ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 0 8 /C&RL News ALA can d id ates’ forum encourages liv e ly debate By C harles Bunge, Marilyn Gell M ason, an d Betty J . T urock What the candidates plan fo r ALA T he ALA Presidential Candidates’ Forum at the 1994 Midwinter Meeting in Los Ange­ les departed from the usual canned question format to allow unrehearsed questions from the audience. The new format encouraged lively discussion at the forum and C&RL News asked each candidate to select one or more o f the issues that came up and discuss for our readers how they will address them if elected presi­ dent o f ALA. Charles Bunge I appreciate this opportunity to share my views with members of ACRL. As president of an­ other division (RASD), I have learned that ALA can accomplish its mission only if it has strong divisions. I commend ACRL members, your elected and appointed leaders, and your staff on your effectiveness at addressing the needs o f academic libraries and librarians. Many important issues were raised in the Presidential Candidates’ Forum at Midwinter, and it is important that ALA members know the thoughts of candidates on such issues. How­ ever, I believe that, much more important than a candidate’s specific position on one or an­ other issue, is his or her commitment to open- mindedness and skill at encouraging and fa­ cilitating broad discussion o f issues, building real consensus, and leading the effective de­ velopment and implementation o f programs that reflect that consensus. I am deeply committed to this leadership role, and I have spent some 25 years in association work at all levels learn­ ing how to carry it out. The issue that I will comment on here is ALA’s current self-study effort. This study pro­ vides an opportunity for ALA to address a grow­ ing perception among our members that ALA has lost its way and is ineffective at pursuing its priorities. It is crucial that we seize this op­ p o rtu n ity to ch a n g e ALA w h ere it n eed s changing and to affirm those aspects of the as­ sociation that are work­ ing well. As a member C h arles Bunge o f the ALA Executive Board and as president, I would work hard to make the completion and implementation of the self-study part o f a broad effort to create in our leadership and in our members a renewed sense of excitement about ALA— a positive, can- do spirit that we are a focused, productive or­ ganization that is actively and aggressively able to be of real help to libraries and librarians in a wide range of contemporary and important ar­ eas. The challenge, o f course, is to make ALA that sort of organization. The report produced by Dadie Perlov as part o f the self-study con­ tains many important findings and recommen­ dations. Along with a great many other ALA members, I find myself in general agreement with much of the report. On the whole, though, I believe that it is too early in the self-study process to adopt positions on specific issues. As an elected ALA Charles Bunge is a professor in the School o f Library a n d Inform ation Science at the University o f Wisconsin- Madison; Betty J. Turock is chair o f the D epartm ent o f Library a n d Inform ation Studies at Rutgers University; a n d Marilyn Gell Mason is director o f the Cleveland Public Library April 1 9 9 4 / 2 0 9 leader, I will not try to have all the answers, but will work hard to keep the right questions and issues before ALA’s members and leaders. I will listen carefully to your views and con­ cerns and will facilitate honest and open dis­ cussion that leads to quality answers and posi­ tions. In im plem enting those answers and positions, I will encourage and try to model trust, civility, and a sense of humor in relation­ ships among the various elements of the asso­ ciation, including those between divisions and central functions o f ALA and those between elected leaders and our fine staff. I am eager to contribute to ALA’s effectiveness in this way, and would appreciate your vote. Marilyn Gell Mason The library profession is facing a time o f un­ precedented challenge and opportunity. On the one hand, advances in computer and commu­ nications technologies promise electronic ac­ cess to a world o f in­ fo rm a tio n . O n th e other, libraries struggle with the reality of main­ taining basic access to shrinkin g co lle ctio n s with declining budgets. The gap betw een the promise o f tomorrow and the reality o f today M arilyn Gell M ason is w id e and d e e p . Bridging the gap will require more than tech­ nological expertise. It will also require adequate funding, organizational flexibility, and political savvy. As members of the American Library Asso­ ciation we expect our association to play an important role in defining and resolving the major issues facing us. Instead, council and the executive board spend time and resources de­ bating foreign policy and health care, and micromanaging