ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


6 4 6 /C&RL News

ACRL in N ashville: A focus 
on dialogue

By Je rily n  Veldof

Attend ACRL’s 8th National 
Conference, April 11– 14, 1997

O ne o f the most critical questions academic librarians have been asking is how we 
will carve out a unique and critical contribu­
tion to the future of information. Will we pros­
per or will we fade into mediocrity, losing our 
budgets and our roles on campus? Choosing 
our futures is pivotal to our survival in the in­
formation profession. The ALA Annual Con­
ference in Chicago gave the planning commit­
tees for ACRL’s 8th National Conference an 
opportunity to envision key opportunities to 
discuss our futures with our colleagues across 
the country— before, during, and after the con­
ference. In order to do this the focus of the 
Nashville ’97 conference will be on dialogue 
and discussion, participation and empower­
ment. To enact this vision, conference plan­
ners from libraries all over the country have 
been working to rethink the idea of a confer­
ence and to create something original and in­
teractive. The new format promises to capture 
your imagination and inspire you to bring your 
libraries successfully into the next century.

The crux of the dialogue will occur on the 
last day of the conference when the thousands 
of participants will gather to discuss, share, and 
debate the critical issues arising from the com­
missioned and contributed papers and panels. 
Organizers have discussed the possibility of cre­
ating a special issue o f C&RL that would emerge 
from this meeting, enabling a much wider au­
dience to learn from this discussion.

To set the scene for this issue, ACRL in Nash­
ville will be an excellent opportunity to en­

gage with your colleagues in a dynamic dia­
logue based on three days o f conferencing. In 
order to keep the conference as cutting edge 
as possible, abstracts will be accepted in lieu 
of papers, allowing the newest information and 
experiences to be shared. Many more present­
ers from outside librarianship will b e solicited, 
including those invited to deliver forward-think­
ing papers.

Organizers may release invited papers on 
the World Wide Web before the conference to 
prime participants for what’s to come. This site 
will also be available for distribution of hand­
outs from various sessions. Other possibilities 
include setting up a highly interactive, real-time 
computer comment board so that participants 
can comment on and discuss programs as they 
occur.

The themes for this conference are dynamic 
and full o f possibilities. The central theme, 
“Choosing Our Futures,” indicates an assertive 
role for academic libraries. Subthemes inspire 
us to develop this theme further: P artnerships 
a n d  com petition : will we develop partnerships, 
be challenged by competition? C han gin g work, 
roles, a n d  o rg an ization : how will downsizing, 
technology, budgets, and flattened organizations 
affect us? F u n d in g : will we let a financial 
squeeze affect services and collections? L earn
ing: how will we adapt to new learning tech­
nologies and a focus on learning rather than 
teaching?

Keep your eye on our Web site and watch 
for updates, papers, and future interactive op­
portunities, as well as more information about 
N ash ville ( http://library.tufts.edu/w w w / 
mcdonald/acrlhome.html). We are at a critical 
crossroads in academic libraries. Help position 
us and get involved in Nashville ’97. ■

Jerilyn Veldof is an intern on the ACRL National Conference Executive Committee and assistant librarian, 
undergraduate services and social sciences at the University o f Arizona; jveldof@bird.library.arizona.edu

http://library.tufts.edu/www/
mailto:jveldof@bird.library.arizona.edu


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