ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 / C&RL News ACRL President’s letter 1987— Values, planning, and creativity. D e a r ACRL Colleagues; The beginning of the new year traditionally is a time of taking stock and of assessing our recent past and im mediate future, both personally and profes­ sionally. At each Annual C o n feren ce th e P resi­ dent submits a compre­ hensive r e p o r t to th e m em bership, w hich is subsequently published in C& RL News, and the E x e c u tiv e D ire c to r presents a similar report at the closing of the fis­ cal y e a r. T his N ew Year’s review, then, is an opportunity to take stock in another way. As I review the year, Joanne R. Euster three themes stand out. Personally, I have been concerned w ith creativity and innovation, my chosen them e for my presiden­ tial year, and how we can use our creative powers in our professional lives, our jobs and our Associa­ tion. Much of ACRL’s attention and energy has gone into w hat can be best characterized as values issues; more about those shortly. Finally, planning continues to be of vital im portance to us, so th a t we are able to realize the goals we set for ACRL . 1987 has been a year in which value questions have dom inated m uch of ACRL ’S agenda. For many of us, the long-running discussion and debate over the relationships between ALA and its divi­ sions, embodied in the 1982 O perating Agreement and now under revision, have raised value ques­ tions. W hat does it mean to be p a rt of a unified pro­ fessional organization? W hat sorts of financial a r­ rangements between the “p aren t” (ALA) and the “children” (the divisions) are appropriate—if in fact this is the proper m etaphor? W hat degree of autonomy should divisions have? W hat responsi­ bilities do the organizations have to each other and to their members for services and programm ing? The list of questions could be much longer. C&RL News, Am erican Libraries and Library Journal have carried extensive reports on ALA and the divi­ sions. The discussions will extend at least until the Annual Conference in New Orleans, and possibly beyond. The decisions should reflect not just the opinions of the elected and appointed leaders, but of members at large. Several of the new task forces appointed in 1987 also deal w ith value issues. The Task Force on Awards has been charged to consider an awards philosophy for ACRL , in terms of how we encour­ age, recognize and rew ard accomplishment. The Task Force on ACRL and Social Responsibility will assess how our Strategic Plan addresses issues of so­ cial responsibility. The Task Force on professional ethics will examine areas of professional ethics unique to academic and research librarians. ACRL has begun a planning project addressing the needs of historically black colleges and univer­ sities. W ith support from the Mellon Foundation the first stage, an assessment and planning meeting was held in A tlanta in October, w ith librarians from 28 institutions participating. Next steps in­ clude efforts to acquire funding to support accredi­ tation workshops and an NEH project targeted spe­ c ific a lly a t h is to ric a lly b la c k colleges a n d universities. ACRL is one of the strongest of the ALA divi­ sions. W ith more th an 10,000 members, an annual budget (including Choice operations) of a little over $2 million, and a healthy reserve fund, we have many options for expending resources. Our budget planning process is thorough, thanks to our dedicated Budget and Finance Committee, and budgets are closely m onitored, thanks to exem­ plary staff m anagem ent. Since we close some years w ith an unexpended balance, a policy on the allo­ cation of surplus funds has been adopted and the 3 Surplus Fund Award Committee established. The Committee is responsible for writing objectives for allocating surplus funds, developing guidelines, re­ ceiving proposals from ACRL units, and making recommendations for allocations. Both the regular budget process and the surplus funds allocation policy are guided by the goals, ob­ jectives and strategies in the ACRL Strategic Plan. The plan was adopted in 1986 and was developed w ith widespread participation by ACRL mem ­ bers. Now our challenge is to keep the plan up to date, so th at it continues to reflect our values and priorities as we make budgetary and operating de­ cisions. All ACRL units are being asked to contrib­ ute to the regular and ongoing revision of the plan. It is too easy, as we have learned from experi­ ences in our libraries, to complete a plan, congrat­ ulate ourselves on a job well done, and then file it away. Yet of all organizations, it is vital that a large membership organization such as ACRL has a plan which is a living document to rely on. The com­ plexities of such a wide geographic spread, of meet­ ing only two times a year, and of having manage­ m ent and leadership shared betw een elected leaders and professional staff all call for a clear and current touchstone for guidance. The Planning Committee will soon be asking for additional ad­ vice on unit goals and objectives and how they fit into the plan. The informed advice of members will be critical to our success. My theme for the year is “Fostering Creativity and Innovation.” As President I have had the privi­ lege and pleasure of attending numerous meetings of chapters and affiliated organizations already this year. My talks to chapters have been primarily concerned with creativity and leadership, and the need for both as academic and research librarians cope with the challenges of the information soci­ ety. The new “Innovations” column in C&RL News is one forum for sharing creative ideas. My President’s program on July 11 in New Orleans will also be on the topic of creativity. An exciting and involving experience is promised! The most exciting innovations, to me, are not the technological wonders which have become almost commonplace in libraries, but the social innova­ tions we are creating. Often we are unaware of so­ cial innovations because many people may be in­ volved in th eir creation and because they are evolutionary, based on a cycle of trial, adjustment and adaptation. Nevertheless, they are innova­ tions, and they call upon some of our greatest crea­ tive powers. Social innovations are such things as new organizational structures, new service de­ signs, the development of new ways of looking at our world. They are also found in our goals, plans and budgets for our professional association— those elements which articulate our professional values! ACRL is a lively, dynam ic organization. It strives to be responsible, responsive and innova­ tive. I think we have much to be proud of, as we look back at the past year, and forward to 1988. Joanne R. Euster A C R L President ■ ■ ACRL executive summary Executive Committee The most significant event of the month was the m eeting of the ACRL Executive Com m ittee at Headquarters on November 2. At their meeting, the group took several key actions: The Committee approved the request of CJCLS to sponsor (jointly with AECT/CCAIT) a Telecon­ ference on CD-ROM Technology to be held in April 1988. Details may be found on p. 10 of this is­ sue. The Committee approved a proposal for allocat­ ing “surplus funds.” It is ACRL policy that each year’s budget revenues equal or exceed expenses. For several years, ACRL financial performance has been better than expected, and the Association has been building a fund balance as a reserve for special projects and emergencies. Recently the Board set as a goal the m aintainance of a fund bal­ ance equal to 50 % of the average annual expendi­ tures for the previous three years. At the end of the 1986-87 fiscal year, the fund balance was greater than that goal, and the Budget and Finance Com­ mittee suggested that a mechanism be established to allocate these “surplus funds.” Whenever there is a surplus, proposals will be solicited from ACRL units and a committee will award the funds. F u r­ ther information will be sent to all unit heads soon. The Committee approved the establishment of two new task forces: one on Professional Ethics and one on ACRL and Social Responsibility. The Committee took three actions in connection with planning a project to serve libraries in Histori­ cally Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s): • an effort will be made to seek funding for three annual accreditation workshops; • funding will be sought for an NEH project ta r­ geted specifically at HBCU’s and their communi­ ties; • staff will draft a proposal for a project to col­ lect inform ation about HBCU libraries for use principally in accreditation work. Planning workshop On the day following the Executive Committee meeting, the first planning workshop involving