ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 296 / C &R L News E ducation a n d B ehavioral Science Section R ay G erke, H e a d , R eference a n d A d ult Services, C oncord F re e P ublic L ib ra ry , 129 M ain S t., C o n ­ cord, MA 01742. L a w an d Political Science Section N a talie M. S chatz, D ire cto r, E d w in G in n L i­ b ra ry , F le tc h e r School of L a w a n d D iplom acy, T ufts U niversity, M edford, MA 02155. R are Books a nd M anuscripts Section A lice D . S c h re y e r, A ssistan t D ir e c to r o f L i­ braries fo r Special C ollections, U niversity of D ela­ w a re L ibraries, N e w a rk , D E 19717-5267. Science a n d Technology Section K a th e rin e C h ia n g , A lb e rt R. M a n n L ib ra ry , C ornell U niversity, Ith a c a , NY 14853-4301. Slavic a n d E a st E uropean Section M arie L . B e d n ar, H e a d , B ibliographic S up p o rt Services, Pennsylvania State U niversity L ibraries, U niversity P a rk , PA 16802. University Libraries Section D o n n a G o e h n er, D ire cto r of L ib ra rie s, W estern Illinois U niversity, M acom b, IL 61455. W estern E uropean Specialists Section A ssunta Pisani, Associate L ib ra ria n for Collec­ tio n D e v e lo p m e n t, H a r v a r d C o lle g e L ib r a r y , C a m b rid g e , MA 02138. W o m e n ’s Studies Section B eth E llen W o o d a rd , P ro g ra m C o n su ltan t, D e ­ p a rtm e n t of L ib ra rie s, Archives & P ublic Records, L ib ra ry E xtension D ivision, 1700 W . W ashington, Phoenix, AZ 85007. ■ ■ W hy ACRL m e m b e r s s h o u ld v o te to in c r e a s e th e ir d u e s By L ind a J. P ie le Chair, A C R L B u d g e t a n d F inance C o m m itte e A C R L membership dues and benefits. M e m b e r s of A C R L w ill be asked on th e A pril ballot to a p p ro v e a proposal to increase th e ir a n ­ nual dues from $25 to $35, effective w ith th e 1990 m em bership year. A c ting upo n a reco m m e n d a tio n of th e B udget a n d F in a n c e C o m m itte e , th e AC R L Board of D irectors unanim ously passed a resolu­ tion a t its M id w in te r m eeting in J a n u a ry p u ttin g the dues increase on th e S pring 1989 b allot. If th e increase is ap p ro v ed , it w ill b rin g A C R L dues in line w ith those of o th e r ALA divisions, w h ic h , w ith the exception of RASD, have e ith e r a lre a d y raised th eir dues to $35 o r $40 o r h a v e also p u t a p roposal to do so on th e A pril ballot. T h e B udget a n d F in a n ce C o m m itte e decided to reco m m e n d a dues increase w ith g re at relu c ta n c e a n d only a fte r c arefully studying c u rre n t a n d p ro ­ jected budgets a n d considering a v a rie ty of a lte rn a ­ tives. Som e of these a lternatives w e re suggested by A C R L m em bers w h o a tte n d e d th e o p e n h e a rin g on A C R L ’s F in a n c ia l P la n th a t w as h e ld a t th e M id­ w in te r M eeting. U n fo rtu n ate ly , w h ile cost control m ea su re s a n d re v e n u e e n h a n c e m e n ts w ill h e lp , th e y w ill n ot by them selves solve th e pro b lem . A dues increase is necessary to avoid c u ttin g services April 1989 / 297 t h a t m em b ers h a v e said a re i m p o rta n t to th em . T h e purpose of this a rtic le is to review th e a ctiv i­ ties fu n d e d by th e pro jec te d 1990 b u d g e t, in p a rtic ­ u la r those activities fu n d e d by dues, in o rd e r to e n ­ su re t h a t A C R L m e m b e rs fu lly u n d e rs ta n d th e issues involved in th e dues proposal. Finding out about ACRL finances A g re a t d eal of in fo rm a tio n is re ad ily availab le to A C R L m em bers a b o u t A C R L finances. In this is­ sue of C ir R L N e w s, E xecutive D ire c to r JoA n Se­ gal’s y e ar-e n d re p o rt on last y e a r’s p e rfo rm a n ce a n d a pro jec tio n fo r th e c u rre n t y e a r appears. In th e D e ce m b er 1988 issue, a d ra ft of A C R L ’s new ly developed F in a n cia l P la n w as pu b lish ed . I t offered d e ta ile d in fo rm a tio n a b o u t A C R L ’s fin an c ia l sta ­ tu s, p o te n tia l p roblem s, business goals, a n d s tra te ­ gic options. (A fter a n o pen h e a rin g on th e F in a n ­ cial P la n a t th e M id w in ter m ee tin g , it is n ow b e ing re v is e d a n d w ill b e b r o u g h t b e fo re th e A C R L H oard a t th e a n n u a l conference in Ju n e.) A n u p ­ d a te d version o f th e th re e -y e a r b u d g e t p ro jection t h a t a p p e a re d in th e D e ce m b er d ra ft is in clu d e d in th is a rticle (T ab le 1). A nd finally, P a t W a n d , im ­ m e d ia te p a s t c h a ir of t h e B u d g e t a n d F in a n c e C o m m itte e , p u b lish ed a n a rticle in th e D ecem ber issue of C ir R L N e w s (“T h e B udget Process a n d A C R L F in a n c ia l Issues”) t h a t clarifies m an y of the q u e s tio n s m e m b e rs o f te n ask a b o u t A C R L f i ­ nances. The really good news E a c h y e ar, th e B udget a n d F in a n ce C om m itte e goes over each line of th e p ro p o se d A C R L b u d g e t w ith JoA n Segal, th e E xecutive D ire c to r, a n d she supplies m u ch a d d itio n a l analysis a n d in fo rm a tio n to th e C o m m itte e c o n c e rn in g A C R L ’s fin a n c ia l status a n d m a n a g e m e n t. T h e C o m m itte e finds th a t A C R L is very w ell m a n a g e d fiscally. All activities c a rrie d o u t by th e A C R L office are c arefully m o n i­ to re d in term s o f h o w w ell th ey su p p o rt th e S tra te ­ gic P la n , ho w m u ch sta ff tim e th ey consum e, over­ h e a d , a n d re la te d expenses. As a re su lt, w e know th e re al cost o f e ach a ctivity— so m e th in g few of us c an say fo r th e activities c a rrie d o u t in o u r libraries. M any of A C R L ’s activities a re in te n d e d to be self-supporting, in clu d in g m ost of its pub lic a tio n s a n d its e d u ca tio n p ro g ram s (conferences, c o n tin u ­ ing e d u c a tio n courses, etc.). T h e B udget a n d F i­ n a n c e C o m m itte e c a n a tte st to th e fa c t t h a t these p ro g ram s a re c are fu lly m o n ito re d , m a rk e te d e n e r­ getically a n d c reatively, realistically p ric e d , th a t prices a re ro u tin e ly a d justed for in fla tio n , a n d so on. I n fa ct a re v ie w of A C R L finances since 1982, w h e n dues w e re last increased, should p ro p e rly be v iew ed as a re m a rk a b le success story. A C R L has d one w h a t it set o u t to do: increase m em bership services a n d g reatly e x pand th e n u m b e r a n d v a ri­ e ty of its o th e r activities im p o rta n t to m em bers, w h ile k eeping th e A ssociation on a sou n d fin an c ia l base. T h ro u g h its success in raising revenues to su p ­ p o rt these a d d itio n a l activities, m em b e rsh ip dues h a v e b een effectively leveraged to su p p o rt m ore a n d m ore activities: activities t h a t m em bers said d u rin g th e stra te g ic p la n n in g process a re a h igh p ri­ o rity. F o r e xam ple, in 1982, 29% of A C R L ’s reve­ nues c am e from dues; b u t o nly 22% of expenses w e re fo r basic m em b e rsh ip services. In th e p ro ­ jected 1990 b u d g e t, 29% of re v en u e is from dues; 38 % of expenses w ill be for b asic m em bership ser­ vices (see g raphs o n p. 300). W hat ACRL does w ith your dues A C R L activities fall in to fo u r g eneral categories: 1) basic m em b e rsh ip activities, 2) p u b lic a tio n s, 3) c o n tin u in g e d u c a tio n , a n d 4) fu n d e d projects such as grants. In g eneral, dues a re expected to fu n d m em bership activities a n d a t lea st p a r t of those pub lic a tio n s t h a t a re perquisites of m em bership, w hile o th e r p u b lic a tio n s, c o n tin u in g e d u ca tio n ac­ t i v i t i e s , a n d f u n d e d p r o j e c ts w i l l b e se lf- su pporting. U p u n til th e c u rre n t y e ar (the 1989 fiscal year), th e follow ing list of basic m em b e rsh ip activities w as fu n d e d b y y o u r dues. S ta rtin g w ith th e 1990 fiscal year, dues revenues no lo n g er w ill cover ex­ penses in these areas. T