Home Chapter 12 General Policy

Chapter 12: General Policy Statements

12.1 Review of executive director
12.2 Archives
12.3 Conflict of interest
12.4 Conflict resolution
12.5 Discussion groups
12.6 Ethics
12.7 Job nominations
12.8 Legislation
12.9 ACRL Membership for Spectrum Scholars
12.10 Questionnaires/Survey Guidelines
12.11 Racial & ethnic diversity
12.12 Representatives to IFLA
12.13 ACRL Scholarship Policy
12.14 Social issues
12.15 Association-wide Initiatives
12.16 Name of the Association
12.17 Guidelines for External Communication
12.18 Use of ACRL's Name
12.19 Political Discussion

12.1 Review of executive director

At the Annual Conference, the officers of the Executive Committee discuss the annual evaluation with the executive director, outlines priority areas for the coming year, and highlights other areas requiring particular direction by the executive director.

In August, the executive director forwards goals and objectives for the year to the officers at which time changes may be negotiated. When the final goals and objectives for the year have been agreed upon, they are distributed to the Board.

At the end of the first week in January, the executive director prepares a mid-year performance report and sends it to the Board of Directors for discussion during the Midwinter Meeting. The Board reviews progress to date and the officers confer with the executive director regarding any necessary mid-year adjustments (e.g., unexpected emergencies or opportunities, ALA-directed changes) and/or concerns.

In May, the executive director's Performance Evaluation Form (developed by the Board) is sent out by the president to Board members and selected other ACRL leaders to gather input for the final review.

Before Annual Conference, and after all information is collected, the Board reaches consensus on the executive director's performance, and the president prepares a letter for their review prior to the conference.

Source: ACRL Board, January 1996

12.2 Archives

ACRL maintains official files for all ACRL units. These files are retained at ALA Headquarters for five years and then are transferred to the ALA Archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana. If ACRL units have materials for the ALA Archives, they may send the materials to the ACRL office.

The following types of material should be preserved, except where such material has been separately published (If the published materials might be needed for comparison with related material in the archives and it is not more than a few pages in length -- i.e. reprints, clippings, but not whole volumes -- one copy should be kept.).

1. Files and other materials relating to the history, programs, activities and accomplishments of divisions, boards, round tables, ALA committees, or other subsidiary groups, should be included with that of the larger group of which it is a part.
2. Constitutions and By-laws.
3. Statement of function or duties of Boards, Committees, etc.
4. List of officers, members of Committees, Boards, etc.
5. Reports.
6. Minutes.
7. Correspondence (preserve as little miscellaneous correspondence as possible; significant items will be included with the material under projects, policy decisions, etc.)
8. Programs and proceedings.
9. Records of all projects and other activities proposed, whether or not completed.
10. Policy decision statements. (Some of these might be included in reports of officers, in statements of function and duties of Committees, in minutes of Boards and Committees, or in correspondence. In the last case, where several letters have been written to a group, one copy -- annotated to whom sent -- should be preserved.)
11. Questionnaires (one copy, annotated to show to whom and when sent).
12. Forms (one copy).
13. Treasurer's reports.
14. Material of biographical interest (including contributions of an individual to the development of a project, the Division, Board, Committee, etc., or to the library profession).
15. Unpublished papers (only those that make a contribution to library development and progress in the subject field of the Division, Section, etc.).

The following types of materials should be discarded:

1. Duplicate material. When, by bringing together two files, an original and a copy are found, the original should be kept. Keep copies only if they contain significant annotations to the original.
2. General correspondence.
3. Materials superseded by more complete reports.
4. Materials pertaining to other units that would otherwise be retained by the issuing unit and not relating to specific activities of the unit weeding its files.
5. Miscellaneous business records (e.g., invoices, payment vouchers, expenditure lists, etc.) no longer needed for current reference, especially when full records are kept in Fiscal Services.

Source: "Instructions of Preparing ALA Archives", Sept 1999

12.3 Conflict of interest

Certain activities sponsored by the ACRL may pose a potential conflict of interest between a member's business or personal affiliations and his or her participation in the division. Such activities include, but are not limited to, selection of recipients of awards or of outstanding publications, and formal evaluation of specific nonprint databases and media or of specific vendor services. ACRL members who receive an appointment or are elected to a leadership position should be conscious of real or apparent conflicts of interest and the possible effect of such conflicts on the credibility of the division and should act with professional ethical judgment to avoid such situations.

