ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries September 1989/ 693 The state of the Association By JoAn S. Segal Executive Director Association o f College & Research Libraries The Executive Directors report fo r 1988/1989. T his is my fifth annual report to you. In these reliable and usable results. These will be used to help the Planning Committee in revising the Stra­ tegic Plan. Accomplishments Some of the significant accomplishments of the last year have included: • Our fifth National Conference, in Cincin­ nati, with record attendance and high interest. Cathleen Bourdon was conference coordinator, assisted by Beverley Washington, and Sandy Don­ nelly was exhibits manager. • Publication of the conference proceedings, Building on the First Century. • Publication of the 1988 biennial statistics of non-ARL university libraries, AC RL University Library Statistics, 1987-88. Mary Ellen Davis was in charge of this project. • Our first publication on diskette: ACRL Aca­ demic Library Statistics, 1978-79/1987-88. This was also in Mary Ellen’s bailiwick. • Our first tape product, Books fo r College Li­ braries, 3d edition (this is also included in the AMIGOS/OCLC Collection Analysis Packet). Pat Sabosik, Choice editor and publisher, shepherded this project. • Publication of Collection Development Poli­ cies fo r College Libraries, CLIP Note #11. • Regular publication of College & Research Libraries, College & Research Libraries News, five years, ACRL has displayed a “bias for action,” of which I feel very proud. In 1984/1985, we assessed mem ber needs and began work on a Strategic Plan, which was completed in 1986 and has driven the Association’s activities ever since. The planning process set in motion has now been stabilized. The Planning Committee regularly so­ licits planning information from ACRL commit­ tees and other units, many of whom have com­ pleted or are involved in their own planning proc­ esses. President-elect Barbara Ford and the B oard have already set their priorities for the 1991 year, emphasizing information literacy. The Financial Plan, 1989-1992 was approved by the ACRL Board in Dallas, and the Annual Operating Plan and Budget for 1990, our first, was approved by the Board at Dallas. O f course, we know a plan is not the be-all and end-all, but the annual review of Association accomplishments under the plan shows that we have moved ahead on all our goals and carried out most of the strategies designed to meet our objectives. This indicates that we have some maps to guide us into the future, but since new roads are con­ stantly under construction, we need to revise our map! This fall a membership survey will go to a random sample of ACRL members. We hope you will respond if you are one of those who receive a questionnaire. An independent research firm (Research USA) has been hired to do the survey; their credibility is very good and we expect to have 694 / C & R L N ew s Choice, Rare Books & M anuscripts Librarianship, Fast Job L istin g Service, C hapter Topics, a n d 11 section newsletters. C &R L editor Charles Martell, C &R L N ew s editor George E b erh art and assistant editor Cheryl Robinson-Smith, Alia Al-Taqi (Chap­ te r Topics) and th e Choice staff have kep t th ese coming regularly. • T he 30th RB M S Preconference, “Local H is­ tory, Global Village.” A lthough this was largely m em ber-run, the staff liaison was Mary Ellen Davis. • Publication o f State Education Documents: A D irectory f o r T heir A cquisition and Use. EBSS p re p a re d this; Mary Ellen Davis provided staff support. • Revision of th e Standards for University L i­ braries, with ALA acceptance and ARL blessings, w ith K ent H endrickson as chair and M ary E llen Davis as liaison (se e p p . 679-91). • A cceptance o f our 40th ch ap ter, and lots of c h a p te r activity. Alia Al-Taqi is c h a p te r coordina­ tor. • Progress on th e o u tp u t m easures m anual by consultant N ancy van H ouse, u n d e r direction of th e P erfo rm an ce M easures C om m ittee, ad hoc, w ith liaison from Mary E llen Davis. • Progress on an accreditation m anual, also overseen by Mary Ellen. • A preconference on preparing for accredita­ tion, ta rg e te d at H istorically Black C olleges and U niversities. This was u n d e r my direction, with help from Sandy D onnelly and Alia Al-Taqi. • W e com pleted our series of hum anities p ro ­ gram m ing w orkshops, jointly sponsored with th e P ublic L ibrary Association and fu n d ed by th e N ational E nd o w m en t for th e H um anities. Sandy D onnelly served as consultant; I h elp ed staff. • W e also held one special hum anities p ro ­ gram m ing workshop for historically black colleges and universities. Sandy D onnelly c oordinated; I served on th e staff. • T he rep o rts of th e task forces on In te rn a ­ tional R elations, Professional Ethics, and Social Responsibility have all been forw arded to th e Plan- n in g C o m m itte e fo rth e ir recom m endations. T he Small C ollege A ssessm ent P rogram Task F o rce was disbanded, having worked out an arrangem ent w ith th e Association o f R esearch L ibraries for co­ operative action; a new com m ittee will be form ed w ithin th e College Libraries Section to carry out th e activity. • Significant progress was m ade by