ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Highlights of the Midwinter Meetings of the ACRL Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries met twice during the ALA Midwinter Meeting: on Monday, January 8, 1979, and on Wednesday, January 10, 1979.

ACRL Board Restructuring

After many years of planning, the ACRL board took the first step toward reducing its size from thirty-one to thirteen members by accepting the recommendations of the Planning Committee for reshaping the board’s structure. The purpose of the proposed restructuring, which requires further deliberation, is to strengthen the board by giving it a more workable size.

ACRL Chapters

The board voted to accept a recommendation of the Chapters Committee that ACRL should allot to its chapters the sum of $1.50 for each national personal member of ACRL living within the geographic area served by the chapter. The board directed that each chapter designated to receive ACRL funds should submit a budget request and stipulated that unspent funds from the budget allotment of a chapter should revert to the ACRL general fund at the end of the ACRL fiscal year.

ACRL National Conferences

Acting upon the recommendation of the ACRL National Conference Committee, the board adopted a proposal that ACRL should sponsor a national conference every two years. When the Minnesota Chapter invited ACRL to hold its next conference in Minnesota, the board enthusiastically accepted. Looking to the long term, the board specified that national conferences should be held in the spring, the next (1981) meeting excepted.

Bibliographic Instruction

The chair of the Executive Council of the Bibliographic Instruction Section, Sheila M. Laidlaw, brought the board up to date on plans for the section s first preconference to be held at Southern Methodist University, June 21-23 in Dallas. She estimated that the cost of the preconference to members would not exceed $75 for accommodations, meals, and program from Thursday evening to Saturday lunch.

Choice

Louis A. Sasso, the editor of Choice, has resigned his position effective June 30, 1979. President Evan FArber has appointed a search committee to select a new editor.

College & Research Libraries

Richard Johnson, editor of College & Research Libraries, reported to the board that Eldon Tamblyn, chief cataloger at Portland State University Library, was willing to undertake the preparation of a cumulative index for College & Research Libraries for volumes 26-40 (1965-79), Acting on the recommendation of the Publications Committee, the board voted to go ahead with the publication of the index and to print 3,000 copies at an estimated cost of $3,500.

College & Research Libraries News

The board expressed its thanks and gratitude to John V. Crowley who is completing his services as editor of College &- Research Libraries News.

In a resolution passed unanimously, the board recognized that Crowley had served the association well and faithfully for two years as editor and had demonstrated his devotion to the position and his professional skills in many ways.

The board approved the transfer of responsibility for publication of C&RL News to ACRL headquarters office beginning with the March 1979 issue and at the same time reaffirmed the principle that editorial responsibility for the News would continue to rest with the editorial board while various alternative courses for the future of the News are being explored and evaluated.

Community and Junior College Libraries

In its report to thé board, the Executive Committee of the Community and Junior College Libraries Section announced that the section was surveying community colleges to determine an “opening day” collection of nonprint materials, and that it would hold a section program at Dallas on June 23 with the theme: “The Learning in Learning Resources.”

Continuing Education

The Continuing Education Committee reported that it had completed work on the Continuing Education Survey, a document now available in the ACRL office, which pulls together information about existing needs assessment studies and continuing education resources. The committee also informed the board that it would sponsor two events at the June ALA meeting in Dallas: a one-day preconference workshop on the subject, “Doing Continuing Education at the Local Level,” and a program meeting on the topic, “How to Be a More Effective Colleague in an Academic Environment.”

Rare Books and Manuscripts Section

Upon the recommendation of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, the board endorsed the final report of the National Study Commission on Records and Documents regarding the ownership of public papers. The major recommendation of the commission was that the papers produced by federal officials in connection with their duties should be considered public property.

University Library Standards

The board voted to ratify “Standards for University Libraries,” a document produced jointly by the Association of Research Libraries and ACRL. A draft of “Standards for University Libraries” appeared in the April 1978 issue of College & Research Libraries. In August 1978 the Joint ARL-ACRL Committee on University Libraries Standards revised this draft. On October 26, 1978, the ARL membership unanimously endorsed the document as revised. ■■