h e sh o rtfa ll in 1990 w ill be significant. T h e a m o u n t b u d g e te d for e ach activity includes sta ff tim e d e voted to t h a t activ ity , re la te d expenses, a n d a p ro p o rtio n a te sh a re of overhead a n d a d m in istrativ e costs. M em bership services ($29,480). A C R L conducts re c ru itm e n t c a m p a ig n s a n d r e te n tio n a ctiv ities such as le tte r w ritin g . In 1989, A C R L staff have in ­ a u g u ra te d th e p ra c tic e of re a c h in g o u t to n ew m em b ers w ith “N ew M em ber” packets, inform ing th em of th e benefits o f m em b e rsh ip a n d en co u ra g ­ in g th e ir involvem ent. E x e c u tiv e C o m m i t te e a n d A C R L B o a rd ($60,050). Expenses a re in c u rre d in th e extensive c o m m u n ica tio n be tw ee n officers a n d th e E xecu­ tive D ire c to r, a n d in th e p re p a ra tio n of m eeting agendas a n d m inutes. T h e b u d g e t includes trav e l expenses for th e fall a n d sp rin g E xecutive C o m m it­ tee m eetings. T h e A C R L P re sid e n t’s P ro g ra m a t a n n u a l conferences is a n o th e r m a jo r expense. Statistics ($2,750). E very o th e r y e a r A C R L com ­ piles statistics of n on-A R L university libraries. A dvisory ($29,880). A C R L staff answ er m an y tele p h o n e reference calls re la tin g to professional practices. Also in clu d e d in this c ateg o ry is research c a rrie d o u t for m em b ers a n d o thers, th e w ritin g of p a p ers on lib ra ria n sh ip a n d A C R L b y A C R L staff, a n d t h e p u b lic p re s e n ta tio n of su c h m a te ria l. ALA ’s 800 n u m b e r has fa c ilita te d these activities. S ta n d ard s d istrib u tio n ($9,020). A C R L h e a d ­ q u a rte rs distrib u te s one copy of A C R L sta n d ard s free of c h arg e u p o n request; guidelines a re d istrib ­ u te d a t a c h a rg e of $1 each. D u rin g 1988, 4,152 copies of sta n d a rd s a n d guidelines w e re d istrib ­ u ted. Discussion groups ($2,300). Fifteen discussion groups are active w ithin ACRL. Most lim it their activities to discussions at annual and m idw inter conferences, although some publish newsletters and sponsor conference programs. These groups re­ quire a small am ount of support from ACRL head­ quarters b ut are not provided w ith a budget for ex­ penses th e i r m em b e rs in c u r in c a rry in g o u t activities. Awards ($14,780). ACRL administers eight dif­ ferent awards. D onations and endowm ents cover the cost of the aw ards themselves, b u t only a small portion of the adm inistrative costs. C hapters ($59,120). ACRL provides a small am ount of support to each of ACRL’s 40 state or re­ gional chapter affiliates, based on membership. C hapters use this funding for a variety of activities, including program m ing and newsletters. ACRL headquarters publishes Chapter Topics and dis­ tributes it to chapters. H eadquarters also provides brochures and other general chapter information. The am ount budgeted includes $3,660 for Chapter Topics. Committees ($70,930). Forty ACRL committees REVENUE FY 1990 FY 1991 FY 1992 FY 1988 FY 1989 Budget Budget Budget Sources of Revenue Actual Budgeted Estim ate Estim ate Estim ate Membership dues1 $257,626 $252,030 $263,800 $260,000 $260,000 O ther $0 $0 $500 $500 $500 Advisory $0 $0 $500 $600 $600 Awards $1,337 $6,120 $2,070 $2,100 $2,100 Jobline $3,675 $3,000 $3,500 $3,500 $4,000 Subtotal $262,638 $261,150 $270,370 $266,700 $267,200 Publications Choice $1,362,040 $1,373,270 $1,385,000 $1,395,000 $1,405,000 C írR L $98,438 $101,950 $112,980 $113,000 $114,000 C b R L N ew s $216,273 $198,045 $218,210 $220,000 $222,000 Rare Books ir Mss. Libnshp. $12,372 $17,420 $18,520 $19,000 $20,000 Fast Job Listing Service $3,965 $3,780 $3,900 $3,900 $4,000 Section Newsletters $196 $180 $180 $200 $0 N onperiodical Pubs. $61,710 $50,230 $65,200 $67,000 $68,000 Books fo r Coll. Libs., 3rd ed.2 $400 $30,380 $17,750 $5,000 $0 Chapter Topics $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $1,755,394 $1,775,255 $1,821,740 $1,823,100 $1,833,000 Conferences & W orkshops C ontinuing E du catio n 3 $33,875 $54,270 $27,680 $28,000 $55,000 N ational (86, 89)4 $0 $283,740 $2,000 $0 $310,000 Pre- & Postconferences $51.809 $17,760 $32,000 $25,000 $25,000 WESS Conference $27,065 $0 $0 $0 $0 T eleconf erences5 $0 $0 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 RBMS C am bridge Conference $0 $0 $36,860 $0 $0 Planning Workshops6 $0 $30,590 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 Subtotal $112,749 $386,360 $125,540 $81,000 $419,000 F u nded Projects NEH Project7 $53,129 $22,960 $0 $80,000 $80,000 HBCU Project8 $13,145 $36,980 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 O u tp u t Measures9 $0 $0 $15,000 $0 $0 Subtotal $66,274 $59,940 $65,000 $130,000 $130,000 T otal Revenue $2,197,055 $2,482,705 $2,282,650 $2,300,800 $2,649,200 Choice Revenue $1,362,040 $1,373,270 $1,385,000 $1,395,000 $1,405,000 T otal w ithout Choice $835,015 $1,109,435 $897,650 $905,800 $1,244,200 IAssumes increase in conference year, flat afterwards. 2t apes in f990, book royalties in 1991. 8Flat revenue, except in conference year. 4Revenue recognized conference year only. 5Assumes more activity here. ®Grant in 1989; self-supporting afterward. 7 Assumes funding of new proposal, 1991. 8 Assumes accreditation project funded,1990. 8Assumes partial funding, 1990. April 1989 / 299 EXPENSE FY 1990 FY 1991 FY 1992 FY 1988 FY 1989 Budget B udget Budget O bject o f Expense Actual Budgeted Estim ate Estim ate Estim ate M em bership A ctivities1 M em bership Services $19,438 $22,090 $29,480 $31,000 $34,100 Executive C om m ittee $60,264 $44,080 $60,050 $63,000 $69,300 Statistics $2,011 $16,270 $2,750 $17,000 $3,000 Advisory $13,712 $27,330 $29,880 $31,400 $34,540 Standards D istribution $5,433 $7,070 $9,020 $9,500 $10,450 Discussion Groups $1,411 $1,870 $2,300 $2,500 $2,750 Awards $10,165 $11,150 $14,780 $15,000 $16,500 C hapters $33,243 $50,030 $55,460 $58,200 $64,020 Committees $56,069 $54,810 $70,930 $74,500 $81,950 Sections $34,567 $45,650 $55,870 $59,000 $64,900 Jobline $2,020 $1,510 $1,850 $2,000 $2,200 Special G ran ts2 $0 $19,500 $0 $0 $0 O u tp u t Measures $17,454 $24,790 $26,260 $0 $0 Subtotal $255,787 $326,150 $358,630 $363,100 $383,710 Publications3 Choice $1,187,288 $1,353,560 $1,365,000 $1,375,000 $1,663,750 C irR L $97,042 $107,790 $103,030 $105,000 $127,050 C b R L N ew s $208,691 $205,070 $237,760 $240,000 $290,400 Rare Books ‹b Mss. Libnshp. $17,870 $18,370 $20,500 $21,000 $25,410 Fast Job Listing Service $4,779 $4,140 $4,810 $5,000 $6,050 Section N ewsletters $27,404 $25,990 $26,220 $28,000 $33,880 N onperiodical Pubs. $38,949 $28,100 $60,070 $61,000 $73,810 Books f o r Coll. Libs., 3d ed. $16,056 $5,280 $1,130 $1,000 $1,210 C hapter Topics $1,096 $3,170 $3,660 $2,000 $2,000 Subtotal $1,599,175 $1,751,470 $1,822,180 $1,838,000 $2,223,560 Conferences & W orkshops C ontinuing E ducation $42,134 $50,770 $47,010 $48,000 $58,080 N ational (86, 89)“ $57,292 $207,070 $8,430 $50,000 $251,220 Pre- & Postconferences $37,081 $21,900 $32,750 $25,000 $30,250 WESS C onference5 $32,100 $0 $0 $0 $0 Teleconferences $0 $0 $0 $2,000 $2,420 KBMS C am bridge Conference $0 $19,040 $18,070 $0 $0 P lanning Workshops6 $0 $30,590 $25,000 $25,000 $30,250 Subtotal $168,607 $329,370 $131,260 $150,000 $372,220 F u nded Projects N EH Project $55,079 $22,960 $0 $80,000 $80,000 HBCU Project $18,158 $36,980 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 PLA Project $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 O u tp u t M easures $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal $73,237 $59,940 $50,000 $130,000 $130,000 Choice!ACRL allocation7 ($232) ($2,000) ($2,000) ($2,500) ($3,000) T otal Expenses $2,096,574 $2,464,930 $2,360,070 $2,478,600 $3,106,490 Choice Expenses $1,187,288 $1,353,560 $1,365,000 $1,375,000 $1,663,750 T o tal w ith o u t Choice $909,286 $1,111,370 $995,070 $1,103,600 $1,442,740 Net ($74,271) ($1,935) ($97,420) ($197,800) ($198,540) F u n d B alance $423,426 $421,491 $324,071 $126,271 ($72,269) M andated Reserve $410,638 $420,709 $462,888 $502,621 $535,007 P rojects involving staff time estimated at 5% annual increase. 