ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

ACRL’s Strategic Plan

The mission, goals, and objectives of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

At the 1986 ALA Annual Conference in New York, the ACRL Strategic Planning Task Force presented the Strategic Plan to the ACRL Roard of Directors, who then adopted it. The final report of the Task Force has been deposited in the ERIC system . This abbreviated version is presented here for the information of all ACRL members. All units who might have responsibility for implementing the plan have received a request from ACRL President Hannelore Rader about their work.

This version of the plan includes the goals, subgoals, objectives, strategic management directives, and the environmental analysis upon which the work of the Task Force was based.

Mission

The mission of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is to foster the profession of academic and research librarianship and to enhance the ability of academic and research libraries to serve effectively the library and information needs of current and potential library users.

The Plan

The Plan consists of four goals, each of which has a varying number of subgoals and objectives. The full plan includes strategies for each objective, and indicators of responsibility, resources needed, and year of implementation. The following are the goals, subgoals, and objectives.

Goal I. To contribute to the total professional development of academic and research librarians.

Subgoal A. To sponsor and encourage opportunities for academic and research librarians to update existing competencies, learn requisite new skills, and gain awareness of the state of the art.

Objective 1.Lower the cost to participate in ACRL professional development activities (as compared with 1984-85 levels).

Objective 2.Expand the number of opportunities for academic and research librarians to participate in professional development activities, especially at regional locations.

Objective 3.Increase financial support for section programs and projects.

Objective 4.Create an ongoing process for assessing educational needs and evaluating the success of ACRL professional development activities.

Objective 5.Coordinate ACRL CE program with those of related organizations.

Subgoal B. To promote a sense of professional identity and peer reinforcement among academic and research librarians.

Objective 1.Review the policies for establishing and administering awards within ACRL.

Objective 2.Review the procedure for administering awards to ensure they are effectively providing a sense of professional identity and peer reinforcement.

Subgoal C. To provide career counseling and placement information regarding academic and research librarianship.

Objective 1.Promote timely and comprehensive information about professional positions available.

Goal II. To enhance the capability of academic and research libraries to serve the needs of users.

Subgoal A. To develop standards and guidelines.

Objective 1.Develop guidelines for evaluating the performance and output of academic libraries.

Objective 2.Increase dissemination of ACRL standards and guidelines throughout the higher education community.

Objective 3.Increase librarians’ understanding of the accreditation process and the role of the library in institutional accreditation.

Objective 4.Promote the identification, collection and dissemination of academic library statistics.

Subgoal B. To provide advisory services concerning academic and research libraries and librar- ianship.

Objective 1.Publicize availability of advisory- services.

Subgoal C. To identify, explore, and act on problems and issues facing academic and research libraries.

Objective 1.Use ACRL programs and publications to identify and explore key issues and problems.

Subgoal D. To encourage and evaluate innovation in library operations and services.

Objective 1. Increase publicity about innovative activities.

Subgoal E. To strengthen libraries in institutions serving minorities.

Objective 1.Assess the most effective way ACRL can assist these libraries.

Objective 2.Implement an ongoing program based on above assessment.

Goal III. To promote and speak for the interests of academic and research librarianship.

Subgoal A. To enhance awareness of the role of academic and research libraries among nonlibrary professionals and organizations (accrediting bodies, higher education associations, scholarly and professional societies, etc.) and to develop effective working relationships with them.

Objective 1.Create opportunities for academic librarians to interact with other professionals in the academic community.

Objective 2.Develop new alliances with other professional organizations.

Objective 3.Develop materials library staff can use to enhance administrators’ understanding of academic libraries.

Subgoal B. To monitor and speak out on government and private sector activities likely to affect academic and research librarianship, including legislation and fiscal and political support at all levels.

Objective 1. Establish ACRL as the association with the authority to speak for the academic library profession on issues of importance to higher education and academic libraries.

Objective 2.Strengthen membership efforts to affect and influence government and private sector activities, including legislation, funding, and quality higher education.

