ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


730/C&RL News

M o re  than just new s: 
C&RL N e w s at 3 0

By Edward G. H o lley

The evolution o f ACRL’s journal 
o f record

I
n the annals of ACRL history, if there is one 
thing that academ ic librarians have agreed 
upon, it is the im portance o f their uniquen

am ong librarians and their fidelity to their as­
sociation. Admittedly no t all librarians feel that 
way. ACRL’s m em bership, after reaching a high 
o f 13,000, has declined to som ew here betw een 
ten and eleven thousand in recent years. Yet it 
rem ains ALA’s largest division and, if m easured 
against o ther library associations, ranks third in 
m em bership, below  ALA itself and the Special 
Libraries Association.

W aging battles
Traditionally, ACRL was a complaining division, 
though it has never exercised the p ow er in ALA 
that its m em bership deserved. Members often 
bew ailed the fact that the division w as 
mistreated, but they rarely too 
steps to rem edy that. 
O n e  e x c e p tio n  w a s 
ACRL’s insistence o n   
having its ow n journal, 
College & Research Li
braries(C&RL). To m ain
ta in  C&RL‚ th e  d iv isio n   
w aged o n e last battle w ith  
ALA before the new  dues 
structure in the mid-seventies 
gave the ALA divisions con­
trol o v er th eir o w n  destiny, 
and hence over their ow n publications.

Stimulated by Dick D ougherty’s editorial,

e

“Can Academic Librarians Afford College & Re­
search Libraries?” m ore than 80 persons ex­
pressed their outrage at ALA’s m istreatm ent of 
the journal, i.e, its th reatened lack o f contin­
u ed  support, in the Septem ber 1971 C&RI.. The 
printed letters stated that C&RL w as the major 
contribution ALA m ade to ACRL’s m em bership. 

ssI n addition to support for its scholarly journal, 
ACRL m em bers also expected their association 
to assert their rights in academ ia, to develop 
standards, and to publish monographs and other 
literature w hich w ould advance the interests of 
their profession. While they h o nored research 
and scholarship, they especially w anted their 
association to provide information about w hat’s 
going on in th e larger w orld that affects them  
and their libraries.

Varied and vibrant
To m eet these expectations, the academ ic li­
brarian over the years has w elcom ed four ACRL 
journals: C&RL, a journal devoted to research 

and scholarship; College & Research Li­
braries News (C&RL News), a 

new s journal w ith all the 
latest happenings in 

 areas o f general and 
 special interests; and 

 tw o im portant special- 
ized journals: Choice‚ a 

book selection guide, and 
Rare Books & M anuscripts 

 Librarianship (RBML), fo- 
 cusing o n  th at sp ecialized  
field.

Academic librarians also ex­
p e c te d  th e ir asso ciatio n  to  p u b lish  m o n o ­
graphs of a research nature (ACRL Monographs,

E dw ard G. Holley is William R a n d  K e n a n  Jr. Professor Em eritus a t the University o f  North Carolina a t 
Chapel Hill; e-mail: holIey@ils.unc.edu

mailto:holIey@ils.unc.edu


December 1 9 9 6 / 731

now  the Publications in Librarianship series) 
and of a practical, everyday variety (CLIP Notes), 
as w ell as standards an d  guidelines o n  p e re n ­
nial topics such as academ ic/faculty status, ac­
creditation, statistics, etc. As Richard W erking 
observed, th e  ACRL publications program  has 
provided us w ith “a varied an d  vibrant array of 
books, journals, an d  surveys” (C&RL News, May 
1995).

Demands for information grow
B eginning w ith C&RL in 1939, the association 
included w ithin this journal b o o k  reviews, su b ­
stantive articles, opinion pieces, an d  new s of 
the field. With th e explosive grow th o f aca­
dem ic libraries in the p o st W orld W ar II p e ­
riod, there w as an  increase in the am o u n t of 
material n e e d e d  “for th e g o o d  o f the o rd er.” 
T he bim onthly C&RL fo u n d  it difficult to  ac­
com m odate b o th  serious scholarship an d  the 
general new s n e e d e d  by the m em bership. By 
the time a C&RL issue ap p eared , the “n ew s” 
w as sim ply a m atter of record rather than news. 
In addition, the am o u n t o f new s e x p an d ed  the 
size o f the journal w ith significant increases in 
th e  cost o f mailing.

