ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ October 1999 / 729 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s newsA commitment to our future The Friends of ACRL by M ichael G odow I n January 1999, ACRL em b ark ed u p o n a n ew an d exciting initiative that is destined to strengthen o u r profession an d offer n o pportunities for academ ic librarians. T he nam e of that initiative is The Friends o f ACRL. The Friends o f ACRL w as specifically d e ­ signed to provide a m eans for academ ic li­ brarians to m ake an additional com m itm ent to the future grow th o f o u r profession. Some of you may ask, W hy is it necessary to create a Friends gro u p w h en w e already p ay ALA an d ACRL dues? The answ er to that question is twofold. First, w e w an t to take b o ld steps above an d beyond ou r traditional program s and services, as w ell as strengthen those initiatives that are at the core of ACRL’s mission. Second, as many o f you w h o already belong to Friends groups know , there is a special feeling that is d e­ rived from know ing that your time a n d /o r m oney have benefited an o th er individual or profession. Thus, a n u m b er o f ACRL m em bers said the time for o u r Friends gro u p is n o w an d they subm itted th e idea to the ACRL Board. The B oard ap p ro v ed the creation o f Friends of ACRL, an d stipulated that four funds be designed to su p p o rt initiatives at the core of ACRL’s mission. T hose four funds are: • Professional D evelopm ent Scholarship F und, w hich will o p e n u p professional d e ­ velopm ent opportunities for MLS students and entry-level an d m inority librarians by allow ­ ing th em to attend ACRL an d ALA program s. ew • In n o va tive N ew Program F und, w hich will n ot only expand our know ledge and abili­ ties by providing additional cutting-edge pro­ gramming, but will also provide us a m eans to enhance our delivery m ethods by using m eth­ ods such as Webcast and teleconferencing. • Best Practices in A ca d em ic Librarian- ship Fund, w hich will prom ote academ ic li­ brarianship by recognizing an d rew arding those individuals and institutions that provide program s an d services that set th e standard for o u r profession. • Global C onnection Fund, w hich su p ­ ports scholarships for participation o f foreign academ ic librarians in ACRL National and ALA C onferences. It also provides fellow ships for study grants ab ro ad as w ell as grant funds for th e distribution o f U.S. publications to third-w orld countries. Some of the great features o f o u r Friends group is that once you decide u p o n th e size o f y o u r donation, you can distribute it to one or all o f the funds in w hatever w ay you wish. Additionally, y o u r donation is tax-deductible to the extent allow ed by law. Last b u t not least, w e will recognize your generosity by listing your nam e o n th e Friends o f ACRL hom epage, publish it w ith your fellow d o ­ nors o n a full page of C&RL News, send you a Friends o f ACRL ribbon, an d designate sp e­ cial seating for you at ACRL N ational Confer­ ences an d P resident’s Programs. If you have already sent a contribution to sup p o rt this w orthy cause, w e thank you. If About the author M ic h a e l G o d o w is ACRL p ro g ra m officer, e-m ail: m godow @ ala.org mailto:mgodow@ala.org 730 / C&RL News ■ October 1999 you have not fo u n d tim e to d o so, please take a m om ent to consider th e im pact that y o u r gift will have o n th e future o f o u r p ro ­ fession. I invite you to visit the Friends o f ACRL hom epage at http://w w w .ala.org/acrl/friends. html for m ore inform ation o r com plete the donation form below , m ake out your check to American Library Association, an d mail it to Friends o f ACRL, Association o f College and Research Libraries, 50 East H uron Street, Chi­ cago, IL, 60611. ■ http://www.ala.org/acrl/friends C&RL News ■ October 1999 / 731