ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 6 8 / C&RL News ■ M arch 2003 CONFERENCE CIRCUIT ACRL at the Midwinter Meeting Actions of the ACRL Board of Directors During the 2003 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, the ACRL B oard o f Di­ rectors m et on Janu ary 26 and 28 and took the fo llow ing actions. T he action s ap p ear here with the strategic directions that they address. S tra te g ic D irection 1.0: So ciety reco gnizes th e co n trib u tio n s th a t academ ic and re­ search lib ra rie s and lib ra ria n s m ake in h ig h e r e d u ca tio n , sch o larly co m m u n icatio n , and civic d e velo p m en t. A w ards A p p rov ed ch a n g in g th e eligibility c rite ­ ria o f the Coutts-Nijhoff Award to require nomi­ nees to be librarians employed in a university, col­ lege, community college, or research library in the year prior to application for the award. A p p ro v e d th e c r e a t i o n o f a D ista n ce - Learning Librarian o f the Year Award, in prin­ ciple, pending staff clearance and confirmation from sponsor. A p p rov ed “Guidelines R eg ard in g Thefts in Libraries” and “Guidelines for Curriculum Ma­ terials Centers.” A pproved th e p rin cip les, p ractices, stru c­ ture, responsibilities, and funding for the Council of Liaisons as summarized below: • Priority will be given to establishing liaison relationships with those organizations where a commonality o f concerns with ACRL exists and where there is a potential to develop a productive impact. Because funding is limited, the ACRI. Board will first focus on liaison organizations that have a potential to impact a large segment of academic and research libraries; however, a longer- range goal is to foster liaison activities with sub ject-discipline organizations through ACRL Sec­ tions. • Funding for the ACRL Council of Liaisons program may be increased by up to $15,000 per year. The maximum that is available for reimburs­ ing any one liaison is $1,500 per year. • The ACRL Board appoints the chair of the Council of Liaisons for a three-year term based on the recommendation o f the executive director and the current Council o f Liaisons chair. • An individual may serve as liaison to no more than one organization at a time. Liaisons are ap­ pointed by the Board for a three-year term with the option for reappointment for a second three- year term and will be formally reviewed near the end of his or her second year of each term. Strategic D irection 2.0: A cadem ic librarian s advocate fo r public policy, legislation, and in stitu tio n a l chang e th a t e n h an ce th e values and c o n trib u tio n th e y m ake to le a rn in g , te ach in g , and research. G o vernm en t re latio n s and ad vo cacy Confirm ed th e B o a rd ’s S ep tem b er 2 0 0 2 support of a letter written in response to the pro­ posal to eliminate PubScience. The statement was signed by ALA in collaboration with the Associa­ tion of College and Research Libraries in fall 2002. C&RL News ■ M arch 2003 / 169 A pp roved th e 2 0 0 2 —2 0 0 3 ACRL Legisla­ tive Agenda. P a sse d a re s o lu tio n u rg in g th e C h a n ­ cellor’s Office of the California Community Col­ leges, the Board of Governors for the California Community Colleges, and the Governor and Leg­ islature of the State of California to not suspend the authority of the Board of Governors for the California Community Colleges to establish stan­ dards for community college libraries. Agreed to su p p o rt th e ALA C om m ittee on Legislation’s Resolution on USA Patriot Act and Related Measures that Infringe on the Rights of Library Users. Strategic Direction 3.0: A CR L is an inclusive o rg an izatio n serving academ ic librarian s and o th e r in fo rm atio n professionals in related professions. A p p ro v ed b y a c c la m a tio n n a m in g th e ACRL Spectrum Scholars Mentors Program af­ ter E. J. Jo sey, and that any money given by ACRL for Spectrum Scholars scholarships, such as the $32,500 this year, be given in his name. Strategic D irection 4.0: A cadem ic and research lib rarian s are co n tin u a lly engaged in earn ing fo r th e ir professional develo p m en t and g ro w th .l A p p ro v e d th e R are B o o k s a n d M anu­ scripts Section’s preconference proposal for ALA Annual Conference 2005. A p p roved a loan fo r th e W estern E u ro ­ pean Studies Section (WESS) Conference scheduled for March 2 2 -2 6 , 2004, in Paris, France, if the following two conditions are met: • ACRL staff ensure that arrangements for deposits and prepayments are satisfactory and • WESS obtains written commitments from vendors for financial support for the confer­ ence totaling at least $30,000 by February 29, 2003. C onfirm ed ap p roval b y e lectro n ic ballot for funding of $5,000 to fund up to eight ACRL National Conference registrations (at $95 each) and up to eight travel awards of $530 each. S trategic D irection 5.0: A CR L is a natio nal and in te rn a tio n a l in teractive leader in cre­ atin g , e xp an d in g , and tra n sfe rrin g th e body o f kn o w le d g e o f academ ic librarian ship. A pp roved u p o n reco m m en d atio n fro m the ACRL International Relations Committee guidelines for selection of its members to repre­ sent ALA on appropriate IFLA Standing Com­ mittees. The guidelines are accompanied by a re­ quest to be nominated form and