ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

ACRL’s 1988/89 budget

By JoAn S. Segal

Executive Director, ACRL

How well ACRL performed last year.

Every year for the past four years in these pages, I have presented to the membership the ACRL budget for the current fiscal year, together with the preceding year’s financial report. Again, I report in terms of the ACRL Strategic Plan, which drives the program of the Association and is supported by its financial structure.

The Mission of ACRL is to foster the profession of academic and research librarianship and to enhance the ability of academic and research libraries to serve effectively the needs of current and potential library users.

Its Goals are:

•to contribute to the total professional development of academic and research librarians;

•to enhance the capability of academic and research librarians to serve the needs of users;

•to promote and speak for the interests of academic and research librarianship;

•to promote study, research, and publication relevant to academic and research librarianship.

The 1987-88 year moved the Association along in carrying out these goals, but it was only with the present year that ACRL adopted an annual operating plan laying out the year’s activities in terms of the long-range plan. Work on the ACRL Financial Plan is proceeding well and the intention of the ACRL Planning Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee is to create annually a document, the Annual Operating Plan and Budget, which will incorporate the activities of ACRL planned for the year, together with the resources needed to carry out the plan, thus showing how the Strategic Plan and the Financial Plan provide a basis for running the Association.

ACRL Programs (including Choice), FY 1989

Revenue, FY 1989

Expenses, FY 1989

Sources of revenue

In comparing actual performance for 1988 with the budget, we can see that revenues were $18,000 less than budgeted. An error in the budget indicated we would receive $26,000 in revenue from the Cincinnati Conference in 1988, but under accrual accounting procedures, all revenue received in advance of the conference will be recognized at the time it is held. Revenue increased slightly in membership dues; membership increased by 1.4 % and dues have not changed in six years. This is the third year of relatively flat membership. Revenue from conferences and workshops went up dramatically as the result of the WESS Florence Conference and two successful preconferences.

REVENUE

Sources of Revenue	FY 1988 Budget	FY 1988 Actual	FY 1989 Budget
Membership dues	$265,500	$257,626	$252,030
Other	$500	$0	$0
Advisory	$900	$0	$0
Awards	$5,500	$1,337	$6,120
Jobline	$2,700	$3,675	$3,000
Subtotal	$275,100	$262,638	$261,150
Publications
Choice	$1,339,494	$1,362,040	$1,373,270
C&RL	$116,621	$98,438	$101,950
C&RL News	$181,795	$216,273	$198,045
Rare Books & Mss. Libnshp.	$17,696	$61,710	$17,420
Fast Job Listing Service	$4,965	$196	$3,780
Section Newsletters	$0	$400	$180
Nonperiodical Pubs.	$38,925	$12,372	$50,230
Books for Coll. Libs.,3d ed.	$4,250	$3,965	$30,380
Chapter Topics	$0	$0	$0
Subtotal	$1,703,746	$1,755,394	$1,775,255
Conferences & Workshops
Continuing Education	$43,050	$33,875	$54,270
National (86, 89)	$26,000	$0	$283,740
Pre- & Postconferences	$51,600	$51,809	$17,760
WESS Florence Conference	$19,250	$27,065	$0
T eleconferences	$0	$0	$0
RBMS Cambridge Conf.	$0	$0	$0
Planning Workshops	$0	$0	$0
Subtotal	$139,900	$112,749	$355,770
Funded Projects
NEH Project	$50,731	$53,129	$22,960
HBCU Mellon Project	$23,233	$13,145	$0
NEH/HBCU Project	$0	$0	$36,980
Output Measures	$0	$0	$0
Planning Workshops	$0	$0	$30,590
Subtotal	$73,964	$66,274	$90,530
Total Revenue	$2,192,710	$2,197,055	$2,482,705
ChoiceRevenue	$1,339,494	$1,362,040	$1,373,270
Total Revenue without Choice	$853,216	$835,015	$1,109,435

