ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries CO L L E G E & RESEARCH LIBRARIES NEWS Vol. 4L No. 7 July/August 1980 ACRL Statistics Reported Comparative statistics for 1978-79 are now available for ninety-eight of the North American university libraries that are not members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). These statistics, compiled and published as a pilot project by ACRL, complement the statistical data that ARL pub­ lishes annually for its member libraries. (Ninety-eight uni­ versity libraries currently are members of ARL.) Since the ACRL Statistics is comparable to ARL Statis­ tics, it will now be possible to compare data for nearly all the “doctoral-granting institutions” in North America. The availability of this comparative data will enhance the ability of university libraries to use the “Standards for University Libraries” adopted by ARL and ACRL in 1979. Like ARL Statistics, ACRL Statistics supplies data on the holdings, acquisitions, expenditures, enrollment, personnel, and in te rlib ra ry loans of the participating institutions. Whereas ARL Statistics surveys the larger research institu­ tions that meet ARL membership criteria, ACRL Statistics provides a statistical p ortrait of the m edium -sized and smaller university libraries. Table 1 on page 195 displays selected comparative data taken from A RL Statistics and ACRL Statistics. The table lists median figures for ninety-eight ARL university libraries and ninety-eight ACRL university libraries (1978-79). A median is, of course, a midpoint—half the figures lie above that point and half are below. It is worth noting that for the ARL university libraries the median ratio of interlibrary loan items loaned to inter- library loan items borrowed is 2.4 to 1, whereas for the ACRL libraries the ratio of items loaned to items borrowed is only 1.5 to 1. This contrast supports the idea that the larger research libraries are still carrying a disproportionate share of the interlibrary loan burden. Note also that the median ratio of expenditures for salar­ ies and wages to expenditures for materials was 1.9 to 1 for ARL libraries and only 1.4 to 1 for the ACRL libraries. One possible explanation is that the ARL libraries must invest more staff time in maintaining large existing collections and files. Continued on page 195 194 CLIP #1 NOW AVAILABLE Looking for ways to develop or update per­ formance appraisal in your college library? Ever wonder how other college libraries handle this problem? What kinds of w ritten policies exist? How they are implemented? Now you can CLIP it. Included in CLIP packet # 1 -8 0 on Perform­ ance Appraisal are an annotated bibliography of recent literature on performance appraisal, plus sam ple policies, procedures, and forms dem ­ onstrating a variety of approaches currently used at ten sample institútions. The materials illustrate many positive features to mix and match, accord­ ing to the circumstances of your library. To obtain the materials for this kit, the ACRL College Libraries Section’s Continuing Education Com mittee polled libraries of academic institu­ tions in AAUP Category II from seven midwest- ern states. From their responses the committee selected uniquely representative information for presentation. CLIPs, or College Library Information Packets, have been developed by the College Libraries Section’s Continuing Education C om m ittee to disseminate information from college libraries on how they are dealing with topics of general in­ te re st. C L IP # 1 - 8 0 focuses on a particularly pressing problem. O ther CLIPs are in the plan­ ning stages and will be announced as available. Copies of CLIP # 1 -8 0 may be obtained from ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. The price is $7.50 for ACRL members and $10 for nonmembers.—Nancy Coxe, George Washing­ ton University Library. ■■ Instructional Materials for Serials The RTSD Serials Section Library School E d u cation C om m ittee is o p e ratin g an ex­ change center for the collection and distribu­ tion of library school instructional materials re la tin g to serials (e .g ., c ourse o u tlin e s, printed visual aids, reading lists, etc.). The committee invites instructors to submit mate­ rials that they are willing to share with other library school teachers. Committee members will keep the materials on file and will mail copies on request to instructors who wish to use them. For names and addresses of com­ mittee members to whom documents may be su b m itte d or from whom th e y may be ordered, contact William I. Bunnell, RTSD, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; (312) 944-6780. In this issue: ACRL Statistics Reported . . . . 193 Options for the ’80s: ACRL 1981 National C o n fe r e n c e ............................. 