Chapter 16 History

CHOICE History

Reprinted with permission from the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2003, pp. 163-173, volume 1

INTRODUCTION

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the largest division of the American Library Association (ALA) , is a national organization of academic and research libraries and librarians. ACRL represents librarians working with all types of academic libraries—community and junior college, college, and university —as well as comprehensive and specialized research libraries and their professional staffs. In May 2002, ACRL had 10,871 personal members, 891 institutional members, and 36 corporate members. Approximately 45 percent of the personal members worked in research/doctoral granting institutions, 18 percent in four-year colleges, 16 percent at comprehensive universities, 9 percent in two-year/technical institutions, 2 percent in information-related organizations and 10 percent in other institutions. ACRL activities are guided by the core values, vision, mission, and directions in the Strategic Plan. The mission of ACRL is to enhance the effectiveness of academic and research librarians to advance learning, teaching, and research in higher education. ACRL advances its mission by serving as a channel of communication among academic librarians, faculty, students, administrators, other information professionals, higher education organizations, federal, state, and local governments, and the larger society. It is the leading professional organization of choice for promoting, supporting, and advancing the values of academic libraries to the higher education community. ACRL and, indeed, the American Library Association itself, were founded to establish regular channels for communication among librarians. Today ACRL is a dynamic, inclusive organization that has grown from its early origins of college and reference librarians to a large association encompassing all types of positions in all types of academic and research libraries. ACRL members hold a variety of positions and responsibilities in the areas of management, public and information services, technical services, online services, library automation and networks, information literacy, collection development, rare books and special collections, non-print media, and distributed education.

ORIGINS OF ACRL

Since the late nineteenth century, conferences and meetings of professional groups have been an American institution. They reflect our penchant for association and our passion for professional self-improvement. In 1853 American librarians held their first convention in New York City. About one-fifth of the 81 librarians who attended the meeting were college librarians.(1) Not until a generation had passed, however, and the crisis surrounding the Civil War was over, did American librarians hold a second national meeting. In the spring of 1876, Melvil Dewey and Frederick Leypoldt sent out their famous call for a conference of librarians to promote "efficiency and economy in library work."(2) Of the 103 librarians present when the conference convened in Philadelphia in September, 10 were college librarians.(3) The focal point of the 1876 meeting was the reading of papers on practical library subjects such as cooperative cataloging, indexing, and public relations. The response to the program was apparently positive because the conference participants voted on the final day of the meeting to establish the American Library Association and to hold Annual Conferences.(4)

From the beginning the American Library Association was a predominantly public library organization. But, the areas of common interest between public and academic libraries are extensive, and for the first dozen years of the association's existence the college librarians attending ALA conferences did not hold separate meetings. Finally, in 1889, a group of 13 college librarians caucused at the Annual Conference in St. Louis and recommended that a college library section be formed. The following year at the 1890 Annual Conference in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, 15 librarians representing most of the major colleges of the Eastern seaboard, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Brown, held the first meeting of the College Library Section.(5) The new section was a small, relatively informal discussion group attended for the most part by administrators who could afford long-distance travel. The annual meetings of the section provided a forum for the presentation and discussion of papers on such topics as reference work, cataloging, departmental collections, union lists, and the like.(6)

In 1897 the section acquired a new name, the College and Reference Library Section (to recognize the participation of reference librarians) and, after the turn of the century, began to select officers to plan annual meetings. Not until 1923, however, did the section adopt its own bylaws and thereby cross the line that separates a discussion group from a section within ACRL today. The 1923 bylaws regularized the existence of the section by establishing a Board of Management with three officers to conduct the business of the section between conferences and provided for the levying of annual membership dues of 50 cents.(7) In the course of the 1920s attendance at section meetings grew from 90 in 1923 to 240 in 1926 and peaked at 800 in 1928 before dropping off to 600 in 1929. The meeting program of the section during the twenties and thirties included general sessions for the whole section as well as separate roundtables for college and reference librarians. The topics discussed at the early section meetings are issues that still confront academic librarians today: faculty status and personnel classification, teaching students, interlibrary loan, library standards, etc.(8)

From 1890 to 1938 the College and Reference Library Section served primarily as a forum for discussion. But, beginning in the 1920s, pressure began to build in the academic library profession for the creation of a stronger professional organization capable of undertaking a broad range of activities, programs, research, and publications. The occasion for a radical restructuring of the section came in the mid-1930s when ALA roundtables representing teachers, college librarians, and junior college librarians expressed the desire to affiliate with the College and Reference Library Section. In 1936 the chair of the section appointed a Committee on Reorganization to develop plans for restructuring the section. The final report of the committee in 1938 recommended the adoption of new bylaws that would transform the section into an Association of College and Reference Libraries with full autonomy over its own affairs. The new bylaws provided for the creation of subsections within the association for college libraries, junior college libraries, teachers college libraries, university libraries, and other groups that might wish to affiliate.

