feb05b.indd


Hensley and Snelson share plans 
for ACRL 
Cast an informed vote in the election this spring 

Ed. note: C&RL News offered candidates for vice­president/president­elect, Randy 
Burke Hensley and Pamela Snelson, this op­
portunity to share their views with the mem­
bership. Although many of the issues facing 
ACRL are discussed informally at meetings, 
we want to use this venue to provide a na­
tional forum to all members. We hope this 
will assist you in making an informed choice 
when you receive your ballot this spring 

RANDY BURKE HENSLEY 
The personal informs the professional 
Spending a life in a learning environment 
became my goal as a 19­year­old student at 
the University of California, Santa Barbara. 
When I look for where this goal came from, 
I relish the memory of being a child who 
was taken to his first day of kindergarten, 
and when asked at the end of that fi rst day 
how it went, responded with the question, 
“When can I go back?” Growing up in a 
small town, the discovery of the local public 
library as another learning place made me 
realize that I could have a career in a library; 
I could get paid to learn and help others to 
learn. The desire to have others share my 
thirst for learning has informed my career 
choices. Finding others who share that de­
sire professionally has been the rationale for 
my long association with ACRL. 

My work in collections, access, reference, 
teaching, and administration in a 31­year 
academic library career has been driven by 
this valuing of learning. How can academic 
libraries do what they do better to increase 
not only learning per se, but the desire to 

Randy Burke Hensley Pamela Snelson 

learn? I believe answering this question is the 
essential assessment for how our libraries are 
succeeding. 

Valuing relationships 
When I reflect on my activities in ACRL, what 
most come to mind are the relationships I 
have had with the individuals with whom I 
have worked. Our accomplishments together 
have been sometimes large and sometimes 
small, but the enduring legacy of those ac­
tivities is that our lives were enriched by the 
support, perspective, and contributions to 
our capacities as professionals in the learn­
ing enterprise that we gave each other. I am 
committed to ACRL sustaining this particu­
lar contribution to the profession: that it is 
an arena for collaboration and relationship 
building. We must continue our inclusiveness 
and enhance our focus on being an asso­
ciation that actively creates opportunities to 
participate, that sustains professional devel­

Randy Burke Hensely, formerly public services division 
head, is on sabbatical from the University of Hawaii-
Manoa, e-mail: rhensley@hawaii.edu, and Pamela 
Snelson is college librarian at Franklin and Marshall 
College, e-mail: pamela.snelson@fandm.edu. 
© 2005 Randy Burke Hensley and Pamela Snelson 

C&RL News February 2005  126 

mailto:pamela.snelson@fandm.edu
mailto:rhensley@hawaii.edu


opment, that never is subject to the criticism 
of being a closed, critical, exclusive, unsup­
portive environment for diversity of perspec­
tive. We must consciously be an association 
of attraction where who we are and what we 
do are the magnets of recruitment. 

Centering on the student 
I am keenly interested in imagining a term 
of office as ACRL president in which all that 
the association does is examined through the 
perspective of our impact on students. I view 
this interest as akin to models for assessment 
where student learning outcomes are at the 
center of a determination that an institution, a 
program, or a teacher is doing well. Our activ­
ities for collections, advocacy, research, pub­
lication, and funding will not be neglected by 
such a perspective. To me, one of the more 
instructive contributions of my colleagues in 
the Immersion Program of ACRL’s Institute for 
Information Literacy is to see student learn­
ing as the benchmark for all the endeavors of 
higher education. I have learned to appreci­
ate how supporting faculty research is about 
enriching the lives of students in any number 
of ways. I have seen that teaching an appre­
ciation for inquiry transforms a student’s view 
about the purpose of his or her education as 
it changes how information and knowledge is 
regarded. And I have seen how an emphasis 
on inquiry as the hallmark of an institution 
of higher education alters the position of and 
regard for libraries in an institution. 

