ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries ISSN 0099-0086 C O L L E G E & R E S E A R C H L I B R n A R e I w E S s NO. 10 • NOVEM BER 1978 In this issue: Guidelines for ACRL Chapters . . .301 Continuing Education— VII ........... 303 News from the Field ........................ 304 P e o p le .....................................................315 Publications ..........................................317 Classified Advertising ...................... 320 Guidelines for ACRL Chapters B a c k g r o u n d The following statement appeared in the 1956 ACRL Organization Manual: The ACRL chapter is an important means of connecting a local or regional group of college … librarians with the national organization and its headquarters. The chapter charts its own course. The only requirem ent is that it hold annual or biennial meetings and report annually. Members of chapters are not even required to be members of the national associa­ tion (officers are expected to be). Although the Constitution has always made provision for chapters, none was established until a group in the Philadelphia area organized and obtained approval from the Board of D irec­ tors late in 1951. … Chapters have already proved to be far more useful than was originally anticipated. It was expected that some chapters would wither on th e vine, but so far all seem to have had healthy growth. They provide a device for all m em bers who so wish to participate in the ACRL program locally if not nationally. The chapter is a handy framework within which li­ brarians can meet for social purposes and con­ sider professional problems of local importance. In some cases, chapters undertake studies or perform cooperative services. T he chapters help to draw people into ACRL membership and participation in the national organization. O r g a n iz a t i o n Article VI, Section 4 (c), of the ALA Bylaws states: “A division may affiliate with itself re ­ gional, state, or local groups interested in the same field of library service or librarianship. Such groups may admit members who are not mem­ bers of the division or of the Association.” The ACRL Bylaws provide for chapters as fol­ lows: Article IV. Chapters Sec. 1. Establishment. The Board of Directors may establish a chapter of the Association in any state, province, territory, or region on the peti­ tion of twenty-five members of the Association residing or employed within the area. Sec. 2. Bylaws. A chapter may adopt its own bylaws provided th ere is no conflict betw een them and the Constitution and Bylaws o f the Association. Sec. 3. Members. A chapter may admit mem­ bers who are not members of the Association. Sec. 4. Meetings. Each chapter shall hold at least one meeting a year unless it is affiliated with an organization that normally meets biennially. Sec. 5. Reporting. Each chapter shall send a report o f its meetings to the executive secretary of the Association within one month following the meeting. Sec. 6. Dissolution. A chapter may be dis­ solved at its request by the Board of Directors of the Association and shall be so dissolved if it be­ comes inactive or fails to comply with the pro­ visions of this article. P e t i t i o n The petition for chapter status should read as follows: “The following persons hereby petition for chapter status in the Association o f College and Research Libraries, under the name [name of proposed chapter] and covering the geographic area [location and/or geographic coverage]. The purpose and objectives of the chapter will be as follows: [state briefly].” List the name, address, and telephone number of the individual acting as chairperson. Include the signatures of at least News issue (A) of College & Research Libraries, vol. 39, no. 6 302 twenty-five ACRL members and a typed alpha­ betical list, with com plete addresses, of those signing the petition. A p p r o v a l Forward the petition to the Executive Secre­ tary, Association of College and Research Librar­ ies, 50 E. Huron S t., Chicago, IL 60611. The petition for chapter status will be considered at the next meeting of the ACRL Board of D irec­ tors, if received one month prior to that meeting. Notification of the board’s action will be sent to the acting chairperson as soon as possible after the board meeting. S t a t u s a n d O b l i g a t i o n s ACRL chapters are completely autonomous ex­ cept as provided by the ACRL Constitution and Bylaws. They may (1) adopt bylaws governing officers, membership meetings, committees, and other matters; (2) develop and implement their own program s, requesting assistance from th e ACRL Executive Secretary; (3) establish criteria for dues and membership; or (4) develop a news­ letter or engage in other activity in order to im­ prove communication within the membership. ACRL chapters must (1) hold at least one m eet­ ing a year, unless affiliated with an organization that normally m eets biennially; (2) send to the ACRL Executive Secretary, within one month fol­ lowing a meeting of the chapter, a written report including a summary of the meeting and a list of the chapter s officers, with addresses and te le ­ phone numbers; and (3) provide funds to support the activities of the chapter. A s s i s t a n c e The ACRL Executive Secretary is available to assist chapters in developing programs and plan­ ning activities, as well as to provide other advice as needed. T he ACRL Chapters Com m ittee, constituted from the ACRL membership in active chapters, is responsible for providing assistance in the forma­ tion of chapters; improving the relationship b e ­ tween the chapters and ACRL and thus between academic librarians and the national organization; conducting an annual survey o f chap ters and compiling information for the benefit of all chap­ ters in order to promote the exchange of informa­ tion; and developing programs for encouraging membership in ACRL. Existing ACRL Chapters: Southern California, Delaware Valley, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Mary­ land, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New E n ­ gland, Eastern New York, W estern New York/ O ntario, North Carolina, Oregon, T en n essee, Texas, Tri-State, Virginia, Wisconsin. R eprin ts o f th ese gu idelin es a r e a v a ila b le f r o m th e A C R L o ffic e, 50 E. H uron S t., C h icag o , IL 60611. ■■ D ata-B an k s Symposium An In tern a tio n a l Sym posium on Animal Health and Disease Data Banks, sponsored by Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Technical Information Systems, Science and Education Administration, U .S. D epart­ ment of Agriculture, will be held on D ecem ­ ber 4 - 6 at the National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, Maryland. T h e symposium is designed to prom ote awareness of and develop ongoing cooperation among established data banks and other in­ formation systems. Primary users and other interested persons are also invited to attend. Registration for attendance will be limited to 200 persons. B rief, concise descriptions of data banks will be presented by participating authorities. Tim e will be scheduled for informal dis­ cussions. The Sym posium P roceed in g s will in­ clude papers that could not be presented in person, together with papers presented dur­ ing the program. Summary papers and state- of-the-art reviews will be included. A direc­ tory of specialized animal health and disease data banks will also be published later using information taken from a form questionnaire. T h e directory will include data banks that could not be represented at the symposium. Persons interested in participating or who wish a program brochure, contact Dr. Edwin L. Pilchard, Emergency Programs Information C e n te r , U .S . D e p a rtm e n t of A g ricu ltu re , Room 757, Federal Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-8418.