ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

ACRL Annual Report 2000-2001 Community and collaboration

Message from the President

Lizabeth Wilson

ACRL’s 62nd President

When I accepted the nomination to stand for the presidency of ACRL, I did so with the intent of repaying ACRL. My time as president reconfirmed that I receive much more from ACRL than I can ever give in return. ACRL offers its members a way to stay connected with colleagues and energized with new ideas; ground- ing on issues in higher education; and opportunities for learning in a continu- ous way.

It has been a year of tremendous accomplishment for ACRL, as well as one of great professional and personal satisfaction. I had the privilege of visiting ACRL Chapters and experiencing firsthand innovation across the country. To he part of the richness of regional traditions has been inspiring. It was an honor to open “Crossing the Divide,” ACRL’s 10th National Conference in Denver, March 15-18. Conference Chair W. Lee Hisle, the planning committee, and ACRL staff shaped a high-quality event that set attendance records. Now in its second year, the “Excellence in Academic Libraries Awards,” funded by Blackwell’s Book Services, recognized University of Arizona Libraries, Austin Community College Library, and Earlham College Library as the “best of the best.”

Libraries are moving into a century of change that calls for strengthening our collaborations and community relationships if we are to succeed in the 21st century. As a result, I selected “Community and Collaboration” as my presidential focus. A fabulous program committee, led by Jill McKinstry, assisted me throughout the year. “The Lone Ranger is Dead” was the inaugural article in a “Community and Collaboration” series that ran in C&RL News. Each month, different writers shared stories of successful collaborations in our interconnected communities.

ACRL advanced information literacy through community-wide collaboration. ACRL leaders Cerise Oberman and Julie Todaro led the ALA Information Literacy Partnerships Initiative to bring together librarians, community members, and organizations to help prepare the public to use information efficiently and effectively. The Institute for Information Literacy and its Immersion Program, the promulgation of the “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education,” and the new Information Literacy Consultants enhanced ACRL’s capacity and infrastructure to leverage membership efforts.

Celebrating the diversity and creativity of ACRL, the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco featured some 18 programs presented by ACRL sections and committees. The ACRL President’s Program entitled “The Creative Genius of Community” explored the library as the intellectual crossroads of the community—a house of stories preserving our memory and fostering communication and collaboration. The program featured award-winning author, poet, and screenwriter Sherman Alexie and was the undisputed highlight of the conference.

Message from the President

This was also a year of milestones and transitions. ACRL celebrated the superlative leadership of Althea Jenkins as its executive director for the past ten years. When Althea announced her resignation to become the director of libraries at Florida State University, the ACRL Board launched a process to find a worthy successor. The ACRL Board was delighted, but not surprised, to identify an outstanding candidate in Mary Ellen Davis. With Mary Ellen’s extraordinary leadership talents, ACRL will continue its momentum as the premier association of academic librarians into the 21st century.

Message from the Vice-President

Mary Reichel

Vice-President/President-Elect

I was very pleased to have been elected in May 2000 as vice-president/president-elect of ACRL and to serve the association in that capacity last year. During the vice-presidential year, my fo- cus was on developing the theme for 2001- 2002 and appointments.

The idea of “learning community” emerged as a theme that captures my deep respect for ACRL members and all we do for higher education and for ACRL. Through the years I have learned far more from others in ACRL than I have given, and my universities have benefitted as I tried out new ideas. With ACRL’s strategic plan as the framework, the general theme of “ACRL: The Learning Community for Excellence in Academic Libraries” emerged.

The hard work of putting this theme into action falls to the President’s Program Committee, co-chaired by Don Frank of Portland State University and Susan Kroll of Ohio State University. The committee has developed an excellent program for the Atlanta 2002 conference, which will be held on June 17. The keynote presentation will be given by Barbara Leigh Smith from Evergreen State University in Washington, and I know we are all in for a stimulating afternoon. We also hope to have poster sessions that afternoon tied to the Learning Community theme. At the Midwinter Meeting, the President’s Program Committee will host a discussion forum on how ACRL as a learning community has promoted excellence in academic libraries. The forum will be on January 21, 2002, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.

The Nominations Committee, chaired by Frances Maloy of Emory University, worked through the first half of last year and developed an excellent slate of candidates with Tyrone Cannon of the University of San Francisco and John Popko of Seattle University running for vice-president/presi- dent-elect.

Susanna Hinojosa of the University of California/Berkeley chaired the Appointments Committee and oversaw more than 85 new appointments to committees or task forces and more than 28 reappointments. We focused on appointments that would bring diversity and newly active members into the association, including appointing 18 ACRL National Conference scholarship recipients as interns to committees.

During the year, I spoke at two regional association meetings and really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know more of you and to understand how the difficult issues we face are developing in different states. Thank you again for this opportunity to serve, and I look forward to hearing from you about ideas or concerns you may have for ACRL.

C&RL News■ December 2001 1097

ACRL Sponsorships for 2001

ACRL thanks the corporate community for financially supporting its activities and programs throughout the year. Working together, the academic library and corporate communities can achieve goals of mutual interest.

Corporate contributions added $219,741 to the ACRL 2000-2001 budget. Because of these contributions, the ACRL membership enjoyed a wider range of programs and activities.

Colleagues

Summa Cum Laude ($10,000+)

Bell & Howell

Docutek Information Systems

EBSCO Information Systems

Elsevier Science ISI

netLibrary, Inc.

ProQuest

Magna Cum Laude ($6,000-$9,999)

C&RL News

CHOICE

Endeavor Information Systems, Inc.

SilverPlatter Information, Inc.

Swets Blackwell, Inc.

