ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


100

Adadem ic L ib ra rie s and the 
White House Conference—  

Two Statem ents

The fo llo w in g  sta tem en ts b y  tw o ca ndidates f o r  
A L A  president w ere s u b m itte d  at the request o f  
the A C R L  ad hoc C om m ittee on th e W h ite  H ouse 
C onference, Joseph A . Boisse, chair.

C o m m unication should b e  th e  p rim e  co ncern 
o f th e  academ ic librarians in th e  series o f gover­
n o rs’ c o n fe re n c e s le a d in g  to  th e  W h ite  H o u se  
level g ath erin g  in 1979. T h e  p u rp o se o f th is e n ­
tire effort is to en a b le  th e  lay pu b lic to u n d e r­
stand and articulate, in th e ir  term s, th e  n e e d  for 
inform ation resources d elivery. T h e articulation, 
if it is e m p h atic and forceful, could have a p o si­
tive im pact on federal a n d  sta te legislative re a c ­
tion for years to come.

I t will b e fairly easy for th e  lay public to id e n ­
tify w ith som e o f th e  aspects o f library service, 
particularly as it relates to school-age youth and 
special social groupings. I t will b e  m ore difficult 
to relate to th e  academ ic libraries. And it is im ­
p o rtan t th at academ ic lib ra ry  resources b e u n d e r­
stood by th e  lay public. It is im p o rtan t th at th ey  
u n d erstan d  how th o se reso u rces can have an ef­
fect upon th e  econom ic a n d  social w elfare of our 
society. It is im p o rtan t th a t th e  lay public b e able 
to articulate how  research a n d  d e v elo p m en t tran s­
late into problem -solving ability for all o f society, 
thus justifying an d  repaying any initial in v estm en t 
in resources and personnel.

A cadem ic lib ra ria n s m u s t b e  a p a rt o f th e s e  
dialogues. T hey m ust b e articulate. T hat articu la­
tion m u st b e  s trip p e d  o f jarg o n  and p e tty  c o n ­
cerns so th at w e can deal straightforw ardly w ith 
lay concerns. If  society is to b eg in  to solve its 
problem s, as how  to survive in a world o f finite 
resources, m em b ers o f society m ust u n d e rsta n d  
clearly th at th e y  m ust begin to m ine th e  o n e in ­
finite resource o u r technological society has …  
in fo rm atio n . A cad e m ic lib ra ria n s  m u st in sp ire  
confidence th at libraries can b e  geared to provide 
quick, efficient, an d  effective re tu rn s th at will be 
profitable to all o f society. It m eans fast and d e d i­
c a te d  in v o lv e m e n t fro m  t h e  a c a d e m ic  lib ra ry  
com m unity. And ju d g in g  from how often th e se  af­
fairs are offered to society, it may well b e now or 
n e v e r . — G e r a ld  R. S h ie ld s , A s s i s t a n t  D e a n , 
School o f  In fo rm a tio n  a n d  L ib ra ry  Studies, State 
U niversity o f  N e w  Y o rk at B uffalo. ■■

S cheduled for fall 1979, th e  W h ite H ouse C o n ­
fe re n c e  o n  L ib ra ry  a n d  I n fo rm a tio n  S e rv ic e s , 
p re c e d e d  by fifty-six state, territo rial, and special 
conferences, offers us an u n p aralleled  o p p o rtu n ity  
to focus b o th  legislative an d  citizen a tten tio n  on 
th e broad range o f c u rre n t and fu tu re inform ation 
n eed s o f A m erican society. To realize this o p p o r­
tunity, academ ic librarians n e e d  to b e d irectly  in­
volved, b o th  individually a n d  th ro u g h  th e ir o r­
ganizations, in id e n tify in g  u rg e n t a g e n d a  ite m s 
for b o th  th e  sta te and national conferences. W e 
n e e d  to b e ready as well to offer viable proposals 
for co n sid eratio n  by lay d e le g a te s, state legisla­
tu res, and th e  C ongress. O u r objective should be 
to lay th e  legislative foundations at state and n a­
tional levels for a c o h e re n t, co o rd in ated , c o m p re ­
h en siv e national lib ra ry  a n d  inform ation policy 
th a t ex p lic itly  re c o g n iz e s  t h e  re s p o n s ib ility  o f 
g o v e r n m e n t to a s s u re  fu ll, e ffe c tiv e  ac c e ss to 
books, journals, m edia, a n d  inform ation.

Forceful p re se n ta tio n  o f th e  special concerns o f 
academ ic lib ra rian s a n d  th e ir  c lie n te le s will b e 
essential. Critical q u estio n s o f pu b lic policy c e n ­
tering on th e design, funding, and op eratio n  of 
b ibliographic an d  re s o u rc e -sh a rin g  netw orks r e ­
q u ire elucidation. T he co p y rig h t issue, for exam ­
ple, should b e re sta te d , not as a m ore technical 
d e b a te  b e tw e e n  c o m p e tin g  p riv a te  a n d  in s titu ­
tional in terests, b u t as a q u estio n  to which legis­
lators can relate as advocates for th e  access rights 
o f all citizens. T h e federal responsibility for c re a ­
tion o f co m p re h e n siv e  b ib lio g rap h ic data bases, 
readily accessible at th e  local level and linked to 
an effective delivery system , re q u ire s clear defini­
tion. At both federal and sta te levels, coordina­
tion is n e e d e d  (1) to assu re th a t no library is d e ­
n ie d  n e tw o rk  access, (2) to r e s tr u c tu re  lib ra ry  
fu n d in g  so th a t th e  c o m m u n ity  o f  su p p o rt b e ­
com es coterm inous w ith  th e  com m unity o f users, 
and (3) to in su re ongoing collection d ev elo p m en t, 
m a in te n a n c e , a n d  p r e s e r v a tio n  in th e  n a tio n ’s 
academ ic and research libraries.

T h e  focus of th e  sta te a n d  W h ite H ouse co n ­
fere n ces m ust no t b e  on p o lite  rh e to ric  b u t on 
constructive d e b a te  on th a t m ost critical qu estio n  
o f all—w hat p rio rity  will A m erica give to m eetin g  
th e inform ation n e e d s o f all its citizen s in th e  
co n tex t o f a c ro w d e d  n atio n al social a g en d a?— 
Thom as J. G alvin, D ean, G ra d u a te School o f  L i­
b ra r y  a n d  In fo rm a tio n  S cien ces, U n iv e rsity  o f  
P ittsburgh. ■■