ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


April 1 9 9 4 /1 9 9

Actions: ACRL Board of 
Directors, February 1 9 9 4

Highlights o f the ACRL Board o f 
Directors’ Midwinter meetings

T he Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries met twice 
during the Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles 
on February 5 and February 8 ,1 9 9 4 . Highlights 
o f their meetings are as follows:

E s ta b lis h e d  th e  E n g lis h  a n d  A m e ric a n
Literature Section. This will bring the total num­
ber of ACRL sections to 17.

E sta b lish e d  th e  M edium -Sized L ib ra rie s
Discussion Group. This discussion group will 
deal with issues of interest to libraries that are 
typically grouped in the Carnegie Foundation’s 
Classification o f Institutions o f H igher Educa­
tion of “Comprehensive Universities and Col­
leges, Type 1.” The new group was formed as 
a result of a recommendation by a joint ULS 
and CLS Committee to Study the Organizational 
Juxtaposition of the ‘Medium-Sized’ College Li­
brary within the ACRL Structure.

Retained p o licy  o n  co n fe re n ce  and p re co n ­
ference registration fee requirements for pro­
gram planners and established a task force to 
research the issue and make recommendations 
on the existing ACRL policy.

Funded th e  distribution o f  “Standards fo r
Ethical Conduct of Rare Book, Manuscript, and 
Special Collections Librarians, with Guidelines 
for Institutional Practice in Support o f the Stan­
dards, 2nd edition.”

A pproved tw o 1 9 9 5  p re co n fe re n ce s. UPSS
will host a preconference on legal reference 
for non-law librarians; and RBMS will host its 
36th preconference entitled “Collecting Cul­
tures: The Politics and Practice o f Building Spe­
cial Collections.”

A ccepted th e final re p o rt fro m  th e Image
Task Force and instructed the Executive Com­
mittee to inform the Board on how it should 
respond to the recommendations at its meet­
ings during the 1994 Annual Conference in 
Miami.

E s t a b l i s h e d  a n  I n t e l l e c t u a l  F r e e d o m
Committee. The Intellectual Freedom Task 
Force recommended the establishment o f a 
standing committee of the Board because of 
the challenges to intellectual freedom in aca­
deme in such areas as access to collections and 
information, electronic networks, exhibits, 
sources of funds, and speech.

A pproved th e College Library Section’s P ro ­
posal to the Council on Library Resources for 
$22,600 to fund the continuation of the Col­
lege Library Directors Mentor Program.

A pproved am en d m en t to  th e ECLSS Bylaws
that allows the secretary to serve as archivist-

ACRL leaders address 
future

Over 80 ACRL leaders participated in a 
half-day planning session during the Mid­
winter Meeting that was organized by the 
ACRL Board o f Directors and facilitated by 
Maureen Sullivan. The following were iden­
tified as areas in which ACRL should be 
positioned: technology, visibility within 
higher education, leadership in the library 
and information environment, diversity, com­
munications and networking, and library 
education and professional development.

A summary of input will be compiled and 
circulated to all participants while the ACRL 
Executive Committee and Board develop a 
strategy for addressing these issues.



2 0 0 /C&RL News

elect and archivist and to add 
the chair of the discussion group 
to the ECLSS Executive Commit­
tee.

E n d o rse d  th e  “P rin cip les fo r
the D evelopm ent o f the Na­
tional Information Infrastruc­
ture” with the recommendation 
that the w ord  “g e n d e r ” b e 
added to item #1 under “First 
Am endment and Intellectual 
Freedom Principle.”

E n d o rsed  fo u r o th e r reso lu ­
tions upon the recommendation 
o f the Government Relations 
C om m ittee. T he re so lu tio n s 
w e re  in s u p p o rt o f  LSCA 
reauthorization, HEA II appro­
priation, the Elementary and 
Secondary School Library Media 
Act, and for adequate funding for the Library 
of Congress.

Approved th e ACRL “Guidelines o n  th e Se­
lection of General Collection Materials for Trans­
fer to Special Collections,” 2nd ed., and rescind­
ed the 1988 edition. The 2nd edition appeared 
in the December 1993 issue of C&RL News.

A p p roved  th e  “ALA/SAA J o i n t Statem ent on
Access Guidelines for Access to Original Re­
search Materials.” The approved version of these 
guidelines, which appeared in the December 
1993 C&RL News was developed jointly by

RBMS and the S o cie ty  for 
American Archivists and re­
places the 1978 Jo in t State­
ment.

A pproved a  p ro ce ss fo r re ­
scinding the “Guidelines on 
M anuscripts and A rch iv es” 
upon the recommendation of 
the Standards and Accredita­
tion Committee and RBMS be­
cause the 1977 guidelines con­
tain contradictory and dated 
information.

A pproved th e  1 9 9 5  p relim i­
nary budget which will be sub­
mitted to ALA for review by 
COPES. (Ed. note: Final ap­
proval will be made at the 
Tuesday afternoon meeting of 
the ACRL Board of Directors 

at the 1994 ALA Annual Conference in Miami.)

Changed the nam e and charge o f the Audio­
visual Committee at the request o f that com­
mittee. The committee will now be known as 
the ACRL Media Resources Committee.