Cum Laude ($3,000-$5,999)

Blackwell’s Book Services

Charlotte Convention & Visitors Bureau

CIS/Lexis-Nexis

Epixtech, Inc.

The Gale Group

Innovative Interfaces, Inc.

Dean’s List ($1,000-$2,999)

Belser Wissenschaftlicher Dienst Ltd.

Bibliographic Center for Research

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, L.R

Norman Ross Publishing

Terry Tierney

Touzot Grant

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee- Golda Meir Library

YBP Library Services

Honor Roll (<$ 1,000)

Aux Amateurs de Livres

Casalini Libri, s.p.a.

East View Publications, Inc.

Experimenta Old and Rare Books

Faxon, RoweCom Academic and Biomedical Services

Harrassowitz

Iberbook International S.L.

IDC Publishers, Inc.

K.G. Saur Verlag

Pacific Book Auction Galleries

Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Priscilla Juvelis, Inc.

Puvill Libros, S.A

Reese Company

SIRSI Corporation

Springer-Verlag New York

Tavistock Books

The Bookstall

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee- School of Information Studies

University Products, Inc.

Zeller Dietrich, Bibliographische Verlage

Letter from the Executive Director

Mary Ellen Davis

Executive Director

It is affirming to learn from the membership sur- vey conducted this year that ACRL members are pleased with the variety of publications, programs, products, and services that ACRL provides. This satisfaction is a result of the many collaborative partnerships that exist among ACRL members, elected leaders, friends, corporate colleagues, and staff. Through these partner- ships ACRL is able to accomplish much. This last year was an extremely busy and productive one, as you will read in this annual report.

ACRL held its most successful National Conference to date, expanded its professional development offerings, conducted several surveys, continued advocating for the interests of academic librarians to other higher education organizations and governmental groups, and recognized the best and brightest in the profession through its awards program.

Responding to requests to provide more programming at a local level, ACRL launched e-learning Webcasts. These Webcasts are digitally recorded presentations, first given at ACRL conferences. Each Webcast comes with discussion questions and a resource list providing a “ready-made” professional development event that is easy to use locally. They can be watched individually or in a group setting. Try one as a program at a brown bag lunch or morning seminar.

Not only did ACRL expand its use of the Web to offer e-learning, ACRL also greatly increased participation in its membership survey, statistics data collection, and conference evaluations by making the surveys available via the Web

As we ended the year, ACRL found itself in a time of change as we said farewell to Executive Director Althea Jenkins and Director of Membership Melissa Cast. Their tireless work on behalf of ACRL was much appreciated. I’d like to thank the ACRL staff who have given above and beyond in their efforts to carry out the programs of ACRL during a time in which we have been operating short 3.6 FTE staff members. However, we are conducting searches to fill these positions and look forward to being fully staffed in the coming year.

I would like to thank and recognize ACRL’s corporate colleagues who have so generously supported ACRL’s programs and services this year. Their continued support allows ACRL to enhance its services, which in turn enhances the ability of ACRL’s members to provide the highest quality services to their campus communities.

I would also like to thank the ACRL Board of Directors for the confidence they expressed in me when they tapped me to serve as ACRL Executive Director. As I write this letter, just a few months into my first year, I am excited by the work we are doing and pleased to have the opportunity to work with you in this new role. It is a very exciting and challenging time to be an academic librarian, and I look forward to working with you as we continue to carry out ACRL’s mission.

Year in Review

Services and programs

ACRL continues to be a dynamic organization dedicated to addressing the needs of academic librarians. To assess the state of the association, ensure its member- ship is receiving high-quality services and programs, and to track any new trends or needs, ACRL surveyed its personal members in the fall of 2000. To increase input from mem- bers, the most re- cent survey was administered online. ACRL members responded positively to this method of conducting the survey and responded at the very high rate of 47.3%. ACRL members indicated satisfaction with ACRL publications, professional development opportunities, and member services.

The membership survey also highlighted the strength of ACRL members. Members continue to stay active in ACRL activities. Twenty-two percent of respondents are members of a section committee, 21.6% are members of a discussion group, and 18% are members of an ACRL committee. These numbers all represent increases from the 1997 survey. Our very active members help to make ACRL a dynamic organization and a robust voice speaking out for academic librarians on vital issues.

“ACRL has been a wealth of human resources, electronic and print resources, too.”—Respondent from the ACRL membership survey

Advisory

ACRL staff and leaders are frequently contacted for referrals, information on faculty status and ACRL standards and guidelines, information regarding technological advances, buildings, library systems in use, and information literacy.

Advocacy and Government Relations

In 2000-2001, ACRL continued to be a strong advocate for academic librarians and the contribution they make to learning, teaching, and research. To support this advocacy effort, ACRL launched a media campaign to underscore to members of the higher education community the continued vitality and value of academic libraries. The first advertisement of this campaign, placed in the April 20, 2001, edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, used the theme “exciting thing happen @ your library” to congratulate the 2001 winners of the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award.

To advocate for academic library issues in the public policy arena, ACRL adopted the 2000-2001 Legislative Agenda, which focused on several legislative and public policy areas that affect academic libraries. One major focus of the library community throughout this year has been reauthorization of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The current LSTA authorization ends in 2002. A proposal was developed by a broad coalition of library groups, including ACRL, which would increase the funding level and include a provision for analysis of LSTA programs. Legislation affecting the use of digital materials for distance education was also introduced at the federal level. The Senate passed the TEACH bill, S. 487, that would extend the existing copyright exemption for classroom use of dramatic literary and musical works to nonprofit distance-education courses. A similar bill is expected to pass in the House. ACRL participated in a workshop with other associations where ideas were gathered about how to educate the entire education community on this important new legislation.