ACRL BECOMES A DIVISION

The section approved the proposed bylaws in June 1938 and officially became the Association of College and Reference Libraries (ACRL) by the end of the year. The ALA Council responded by ratifying a new ALA constitution that made provision for the creation of self-governing divisions within ALA, entitled to receive a share of ALA dues. ACRL swiftly prepared a new constitution to meet the conditions for division status, and the ALA Council recognized ACRL as ALA's first division on May 31, 1940.(9) The Association of College and Reference Libraries started its new life with six nearly formed subsections of its own: a University Libraries Section, College Libraries Section, Junior College Libraries Section, Agricultural Libraries Section, Librarians of Teacher Training Institutions Section, and Reference Libraries Section. When the Reference Libraries Section departed to join the newly formed Library Reference Services Division in 1956, ACRL substituted "Research" for "Reference" in its name and became the Association of College and Research Libraries.(10) With its sections, chapters and discussion groups, ACRL grew rapidly after its beginnings in 1938: membership jumped from 737 in 1939 to 2,215 in 1941, rose to 4,623 in 1950,(11) and stood at 11,798 in May 2002.

Sections

By 1979 the association had 13 sections: the three "types-of-libraries" sections (College, Community College, and University) plus the Arts Section, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Section, Anthropology Section, Instruction Section (name changed from the Bibliographic Instruction Section in 1995), Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (into which the old Teachers Training Section was incorporated), Law and Political Science Section, Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, Science and Technology Section (with which the Agricultural Section was merged), Slavic and East European Section, and the Western European Studies Section (name changed from Western European Specialists Section in 2000). Between 1987 and 1990 three more sections were formed: Women's Studies Section in 1987; African-American Studies Librarians Section in 1989 (name changed from Afro-American in 1997); and the Distance Learning Section in 1990 (name changed from Extended Campus Libraries Services Section in 1998). In 1994 the Literatures in English Section (name changed from English and American Literature Section in 2000) was formed. By 1997 ACRL had 17 sections.

Discussion Groups

In the 1970s ACRL added a new type of grouping to its national organization—the discussion group. By 1998, ACRL had 20 discussion groups. In a sense, the discussion groups are a reincarnation of the original College Library Section. They provide a relatively informal framework for librarians with similar interests to gather to exchange ideas and information.

Chapters

In 1952 ACRL took the first step toward encouraging participation at the local level by recognizing its first local chapter—the Philadelphia Area Chapter. ACRL currently has 42 chapters and one Canadian province. The purpose of the chapters is to bring the national organization closer to individual members and to provide programs beneficial to members at the local level.

IMPACT ON HIGHER EDUCATION, SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION, AND CIVIC DEVELOPMENT

ACRL is ALA’s key link to the higher education community and one of ACRL’s strategic directions is to insure that the contributions of academic and research libraries and librarians to higher education, scholarly communication, and civic development are recognized by society. To this end ACRL has undertaken several initiatives.

Council of Liaisons

In 1995 ACRL identified nine higher education organizations with which to share ideas and implement programs in areas of mutual interest. ACRL assigned member liaisons to these organizations and these individuals comprise the ACRL Council of Liaisons. These organizations include: National Forum on Information Literacy, American Association for Higher Education, American Council on Education, Association of American Colleges and Universities, and American Association of Community Colleges, Council of Independent Colleges, University Continuing Education Association (formerly the National University Continuing Education Association), the American Association of University Professors, and National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Recent collaborative activities include joint sponorship of a provosts’ luncheon at the AAHE annual conference and AAHE participation in developing the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.

Standards and Guidelines

Developing standards is an area where ACRL committees have made some of their most important contributions to academic librarianship. In 1957 the ACRL Committee on Standards, after two years of work, produced the "first real set of `Standards for College Libraries' to enjoy the consensual support of the profession."(12) Since then, ACRL committees have developed standards for university libraries and two-year learning resources programs, and guidelines in many areas including personnel, instruction, branch libraries, library services for distance education, rare books and special collections, and undergraduate libraries. In January 2000, the ACRL Board approved the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. These standards have been endorsed by the American Association of Higher Education and are widely used on campuses across the country.

Among its guidelines in the personnel arena, the ACRL Committee on Academic Status in 1971 drew up "Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Libraries." The ACRL Board approved the Standards in June 1971, and as a corollary ACRL drafted with the American Association of Colleges (AAC) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) a "Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians." ACRL, AAC, AAUP, and a host of other associations endorsed the statement, which laid down a clear definition of the obligations and benefits of academic status. In 1992 "Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians" was revised—"the first revision of this seminal document in the twenty-one years that had elapsed since its approval by a voice vote of the membership at Dallas in 1971." At the 1993 Midwinter Meeting, the ALA Council, by consent, approved the incorporation of the revised Standards into the ALA Handbook of Organization. Council's exceptional action reaffirms faculty status as the desired and appropriate condition of academic librarians nationally and lends the document the support of the prestigious parent body."(13) In 1997 the Board approved changing the name of the Academic Status Committee to the Academic Librarians Status Committee.

Awards

The ACRL awards program honors the best and brightest stars of academic librarianship. More than twenty awards recognize and honor the professional contributions and achievements of ACRL members. This special recognition by ACRL enhances the sense of personal growth and accomplishment of its members, provides its membership with role models, and strengthens the image of its membership in the eyes of employers, leadership, and the academic community as a whole. Among its most prestigious achievement awards are the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award sponsored by YBP and the Excellence in Academic Libraries Awards sponsored by Blackwell’s Book Services.