EXPENSE

Object of Expense	FY 1988 Budget	FY 1988 Actual	FY 1989 Budget
Membership Activities
Membership Services	$25,928	$19,438	$22,090
Executive Comm. & Board	$54,568	$60,264	$44,080
Statistics	$0	$2,011	$16,270
Advisory	$27,129	$13,712	$27,330
Standards	$6,778	$5,433	$7,070
Discussion Groups	$2,397	$1,411	$1,870
Awards	$6,293	$10,165	$11,150
Chapters	$54,213	$33,243	$50,030
Committees	$53,386	$56,069	$54,810
Sections	$45,518	$34,567	$45,650
Jobline	$1,539	$2,020	$1,510
Special Grants Fund	$0	$0	$19,500
Output Measures Manual	$0	$17,454	$24,790
Subtotal	$277,749	$255,787	$326,150
Publications
Choice	$1,235,224	$1,187,288	$1,353,560
C&RL	$102,784	$97,042	$107,790
CbRL News	$176,559	$208,691	$205,070
Rare Bks. & Mss. Libnship.	$16,468	$17,870	$18,370
Fast Job Listing Service	$2,909	$4,779	$4,140
Section Newsletters	$19,032	$27,404	$25,990
Nonperiodical Pubs.	$40,670	$38,949	$28,100
Books for Col. Libs.,3d ed.	$13,413	$16,056	$5,280
Chapter Topics	$2,120	$1,096	$3,170
Subtotal	$1,609,179	$1,599,175	$1,751,470
Conferences & Workshops
Continuing Education	$38,701	$42,134	$50,770
National (86, 89)	$51,774	$57,292	$207,070
Pre- & Postconferences	$52,407	$37,081	$21,900
WESS Florence Conference	$19,227	$32,100	$0
T eleconferences	$0	$0	$0
RBMS Cambridge Conf.	$0	$0	$19,040
Planning Workshops	$0	$0	$0
Subtotal	$162,109	$168,607	$298,780
Funded Projects
NEH Project	$50,731	$55,079	$22,960
PLA Project	($8,000)	$0	$0
HBCU Mellon Project	$23,233	$18,158	$0
NEH/HBCU Project	$0	$0	$36,980
Output Measures	$0	$0	$0
Planning Workshops	$0	$0	$30,590
Subtotal	$65,964	$73,237	$90,530
Choice/ACRL allocation	$0	($232)	($2,000)
Total Expenses	$2,115,001	$2,096,574	$2,464,930
ChoiceExpenses	$1,235,224	$1,187,288	$1,353,560
Total Expenses without Choice	$879,777	$909,286	$1,111,370
Net	($26,561)	($74,271)	($1,935)

Objects of expense

Expenses for sections, chapters, and committees dropped as we moved the section newsletters to the publications area of the report. Advisory services expenses were lower because staff members intentionally reduced their publication and speaking activity for the year. The first part of the Output Measures Manual was funded. All expenses, including staff costs and a share of ACRL general expenses, were allocated to programs.

Plans for 1988/89

The 1989 Operating Plan includes these activities:

• Professional development-.ACRL’s Fifth National Conference, Cincinnati; continuing education courses at Cincinnati, Dallas, and as local presentations; an RBMS Preconference; an Accreditation Preconference; and the final NEH Humanities Programming Workshop in the ACRL/PLA series.

• Enhancing library service capability:the Historically Black College and University Planning Project will include a special NEH Humanities Programming Workshop for HBCUs and their communities, the preconference mentioned above, and a statistics collection activity. The University Library Standards will be completed.

• Liaison:The Board and Presidents Boissé and Moffett selected as the theme for 1989 and 1990 the strengthening of relations between academic librarians and academic administrators. Task Forces were appointed to consider library school curriculum, recruitment of underrepresented minorities, and paraprofessionals in academic libraries.

• Publishing: Books for College Libraries,3d edition, will be distributed in a variety of formats. The Accreditation Manual for Academic Libraries and the 1988 Non-ARL University Library Statistics will be published.

Also in 1988, the first set of Special Grants are being implemented under the process set up last year for allocating “surplus funds,” by which is meant unanticipated net revenue. For several years, ACRL year-end performance was better than expected, but there was no mechanism for incorporating the unanticipated excess into the current year’s operating budget. The Special Grants Fund goes into effect in any year where the fund balance exceeds the mandated reserve. In 1988, $19,500 is allocated for projects receiving those awards. In 1989, there will not be a distribution of such funds, since performance did not exceed the budget.