T he solution in 1966-67 w as to create an ­
other publication w hich focused o n  associa­
tion activities, presidential reports, new s from 
th e field, federal legislation, appointm ents, re­
tirem ents, obituaries, drafts o f standards, etc. 
[Mary Falvey chronicled th e story o f discussions 
leading to  the News’ form ation in “Publishing 
th e A ssociation Journal, January 1, 1962– De- 
cem ber 31, 1966” ( C&RL‚ N ovem ber 1967).] Be­
ginning as a m odest supplem en t to  the research 
journal, C&RL News b ecam e the new  outlet not 
only for inform ation ab o u t the association bu t 
also ab o u t th e w ider w orld o f academ ia. The 
n eed  for k eeping u p  w ith th e new s becam e 
m ore urgent as library sup p o rt began to  change 
from the glory days o f the sixties into a period 
o f static o r declining budgets. Librarians also 
h ad  to  c o p e  w ith the n ew  costs o f com puter­
ized inform ation, especially th o se associated 
w ith national an d  regional online catalogs and 
databases.

Still it w as an  exciting time to b e  an aca­
dem ic librarian. Amid th e changes cam e the 
triennial ACRL conferences, w hich focused on 
program s rather than association business. With 
th e change in th e w ay ALA restructured its dues 
in the m id-seventies, ACRL could n o w  b e  as­
sured o f th e kind o f revenue stream  from  m em ­
bership d u es that w o u ld  guaran tee its ability to

carry out im portant n ew  program s. The n eg o ­
tiations w ith ALA w ere som etim es tense but 
ACRL has con tin u ed  to  b e its largest an d  m ost 
active division.

Perennial concerns
W hat w ere th e concerns that C&RL News a d ­
dressed over th e 30 years o f its existence? The 
categories are as im pressive as their concerns 
are perennial: the status o f the academ ic librar­
ian, th e relationship o f th e academ ic library to 
its p aren t body, th e  n e e d  for n ew  standards 
and guidelines, th e relationship o f libraries to 
the n ew  technology, provision o f services for 
distance learners, and, always, the status o f the 
academ ic librarian in th e academ ic comm unity. 
Should they have faculty status, o r academ ic 
status, o r o ccupy som e o th er role? H ow  does 
the association influence th e  regional accredit­
ing associations o n  these an d  o th er matters? 
Such to p ics have p ersisted  since ACRL w as 
fo u n d ed  an d  they som etim es have h ad  posi­
tive results. C&RL News has also b e e n  a co n ­
veyer o f im portant inform ation ab o u t w h at is 
going o n  in higher education groups an d  how  
ACRL can d o  a b etter job o f relating to those 
gro u p s as w ell as their counterparts o n  cam ­
pus.

C&RL News has b e e n  especially im portant 
in giving the m em bers a sense o f their ow n 
w orth. T he various aw ards, especially the ACRL 
Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award,

Ups and downs
By the early nineties C&RL News had b e­

com e a very large journal indeed. Having 
begun with 82 pages in 1967, the m agazine 
had reach ed  407 pages by 1982, p assed the 
1,000 page m ark in 1989 (the year o f ACRL
50th birthday), and reach ed  a high p oint o f 
1,116 pages in 1990! The next year saw  a 
decline to  1,052 pages, a further decline to 
752 pages in 1992, an d  then back up to  830 
in 1995. T he prospect for 1996 m ay see the 
News again reach the thousand-page mark. 
Also in recent years the News has included 
an insert catalog of ACRL publications in tw o 
issues p e r year. To review  the association’s 
publishing record is to  rem ind oneself of 
how  far ACRL has com e in  adding signifi­
cant research and professional titles to  our 
know ledge base.

’s 



732/C&RL News

often featured on the cover, and also the H ugh 
Atkinson Award, the Saur Award for best C&RL 
article, th e  doctoral dissertation fellow ship, 
D udley BI Librarian o f th e Year, etc., all have 
received recognition in C&RL News, usually w ith 
a statem ent about the aw ard ee’s contributions. 
C ontinuing education, especially w ith the ad ­
vent o f th e com puter, has also received con­
siderable attention. And the advertising revenue 
for vacant positions, as well as display ads from 
library-related business, has generally m ade the 
News self-supporting.