No members should make, participate in making, or use their ACRL position to influence the making of any committee or division decision in which the member has a direct or indirect financial or business interest.

If a member determines that he or she should not participate in a divisional decision because of a personal conflict of interest, the determination not to act should be accompanied by a public disclosure of that interest. In the case of a voting body, this determination and disclosure should be made part of the official record of the body, and the member should abstain from action on the matter(s) in conflict. In the case of a committee appointment, the disclosure should be made in writing to the appropriate appointing officer. A candidate for elective office should include a disclosure of any potential conflict of interest in the biographic statement submitted for the ballot.

Any member who is unsure of his or her responsibilities in this area may request assistance from the ACRL executive committee of the section or division, as appropriate.

If a member fails to identify a conflict of interest which may reflect negatively on the actions of ACRL, this Executive Committee may, by a majority decision, remove conflicting duties from the member's charge.

Source: ACRL Board, June 1995, revised May 2006

12.4 Conflict resolution

"When cases of conflict between ACRL units reach an impasse, the matter will be referred to the ACRL Executive Committee for resolution." Source: ACRL Board, July 1985

12.5 Discussion groups

Discussion groups are not eligible for ACRL funds, but may charge a fee to members to defray newsletter production costs, or may approach publishers for financial support of newsletters. Source: ACRL Board, June 1978; ACRL Executive Committee, April 1985

Note: Approaching outsiders for funding must be done following the fundraising guidelines in section 6.17.

Discussion groups are not in a position to request directly or through their sections any kind of budget allocation. They may request space at conferences. ACRL only keeps records concerned with their chairpersons. This policy was established so that they do not grow to the proportion of a section with many committees and a board. Source: ACRL Board, June 1978; ACRL Executive Committee, April 1985

ACRL staff will check each year to see if each discussion group has scheduled a meeting at ALA Midwinter or Annual. If not, staff will ask the chairperson to request dissolution of the discussion group. Source: ACRL Board, June 1987

12.6 Ethics

"The ACRL Executive Committee endorsed the ALA Statement on Professional Ethics." Source: ACRL Executive Committee, April 1984, April 1995

12.7 Job nominations

"ACRL does not provide nominations for academic library positions. If a staff member wishes to nominate an individual, personal stationery should be used." Source: ACRL Executive Committee, April 1986

12.8 Legislation

"The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) will take appropriate action whenever necessary to recommend and/or promote federal legislation (including statutory and administrative laws, executive policies, standards, rulings, and legal decisions) and international agreements which enhance library services to the academic and research communities and which, in other ways, contribute to the welfare and development of academic and research libraries and support the mission and goals of ACRL. Appropriate action will also be taken to protest federal legislation and international agreements which adversely affect academic and research libraries and the mission and goals of ACRL." Source: ACRL Board, January 1982

12.9 Membership for Spectrum Scholars

ACRL provides a free ACRL membership for one year to each member of each new ALA Spectrum Scholars class, beginning in FY 2002. Source: ACRL Board, June 2001

12.10 Questionnaires/survey guidelines

"Questionnaires being sent beyond the membership of a specific ACRL group or committee must be submitted to the ACRL executive director for review. The review is to prevent duplication of effort among sections; ensure conformity to ACRL policies, procedures, and guidelines; and ensure that the surveys meet a basic level of quality of construction and are appropriate to the proposed investigation. The ACRL executive director may request assistance from ALA's Office of Research or other experts in research methodology to review questionnaires." Source: ACRL Board, June 1987

12.11 Racial & ethnic diversity

"The Association of College and Research Libraries is committed to fostering equality and promoting diversity within the library profession as a whole and specifically within academic libraries by: 1) supporting efforts to attract, retain, and advance professionally underrepresented minorities to the library profession in general and to academic libraries specifically; 2) supporting educational efforts to heighten racial sensitivity and assist library staff and institutions in recognizing and handling the issues related to equality and diversity; 3) reflecting this commitment in the association's organization, strategic plans, standards, programs, and activities." Source: ACRL Executive Committee, April 1991

12.12 Representatives to IFLA

The ACRL Board, committees, or sections may initiate recommendations of ACRL members as nominees for appointment by the ALA Executive Board to committees of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and other organizations. Funding is solely the prerogative of the ACRL Board. It may partially fund the expenses of an ACRL representative to participate in the work of other organizations. Ability to attend meetings of the other organizations without cost to ALA, ACRL, or IFLA will be a criterion used to select the ACRL candidate. Source: ACRL Executive Committee, Fall 1989

See 7.5 Selection and appointment of ACRL members to represent ALA on appropriate IFLA standing committees for complete policy on this topic.