th e Task Forces on E xtended Cam pus Guidelines, Parapro­ fessionals in Academic Libraries, and R ecruitm ent of U n d errep resen ted M inorities. • Continuing education had a good year. Eight h u n d red people took 3 1 courses locally, at C incin­ nati, and at Dallas. • 15 program s w ere offered by ACRL sections at Dallas. • W e added a new award: Com m unity College Learning R esources A chievem ent Awards. S pon­ sored by th e C om m unity and Junior College L i­ braries Section, two annual awards m aybe given to recognize significant achievem ent in the areas of 1) program developm ent and 2) lead ersh ip or com ­ m unity service. Individuals or groups from two- year institutions, as well as the two-year institutions themselves, are eligible to receive the awards, which are in th e form o f prin ted citations. T he first award will be m ade in 1990. • K. G. Saur increased th e cash prize for th e ir aw ard for th e b est article in College & Research L ibraries to $500 for each jo in t author. • W e ad m in iste re d nine awards (see pp. 701-707). • T h e Special G rants F u n d p rovided m oney for th e BI T hink Tank, two c h a p te r program s, and th e m em bership survey. • M uch w ork was done by th e P re sid e n t and the staff on creating a new set o f Policies of the ALA in Relation to its M embership Divisions (also known as “th e O p e ra tin g A g reem en t”). Passed by ALA Council in Dallas, the policies will have a profound effect on all divisions. As one of his last official acts, President Joe Boissé appointed a Special C om m it­ tee on Im p lem en tin g a Revised O perating A gree­ m en t to carry out a co m plete review o f A C R L’s activities and assure a sm ooth transition to the new operating environm ent. Finances The division is strong in its fund balances, with a m an d ated level set at 50% of th e average annual operating expenses over a three-year cycle. But it is not strong in its ability to balance an annual budget. This is a m atte r o f concern being addressed by th e Task F o rce on Financial D evelopm ent and th e Special C o m m ittee m entioned, as well as by th e B udget and F in an ce C om m ittee and th e e n tire Board. Strategies for Association funding, e m b ed ­ d e d in th e new financial plan, m ust be im p le­ m en te d to ensure th e financial and program m atic stre n g th o f ACRL. F o r instance, th e Board has system atically re d u c e d th e fund balance to th e m an d a ted 50% level, b u t th a t level continues to increase as annual budgets go up. This m eans th at annual budgets m ust include an allowance for this increase. The vote in favor of a dues increase means we will have a b e tte r pool of funds for m em bership activities, allowing us to m atch those expenses with th e dues revenue that is supposed to support them . H ow ever, in creased dem ands for service (which show a h ealthy desire for an Association th a t is useful to m em bers) constantly keep us on o ur toes to balance th e b u d g e t a n d th e dem ands on staff. T he new Policies o f th e ALA in Relation to its M em bership Divisions will have a profound effect September 1989 / 695 on ACRL. The first charges to divisions un d er the new policies will be im plem ented in 1991, but division overhead rates have been on th e increase in 1989 and 1990 and in 1990 divisions becam e responsible for their own bad debts (yes, th ere are purchasers of our products and services, including advertising, publications, courses, and exhibit booths who fail to pay th eir bills) and for the U nrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) associated with their revenues (advertising and mailing list rentals.) F or ACRL and Choice the UBIT will be about $ 100,000 in 1990. Staffing Changes in staff have affected ACRL more this year than in the past few years. In 1988-1989 we operated with a tem porary reduction in regular staff below th e level of the 10-11 we have m ain­ tained over th e past 5 years. Elaine Opalka moved to the ALA Executive Office as assistant to the deputy director in Septem ber and we have not yet filled the position she vacated. Sheryl Stephens accepted a m anagem ent-level position at the American Bar Association in April. Cheryl Robinson-Smith gave birth to a daugh­ ter, Macie, in June; during her absence, Pam Spiegel has filled in as assistant editor. George E berh art has been spending part of his tim'e managing a local area network for ALA Publishing. H e has had part- time helpers to cover his heavy workload; they have included Pam Spiegel and Karen Christopher. Cyn­ thia Taylor has joined the staff as half-time secre­ tary fo rth e C hapters and M em bership activities. The Choice staff has rem ained at 19.5 FTE. D uring 1988-1989, Cynthia W hite and Ron E pp left th e magazine. Bob Balay has taken th e long­ term tem porary position of automation director as Social responsibilities The Task Force on ACRL and Social Responsi­ bilities developed the following working definition as part of its charge to determ ine w hether ACRL is addressing issues of social responsibility. Definition F or academic and research libraries, social re ­ sponsibility is the obligation to prom ote open ac­ cess to information. This embraces: a. Assuring that collections reflect