Scholarly Communication

In 2002 ACRL embarked on a three-year scholarly communications initiative as one of its highest strategic priorities. Addressing issues critical to the future of all academic libraries, the association will work to reshape the current system of scholarly communications, focusing on education, advocacy, coalition building and research. Broad goals of the initiative include creating increased access to scholarly information; fostering cost-effective alternative means of publishing, especially those that take advantage of electronic information technologies; and encouraging scholars to assert greater control over scholarly communications. ACRL also created a standing committee on Scholarly Communication to coordinate the association's scholarly communications activities and to host a discussion group for further exploration of these issues.

Information Literacy

ACRL has undertaken a number of initiatives related to information literacy--the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information. Developing information literacy skills gives individuals the tools they need to become independent lifelong learners. For those working in information literacy, ACRL supports programs in the areas of professional development, assessment, and instructional development. Spearheading many of these programs is the Institute for Information Literacy (IIL), created in 1997, and charged with preparing librarians to become effective teachers in information literacy programs; supporting librarians, other educators and administrators in taking leadership roles in the development of information literacy programs; and forging new partnerships within the educational community to work towards information literacy curriculum development.

IMLS Grant

In 2000 ACRL received a $150,000 National Leadership grant from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop tools and training to help librarians better assess student learning outcomes in information literacy courses. The work of thirty librarians and their campus teams in implementing and assessing information literacy courses is being widely disseminated through presentations and forthcoming publications.

Public Policy Advocate

In September of 1997, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in concert with the ALA Washington Office embarked upon its public policy initiative. The goal was to educate academic librarians about legislative/public policy issues pertinent to academic libraries and higher education. ACRL staff, the ACRL Government Relations Committee, the ACRL Copyright Committee, the ACRL Legislative Network, the ACRL Board, the ALA Washington Office and other appropriate ACRL entities carry out the advocacy work. These groups work together to develop a legislative agenda that identifies ACRL policy priorities.

ACRL communicates information on its policy priorities via many means. A Legislative Network consisting of a representative from each of the 42 ACRL chapters and an electronic distribution list (LEGNET) was established to share the legislative agenda with other ACRL members, their institution’s administration and their congressional representative. Information on issues is also disseminated using the ACRLeads electronic distribution list, C&RL News, flyers, letters, the ACRL Legislative Web Site (http:\\www.ala.org\arcl\legis.html), and ACRL Legislative Update, an electronic newsletter. When the ALA conference takes place in Washington, DC, ACRL also offers advocacy preconferences designed to acquaint academic librarians with federal legislative issues and to equip them with the skills needed to deliver effective messages to congressional representatives. ACRL also encourages participation in ALA Legislative Day and hosts a special luncheon to highlight issues of importance to academic librarians.

@ Your Library Campaign

Although generally viewed positively, libraries are often taken for granted. Recognizing this challenge, the American Library Association launched The Campaign for America's Libraries, a five-year commitment, to speak loudly and clearly about the value of libraries and librarians to our communities, schools, academic institutions, and businesses, as well as to our society, democracy, and the new digital age. Based on research and crafted to target key audiences, The Campaign will raise public understanding that libraries are dynamic, modern community centers for learning, information and entertainment. The campaign is designed to heighten awareness regarding the vibrancy, vitality and real value of today's libraries, to galvanize public support, and influence public policy. Working under the umbrella of the American Library Association @ your library campaign, ACRL is leading the effort to develop a public relations campaign for academic libraries. Consumer research is underway in order to develop promotional materials by 2003.

ACRL has also launched a multi-year effort to emphasize the importance of academic libraries and librarians to the higher education community. A series of ads, focusing on the exciting things happening @ your library, was placed in The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2001-2002. Testimonials from faculty, students, and administrators were an important component of this campaign.

Recruitment to the Profession

Professional associations such as the American Library Association, the Association of College & Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and state-based associations are key stakeholders in recruitment and retention efforts. Librarianship is experiencing a labor gap between increas ing demand for library and information science professionals and a declining supply of qualified individuals – resulting in an increasing number of unsuccessful recruitment efforts. In response to these developments, the Personnel Administrators & Staff Development Officers Discussion Group of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) established the Ad Hoc Task Force on Recruitment & Retention Issues in early 2001 to examine how academic libraries can successfully recruit and retain professionals in an increasingly competitive environment. In 2002 ACRL and ARL formed a joint task to begin work on conducting an extensive study to identify demographic trends and help outline future needs in terms of projections for numbers of librarians needed in academic libraries.

COMMITMENT TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH

ACRL supports and enhances the professional development and growth of academic and research librarians through its numerous professional development activities.