2Partially grant-funded. 3Possible Operating Agreement impact in 1991. 41992 expense recognized when incurred. 5Next one in 1993. 6Self-supporting after grant year. 'ACRL staff time charged to Choice. 300 / C& RL News April 1989 / 301 and task forces are active. Some committees serve such housekeeping functions as nom inating, budg­ eting, membership, planning, and conference pro­ gramming. Others are charged w ith addressing broad issues of academ ic librarianship, such as leg­ islation, copyright, and standards and accredita­ tion. Task forces and ad hoc committees are ap ­ pointed by the president to carry out a specific charge. Major comm ittee activities for 1990 will include work on the o utput measures for academic libraries, the Historically Black College and Uni­ versity L ibrary project, liaison efforts, recruitm ent to academ ic librarianship (especially of u nderrep­ resented minorities), and the role of the p arapro­ fessional in academ ic libraries. Sections ($82,090). T here are currently three type-of-library sections and eleven type-of-activity sections. Section activities are carried out by 155 section com m ittees. B udgeted am ounts support section newsletters, procedures manuals, audiovi­ sual m aterials for conferences, and staff tim e needed to provide service to these active groups. Am ount budgeted includes $26,220 for 12 section newsletters. Publications th a t are perquisites of membership ($19,550). Although College i r Research Libraries and College i r Research Libraries N ew s have in re­ cent years been completely subsidized by advertis­ ing and subscription revenue, revenues are now flattening out while costs continue to rise. The cost of publishing C irR L News is projected to exceed revenues by $19,550 in 1990. TOTAL (less offsetting revenue of $3,070 for a w ard s, h o n o ra ria , p h o to copying charges) = $376,880. E s tim a te d A C R L m e m b e rs h ip in 1990 = 10,071. Thus, based on the estim ated mem bership, each ACRL m em ber would need to pay $37 to support m em bership activities in the 1990 fiscal year, or $12 m ore th an their current dues of $25. (In 1982 the total cost for the same activities was $105,135, or $12 for each of our 8,789 m embers.) What else ACRL does Publications. In addition to those publications th at are perquisites of m em bership, ACRL’s very active publication program includes Choice, Rare Books and M anuscripts Librarianship, and the Fast Job Listing Service, as well as a variety of non­ periodical publications, including the Publications in Librarianship series and Books fo r College L i­ braries, 3rd ed. In a d d itio n , A CRL offers the Jobline, a telephone service m arketed to employ­ ers, who pay a fee to have inform ation about posi­ tions they are recruiting included in a recording available to job-hunting librarians. E ducation. ACRL’s education efforts include not only the Continuing E ducation courses given before ALA Annual Conferences and those which are offered in conjunction w ith its ow n National Conferences, but also its local presentations—used increasingly by chapters and other groups—as well as Conference program s at ALA Annual Confer­ ences, pre- and postconferences, teleconferences, special conferences (such as the WESS Florence Conference a nd the RBMS C am bridge C onfer­ ence), and ACRL’s NEH Workshops. Taken as a whole, the education program is extremely success­ ful in delivering professional development activi­ ties to m em bers and others and breaks even finan­ cially. Funded projects. These projects are funded by grants and contracts and are, by definition, self- supporting. Over the years, ACRL has been able to accomplish a rem arkable num ber of activities by obtaining grant funding. In 1990, ACRL antici­ pates funding from four outside sources to help it carry out activities th at fall under the Strategic Plan. It will apply for a new