Objective 3.Provide assistance for librarians seeking additional fiscal support for their libraries.

Subgoal C. To support and participate in the recruitment and retention of outstanding persons to the field of academic and research librarianship.

Objective 1. Develop mechanisms to attract candidates of high quality.

Objective 2.Support the recruitment of members of underrepresented groups to academic librarianship.

Ob jective 3.Promote the adoption of personnel policies that enhance the status, professional development, and working conditions of academic librarians.

Subgoal D. To help shape library education programs in accord with the needs of academic and research librarianship.

Objective 1.Develop an action plan describing how library schools might address the changing needs of academic and research libraries and librarians.

Goal IV. To promote study, research and publication relevant to academic and research librarian- ship.

Subgoal A. To identify research topics and to encourage improvement in research skills.

Objective 1. Develop research priorities related to academic libraries and their role in higher education.

Objective 2.Develop incentives or programs to encourage librarians to engage in research.

Subgoal B. To support research projects, report works in progress, and disseminate research results.

Objective 1.Seek out grant funds for the creation of research grants and for carrying out research projects.

Subgoal C. To advance the professional knowledge of academic librarians through an effective publishing program.

Objective 1.Explore electronic publishing possibilities for ACRL publications.

Objective 2.Review the ACRL publications program to ensure that it supports association mission, goals, and objectives.

Objective 3.Publish Choice and Books for College Libraries on a regular basis.

Strategic Management Directions

1. Positioning ACRL as the most significant American association of academic and research libraries, librarians, and librarianship: the association which represents them, speaks for them, asserts their interests, and assists them in reaching their goals.

2. Managing the financial resources of ACRL by relying on sound budgeting and accounting principles; including maintaining a reserve fund equal to at least 50% of the average annual expenditures over the three most recently completed years.

3. Maintaining a dedicated and competent staff by depending on sound personnel practices, including careful selection, adequate training, participative management techniques, and opportunities for professional development.

4. Seeking new members through a variety of recruitment techniques, while extending efforts to retain present members, including regular assessments of member needs.

5. Supporting all elected and appointed officers in fulfilling their leadership roles, through carefully prepared programs of orientation and staff personal attention.

6. Working collaboratively with other ALA units for the good of librarianship as a whole.

7. Providing a headquarters office as a communications center, information resource, and central meeting and work place.

Environmental analysis

ACRL is a professional association whose potential for providing effective products and services depends on an understanding of its environment.

The external environment

Economics

•Information as commodity

•Declining purchase power

•Rising or declining costs

•Competition for clientele

•Increased productivity

Politics

•Information as political tool

•Ownership of information

•Laissez-faire attitudes

•State control centralized

•National consortia weakened

•Network development

•Bibliographical standardization

Society

•Equality of opportunity elusive

•Illiteracy rampant

•Intellectual freedom challenged

•Privacy threatened

•Academic research sluggish

•Demographics changing

•More non-print/micromedia

•Dollar accountability

Technology

•Technological proliferation

•Advances in storage technology

•New information services

•Speedier document delivery

•More technology in the home

•Decentralized information access

•Preservation more effective

People

•Better students

•Scholarly communication flourishes

•New mix of library staff/skills

•Competition for staff

•Training for online information

•Information professionals more costly

The internal environment

Members

Characteristics:

Sex:women (62.5%), men (37.5%).

Age:20-30 (8%), 31-40 (36%), 41-50 (20%), 51-60 (25%), 61+ (10%).

Degrees:MLS plus (other graduate degrees 39%, Ph.D., 15%).

Place of employment:2-year institutions (6%), 4-year institutions (26%), research/doctoral institutions (51%), other (17%).

Type of work:public service (29 %), administration (28%), technical services (11%), combinations (16 %), library education (2 %), other (14 %).

Years of membership:0-5 (46%), 6-10 (23%), 11-15 (11%), 16-20 (9%), 20+ (12%).

Geographical region:North Atlantic (43%), Great Lakes (23%), Southeast (7%), West/South- west (27 %).