My work as a trainer, educator, and 
presenter has taken me to many academic 
libraries of all types and many professional 
venues around the country. I have learned a 
great deal about the varied, heroic efforts of 
individuals in libraries to bring the librarian’s 
concern for student learning to the forefront 
of what libraries contribute to the institution. 
ACRL’s many efforts to support an emphasis 
on teaching and learning will have my en­
thusiastic support. Librarians as advocates for 
student learning, and ACRL as an advocate 
for a profession that fosters student learning, 
positions the association to be a major player 
in the changes in higher education. 

Student learning as a hallmark of our 
institutions of higher education and its 
libraries can serve equally well as a criteria 
by which we assess the efforts of ACRL. 
—Randy Burke Hensley 

Fostering the inquiry organization 
I echo many previous ACRL presidents and 
candidates for the presidency when I say 
that it is an honor to be a member of an as­
sociation so enabled through past success, 
present efforts, and clear vision to continue 
to contribute to knowledge creation, preser­
vation, and dissemination. Our libraries are 
a testimony to the effectiveness of ACRL. We 
can continue those efforts and do more. The 
ACRL strategic plan and planning process is 
sound and provides a plan to which I am 
committed. It provides opportunities for us 
to inquire and attract. Each element needs 
each of us involved to seek information, to 
collaborate, to assess. An inquiry organiza­
tion views the world dynamically, with many 
players and many perspectives. In essence, 
an inquiry organization asks: how do we in­
volve? Additional initiatives will materialize 
as we continue the work we are doing, ap­
preciating that our final assessment is, “Did 
we make a difference to learners?” 

I will be an advocate who continues to 
address the following issues: information 
literacy, technology applications to access, 
teaching and learning, the changing nature 
of scholarly publication, library advocacy, 
and recruitment and retention to the pro­
fession. 

The fi nal perspective 
The fi nal perspective is yours. My career has 
been rewarding beyond my most extreme 
imagining of what was ahead for me 31 
years ago as a new MLS graduate. 

My gratitude to the many individuals who 
have supported, contributed, and fostered 
my development is equally extreme. To be 
further honored with the possibility of serv­
ing ACRL as vice­president/president­elect, is 
something for which I am also grateful. 

February 2005  127 C&RL News 



PAMELA SNELSON 
This brief essay has two purposes. The fi rst 
is to give those who don’t know me a sense 
of who I am and what I would bring to the 
ACRL presidency, and the second is to share 
with all ACRL members my priorities and vi­
sion for the association. 

ACRL is a strong organization with a 
dedicated, ambitious membership, and I am 
privileged to be a candidate for offi ce. Last 
November I received my 2005 ALA member­
ship card; in the bottom left corner of the card 
are the words “continuous years” and, in my 
case, the number 30. I have been a member 
of ALA and ACRL during my entire career; it is 
very gratifying to have an opportunity to give 
back to ACRL for all it has given to me. ACRL 
has been my home since my fi rst academic 
librarian position. I can still remember the 
excitement I felt when Sheila Laidlaw, then at 
the University of Toronto, called to invite me 
to serve on a Bibliographic Instruction Section 
(now Instruction Section) committee. ACRL 
section and chapter committee work gave 
me my first taste of leadership. As I took on 
new professional responsibilities and proj­
ects, ACRL’s programs and services became 
a source of innovative ideas and professional 
development. Networking with ACRL col­
leagues around the country comforted me 
during periods of frustration and provided me 
with friends to celebrate accomplishments. 
I want to ensure that ACRL provides these 
same opportunities to librarians today and 
in the future. 

Challenges 
I recently heard Keith Michael Fiels, ALA 
executive director, talk about the value of 
libraries and research­based advocacy. He 
discussed research that found students with 
good high school libraries do better in col­
lege, but remarked that he didn’t fi nd re­
search on the educational value of a good 
college library. If this research is indeed not 
available, we need to get it and then use 
it. One of the biggest challenges that faces 
academic and research librarians is our in­
ability to translate the goodwill engendered 

by our excellent service into political clout 
needed to secure necessary resources. Peo­
ple practically write sonnets about their love 
of libraries; we need them to write checks, 
too, to pay for collections and services. It is 
crucial that ACRL promote the role of the 
library in the academic enterprise. 

