ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries March 1994/151 Breivik and Pastine share plans for ACRL By Patricia Senn Breivik and Maureen Pastine ACRL’s 1994presidential candidates ’ statements E d. note: C&RL News offered ACRL candi­dates for vice-president/president-elect, Pa­ tricia Senn Breivik and Maureen Pastine, this opportunity to share their view s with the ACRL membership. Although many o f the issues and concerns facing ACRL are discussed informally at meetings, this does not provide a national forum available to all members. W e hope that providing this forum w ill assist you in making an inform ed choice w hen you receive your ballot from ALA next month. PATRICIA SENN BREIVIK This is the best o f times and the worst o f times for academic librarians. National and state attention on information highways and the enhanced access to informa­ tion made available through technology and networks have captured general public inter­ est in the concerns o f our profession to a de­ gree never previously attained. As a conse­ quence, increasing attention is being given by national higher education organizations and accrediting bodies to student use o f libraries and other information resources as essential elements in quality undergraduate learning. Yet one has to question what real impact these societal and educational trends are having on business as usual on campuses. Academic libraries seem to fare no better in resource allocations than previously, and on most campuses little has occurred to enhance the position o f librarians within the academic Patricia Senn Breivik Maureen Pastine milieu. Indeed, any campus m ove toward or­ ganizational realignments o f information re­ sources and services is view ed as a cause o f great concern by librarians. Meanwhile, library schools continue to be threatened, and it is in­ creasingly difficult to recruit the calibre and diversity o f new professionals to our field as the challenges o f the Information A ge should seem to command. The end result o f the increasing conflict betw een the opportunities and the pressing problems confronting the profession could, if w e are not careful, result in a defensive pos­ ture on the part o f academic librarians and ACRL just at the very time our know ledge and exper­ tise are so desperately needed by our academic institutions. I b elieve that ACRL needs to assume an uncommonly strong leadership role in the com ­ ing years among higher education associations and that it should significantly strengthen mem­ bership support which facilitates librarians' lead­ ership roles on their campuses. W e must, as an organization, m ove far beyond practices which led one o f our newer members to bemoan when Patricia Senn Breivik is associate vice-president fo r information resources at Towson State University, Maryland; e-mail: e720bre@toe.towson.edu; and Maureen Pastine is central university librarian at Southern Methodist University, Dallas; e-mail: mpastine@sun.cis.smu.edu mailto:e720bre@toe.towson.edu mailto:mpastine@sun.cis.smu.edu 152/C&RL News March 1994/153 reporting on her first annual conference, “With each day I grew angrier and angrier at the pre­ occupation w ith organizational detail” ( Library Journal, N ovem b er 15, 1993, p. 48). W e need to respond to that m em ber’s challenge to “see beyo n d the confines o f the organization or b e­ yon d the w a y w e have always don e things.” Indeed, w e must g o on the offen sive as an or­ ganization. T h e challenge b efo re ACRL is the same as what faces academic libraries across the country. W e must m ake hard choices b e­ cause there are not sufficient resources to d o all that traditionally has b een d on e plus all that current campus needs w o u ld ask o f us. I f true progress is to be made, w e must sacrifice som e o f the g o o d things w e have lon g d on e in favor o f things that are m ore important and/or which can better support current educational im pera­ tives. The outcom es riding on our ability to take the offen sive are considerable. Americans have always been enam ored o f the “quick fix.” Tech ­ n o lo g y frequently seems to fit that bill, but it seldom lives up to its promise. N o w , unless som ething changes, the same disappointment is likely to em erge from current hopes for state and national inform ation highways. The prob­ lem lies in p e o p le not g o in g beyon d the glitz o f the tech n ology to plan for the information that w ill b e available over the information high­ ways and h o w p e o p le w ill be em p o w ered to access and effectively use that information. W h o is in a better position than librarians to help their campuses, their regions, and their states avoid m aking the same shallow and dis­ appointing investments into current netw ork efforts as was m ade with earlier technological breakthroughs? O f all the information profes­ sionals on campuses, librarians have always b een the cham pions o f getting the right infor­ mation to p e o p le w h ere and w h en they needed it and in a manner they could use. W ith this w onderfu l heritage, can w e d o less than step forw ard to h elp ensure our campuses’ w ise use o f inform ation resources and te ch n o lo gy as tools o f em p ow erm en t in fulfilling institutional missions? Can ACRL d o anything less than w ork aggressively w ith other associations to play a similar role at the national level? Can ACRL d o anything less than pro vide continuing educa­ tion opportunities to facilitate librarians’ lead­ ership roles o n their campuses and in other nonlibrary associations? It should b e em phasized that I am not sug­ gesting anything that has not always b een part and