196 Professional Survival: Planning at Midcareer ........ 197 Continuing Education: Role of the Local Professional Association in Continuing Education . . . 199 News from the F i e l d ................. 201 People .......................................... 205 Publications ................................ 213 C a le n d a r ...................................... 214 Classified Advertising ............... 215 College & Research Libraries News is published by the As­ sociation of College and Research Libraries, a division of the Am erican Library Association, as 11 m o n th ly (co m b in ing July-August) issues, at 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Annual subscription: $5; or to members of the division, $2.50, included in dues. Single copies and back issues, $2 each. Second-class postage applied for at Chicago, Illinois, and at additional mailing offices (ISSN 0099-0086). Editor: Jeffrey T. Schwedes, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; (3 12) 9 4 4 -6 7 8 0 , Ext. 286. President, ACRL Le Moyne W. Anderson. Executive Secretary, ACRL Julie A. Carroll Virgo. Production and circulation office: 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Display advertising should be sent to Leona Swiech, Advertising Traffic Coordinator, ALA, at above address. Send classified ads to ACRL. Change of address and subscription orders should be addressed to College & Research Libraries News, for receipt at the above address at least two months be­ fore the publication date of the effective issue. Inclusion of an article or advertisement in C&RL News does not constitute official endorsement by ACRL or ALA. A partial list of the services indexing or abstracting the con­ tents of C&RL News includes: Current Contents: Social & Be­ havioral Sciences; Current Index to Journals in Education; In ­ formation Science Abstracts; Library & Information Science Abstracts; Library Literature; and Social Sciences Citation In­ dex. © Am erican Library Association 1980. All material in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Associa­ tion may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement. 195 C ontinued fr o m page 193 TABLE 1 U niversity L ibrary Statistics 1978-1979 (Medians)* Categories ARL Libraries ACRL Libraries Volumes in library 1,741,760 635,628 Volumes added (net) 67,749 24,913 C u rre n t serials 18,909 7,080 Interlibrary loans loaned 11,241 3,609 Interlibrary loans borrow ed 4,768 2,425 L ibrary m aterials expenditures $1,550,206 $ 664,234 C u rre n t serials expenditures $ 825,121 $ 312,514 Total salaries and wages $2,566,067 $ 959,313 Total library op eratin g expenses $4,605,041 $1,906,228 Professional staff FT E 62 27 Total staff FTE 252 102 *Sources: AR L Statistics, 1978-1979 and ACRL Statistics 1978-1979. C opies of A C R L Statistics m ay b e o rd e re d by ACRL m em bers for $7.50 (prepaid) and by non- ACRL m em b e rs for $8.50 from ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ■■ LIBRARIES P O LL E D ON TR AVEL PO LICIES Im agine for a m om ent w hat w ould h a p p en if your library w ere suddenly cut off from all com ­ m u n ic a tio n o r c o n ta c t w ith o th e r lib ra ries and w ith th e library profession generally. W orking in isolation, you and your colleagues would be u n ­ able to benefit from the ideas and innovations of others, and th e library practices at your in stitu­ tion would gradually fall b e h in d th e times. O ne way libraries keep up w ith new ideas and developm ents in librarianship is by helping staff m em bers to a tte n d library-related m eetings and w orkshops. In A pril, A CRL p o lle d th e in s titu ­ tions that are participating in th e ACRL 100 Li­ braries Project about th eir policies on staff travel. W e found th at virtually all th e libraries surveyed provided som e d e g ree of assistance to th e ir staff m e m b e rs for a tte n d a n c e at lib ra ry con fere n ce s and continuing education activities. A m ong th e 100 lib r a r ie s r e s p o n d in g to th e ACRL 100 Survey, 98 m ake available at least p a r­ tial support for staff travel to m eetings and w ork­ shops. N inety h elp defray th e costs of hotels and meals; ninety-seven provide funds for registration fees; and all 100 allow released tim e for m eetings a n d c o n tin u in g e d u c a tio n . F o rty -e ig h t in s titu ­ tio n s, in a d d itio n , offer at le a st p a rtial tu itio n r e im b u r s e m e n t fo r l i b r a r y - r e l a t e d a c a d e m ic courses. W ho is elig ib le to re c e iv e su p p o rt? At m ore than 90 p e rce n t of th e responding institutions, all p r o fe s s io n a l s ta ff m e m b e rs — fro m th e lib ra ry d irec to r to entry-level librarians— are eligible to receive travel funds, re im b u rse m e n t for registra­ tion