ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 284 / C&RL News S ea rch in g fo r th e p a st, b u ild in g fo r th e fu tu re By Susan M. Campbell L ibrary D irector York College o f Pennsylvania an d M ichael J. H aeuser College Librarian Gustavos A do lp h u s College The College Libraries Section celebrates 100 years. A s ACRL, or m ore correctly the original College L ib ra ry Section, celebrates its one h u n d re d th anni­ versary, it seems a p p ro p ria te to reflect on the work of th e College L ibraries Section (CLS) Historical Commission. At th e ALA A nnual Conference in 1985, Jean Pelletiere, ch air of th e College L ibraries Section, gathered w ith a sm all group of people to talk a bout conducting some research on th e sec­ tion. Significantly, a section review in th e early 1980s m ay have been th e p o in t a t w hich CLS offi­ cers becam e concerned a bout w h a t th e section was doing. E ach subsequent ch air responded w ith new initiatives. Pelletiere envisioned a section history a nd m anual. T ogether th e tw o elem ents w ould es­ tablish a docum ent th a t w o uld provide a sense of continuity for the section a nd serve as a helpful ref­ erence for section officers, com m ittee chairs, and others interested in th e functions of the organiza­ tion, nearin g its centennial year. O u t of these discussions th e College Libraries S e c tio n H is to r ic a l C o m m iss io n (a d h oc) w as form ed a nd form ally charged “to p re p are a history of th e Section, collecting a n d suggesting p roce­ dures, a nd assem bling those procedures into a Sec­ tion m a n u a l.” O riginal m em bers of th e Com m is­ sion w ere Susan C am pbell (chair), Mike H aeuser, M ichael L a C ro ix , D a v id N o rd e n , a n d R o b e rt Schirmer. C lau d e tte H agle a n d C larence T oom er joined th e g roup in 1987. T he group m et for the first tim e a t the M idw in­ te r M eeting in 1986 and m ap p e d several strategies to o b tain inform ation to p re p are a history of the section. ALA Archives a nd H ead q u arters person­ nel provided nam es of past officers a n d candidates for office. T he H istorical Com mission developed a questionnaire to solicit inform ation on extant doc­ um en ta tio n , program s, notable events, successes, a nd failures of the College L ibraries Section. The intention w as to determ ine a sense of evolutionary developm ent over a considerable period of tim e. In spite of th e efforts of some p a st a n d present section officers, th e survey results w e re less th a n illu m in a t­ ing. T hey established th a t th e task w ould be m ore difficult th a n th e Commission h ad believed. Still, the returns did inspire the next effort to find histori­ cal inform ation. An oral history project w as p lanned. Five people w ho have been active in the section agreed to be in ­ terview ed individually by the H istorical C om m is­ sion a t th e M idw inter M eeting in 1988. T hey in ­ cluded D ale C arrison, E van F a rb e r, Tom Kirk, W illiam M offett, a n d John Sheridan. In a m a ra ­ th o n day-long session, th e Com m ission asked each to rem inisce a bout th e history of th e section, its de­ v e lopm ent, a n d th e problem s a n d positive o u t­ comes they observed. F in a lly , each m ad e som e strong recom m endations for th e fu tu re of th e sec­ tion. Although n ot m uch historical inform ation was obtained, the interview s provided all present w ith a sense of th e im portance of college libraries in A m erican h igher education a n d th e responsibility April 1989 / 285 of the College L ibraries Section in prom oting th a t role. W hile m any facets of the section w ere dis­ cussed d u ring th e interview s, H istorical Com m is­ sion m em bers w ere impressed a t th e recurrence of several them es, b oth w ith respect to the history of th e section and to its future. T he interviewees m en­ tioned section publications (C LIP N otes a nd CLS N ew sletter), grow ing m em bership, p a rticipation at all levels of librarianship, strong a n nual p ro ­ gram s, a n d grow ing responsiveness to m em ber concerns as evidence of c u rre n t section strengths, m em bers’ com m itm ents, a nd leadership efforts. Looking at th e past, they w e re concerned a bout sim ilar