In comparing the 1988/89 budget with that for last year, it can be seen that Choice continues to be the single largest part of the overall budget, accounting for 62% of total ACRL revenues and 57 % of expenses. The pie charts of revenue and expense without Choice show dues at 23 % of revenues. This lowered percentage occurs because revenues are much higher in this National Conference year. Basic membership activities, which are in theory supported by dues, account for 29 % of expenses. Publications are 36 % of revenues and 36 % of expenses; of this, 27% of revenues are from C&RL and C&RL News-, 28 % of expenses are for these two periodicals. Funded projects are budgeted at 8% of revenues and expenses; conference and workshop revenues are 32% of revenue and 27% of expenses.

Fund balances

Under the accrual system begun September 1, 1987, the ACRL and Choice fund balances are as shown in the table below.

Reserves

The ACRL Board has set as a goal for ACRL and for Choice the maintenance of a reserve fund equal to 50 % of the average operating expenses over the preceding three years. These reserves are required for emergency expenses for either the division or the magazine. In the case of the division, the amount is only slightly greater than the cost of a national conference. ALA is considering requiring divisions to have in reserve an amount equal to the cost of activities such as national conferences, to avoid drawing on ALA general funds in advance of the activity. In the case of Choice, it is good business practice to maintain a reserve fund of at least 6 months’ expenses.

The Budget and Finance Committee took extraordinary pains to prepare a balanced budget for 1989, but doing so was difficult, involving the need to refuse requests for funding of several deserving section and committee projects. Keeping the annual budget in balance has become increasingly difficult. To help deal with this, the Budget and Finance Committee recommended and the Board approved the appointment of a Financial Development Task Force to help identify additional sources of revenue.

Fund Balances under Accrual System Begun at End of FY 1987

	8/31/87	8/31/88	8/31/89 Est.
ACRL	$497,697	$423,426	$421,491
Choice	$529,027	$703,779	$723,489

In this issue of C&RL News, Linda Piele sets forth the Budget and Finance Committee’s argument for increasing the dues and urges members to vote in favor of the increase. I hope this budget article will provide you with the information you need to make your decision.

ACRL continuing education courses at ALA Annual Conference in Dallas

The Association of College and Research Libraries will sponsor continuing education courses at the ALA Annual Conference in Dallas this summer. The courses are designed to provide academic librarians an opportunity to enhance their professional development, acquire new knowledge and skills, and update existing competencies. ACRL continuing education courses are taught by library practitioners well known for their expertise in specific areas.

The courses will be given in the Dallas Convention Center on Friday, June 23, immediately before ALA Annual Conference. Refreshments will be provided at breaks, but participants will be responsible for their own lunches.

ACRL members receive a 30 % discount on fees.

Written notice of cancellation received by May 26, 1989, will be honored subject to a $15 cancellation charge. No refunds for cancellations will be given after May 26. ACRL preconference courses are offered on a cost recovery basis and may be cancelled if there is insufficient registration. If a preconference course is cancelled, ACRL cannot be responsible for cancellation or change charges assessed by airlines or travel agencies.

A certificate of completion for each course will be issued. Every successful completion of 10 hours of continuing education is equal to one Continuing Education Unit (CEU). ACRL maintains a CEU record for each participant.

There are two ways to register: 1) to register by phone, call (800) 545-2433—in Illinois, (800) 545- 2444—or (312) 944-6780; 2) to register by mail, complete the registration form on the previous page and return it to ACRL.

Confirmations will be sent with information about the location.

Multiple Registration Discountfor staff from the same institution and registering at the same time. The first course (higher-priced course) will be the regular price, with additional registrations 20% off. Please photocopy the form for multiple registrations.

Please share this with a colleague!

If you have any questions, contact ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; or call (800) 545-2433.