National Conferences

On its 40th birthday in 1978 ACRL took a giant step forward by convening its first National Conference, distinct from ALA, in Boston. The conference featured a three-day program of major addresses and research papers that attracted 2,625 participants. Participants praised the conference for focusing on academic librarianship, for stimulating research on the issues facing academic librarianship, and for bringing together librarians with a common professional interest in academic libraries. Through the years the programming strands of the National Conferences have grown to respond to the needs and interests of the profession with the addition of round-table discussions, panel sessions, invited speakers, and workshops.

Since its first National Conference in 1978, ACRL has gone on to hold successful conferences in Minneapolis (1981, 1,881 participants), in Seattle (1984, 1,754 participants), in Baltimore (1986, 2,309 participants), in Cincinnati (1989, 2,887 participants), in Salt Lake City (1992, 2,241 participants), in Pittsburgh (1995, 2,721 participants), Nashville (1997, 2,973 participants), Detroit (1999, 3080 participants), and Denver (2001, 3,388 participants). The 11th ACRL National Conference will be held April 10–13, 2003 in Charlotte.

E-Learning

Beginning with the 1999 National Conference, selected conference programs were webcast to provide additional access to the conference for those who could not travel. These webcasts serve as the cornerstone of ACRL’s e-learning efforts. Additional e-learning courses are in development.

Leadership

ACRL recognizes the importance of developing the skills of future leaders. ACRL provides training for ACRL leaders at the ALA Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting. Since 1999, ACRL has partnered with the Harvard Graduate School of Education to offer the ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute, a five-day program, designed to increase the ability of library directors to lead and manage. The Institute helps participants to assess their own leadership capabilities and to analyze how well their own organizations are positioned to meet current and future challenges.

Mentoring and Training Programs

Recognizing the importance of training and mentoring, ACRL developed the Academic Library Internship for Administrators of Black College Libraries, an internship program for librarians of predominantly black institutions. In December 1973, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation agreed to underwrite the program with grants totaling $350,000. During the four-year period of the program (1974-1978), 25 librarians from predominantly black institutions of higher education served as management interns for periods of three to nine months at nationally known academic libraries. The evaluation conducted at the end of the program suggests that the interns carried back to their home institutions a broad understanding of the management techniques and styles employed in large academic libraries. In 1987, ACRL received another grant from the Mellon Foundation to conduct a planning project to assist staff in libraries of historically black colleges and universities. 

In 1992 the ACRL College Libraries Section (CLS) recognized the need to enhance leadership capabilities of new college library directors in order to help them meet the challenges involved in directing small college libraries. CLS launched a very successful library director mentoring program that pairs first-year directors with experienced directors who will provide advice, guidance, and feedback. In addition, participants attend a three-day seminar held prior to the American Library Association Midwinter Conference. More than 140 librarians have completed this training since 1992.

Information Literacy Immersion Programs

The ACRL Institute for Information Literacy hires faculty to plan and teach a four-and-a-half day immersion program on information literacy designed to provide intensive information literacy training and education for librarians in the areas of pedagogy and leadership. Since 1999 ACRL has held eight immersion programs, training over 700 librarians.

Workshops and Preconferences

ACRL regularly sponsors workshops, seminars, and preconferences at ALA conferences. Most notable in this area are the preconferences developed by the ACRL Rare Books & Manuscripts (RBMS) and Instruction (IS) sections. For 43 years, RBMS has provided three days of programming for rare books, special collection, archives, and manuscripts librarians at its annual preconferences. The 43rd conference, held in Atlanta examined the changing roles and expectations in special collections. The ACRL Instruction Section often offers preconferences on information literacy topics. Recent preconferences have focused on instruction for first-year undergraduates, assessment issues, and web-based tutorial design.

ACRL also offers a variety of programs through its extensive chapter network. Local and regional chapters typically offer annual conference programming. To support these efforts, the ACRL Board of Directors has allocated funding for the ACRL president, vice-president/president-elect and the executive director to visit ACRL chapters. The ACRL Chapters Speakers Bureau fosters closer relations between the Association and its members by creating opportunities for leaders to share perspectives and concerns at the regional and national level.

Building the Knowledge Base

Goals

ACRL strives to be a national and international interactive leader in creating, expanding, and transferring the body of knowledge of academic librarianship. One of the principle motives for creating a separate unit for academic librarians in 1938 was to stimulate research and publication in academic librarianship. The ALA First Activities Committee, a body appointed in the 1920s to review the activities and structures of ALA, reported in 1928 that the ALA publishing program had neglected scholarly and bibliographic publication, the areas of greatest interest to academic librarians. This neglect, said the committee's report, had been so extensive "as to threaten at times actual withdrawal of the College and Reference Section from A.L.A."(14)

C&RL and C&RL News

A year after its creation in 1938, ACRL established an official journal called College & Research Libraries (C&RL). The first issue of the new quarterly publication appeared in December 1939. It was at one and the same time a professional journal, an official organ of ACRL, and a vehicle for the exchange of news about libraries and librarians. A. F. Kuhlman, the first editor of College & Research Libraries, believed that "the absence of a professional journal devoted specifically to the interests of college, university, and reference libraries . . . no doubt accounts to a large extent for the lack of a definitive literature dealing with these institutions."(15) Under a series of able editors, from Kuhlman in the 1940s to Donald Riggs who edited the journal through 2002, C&RL established itself as a premier scholarly journal for the publication of empirical research in academic librarianship and helped to build a body of knowledge and intellectual technique for the academic library profession. In 1950, Arthur Hamlin, then ACRL's executive secretary, called C&RL "the principal jewel in the Association crown."(16) The ACRL Board of Directors decided in 1951 to make College & Research Libraries a membership benefit so that all members would receive the journal without charge. This far-reaching decision made it possible for C&RL to play a key role in unifying the association and the profession. In light of the growing quantity and quality of research about academic librarianship, the Association decided in 1956 to publish C&RL on a bimonthly rather than a quarterly basis.