ACRL staff and members used a variety of strategies to respond to these and many other issues. These included the broadcast of Action Alerts over Legnet, ACRL’s Legislative Network electronic list, which includes representatives from each ACRL chapter. The members of the network forward relevant legislative messages and calls for action to their chapter members, who can consult the ACRL Washington Watch Web page where materials about the Legislative Agenda issues are maintained. This Web page also keeps the academic community informed of legislative issues that affect their libraries.

In April, ACRL continued its strong showing at ALA’s annual Library Legislative Day. To further educate academic librarians on the importance of legislative advocacy and to inform them of the details of specific legislative issues affecting academic libraries, ACRL sponsored a luncheon program attended by 60 academic librarians. Charles Beard, Rodney Petersen, and Althea Jenkins updated the attendees on the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), and LSTA reauthorization. Another educational opportunity was provided for ACRL members at the ALA Annual Conference, where ACRL sponsored the first ACRL Advocacy Circles session. Several ACRL leaders led discussions on urgent topics of importance to academic librarians. Twenty members participated in the roundtable discussions of current legislative and advocacy topics, including UCITA and regional accrediting agencies.

Awards

Since 1923, ACRL has been committed to recognizing the best and brightest in academic librarianship. In 2001, 18 outstanding individuals and institutions received ACRL awards recognizing their accomplishments. The prestigious Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award was presented to Austin College’s Larry Hardesty for his dynamic leadership in the academic library community. In announcing the award, the committee remarked, “The breadth of Hardesty’s publications over the years has made an impact on academic librarianship. Many of his publications have become standards in the field.”

At the 2001 ALA Conference in San Francisco, the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, established in 1999 to recognize academic libraries that have demonstrated teamwork in supporting the missions of their institutions, was awarded for the second time. This year’s winners were Austin Community College, Earlham College, and the University of Arizona. Each institution was recognized with an award ceremony on its campus and awarded a $3,000 cash prize. The award, sponsored by Blackwell’s Book Services, recognizes the staff of a community college, a college, and a university library for programs that deliver exemplary services and resources to further the educational missions of their institutions.

Year in Review

Chapter Affiliates

ACRL extends its reach into the local academic library community through the activities of its Chapter Affiliates. Offering opportunities for academic librarians to meet and share experiences in their regions, ACRL Chapter Affiliates sponsored more than 36 programs across the United States, and ACRL officers visited 7 chapters as guest speakers.

A brochure for Chapters Council was developed by a Chapters Council Task Force as an information piece to guide new chapter representatives in serving as chapter leaders in ACRL. The Western Pennsylvania Chapter reorganized and incorporated to become the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Chapter of ACRL.

Sections

Seventeen sections provide members with opportunities to develop leadership skills and grow as active participants in their profession and help them individualize their ACRL experience. As part of this objective, sections develop and maintain standards and guidelines for directing the development and future directions of the profession.

Sections came up with a variety of uses for the $1,500 one-time allocation presented to them by the ACRL Board of Directors. The African American Studies Section funded a portion of its Annual Conference program. The Anthropology and Sociology Section redesigned its Web site. The Instruction Section digitally recorded a keynote session at its Annual Conference preconference, which will be added to the ACRL e-learning Webcasts site for on-demand viewing. The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section created a new section brochure. The Western European Studies Section sent an extra representative to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Other sections are finalizing plans and will carry them out in 2001- 2002.

All 17 sections offered or co-sponsored stimulating programs at the Annual Conference in San Francisco and, for the first time, were part of the ALA Conference Program tracking system, where conference programs were slotted in one of seven tracks. The Science and Technology Section celebrated its 40th anniversary with an elegant reception sponsored by ISI at the Annual Conference.

Standards and guidelines

ACRL is the source that the higher education community looks to for standards and guidelines on academic libraries. ACRL has promulgated 26 standards, guidelines, and model statements, which are reviewed and updated by the membership on a regular basis. All of ACRL’s standards and guidelines are posted on its Web site at http://www.ala.org/acrl/guides/index.html.

In 2000-2001, the “Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians,” which were created to recognize formally the importance of faculty status for academic librarians, were revised and approved by the ACRL Board of Directors. The primary focus of the current revision was to improve the wording of the standards to lessen the distinction between librarians and faculty in other academic units. The “Guidelines on Collective Bargaining,” which were reviewed and revised with a minor editorial change, were also approved by the Board. In addition, the ACRL Board reaffirmed the “Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Libraries,” the “Statement on Terminal Professional Degree for Academic Librarians,” and the “Statement on the Certification and Licensing of Academic Librarians.”

The Distance Learning Section revised the “Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services.” This edition of the guidelines reflects a greater emphasis on outcomes assessment and was approved by ACRL and ALA in the fall of 2000. The Instruction Section created the “Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians,” to be used in discussion with administrators and academic departments for suggestions on institutional goals or performance outcomes. The ACRL Board of Directors approved this statement at the 2001 Midwinter Meeting.

ACRL Membership Statistics
ACRL Sections		Personal		Organizational/Special		August 2001 total	August 2000 total	%increase/decrease
ACRL		11,060	983	12,043	11,524	4.50%
AAMES		343	58	401	386	3.89%
AFAS		258	19	277	252	9.92%
ANSS		461	62	523	497	5.23%
ARTS		726	78	804	793	1.39%
CJCLS	1,004	207	1,211	1,171	3.42%
CLS	2,109	270	2,379	2,303	3.30%
DLS	1,459	68	1,527	1,317	15.95%
EBSS		861	156	1,017	1,044	-2.59%
IS	3,743	378	4,121	3,976	3.65%
LES	576	12	588	583	0.86%
LPSS		547	81	628	621	1.13%
RBMS	1,526	158	1,684	1,654	1.81%
SEES		191	43	234	234	0.00%
STS	1,505	175	1,680	1,661	1.14%
ULS	5,086	285	5,371	5,281	1.70%
WESS	533	52	585	579	1.04%
WSS	556	49	605	610	-0.82%

Partnerships and collaborations

ACRL collaborated with the higher education community in a variety of ways to define and illustrate the role of libraries in learning, teaching, and research.