fees, and released tim e. Support staff are also eligible to receive assis­ tance at a m ajority of th e re p o rtin g institutions. Sixty-four of th e libraries polled m ake available travel funds to support staff at least u n d e r special c irc u m s ta n c e s ; s e v e n ty - th r e e lib ra rie s p ro v id e funds for registration fees to clerical/support staff at least in som e cases; and eig h ty -th ree grant r e ­ leased tim e to support staff. Most of th e libraries surveyed do not impose hard and fast r e q u ire m e n ts for re ce iv in g assis­ tance. Nor do most im pose set lim its on how often sta ff m e m b e rs m ay a tt e n d m e e tin g s o r w ork­ shops. R ather, m ost ten d to evaluate requests for support on th e basis of certain general priorities and m ake available funds to staff as b u dgets p e r­ mit. W hat principles and priorities do th e libraries surveyed by ACRL follow in allocating funds for staff tra v e l and m e e tin g a tte n d a n c e ? T he m ost im portant principle, m en tioned on th e qu estio n ­ naire m ore often than any o th er, was that th e li­ brary should b enefit from th e staff m em b e r’s p a r­ tic ip a tio n in th e a c tiv ity ; se c o n d , th e a ctiv ity should be relevant to th e staff m e m b e r’s job re ­ sponsibilities; third, th e activity should b e of high quality; fourth, opp o rtu n ities for support should be d istrib u te d equitably am ong th e staff (and the distribution should b e p e rceived as e q u itable by the staff); and fifth, th e activity should c o ntribute to the professional grow th of staff m em bers and should benefit th e individuals involved. In general, travel for official library business (to re p re se n t th e library or to receive special train­ ing) has th e first call on th e b u dgets of libraries polled. W hen the re q u e st for support com es from an individual staff m em b e r, special consideration is often given to those w ho are invited to deliver a paper, chair a session, or serve on a panel or com m ittee. At th e sam e tim e, an effort is usually m ade to m ake certain th at all staff m em bers, in­ cluding y ounger m em bers, are given opp o rtu n i­ ties to a tte n d m eetings. 196 In order to get the maximum benefit from ex­ penditure for staff travel, twenty-eight of the li­ braries polled require staff m em bers who have receiv ed assistance to subm it w ritte n rep o rts about their experiences at the meetings or work­ shops they attended. Twenty-eight libraries also require staff members to give oral presentations about their experiences. One-third (34 of 100) of the responding librar­ ies report having w ritten policy statements that specify c riteria for aw arding travel funds and reimbursements. Twenty-one of these institutions have made available copies of their policy state­ ments to the ACRL office. You may order a set of these policy statements by sending $3 and a self- addressed mailing label to ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ■■ Options for the ’80s: ACRL 1981 National Conference September 30-October 3, 1981 Hyatt-Regency Hotel Minneapolis, Minnesota Call for Papers The Association of College and Research Li­ braries will hold its second national conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Septem ber 30-October 3, 1981. T he c e n tra l th e m e of th e c o n fere n ce is “Options for the ’80s: Developm ents in Higher Education and Librarianship during the Coming D ecade.” H ighlighting this them e will be five major addresses by leaders in higher education, government, and academic librarianship. A varie­ ty of program meetings, exhibits, and area-wide receptions will be offered. The conference head­ quarters hotel will be the new Hyatt-Regency, lo­ cated at the south end of M inneapolis’ famed Nicollet Mall. C o ntributed papers will be the heart of the conference program. These papers may address any topic relevant to the future of academic or re­ search librarianship. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: —information and instructional services — collection developm ent and bibliographic control —special collections —technologies, networking, and cooperation —governance and funding —planning, administration, and personnel —the role of librarians in colleges and univer­ sities All submitted papers will be refereed (with au­ thors’ names removed). Those accepted will be scheduled for p re sen ta tio n at the conference. Interested persons should use the form below to indicate intent to submit a conference paper. Au­ thors must be present to deliver their papers. D e ad lin es given below will be stric tly observed: Notice of intent to submit September 1, 1980 Submission of completed manuscript February 1, 1981 Notification of acceptance May 1, 1981