Hear it first here
To b e honest, C&RL News is probably more read 
a n d /o r scanned than C&RL itself. In the News 
y ou hear it first (with the possible exception o f

the W orld Wide W eb). In any case, for aca­
dem ic librarians w h o  w ant to  k eep  u p  in their 
field, the News has becom e th e major source, 
from  higher ed u catio n  to  th e cam pus, from 
b o o k  publications to netw orking. The News for 
som e time now  has also carried short but help­
ful articles o f a professional nature.

A mong the m ore interesting articles for this 
w riter have been  the opinion pieces. Especially 
interesting is the series “The Way I See It,” which 
has included viewpoints of som e of ACRL’s most 
thoughtful m em bers as w ell as those of leaders 
in higher education. I cite tw o interesting ex­
a m p le s : R a lp h  W o lf f ’s “R e th i n k in g  th e  
Librarian’s Role o n  Accreditation T eam s” (July/ 
A ugust 1992,) w ritten by an accrediting asso­
c ia tio n  official, n o t a lib rarian ; a n d  Ire n e

Leaders sp e a k  out
H ere is a sam pling o f the im portant infor­

m ation o n e can get by reading the Annual 
Reports published in C&RL News.

“In the future, ACRL is likely to b e  differ­
ent from w hat it is today. The im petus to work 
m ore closely w ith o th e r organizations in ­
volved w ith higher education, and th e chang­
ing role o f librarians on college and univer­
sity cam puses, will contribute to m aking the 
organization m ore professional, m ore stream ­
lined, an d  a force to  b e  reckoned w ith in the 
arena o f higher education.”— Susan K. M ar­
tin, 56th p resident (D ecem ber 1995)

“As I look to the year ahead, it is clear that 
academ ic librarians cannot conduct their busi­
ness in isolation. Changing agendas in higher 
education, information technology, an d  e d u ­
cation in general present major challenges.”—  
A lthea Jenkins, ACRL executive director (No­
vem ber 1992)

“O ne o f o u r m ost persistent challenges, 
then, is to develop a clearer vision o f our 
role and convey it persuasively an d  com pel- 
lingly to others: to o u r faculty colleagues, to 
com puting center staff, to senior adm inistra­
tors, to state legislators an d  boards o f re ­
gents— indeed, to all of our real and presum p­
tive partners in higher education.”— William 
A. M offett (July/August 1990)

“T he mission o f ACRL is to represent aca­
dem ic and research libraries. This includes all 
types of academ ic libraries— com m unity and 
junior college, college, and university— as well 
as com prehensive and specialized research li­
braries and their professional staffs. ACRL also 
has as its mission the enhancem ent of library 
service, in the broadest sense, to the academ ic 
a n d  re s e a rc h  c o m m u n itie s .”— Q u o te fr o m  
“Statem ent o f  Responsibility" in  Le M oyne W. 
A n d e r s o n ’s p r e s id e n tia l report (Septem ber 
1980)

“ACRL publications continue to be am ong 
the division’s most im portant an d  appreciated 
program s.”— C onnie R. D u n la p  (July/August 
1977) (Ed. note: D u n la p  also a n n o u n c e d  the 

fo rth co m in g  monograph, Libraries for T each­
ing, Libraries for Research: Essays for a Cen­
tury, edited by R ichard Johnson, a n d  w ritten 
fo r the ALA C entennial.)

“Substantial progress w as achieved in the 
area o f developing standards for com m unity 
college and college libraries. . . . The pursuit 
o f the elusive goal o f full faculty status for all 
academ ic librarians continued to b e a major 
ACRL goal and the problem  o f governance in 
all its intriguing complexity w as deb ated  and 
explored through traditional and nontraditional 
m e d ia ." — H. W illiam  A x fo r d  (Ju ly/A u g u st 
1975)



December 1996/733

H oadley’s “C ustom er Service? 
Not Really,” (March 1995). A 
n u m b er o f individuals have 
dep lo red  the fact that librar
ians talk too m uch to them
selves. President William 
Moffett’s guest editorial, 
“Talking to O urselves,” 
in th e N ovem ber 1989 
C&RL, re ite r a te d  th e  
v iew  o f so m e o f his 
p re d e c e s s o r s . H is s o n g  
w a s su rely  th e  sam e tu n e , u m p ­
teen th  verse. T he News has tried to  bring o th er 
perso n s from  outside th e profession into dis­
cussions and, o f course, th e ALA W ashington 
Office provides a regular u p d ate on th e  n a ­
tional scene, including com m ents from  in d i­
viduals in Congress.