Needs and priorities:

A random sample of members was surveyed in the winter of 1984-85 to identify activities ACRL should pursue. Results of the survey were used at the President’s Program at the 1985 ALA Annual Conference to elicit rankings of member priorities. The top five priorities emerging were:

•Publications

•Continuing Education

•Standards

•Liaisons

•Chapters

Members also brainstormed ideas about implementing those priorities; staff analyzed the results of that activity for use by the Strategic Planning Task Force in developing strategies.

Activities

Conferences and professional development:

National conference every 3 years

Courses at ALA Annual Conference

Local/regional continuing education courses RBMS Preconference Programming at ALA conferences

Membership:

Recruitment

Member support

Executive Committee and Board

Sections

Chapters

Committees

Discussion Groups

Advisory services

Research and statistics

Jobline

Serial Publications:

College& Research Libraries College & Research Libraries News Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship Fast Job Listing Service

Choice

Other Publications:

Reports of committee and section projects Publications in Librarianship Statistics reports

CLIP Notes

Funded projects:

NEH–funded humanities workshop project with

PLA

Research:

Research clinic Statistics Present strategies

Finances:Stringent fiscal controls, coupled with conservative budgeting practices, development of non-dues revenue sources, seeking of outside funding for certain projects have resulted in growth of reserve fund, now equal to about 6-months’ expenses.

Membership:Active seeking of new members, retention of existing members (including mailings, contacts with library schools) have led to significant member growth (9,897 on August 31, 1986).

Publications:Publishing short works of limited distribution, most growing out of unit activities, in a self-supporting fashion, to include staff and other indirect costs.

Chapters:Taking program activities to the local level and offering another opportunity for members to participate.

Planning:Committed to a member-driven, association–wide process, operating by choice as a division of the American Library Association. Present structure

182 ACRL and section committees, including 26 standing committees and editorial boards; task forces and ad hoc committees for time-limited purposes.

14 sections, 3 type–of–library and 11 type–of- activity.

14 discussion groups, offering a less formal structure for discussion.

38 chapters, independent organizations related to ACRL, supporting activities for academic and research librarians close to home.

Resources

Finances:In the five years between 1980 and 1985, ACRL accumulated a reserve of close to $500,000; dues as a source of revenue went from 34.5% to 23.7%, publication revenue grew from $.9 to $1.4 million, and funded projects increased significantly. While expenses increased, they were more than offset by revenue increases.

Facilities:Facilities include space in ALA’s headquarters building in Chicago and in Middle- town, Connecticut, where the Choice offices are located. In addition to ALA equipment, which includes use of copiers, computer systems, and small business machines, ACRL also has sole use of a dedicated word-processing system, a DEST optical scanner, and a Compaq Plus microcomputer with telecommunications, spreadsheet, and database software. ALA also provides the services of a headquarters library, accounting services, administrative services, building services, and the services of other ALA units.

ALA:The value to ACRL of its position within ALA is significant, not only in the symbolic recognition of the importance of one association for all types of libraries and library activities, but also in dollars, with estimates ranging up to nearly $200,000 per year. For ALA, ACRL provides the services of its staff to members and non-members, ALA management work contributed by senior staff, and overhead revenue on division activities which generate income, such as preconferences, CE courses, funded projects, and divisional conferences.

Planning for ACRL

Since the appointment of the Task Force on an Activity Model for the 1990’s, ACRL has been planning in an effort to be prepared for what the future will bring. We now have a clear sense of our mission, a strong set of goals for the next five years, specific objectives, and strategies for meeting them. A process is in place for preparing an annual plan and the Planning Committee is charged with designing an ongoing planning process.

Bring on the future!

Editor's Note: The ACRL Strategic Planning Task Force consisted of: Susan Klingberg (chair), David F. Bishop, Sharon A. Hogan, Donald Riggs, KeithW. Russell, Carla J. Stoffle, and JoAn Segal. ■ ■