parcel o f the best in academic librarian- ship. In the same issue o f Library Journal quoted earlier, was a 1963 “classic” b y Ralph Ellsworth on “T h e Changing R ole o f the University Li­ brary.” In it he stated, “These techn ological developm ents w ill inevitably change the role o f the librarian, in that they increase the amount o f his individual teaching activities to the point w h ere his role and that o f the traditional class­ room teacher becom e indistinguishable.” (p. S8) Ellsworth foresaw current inform ation lit­ eracy efforts as n o w required for campus ac­ creditation b y the Com mission on H igher Edu­ cation, the M iddle States Association o f Colleges and Schools (w ith the Western Association A c ­ crediting Commission for Senior C olleges and Universities com in g quickly behind). Th e is­ sue is not just bibliographic instruction programs but integration o f inform ation resources and techn ologies throughout the curriculum. This necessitates partnering am ong librarians and Can ACRL do anything less than provide continuing education opportunities to facilitate librarians’ leadership roles on their campuses? classroom faculty for curriculum d evelopm en t as w as referenced by Ellsworth and which, o f course, echoes ideas as o ld as the library c o l­ le g e m ovem en t o f the 1930s. W ithou t such partnering the possibility o f future generations o f students b ecom in g information literate and, thereby, prepared fo r life lo n g learning— b e ­ cause th ey can alw ays find the inform ation n eed ed for any issue or problem at hand— is almost nonexistent. M oreover, if our campuses fail at this point, the overall quality o f research and the ability o f researchers to bring their w ork into meaningful context w ill also be diminished. N or should w e neglect the implications o f such leadership partnering for the service di­ mensions o f our institutions. Academ ic librar­ ies collectively in any state constitute the ma­ jo r b o d y o f in fo rm a tio n that can su p p ort broad-based econ om ic develo pm en t and civic im provem ent efforts. Librarians n eed to initiate their campuses’ aggressive exploration o f h o w both library resources and the in form ation management expertise o f campus librarians can help ensure that the investment in state and 154 /C&RL News national information highways “pays o f f ” for their regions. So how specifically w ould I w ork within ACRL if I were elected vice-president/president- elect? I w ould use my energy and time to help: 1) build on the efforts o f recent years to strengthen ACRL’s relationship with other na­ tional associations. In particular, I w ould look for ways to strengthen the work o f the Profes­ sional Liaison Committee and to encourage and support individual librarians w h o are actively working in nonlibrary associations; 2) w ork with accrediting agencies and re­ lated groups, such as the College Board, to in­ fluence their ways o f evaluating library re­ s o u rces and s e rv ic e s so as to h e ig h te n expectations o f the instructional role o f aca­ demic librarians; 3) change the focus o f ACRL’s continuing education activities to emphasize areas that can strengthen librarians’ leadership roles on cam­ puses and in communities, as w ell as facilitate the expansion o f management responsibilities beyond libraries so as to incorporate areas like academic computing and telecommunications; 4) challenge each and every committee, council, section, and task force o f ACRL to as­ sess its activities within and its potential contri­ bution toward the larger educational challenge facing our country, and to reassess their priori­ ties accordingly. I believe ACRL has fantastic human resources within its membership. I further believe that only if these resources are more effectively fo ­ cused beyond the boundaries o f our profes­ sion w ill our profession prosper. Only then w ill future generations o f students be able to make g o o d use o f the inform ation riches w hich today’s technologies make possible, and only then w ill America be able to maintain a com ­ petitive position internationally. I believe our current national and state leaders understand h ow important information management issues are, but I also believe that without us— the in­ formation managers par excellence— little o f the g ood that can happen, w ill happen. If ACRL membership is largely content with business as usual, then I am not a go o d choice for vice-president/president-elect. H ow ever, if ACRL’s membership believes the time is right for a more externally focused role for the asso­ ciation, then I am a g o o d choice. My primary job responsibilities as associate vice-president for inform ation resources at Tow son State University encompass academic computing, the library, media, and telecommu­ nications. The major focus o f my professional efforts for the past five years has been working on behalf o f our profession with other national organizations to promote information literacy and resource-based learning. These are the particular strengths I w ould bring to ACRL along with my burning commitment to the impor­ tance o f librarians as leaders in today’s infor­ mation society. MAUREEN PASTINE ACRL has been an effective forum for airing issues and concerns within sections, commit­ tees, and chapters. It has a major role in being just as effective in provision o f resources and revenue to accomplish priorities. Recently, focus has been on participation in the developin g higher education online net­ w ork and other new technologies. This focus has meant networking with other ALA groups, affiliated professional and scholarly associations and