In 1967 the people and news portions of the journal were separately published, allowing the journal to focus on its role as a scholarly journal. Since 1967 College & Research Libraries News has served as the official magazine of record of the association and as a clearinghouse for news about academic libraries, librarians, and higher education. A history of the first 30 years of C&RL News appeared in the September 1996 issue as part of an anniversary celebration. In 1993 C&RL News became the first ALA publication available through the Internet. In 2002 C&RL News began offering an electronic contents service and in 2002, ACRL Update, an electronic biweekly news publication, was launched to provide more current information and news.

ACRL Publications in Librarianship

In 1952 ACRL began the ACRL Monographs series. By 2000, the series has grown to 54 titles and is now called ACRL Publications in Librarianship. The first volume in the series was Joe W. Kraus's William Beer and the New Orleans Public Libraries, 1891-1927. The most recent title, published in June 2000 is PIL #54, Literature in English: A Guide for Librarians in the Digital Age. Other titles include People Come First: User-Centered Academic Library Service (PIL #53, 1998), edited by Dale Montanelli and Patricia Stenstrom; The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library (PIL #52, 1999) by Marie L. Radford; Constancy and Change in the Worklife of Research University Librarians (PIL# 5, 1998) by Rebecca Watson-Boone; Academic Library Centrality: User Success Through Service, Access, and Tradition (PIL #50, 1998) by Deborah J. Grimes; and Restructuring Academic Libraries: Organizational Development in the Wake of Technological Change, (PIL #49, 1997) edited by Charles A. Schwartz.

Choice

In 1964 ACRL began publishing Choice, the monthly book selection journal for college libraries. Choice lists and carries compact reviews of significant new books and periodicals of interest to college libraries. It seeks to review and evaluate publications both for their place in the literature of the field and for their potential value to an undergraduate college library. Published in Middletown, Connecticut, Choice has a circulation of approximately 5,000, a budget of more than 1.5 million dollars, and a staff of 21.25 (FTE). In 1994 Choice celebrated its 30th anniversary. Choice has also updated Books for College Libraries, the retrospective list of books for college libraries that ALA first published in 1967 and then revised in 1975. Choice published the third edition in 1988. Choice now offers a variety of electronic products including ChoiceReviews.online, launched in April 1999, to provide web access to the entire database of over 80,0000 Choice reviews published since September 1988. The database is updated monthly with reviews that will be printed in the next monthly issue of Choice. The Choice database is also available for uploading to online catalogs through site licensing agreements.

RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage

RBM, a semiannual publication, began in the spring of 1986 as Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship (RBML) on a trial basis under the leadership of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section. The journal was incorporated into the ACRL publishing program in 1988. In 2000, the journal underwent a major revision, including a new name, a new graphic treatment, and a new editorial focus. The editorial focus was broadened to include all types of special collections in a variety of media in order to address the broad range of issues and concerns of professionals who work with such collections.

Monographs and CLIP Notes

ACRL publishes six to ten new titles each year including individual monographs and volumes in its popular CLIP Notes series. ACRL’s College Libraries Section produces CLIP (College Library Information Packets) Notes, a series of publications providing practical ideas for managing library programs and services. Each CLIP Note provides data and sample documents from college and small university libraries that will assist readers in establishing or refining services and operations. Recent titles include: Assessment in College Library Instruction Programs, CLIP Note #32 (Lawrie H. Merz and Beth L. Mark, compilers); Appropriate Use Policies for Computers in College/University Libraries, CLIP Note #31, (Jane H. Tuten and Karen Junker, compilers); and Travel, Sabbatical, and Study Leave Policies in College Libraries, CLIP Note #30, (Carolyn Gaskell and Allen S. Morrill, compilers).

Monographs cover a variety of topics. Recent titles include: When Change is Set in Stone: An Analysis of Seven Academic Libraries Designed by Perry Dean Rogers, Architects by Michael J. Crosbie and Damon D. Hickey; The Collaborative Imperative: Librarians and Faculty Working Together in the Information Universe, Dick Raspa and Dane Ward, editors; and Accessible Libraries on Campus: A Practical Guide for the Creation of Disability-Friendly Libraries, Tom McNulty, editor.