ACRL continued to show a strong presence at the meetings of other higher education associations. ACRL staff and members attended meetings and made presentations at the Educause, American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Faculty Roles and Rewards Conference, AAHE National Conference, AAHE Assessment Conference, Syllabus Conference, Middle States Commission on Higher Education Conference, and Western Accrediting Association Conference. Betsy Wilson and Mary Ellen Davis represented ACRL at the Coalition for Networked Information Task Force meeting in December. Helen Spalding and Althea Jenkins represented ACRL at the Task Force meeting in April.

ACRL’s strongest collaboration with non-library higher education associations continued to be with AAHE and its affiliate the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group (TLT). AAHE solicited program proposals from librarians for each of its three conferences, and ACRL programs were presented at two of them. An article on information literacy by ACRL Past-President Patricia Breivik appeared in the November/December issue of the AAHE Bulletin. ACRL also organized a program session at TLT’s request at the Syllabus conference in Boston, November

2000. ACRL sponsored the fourth AAHE/ACRL Library Issues Forum at the AAHE National Conference in Washington, D.C.

On February 2, 2001, ACRL joined forces with associations across America in support of the second annual ALA Divisions Job Shadow Day, an event that partners junior high, high school, and college students with workplace mentors and introduced them to the profession of librarianship; more than 20 institutions participated.

Information Literacy

Recognizing information literacy as a primary initiative, ACRL appointed a team of librarians from California State University-San Marcos to serve as ACRL Information Literacy Consultants and to provide “infrastructure to leverage librarians, faculty, and others in higher education efforts to advance the information literacy agenda.”

The consultants work with ACRL’s Information Literacy Advisory Committee and are charged to “provide advice … on priorities, programs and strategies for the association that promote the development and utilization of information literacy as a learning concept throughout higher education….”

ACRL launched its project, “Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in Information Literacy Programs: Training Academic Librarians.” Funded by a National Leadership Grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the purpose of the project is to give librarians the skills to create baseline data that support the merits of information literacy programs. The grant provides support for academic librarians to team with faculty to design, implement, and evaluate tools for assessing student learning outcomes resulting from information literacy courses taught by librarians and faculty. This direction is supported through meetings, a Web-based training and reporting forum, and site visits from experts. Twenty-three institutions were selected to participate in this project.

To gather much needed information about information literacy practices of academic libraries, ACRL teamed with the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) to conduct an online survey of academic library directors. Summary results are available on the ACRL Web site (http://www.ala.org/acrl/ nils.html) to help our members compare their information practices with those of other institutions across the United States.

The “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” have been well received by the higher education community and remain in high demand. ACRL staff continue to fulfill requests for copies of the stan- dards, which have been translated into Spanish and Greek and more transla- tions are underway.

ACRL strengthened its efforts to advance information literacy by focusing on community-wide collaboration. ACRL members led the ALA Information Lit- eracy Partnerships Initiative, whose purpose is to bring together librarians, com- munity members, and organizations to help prepare the public to use informa- tion efficiently and effectively so they can fully participate in the workplace, education, community, and family life.

Immersion programs

To help librarians and institutions develop and implement information lit- eracy programs on their campus, ACRL’s Institute for Information Literacy offered two Immersion programs this year. These four-and-a-half day pro- grams provided two tracks of intensive training and education. Track 1 focused on indi- vidual development for new librarians or instruction librar- ians who are inter- ested in enhancing, refreshing, or ex- tending their individual instruction skills. Track 2 focused on developing, integrating, and managing institutional and programmatic information literacy programs.

This year the national program returned to Plattsburgh State University, in Plattsburgh, New York, and 92 individuals were selected to participate in the program. The program was the most interactive to date and this received very high marks from the participants, with 98% rating their experience as very positive (the highest rating). Twenty-eight individuals were recipients of ACRL scholarships awarded to new and/or minority librarians.

Fifty librarians from Wisconsin and thirty-six more invited from the national program waiting list, participated in the regional program, held at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin.

To enhance the conference experience, many new activities and services were introduced:

• Product Update Sessions. These sessions, hosted by exhibitors, offered attendees an in-depth look at particular products/services and attracted standing room only crowds.

• Placement Center. The traditional paper notebook system was brought into the 21st century with a Web-based placement center. Job-seekers and employers could post jobs, resumes, and search the database for appropriate listings. This Web-based system broke all ACRL placement center records with 68 job seekers registered online and 119 employers offering 216 jobs online. The previous record, set at the Detroit conference, had 47 seekers for 105 jobs.

• Workshops. To address the importance of interactive learning, ACRL offered its first workshop sessions. These three-hour sessions were limited to the first 60 attendees to allow for maximum interaction.

• Session finder. ACRL expanded its Web site to include a searchable database of programs, speakers, and exhibitors. Those interested in the conference could visit the Web site and free-text search to build a conference schedule tailored to their needs.

• Webcasts. Seven programs were digitally recorded and are now available as the e-learning Webcasts site for on-demand viewing.

• Web evaluation. Dropping the onsite paper evaluation, ACRL moved to a Web-based form that attendees completed after the conference and increased participation in the evaluation process by 60 percent.