12.13 ACRL Scholarship Policy

Purpose
Provide opportunities for librarians with five or fewer years of experience to update their skills and knowledge by participating in an ACRL professional development experience. Scholarship shall particularly focus on librarians from diverse backgrounds and those employed at institutions serving professionally underrepresented minorities.

Goals

• Increase participation of entry-level and minority librarians in ACRL professional development activities.
• Increase ACRL's efforts toward being an inclusive organization.
• Enhance librarians' ability to provide excellent services to constituent groups.
• Provide members with an active, positive interaction with ACRL that will strengthen membership retention

Criteria

Recipients for scholarship awards must meet the following criteria –

1. Are ACRL members
2. Meet the criteria specified by the sponsoring unit
3. Complete the ACRL Scholarship application

Note: Preference will be given to individuals who have not previously been awarded an ACRL scholarship. Individuals may only receive one scholarship per professional development event."

Scholarship Budget
The ACRL Budget and Finance Committee will recommend annually to the ACRL Board of Directors a sum of money to be used for scholarships. The Board approves funds to be used for scholarships one year in advance of the budgeted year, i.e., scholarships fund to be used in 2001 would be approved at Midwinter 2000.

Staff establishes a separate account within the ACRL budget for ACRL's scholarship program to allow for tracking and accounting for use of funds. The availability of scholarship funds will be made widely known throughout the membership by announcing in C&RL News, section and chapter newsletters, and on unit discussion lists.

Scholarship Distribution
Requests for use of scholarship funds may come from any ACRL unit. Programs eligible for receiving scholarship funds are national institutes, divisional preconferences, workshops, seminars, National Conferences, and regional programs sponsored by ACRL.

Requests for scholarship funds are submitted to the ACRL office for review and approval by a Board subcommittee. Each request should include the following information: name, date, location, projected attendance, registration, fee for activity, amount of funds being requested, criteria for the scholarship (criteria must address the purpose and at least one of the four stated goals) and the plan for distributing the funds, e.g., 10 partial scholarships of $75 each and 5 full scholarships of $150.

The requesting unit has responsibility for ensuring that the scholarship criteria and ACRL policies are adhered to; for setting the application deadline; for selecting scholarship recipients; for preparing the final report to the Board; and providing scholarship applicant files to the ACRL office.

Reporting
Each committee responsible for an activity receiving scholarship funds must submit a report to the Board within one month of completion of the event that provides the following information about each recipient: name, title or position, institution, number of years in profession, gender, and ethnic/racial identification. Source: ACRL Board, June 2000

12.14 Social issues

The ACRL Board moved that in deliberating social, political, and economic issues, it should take action only when those issues meet the following criteria:

• Issues are of a fundamental importance to the profession of academic librarianship;
• Issues are directly and clearly identified as consistent with the mission and goals of ACRL and ACRL's Strategic Plan; and
• Issues are ones for which ACRL is recognized as an authoritative and knowledgeable source by both its membership and the national community (such as intellectual freedom and access to information).

Source: ACRL Board, January 1993

12.15 Association-wide Initiatives

Initiatives may originate in a number of different ways, from individuals, committees, sections, the Board, or the President. Association-wide initiatives must relate to the Association's strategic plan and priorities and as such should be reviewed annually.

