ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


1086/ C &RL News

Academic libraries: An 
unrecognized national 
strength?

By Joan Chambers

Member, A C R L  Task Force on the 
W hite House Conference

The W hite H ouse Conference O n 
Library And I nformation Services 

1991

As the W hite H ouse C onference on Library and
Inform ation Services draws near, and as each state
selects delegates and passes resolutions, to what
extent will th e nation’s academ ic libraries be recog­
nized and represented? T here historically exists a
broad general awareness am ong the populace o f
the roles o f public and school libraries in support of
an inform ed and educated citizenry, in prom oting
literacy and cultural enrichm ent, and in m eeting
the library and inform ation needs o f our increas­
ingly diverse publics. T here is, perhaps, less gen­
eral awareness o f th e extent to which academic
libraries are partners with public and school librar­
ies in an effort to expand literacy, strengthen d e ­
mocracy and increase productivity.

In many cities and towns, th e collections and
services o f a local academic library represent the
most extensive library and inform ation resources
available to children and adults in the community,
as well as to students. T he range o f academic
programs served by th e library generally results in
collections that are broader in scope than those
su pported by public and school libraries. T he
depth o f the collections required to serve the in­
struction and research missions o f th e academy
also allows these collections to serve the specialized
needs o f e n tre p re n e u rs, businesses, industry,
m anufacturers, governm ent, educators, and the
professions.

The library and inform ation needs of th e public

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

could not be m et if th e nearly 300 million volumes 
in the academic and research libraries o f this coun­
try w ere not widely available. As th e W hite H ouse 
C onference draws near, academic librarians are 
encouraged to participate in th eir local and state 
conferences to ensure a broad understanding of the 
extensive use m ade o f academic libraries by those 
outside o f the academy—use that supports both 
basic and applied research being conducted o u t­
side o f th e academy.

O ne indication o f th e m agnitude o f th e wide d e ­
pendence on academic libraries is th e enorm ous 
volume o f interlibrary lending supported by those 
libraries. W hile some o f this activity is betw een and 
among colleges and universities, the greatest p o r­
tion o f th e more than 3 million items loaned annu­
ally goes to non-academ ic libraries. It is not u n ­
usual for th e online catalogs o f academic libraries 
to be freely available on local and state networks, as 
well as on Internet. O ne reason for including school 
and public libraries in planning for N R EN , the N a­
tional Research and Education Network, is to e n ­
sure th eir access to th e rich resources available in 
academic libraries. This nation cannot afford aca­
dem ic libraries th at are eith er an unknown or an 
untapped resource. Academic libraries, because of 
th e vital contribution they make by sharing their re ­
sources, m ust have an explicit place in the W hite 
H ouse C onference on Library and Inform ation 
Services. ■ ■