Leadership institutes

The third ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute was held August 19-24, in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. Sixty-three individuals attended the intensive five-day institute, designed to help library leaders increase their capacity to lead and manage.

ACRL also offered the one- and-a-half day leadership insti- tute “Service, Management, and Leadership: Essential Tools for 21st Century Librarians” as a sat- ellite meeting to the IFLA Con- ference, August 16-17, 2001. The session focused on information and strategies for library managers and leaders in the changing higher edu- cation environment. Attendance was by invitation only, and more than 40 indi- viduals from 26 countries registered for the session.

E-Learning

To increase the availability of professional development opportunities for the membership, ACRL inaugurated Webcasts—streaming videos of selected presentations from the ACRL 10th National Conference. The videos of various speakers, along with their PowerPoint presentations, a bibliography, and discussion questions, are available for a fee that allows unlimited access for a limited period of time (two weeks for individuals and four weeks for libraries). These sessions offer a convenient, affordable means to provide professional development in the workplace.

Publications

ACRL ventured into electronic publishing with In Print: Publishing Opportunities for College Librarians, which had been previously published in paper. In Print is a database of journals that publish articles of interest to academic librarians. It lists various parameters, such as whether the journal is refereed, the acceptance rate, subjects covered, preferred article length, plus contact information. Access is fee-based and controlled by password. A second title, Directory of Curriculum Materials Centers, Fifth Edition (also a searchable database), was published. The proceedings of ACRL’s 10th National Conference were made available online in pdf format.

In other electronic activities, respondents to the latest CLIP Note survey on Computer Use Policies at College Libraries had the option of completing a paper survey or by completing and submitting the survey form electronically.

CHOICE

During 2001, Choice continued work on its internal automation and electronic publishing program. Major developments during the past 12 months included:

• The February launch of ChoiceReviews.online Version 1.7 featuring improved searching and a number of other small but useful improvements.

• Continuation of work on the long-awaited site license version of ChoiceReviews.online, now in beta and scheduled for release in early 2002.

• The April launch of the new Choice Reviewer Web Site at http:// www.choicemag.org. Using this site, an enhancement to new Publishing System, Choice reviewers can now submit reviews via the Web and update their Choice profile 24/7.

• The signing of a new licensing agreement with Syndetic Solutions, Inc. of Portland, Oregon. Under this agreement, libraries with one of the newly enhanced Web OPACs being released by the major ILS vendors now have the option of adding Choice reviews to their online card catalog.

• Completion of a new survey of Choice readers and subscribers. The results of this survey were highly encouraging and will play an important role in shaping Choice’s future publishing plans.

• Implementation of a thorough redesign of the Choice Web site at http:/ /www.ala.org/acrl/choice. The redesigned site is cleaner, simpler to use, and more contemporary in appearance.

C&RL News

C&RL Newscontinued to provide news, articles offering practical solutions to common challenges, and reviews of Web resources. Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen Davis ended her decade at the helm of C&RL News when she accepted the position of ACRL executive director. A national search for a new editor is underway.

C&RL

A new editor was named for C&RL. William Gray Potter will serve a one-year internship beginning in July 2001, before assuming responsibility for the journal when the term of the current editor, Donald Riggs, ends. C&RL continues to be the premier scholarly journal of academic librarianship with an acceptance rate for its refereed manuscripts of approximately 35 percent.

RBM

Vol. 1, No.2 and Vol. 2, No.l of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage were published. The latter issue featured articles and opinion on collectors and collecting. A series of promotional mailings and interest in the new format and editorial focus have produced increases in subscriptions.

Statistics

The 1999 Academic Library Statistics project saw an increase in participation of more than 28 percent from the previous year with the total number of respondents at 1,367. The trends section reported data on the extent to which academic institutions provide academic or faculty status as defined by the ACRL standard. In addition to print publication, the 1999 data was made available in an electronic publication. Access is fee-based and includes searching, selection of institutions into a separate file, and display of data in tabular or graphical form to facilitate peer comparisons.

Data from the year 2000, was completed with a 22.4 percent increase over the previous year in institutions responding. The total percentage of institutions responding has now risen to 54.2 percent. The trends section of the 2000 Statistics gathered data on the provision of library services for distance education. The results will again be published in both print and electronic form. Because of the increase in response rate, the print edition will appear in three volumes, with institutions in Carnegie Classes Associate of Arts, Baccalaureate and Master’s, and Doctoral-Granting. Discussions have been held to adopt the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) form for the 2001 statistics gathering in order to reduce the effort of completing the form for ARL libraries.

ACRL Board 2000-01 (I to r): (back) Barbara Baxter Jenkins, Robert F. Rose, Theresa S. Byrd, Althea H. Jenkins, William E. Brown, Mary Lee Sweat, Deborah Dancik, Paul E. Dumont; (front) Helen H. Spalding, Larry Hardesty, Betsy Wilson, Mary L. Reichel, John Popko. Not pictured: Lois Cheperon

Financial Report

John Popko

Budget and Finance Committee Chair

ACRL experienced another year of strong finan- cial performance during fiscal 2000-2001, and the association’s financial condition remains excep- tionally healthy. At the close of the fiscal year, the ACRL Operating Fund Balance was $2,176,643.

The Choice Operating Fund Balance closed at $1,124,936. (These figures and those used elsewhere in this report are drawn from ALA’s unaudited final closing of the fiscal year books.)

ACRL manages a complex and dynamic set of budgets. It is sometimes helpful to look at ACRL’s financial activities in terms of three major components: regular operations; National Conference activities as a subset of regular operations; and long-term investments and endowments.

