ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

In the news

Last month, ACRL President Helen Spalding introduced her presidential theme, “New Realities, New Relationships,” to readers. In this issue, Deborah Dancik, a U.S. citizen who lives and works in Canada, uses the theme to explore issues related to borders, both geographic and cultural, particularly in light of the changes that have occurred in the past year (p. 656).

From her unique perspective as an American living in a neighboring country, she recognizes the benefits that come from exposure to practices on both sides of a border and encourages us to embrace the opportunity for learning that will take place at the joint ALA/Canadian Library Association Conference in Toronto next summer.

Another key relationship highlighted this month occurs on the scholarly communications front. Rick Johnson, SPARC enterprise director, writes about the partnership between ACRL and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition) and our shared goal of reforming scholarly communication (p. 648 ). Included is a clear overview of SPARC’s accomplishments and future directions.

If you’re interested in becoming actively involved in ACRL, whether to work towards changing the scholarly communication landscape or on one or more of the many other important issues facing academic librarians today, the article on page 659 outlines the volunteering and selection process for ACRL committee membership. Volunteering for membership on one of our 25 division-level or numerous section-level committees is a good way to expand your skills, network with other academic librarians, and contribute to the future of the profession.

An example of the type of valuable and rewarding work accomplished by committees can be found in the “Guidelines for Academic Status for College and University Librarians” (p. 664), prepared by the ACRL Committee on the Status of Academic Librarians and approved by the ACRL Board at the Annual Conference.

—Stephanie Ophan Editor-in-chief sorphan@ala.org