A p p ro v ed  an  a d d itio n a l $ 2 5 ,0 0 0  f o r  th e
Initiative Fund for FY 1994. This brings to 
$35,000 the total amount in the fund. ACRL units 
were notified of the increase in the fund; the 
application deadline was extended until March 
25,1994. The competitive process awards fund­
ing for new initiatives to ACRL units.

S h e lle y  P h ip p s  a n d  K a th ­
a rin e  B ra n c h  o rg an ize p a r­
ticip an ts’ co m m e n ts d u rin g 
a  p lan n in g  sessio n  atten ded  
by ACRL leaders.

ULS business meeting highlights
Topics for the University Libraries Section’s 

committees and executive committee at the 
ALA Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles cen­
tered on the ALA Annual Conference in Mi­
ami and ACRL’s National Conference in Pitts­
burgh in 1995.

Be sure to catch the program planned for 
ULS in Miami, 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, 
June 25. “Networking for Leadership: A Mo­
saic of Opportunities and Challenges for Cam­
pus Leadership” will feature speakers who 
have accepted the challenge on campuses 
across the country. Don’t miss it!

Although plans are not complete, there are 
going to be some interesting panels and pro­
grams with an ACRL/ULS focus in Pittsburgh. 
Stay tuned to see what we will come up with.

Plans for the future offer some hot topics, 
new standards, and a continuing effort to make 
all members of ULS aware of the activities and 
discussions of the section. Stay tuned for dis­
cussion groups on the human face of organi­
zational change, accreditation standards, re­
search, technological change— in short, all of 
the topics that affect the lives of university librar­
ians.— Mary Munroe, Georgia State University



April 1 9 9 4 /2 0 1

ULS discusses virtu al lib raries and publishing
Changing organizational structures
The University Library Section’s Current Top­
ics Discussion Group presented “Re-engineer­
ing the Library for the 9 0 ’s and Beyond: 
Changing Organizational Structures and Staff­
ing Patterns for the Virtual Library” during 
the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Arnold Hirshon, 
Wright State University, described his experi­
ences contracting out cataloging services. The 
benefits include: dramatic reduction in cata­
loging costs, faster turn-around time, elimi­
nation o f backlogs, improved quality, and lib­
eration o f organizational thinking. Some 
lessons learned: establish your goals and 
whether they include improving quality of 
service or redeploying staff, concentrate on 
results rather than process; establish target 
savings and what will make it worthwhile for 
your organization; ensure that organizational 
disruption will be offset by the amount of 
money you save; and decide whose support 
you'll need.

Ralph Moon discussed the reorganization 
of the University o f California-Berkeley Li­
brary. The goals were: to unify the organiza­
tion of the newly connected Main and Un­
dergraduate Libraries, provide centralized 
leadership, address staff shortages in public 
services, and position the library to take ad­
vantage o f developing technologies. Some 
public services department head positions 
were eliminated, freeing staff for new roles 
and providing a direct line of communication 
between public services and library adminis­
tration. Three new organizations were cre­
ated within the library: 1) The Teaching Li­
brary; 2) Information Systems Instruction and 
Support, which provides instruction for staff, 
a network librarian, and a systems help desk; 
3) Library Enterprises, which generates funds 
through entrepreneurial activities. Some dis­
advantages: dedicated staff saw their positions 
disappear, internal recruitment led to months 
o f nonstop job shifting, and communication 
needed to be improved.

Kevin Long described the merging of ref­
erence and computing services at Rice Uni­
versity Library where staff were told by ad­
ministration to becom e more efficient and 
provide better service with information technology.

 Reengineering is defined as trying to 
find effective, quantitative ways to improve 
services, not reorganizing or flattening the or­
ganization just to do things differently. When 
charting a course for a goal remember: mis­
steps will occur, keep the process interactive, 
and take what is good and leave the rest.—  
M ary Munroe, G eorgia State University

Research and publishing tips
ULS’s Research and Publishing Discussion 
Group featured four speakers who reviewed 
the research and publications processes from 
different perspectives. They were: Barbara 
Moran, University of North Carolina; Charles 
Martell, California State University at Sacra­
mento; James Neal, Indiana University; and 
Ann Dougherty, Mountainside Publishing.

Moran suggested that librarians enroll in a 
formal class on research methodologies if re­
search and publication are required. Look for 
“research holes” in efforts to identify relevant 
topics, read the journals, and record ideas for 
possible research. Moreover, recall the appli­
cation and importance o f qualitative research 
(in addition to quantitative research).

Martell noted that timeliness of topics is 
important. Record ideas for potential research 
and think critically. Research includes the abil­
ity to: see or identify a specific problem, con­
sider the problem from a critical perspective, 
and develop possible alternatives.

Neal discussed four categories of research: 
1) basic; 2) applied; 3) reflection; and 4) “What 
I’ve done good.” If a survey is distributed, do 
the statistical analysis. Identify a relevant topic. 
Literature reviews are important, correct gram­
mar is essential, and enthusiastic writing adds 
to overall quality. Share the manuscript with 
colleagues (for critical feedback) prior to sub­
mitting it for publication.

Dougherty suggested that librarians exam­
ine the scope o f the journals under consider­
ation as well as the guidelines for authors. 
Submit the manuscript to one journal at a time, 
use a good printer, request critical feedback 
from colleagues before submitting for publi­
cation, check all references for accuracy, in­
clude a cover letter, and use the active tense.—  
D on Fran k, Ha r v a r d  University ■