a diversity of perspectives (including those that may not be dis­ sem inated through the “m ainstream ” channels) and that censorship, w hether by oneself or others, is not a factor in selection, collection evaluation, or com puterization of production and office o pera­ tions moves along. F or both Choice and the ACRL H eadquarters Office, the introduction of autom a­ tion over the past five years has been a major con­ tributing factor to our ability to take on additional projects without significantly increasing staff. Structure The division now consists of 54 standing and ad hoc com m ittees, editorial boards, and task forces; 15 sections, with a total o f237 sub-units, 17 discus­ sion groups, 40 chapters, and a m em bership of 10,521. The increase in m em bership and in m em ­ b er activity reflected in the expanded n um ber of sub-units is a sign of Association health and vitality. But some of the increase in mem bership came as a result o f the National C onference and we have a responsibility to keep m em bership interesting for members, so they will continue to find belonging to ACRL o f value to them . Available Key docum ents produced this year, th e ACRL Financial Plan, 1989-1992, the ACRL O perating Plan and B udget for 1990, and M em bership An­ nual Reports, 1988-1989, are available upon re ­ quest from ACRL. Conclusion ACRL has had another strong year. Its Fifth National C onference was extrem ely successful, it had an active publishing and education program, it remains financially stable, and it offers mem bers a wide variety of opportunities to participate. I hope you will. ■ ■ maintenance. b. Assuring that the high price of library m ateri­ als, such as serials, and reduced acquisitions budg­ ets do not h am per access to information. c. Assuring that information traditionally gener­ ated by th e federal governm ent continues to be available to th e public without restrictions and delays; that privatization does not mean less access. d. Assuring that fees charged by providers of information services utilizing new communication, storage and access techniques do not restrict access to information. e. Assuringthatthedissem inationofinform ation is not subject to undue restrictions and that the academic and research community and other users 6 9 6 / C& RL News of college and research libraries have access to this information. f. Assuring that cataloging and other organiza­ tional procedures are free from prejudicial dam ­ age. g. Assuring that users are trained in the use of new technologies in order that their access to infor­ mation is not impeded. h. Assuring that the information and library needs of special populations of users, such as older or non-traditional students, those who are non- English speaking, the disabled, students from par­ ticular ethnic and social groups, are attended to. i. Assuring that effective teaching and usage of databases and other access tools provide an under­ standing of what is included in order for no patron to be deprived of information inadvertently. j . Assuring the confidentiality of circulation rec­ ords, database searching records, and other patron- based records is maintained in order that privacy of library research and usage is respected. k. Assuring that the library joins with other parts of the parent educational or research institution in participating in public service and outreach p ro­ grams that address the needs of the broader social community. Additionally, social responsibility em braces a sensitivity to the practice of the profession with respect to the active recruitm ent, prom otion and retention of minorities, women, and special popu­ lations. W hile the Task Force does not intend that the above is a definitive statem ent on social responsi­ bility, its members believe that ACRL may use it as a starting point and in doing so, the organization would be in line with other ALA divisions. ■ ■ ACRL actions, June 1 9 8 9 Highlights o f the Annual Conference meetings o f the AC RL Board o f Directors. T he Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries m et twice during the ALA Annual C onference in Dallas: on June 24,1989, and June 27,1989. Budget The Board approved as policy the recommenda­ tion of the Budget and Finance C om m ittee that “when an ACRL unit undertakes an activity which generates revenue in excess of expenses, this reve­ nue will revert to the ACRL operating budget.” The Board also voted to express concern to the ALA Executive Board and to the incoming ALA Executive D irector, Linda Crismond, regarding excessive delays experienced in receiving monthly financial information on ACRL expenses and reve­ nues. A request will also be made to the ALA Executive Board for assistance with questions re ­ garding ACRL’s U nrelated Business Incom e Tax liability. The Board approved the 1990 budget and 1990 financial plan presented by the Budget and F i­ nance Committee, which shows a deficit of $74,750. A full report on the ACRL budget will appear in a future issue of C &R L News. Discussion groups The Board approved a petition for the establish­ m ent of an Academic Librarians’ Association Dis­ cussion Group. The group will be for librarian associations located in individual libraries and is not intended for state-wide associations.