ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


September 199 5 /5 7 1

ACRL charts new  direction

ACRL Board approves new plan to 
meet the fu tu re

A CRL has ad o p ted  a new  strategic plan toguide the association’s activities. The plan
was approved by the ACRL Board o f Directors
at its June 24 m eeting during the ALA Annual
Conference in Chicago.

“We envision this as a dynam ic plan that
will be subject to continuing evolution to m eet
the changing needs o f our profession,” said Su­
san Martin, ACRL immediate past-president. “We
appreciate the efforts o f ACRL m em bers w ho
participated in identifying the critical issues fac­
ing libraries and librarianship, and suggesting
h ow  ACRL as an  o rg an izatio n  can b est fill
present an d  future n eed s.”

T he cu lm in atio n  o f m o re th a n  th re e  y ears
of intensive effort by ACRL lead ers an d  m em ­
bers, th e  n e w  p la n  rep la ce s a 1987 version.
It rec o g n ize s c u rre n t p rio rities a n d  co n c ern s
of ACRL m em b ers w ith a m ission a n d  vision
statem en t th a t em p h asize o p p o rtu n itie s for
p ro fessio n al d ev e lo p m e n t an d  p erfo rm an ce
o f acad em ic lib ra ria n s’ m ission o f service.

“The challenge before ACRL leadership is
to m ove ahead expeditiously tow ard the goals
the m em bership has a d o p te d ,” said Patricia
Breivik, 1995–96 ACRL president. “We are en ­
couraged in o ur endeavors w ith the close rela­
tionship o f ACRL’s goals an d  ALA Goal 2000. It
is an exciting tim e for ACRL an d  its members!”

Mission
The Association o f College an d  Research Li­
braries (ACRL) provides leadership for devel­
opm ent, prom otion, an d  im provem ent o f aca­
d em ic a n d  re s e a rc h  lib rary  re so u rc e s an d
services to facilitate learning, research, and the
scholarly com m unication process.

ACRL prom otes the highest level o f profes­
sional excellence for librarians and library p er­

 

 
 

 
 

 

sonnel in order to serve the users o f academic 
an d  research libraries.

Vision
Together, ACRL m em bers will strengthen the 
ability o f academ ic and research librarians and 
other library personnel to provide superior ser
vices an d  resources for their communities; and 
will p rep are academ ic an d  research librarians 
to play increasingly significant roles in higher 
education. ACRL will provide lead ersh ip  in 
shaping education, information, an d  scholarly 
co m m u n icatio n  policy. It w ill ac h ie v e this 

 

 
 

through partnerships with higher education and 
information technology organizations, national 
forums, an d  through the legislative process. 

 ACRL will recruit and foster the retention of 
 highly qualified an d  talented librarians w ho 

reflect the diversity found in American society. 
 ACRL will develop standards for professional 

preparation an d  prom ote continuous learning 
for academ ic and research librarians and other 

 library personnel.
 
 Goals
 1. P rovide d e v e lo p m e n t o p p o r tu n itie s for 

academ ic an d  resea rch  librarians an d  o th er 
 library p e r s o n n e l that e n h a n c e  th e ir ab il­
 ity  to  d e liv e r  s u p e r io r  s e r v ic e s  a n d  r e ­
 so u rces.

Strategic Directions:
1.1 ACRL will su p p o rt activities w hich 

 provide opportunities for academic and research 
librarians and library personnel to discuss and 
share ideas, know ledge, research, experiences, 
an d  expertise.

1.2 ACRL will support recruitment efforts 
to bring into the profession those individuals 
w ho will enrich the diversity o f the profession.

 1.3 ACRL will provide national program ­
 ming at the regional level to support continu­

ing education needs.
1.4 ACRL will continue to seek ways to in­

crease membership participation in its activities.

A n overview o f the development o f the new plan, as well as a list o f the ACRL members who worked on it, 
may be fo u n d  in the June 1995 issue o f C&RL N ew s.



5 7 2 /C&RL News

2. C ollaborate w ith  o th e r p r o fe ssio n a l o r­
gan ization s and a sso cia tio n s o f  h ig h er ed u ­
ca tio n  in  o rd er to p ro m o te m utual in ter
ests.
Strategic Directions:

2.1 ACRL will participate in activities of, 
and seek cooperative relationships with, higher 
education associations.

2.2 ACRL will seek cooperative relation­
ships w ith other inform ation-related associa­
tions to develop cooperative initiatives to en ­
hance and expand the library’s role as central 
to academic endeavors.

2.3 ACRL will strengthen its relationship 
w ith the Association o f Research Libraries.

2.4 ACRL will w ork with higher educa­
tion and scholarly associations to protect ac­
cess to intellectual property in an electronic 
environm ent.

3. M aintain at th e n a tio n a l le v el a p ro m i
n e n t ro le in  p la n n in g  and d e c is io n  m ak
in g  fo r in flu e n c in g  in fo r m a tio n  p olicy.
Strategic Directions:

3.1 ACRL will provide financial support 
for the ALA Goal 2000 technology initiative and 
legislative agenda to insure that the items of 
concern to academic librarians receive prom pt 
attention.

3.2 ACRL will support the ALA W ashing
ton Office in responding to issues affecting aca­
dem ic libraries and higher education.

3.3 ACRL will use an effective com m uni
cation mix to prom ote an understanding o f the 
value and contributions o f academ ic/research 
librarians and libraries to higher education and 
society in general.

3.4 ACRL will participate in activities of 
higher education an d  other organizations to 
inform these groups o f the value o f library re­
sources an d  services and the library’s role in 
the teaching/learning and scholarly process.

4. Ensure that ACRL’s o p era tin g  en v ir o n
m en t p ro v id es effic ie n c y  in  its u se o f  re­
so u rces an d  e ffec tiv e n e ss in  th e d eliv ery 
o f  se rv ic es to  its m em b ers an d  co n stitu e n t 
u n its.
Strategic Directions:

4.1 The ACRL Board o f Directors will take 
responsibility for planning in order to provide 
organizational direction.

4.2 ACRL will develop and maintain an 
integrated dynamic m anagem ent system and 
process that include: a strategic plan, a finan­

cial plan, and product-line marketing or busi­
ness plans.

4.3 Members o f the ACRL Board o f Di­
rectors will act with the mission, vision, and 
goals o f the association in mind, and ensure 
that issues an d  ideas are exam ined an d  dis­
cussed openly an d  thoroughly with the mem ­
bership.

4.4 ACRL will exam ine an d  modify as 
appropriate its current structural arrangements 
to enhance its influence o n  information policy 
setting and legislation through better coordi­
nation o f national an d  state efforts.

4.5 ACRL will review an d  revise its by­
laws to reflect the roles o f the Board o f Direc­
tors and all ACRL units.

4.6 ACRL will k eep  inform ed o f current 
association m anagem ent practices an d  ap p ro ­
priate technologies to ensure that it operates 
at an optim um  level o f efficiency. ■

(Online resources cont. from  page 539)
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