Library Statistics

ACRL's involvement in library statistics goes back to 1906 when James T. Gerould read a paper to the College and Reference Library Section on comparative statistics. Gerould himself started an annual compilation of Statistics for Academic Libraries. Known in the 1920s as "Princeton Statistics," the compilation later became ARL Statistics.(17) In 1941 ACRL itself began to collect statistics for college and university libraries and continued to do so until the late 1950s when the service was discontinued in order to avoid duplicating the efforts of the National Center for Educational Statistics. In 1979, however, the ACRL University Library Section, citing the need for up-to-date comparative library statistics in a usable format, proposed that ACRL collect comparative statistics for the university libraries not covered by ARL Statistics. This led to the publication of ACRL University Library Statistics 1978-1979 in 1980. Additional statistical studies of university libraries were published in 1983 and 1985. In 1984 and 1985 a special Task Force on Library Statistics worked to define the statistical needs of academic libraries. Its work served as the basis for the new standing committee on Academic Library Statistics (now known simply as the Statistics Committee). This committee recommended expanding the survey universe to include the "ACRL 100 libraries" and also revised the survey form to match that used by the federal government. These survey results were published in 1987. In 1989 the survey returned to the non-ARL university libraries. Also in 1989, ACRL issued a compilation of the data from 1979 to 1989 in machine-readable form. Since 1989, the ARL-like survey was administered and published covering the years 1990-91, 1992-93, 1994-95, and 1996-97.

In 1998, ACRL published the final edition of University Library Statistics, covering 1996-97, and initiated a new statistics project, Academic Library Trends and Statistics. This annual comprehensive data gathering effort includes libraries at all institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada. The survey form uses a modified version of the form developed for the previous projects. Data gathering is largely via the web and relies on voluntary participation. A core set of data, intended for comparative analysis over time, consists of four major categories: Collections, Expenditures, Library Operations, and Local Characteristics or Attributes. In addition to the core set, add itional questions are used to gather data on a variety of topics of interest to the profession and to identify trends and other changes that are having an impact on library operations. Results, arranged by Carnegie classifications, are published in two volumes as well as made available on the web and CD-ROM.

Section Newsletters

Most of the seventeen ACRL sections publish a semi-annual newsletter. These newsletters provide information about the section’s activities. A few sections, such as the Western European Studies Specialists and the Slavic and East European Section (SEES) produce in-depth newsletters. The SEES newsletter, published since 1985, averages 75-80 pages and serves as the official record of the section, reporting on section activities and on relevant activities in the field of Slavic and East European librarianship. Minutes from SEES mid-winter and annual committee meetings are included, along with the minutes of AAASS (American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies) Bibliography and Documentation; a reports section; information on ne w grants and significant acquisitions; new professional appointments; and a bibliography of recent publications. Profiles of special library collections and papers from the annual SEES program are frequently included. The newsletter is distributed internationally and serves as an archival record of Slavic and East European librarianship in North America.

Web

Like most other associations, ACRL has developed an extensive web site offering detailed association information as well as information about academic librarianship. The Web site is located at www.ala.org/acrl.

ACRL Office

First Executive Secretary

ACRL and its network of sections and committees grew so rapidly after 1938 that by the end of World War II the association could no longer, as A. H. Kuhlman put it, "be expected to run of its own accord."(18) The elected leaders of ACRL were convinced that it was now essential to have a professional executive secretary, working under the direction of the president and Board of Directors, to integrate the activities and services of the association. As early as 1931 the ALA Council, recognizing that the interests of academic libraries had not always received adequate attention at ALA headquarters, authorized the appointment of a College Library Advisory Board (CLAB) to advise the ALA Board of Directors on academic library questions. One of the first recommendations of CLAB was that a full-time academic library specialist be employed at ALA headquarters to provide information and advisory services for college librarians. The ALA Council approved this recommendation for a college library specialist in principle, but throughout the rest of the 1930s and the war period, ALA never found the money to fill the position.(19) The issue came to a head in 1946 when ACRL, with its growing membership and pressing need for professional staff, made clear that it would seriously consider withdrawal from ALA if the question of funds for a paid executive was not resolved satisfactorily. ALA responded within the year by appropriating funds to finance an ACRL headquarters staff.(20)

Orwin Rush, the librarian of Clark University, came to ALA headquarters in the spring of 1947 as ACRL's first executive secretary. After launching the new ACRL office and clearing the way for its future, Rush departed for the University of Wyoming in 1949. In his place came "young Arthur Hamlin, fresh from the University of Pennsylvania." Hamlin described the ACRL office in the early fifties this way: "Physically, the ACRL headquarters office is a second floor front room, complete with fireplace, in the large, old-fashioned, reconverted mansion which is ALA headquarters at 50 East Huron Street in Chicago. Here an active staff of four, the executive secretary, the publications officer, a secretary and a clerk-typist, with their typewriters, telephones, file cabinets, and visitors hold forth. Like many a library staff area, ACRL headquarters is a noisy, crowded, active place."(21) In 1961 a modern headquarters building replaced the old mansion.

