ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 176 /C & R L News ACRL B o a r d a c tio n s, Jan u ary 1 9 9 2 H ighlights o f the M id w in te r M eetings o f the A C R L B oard o f Directors T he Board of D irectors o f the Association of College and Research Libraries m et twice during the M idwinter M eeting in San Ant January 26 and January 28,1992. Highlights of their m eetings are as follows: P r e s id e n t’s 1 9 9 2 R e c r u itm e n t T h e m e . Presi­ d e n t A nne B eaubien announced th e com pletion o f th e m inority re cru itm e n t g rant proposal. Mary G eorge, g rant proposal developer, m et w ith ALA Executive B oard subcom m ittees to review the proposal. T he proposal w ould b ring m inority stu ­ d en ts betw een th e ir ju n io r a nd senior years to a cam pus w here th e re is a library school and expose th em to library science in hopes th a t th ey will choose it as a c areer. T h e S tr o n g V o c a tio n a l I n t e r e s t I n v e n to r y T a sk F o r c e has finalized th e dem ographic ques­ tions th at will be asked along w ith th e Strong Vocational In tere st Inventory survey. A sam ple ACRL Board to hold planning retreat D uring their Midwinter Meetings, the ACRL Board o f Directors voted to hold a full-day planning retreat. T he Board will be reviewing and developing strategies for a 1993-95 strate­ gic plan and will consider the process through which priorities w ithin the association are set. T he re tre at will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday, April 11, 1992, from 9:00-5:00 p.m. ju st prior to the opening o f ACRL’s Sixth National C onference. ACRL’s Executive Com ­ m ittee will hold its annual spring m eeting F ri­ day, April 10, from 9:00-5:00 p.m. on population will receive survey instrum ents around m id -F eb ru a ry 1992. A fter th e re tu rn o f th e Strong iVo:o ocnat ional In te re st Surveys, th e sam ple p o p u la ­ tion will receive a M yers-Briggs in stru m e n t to com plete and re tu rn . T he results from these su r­ veys will b e re p o rte d at A nnual C onference in San Francisco. A L A M in o r ity F e llo w , S h e ila D e la c r o ix re ­ p orted on h e r progress with D ISCO V ER and SIGI Plus. Librarian Profile questionnaires have gone out to 25 librarians. She will develop a single re ­ sponse from all o f the information received from respondents and subm it it to the E ducational T est­ ing Service (ETS). Changes in th e profile will be discussed at a program during Annual C onference in San Francisco. A L A C o d e o f P r o fe s s io n a l E th ic s . T he Board endorsed a statem ent p re p are d by Board m em ber Karin Begg asking that the code b e revised and that it provide inspiration towards ideals, be broad enough for all situations, and b e clear and simple. P r e c o n f e r e n c e s . The Board approved requests for two preconferences to be held before the 1993 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans: 1) The Rare Books and M anuscripts Section will offer a preconference on June 22-25, 1993, tentatively titled “Special Collections in the 21st Century: How O thers See Us and How W e See Ourselves”; 2) The Science and T echnology Section will offer a preconference on June 25,1993, entitled “Science R eference Service: An Introduction for the G en­ eral R eference Librarian.” W ESS L o n d o n C o n fe r e n c e . The Western Euro­ pean Specialists Section (WESS) received Board ap­ proval to continue with planning for their 1994 London 1 78/ C&RL News conference to be held between March and May. The conference is expected to attract 300 attendees. C o a lit io n fo r N e t w o r k e d I n fo r m a tio n . The Board heard a rep o rt from Thomas Kirk and N oreen Alldredge, representatives to the Task F orce o f th e Coalition for N etw orked Inform a­ tion. Kirk and Alldredge see th eir role as that of bringing as m uch information as possible to the ACRL m em bership as well as helping th e Coali­ tion m eet its objectives. J o in t C o m m itte e o n t h e D e f in itio n o f M e m ­ b e r s h ip S e r v ic e s . The Board approved the report from th e Subcom m ittee, m ade up o f both m em ­ bers o f th e M em bership C om m ittee and the Bud­ get and Finance Com m ittee. The report presented proposals which identified three categories for ACRL services and programs: a) basic m em bership services fully covered by m em bership dues, b) services and programs on a cost-recovery basis, and c) programs designed to produce net revenue. A C R L B o a r d R e tr e a t. The Board agreed that the ACRL Strategic Plan, which was developed in 1986, should be reviewed. The Board will m eet in Salt Lake City, April 11, in a planning retreat to review and develop strategies for a 1993-1995 strategic plan. C o n s titu tio n a n d B y la w s. The Board voted to change the makeup o f the ACRL Board o f D irec­ tors to include the Chair of the Planning Com mittee as an ex-officio m em ber of the Board. The m em ber­ ship will vote on this constitutional change to the bylaws in the spring election. W H C L IS . T he Board endorsed th e resolution p u t forth by the ACRL W hite H ouse C onference Task Force and the Governm ental Relations Com ­ m ittee th a t ACRL adopt th e th re e top priority action issues o f th e conference as priority action areas for ALA. T he th re e priority issues are: O m nibus C hildren and Youth Literacy; NREN available in all libraries and o th er information repositories at all levels; a national, regional, state, and local com m itm ent o f financial resources for library services. P la n n in g C o m m itte e . The Board accepted re­ views of four committees: Audiovisual, Constitu­ tion and Bylaws, Budget and Finance, and Aca­ demic Status, and approved the continuance o f the work of these committees. T a x a tio n o n P e r io d ic a l S u b sc r ip tio n s. The Board endorsed the resolution from ALCTS against taxation of periodicals subscriptions. Im p r o v e m e n t o f In fo r m a tio n A ct. The Board endorsed the resolution from GODORT. Sixth N ational C on feren ce— Salt Lake City. Ex­ ecutive Committee Chair Joseph Boissé reported that things are going well. Exhibitors are past 100% of the projected numbers and budget. An outstanding pro­ gram has been arranged and we are now looking forward to a very large conference registration. ■ ■ A career in BI: Dead end or stepping stone? Choosing a career in bibliographic instruction (BI) was the topic for discussion at the January 26, Midwinter discussion forum sponsored by the Bibliographic Instruction Section’s Continuing Education Committee. Discussion starter Evan Farber, Earlham College, rem arked that many of the qualities that make a good BI librarian are also qualities that make a successful library adminis­ trator. BI librarians must be in touch with issues in higher education and all aspects o f the library and have political skills. H e recounted the num ­ b e r of recent ACRL presidents that have come from the ranks o f bibliographic instruction. Karen Williams, University of Arizona, Pointed out that a successful career does not necessarily m ean moving up the career ladder, and viewed BI as a useful stepping stone to a num ber of different career paths. Williams said that BI librarianship could be a dead end unless it is combined with other duties, such as working at the reference desk, in order to remain in touch with issues and operations in o ther areas o f the library. Bill Miller, Florida Atlantic University, stated that there were fewer chances for supervisory experience working in the public services and this could be a hindrance to job advancement. He also rem arked that bibliographic instruction li­ brarians have the closest ties to faculty in their roles as teachers. Members of the audience agreed and felt that their interactions and common interests with the faculty had enhanced their standing with the university community. Com ments from the audi­ ence indicated that many enjoyed their work in BI and did not see it as hindrance or a dead-end job. The hour ended with a discussion about why BI is not part of the curriculum at many library schools, or is taught by practitioners instead of library school faculty.—Jill Newby, Engineering Librarian, Laie University ■ ■