organizations, and other accrediting bod­ ies and information agencies. ACRL programs and committee w ork have provided for, and will continue to provide for enhanced commu­ nications, learning, and networking opportu­ nities for ACRL members. The issues that ACRL has addressed within the past fe w years must remain important fo­ cus points. They deal with: • spiraling inflationary costs for serial pub­ lications and the need for im proved electronic access to full-text and delivery systems; • improving salaries and establishing pay equity; • enhancing the librarian’s image; • addressing the issue o f education for li­ brarianship; • searching for ways to im prove recruit­ ment into the profession, with a special em ­ phasis on minority groups; • addressing the needs for expanded con­ tinuing education and professional d evelo p ­ ment opportunities; • serving as the primary voice for the in­ terests o f academic and research librarianship; • b e c o m in g m o re k n o w le d g e a b le in fundraising and development; • promoting study, research, and publica­ tion relevant to academic and research librari­ anship; and • balancing the traditional and n ew d e­ mands and needs o f users in academic and re­ search libraries. March 1994/155 The major question is: What can and should ACRL be doing that is not duplicative o f other association w ork and where can it excel? The function o f libraries and the role o f li­ brarians are b ein g red efin ed by the rapid changes in information technology, increasing com petition from external technology-based information services, and diminishing fiscal re­ sources. What is the impact? Greater collabora­ tion by libraries and other information agen­ c ie s an d a r e d e fin it io n o f ro le s and responsibilities w ill be needed. One o f the great­ est challenges w ill be to balance these needs with available fiscal resources. Priority issues include coalition building with our many constituencies within and outside o f ACRL; marketing what w e can d o for our mem­ bership at the national and state chapters’ level; developin g greater visibility within other re­ lated higher education and subject- or disci- pline-oriented professional associations. W e must continue to demonstrate evidence o f re­ sponsible decision-making within the existing fiscal reality and assume major roles in infor­ mation policy and policy decisions facing aca­ demic librarianship n o w and in the upcoming years. As the nature o f information seeking and evaluation becomes increasingly com plex in the electronic world, the need for expert staff to provide client-centered services and user edu­ cation becomes even more essential. An area very seldom addressed is h o w to w ork with faculty to reorder teaching/learning/research and develop lifelong learning abilities, trans­ ferable from one profession to another. Another area that needs strengthening is that o f ACRL’s relationship to international research cooperation. W e must support a new nation o f learners and provide access to educational ser­ vices as they need them, when they need them, and w h erever they need them. This could be a broad user education program that is based on shared responsibility o f librarians and faculty. The new technologies provide a path for greater interactive learning and links to know ledge across discipline or subject boundaries and within a global environment. The d evelopin g n ew scholarship requires close liaison among librarians, faculty, and stu­ dents, as w ell as with other competing infor­ mation and instructional agencies. ACRL must becom e highly visible in the rapidly changing public arena o f higher education, particularly if academic and research libraries are to be able to com pete for increasingly limited resources. W e need to recognize the extent and limita­ tions o f our collective contributions and focus on increasing access to understanding, not just to information. ACRL must re-establish priorities. This will mean continual review o f the strategic plan­ ning documents with an eye to what ACRL can and should be doing. Priorities for ACRL are being hotly debated in leadership, strategic, and visionary planning sessions by all sections, chapters, committees, discussion groups, and roundtables. The major question is: What can and should ACRL be doing that is not duplicative o f other asso­ ciation work? I am honored to be a candidate for the p o­ sition o f vice-president/president-elect o f ACRL. I have been an active member for many years, most recently serving as chair o f the Interna­ tional Relations Committee and as representa­ tive to the Consortium o f Affiliated International Programs, American Association for the A d ­ vancement o f Science. If elected to this position I w ill strive to con­ tinue the excellent progress made by past of­ ficers on strategic planning priorities and fiscal support issues. I w ill look forward to the o p ­ portunity to w ork with the ACRL board, sec­ tion leaders, and members to make significant and positive changes in our profession and in related higher education and subject-oriented professional organizations. ■ Share your library’ s news C&RL News wants to hear about your library’s activities. Information in the News from the Field, Grants & Acquisitions, and People in the News columns is gathered from press releases and notices w e receive. If you don’t share your ideas and activities with us, we can’t share them with C&RL News readers. Be sure to put C&RL News on your mailing list today. Send notices to the Editor, C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; or e-mail: U38398@uicvm.uic.edu. mailto:U38398@uicvm.uic.edu 156/C&RL News