issues. “T he section w as im p o rta n t w hen colleges w ere im p o rta n t,” q u ipped F a rb e r, allud­ ing to the once u nquestioned pre-em inence of “col­ leges” in th e n a tional higher education structure. T he developm ent of lan d g ra n t universities, state teachers’ institutions a nd com m unity colleges on th e one h a n d a n d th e diversification of th e curricu­ lum on th e other, p ro d u c ed an identity crisis and left th e CLS seeking an identity in its w ake. T he College L ibraries Section m ay suffer n ot only from its n am e “College L ib ra rie s,” w hich is now here de­ fined, b u t also from its objective as stated in th e by­ law s, “to advance college librarianship and en­ courage th e d e v elopm ent of lib ra ry services in baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. ’’M em ­ bers of type-of-library sections have less cohesive concerns th a n m em bers of ty p e-of-activity sec­ tions. D em ography and geography have worked against th e section, keeping new er professionals from a ttending national m eetings. T he structure of professional education a nd its proclivity tow ards specialization is biased to w a rd th e organization of university lib ra ria n s. CLS has no o rg anization goals a nd th ere has been no long-term planning. T he section, th ere fo re, in spite of its strengths, lacks definition a nd continuity. Searching for history gave m uch insight into the section’s strengths a n d weaknesses. P erhaps the m ost im p o rta n t aspect of these conversations, how ­ ever, was the optim ism th a t these college library leaders expressed as they looked to th e fu tu re. T h ere w as c oncern for defin itio n of college li­ braries, of college librarians, a n d of th e College L i­ braries Section. F u rth e r, the problem s of college li­ braries need to be defined a nd app ro p ria te forum s for addressing th e problem s developed. T hey cited th e role of th e section in providing forum s for com ­ m u n ic a tio n am ong college lib ra ria n s. All w ere confident th a t CLS m em bers w ere rising to m eet these challenges and noted th a t new comm ittees, e .g ., th e N ational Advisory C ouncil, th e Newslet­ te r C om m ittee, a nd th e Standards C om m ittee will help. T he L ib ra ry D irectors Discussion group will, too. D evelopm ent of a long-range p lan also seems essential to insure continuity. CLS needs to explore ways to m ore w idely dis­ sem inate p rogram m ing for college librarians. Re­ peatedly, interview ees called fo r increased cooper­ a tio n w i t h A C R L c h a p t e r s , t y p e of a c tiv ity sections, o r sta te a n d regional o rg anizations to m ake program m ing available to those w ho cannot regularly a tte n d ALA and to provide opportunities for people to becom e visible by involvem ent. Most felt re structuring CLS to accomplish this w ould not be beneficial, b u t t h a t exploring o th e r avenues w ith in ACRL could do m uch to prom ote program s a t the state a nd regional level for college librarians. F u rth e r, the section m ust find w ays to prom ote college librarianship as an a ttrac tiv e career choice a nd to encourage b rig h t college students to enter li­ b ra ry school w ith th a t com m itm ent. T he organiza­ tio n m ust also assist college lib rarian s in th eir re­ cru itm en t efforts. In conclusion, th e CLS H istorical Commission found th e task of p re p arin g a com prehensive his­ tory of the section challenging, engaging, and diffi­ cult. It found little docum entation. Those histori­ c a l m a t e ri a ls d is c o v e re d w e r e h a p h a z a r d l y collected and organized. T he Commission found little evidence of long-term , system atic planning for th e section’s activities. An oral trad itio n , ra th e r th a n a w ritte n one, characterized th e institutional m em ory. A lack of continuity in activities and in­ terests w as noted. T h e focus a t a n y given tim e tended to reflect the interests a nd concerns of the c u rre n t ch air ra th e r th a n long-term p rogram m atic planning. As a consequence of its endeavors, the H istorical Commission produced the M anual o f the College Libraries Section o f A C R L . T he docum ent was presented to th e CLS Executive C om m ittee a t