Reports of the presidents
Let m e also give credit to som e o f th e p resi­
d e n ts’ annual reports as w ell as those o f the 
e x ecu tiv e directors. Like m ost reports, th ey  
p robably are n o t o n  th e  reading list o f m ost 
m em bers, th o u g h  th ey  should be. I cite not 
only Louise G iles’s report of 1975–76, b u t also 
h e r article, “T he Im pact o f th e N ew  D ues Struc­
tu re,” th e  sam e year. H er presidency w as not 
only th e year o f th e ALA centennial conference 
b u t also the transition to th e new  dues struc­
ture. H er tragic death that sam e year w as a great 
loss to ACRL. (See O ctober 1996, pag e 611, for 
a reprint o f G iles’s obituary.)

Le M oyne A nderson’s report in 1979–80 cited 
ALA Council’s approval, at long last, o f the ACRL 
m ission statem ent, as notew orthy. The follow ­
ing year David W eber discussed the im portance 
o f p la n n in g  a n d  th e  c o n tin u in g  d iscussions 
am o n g  ALA an d  its d i­
visions a b o u t th e o p ­
erating agreem ent, as 
w ell as th e  ev o lv in g  
strategic plan. By the 
tim e  o f  H a n n e l o r e  
R a d e r ’s r e p o r t  in  
1986– 87, c o m p u te r s  
w ere beginning to  gain 
som e attention b u t the 
big n ew s o f th e year 
w as th e im m inent a p p earan ce of Books f o r  Col­
lege Libraries, 3rd ed.

Certainly th e  reports o f the ACRL executive 
directors m erit careful reading by the m em bers. 
They an d  th e  editors o f ACRL’s publications

have h a d  a d ecid e d  im pact not 
only o n  th e  association b u t 

also o n  the publications. (See 
 S eptem ber 1996, p ag e 513, 

for a list o f C&RL News edi­
tors.)

Expanding issues
T he topics addressed 

 in C&RL N ew s h av e 
n ot changed so m uch 

as they h av e e x p an d ed , es
pecially in relationship to  technol­

ogy. T h ere h av e b e e n  n e w  o r revised 
standards a n d  guidelines, an d  stories o n  cam ­
p u s/lib rary  relationships, governance, federal 
an d  state legislation, co nference an d  associa­
tion activities, new s ab o u t libraries including 
appointm ents, aw ards, gifts an d  grants, retire­
m ents, d eath s, collections, a n d  buildings. A 
m ajor recen t change has b e e n  the introduction 
o f short o p in io n  pieces an d  brief descriptions 
o f n ew  m on o g rap h s th at m ight b e o f interest 
b u t n o t w orthy o f a full-blow n review  in C&RL. 
Clearly th ere is also a lot o f inform ation on 
tech n o lo g y , OCLC, reg io n al n etw o rk s, RLG, 
W ashington, etc.

The News also provides data o n  official ACRL 
b usiness su ch  as election results, including the 
n u m b er voting for each candidate, th ough these 
m ay b e  o f interest to relatively few  m em bers. 
In recen t years th e total v ote count for vice- 
p r e s id e n t/p r e s id e n t- e le c t h a s ra n g e d  fro m  
roughly 2,000–2,500, only 20 to  25% o f th e to ­
tal m em bership.

W e have excelled
W hat can o n e  say ab o u t C&RL News o n  its 30th 
birthday? T hat the basic issues rem ain, b u t they 

have b e e n  jo in ed  by 
n e w e r co n cern s such 
as netw orks, tech n o l­
ogy, an d  th e changing 
n ature o f higher e d u ­
c a ti o n . A m id  t h e s e  
n e w e r  p r e s s u r e s , if 
o n e is optimistic, o n e 
can take courage from 
th e  ch a n g e  a n d  p ro ­
gress that has already 

occurred. T here is likely to b e  a continuing need 
for th e News, b o th  to  k eep  us abreast o f changes 
a n d  just occasionally to rem ind us o f the past: 
th at so m eh o w  w e  c o p e d  an d  ev en  at tim es w e 
have excelled. P er aspera ad astra! ■

W hat can one say about 
C&RL N ew s on its 30th 
birthday? That the basic 
issues remain, but they 
have been joined by 
newer concerns. . . .