2000- 2001 operating budget highlights

ACRL’s operating revenues of $1,947,131 (excluding Choice and excluding National Conference) exceeded budget by almost $205,000. Among the highlights that contributed to this strong performance are the following budget projects:

Revenues from . . .	Budgeted	Actual
Membership Dues	$438,193	$446,936
C&RL	$155,098	$179,588
C&RL News	$519,966	$666,852
Pre- & Post-Conferences	$93,835	$107,621

The strong performance of C&RL News is due in significant measure to continuing volumes of classified advertising revenue. Among those projects that did not meet budget: Nonperiodical Publications revenues of $114,414 fell below the planned total of $165,000, and Library Statistics realized only $50,355 of revenues budgeted at $88,433.

ACRL continues to be a very efficient organization successfully controlling its costs. Operating expenses of $1,822,546 (excluding Choice and excluding National Conference) were almost $173,000 less than budgeted.

Choice’sbudget performance in 2000-2001 was not as robust nor as variable as the regular ACRL operating budget. Hewing much closer to the bone, Choice revenues were almost $21,000 below budget while expenses squeaked by at approximately $2,000 below budget. The resulting operating net was not as strong as planned:

Choice	Budgeted	Actual
Revenues	$2,440,061	$2,419,189
Expense	$2,417,694	$2,415,624
Operating Net	$22,367	$3,565

2001 National Conference

As a component of the ACRL operating budget, the successful National Conference in Denver made a major contribution to ACRL’s fiscal well being. Note: the National Conference budget requires a two-year cycle and major expenses are incurred in the first year with no recognition of revenues. The chart below illustrates the revenues and expenses for the National Conference over this two- year cycle.

	FY2000	FY2001	FY2001	Total
	Actual	Budget	Actual	Actual
Revenue	-$15,979	$1,019,289	$1,269,777	$1,253,798
Expenses	$135,426	$748,701	$814,833	$950,259
Net	-$151,405	$270,588	$454,944	$303,539
Net w/out donations			$178,789

Note that the net revenues include donations of nearly $125,000 from ACRL’s corporate colleagues. As a result of these gifts, the actual conference net of $178,789 was improved to $303,539 reinforcing the value of the donations of ACRL’s colleagues.

ACRL asset management

ACRL’s long-term investment (LTI) portfolio includes the ACRL general LTI account, the Choice LTI account, and three awards endowments (Oberly, Leab, and Atkinson). ACRL was not immune to the volatile investment marketplace, but the impact was not as severe as that experienced in other sectors or by other organizations. At the end of the 2000-2001 fiscal year, the total portfolio value of all ACRL endowment funds was $1,305,238, which is a slight decline from the closing figure for fiscal 1999-2000 of $1,308,695. ACRL continued its assertive approach to asset management and ensuring the long-term stability of the association by transferring $50,000 to the Choice LTI account and $ 100,000 to the ACRL LTI. The former was possible because of the strong position of the Choice operating fund balance and in spite of the negligible operating net for this year. The latter LTI transfer was based on the combination of a healthy ACRL operating fund balance and strong operating nets for both ACRL generally and the National Conference in particular.

2001- 2002 ACRL budget

The ACRL Board, following a recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee, approved at the 2001 Annual Conference the 2001-2002 ACRL and Choice budgets. FY 2001-2002 lacks the ACRL National Conference and the significant addition to revenues and net balance that the conference has consistently produced. As a result, the FY2002 ACRL operating budget is projected to be in deficit, with expenditures exceeding revenues by $347,560. This deficit is more than offset by the large continuing fund balance; it is the combination of these two fiscal elements which defines a balanced budget for ACRL in its multi-year fiscal environment. The 2001-2002 budget projects revenues, expenses, and fund balances as follows:

FY 2001-2002 Operating Budget	ACRL	Choice
Beginning fund balance	$1,619,692	$1,617,716
Revenues	$1,850,582	$2,544,010
Expenses	$2,198,142	$2,532,637
Operating Net	($347,560)	$11,373
Transfer to Long-Term Investment	($300,000)	($50,000)
Ending Fund Balance	$972,132	$1,132,744

Thanks

I wish to express my thanks and appreciation to the individual members of the ACRL Budget and Finance Committee for the long hours and hard work, for their insights, and for their diligence in reviewing and shaping the association’s budgets. Allow me also to commend the ACRL staff for their strong support of the committee’s work and their prodigious efforts in realizing such excellent budget results for the 2000-2001 year. This successful cooperation of dedicated staff and generous member volunteers is essential to our continuing efforts to build ACRL’s financial resources and to carry out the association’s many important objectives. Members of the Budget and Finance Committee were: Nancy H. Allen, Rita Cecilia Knight, Erika C. Linke, William F. Louden, Gary Parsons (intern), Diane Perushek, Pamela Snelson, Elizabeth J. Wood, and Sandra Yee (intern), as well as ex-officio members ACRL Vice-President Mary Reichel, and former ACRL Executive Director Althea H. Jenkins. Everyone involved with ACRL can feel justifiably proud of the association’s financial strength, its superb budget performance, and ACRL’s increased ability to carry out its highest priorities.

