ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 148 / C &RL News Update from the ACRL president B y B a r b a r a J . F o r d A CR L’s 52nd President L o cation for ACRL Sixth N ational C o n feren ce still p en d in g The ACRL Board of Directors voted at the ALA Midwinter meeting to move the April 1992 ACRL Sixth National Conference from Phoenix, Arizona, because of the state’s failure to approve a paid holi­ day honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Board approved a contingency plan to move the conference to St. Louis; the dates of the St. Louis conference would be March 25-28,1992. On February 15,1991, we will ask the ALA Execu­ tive Board to approve our move. We are in the process of notifying our colleagues in Missouri and the surrounding states of our possible move to St. Louis. I say “possible move” because there still is a slight possibility that the Arizona legislature will pass a King holiday bill in the next few weeks which may affect our decision on where to hold the conference. As we go to press, the issue is not settled. Stay tuned to C &RL News for the latest developments, or call the ACRL office: (800) 545- 2433, x2520 for a recorded update. R acial and E th nic D iversity C o m m ittee h old s first m e e tin g The new Racial and Ethnic Diversity Commit­ tee, chaired by Susana Hinojosa, University of California, Berkeley, met at Midwinter. In one of their first actions, they asked the ACRL Board of Directors to draft a statement on their commit­ ment to the elimination of barriers to the recruit­ ment and retention of underrepresented groups. Board members Eileen Dubin, Case Western Reserve University, and Leslie Manning, Univer­ sity of Colorado, Colorado Springs, are drafting the statement in time for review by the ACRL Execu­ tive Committee at their April 19-20, 1991, m eet­ ing. Once approved, the statement will be widely disseminated. In other developments, the committee is consid­ ering submitting a program proposal for the 4th Annual National Conference on Racial and Ethnic Relations in American Higher Education, to be held May 31-June 4, 1991, in San Antonio; a re­ porter from the EDUCOM Bulletin called Head­ quarters for more information on the committee and indicated their interest in providing coverage; the March 24—27,1991, conference of the Ameri­ can Association for Higher Education is "Difficult Dialogues: Achieving the Promise in Diversity.” In tern ation al R elation s C om m ittee e sta b lish ed During my term as president, I have received a number of calls and letters on the need for ACRL to take an active role in international relations. In response to this concern, the ACRL Board of Di­ rectors created a standing committee on interna­ tional relations. I have appointed Maureen Pastine, Southern Methodist University, to chair the com­ mittee. Maureen served as chair of an ACRL task force on international relations from 1987 to 1989 and has an excellent background for this new as­ signment. The charge of the committee is: “To en­ courage international cooperation and under­ standing among academic librarians and educators concerned with academic libraries, to advise the ALA International Relations Committee (IRC) on academic library concerns, to carry out interna­ tional academic library activities recommended by the ALA/IRC and the ACRL Board, and to coordi­ nate the international relations activities of ACRL and to improve communications regarding these activities.” I will be making appointments to the committee this spring and welcome volunteers. F u n d in g hits all-tim e h igh This year we have more money available to support conference programs than we ever had in the past. There’s $3,000 from the ACRL budget under a brand new policy to support conference programming. In addition, ALA President Dick Dougherty awarded $3,000 for ACRL programs. The decision on how to allocate the $6,000 was made collaboratively by the members of the ACRL Conference Program Planning Committee. Com­ mittee members reviewed and evaluated the pro­ gram proposals and reached a consensus on how to award the funding. I am delighted that ACRL and ALA are able to provide this support for section March 1991 / 149 conference programs. All the programs sound interesting and I wish I could attend them all! Inform ation literacy At the ALA Store at Midwinter, information literacy products developed by the ACRL Presi­ dent’s Program Planning Committee were avail­ able. They include pamphlets, folders, bookmarks, posters and a frisbee. All are available from ALA Graphics, 1-800-545-2433, press 8 or ext. 5046. I have spoken at a number of chapter meetings this year on information literacy and I know this topic is of interest to the membership. The Presi­ dent’s Program Planning Committee, chaired by Mary Reichel, University of Arizona, has invited Frank Zappa to speak at the ALA Annual Confer­ ence in Atlanta on Monday, July 1, 1991. Following his presentation, there will be poster sessions on information literacy. S earch for ACRL execu tiv e d irector n ea rs co m p letio n The ACRL Executive Director Search Commit­ tee, chaired by M aureen Sullivan, conducted screening interviews during the ALA Midwinter meeting. The committee had an excellent pool of applicants. Following the screening interviews ‚ the committee selected the final candidates for inter­ views at ALA headquarters in early March. Joining me and Maureen on the Search Committee are: Hiram L. Davis, Michigan State University; W. Lee Barbara Ford holding the new information literacy frisbee. Hisle, Austin Community College; William A. Moffett, Huntington Library; Elizabeth Salzer, Santa Clara University; and Patricia Wand, Ameri­ can University. Keep your elected leaders informed! I welcome your calls and letters about ACRL concerns. The elected officers and members of the Board of Di­ rectors need your input to effectively lead the association. ■ ■ Davis appointed College & Research L ibraries N ews editor and publisher ACRL has appointed Mary Ellen K. Davis editor and publisher of College & Research Libraries News. The appointment was effective February 4. Prior to accepting this new position Davis was director o f comm unications and systems for ACRL. She managed ACRL’s book publishing and communications program, answered questions about academic librarianship, coordinated ACRL’s data-gathering efforts, wrote and edited ACRL’s newsletter “What’s Happening,” and managed of­ fice automation. Davis’s appointment was recommended by Jon Eldredge, chair of the C &R L News Editorial Board, and Pan Snelson, chair of ACRL’s Publica­ tions Committee. “I ’m excited about Davis’s ideas for features, columns, and expanded news cover­ age for C&RL News," said Eldredge. “H er proven track record at ACRL and her success with ACRL’s publications program make her uniquely qualified for this position.” Davis began working for ACRL as a program officer in 1985. Previ­ ously she was assistant p ro je c t d ir e c to r for “L et’s Talk About It: Reading and Discussion Programs in America’s Libraries,” an American Mary Ellen Davis L ib rary A ssociation project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has also served as a reference librarian and bibliographer on the faculty at Cen­ tral Michigan University. She holds an MLS from the University of Illinois at Urbana and another master’s degree from Central Michigan University. Davis succeeds George Eberhart, who edited C&RL News from 1980-1990. ■ ■