ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries College No. 8, September 1970 & Research NEWS ACRL Ne L ws I i ssue b (A) r of a Colle r ge i & e Res s earch Libraries, Vol. 31, No. 5 ACRL Membership Meeting Favors Federation To the ACRL Membership: Those who were a t D etroit are now well aware of the contents of the final report of the ALA Committee on New Directions, and of the differing and seemingly irreconcilable views on those recommendations. If you were not at the ALA Conference, you should make a point of reading the ACONDA report, which will be made available in th e near future. You should also follow, in the library periodicals, th e ac­ counts of the membership meetings in order to get some indication of the frustrations, b it­ terness and divisions amongst th e members at Detroit. It was a deeply disturbing experience. ACRL’s Planning Committee and Board of Directors recommended support of the de­ mocratization proposals in the ACONDA re­ port, and implementation, as soon as possible, of the first long range ACONDA recommenda­ tion, namely for federation. The Committee and Board also favored a type of library, rather than a type of activity, form of organization. They felt th at no formal recommendation on reorganization could be made until after the preparation of position papers which would propose a possible organizational structure; identify the goals, directions, and responsibili­ ties of ACRL as a federated component of ALA; and determine the financial implications. This report was presented to th e ACRL mem­ bership meeting for open discussion. T he sense of the meeting supported the views of the Planning Committee and the Board of D irec­ tors. The ACRL Executive Committee, there­ fore, will be working on a statement for pre­ sentation to the new committee to which ACONDA is now to report back. W e will also be appointing a committee to develop the sug­ gested position papers. However, we recognize th a t only a small proportion of the total membership of either ALA or ACRL attends the annual conferences. Before we speak for ACRL membership we would like opinions from as wide a representa­ tion as possible and for this reason are includ­ ing in this issue of C R L N ew s th e pertinent documents. We ask, therefore, th at you send your views to any of us listed below. No final commitment to reorganization on the part of ACRL will be m ade without a mail vote of the membership. Anne C. Edmonds, President Philip McNilf, Past President Joseph Reason, President-Elect J. Donald Thomas, Executive Secretary Am erican L ibrary Association Reorganization Academic libraries, as well as other types of li­ braries, are institutions having a configuration of problems which make them unique institu­ tions in terms of priorities, personnel, and pro­ 238 fessional aims. Failure to recognize this prin­ ciple and gear the reorganization of ALA to respond to this particular set of requirements would produce general mediocrity throughout th e work of the association. I t is therefore recommended that: 1. ALA become a federation of library as­ sociations w ith a strong central headquar­ ter’s secretariat. I I. Each of the federated associations deter­ mine policy in all matters concerning its areas of interest. III. ACRL as a federated association be head­ ed by an executive director appointed by the Association of College and Research Libraries. The executive director is re­ sponsible to the membership of the associa­ tion and is responsible for executing poli­ cies and programs initiated by the mem­ bership, providing staff and setting sal­ aries. IV. Membership in ACRL be open to individ­ uals holding a library degree or individ­ uals who by their professional appointment may be designated as having rank equiva­ lent to one holding such a degree. V. Membership dues be collected by ACRL with not more than 20 percent allocated to support the ALA secretariat. VI. T he officers of the federated associations form an executive committee to the ALA secretariat staff. Meetings of this executive committee should be frequent, and task forces ( with terminal d ates) should be ap­ pointed by this advisory body to study in­ terdivisional problems. VII. Among the responsibilities of the ALA secretariat be the maintenance of central offices offering various professional and administrative services to the federated as­ sociation. The advisory group to each of­ fice should be composed of representatives appointed by each of th e federated as­ sociations and should have the responsibil­ ity of reporting back to the parent associa­ tion. Submitted by: ACRL Planning Committee 29 June 1970 Passed by: ACRL Membership and ACRL Hoard of Directors June 1970 ■ ■ ACRL Membership July 31, 1970 11,588 July 31, 1969 13,171 July 31, 1968 12,604 College & Research Librari e s N E W S News Editor, Michael Herbison, Casper Col­ lege, Casper, Wyoming 82601. Editor, Richard M. Dougherty, School of Li­ brary Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13210. Editorial Board: William Axford, Arizona State Uni­ versity; Richard De Gennaro, University of Penn­ sylvania; Fred J. Heinritz, Southern Connecticut State College; David Heron, University of Kansas; Peter Hiatt, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, Colorado; Ellsworth G. Mason, Hofstra University. ACRL Officers, 1970/71: President, Anne C. Ed­ monds; Chairman, College Libraries Section, Carl H. Sachtleben; Junior College Libraries Section, Mrs. Jo­ leen Bock; Rare Books Section, Julius P. Barclay; Sub­ ject Specialists Section, Eleanor Buist; Agricultural and Biological Sciences Subsection, Joseph C. Shipman; Art Subsection, Peter Anthony; Asian and North African Subsection, Joyce Wright; Education and Behavioral Sciences Subsection, Dr. Sidney Forman; Law and Political Science Subsection, Dr. Otto G. Gara; Slavic and East European Subsection, Dr. Ivan L. Kaldor; University Libraries Section, David W. Heron. News from the Field, Personnel profiles and notes, classified advertising, official matter of ACRL, and other material of a timely nature is published in the News issues of College & Research Libraries. Inclusion of an article or advertisement in CRL does not constitute official endorsement by ACRL or ALA. Production and Advertising and Circulation office: 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Change of address and orders for subscriptions should be addressed to College & Research Libraries, for receipt at the above address, at least two months before the publication date of the effective issue. Subscription to CRL is included in membership dues to ACRL of $6 or more; other subscriptions to CRL are $10 per year. Neither subscriptions nor memberships include miscellaneous unscheduled supplements, which are available by purchase only. Retroactive subscrip­ tions are not accepted. Single journal copies are avail­ able at $1.50 each and News issues at $1.00 each from ALA Publishing Department. Indexed in Current Contents, Library Literature, and Science Citation Index. Abstracted in Library Science Abstracts. Book reviews indexed in Book Review Index. College & Research Libraries is the official journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association; and is published seventeen times per year—bi-monthly as a technical journal with 11 monthly News issues, com­ bining July-August—at 1201-05 Bluff St., Fulton, Mo. 65251. Second-class postage paid at Fulton, Mo.