ACRL College & Researc Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Report to the ACRL Membership from the Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the 1959 Standards for College Libraries

The Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the 1959 Standards for College Libraries announced its proposed objectives, plan of action, and calendar of activities to the ACRL membership at the 1973 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Also announced at the conference was the receipt of a J. Morris Jones—World Book Encyclopedia—ALA Goals Award in the amount of $9,250 to support the first year of the committee’s project.

The committee, composed of David L. Perkins, University of California, Northridge; James W. Pirie, Lewis and Clark College; Dr. Herman L. Totten, University of Oregon; Arthur Monke (appointed on the resignation from the committee in January of Barbara La Mont), Bowdoin College; Jasper G. Schad (ex- officio), Wichita State University; Dr. David Kaser (project director/editor), Indiana University; and Ms. Johnnie E. Givens (chairperson), Austin Peay State University, met for the first time in August 1973. The committee members represent a variety of backgrounds and experiences, including liberal arts college programs, medium-sized and large state colleges, state university systems; multimedia print and nonprint collections and services; and plan- ning/consultant assignments with a wide range of institutions in the academic world. The committee has met seven times in addition to its activities at the 1974 Midwinter and Annual conferences.

During its first year, the committee developed six background/working papers. These papers discuss various typologies used in higher education in order to establish a rationale for the use of a typology in defining the college library; present a statistical analysis of specific characteristics which could be used for peer grouping; compare various elements of library programs and services which have been used in the accrediting processes of regional accrediting associations and professional associations representing the disciplines; review the literature to ascertain how standards for college libraries are being considered internationally; and synthesize the issues under discussion as generally facing higher education in the last half of the seventies and the eighties. The final working paper outlines the proposed structure for the revised standards. The final paper was released to the membership at the 1974 Annual Conference in New York. Copies of the set of six papers or any one of them may be requested from the ACRL office.

In its effort to benefit from dialogue with the library world and any person interested in, affected by, or responsible for the use of standards for college libraries, the committee has utilized various methods of communication. Discussions were held at the 1974 Midwinter Meeting, one for thirty invited persons and one for approximately twenty observers for whom a committee session was converted into an open discussion. Hearings for a total of six hours in three time periods were conducted during the New York 1974 Conference, at which the participants exceeded their allocated time schedules each session. Copies of the background/working papers were mailed to more than 300 persons. (If anyone has requested copies of the papers without receiving them, the committee apologizes and particularly asks that indulgence be extended by the submission of a second request to the ACRL office. The fifth paper was not available until mid-June. Delays in duplicating schedules, breakdowns in communications which often can occur when mailings and requests are received at different locations, plus the slowness and even irregularity of the mails which almost everyone has experienced could have played a part in some request not being filled by receipt of the papers.) Members of the committee or its representatives have held discussions with persons attending a number of professional meetings including the Mid-Atlantic States Academic Library Association, the New Jersey Academic Libraries Association, the Pennsylvania Chapter of ACRL, the Tennessee Library Association, the Midwest Academic Libraries Conference, and the Tri-States Academic Library Association. Frequent news releases were distributed and the committee expresses its thanks to the representatives of the library press and other presses for the outstanding coverage the work of the committee has received.

To fund the final phase of the committee’s work, ACRL received a second J. Morris Jones —World Book Encyclopedia—ALA Goals Award, totaling $12,000. During the second year the committee plans to release the first draft of the standards statement in October, conduct a seminar/workshop on the draft of the standards for official representatives of professional groups other than library who make use of, are affected by, or are concerned with standards for college libraries, publish a draft of the standards statement by January 1975, invite the ACRL members to react to the draft of the standards statement at the 1975 Midwinter Meeting, and elicit response from the academic library world during January-May 1975.

The committee welcomes the opportunity to assist any state, regional, or other group in holding discussions on the standards and providing feedback to the committee between now and May 1975. The presentation of the set of standards will be made by the committee to the ACRL Board and Membership at the ALA 1975 Annual Conference in San Francisco.

The committee wishes to express its appreciation to the ACRL Board of Directors and to the many other groups involved in providing support to its project by the J. Morris Jones— World Book Encyclopedia—ALA Goals Awards. Without this support, the committee’s progress would have been impossible. Special thanks also are due to the continuing endorsement and interest the committee has received in its work by Mr. Tanis, Mr. Axford, and Mr. Shank. Finally, the committee’s natural concern and commitment to the project have received constant stimulation from hundreds of individuals whose interest in the work of the committee, participation in its discussions, and support of its progress during the past year have been invaluable.

Submitted by: Johnnie Givens

Chairperson

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The ACRL Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the 1959 Standards met at ALA headquarters to complete the “Standards for College Libraries—1975 Revision,” as published in the December issue ofC&RL News. The members of the committee, pictured from left to right, are: James W. Pirie, Lewis & Clark College; Jasper G. Schad, Wichita State University; Herman L. Totten, School of Librarianship, University of Oregon; Johnnie E. Givens, Austin Peay State University (chairman); Reverly P. Lynch, Executive Secretary, ACRL; David L. Perkins, California State University, Northridge; Arthur Monke, Rowdoin College; and David Kaser, Graduate Library School, Indiana University.