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As you read this issue in early October, you 
are well aware of the devastation caused 
in the Gulf Coast last month as a result of 
Hurricane Katrina. As we finalized this is­
sue of C&RL News during the weeks follow­
ing the catastrophe, our hearts went out to 
all of those suffering the after­effects of the 
storm. 

ALA has responded to Hurricane Katrina 
in a number of ways—providing up­to­date 
library information online (at www.ala.org/ 
katrina), creating a library relief fund, and 
initiating an adopt­a­library program, among 
others. The “News from the Field” column in 
this issue contains information on ALA’s ef­
forts and how you can get involved. We hope 
that you will support these efforts as much as 
you can, as an individual or an institution, to 
help your colleagues in affected areas recover 
as well and as quickly as possible. 

Given our unique position of serving the 
academic library community, we could not 

help but become especially concerned about 
the fate of academic and research librarians 
in the region and the collections and library 
buildings that they have worked so hard to 
build up. A report on the status of academic 
libraries affected by Katrina is also provided, 
along with a listing of Web resources for up­
to­date information. 

In order for ACRL to remain a strong 
organization, we need the support and par­
ticipation of our members and a diverse and 
strong leadership. One of the best ways to get 
involved with ACRL is to serve on a division­
or section­level committee. The association is 
currently looking for volunteers to serve on its 
2006­07 committees. If you’d like to become 
a more active member, see the article on 
page 659. The due date for volunteer forms 
is December 2; appointments will be made 
following ALA’s 2006 Midwinter Meeting, 

—Stephanie Orphan, Editor­in­chief 
sorphan@ala.org 

October  2005  637 C&RL News 

mailto:sorphan@ala.org
http:www.ala.org