ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 46 curred in December when the data process­ ing firm that had tentatively agreed to analyse and tabulate the data determined that it could not undertake this assignment. I turned to old reliable friends, Frank Schick and Theodore Samore, formerly of USOE, but now at the school of library and information science in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Could the Univer­ sity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, through their library school and data processing center, undertake this task on short notice. A visit to the campus and a full day’s activity re­ sulted in a contract with the university. Mr. Samore, under Frank Schick’s supervision, edited the data and prepared it for the computer. The final printouts reached the LAD office on February 13. This project is, I think, an excellent ex­ ample of what can be done when the need is important—with strong determination, good cooperation and a concentrated effort from agencies USOE, LAD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the state agencies, and the academic institutions participating in this survey.—Alphonse T. Trezza, Exec­ utive Secretary, LAD. ■ ■ “ABOVE AND BEYOND” In the Winter/Spring 1966 issue of the Cali­ brarian newsletter, Robert Vosper, University Librarian, UCLA, and immediate past presi­ dent of ALA, wrote the following at the ed­ itor’s request. “One of my predecessors is said to have re­ marked that the ALA presidency took ten years off his life span. I trust the results are not always quite so brutal, but it is true that the three year period, during which the ALA presi­ dent is committed to heavy statutory respon­ sibilities, does blot up a remarkable amount of time, energy, and even of personal finances, all of which must somehow be maneuvered while still (hopefully) staying on top of one’s own job back home. More than once this past year I have been struck by the ironical fact that many ALA members actually assume that I am on official leave (with pay?) from UCLA, and thus left with nothing to do but travel to state meetings and White House Conferences, preparing a special and publishable speech for each such occasion of course, while working arm in arm with the Headquarters staff. I have even been asked whether I have moved to Chicago. I understand that the presidents of NEA and of the JC’s live in such bliss (al­ though not in Chicago I trust) but not ALA’s president. “I am also frequently asked: “But isn’t the ■ ■ University of California terribly proud of your position and thus prepared to cover you with additional staff and expense budgets?” W ell, some universities might feel that way; but I would guess that, in light of the number of Nobel laureates and Academy members around the place, the University of California, while not blase, can face one more such office, or the lack of it, with some equanimity. There­ fore, as a matter of fact, I and the ALA in general owe a special debt to my secretary and to my associates at UCLA who necessarily ab­ sorb greater workloads while I get all the visibility and publicity. “There is further irony in the expectations laid upon the president of ALA. At one end of the scale I, who have never invested a dime in anything and have shamefully never read an issue of the Wall Street Journal, am re­ quired to chair a meeting at which ALA’s learned investment trustees forcefully discuss basic investment policy and practice for our $4,000,000 portfolio with a battery of vice- presidents of the First National Bank of Chi­ cago. At the other end of the scale I must try to live up to the expectations of people who say publicly, and with all evidence of sincerity, that I really cannot know how exciting it is actually to meet an ALA president! And in be­ tween I am expected to speak responsibly (I would say ‘pontifically’) before any group at any time on any library subject. I must say that all of this gives me pause; I worry about the fate of ALA under the circumstances, and I also worry about the erosion of my own char­ acter. “However, I do not really want to sound bleak about all this. More importantly, I am increasingly convinced that all of us, if we have any sense of professional integrity, should sup­ port the ALA much more than we now do, to the point of personal sacrifice. In San Francisco at the CLA banquet I tried to say why this is increasingly the case, so I will not repeat the arguments here, only the plea. I have little respect for librarians who fail to join the ALA. I have less respect for chief librarians who fail to foster membership and participation. I have little patience with members who sit at home and complain that the ALA is not responsive to membership or that it does nothing for its members. In my book the ALA’s primary re­ sponsibility is to serve the profession, and I believe that in general it does this well. It is hampered in this task only by those librarians who are not prepared to think and to act in professional terms. I am convinced that all members can and should be prepared to do more than just pay dues and wander through annual conferences. The ALA fully deserves active and devoted service from all librarians.” Q. Who is Taylor-Carlisle? A. Taylor-Carlisle has been book­ seller to libraries in the academ­ ic and scientific communities for over 20 years. Q. What is Taylor-Carlisle? A. Taylor-Carlisle is an organization designed for service —the fast, efficient service such libraries must have. Q. How does Taylor-Carlisle operate? A. Taylor-Carlisle, with its experienced personnel, tre­ mendous inventory, and proximity to major publish­ ers, is equipped to fill your orders quickly and effi­ ciently. Q. How about prices? Discounts? A. Our terms are particularly advantageous to libraries in the academic world. Write to us for complete de­ tails. P lease a d d ress: M r. A . Fagan Taylor-Carlisle Books 115 East 23rd Street New York, N.Y. 1 0 0 1 0 Tel.: (2 1 2 ) 674-7788