions o f the Telecom m uni­ cations Act o f 1996. 2 7 2 / C&RL News Th e W ashington O ffice calls upon ACRL w hen setting its agenda and priorities when it is aware o f an ACRL interest. ACRL members need to b e proactive in bringing to the atten­ tion o f the W ashington O ffice and the Legisla­ tive Committee those issues that deal with their concerns without waiting to b e asked. The im­ portant thing is that we work in concert on information policies that m ove the national li­ brary agenda forward. ACRL’s contribution to ALA Goal 2000 is an exam ple o f how w e can leverage our resources to accom plish these goals. I look forward to working with you and others on these endeavors. 3. A stron g ALA w ith a centralized focus provides great strength to the profession. However, ALA is m ade up o f 11 divisions. W hat should be the appropriate input from th e divisions to ALA in influencing policy and procedure? Dowlin: The divisions should be full part­ ners with the other units within ALA and the leadership o f the association. It is important for them to b e represented on Council and ALA committees. The divisions should have ample opportunity to propose and react to policies and programs even if it means delaying the decisions to allow time for consideration. It is my concern for the future o f librarianship that has led me to devote the rest o f my career to ensuring its vitality and continuance. Sym ons: My sense o f ALA is that w hen m embers o f ACRL and other divisions speak, Council and the Executive Board listen care­ fully. ACRL lends great strength to the associa­ tion. W hen higher education is involved, ACRL should be the first place we turn. Nobody else has the expertise and the strength o f m em ber­ ship that ACRL has on these issues. ALA needs to turn to all o f its divisions for issues on w hich they have membership expertise and respon­ sibility. Division presidents and president-elects have opportunities to meet with each other to put forward and influence policy and proce­ dures. Divisions do not always agree on every issue and then hard choices have to be made; however, w hen they do agree, their voice is very strong. 4. The ALA Annual C onference co n tin ­ ues to grow in size and com p lexity; th ere is c o n c e r n ab ou t p ro g ra m o v e rla p , th e n u m b er o f govern an ce m eetings, discus­ sion groups sponsoring program s, and the c o st o f providing high-end com puting and audiovisual sup p ort fo r p rogram s. As ALA p resid e n t f o r a y e a r, an d an ALA B oard m em ber fo r th ree years, w h at actions will you take to stream line ALA national c o n ­ ferences? Should p rogram s developed by units o f ALA go th rou gh a com petitive p ro ­ cess fo r selection? Dowlin: I would not like for the programs and events at the conferences to b e dictated from the president, the Executive Board, or Council. Our strength is in our diversity and the ability for any m em ber to becom e involved in a committee, a program, or a task force that interests them. While w e com plain about the multitude o f programs and com m ittee m eet­ ings at conferences, I feel it is our strength. The key to avoiding overlaps is better com m u­ nication for the sched uling and sharing o f themes. Since most o f the talent for our pro­ grams com es from our own members there is not a significant cost for redundancy. In terms o f the cost o f high-end com puter and audiovi­ sual support, I find that the m ore enlightened convention centers provide full Internet access and projection as a matter o f course. ALA should negotiate for the support needed as a prereq­ uisite for the site. The Conference Program Pro­ ced u res and P olicies Review C om m ittee is charged with creating the database o f the pro­ grams, developing timelines that allow the co ­ ordination o f schedules, and submitting im­ provements for the conferences to the Planning Committee, and ACRL should forward any con ­ cerns it has to the committee. Symons: ALA’s conferences offer something for everybody. You either always go and are proud to have never missed a year, go w hen it is near your home, or never go and save your m oney for the fantastic division conferences, like ACRL in Nashville. Our members have many choices and go to conference for many differ­ ent reasons. W e must m ake ALA’s conferences responsive to the needs o f our members, our exhibitors, and our agenda. The newly formed ALA Conference Committee is bringing together a know ledgeable group o f mem bers to address these problems on an ongoing basis. This com ­ mittee will b e seeking suggestions and recom ­ mendations from divisions and will listen care­ fully. As your president I will appoint to this committee the best peop le I can find and I will act on their recom m endations. M em bers o f ACRL will be among the first I will look for to serve on this