Executive Summary 2000-2001

SOURCES OF REVENUE	FY2000 ACTUAL	FY2001 BUDGET	FY2001 ACTUAL
BEGINNING RESERVE LEVELS
Op.Fund	$1,680,502	$1,702,275	$1,703,773
Endowment	878,278	791,253	869,306
Choice Fund	1,085,769	1,171,371	1,171,021
Choice Endowment	430,417	527,668	435,932
Subtotal	$4,074,966	$4,192,567	$4,180,032
MEMBERSHIP DUES AND OTHER Dues	$423,019	$438,193	$446,936
Other	16,585	0	6,617
Donations	19,430	1,500	51,900
Awards	6,160	10,449	12,450
Sec. Newsletters	1,650	0	500
Special Events	0	11,100	55,761
Subtotal	$466,844	$461,242	$574,165
PUBLICATIONS
CHOICE	$2,217,815	$2,440,061	$2,419,189
C&RL	174,016	155,098	179,588
C&RL News	556,800	519,966	666,852
RBM	35,870	33,733	34,871
Nonperiodical Pubs.	162,628	165,000	114,414
Library Statistics	$52,934	88,433	50,355
Subtotal	$3,200,063	$3,402,291	$3,465,269
EDUCATION Regional Institutes	$210,375	$219,966	$206,765
National (01)	(15,979)	1,019,289	1,269,777
Pre-& Postconferences	117,845	93,835	107,621
Web-CE	0	5,000	0
I FLA	0	0	12,500
Subtotal	$312,241	$1,338,090	$1,596,663
FUNDED PROJECTS
IMLS	0	$67,100	$66,672
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Friends of ACRL	$6,335	$24,500	$7,154
TOTAL REVENUE	$3,979,148	$5,201,623	$5,636,097
Choice Revenue	$2,217,815	$2,440,061	$2,419,189
TOTAL REV. W/O CHOICE	$1,761,333	$2,761,562	$3,216,908
Total Rev. W/O National Conference $1,777,312	$1,742,273	$1,947,131

Note: Actual numbers shown are rounded from two decimal places. Therefore, subtotals may not precisely represent column totals due to rounding.

	FY2000	FY2001	FY2001
OBJECT OF EXPENSE	ACTUAL	BUDGET	ACTUAL
MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES
Membership Svcs.	$68,214	$109,947	$61,730
Exec. Comm. & Board	67,650	123,912	121,282
Advisory	(23,045)	11,592	10,317
Standards distrib.	10,115	7,971	12,637
Discussion Groups	3,164	3,771	3,476
Awards	19,849	21,662	20,682
Chapters	57,191	68,784	62,626
Committees	50,717	56,377	46,289
Sections	61,982	96,847	68,822
Section Newsletters	28,406	32,232	32,986
Chapter Topics	3,660	6,464	3,439
C&RLOver Rev.	0	10,570	0
Liaisons to Higher Ed.	66,739	75,019	49,195
Special Events	16,061	17,841	60,054
Information Literacy	46,610	158,412	89,156
Scholarship	3,250	60,000	56,423
Subtotal	$480,563	$861,401	$699,117
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Friends of ACRL	$127	$24,642	$4,248
Subtotal	$127	$24,642	$4,248
PUBLICATIONS
CHOICE	$2,016,371	$2,417,694	$2,415,624
C&RL	159,871	155,098	169,369
C&RL News	353,888	406,299	410,777
RBM	31,350	32,840	32,849
Nonperiodical Pubs.	108,489	135,019	129,584
Library Statistics	56,922	99,009	74,021
Subtotal	$2,726,891	$3,245,959	$3,232,224
EDUCATION
Regional Institutes	$188,441	$190,183	$167,248
National (01)	135,426	748,701	814,833
National (03)	0	0	5,161
Pre-& PostConferences	99,483	90,133	98,651
Web-CE	0	25,462	15,586
I FLA	0	0	21,096
Subtotal	$423,350	$1,054,479	$1,122,574
FUNDED PROJECTS
IMLS	0	$67,100	$66,672
Subtotal	0	$67,100	$66,672
TOTAL EXPENSES	$3,630,931	$5,161,839	$5,058,164
CHOICE EXPENSES	$2,016,371	$2,417,694	$2,415,624
TOTAL EXP. W/O CHOICE	$1,614,560	$2,744,145	$2,642,540
Net W/O CHOICE	$146,773	$17,417	$574,368
CHOICE Net	$201,444	$22,367	$3,565
CHOICE End Operating Bal	$1,171,371	$1,143,738	$1,124,936
End oper. reserve balance	$1,702,275	$1,619,692	$2,176,643
TOTAL EXP. W/O NTL CNF	$1,479,134	$1,995,444	$1,822,546

Friends of ACRI

The Friends of ACRL donations support areas key to ACRL’s mission. These include Professional Development Scholarship Fund, Innovative New Program Fund, Best Practices in Academic Librarianship Fund, and Global Connection Fund.

Since the establishment of the Friends of ACRL, 73 ACRL members have become Friends and contributed over $20,000 to demonstrate their support for its initiatives.

Thanks to those listed below for joining the Friends of ACRL in 2001.

MILLENNIUM CLUB ($1,000 and over)

Patricia Senn Breivik

In memory of Clyde C. Walton

Larry Hardesty

William Miller

Family of William Moffett

Sharon J. Rogers

Helen H. Spalding

Maureen Sullivan

Juana R. Young

GOLD CLUB ($500-$999)

Jill Fatzer

Erika C. Unke

Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle LTD

Hannelore B. Rader

SILVER CLUB ($250-$499)

William E. Brown

Elaine Didier

Rena Fowler

Vicki Gregory

James Neal

Marion T. Reid

Donald E. Riggs

Mary Lee Sweat

Patricia A. Wand

Betsy Wilson

CENTURY CLUB

($100-$249)

