ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


September 1989 /  711

The Strategic Plan in action

B y th e  ACRL P la n n in g  C o m m itte e

Carolyn Dusenbury, Immediate Past Chair

ACRL looks to the future.

T his is the second of a series of annual S tra­

tegic Planning reports to th e m em bers of 
ACRL. D uring th e past year, the planning process 
has been moving ahead much faster than during the 
initial year, with a large part of the credit due to the 
com m ittees and sections o f ACRL. Each unit was 
asked to complete the Strategic Planning Inventory 
which established where the projects and activities 
of the u nit fit into th e Plan and indicated areas 
w here th e Plan n ee d ed  to be expanded and u p ­
dated. This inform ation, gath ered  annually, is es­
sential to an effective and current planningprocess. 
Planning C om m ittee very much appreciates th e 
time, thought, and cooperation exhibitedby com ­
mittees and sections in making the Plan successful.

Many ACRL units com m ented last year that the 
inform ation req u ested  in th e Strategic Planning 
Inventory was duplicated in th e docum entation 
forw arded by units w hen they are reviewed by th e 
Planning C om m ittee every th ree years. This infor­
mation was very helpful to the Planning Committee 
in its attem pts to keep red u n d an t reporting to a 
minimum. The Planning Committee reviewed and 
clarified the intent of each of the reports and agreed 
with the units th a t most o f the inform ation in th e 
Inventory did not need to be repeated when a unit 
was reviewed. As a result, th e review forms for 
com m ittees and sections has been com pletely 
overhauled so that units are not required to submit 
the same inform ation twice.

The ACRL Strategic Plan consists o f four broad

goals with more specific subgoals for meeting each 
of the goals. E ach subgoal is moved forward by a set 
of annual objectives which ensure progress on the 
goals. T he goals, subgoals, and objectives are re ­
viewed annually and the objectives are updated to 
keep the Plan moving ahead. Each year the current 
year is evaluated and a new year is added to the 
Plan. In addition to the annual review and updating 
process for each goal, the Planning C om mittee will 
do an in d ep th  review o f one o f th e four goals in an 
attem pt to prevent the plan from being each year’s 
“bits and pieces” ra th e r than an integrated e n ­
deavor that is integrated within each of the goals.

The four major strategic planning goals are to: 1) 
contribute to the total professional development of 
academic and research librarians; 2) enhance the 
capability of academic and research libraries to 
serve th e needs of users; 3) prom ote and speak for 
th e interests o f academic and research librarian- 
ship; and4) prom ote study, research, andpublica- 
tion relevant to academ ic and research librarian- 
ship. Many of th e subgoals and objectives address 
the five areas— publications, continuing educa­
tion , standards, liaisons and chapters—which were 
ranked as th e highest needs and priorities of the 
m em bership at th e  1985 ACRL P resid en t’s P ro ­
gram. To keep up with th e needs and interests of 
th e m em bership, th e ACRL M em bership C om ­
m ittee conducts a needs assessm ent every five 
years. The needs assessm ent, in identifying the 
priorities o f th e m em bership for th e  Planning



712 /  C&RL News

Committee and ACRL, ensures that ACRLcontin- 
ues to fulfill its mission to its membership.

During the past year, the Planning Committee 
has undertaken its first environmental scan. An 
environmental scan is the product of the collection 
of relevant data on social, economic, technological, 
and other developments over an extended period of 
time. This basic component of strategic planning is 
used to identify trends and forecast their possible 
impact on the organization. Information is ob­
tained from general sources such as newspapers 
and weekly news magazines, specialized publica­
tions relevant to ACRL, reviews of research pro­
posals and funded research, and publications of 
forecasting organizations. The scan is used to d e­
velop long-term strategies and directions in light of 
the external factors that will have an impact on 
ACRL. The first strategic plan will be submitted to 
C&RL News for publication.

The planning process also identifies seven “Stra­
tegic Management Directions,” which address 
important issues such as membership services, 
management of financial resources, support for the 
officers of ACRL, effectiveness of ACRL staff. Two 
of these management directions are: “Position 
ACRL as the most significant American association 
of academic and research libraries, librarians, and 
librarianship—the association which represents 
them, speaks for them, asserts their interests, and 
assists them in reaching their goals” and “work col­
laboratively with other ALA units for the good of 
librarianship as awhole.”

Evaluating information sources

In conj unction with the 18th N ational LOEX 
Library Instruction Conference to be held May 
11-12,1990, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, abstracts 
for a series of 30-minute practical instructive 
sessions are being sought. The sessions should 
deal with specific methods or strategies for 
teaching students how to evaluate sources of 
information in print and/or electronic format. 
Each abstract must include an idea for an exer­
cise or be accompanied by a sample exercise for 
participants to complete.

Some suggested topics are: evaluating in­
dexes; how to study reference sources; p repar­
ing research topicworksheets; assessing reviewer 
bias; evaluating books; author’s credentials; 
evaluating journal vs. magazine articles. In ter­
ested presenters should submit a one-page 
abstract with a proposed title, audiovisual re­
quirements, name, address, and phone number 
by D ecem ber 15, 1989, to: Director, LOEX 
Clearinghouse, Eastern Michigan University Li­
brary, Ypsilanti, MI 48197; (313) 487-0168.

Each year the ACRL President-elect and the 
Board of Directors reviews the goals and the Stra­
tegic Management Directions to establish the plan­
ning priorities for the year. The incoming Presi­
dent-elect meets with the Planning Committee at 
the Annual Conference to discuss the P resident­
elect’s priorities and the areas identified by the 
Board as priorities. From these discussions the 
Planning Committee prepares a recommendation 
forthe consideration of the Board.

Priorities for 1990

ACRL President Bill Moffett and the Board 
agreed at the Annual Conference in New Orleans 
that the priority area for the fiscal years 1990 and 
1991 should be the following parts of Goal III of the 
Strategic Plan:

Subgoal A. To enhance awareness of the role of 
academic and research libraries among non-library 
professionals and organizations...and to develop 
effective working relationships with them .

Subgoal C. To support and participate in the 
recruitm ent and retention of outstanding persons 
to the field of academic and research librarianship. 
These priorities will be reflected in the Strategic 
Plan by identifying existing activities in these areas 
and developing new objectives, if necessary, to 
realize these goals.

Priorities for 1991

ACRL President-elect Barbara Ford has pro­
posed information literacy as h er priority for her 
presidential term. In discussions with the Planning 
Committee, Goal II, Subgoals C and D, and Goal 
IV of the Strategic Plan were identified. Goal II is 
“To enhance the capability of academic and re ­
search libraries to serve the needs of users. ” Subgoal 
C is: “To identify, explore, and act on problems and 
issues facing academic and research libraries”; and 
Subgoal D is: “To encourage and evaluate innova­
tion in library operations and services.” Goal IV is: 
“Topromote study, research, and publication rele­
vant to academic and research librarianship.” As 
with the 1990 priorities, the Planning Committee 
will be reviewing the information gathered from 
ACRL units in the Inventory, incorporating the 
special projects initiated by the President, and 
recommending to the ACRL Board other ways that 
these priorities can be pursued in 1991.

If you would like further information on the 
planning process or if you would like to make any 
comments or suggestions, you are encouraged to 
contact ACRL or the Chair of the Planning Com ­
mittee: Michael Kathman, D irector of Libraries, 
Media and Academic Computing, St. John’s Uni- 
versity/Collegeof St. Benedict, Collegeville, MN 
56321. ■  ■