ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Report To the Membership— ACRL Committee on Academic Status

At its meeting in Chicago on March 26 and 27 the ACRL Committee on Academic Status agreed that an interim report to the membership was necessary before the Annual Conferance in Dallas. The proposed “Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians” had been approved in principle by the ACRL Board of Directors in Detroit, and the reactions to the publication of the proposal [see CRL News (Oct. 1970)] were extremely favorable. Meeting in November of 1970, the committee discussed all of the comments received and made certain revisions based upon these. At this time it was also decided that work should begin on a program of action for implementation of the standards.

The committee held two sessions during the ALA Midwinter Meetings in Los Angeles in January. At the first of these, minor changes in wording of the proposal were made, and the committee chairman, Mr. Forth, was directed to submit the document to the ACRL Board. “Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians” was approved by the ACRL Board of Directors at its meeting on January 18 (the text of the approved standards is found in this issue as part of the Board minutes). Other topics discussed during the two committee meetings included resolutions the committee had initiated with regard to the situations at Brooklyn College and at the State Colleges of New Jersey [see CRL News (Feb. 1971)]; funding for a headquarters staff to deal with academic status matters; and the development of a program of action.

During the fall of 1970 contacts were made with the American Association of Colleges and the American Association of University Professors. Their initial reactions to the standards were encouraging, and later meetings between their representatives, the committee chairman, and the ACRL Executive Secretary led to a proposed expansion of the AAC/ACRL Joint Committee to include the AAUP. Approval of this tripartite committee will be sought from the ACRL Board of Directors and the ALA Committee on Organization in Dallas this June. Discussions of the standards with the representatives of the two associations resulted in suggestions as to how these could be strengthened. Changes in language and emphasis were recommended along with the addition of certain items and the deletion of others. At the March meeting of the Committee on Academic Status the recommendations were presented to the members. While feeling that a rewriting of the standards to include these changes was advisable and would result in more widespread support for the faculty status of academic librarians, the committee thought the ACRL membership should also be given the opportunity to consider the standards as previously developed. Thus, membership will be presented with two versions at the ACRL meeting in Dallas. The committee intends to strongly recommend the adoption of the newer version.

College & Research Libraries is published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 17 times yearly—6 bimonthly journal issues and II monthly, combining July- August, News issues at 1201-05 Bluff St., Fulton, Mo. 65251. Subscription, $10.00 a year or, to members of the division, $5.00, included in dues. Circulation and advertising office: American Library Associaton, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, III. 60611. Second-class postage paid at Fulton, Missouri 65251.

News editor: Michael Herbison, Casper College, Casper, Wyoming 82601. Editor: Richard M. Dougherty, School of Library Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210. President, ACRL: Anne C. Edmonds. Executive Secretary, ACRL: J. Donald Thomas, ALA.

The other major topic of discussion during the March meeting was the program of action of the ALA Staff Committee on Mediation, Arbitration, and Inquiry. This committee is proposed as the central investigatory body of ALA and would handle all inquiries and requests for investigations. Their tentative program of action was examined by the Cbmmittee on Academic Status, which took the position that the staff committee and its proposed procedures would be inadequate for meeting the very serious problems the academic librarian is now facing.

Membership is strongly urged to attend the Annual Conference in order to discuss these important matters and take action. The ACRL membership meeting will be held in the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Room 300-1-2 on Thursday, June 24, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

The ACRL/CLS Committee on Non- Western Resources has a distinguished heritage of providing information through the gamut of publication to workshop. However, at the present time there is pressure on the one hand holding down beginning programs calling for this information. On the other hand the continuing pressure for bigger educational programs calling on these resources has brought special subject-oriented committees into being both in the University Library Section and in other professional societies. Therefore this committee, whose focus by definition is on college libraries, is calling on you for ideas. To paraphrase the (once) popular theme: What do you want?

The committee listed below will meet in Dallas late Thursday afternoon. We would welcome your ideas there, but it would help if any one of us could hear from you earlier. What do you want from the Committee on Non-Westem Resources? Please write any of the following: Robert K. Bruce, Chairman, Carleton College, Northfield, Minn.; Binford H. Conley, Rutgers Graduate School of Library Service, New Brunswick, N.J.; Richard H. Dewey, George Williams University, Montreal 107, Quebec, Canada; Evan I. Farber, Earlham College, Richmond, Ind.; (Mrs.) H. R. Patterson, Secretary, Miles College, Birmingham, Ala.; William Ryan, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va.