NEH project and will seek outside funding for a College L ibrary Plan­ ning Project and for the O u tp u t Measures M anual. In addition, it will seek funds for a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) accredita­ tio n project, designed to help these institutions w ith the accreditation process. The big picture It’s always good to p ut things in perspective. Rel­ ative to librarians’ salaries, how does the projected $35 dues com pare to the $25 dues w e paid in 1982? To do this accurately, we would need to have good estimates of average salaries for 1990, w hen the dues increase would take affect. W e’ll make do w ith 1982 and 1988 averages compiled and p u b ­ lished by ARL (in their A nnual Salary Survey) and ALA (ALA Survey of Librarian Salaries), b u t the story they tell is clear enough. 1982. Based on an average librarian salary of $21,089 and a forty-hour work week (no vacation), it took our average librarian 2.5 hours to earn dues of $25, or 7.4 hours to earn total ALA and ACRL dues of $75. 1988. Based on an average librarian salary of $32,135 and a forty-hour work week (still no vaca­ tion), our average librarian earned dues of $35 in only 2.3 hours. It will take only 6.8 hours to earn total ALA ($70) and ACRL ($35) dues. What else is being done? In addition to the cost control m ethods already being used and which we all employ (a little here, a little there), a num ber of alternatives have been suggested by ACRL officers, staff, and members. The Financial Plan includes discussion and analysis of a num ber of strategies. Since no one alternative is likely to solve the problem , a combination will no doubt be necessary. Among those being consid­ ered: • F in d new sources of revenue. At ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans last July, the Budget 302 / CirRL News HOURS REQUIRED TO EARN DUES 8 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 8 ® ACRLdues H ALA dues ALA dues: $50 ALA dues: $70 A C R Ldues: $25 ACRL dues: $35 (projected) and Finance C om m ittee recom m ended, and the ACRL Board approved, the appointm ent of a Task Force on Financial D evelopm ent, whose charge in­ cludes identifying new sources of revenue. The Task Force will subm it its recom m endations by the 1990 annual conference. •D evelop new m em bership m arkets, such as paraprofessionals. •In crease prices on nonperiodical publications by a sizable am ount in order to subsidize the cost of other publications (such as C irR L N ews). •L im it the num ber of pages in C irR L News. •B uild an ACRL endow m ent. •L o w e r the m andated reserve fund (if allowed by ALA). • L im it section newsletters; or com bine them with C irR L News. •S u b sta n tia lly increase advertising and sub­ scription rates for periodicals (how m uch will the m arket bear?). •R estru ctu re section dues; base ACRL dues on salary. An unavoidable conclusion After a period of several years during w hich rev­ enues (from sources oth er th a n dues) increased nicely each year, A CRL is e n te rin g a perio d of tougher financial times. Increases in revenues have flattened out, w hile costs continue to increase a t a fixed rate, just as they do in our libraries. Unless some action is taken, the budget will be seriously out of balance by th e end of the 1990 fiscal year, and we will have to sta rt draw ing dow n the reserve fu n d below th e level m a n d a te d by th e ACRL Board in 1986. In fact, the reserve a t th a t point will be only slightly greater th a n would be required to offset the loss of a single national conference (an am ount ALA is considering requiring divisions to retain in order to receive permission to hold such conferences). In order to be strong, ACRL needs to operate on a sound financial basis. T he Budget and Finance C om m ittee urges you to vote to m aintain th e services ACRL currently provides. If you agree th a t the issues and opportu­ nities w hich academ ic a nd research librarians face require a strong ACRL, you w ill join us in voting for a dues increase. ■ ■