FAQs. A p p ro v e d t e x t o f c r o s s - b o r d e r a g r e e ­ ments to be signed by ACRL and academic library organizations in Canada and Mexico to encour­ age international cooperation. A p p ro v e d th e a p p o in tm e n t o f R ich a rd Clement to a three-year term as editor of RBM: A Jo u r n a l o f R are B ooks, M anuscripts, a n d Cul­ tu ra l H eritag e to begin at the close of the ALA Annual Conference 2003. Strategic Direction 6.0: ACR L is an effe ctive and a dynam ic o rg an izatio n th a t co n tin u ­ ally enh an ces its capacity to create its fu tu re and assess and im prove it p erfo rm an ce in carrying o u t its mission. A pp roved th e Annual C o n feren ce 2 0 0 3 Board meeting minutes. C onfirm ed th e D ecem ber 2 0 0 2 ap p roval by electronic ballot of the 2003-2004 ACRL Pri­ orities. Approved th e form ation o f an ACRL Long- Term Investment (LTI) Task Force charged with developing a strategy for future investments in LTI, a growth plan, and a plan for spending net interest while maintaining the corpus of the fund. The task force’s term will be two years with an 170 / C&RL N ew s ■ March 2003 interim report at Midwinter 2004 and a final report at Midwinter 2005. The task force will coordinate with the ALA Endowment Task Force, especially ACRL’s representative to that group. D e feated th e M e m b e rsh ip C o m m itte e ’s proposal to include section and chapter repre­ sentatives on the Membership Committee and recommended that these representatives be ex­ officio members and that the Membership Com­ mittee be encouraged to share a draft o f their proposal with section and chapter leadership before bringing it back to the ACRL Board for approval. A p p ro v e d th e e x p e n d it u r e o f $ 1 3 ,3 0 0 in FY2003 to support and to fund association strategic planning efforts, such as focus groups at the ACRL National Conference in Charlotte and a forum at the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. A p p ro v e d s ig n in g a n a g r e e m e n t w ith Tecker Consultants for strategic planning in FY2004 at an estimated cost of $52,000. A pproved exp en d itu re o f th e accumulated donations in the Friends of ACRL Professional Development Scholarship Fund, supplemented by a portion of the accumulated donations in the unspecified funds, to a total not to exceed $7,500 to fund additional scholarships for the ACRL National Conference in Charlotte according to the criteria and procedures being used for the scholar­ ships previously budgeted. A p p ro v ed th e ACRL M em b ersh ip Busi­ ness Plan. A p p roved allottin g c h a p te rs $ 1 .5 0 , a 50 percent increase, for each national personal ACRL member living within the geographic region served by the chapter, for fiscal 2004. ■ ( “T here’s m oney out th ere... ”con t.from p a g e 157) Finally, investigate for any hidden costs. Fre quent y, there are costs associated with your grant process that you do not want to forget; for in­ stance, if your grant involves continuing educa­ tion, don’t forget to include the cost of books. The Zip drive grant is a good example of these principles. If the grant will b e awarded in six months, will the Zip drive model you are basing your request on still be available, or will it be replaced by a new and more expensive one? Also, did you add the price o f shipping to the overall cost? Padding would take care o f that. Finally, the hidden costs: most Zip drive units do not include a parallel communication cable or Zip dis­ kettes; these can cost an additional $20 to $40 that the grant could cover. You might consider approaching the budget like G oldilocks— not too much but not too little. Conclusion Before sending your application out review it. Is it complete? Reread criteria to make sure you’ve answered all the questions and provided requested materials. Some grants are automatically rejected if instructions aren’t followed to a tee. Some small details to check: correct number of copies, length, attachment limitations, spelling, grammar, content, and deadline— too late is too late. Don’t forget the big details: • Have you proved you have a good idea? • Will your idea benefit others? • Is the project realistic? • Can it be completed with requested funds? • Is your budget concise? • Have you gotten their attention? Have others review your draft. They will pick up errors you didn’t spot. If you do not receive the grant, do some follow-up work. Ask the grant ad­ ministrator for recommendations and for your scored application. This will provide insight into your grant writing weaknesses and strengths. Find out if you can resubmit an edited version of your proposal in the next cycle. Always keep trying; the likelihood of getting all requested grants is slim. Win or lose, write a thank you note, it’s a nice extra touch. Personal grants help you get more than just funding, receiving them is personally reward­ ing and affirming. Grants support projects you might have abandoned due to lack of funding. Cultivate a grant nose. In other words, always be sniffing for creative ways to cash in on your ideas. Notes 1. Diana Hacker, B ed fo rd H a n d b o o k 5th ed. (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000). 2. Lynn Q . Troyka, Sim on & SchusterH an dbook F o r W riters. 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1996). ■ C&RL News ■ M arch 2003 / 171