ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


1 78/ C&RL News

conference to be held between March and May. The 
conference is expected to attract 300 attendees.

C o a lit io n  fo r  N e t w o r k e d  I n fo r m a tio n . The 
Board heard a rep o rt from Thomas Kirk and
N oreen Alldredge, representatives to the Task
F orce o f th e  Coalition for N etw orked Inform a­
tion. Kirk and Alldredge see th eir role as that of
bringing as m uch information as possible to the 
ACRL m em bership as well as helping th e  Coali­
tion m eet its objectives.

J o in t C o m m itte e  o n  t h e  D e f in itio n  o f  M e m ­
b e r s h ip  S e r v ic e s . The Board approved the report
from th e  Subcom m ittee, m ade up o f both m em ­
bers o f th e  M em bership C om m ittee and the Bud­
get and Finance Com m ittee. The report presented
proposals which identified three categories for
ACRL services and programs: a) basic m em bership
services fully covered by m em bership dues, b) 
services and programs on a cost-recovery basis, and
c) programs designed to produce net revenue.

A C R L  B o a r d  R e tr e a t. The Board agreed that
the ACRL Strategic Plan, which was developed in
1986, should be reviewed. The Board will m eet in
Salt Lake City, April 11, in a planning retreat to
review and develop strategies for a 1993-1995
strategic plan.

C o n s titu tio n  a n d  B y la w s. The Board voted to
change the makeup o f the ACRL Board o f D irec­
tors to include the Chair of the Planning Com mittee
as an ex-officio m em ber of the Board. The m em ber­

 
 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

ship will vote on this constitutional change to the 
bylaws in the spring election.

W H C L IS . T he Board endorsed th e  resolution 
p u t forth by the ACRL W hite H ouse C onference 
Task Force and the Governm ental Relations Com ­
m ittee th a t ACRL adopt th e  th re e  top priority 
action issues o f th e  conference as priority action 
areas for ALA. T he th re e  priority issues are: 
O m nibus C hildren and Youth Literacy; NREN  
available in all libraries and o th er information 
repositories at all levels; a national, regional, state, 
and local com m itm ent o f financial resources for 
library services.

P la n n in g  C o m m itte e . The Board accepted re­
views of four committees: Audiovisual, Constitu­
tion and Bylaws, Budget and Finance, and Aca­
demic Status, and approved the continuance o f the 
work of these committees.

T a x a tio n  o n  P e r io d ic a l S u b sc r ip tio n s. The 
Board endorsed the resolution from ALCTS against 
taxation of periodicals subscriptions.

Im p r o v e m e n t o f  In fo r m a tio n  A ct. The Board 
endorsed the resolution from GODORT.

Sixth N ational C on feren ce— Salt Lake City. Ex­
ecutive Committee Chair Joseph Boissé reported that 
things are going well. Exhibitors are past 100% of the 
projected numbers and budget. An outstanding pro­
gram has been arranged and we are now looking forward 
to a very large conference registration. ■  ■

A career in BI: Dead end or stepping stone?
Choosing a career in bibliographic instruction 

(BI) was the topic for discussion at the January 26, 
Midwinter discussion forum sponsored by the 
Bibliographic Instruction Section’s Continuing 
Education Committee. Discussion starter Evan 
Farber, Earlham  College, rem arked that many of
the qualities that make a good BI librarian are also 
qualities that make a successful library adminis­
trator. BI librarians must be in touch with issues 
in higher education and all aspects o f the library 
and have political skills. H e recounted the num ­
b e r of recent ACRL presidents that have come 
from the ranks o f bibliographic instruction.

Karen Williams, University of Arizona, Pointed 
out that a successful career does not necessarily 
m ean moving up the career ladder, and viewed BI 
as a useful stepping stone to a num ber of different 
career paths. Williams said that BI librarianship 
could be a dead end unless it is combined with 
other duties, such as working at the reference

 

desk, in order to remain in touch with issues and 
operations in o ther areas o f the library.

Bill Miller, Florida Atlantic University, stated 
that there were fewer chances for supervisory 
experience working in the public services and this 
could be a hindrance to job advancement. He 
also rem arked that bibliographic instruction li­
brarians have the closest ties to faculty in their 
roles as teachers.

Members of the audience agreed and felt that 
their interactions and common interests with the 
faculty had enhanced their standing with the 
university community. Com ments from the audi­
ence indicated that many enjoyed their work in 
BI and did not see it as hindrance or a dead-end 
job. The hour ended with a discussion about why 
BI is not part of the curriculum at many library 
schools, or is taught by practitioners instead of 
library school faculty.—Jill Newby, Engineering 
Librarian, Laie University ■  ■