ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

ACRL at the ’76 Conference

Julian Bond addresses ACRL …

… and signs autographs.

Louise Giles greets ACRL and Black Caucus members at the Johnson Publishing Company.

ACRL and its various sections sponsored over twenty programs on all aspects of academic librarianship during the 1976 centennial conference. Ethnicity, ACRL’s main theme, was the topic of Julian Bond’s address. Bond, state senator from Georgia, spoke to over 1,500 librarians at the ACRL program meeting. The questions addressed to him following his speech ranged from why he didn’t support Jimmy Carter to his future plans as a movie actor.

As part of the centennial celebration, ACRL and the Black Caucus honored Clara Jones and Julian Bond at a reception hosted by the Johnson Publishing Company, and ACRL members poked fun at one of the division’s most respected policies. ACRL’s spoof of faculty status emerged as the most popular booth at the Fair in the Park. Librarians who could ring the bell on the high striker—thus achieving a full professorship—were able to throw pies at such ACRL notables as Russ Shank, Dick Dougherty, Eldred Smith, and Beverly Lynch.

Despite the heavy schedule of programs and events celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary, various units of ACRL deliberated long hours on such issues as bibliographic instruction, compensation and salaries of academic librarians, the future direction and organization of the division. At the invitation of ACRL’s New England Chapter, the Board of Directors voted to hold a national ACRL conference in Boston in November 1978. The Academic Status Committee received preliminary reports of the findings of the 1975/76 ACRL salary survey. The survey shows that 61.3 percent of professional library staff members are women; 9.5 percent are minorities. On the average in every level of employment, women are paid less than men. The difference ranges from 3.2 percent at the entry level to 23.3 percent at the director level.

Julian Bond meets and talks with ACRL members.

During the inaugural banquet which ushered in ALA’s second century, ACRL President Louise Giles, accepted the Bailey K. Howard- World Book Encyclopedia-ALA Goal Award, presented to ACRL to support and expedite its work in writing standards for university libraries.

Julian Bond and Clara Jones.

Connie Dunlap and Tom Kirk talk ACRL business.

Norman Tanis hit by a “professor.”

ACRL High Striker, a spoof on faculty status.

ACRL Boat Trip—members get a good view of the Chicago skyline.