ACRL is an effective resource for its mem­
bers when it addresses our top challenges 
not in opposition to one another but as part 
of the whole fabric of academe. The chal­
lenges that we must address as librarians are 
rife with duality; there is no “or”; only “and.” 
Recruitment and succession planning, cost 
containment and service expansion, creation 
of change and value of tradition, and access 
to digital resources and preservation of print 
collections are only a few of these dualities. 
We should build bridges between infor­
mation literacy and recruitment, between 
scholarly communication and information 
technology, between marketing libraries and 
creating digital resources. In this way we 
can build on our strengths and compound 
our successes. 

Strengths 
To meet the challenges facing ACRL and ac­
ademic librarianship, I bring broad associa­
tion experience and strength in the areas of 
finance, communication, and achievement. 

In addition to chairing the College Librar­
ies Section, I have been a member of and 
chaired various other section, chapter, and 
association committees. I chaired the ACRL 
Publications Committee, the Appointments 
and Nominations Committee, and the C&RL 
News Editorial Board. This extensive expe­
rience gives me knowledge of how ACRL 
works and of the relationship between ALA 
and ACRL. Currently I am a delegate to the 
OCLC Members Council and recently fi nished 
a multiyear involvement with EDUCAUSE 
publications. From these vantage points I 
am able to see opportunities for collabora­
tion between ACRL and other information 
technology groups. 

One talent critical for any ACRL president 
is wise stewardship. Being a member of the 

C&RL News February 2005  128 



ACRL Board, ACRL’s Budget & Finance Com­
mittee, and the PALINET Board gives me a 
strong understanding of the fi nancial aspects 
of organizations. The ACRL president in 2006 
will inherit a financially sound association. I 
would make it a personal goal to bequeath 
a financially secure association to my suc­
cessor. 

Through my work on the Publications 
Committee, I learned quickly how impor­
tant ACRL’s communications program is to 
its members. C&RL News, the journals, and 
section newsletters continue to rank as the 
highest­valued member services. Within 
ALA, ACRL has been a leader in promoting 
virtual participation and engagement of its 
members. Under my leadership, ACRL would 
expand its use of technology to extend the 
reach of ACRL committees, conferences, and 
programs. 

Joy can be defined as the emotion of 
great delight or happiness caused by some­
thing good or satisfying. It gives me great 
joy to achieve something tangible in my life, 
whether it is a library renovation, a disaster 
recovery, a library system implementation, 
or a trip to Antarctica, all of which are on 
my “résumé.” Although I have the ability to 
see the big picture and focus on the over­
arching goal, my feet are firmly grounded in 
accomplishment. New tasks and new chal­
lenges energize me. I am frequently the one 
who brings a group back to its core purpose 
while retaining the creative fl ow of ideas. As 
president, I would bring these skills to ACRL 
Board deliberations and to discussions with 
ALA and other associations. 

I have one additional strength, hidden to 
most of you but very evident to me—the ter­
rific staff at the Franklin & Marshall College 
Library. It is their excellent work and dedica­
tion that allows me to consider taking on the 
challenging role of ACRL president. 

Themes 
If elected president, I plan to focus on two 
intertwined areas from the ACRL Strategic 
Plan—Leadership: “ACRL members achieve 
recognition as leaders and advocates for 

One of the biggest challenges that faces 
academic and research librarians is 
our inability to translate the goodwill 
engendered by our excellent service 
into political clout needed to secure 
necessary resources. 
—Pamela Snelson 

academic and research libraries” and Mem­
bership: “ACRL’s membership growth builds 
on retaining core membership while recruit­
ing from new and diverse communities.” 
To achieve the leadership goals, I intend to 
build on the grassroots advocacy that vice­
president/president­elect Camila Alire chose 
as the focus of her presidency. In addition to 
the empowering of current leaders, I would 
attend to aspiring leaders who might have 
a different approach to organizations, man­
agement, and communication. I’d also like 
to tap into the expertise of those librarians 
who have moved into higher education ad­
ministration, to use an insider’s view to in­
form our advocacy efforts. 

