ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

In the news

A highlight of this year’s Midwinter Meeting was the President’s Discussion Group, which focused on Mary Reichel’s theme of learning communities for excellence. The session provided a forum for librarians to talk to one another about ways in which ACRL-spon- sored programs and initiatives, such as the Institute for Information Literacy and the development of standards, have paved the way for real change in academic libraries. An overview of the discussion can be found on page 189.

For more insight into the value of learning communities and background on the learning communities model, read Joan Lippincott’s article, “Developing collaborative relationships” on page 190.

In “We are all reference librarians” (page 168), Amy Carver shows us how collaboration between the two seemingly disparate areas of cataloging and reference not only leads to greater understanding between the two departments, but inevitably results in a more user- centered catalog that meets the library’s ultimate goal of serving its patrons.

This issue also includes the first installment of announcements for ACRL award winners. Congratulations to Shelley Phipps, ACRL’s Academic/Research Librarian of the Year, and the library staffs at Anne Arundel Community College, Cornell University, and Oberlin College, recipients of the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award (page 194).

There’s still time to submit a program proposal for the 2003 National Conference in Charlotte. Don’t miss the tips for putting together successful workshops and contributed papers on pages 180 and 181. Please also consider participating in this year’s ACRI/Harvard Leadership Institute (page 203). It’s an excellent opportunity to gain valuable skills for effecting positive change at your library.

—Stephanie Orphan Editor-in-chief,sorphan@ala.org