Coordination and Oversight

It is the responsibility of the ACRL executive director and staff to coordinate the work of ACRL's 34 committees, 17 sections, 170 section committees, 20 discussion groups, 6 editorial boards, and 42 chapters. To insure the smooth operation of this complex structure, the headquarters staff monitors the many procedural details associated with appointments, archiving, awards, budgets, elections, meetings, programs, reports, and so on. ACRL currently has 13.35 FTE approved positions for its Chicago office (housed in the ALA headquarters) and 23.5 positions for its Choice office in Middletown, Connecticut. The ACRL office works closely with committees and sections to plan stimulating meetings at ALA conferences, and also manages the arrangements for ACRL preconferences and national conferences. Planning for these conferences begins years in advance as detailed arrangements are worked out for hotel space, meeting times, exhibits, programs, publicity, and finances.

The ACRL office supports ACRL's publication program by providing assistance to the editors of C&RL, RBM, and Publications in Librarianship, by working closely with the editor of Choice who reports to the executive director, by publishing and distributing the many publications of ACRL committees and sections, and by writing, editing, and publishing C&RL News, the association's monthly news publication. With the exception of Choice, the ACRL staff based in Chicago manages the production of all ACRL books and journals.

Clearinghouse

Together with the ALA Headquarters Information Center, the ACRL office serves as a clearinghouse for information on academic library concerns and issues. The office handles inquiries by mail, fax, e-mail, and telephone regarding policies and practice. It also offers information about ALA activities and services and is in daily contact with the staff of other ALA divisions and offices, including the Washington Office.

Ambassador

ACRL serves as the ambassador for academic libraries and librarians at ALA headquarters. The ACRL Executive Director plays a key role in representing the association to other library and information associations as well as to higher education and government communities. In this role the executive director attends meetings and gives presentations in many parts of the country each year. In doing so, the director strives to maintain and establish lines of communication between the academic library profession and other communities. In 1984 a new standing committee, the Professional Liaison Committee, was established to further cooperative efforts and to put stronger emphasis on ACRL's liaison efforts with other associations. To build upon this work, in 1995 the ACRL Board abolished the Professional Liaison Committee and identified nine important higher education associations to which it will send a liaison.

Strategic Planning

Guiding all association activity is the strategic planning process adopted by ACRL. This process relies on member input to articulate the direction of the professional organization, and to identify areas of highest priority for association activity. Since 1981 ACRL has updated its strategic plan, mission, and vision on a regular basis. Each year the ACRL Board of Directors sets the priorities and performance indicators for the association. ACRL is currently operating under the Strategic Plan 2005 approved by the ACRL Board at the 2000 Midwinter Meeting.(22)

Conclusion

Academic libraries are moving into a century of change that calls for strengthening our collaborations and community relationships if we are to succeed. Through its publications, professional development programs, public policy advocacy, and work with higher education associations, ACRL will continue to enhance the effectiveness of academic and research librarians to advance learning, teaching, and research in higher education. Scholarly communication, information literacy, and recruitment will be of particular concern to the profession and the association in coming years. ACRL initiatives in these areas will help academic librarians learn from one another, become more effective in their work, advance the quality of academic library service, and to promote a better understanding of the role of libraries in academic and research institutions.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge former ACRL staff whose history of ACRL (Chapter 15 in the ACRL Guide to Policies and Procedures) provides the basis for this entry.

References

1. Hale, Charles E. The Origin and Development of the Association of College and Research Libraries, 1889-1960. Xerox University Microfilms: Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1976, 24.
2. Thomison, Dennis. A History of the American Library Association, 1876-1972. American Library Association: Chicago, 1978, 6.
3. Hale, 25.
4. Thomison, 8, 9.
5. Hale, 33-36.
6. Ibid., 36-37, 49, 52, 69.
7. Ibid., 40-42, 46-48, 66-68.
8. Ibid., 75-76, 82.
9. Ibid., 106-107, 109-112, 119, 121-124, 136-138; Association of college and reference libraries: report of the committee on reorganization. ALA Bulletin. 1938, 32, 810-15; Reorganization of the college and reference section. ALA Bulletin. 1937, 31, 591, 593-598.
10. Hale, 190, 198-199, 235.
11. Ibid., 83, 179.
12. Kaser, David. A century of american librarianship as reflected in its literature. College & Research Libraries. 1976, 37, 116.
13. Academic Status: Statements and Resources, 2nd Ed.; Kroll, S. ed., Association of College and Research Libraries: Chicago, 1994, iii.
14. Thomison, 116.
15. Kuhlman, A. F., Introducing `college and research libraries'. College & Research Libraries. 1939, 1, 8.
16. Hamlin, Arthur T. Annual report of the ACRL executive secretary, 1949-1950. College & Research Libraries. 1950, 11, 272.
17. Kroll, 54-55.
18. Kuhlman, A. F. Can the association of college and reference libraries achieve professional status? College & Research Libraries. 1946, 7, 151.
19. Hale, 156-161.
20. Thomison, 168-169.
21. ACRL Organizational Manual. Association of College and Reference Libraries: Chicago, 1956, 10-11.
22. Strategic plan 2005. C&RL News. 2000, 61, 400-402.

ACRL Presidents (beginning with 1938)*

*formerly College and Reference Section. Name changed by vote of section, June 1938. Approved by ALA Council, December 1938.

