ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries July/August 1 9 9 2 /4 4 7 Tips for lib rarian s planning fo r accreditation visits 1. Make sure y o u have all relevant m ateri­ als available from your regional accrediting agency. These may include criteria or standards, guides for self-study, or other publications p re­ pared for aspects of self-study. Read them and note those sections which pertain to the library. 2. Press fo r adequate represen tation o f th e library on the steering committee as well as other relevant committees. 3. Take th e self-study p rocess seriou sly. It should be an opportunity for the library staff to reflect, learn, and grow. The process can be an opportunity for an internal planning effort. It can also be a learning experience about the library for your institution’s faculty. 4. Make sure you understand your institution’s mission and goals and can demonstrate how the library helps to fulfill them. 5. A ll a cc re d itin g a g en cies are str e s s in g accountability and outcomes assessment. The accrediting visit is a golden opportunity for your library to assess its outcomes. Ed. note: ACRL’s Measuring Academic Library Performance: A Practical Approach (Chicago: ALA, 1991) con­ tains field-tested, easy-to-use output measures that can help y o u with this. 6. Y our self-study sh o u ld be cogent, clear, and explicit. Avoid generalities and hyperbole. Brevity is a virtue. 7. H ighlight you r library’s strengths. H ow ­ ever, be assured that no institution or library is perfect and that the visiting team will not ex­ pect perfection. Be honest about your library’s shortcomings, but also be prepared to discuss your strategies for overcoming them. 8. Go b ey o n d th e traditional library plain t of “need more money, more books, more staff.” Everyone’s already heard that. 9. Educational equity and diversity in you r collection and staff should be noted as appropriate. 10. Your self-study should not include just tra­ ditional items such as num ber of volumes or hours open, but should reflect changes in li­ braries such as networking, resource sharing, expedited docum ent delivery, etc. 1 1 . M ake c e r t a in th a t t h e a c c r e d ita t io n te am has access to documentation that sup­ ports the claims made in the self-study. 1 2 . A s c r a p b o o k o f a ll lib r a r y p u b lic a ­ tio n s — including BI handouts, bookplates, pro­ grams—is helpful for the team to examine. 13. Press y o u r in stitu tion to ask fo r a li­ brarian to be on the visiting team. 14. Take d ie opportunity to use d ie visiting team as consultants. Ask their ideas for solving problems; they likely w on’t offer unless asked. 15. Finally, co n sid er th e p o ssib ility o f serv­ ing as an evaluator for your regional agency. You’ll learn and your colleagues will profit. Based on contributions fro m accreditation vet­ erans: Mignon A dam s (Philadelphia College o f Pharm acy a n d Science), Keith Cottam (Univer­ sity o f Wyoming), Ron Leach (Indiana State Uni­ versity a t Terre Haute), A lice Schell (Middle States Association), D avid Walch (California P o ly tec h n ic U niversity), a n d J o a n Worley (Maryville College). ■ Share y o u r lib ra ry 's new s C&RLNews wants to hear about your library’s activities. Information in the News from the Field, Grants & Acquisitions, and People in the News columns is gathered from press releases and notices we receive. If you don’t share your ideas and activities with us we can’t share them with C&RL News readers. Be sure to put C&RL News on your mailing list today. Send notices to the Editor, C&RLNews, 50 E. Huron St., Chi­ cago, IL 60611; o r bitnet: U38398@uicvm.bitnet.