College and Research Libraries Editorial Community College Libraria.nship and the 11Field of Dreams" The Association of College and Re- search Libraries (ACRL) was established in 1939, the same year B. Lamar Johnson published Vitalizing a College Library, which describes the prototype of the two-year-college learning resources cen- ter (LRC). As both chief academic officer and librarian at Stephens College, Mis- souri, he broadened the concept of li- brary materials and made librarians central participants in the college's in- structional and professional develop- ment programs. If Johnson and other early community college librarians were given the chance to return briefly and join us in shaping the nature of current learning resources services, what direc- tions might they take? What dreams would they promote? Immediately, they would be dismayed to discover that community college li- brarians are underrepresented in the published literature and in attendance at national and regional professional meet- ings. There are some obvious reasons for this. The majority are not required to publish or engage in activities of profes- sional associations to acquire tenure. Moreover, close to half of the nation's two-year colleges are small, located in rural or remote areas, and have libraries with limited staffs and resources. Even in most larger institutions, restricted staffing requires professionals to be gen- eralists and to cover a variety of services. However, Johnson and his colleagues would not find a lack of research, prob- lem solving, or innovative LRC pro- grams, particularly in functions in which community colleges excel, such as teach- ing. One district in Arizona, for instance, has designed a model automated library of the future that highlights collabora- tive planning, staffing, teaching, and learning. An entire college instructional program in Texas is both literally and figuratively designed around its LRC, which promotes active, experiential learning projects. And the community and junior college libraries section of ACRL recently honored two Florida li- brarians who have developed a model outreach program for training instruc- tional faculty and other local librarians to help students access information in a high-tech library. Moreover, community colleges continue to lead the way in training paraprofessionals to assume significant roles in their rapidly chang- ingLRCs. The American Association of Commu- nity and Junior Colleges recently pub- lished its vision for the new century which emphasizes another strength of community colleges: building commu- nities, both within and outside the insti- tution. Community colleges generally develop strong partnerships with agen- cies and business in their communities. And LRCs-particularly the new inte- grated technology centers in numerous states-have broadened these linkages by offering unique mixes of information, programming, and instruction over net- works that connect their colleges to en- tire communities or regions. As a result, many LRCs are developing innovative ways to provide resources to students at off-campus (and frequently remote) sites. Johnson and other dreamers would surely applaud the current efforts of the 489 490 College & Research Libraries C&RL editor and board to elicit articles from community college librarians on such programs and efforts at problem solving. In a recent editorial, Gloriana St. Clair outlined many of the benefits of research and publication, including im- proved teaching and services, intellec- tual cross-pollination, and professional revitalization.1 ยท Those drawn to the "field of dreams" would doubtless discover particularly promising areas of research and practice for community college LRC professionals to tackle. For instance, because commu- nity colleges focus on teaching, it would be especially appropriate for community col- lege professionals to develop techniques for establishing mutually productive partner- ships with instructional faculty. Moreover, the institutions are attract- ing mushrooming numbers of nontradi- tional students. Colette A. Wagner and Augusta S. Kappner have vividly de- scribed the challenges facing both instruc- tors and librarians in motivating these students to acquire minimum skills at both developmental and advanced levels.2 Many LRCs already incorporate learning or tutorial centers and are working closely with literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL), and writing-speech-computer-across- the-curriculum programs. They are in a unique position to test and evaluate new November 1991 techniques for teaching information lit- eracy. Most community colleges have had to incorporate a strong general edu- cation component into their occupational programs. Librarians should concentrate their efforts on having that component include information literacy. In a growing number of states, com- munity college LRCs are electronically networked, sharing automated library sys- tems and databases of resources. The "vir- tual library" has become feasible for them. Because they work in flexible, evolv- ing institutions, LRC professionals also can more easily experiment with various kinds of administrative and organiza- tional structures and systems ap- proaches to service. And because their institutions are aging, librarians, instruc- tors, and library paraprofessionals with long tenure need to develop new ap- proaches to in-service training and con- tinuing education. Indeed, many of those who have been influential in fashioning the nature of current learning resources services through leadership in professional orga- nizations, publishing, or mentoring are retiring or embarking on new careers, leaving the field of dreams open for strong new voices and visions. MARGARET HOLLEMAN PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Gloriana St. Clair, "Why Do Research?" College & Research Libraries 51:293-94 (July 1990). 2. Colette A. Wagner with Augusta S. Kappner, "The Academic Library and the Non-Tra- ditional Student," in Libraries and the Search for Academic Excellence, eds. Patricia Senn Brelvik and Robert Wedgeworth (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1988), p.43-56.