ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries December 1985 / 607 in the academic community. 2. Establish mechanisms for identifying and re sponding to bodies created to study issues of im por tance to academic libraries. 3. Encourage and facilitate effective m em ber ship response to government and private sector ac tivities, including appropriate legislation. Goal IV To prom ote study, research, and publication rel evant to academic and research librarianship. Subgoals A. To prom ote awareness of the need for re search, identify study and research topics, and en courage im provem ent in research skills. B. To participate in research projects, report w o rk s in p ro g re s s , a n d d is s e m in a te re s e a rc h results. C. To support research relating to academic and research libraries. D. To sponsor a strong publishing program th at will advance the professional knowledge and derstanding of academic librarians. Critical Objectives 1. Develop and im plem ent a research agenda for academic libraries. 2. C reate appropriate mechanisms for identify ing, collecting, storing, and disseminating research of interest to academic and research librarians. 3. U ndertake a com prehensive review of the ACRL publications program to ensure th a t the ob jectives are being met. ■ ■ External factors analysis statement The first draft of this statem ent was prepared by the ACRL Planning Com mittee. It was then re vised by the ACRL Strategic Planning Task Force a n d in c o rp o ra te d in to th e ir p la n n in g process, which will culm inate in a w ritten five-year plan for the Association. The statem ent is essentially an u p dating of the environm ental considerations portion of the original ACRL activity model (C&R L N ew s, May 1982, p. 164). A. Economic Considerations. 1. The concept of inform ation as a commodity will increasingly influence decisions relating to li braries. 2. Steady-state or declining purchase pow er will be available to academic/research libraries. 3. Costs of com puting h ard w are will decline; the costs of software and telecommunications will in crease. 4. Com petition between libraries and other or ganizations, both on campus and in the for-profit sector, will increase. 5. Libraries will be expected to increase produc tivity. B. Political Considerations. 1. Inform ation will be an increasingly im portant strategic factor in domestic and international m a r kets and in world politics. 2. Conflict will .escalate am ong governm ent, business and academ ia over the ownership, value, and control of information. 3. F ederal governm ent a ttitu d e to w a rd a c a d e m ic /re s e a rc h lib ra rie s w ill be in c re a sin g ly laissez-faire. 4. State governments will increase efforts to cen tralize authority/control over tax-supported higher education, including academic libraries. 5. The distribution of com puting pow er will diminish the political im pact of national consortia. 6. Local, state, and regional computer-based networks will continue to develop. 7. There will be continuing international pres sure for bibliographical standardization. C. Social Considerations. l . E quality of opportunity for w om en and m i norities will continue to be an elusive goal. 2. Illiteracy will continue to be a problem in spite of the efforts of schools, libraries, and the edu cational reform movement. 3. Well-organized political and religious groups will continue to m ount challenges to intellectual freedom . 4. The development of massive databases may threaten individual privacy. 5. Academ y-based research activity will a d vance slowly. 6. T he dem ographic profile and educational needs/expectations of college students will con tinue to change. 7. The use of non-print and micro-based m ateri als in research and college teaching will increase. 8. Society will continue to press for dollar ac countability. (continued on next page) Strategic planning forum The ACRL Strategic Planning Task Force will be holding an open forum during the M id w inter Meeting on January 20 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m . The forum is being held to allow ACRL m em bers and other interested parties to re spond to the first d raft of the ACRL Strategic Plan, published in this issue. 608 / C&RL News D. Technical Considerations. 1. Word processing/communication/computer technology will improve and proliferate. 2. Advances in storage technology will alter the way in which information is published and distrib uted. 3. Changes in technology will change the kinds of information services provided. 4. Libraries and the for-profit sector will be in competition to meet the demand for speedier deliv ery of information/documents. 5. Personal ownership of word processing/com puting/telecommunications hardw are and soft ware will continue to increase. 6. As the use of terminals and microcomputers grows, access to information will become more de­ centralized. 7. Preservation methods for disintegrating li brary book stocks will become more effective and more widely used. E. Human Resources. 1. The rigorous competency standards of the ed ucational reform movement will improve the per formance of both teachers and students in public schools. 2. Scholarly communication will continue in its present state of relative good health; researchers, scholarly publishers, and librarians will continue to be the major links in the process. 3. Libraries will not become less labor intensive but will require a new mix of staff and skills. 4. Libraries will remain in competition with other organizations for staff. 5. Society will require training and the help of intermediaries to use proliferating online informa tion sources. 6. Information management and data process ing staff will be increasingly costly to hire and re tain. ■ ■ ACRL’s 1 9 8 5 /8 6 b u dget Last year’s performance and this year’s projection. L ast year, when we presented the budget article in C&RL News (December 1984, pp. 599-606), we pointed out the program nature of the budget, and tied each budget item to a specific objective in the ACRL statem ent of goals and objectives. This year’s budget is again based on our programs. Ex penses are incurred and revenue generated in the accomplishment of ACRL’s mission and goals. The mission of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is to foster the profes sion of academic librarianship. To accomplish that mission, ACRL has established four goals: • To contribute to the total professional de opment of academic and research librarians. • To improve the service capabilities of a demic and research libraries. • To promote and speak for the interests of demic and research librarianship. • To promote study and research relevant to vel ca aca academic librarianship. On p p .605-7 in this issue is a draft of the work of the Strategic Planning Task Force in revising the ACRL mission statement, goals, subgoals, and ob jectives. Until the process for adopting the final version of the Strategic Plan for the Association is complete, the mission statement and goals men tioned above are those driving ACRL. By this time next year, we will have moved into the new plan, ĩn the meantime, the program activities remain tied to the present goals and objectives in the man ner described in last year’s budget article. Highlights of 1984/85 performance A C R L ’s fund b alan c e again increased (by $74,298) to $472,193 from the September 1984 fig ure of $397,895. This increase came in the publica tions area, where advertising, particularly classified