ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Actions: ACRL Board of Directors, February 1994

Don Frank, Harvard University

The Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries met twice during the Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles on February 5 and February 8,1994. Highlights of their meetings are as follows:

Established the English and AmericanLiterature Section. This will bring the total number of ACRL sections to 17.

Established the Medium-Sized LibrariesDiscussion Group. This discussion group will deal with issues of interest to libraries that are typically grouped in the Carnegie Foundation’s Classification of Institutions of Higher Education of “Comprehensive Universities and Colleges, Type 1.” The new group was formed as a result of a recommendation by a joint ULS and CLS Committee to Study the Organizational Juxtaposition of the ‘Medium-Sized’ College Library within the ACRL Structure.

Retained policy on conference and preconference registration fee requirements for program planners and established a task force to research the issue and make recommendations on the existing ACRL policy.

Funded the distribution of “Standards forEthical Conduct of Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Librarians, with Guidelines for Institutional Practice in Support of the Standards, 2nd edition.”

Approved two 1995 preconferences. UPSSwill host a preconference on legal reference for non-law librarians; and RBMS will host its 36th preconference entitled “Collecting Cultures: The Politics and Practice of Building Special Collections.”

Accepted the final report from the ImageTask Force and instructed the Executive Committee to inform the Board on how it should respond to the recommendations at its meetings during the 1994 Annual Conference in Miami.

Established an Intellectual FreedomCommittee. The Intellectual Freedom Task Force recommended the establishment of a standing committee of the Board because of the challenges to intellectual freedom in academe in such areas as access to collections and information, electronic networks, exhibits, sources of funds, and speech.

Approved the College Library Section’s Proposal to the Council on Library Resources for $22,600 to fund the continuation of the College Library Directors Mentor Program.

Approved amendment to the ECLSS Bylawsthat allows the secretary to serve as archivistelect and archivist and to add the chair of the discussion group to the ECLSS Executive Commit- tee.

Endorsed the “Principles forthe Development of the Na- tional Information Infrastruc- ture” with the recommendation that the word “gender” be added to item #1 under “First Amendment and Intellectual Freedom Principle.”

Endorsed four other resolu-tions upon the recommendation of the Government Relations Committee. The resolutions were in support of LSCA reauthorization, HEA II appro- priation, the Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Act, and for adequate funding for the Library of Congress.

Approved the ACRL “Guidelines on the Selection of General Collection Materials for Transfer to Special Collections,” 2nd ed., and rescinded the 1988 edition. The 2nd edition appeared in the December 1993 issue of C&RL News.

Approved the “ALA/SAA Joint Statement onAccess Guidelines for Access to Original Research Materials.” The approved version of these guidelines, which appeared in the December 1993 C&RL News was developed jointly by RBMS and the Society for American Archivists and re- places the 1978 Joint State- ment.

Approved a process for re-scinding the “Guidelines on Manuscripts and Archives” upon the recommendation of the Standards and Accredita- tion Committee and RBMS be- cause the 1977 guidelines con- tain contradictory and dated information.

Approved the 1995 prelimi-nary budget which will be sub- mitted to ALA for review by COPES. (Ed. note: Final ap- proval will be made at the Tuesday afternoon meeting of the ACRL Board of Directors at the 1994 ALA Annual Conference in Miami.)

Changed the name and charge of the Audiovisual Committee at the request of that committee. The committee will now be known as the ACRL Media Resources Committee.

Approved an additional $25,000 for the

Initiative Fund for FY1994. This brings to $35,000 the total amount in the fund. ACRL units were notified of the increase in the fund; the application deadline was extended until March 25,1994. The competitive process awards funding for new initiatives to ACRL units.

Shelley Phipps and Katharine Branch organize participants’ comments during a planning session attended by ACRL leaders.

ULS discusses virtual libraries and publishing

Changing organizational structures

The University Library Section’s Current Topics Discussion Group presented “Re-engineering the Library for the 90’s and Beyond: Changing Organizational Structures and Staffing Patterns for the Virtual Library” during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Arnold Hirshon, Wright State University, described his experiences contracting out cataloging services. The benefits include: dramatic reduction in cataloging costs, faster turn-around time, elimination of backlogs, improved quality, and liberation of organizational thinking. Some lessons learned: establish your goals and whether they include improving quality of service or redeploying staff, concentrate on results rather than process; establish target savings and what will make it worthwhile for your organization; ensure that organizational disruption will be offset by the amount of money you save; and decide whose support you'll need.

Ralph Moon discussed the reorganization of the University of California-Berkeley Library. The goals were: to unify the organization of the newly connected Main and Undergraduate Libraries, provide centralized leadership, address staff shortages in public services, and position the library to take advantage of developing technologies. Some public services department head positions were eliminated, freeing staff for new roles and providing a direct line of communication between public services and library administration. Three new organizations were created within the library: 1) The Teaching Library; 2) Information Systems Instruction and Support, which provides instruction for staff, a network librarian, and a systems help desk; 3) Library Enterprises, which generates funds through entrepreneurial activities. Some disadvantages: dedicated staff saw their positions disappear, internal recruitment led to months of nonstop job shifting, and communication needed to be improved.

Kevin Long described the merging of reference and computing services at Rice University Library where staff were told by administration to become more efficient and provide better service with information technology.

Reengineering is defined as trying to find effective, quantitative ways to improve services, not reorganizing or flattening the organization just to do things differently. When charting a course for a goal remember: missteps will occur, keep the process interactive, and take what is good and leave the rest.— Mary Munroe, Georgia State University

Research and publishing tips

ULS’s Research and Publishing Discussion Group featured four speakers who reviewed the research and publications processes from different perspectives. They were: Barbara Moran, University of North Carolina; Charles Martell, California State University at Sacramento; James Neal, Indiana University; and Ann Dougherty, Mountainside Publishing.

Moran suggested that librarians enroll in a formal class on research methodologies if research and publication are required. Look for “research holes” in efforts to identify relevant topics, read the journals, and record ideas for possible research. Moreover, recall the application and importance of qualitative research (in addition to quantitative research).

Martell noted that timeliness of topics is important. Record ideas for potential research and think critically. Research includes the ability to: see or identify a specific problem, consider the problem from a critical perspective, and develop possible alternatives.

Neal discussed four categories of research: 1) basic; 2) applied; 3) reflection; and 4) “What I’ve done good.” If a survey is distributed, do the statistical analysis. Identify a relevant topic. Literature reviews are important, correct grammar is essential, and enthusiastic writing adds to overall quality. Share the manuscript with colleagues (for critical feedback) prior to submitting it for publication.

Dougherty suggested that librarians examine the scope of the journals under consideration as well as the guidelines for authors. Submit the manuscript to one journal at a time, use a good printer, request critical feedback from colleagues before submitting for publication, check all references for accuracy, include a cover letter, and use the active tense. ■