the association. ALA must be­ com e more focused and responsive to the con­ cerns of its members and a better advocate for libraries. This can best be accomplished by making sure that managers manage, that elected officials set policy, and that priorities are es­ tablished and acted upon. Change is needed, change that will make the association more effective in meeting the needs of its members. Two recommendations o f the recently released Perlov report are espe­ cially important to achieving this goal: 1) place 2 1 0 /C&RL News responsibility for administration of the associa­ tion clearly in the hands o f the executive direc­ tor, with council and the executive board re­ sponsible for setting direction and determining priorities; and 2) provide for the development of new leadership and expand participation in governance o f the association by establishing term limits for council and the executive board. By establishing clear lines o f responsibility, a mechanism for broadening participation in decision-making, and a commitment to focus­ ing the association’s efforts on priority issues, we can strengthen the position o f libraries in addressing the challenges and opportunities before us. We can assess the impact o f tech­ nology, position libraries to play a pivotal role in the development o f a national information infrastructure, and develop strategies for main­ taining adequate budgets for ongoing services. Working together we can build the bridge between today’s reality and tomorrow’s promise. Betty J. Turock Even before the American econom y slid into recession, many college and research libraries were mired in austerity. Now recovery is slow and unpredictable. Less m oney and more d e­ mand fo r service are part o f everyday life. With the pow er o f its 5 6 ,0 0 0 m em bers and the magnitude o f its fi­ nancial resources, ALA has an o b lig a tio n to lead academic libraries and librarians into an era of renewal. B etty J . T u ro ck For college and re­ search libraries the Higher Education Act (HEA) is the major source o f federal assistance. Yet, the administration’s most recent request for funds zeroed out every title. Title II-C, too fre­ quently perceived as funding only the richest libraries, was the single library program slated Get connected! J o b s a n d n ew s n o w o n th e In te rn e t C&RL NewsNet gopher to “gopher.uic.edu”, port 70 for elimination in Vice-President Gore’s National Performance Review aimed at share of federal funds, when competition for limited resources is at an all-time high, will depend in large mea­ sure on the effort ALA makes to enlist ACRL’S expertise in articulating a vision that includes a vital role for academic libraries in our country’s future. While funding must be at the top o f ALA’s action agenda, policy decisions made in Wash­ ington with the greatest effect on the future of academic libraries center around the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Corporate in­ terests have dominated debates over the shape o f the emerging NIL ALA must cultivate cham­ pions in Congress, among the people, and within the ranks o f librarians to ensure that college and research libraries are on the play­ ing field, not watching from the sidelines, as this momentous telecommunications juncture takes form. Our association’s strong voice is needed to convince policymakers that academic libraries are natural on-ramps which will offer equitable entry to the emerging information su­ perhighway, but first they will need rebuilding and investment to bring their technology up to capacity. Only full participation by college and research libraries in forging the NII can ensure affordable access for their students and faculty. We must organize ALA to take swift action, restructure our legislative agenda, forge coali­ tions, and initiate public awareness campaigns to relentlessly communicate the role college and research libraries will play in the economic, social, and technological environment o f the 21st century. As president, I will work with you to en­ sure that ALA helps college and research li­ braries fulfill their mission by: 1) developing legislation aimed at winning a bigger piece of the fiscal pie at the local, state, and national levels; 2) actively participating in the political process to convince policymakers that college and research libraries must be full partners in establishing the nation’s information superhigh­ way; and 3) initiating new public awareness programs, alliances, and coalitions to persuade the people and their political leaders that a re­ surgence o f support for academic libraries is critical to the econom ic vitality, increased in­ novation, and productivity o f our nation. Together we must seize the initiative to make support for college and research libraries a national priority by promoting the dynamic role they will play in shaping the future. ■ 2 1 2 / C&RL News