the M idw inter M eeting in W ashington in Ja nuary. In ad d itio n , th e Com m ission m a d e form al recom ­ m endations to th e Executive C om m ittee concern­ ing the organization of the section, its m anage­ m ent, and its p lanning structure. T he College L ibraries Section enters its second c en tu ry w ith g row ing stre n g th , active co m m it­ m en t from its m em bers, and a renew ed sense of purpose. ■ ■ 286 / C&RL News ULS Current Topics Discussion Group at M idwinter T he U niversity L ib ra ry Section C u rre n t Topics Discussion G roup, w hich was form ed in 1986 in re ­ sponse to th e n eed for a sm all gro u p setting w here university lib ra rian s c an discuss “h o t topics,” spon­ sored a lively session a t the M id w in ter M eeting in Ja n u a ry . T h e role of risk-taking a n d creative inno­ vation in lib ra ry decision m aking w as exam ined by three provocative speakers in an inform al sm all g ro u p se ttin g . U tiliz in g a n in n o v a tiv e f o rm a t, w hich has been this group’s ha llm ark , R isky Busi­ ness: Decision M a king and the L ibrary B udget, en­ couraged lib ra rian s to exam ine th e ir ow n values a n d a ttitu d e s to w a rd s risk -tak in g a n d in v ite d a new spirit of entre p ren e u rsh ip in com ing u p w ith creative solutions to th e p roblem of fu n d in g new program s a n d initiatives in university libraries. In th e opening pre sen ta tio n in w h ich th e m e­ dium c ertainly w as th e message, Shelley Phipps of th e U niversity of A rizona kicked things off w ith a risky proposition fo r th e audience. She asked for volunteers w h o w o u ld be w illing to choose one of a series of c a rd or quiz games a n d p lay them w ith h e r, risk in g th e ir o w n re a l m o n e y a g a in st th e chance of w in n in g real m oney from Shelley. The volunteers, w ho all w on, sh a red w ith th e group the factors th a t w e n t into th e ir choice of gam e as they trie d to assess th e p o te n tia l gains a n d losses in ­ volved. Susan Ju ro w of th e Office of M anagem ent Ser­ vices placed these reactions in context by defining risk and p resenting a useful risk assessment model developed by K en n eth M acC rim m on. This model uses a five-step a pproach: recognize risk; evaluate risk; a djust risk by g a ining control, in form ation, or tim e ; choose am o n g a lte rn a tiv e s; tra c k on o u t­ comes. A series o f stim u la tin g case studies presented by G eorge Soete of th e U niversity of C alifornia a t San Diego, provided the o p p o rtu n ity fo r sm all groups to get som e han d s on experience w ith th e risk- assessment m odel. T hese scenarios w hich involved such tim ely issues as do c u m e n t delivery services, affirm ative a ction hiring, a n d su b contracting of li­ b ra ry facilities a n d services, served as th e basis for a series of lively exchanges a m ong p a rticipants. Perhaps th e m ost in teresting po rtio n of th e ses­ sion w as a freew heeling b ra in sto rm in g segm ent in w hich lib ra rian s w ere asked to com e up w ith ideas to increase risk c a p ita l in academ ic libraries. Such c re a tiv e a p p ro a c h e s as e n c o u ra g in g p a tro n s to “a d o p t a se rial,” re n t a carrel o r tak in g o u t a b ank loan in order to finance an in te g rate d lib ra ry sys­ tem , w ere tossed o u t. T he w hole no tio n of a new e n tre p ren e u rial spirit in academ ic libraries obvi­ ously to uched a responsive chord in the attendees. T h e discussion to p ic for th e D allas conference, ten ta tiv e ly sc heduled for S u n d a y , Ju n e 25, has been selected. I t w ill deal w ith issues re la tin g to li­ b ra ry services to outside users, th e so-called second­ a ry clientele. M ore details w ill be available in the M ay 1989 issue of C ir R L N e w s .