These parameters should be followed for association-wide initiatives:

• The Board and the Executive Director provide oversight for all Association-wide initiatives;
• The Board consider assigning a liaison from the Board to each initiative, at least through its development phase. That Board member will be responsible for ensuring adequate communication occurs between initiative members and the Board:
• All initiatives be subject to an assessment process undertaken by the Board. Assessment methods and measures should be built in to each proposal from the outset —as much as possible - and tracked by the Board liaison, most likely in two phases. The initial development phase assessment strategy should be designed to support decision making about continuing the initiatives; once that decision is made, there may need to be longer-term assessment. Certainly, towards the end of the designated development phase, the Board or its designees will need to assess formally the success of the initiative;
• Funding methods for initiatives be determined either through the regular funding procedures for sections or committees - if made the responsibility of such a group - or through a special allocation. Budgets for Association-wide initiatives should be projected for several years. Longer-term budgeting is desirable, but will not always be possible. Ongoing staffing needs of Association-wide initiatives must be considered as part of budget development.
• The Board, after appropriate assessment and at the point a decision is made to continue the initiative beyond its development phase, must determine where the initiative should fit within the Association's organizational structure. It may be the responsibility of an existing section or committee or a new organizational entity may need to be created to oversee the implementation of the initiative. In certain circumstances, the Board may establish a position within the ACRL office to assume specific responsibility for the ongoing functions that derive from the initiative or ask the Executive Director to assign oversight responsibilities to an existing staff member.
• In the event that an Association-wide initiative involves other ALA divisions or other organizations, the same recommendations apply.
  

There is no "one size fits all" approach to funding and organizational models for association-wide initiatives. The above outline details an approach to be taken but the specifics of that approach may vary from initiative to initiative. For example, not every association-wide initiative may require that a Board member be formally designated as its liaison. The one constant in every case, however, is that the ACRL Executive Director and the Board "either as a whole or through its designee" must be jointly responsible for ensuring that free and open communication take place in regards to the initiative, at every phase of its implementation, to ensure that its role is fully understood within the Association, and to ensure that it is carried out in a manner consistent with existing Association priorities, strategies, and policies.

Source: Approved by ACRL Board, ALA Annual Conference, Atlanta, June 18, 2002.

12.16 Name of the Association

"The ACRL Planning Committee discussed changing the name of the division from the Association of College and Research Libraries to the Association of College and Research Librarians. The ACRL Planning Committee did not recommend such a change. Since this issue comes up from time to time the Planning Committee set down some of the reasons for the recommendation to provide a record for the future.

1. The term 'libraries' is used generically to include librarians and the mission and goals of librarianship. ACRL supports the needs of libraries and their goals through supporting legislation and promoting access to information as well as a wide variety of other ways. These activities relate to libraries more directly than to librarians.
2. The term "libraries" rather than "librarians" includes users and their needs.
3. The time involved in the bureaucracy of changing the name would take away from the business of the association. That time expenditure is not justified since the name change would not affect the direction of the association.
4. There are costs involved in changing the name on printed materials such as stationery and brochures."

Source: ACRL Board, January 1986

12.17 Guidelines for External Communication

Periodically the Association needs to communicate with external audiences on policies and issues relating to ACRL’s core purpose. In determining when to communicate and who shall represent ACRL the following factors should be considered:

• Urgency of need to communicate
• Significance of issue
• Scope and impact of issue on ACRL and its members
• Need for consistent relationship
• Established policy on the issue

If the association has established a position on an issue, the Executive Director and President are each authorized to communicate the association’s viewpoint to the outside world. Subsequently, the Executive Director and President will report such communications to the Board in a timely manner. When deciding who shall represent ACRL, the factors listed above shall be used to make the determination.

If the association has not established an official position on an issue and an external communication is needed without the delay caused by referral of the matter to the Board, the Executive Director and President are each authorized to send such communication, making the decision on who will represent ACRL on a case-by-case basis using the factors above. Subsequently, the Executive Director and President will report such communications to the Board in a timely manner.

When urgency is not an issue and the issue is significant, the full Board may be consulted. Alternatively, as per Article X, Section 2 of the ACRL bylaws, the Executive Committee may act in place and stead of the Board of Directors between Board meetings and may act for the Board and make decisions on matters which require action before the next Board meeting.

Source: ACRL Board, Annual Conference 2005

12.18 Use of ACRL's Name

NOTE: The Board of Directors is the voice for the association. Sections, committees, and other established units are not authorized to speak for the association except through the Board. This is to say that unit leaders should refrain from issuing statements, taking positions, or endorsing any statements or positions except with Board approval.

12.19 Political Discussion

Due to ALA's tax exemption as a 501(c)(3), ALA resources cannot be used to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Nor can they be used to link to other sites that contain such support or opposition. Neither can ALA's resources be used to suggest or support boycotts or to make defamatory remarks. 

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