ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


420 /  C&RL News

Julie Virgo receives a copy o f Alliance for Excellence fro m  Secretary o f Education Terrel Bell.

Librarians respond to A N a tio n  a t  Risk

In September 1983 the U.S. D epartm ent of E d u ­
cation initiated a series of small regional seminars 
to bring together librarians, educators, patrons, 
and other interested groups to identify the most ef­
fective role for libraries in a Learning Society. The 
prim ary purpose of this initiative was to respond to 
the landm ark report of the National Commission 
on Excellence in E ducation, A  N ation at Risk, 
which underscored the decline of educational stan­
dards in the United States, especially w ith regard 
to secondary education.

To achieve this purpose, a National Advisory 
Board, consisting of presidents and executive direc­
tors of m ajor library and inform ation science asso­
ciations, was established. Joyce Ball and Julie 
Virgo participated on behalf of ACRE.

The Board’s deliberations led to the preparation 
of five key position papers on specialized aspects of 
librarianship: public library service, school library 
service, academic library service, library and in­
form ation science education, and library linkages 
and cooperative activity.

The end result of this initiative is Alliance fo r Ex­
cellence, a report to librarians, inform ation scien­
tists, educators, and the general public as to w hat 
roles various types of libraries can play towards the

fuller realization of a Learning Society, the im ­
provement of U.S. schools and colleges, and the 
more efficient and effective handling of inform a­
tion and knowledge in support of learning.

The recommendations in the report of most rele­
vance to academic libraries are:

• “W e recom m end th a t school lib rary  m edia 
centers and public and academic libraries be open, 
to the fullest extent possible, to elementary and sec­
ondary school students and area residents. This 
policy would have the joint aims of expanding the 
time available for learning, while making more ef­
fective use of a com m unity’s library and inform a­
tion resources.”

• “We recommend th a t libraries accept their 
central role in the Learning Society as valid learn­
ing centers. Further, we recommend th a t these 
centers be staffed w ith user-oriented professionals 
who not only understand com munity needs but 
also know learning resources. These ‘learners’ ad­
visers would help patrons to gain the information 
and skills to function successfully in the Learning 
Society.”

• “We recommend th a t libraries become active 
in adult literacy education programs at local, state, 
and national levels.”



Septem ber 1984 /  421

• “W e recom m end th a t librarians at local, state, 
and national levels develop and im plem ent plans to 
share the resources and services of their institutions 
in support of education and lifelong learning. W e 
also recom m end th a t at the national level, leader­
ship should be exerted to endorse, assist, and sup­
p o rt th e states and local com m unities in th eir ef­
forts to share resources.”

• “W e recom m end th a t library and inform ation 
science educators reform  and refine the recru it­
m ent, p rep aratio n , and continuing education of li­
brarians and inform ation scientists. F u rth er, we

recom m end th a t th e  en tire lib ra ry  com m unity 
hold higher education responsible for providing 
high-quality education to equip professionals w ith 
special competencies to w ork effectively in libraries 
and inform ation centers in th e L earning Society.”

Copies of the 64-page report, Alliance fo r  Excel­
lence: Librarians Respond to A  N ation at Risk, are 
available for $2,50 from  th e S u p erin ten d en t of 
D ocum ents, U.S. G overnm ent P rin tin g  Office, 
W ashington, D C  20402, stock no. 065-000-002-07- 
8, and from th e E R IC  System in either p rin t or m i­
crofiche form at. ■  ■

ACRL/ISI fellowships for 1985
T he Association of College an d  Research L i­

braries solicits applications for the tw o fellowships 
m ade possible by the Institute for Scientific In fo r­
m ation in Philadelphia. The first, th e Samuel La- 
zerow Fellowship for Research in Acquisitions or 
Technical Services in an Academic or Research L i­
brary, honors a senior vice-president of ISI who 
m ade o u tsta n d in g  co n trib u tio n s to these fields. 
The fellowship of $1,000 is to foster advances in ac­
quisitions or technical services by providing a p ra c ­
ticing lib rarian  w ith  funds for research, travel, and 
w riting.

T he second fellowship, the ACRL D octoral Dis­
sertation Fellowship, provides an aw ard  of $1,000 
to a doctoral student w orking on a dissertation in 
th e area of academ ic librarianship.

A p p licatio n s for b o th  fellow ships should be 
m ade to Sandy W hiteley, Associate Executive D i­
rector, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL 
60611-2795, and are due by D ecem ber 1, 1984. 
There are no application forms for these fellow­
ships. C andidates should subm it proposals as de­
scribed below. The w inners of the aw ards will be 
announced at the ALA A nnual Conference in C hi­
cago in July 1985.

To be eligible for the Lazerow  A w ard, a lib ra r­
ian m ust be w orking in acquisitions or technical 
services in an academ ic or research library. The 
Fellow ship supports research in acquisitions or 
technical services, including the technical services 
aspects of library autom ation and library m anage­
m ent. Research projects in collection developm ent 
or the com pilation of bibliographies will not be 
su p p o rted  by this Fellow ship. A pplication p ro ­
posals should be brief (five pages or less) and in­
clude the following:

1) description of research, trav el, or w ritin g  
project;

2) schedule for the project;
3) an estim ate of expenses.
An up-to-date curriculum  vitae should accom ­

p a n y  th e  p ro p o sal. Proposals for th e  L azero w  
A w ard will be judged on the following:

1) potential significance of the project to acquisi­

tions or technical services work;
2) originality and creativity;
3) clarity and completeness of the proposal;
4) evidence of an interest in scholarship, such as 

a previous publication record.
In  order to be eligible for the ACRL D octoral 

D issertation A w ard, th e applicant m ust m eet the 
following qualifications:

1) be an active doctoral student in th e academ ic 
librarianship area in a degree-granting institution;

2) have all coursework com pleted;
3) have h ad  a dissertation proposal accepted by 

the institution.
T he application should be brief (less th a n  ten 

pages) and include the following:
1) description of the research, including signifi­

cance and methodology;
2) a schedule for com pletion;
3) budget and budget justification for items for 

w hich support is sought (these m ust be items for 
w hich no other support is available);

4) th e nam e of th e dissertation advisor and com ­
m ittee members;

5) a cover letter from the dissertation advisor en­
dorsing th e proposal.

An up-to-date curriculum  vitae should accom ­
pany the proposal. Proposals will be judged on the 
following criteria:

1) potential significance of the research to the 
field of academ ic librarianship;

2) valid ity  of th e  m ethodology and proposed 
m ethod of analysis;

3) originality and creativity;
4) clarity and completeness of the proposal;
5) presentation of a convincing plan for com ple­

tion in a reasonable am ount of tim e;
6) evidence of a continuing interest in scholar­

ship, such as a previous publication record.
T he w inner of th e 1984 Fellowship was D onald 

G ould, a doctoral candidate at the University of 
Southern C alifornia.

For fu rth er inform ation on these fellowships, 
contact Sandy W hiteley, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H u ­
ron St., Chicago, IL  60611; (312) 944-6780. ■ ■



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