— B everly Feld­ m an, H ead o f R eference, S ta te University o f N e w York at B uffalo. ACRL executive summary Professional d e ve lo p m en t T h e H u m a n ities P ro g ra m m in g W orkshop for H istorically Black Colleges a n d Universities (HB- CUs), fu n d e d b y th e N ational E n d o w m e n t for the H um anities a n d sponsored by A C R L a nd PLA, w as held in A tlan ta , F e b ru a ry 2 2 -2 4 . W e h a d 16 w onderful team s from HBCUs a n d th e ir com m u­ nity libraries, excellent hum anities scholars and in­ structors, a n d p a rtic ip a n ts w h o d e v eloped top- n o tc h ideas fo r p ro g ra m s . W e e x p ec t to see a n um ber of these fu n d e d in fu tu re rou n d s of com pe­ tition a t N E H . A new proposal w as developed for a n o th e r series of hum anities workshops; PLA a n d A C R L subm it­ ted the p roposal to N E H in M arch. E n hancing service capability An increase in advisory a n d inform ation calls has resulted from p u b licity a b o u t th e C in cin n a ti con­ ference. W e a re h a p p y to h e a r from so m any in te r­ ested people! Liaison a n d advocacy T h e C ouncil on Postsecondary A ccre d ita tio n held a w orkshop on th e role of libraries a n d com ­ p u te r centers in the acc red itatio n process. Research a nd p ublication T a p e sales of Books f o r C ollege Libraries a re do­ ing w ell. W e w ill next consider o th er n o n -p rin t fo r­ m ats. April 1989 / 287 Strategic m anagem ent directions The ALA Membership System generated its first set of labels for new members. New m em ber kits were m ailed to all new ACRL members. The 1990 prelim inary budget was subm itted to ALA Fiscal Services. It anticipates a heavy deficit, and is w hat has m otivated the ACRL Budget and F in a n c e C o m m itte e to re c o m m e n d a dues increase.—JoAn S. Segal, A C R L Executive Direc­ tor. A C R L p r o f e s s i o n a l l i a i s o n a c t iv it ie s By Louise S. Sherby Chair, A C R L Professional Association Liaison Com m ittee A C R L looks fo r more links to other organizations. T he ACRL Professional Association Liaison Com m ittee (PALC) has spent the last several years working towards the strengthening of ACRL’s re­ lationships w ith oth er professional associations. The committee has done this in several ways. First, the comm ittee has aw arded grants to indi­ vidual members in support of their activities in no n -lib ra ry professional associations. A PALC grant supported the participation of Gloria Smith, University of Arizona, in presenting a panel at the Twelfth Annual National Council of Black Studies in Philadelphia in April 1988. The idea for this panel grew o ut of Smith’s earlier involvement in the Black History Internship Project at the Arizona Historical Society. The purpose of this project was to learn about local African-American history. In addition to collecting individual oral history, fam ­ ily photos and surveying existing m aterials of the society, the group was trained in oral history tech­ niques and in techniques for working w ith older residents. This activity led to Smith’s continuing in­ volvement in local African-American history and ultim ately to her organizing a panel presentation for the National Council of Black Studies Confer­ ence. Smith’s paper explained the project’s Histori­ cal Happening at the Arizona Historical Society. As she indicates in her report to th e committee, “This panel shows how librarians can be productive in acquiring comm unity history and can work effec­ tively w ith professionals of other disciplines. I t also shows how a library, the Arizona Historical Soci­ ety, can be productive in helping a community to gather, preserve and display its ethnic heritage.” Another ACRL m em ber who received support was M artha L. Brogan, University of Minnesota. Brogan participated in the fourth biennial Inter­ disciplinary Conference for Netherlandic Studies (ICNS) in June 1988. As she reports to the commit­ tee: “T he ICNS is sponsored by the American Asso­ ciation for N etherlandic Studies (AANS), a n a ­ tional scholarly organization formed in 1982 to prom ote the study of the language, literature, and culture of the N etherlands a nd D utch-speaking Belgium. Its 250 members are prim arily engaged in teaching and research in the field of D utch studies in the United States. “For the 1986 ICNS conference I proposed to w rite a paper analyzing the content of the RLG Conspectus relevant to D utch studies. It was re­ jected on the grounds th at it didn’t fit into any of the pre-ordained program areas. U ndeterred, I tried again in 1988, only this tim e I proposed to or­ ganize an entire session—‘High Tech in the Low­ lands: L ibrary Resources in the Electronic Age’—