During the strategic planning process, 
the ACRL Board used a variety of methods 
to get feedback from members such as focus 
groups, interviews, and surveys. I found 
this information to be invaluable; to make 
ACRL as relevant to its members as possible, 
I would support both ongoing efforts to 
gather data about member needs and new 
processes to make it easier for members to 
give feedback. As ACRL uses this informa­
tion to expand its appeal among current 
membership, it will be easier to increase the 
number of academic and research librarians 
who chose ACRL as their professional as­
sociation. I want to reach out to graduating 
librarians when they take their fi rst academic 
position so they can enjoy the benefi ts of 
ACRL membership during their entire career. 
Visits to library schools, a dialogue between 
the ACRL president and deans of graduate 
programs, and the encouragement of col­
laborative programs between ACRL chapters 
and library schools are part of my strategy to 
accomplish this goal. 

February 2005  129 C&RL News 



Vision and principles 
The goal put forth in ACRL’s Strategic Plan is 
grand and audacious—“ACRL is responsible 
and universally recognized for positioning 
academic and research librarians and libraries 
as indispensable in advancing learning and 
scholarship.” I am excited by an envisioned 
future for ACRL members in which they are 
flexible, dynamic, and progressive leaders in 
their institutions, essential partners in learning 
and scholarship with faculty, and refl ect the 
diversity of their communities. In this same 
future, ACRL can be essential to the profes­
sional networking, development, and success 
of academic librarians. I would use my presi­
dency to move ACRL closer to this desired 
vision through my programs and priorities. 

If elected president, I would be guided 
by two principles: ACRL must refl ect its 
members and ACRL leaders must lead. 
ACRL programs and services are best when 
they meet the needs of members as they 
enter their profession, as they become sea­
soned professionals, and as they aspire to 
leadership. At the same time, ACRL leaders 
must creatively initiate progress for the as­
sociation and boldly position ACRL to be 
a recognized voice in higher education. 
These two complementary principles would 
be at the core of my presidency and color 
my vision of a 21st­century ACRL. I would 
welcome your support to enable me to turn 
these principles of attention and action into 
practice. 

(“Using libraries…” continued from page 125) 

While in China, you should: 
1. Plan extra time for library usage. 

As you have learned from this article so far, 
using libraries in China is neither quick nor 
easy. You need to spend a lot more time 
in libraries in China than in North America. 
Many libraries still have closed stacks, so you 
need to fi ll out a request form fi rst, and then 
have a front desk clerk page the stack clerks 
who will retrieve materials for you. Some 
people are allowed into the stacks with the 
proper authorization. You may also have to 
leave in the middle of photocopying if the 
library closes for noon breaks. 

2. Bring enough cash and change with 
you to the libraries. In addition to the 
photocopying charges that we are used to in 
North America, libraries in China often charge 
for all kinds of other services. The common 
fees include temporary library card, Internet 
access, database searching, printing, and the 
like. Depending on what materials you are 
photocopying, some charges are quite high in 
local currency. For example, Shanghai Library 
charges 2.5 Chinese Yuan (about 30 cents) 
per page for copying the pre­1949 materials. 
There are not many places that honor Inter­
act payment options in China, nor are there 
many automatic banking machines. So while 

in China, whether in the libraries or not, it is a 
good idea to bring enough cash for the day. 

Summary 
As one of the ancient civilizations of the 
world, China has a splendid history of 
books and libraries. Many libraries, includ­
ing most of the ones that we visited, have 
excellent collections and good services that 
make them an essential part of the research 
process for Chinese studies scholars and 
students around the world. The practical 
tips we give in this article are not meant to 
be comprehensive or exhaustive. Chinese li­
braries are changing everyday, and they are 
changing for the better. We are pleasantly 
surprised ourselves every time we visit. 

To all people who plan to use libraries in 
China, remember: know before you go and 
enjoy the adventure! 

Notes 
1. This paper is based on the 2004 pro­

gram of Committee for Public Services, 
Council on East Asian Libraries, chaired by 
Sharon Domier. Visit www.library.umass. 
edu/subject/easian/CPS/. The authors wish 
to thank Sharon for the program idea and 
proofreading. 

C&RL News February 2005  130 

www.library.umass