CE 012—STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR LIBRARIANS

In this day of tightening fiscal policies, increasing output is one way to stretch your budget. However, this expected increase in output increases stress for you and your staff and lowers efficiency. Stress can be controlled! You can boost efficiency by developing effective and productive ways of coping with stress and reducing the possibility of burnout for you and your staff. You will learn to identify sources of stress in your library; understand the basic concepts, processes and dynamics of stress and its effects; learn that stress is normal; develop methods of monitoring the amount of both good and bad stress; learn ways you and others have of coping with stress; acquire helpful information to begin developing skills, tools, and techniques for managing stress; and understand the role of the supervisor and manager in stress management. The instructor has taught and practiced librarianship for nearly 20 years and on a recent one-year sabbatical leave has studied the phenomenon of stress in libraries. He has written, published and presented workshops on this interesting and useful topic.

Instructor:Charles A. Bunge, University of W isconsin-Madison.

Date:June 23, 1989, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Fee:ACRL members, $95; non-members, $135.

CEU credit:.7.

Limited to first 100 registrants.

CE 107—MANAGING STUDENT WORKERS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

Would you like to put less effort into managing student workers while increasing their productivity? If you’ve had at least one year of experience managing student workers, now is the time to learn additional management techniques and clarify your position and the nature of the student worker’s role in the academic library. Discover the importance of the selection and training process for future harmony and success between supervisor and student. Learn to anticipate and solve problems more easily and become a seasoned supervisor of student workers.

Instructor:Michael D. Kathman, St. John’s University.

Date:June 23, 1989, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Fee:ACRL members, $95; non-members, $135.

CEU Credit:.8.

Limited to first 30 participants.

CE 120—FINANCIAL AND COST ACCOUNTING FOR LIBRARIANS

As a manager you need to be able to communicate with your managements and external audiences, using standard financial terminology. Financial and cost accounting can give you the language to do this. In addition, it can help you make better decisions by teaching you how to determine the cost of alternative choices of action. You will be more persuasive when presenting rationally documented arguments rather than emotion pleas for support. Library managers both new and experienced will learn to read and understand the three standard financial statements used by organizations; be able to evaluate supplementary information such as the auditor’s opinion, notes and schedules; learn to calculate and interpret ratio analyses; understand the underlying principles of fund accounting; be able to determine the relationship of the financial statements to the operating budget; and learn a methodology for calculating the cost of library services.

Instructor:Julie Virgo, The Carroll Group.

Date:June 23, 1989, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Fee:ACRL members, $95; non-members, $135.

CEU Credit:.7.

Limited to first 30 registrants.

CE 101—LIBRARIANS AS SUPERVISORS

Managers are developed, not born. Would you like to become a more effective manager? Capable managers engender loyalty and motivate staff to higher levels of performance. An effective managerial style is learned and developed. New managers and those eager to improve their managerial skills will develop an awareness and understanding of current managerial concepts and practices; increase self-awareness of behavior and managerial philosophy; develop a greater appreciation of the supervisor’s role and contribution to improving library performance; gain an understanding of the skills required for effective supervision; examine individual approaches to supervision in response to the needs and demands of particular situations.

Instructor:Lea Wells.

Date:June 23, 1989, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Fee:ACRL members, $95; non-members, $135.

CEU Credit:.8.

Limited to first 35 registrants.

CE 117—APPROACHES TO MANAGING THE PROBLEM PATRON

Have you ever had to interact with individuals in your library who exhibit anger, deviant activity or criminal behavior? These “problem patron” situations can be stressful, emotional, tension-packed episodes in the life of any library employee. This course will prepare you to approach these situations in a professional manner. You will learn techniques to reduce, eliminate or channel the anger and frustration some library users display. At the end of this course you should feel confident that you can approach these difficult situations, quickly determine the problem, and resolve the situation in a manner acceptable to the patron and the library. Discussions will deal with specific public and technical service activities such as circulation, reference, acquisitions and cataloging. You will also learn strategies to deal with deviant or criminal behavior. You will receive materials and suggestions appropriate to establishing an effective security program in an academic library. Building checklists, staff manuals, patron awareness programs and legal considerations will be covered in practical terms.

Instructor:Thomas McNally, Loyola University of Chicago.

Date:June 23, 1989, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Fee:ACRL members, $75; non-members, $135.

CEU Credit:.7.

Limited to first 40 registrants. ■ ■