group. April 1 9 9 7 / 2 7 3 5. As we move inevitably into th e elec­ tronic inform ation age w here inform ation can be obtained increasingly w ithout a li­ brarian interm ediary, w hat are yo u r views on the future o f librarianship o r roles fu­ ture libraries will play in the inform ation society? Dowlin: Public opinion polls, local refer endums, and bond issues all over show that libraries are among the most respected institu­ tions in their communities. As long as libraries retain the trust and respect o f the people their future is assured. I am not so confident about the future o f librarians and librarianship. This is the primary reason that I am running for presi­ dent o f ALA. We must create the “Vision of Librarianship” for the 21st century, enlist the support to implement that vision, and develop the education program to ensure librarians and library leaders for the future. The education program must not teach only the skills and the m ethodology o f librarianship, it must teach the values, the professionalism , the netw ork­ ing, and the com m itm ent to service that has ch aracterized the p ro fessio n for at least a half century. Symons: The world o f libraries is changing rapidly. I can sit in my library in an isolated small tow n in Alaska and find inform ation from around the globe. My jo b has changed. Our mission as a profession has not changed. W e have always co n n ected p e o p le and in­ form ation and w e have always b ee n about ed ucation and the m anagem ent o f know l­ edge. W e represen t the p u b lic’s inform ation interest. Technology is not an end in itself. It is a tool to provide access. It will not eliminate the essential librarian’s role. There will always be a need for librarians: as teachers, collaborators with faculty, organizers, navigators, managers, locators, and creators o f information. These are things w e’ve always done but now w e’ll do them in new ways. There will always be a place in our schools and on our campuses for librar­ ians to teach critical thinking and information skills. The 21st century will be about how the technology is used to increase access. Librar­ ians will have a major role to play in ensuring that this happens and that there is fair and eq ­ uitable access to information for all segments o f our communities. 6. It is som etim es argued that in the le­ gal, medical, and engineering fields, p ro ­ fessional certification has led to consistent standards o f practice and raised the esteem (an d pay) o f the practitioners in those p ro ­ fessions. Should ALA support certification o f librarians as having a defined set o f skills and body o f knowledge? Should ALA be the certifying agency? Why o r w hy not? Dowlin: I personally believe in certification as a process to distinguish different levels of skills and experience. As president o f the Colo­ rado Library Association (CLA) I worked for certification by the state o f Colorado. It didn’t succeed because the members o f CLA couldn’t agree on its importance. I doubt that the politi­ cal climate is such that legislation could be passed at the state or national level now. I would like for ALA, with the divisions, to pursue vol­ untary certification like exists in a number of fields such as real estate, financial advisors, and health care. My wife is a certified clinical labo­ ratory manager in addition to her state and fed­ eral certification as a clinical laboratory scien­ tist. ALA should take the lead. Symons: Continuing education is important to ALA’s members. We are experiencing a dra­ matic change in libraries and we all agree that librarians need to commit to continual learning and the constantly developing new skills we need to serve our communities. The question is whether certification is needed to force this commitment to ensure we achieve our educa­ tional goals. There is no consensus about this yet. Both ACRL and AASL (the American Asso­ ciation o f School Libraries) have explored the idea o f certification. There is currently a LAMA/ PLA proposal for a post-MLS certificate program in public library administration which has been approved by the LAMA and PLA Boards. Certification, however, is no guarantee of quality. There are many questions to ask— legal questions, questions about quality and content, and questions about ALA’s role versus the role o f state library associations, our divi­ sions, and other library organizations provid­ ing continuing education. There are also ques­ tions about w hether building the necessary bureaucratic infrastructure would be worth the results. Certification requires that we can specify the specific skills needed. Given the dynamic nature o f the environment, this will be a chal­ lenge. As president o f ALA, I would provide a forum for a professional dialogue on this topic and would commit to initiating the actions that result. ■ 2 7 4 / C&RL News