Janis Bandelin

Charles E. Beard

John M. Budd

Deborah Dancik

Paul E. Dumont

Ray English

Barbara J. Ford

Bernard Fradkin

Julia Gelfand

Joseph Griffin

In memory of Mary Ann Griffin

Cathy Henderson

Lisa Hinchliffe

W. Lee Hisle

Althea H. Jenkins

Barbara Baxter Jenkins

Barton Lessin

Maija M. Lutz

Frances Maloy

Lawrence McCrank

Laurence Miller

Rush Miller

Orthella Polk Moman

Victoria A. Montavon

Clauda J. Morner

Linda Muroi

Mary Jane Petrowski

Carol Pfeiffer

Shelley E. Phipps

Mary Reichel

Dana C. Rooks

Robert F. Rose

Elizabeth M. Salzer

Carolyn A. Sheehy

Louise S. Sherby

Pamela Snelson

Cary Sowell

Keith Stetson

Lee Marie Wisel

Barbara Wittkopf

Mickey Zemon

FRIENDS ($45-$99)

Mignon Adams

Steven Bell

Sherrie S. Bergman

Lynn Scott Cochrane

Nicholas Gaymon

Lori Goetsch

Thomas G. Kirk

Jan Kemp

Susan Miller

John Popko

Sandra Ready

Meet the ACRL Staff

Many of you have had phone and/or e-mail contact with ACRL’s staff, of which there are 13.35 ALA-approved FTE positions at headquarters. Here’s your chance to put a face with that voice or e-mail signature. On these pages, we present current ACRL staff (including two of ACRL's Choice 22.4 FTE staff) with in- formation about their responsibilities. Three searches are underway to fill the positions of senior associate executive director, Web product development/edi- tor-in-chief C&RL News, and director of professional development. Take a minute to “meet the staff!” We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

New ACRL staff in 2001 include: Megan Gage, administrative assistant, and Stephanie Sherrod, program assistant.

SHANNON CARY,program officer. Coordinates ACRL government relations activities and Friends of ACRL activities; manages ACRL’s divisional ap- pointment activities; answers questions about the ACRL standards and guidelines; coordinates ac- tivities of ACRL chapters; coordinates ACRL mem- bership promotion and retention activities. On an interim basis, also coordinates ACRL chapter and membership promotion retention activities. Phone: (312) 280-2510; e-mail: scary@ala.org

MARY ELLEN DAVIS,executive director. Di- rects activities of the ACRL and CHOICE of- fices; coordinates policy implementation; pre- pares ACRL’s budgets; ex-officio to the ACRL executive committee and the Board of Direc- tors; serves as official contact for higher edu- cation organizations; coordinates ACRL Col- leagues and Information Literacy programs. Phone: (312) 280-3248; e-mail: mdavis @ala.org

MEGAN GAGE,administrative assistant. Assistant to the ACRL Executive Director; processes mem- ber requests for reimbursements for ACRL Board members, Council of Liaison, and information lit- eracy initiatives; prepares and maintains financial reports for ACRL; receives contributions from cor- porate sponsors and maintains records for ACRL; provides support for ACRL’s professional develop- ment initiatives. Phone: (312) 280-2519; e-mail: mgage@ala.org

FRANCINE GRAF,managing editor of Choice. Manages all editorial aspects of the magazine, reviews-on-cards, and electronic databases; coordinates the work of Choice’s editorial staff; plans the editorial calendar. Phone: (860) 347- 6933; e-mail: fgraf@ala.org

LOUISE JESSUP,administrative secretary, Member Services. Maintains chapter and section rosters; prepares requests for reimbursements for section and chapter leaders; maintains record of Annual Conference programs and prepares speaker letters of agreement; facilitates sections’ appointment process. Phone: (312) 280-2521; e-mail: ljessup@ala.org

DAWN MUELLER,production/design assistant. Develops and maintains ACRL’s Web site; lays out and produces C&RL; designs and produces RBM; works with section editors to produce and distribute section newsletters; designs and produces all ACRL brochures and flyers. Phone: (312) 280-2516; e-mail: dmueller@ala.org

ELISE PARKER,classified ads manager/editorial assistant. Manages job ads for C&RL News and C&RL NewsNet, contact for information about subscriptions, job ads, and manuscript submissions for C&RL News. Phone: (312) 280-2513; fax: (312) 280-7663; e-mail: eparker@ala.org

IRVING ROCKWOOD, Choice,editor and publisher. Handles magazine and other product advertising sales; subscription services; marketing; and promotions. Phone: (860) 347-6933; fax: (860) 346- 8586; e-mail: irockwood@ala.org

STEPHANIE SHERROD,program assistant. Prepares ACRL's ballots for the ALA annual elections; coordinates ACRL's Awards Program; maintains ACRL's electronic discussion lists; manages divisions appointments and nominations process; contact for ACRL discussion groups. Phone: (312) 280-2515; e-mail: ssherrod@ala.org

MARGOT SUTTON,program officer. Coordinates ACRL's Job Shadow Day; coordinates ACRL's professional development opportunities and answers questions about registrations for ACRL's conferences, institutions, etc.; coordinates ACRL's Effective Practices project; and on an interim basis oversees ACRL's Annual Conference programs and activities, as well as coordinates ACRL section activities. Phone: (312) 280-2522; e-mail: msutton@ala.org

HUGH THOMPSON,director of publications. Handles all questions about ACRL’s publications; oversees production of C&RL and RBM; answers questions about ACRLs Web site; manages ACRL’s Academic Libraries Trends and Statistics and electronic publishing program; and on an interim basis coordinates ACRL’s e-learning program. Phone: (312) 280-2517; e-mail: hthompson@ala.org

ANN-CHRISTE YOUNG,production editor for C&RL News, Copyedits and lays out C&RL News and updates C&RL NewsNet; writes “People in the News” and “Grants and Acquisitions” for C&RL News. Phone: (312) 280- 2524; e-mail: ayoung@ala.org