1938-39 Frank K. Walter
1939-40 Phineas L. Windsor
1940-41 Robert B. Downs
1941-42 Donald Coney
1942-43 Mabel L. Conat
1943-44 Charles B. Shaw
1944-45 Winifred Ver Nooy
1945-46 Blanche Prichard McCrum
1946-47 Errett Weir McDiarmid
1947-48 William H. Carlson
1948-49 Benjamin E. Powell
1949-50 Wyllis E. Wright
1950-51 Charles M. Adams
1951-52 Ralph E. Ellsworth
1952-53 Robert W. Severance
1953-54 Harriet D. MacPherson
1954-55 Guy R. Lyle
1955-56 Robert Vosper
1956-57 Robert W. Orr
1957-58 Eileen Thornton
1958-59 Lewis C. Branscomb
1959-60 Wyman W. Parker
1960-61 Edmon Low
1961-62 Ralph E. Ellsworth
1962-63 Katherine M. Stokes
1963-64 Neal R. Harlow
1964-65 Archie L. McNeal
1965-66 Helen Margaret Brown
1966-67 Ralph E. McCoy
1967-68 James Humphry III
1968-69 David Kaser
1969-70 Philip J. McNiff
1970-71 Anne C. Edmonds
1971-72 Joseph H. Reason
1972-73 Russell Shank
1973-74 Norman E. Tanis
1974-75 H. William Axford
1975-76 Louise Giles
1976-77 Connie R. Dunlap
1977-78 Eldred R. Smith
1978-79 Evan I. Farber
1979-80 Le Moyne W. Anderson
1980-81 Millicent D. Abell
1981-82 David C. Weber
1982-83 Carla J. Stoffle
1983-84 Joyce Ball
1984-85 Sharon J. Rogers
1985-86 Sharon Anne Hogan
1986-87 Hannelore B. Rader
1987-88 Joanne R. Euster
1988-89 Joseph A. Boissé
1989-90 William A. Moffett
1990-91 Barbara J. Ford
1991-92 Anne K. Beaubien
1992-93 Jacquelyn McCoy
1993-94 Thomas Kirk
1994-95 Susan K. Martin
1995-96 Patricia Senn Breivik
1996-97 William Miller
1997-98 W. Lee Hisle
1998-99 Maureen Sullivan
1999-2000 Larry Hardesty
2000-2001 Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson
2001-2002 Mary Reichel
2002-2003 Helen H. Spalding
2003-2004 Tyrone H. Cannon
2004-2005 Frances J. Maloy
2005-2006 Camila Alire
2006-2007 Pamela Snelson
2007-2008 Julie B. Todaro
2008-2009 Erika Linke

Publications in Librarianship Editors

1952-1953 Lawrence S. Thompson
1953-1956 David K. Maxfield
1956-1960 Rolland E. Stevens
1960-1966 William V. Jackson
1966-1970 David W. Heron
1970-1972 Edward G. Holley
1972-1977 Kenneth G. Peterson
1977-1982 Joe W. Kraus
1982-1988 Arthur P. Young
1988-1993 Jonathan A. Lindsey
1993-1998 Stephen E. Wiberley Jr.
1998-2003 John M. Budd
2003-2008 Charles Schwartz

C&RL Editors

1939-1941 A. F. Kuhlman
1974-1980 Richard D. Johnson
1941-1948 Carl M. White
1980-1984 C. James Schmidt 
1948-1962 Maurice F. Tauber
1984-1990 Charles Martell
1962-1963 Richard Harwell
1990-1996 Gloriana St. Clair
1963-1969 David Kaser
1996-2002 Donald E. Riggs
1969-1974 Richard M. Dougherty
2002-2008 William Gray Potter

C&RL News Editors

1967-1979 member editors include David Kaser, David Doerrer, Michael Herbison, Alan Dyson, Susana Hinojosa, Mary Frances Collins, Anne Dowling, John V. Crowley
1979 Jeffrey T. Schwedes (First staff editor)
1980-1990 George M. Eberhart (staff)
1991-2001 Mary Ellen K. Davis (staff)
2001-2002 Maureen Gleason, acting editor
2002-2007 Stephanie Orphan
2007-present David Free

RBM (formerly RBML) Editors

1986-1989 Ann S. Gwyn  
1989-1993 Alice D. Schreyer
1993-1999 Sidney E. Berger
1999-2003 Lisa Browar/Marvin Taylor
2003-2009 Richard Clement

ACRL Executive Directors

1947-1949 N. Orwin Rush
1949-1956 Arthur T. Hamlin
1956-1957 Vacant
1957-1961 Richard Harwell
1961-1962 Mark M. Gormley
1962-1963 Joseph H. Reason
1962-1968 George M. Bailey
1968-1972 J. Donald Thomas
1972-1977 Beverly P. Lynch
1977-1984 Julie Carroll Virgo
1984-1990 JoAn S. Segal
1990 Cathleen Bourdon (Acting)
1990-2001 Althea Jenkins
2001-present Mary Ellen K. Davis

Written by Mary Ellen Davis, Executive Director, and Mary Jane Petrowski, Associate Director, based upon earlier histories of ACRL developed by former ACRL staff members.

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