ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 5 8 8 /C& R L News ACRL w a n ts y o u ! ACRL seeks volunteers f o r sections, committees, a n d editorial boards A re you interested in contributing to ACRL?There are many opportunities for your involvement in ACRL sections, standing com­ mittees, and editorial boards. ACRL needs your support to act best on the interests o f its mem­ bers. ACRL depends on mem bers to volunteer for and serve on committees to accomplish its goals and objectives. With over 30 standing committees and 163 section committees there are lots o f opportunities for serving ACRL. This article gives you a brief description of how the ACRL appointm ent process works. Appointments: The process Appointments are made at both the section and division levels. The ACRL president is respon­ sible for the committee appointm ents at the division level for the year he or she serves as president. Likewise, section chairs are respon­ sible for committee appointm ents in their re­ spective sections the year they serve as chair. Committee slates are usually com pleted shortly after the Midwinter Meeting during the year in w hich the individual serves as president-elect or chair-elect. The ACRL Appointments & Nomi­ nations Committee assists the president-elect in this process in an advisory capacity. Factors influencing appointment Although the emphasis in the appointm ent may vary from year to year according to the pre­ rogatives of the president and section chairs, the same factors are considered. They include: • E v i d e n c e o f p o t e n t i a l c o m m i t t e e m e m b e r ’s in te re st: Have you attended the meetings and introduced yourself to the chair? Do you have previous experience that relates to the w ork of the committee? Have you indi­ cated your interest on the application? • D e m o g r a p h ic s a n d c o m p o s it io n o f c o m m itte e : W hen making appointm ents an effort is m ade to keep the m em bership o f a committee balanced with respect to type of li­ brary (community college, college, or univer­ sity), geographic representation, ethnic diver­ sity, and gender. In addition, some committees have special requirements. For example, one m em ber of the Professional Education Com­ mittee must b e a library educator; the Mem­ bership and Legislative Committees have strict regional representation requirements. • T h e r e c o m m e n d a t io n o f t h e c u r r e n t c o m m it te e ch a ir: Current committee chairs are asked to suggest potential members. Al­ th o u g h all o f th ese factors are considered, th e final ap p o in tm en t is the prerogative of th e ACRL p re s id e n t-e le c t a n d th e sectio n chair-elects. How to apply 1. S e le c t t h e c o m m it t e e s th a t in t e r e s t y o u . The ALA H andbook o f O rganization lists all of ACRL’s committees and their charges. (ALA mem bers may obtain a free copy of the hand­ b ook by calling (800) 545-2433, ext. 4287.) At­ tend the com m ittee’s meetings at the Midwin­ ter Meeting and Annual Conference to help you decide if those are the activities that interest you. 2. I n tr o d u c e y o u r s e lf. Talk with commit­ tee members. Express your interest to the com ­ mittee chair. Explain how you might contrib­ ute to the w ork of the committee. 3. S u b m it a v o lu n t e e r fo rm . Complete the volunteer form that is printed each year in a fall issue o f C&RL News (or request one from the C&RL News office). Be sure to cover all of the items asked for in background information. If you have attended committee m eetings or programs, m ention that. Fill out one form for ACRL division committees and a different form for each ACRL section you w ant to volunteer for. Send the division volunteer form to Maxine Reneker at the address on the bottom o f the v o lu n teer form; se n d the section volu n teer forms to the appropriate section chair-elects at the addresses given elsew here in this article. Ed. note: The ideas in this article are based on the work o f the 1 9 9 1 -9 2 Appointments & Nominations Committee chaired by M arion Reid a n d on the article by Pat Rom, C&RL News, October 1990, pp. 885-86. October 1994 /5 8 9 4. V o lu n te e r a g a in . . . a n d a g a in . If you im m ediately after th e ALA A nnual C onfer­ r, ence. If you w o u ld like to b e co n sid ered for t. ap p o in tm en t as chair o r m em ber o f a sec­ ­ tion com m ittee, fill o ut th e ACRL Commit­ l­ tee V olunteer Form and mail it to the chair- l­ elect o f th e ap p ro p riate section listed below r before D ecem ber 15, 1994. p ­ ar A sian , A frican a n d M iddle E astern S ectio n . Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: James N. Gentner, 1735 Kenyon St., NW, Washington, DC 20010-2616; e-mail: gentner@mail.loc.gov. a A fro -A m erica n S tu d ies L ibrarian S e c tio n . e­ Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Gladys Smiley Bell, Kent i­ State University Libraries, Library & Media Ser- n vice/R oom 161, Kent, OH 44242; e-mail: e gbell @ kentvm. k en t. e d u . or A n th r o p o lo g y a n d S o c io lo g y S ectio n . Vice- I C hair/C hair-E lect: Jam es W illiam s, 405 E. t­ Mumford Drive, Urbana, IL 61801-6213; e-mail: n­ jamesww@uiucvmd. k i­ Arts S ectio n . Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Christine d A. Whittington, 98 Mill Street, Orono, ME 04473- t­ 1728; e-mail: christin@maine.edu. i­ p ­ B ib lio g r a p h ic I n s t r u c t io n S e c t io n . Vice- Chair/Chair-Elect: Esther S. Grassian, Reference p ­ Instruction Librarian, Univ. of California-Los it ­ Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA u­ 90024; e-mail: ECZ5ESG@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU. e t­ C o lle g e L ibraries S ectio n . Vice-Chair/Chair- a­ Elect: Larry L. Hardesty, Director, Eckerd Col­ a lege, William Luther Cobb Library, 4200 54th d Avenue South, P.O. Box 12560, St. Petersburg, FL 33733-2560. d ? C o m m u n ity a n d J u n io r C o lle g e L ibraries re S e c tio n . Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Gretchen H. s. Neill, 660 Wood Work Way, Roswell, GA 30076- t­ 2660. p ­ E n g lis h a n d A m e rica n Literature S ectio n . Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Timothy Shipe, Coordi­ nator Humanities Division, University of Iowa ed Libraries, Iowa City, IA 52242-1379; e-mail: r­ timothy-shipe@ uiowa.edu. o f a E d u ca tio n a n d B e h a v io ra l S c ie n c e s S ectio n . all Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Patricia E. Libutti, 300 ts Van Buren Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666-3137; g e-mail: libutti@mary.fordham.edu. are not successful in being appointed one yea volunteer again the next year . . . and the nex Remember that a multitude of factors—num ber o f app o in tm en ts m ade, n u m b er o f vo u n teers for each com m ittee, n u m b er o f vo u n te e rs from y o u r type of library or you geographic area—determ ine the actual a pointm ent, and these factors change from ye to year. Commonly asked questions 1. W h a t is t h e r o le o f a n in t e r n o n c o m m i t t e e a n d s h o u l d I s a y t h a t I a m w i l l i n g t o b e o n e ? Intern sh ip s w ere cr ated to e x p a n d th e opportu n ities for partic patio n in ACRL. The only difference betw ee an intern an d a regular ap p o in tm en t is th term of service. Interns may only serve f one year. 2. I f I a m a p p o in te d as a n in te r n w ill a u to m a tic a lly b e a p p o in te d to th e c o m m i tee? Not necessarily. The p u rp o se o f the i tern sh ip is to ex p o se m em bers to th e w or of ACRL. Serving as an intern can b e a p o s tive learning ex p erien ce that can b e ap plie to o th er w o rk o f th e organization. A ppoin m ents are still the prerogative o f the pres d ent-elect or section chair-elects and re a p o in tm en t is n o t autom atic. 3. W hat a re m y c h a n c e s o f b e in g re a p o in t e d o n c e I a m s e r v in g o n a c o m m tee? It varies. Committees need both contin ity a n d n e w id e a s a n d e n e rg y . Som president-elects opt for very few reappoin ments because of a desire for wider particip tion and greater diversity. Sometimes there is need for specific projects to be finished an continuity is important. 4. S h o u ld I g iv e u p i f I am n o t a p p o in te t h e first tim e I su b m it a v o lu n te e r form Absolutely not. Remember there are often mo people willing to serve than there are place Keep submitting your forms. A high percen age of m em bers w ho submit forms are a pointed to a committee. ACRL section appointments ACRL has 17 sections (their names are list below). You will find a description of their a eas of responsibility in the ALA Handbook Organization, 1994-95. The chair-elect of section appoints the chair and members of section committees. Most of these appointmen are m ade in the spring for terms beginnin mailto:gentner@mail.loc.gov mailto:christin@maine.edu mailto:ECZ5ESG@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU mailto:timothy-shipe@uiowa.edu mailto:libutti@mary.fordham.edu 5 9 0 /C&RL News E x ten d ed C am p u s Library S erv ices S ectio n . Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Susan Potter, Assistant Director, Regis University, Dayton Memorial Library, 3333 Regis Blvd., Denver, CO 80221. Law a n d P o lit ic a l S c ie n c e S e c t io n . Vice- Chair/Chair-Elect: Judy L. Solberg, 1206 Holton Lane, Takoma Park, MD 20912-7502; e-mail: JS145@umail.umd.edu. Rare B o o k s a n d M a n u scrip ts S ectio n . Vice- Chair/Chair-Elect: Elizabeth L. Johnson, Asso­ ciate Librarian, Indiana University, Lilly Library, Bloomington, IN 47405. S c ie n c e a n d T e c h n o lo g y S ectio n . Vice-Chair/ Chair-Elect: Alison Scott Ricker, Science Librar­ ian, Oberlin College, Kettering Hall Science Library, O b erlin , OH 44074-1083; e-m ail: PASRICKERØOBERLIN. S la v ic a n d E ast E u r o p e a n S e c t io n . Vice- Chair/Chair-Elect: Alan Pollard, 233 Buena Vista Ave., Ann A rbor, MI 48103-4301; e-m ail: AlanPollard@ urn. cc.um ich.edu. S h a re y o u r skills w it h ACRL ACRL’s vision and the achievements of its goals and priorities can only be accom­ plished successfully through the work of its sections, committees, and boards; the ACRL Appointments and Nominations Committee, section vice-chairs, and I are looking for people with strong leadership skills, from diverse backgrounds in all types of academ­ ic and college libraries, willing to w ork throughout the year, to serve on its commit­ tees, forward its mission, and provide the impetus to lead our profession in serving the information requirements of our cam­ puses. ACRL members w ho have experience in other professional associations, as well as in ACRL, or w ho bring skills from serving on campuswide initiatives, community ser­ vice programs, or in other leadership roles in their libraries are strongly encouraged to submit their names to the chair of the Ap­ pointm ents and Nom inations Committee: Maxine Reneker, and/or the ACRL section vice-chairs, on the attached ACRL Volunteer Form.— Patricia Breivik, ACRL vice-presi- dent/president-elect U n iv e r s it y L ib r a rie s S e c t io n . V ice-Chair/ Chair-Elect: William J. Crowe, Dean of Librar­ ies, University o f Kansas, Spencer Research Li­ b rary , L aw rence, KS 66045-2800; e-m ail: WCROWE@UKANVM. W este rn E u ro p ea n S p e cia lists S ectio n . Vice- Chair/Chair-Elect: Michael P. Olson, West Eu­ ropean Bibliographer, Harvard University Li­ brary, Widener #197, Cambridge, MA 02138; e-mail: m-olson@harvard.edu. W o m e n ’s S tu d ies S ectio n . Vice-Chair/Chair- Elect: Grace M. Jackson-Brown, Reference Li­ brarian, Indiana University, Main Library E159, Tenth Street & Jordan Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405; e-mail: JacksonB@IUBACS. ACRL committee appointments ACRL has about 30 standing com m ittees to which appointments may be made. A list ap­ pears on the form at the end of this article. You will find the committees listed with a de­ scription of their charges in the ALA Handbook o f Organization. A ppointm énts to ACRL standing com m it­ tees are m ade in the spring for term s b eg in ­ ning im m ediately after the ALA A nnual Con­ ference. The A ppointm ents an d N om inations C om m ittee reco m m en d s to th e p re s id e n t­ elect o f ACRL th e nam es of m em bers w ho m ight fill th e vacancies. The presid en t-elect m akes th e final a p p o in tm en ts. If y o u are in terested in b ein g co n sid e re d for an a p ­ pointm ent to an ACRL com m ittee, you should co m p le te th e ACRL C om m ittee V o lu n teer Form in clu d ed in this issue o f C&RL News an d mail it to the- Chair o f A ppointm ents and N om inations, Maxine Reneker, 437 College Ave., P alo Alto, CA 94306-1525; e-m ail: m reneker@ nps.navy.m il, b e fo re D ecem ber 15, 1994. Editorial boards ACRL has editorial boards for these six publi­ cations: Choice, College & Research Libraries; College & Research Libraries News-, New Publi­ cations; Publications in Librarianship; Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship. A p p o in tm e n ts to e d ito ria l b o a rd s are m ade at the M idwinter M eeting for term s that begin im m ediately after the ALA Annual Con­ ference. The editors recom m end th e nam e o f a p e rso n to fill th e vacancy. The Publica- (ACRL cont. on page 600) mailto:JS145@umail.umd.edu cc.umich.edu mailto:m-olson@harvard.edu mailto:mreneker@nps.navy.mil 6 0 0 / C&RL News to share their expertise or looking for contacts to further their research aims. This listing (com­ plete with institutional information and e-mail addresses) should go a long way tow ard mak­ ing the CERRO gopher a prime source for Cen­ tral European business research activities.—John Small, Central Missouri State University; e-mail: small@ cmsuvmb.cmsu.edu E R I C C l e a r i n g h o u s e o n A s s e s s m e n t a n d E v a lu a t io n . Access: gopher://vm sgopher.cua. edu:70/llgopher_root_eric_ae% 3a% 5b000000 %5d, Gopher: gopher.cua.edu / Special Re­ sources / ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation /Search ERIC. Contact: Larry Rudman, (800) go4-eric or eric ae@cua.edu. This gopher server from Catholic Univer­ sity of America provides exciting and useful sites for anyone connected w ith education. College and university faculty, librarians, ad­ ministrators, graduate and undergraduate stu­ dents in the field of education will find this extrem ely helpful. The Educational Resources Information Cen­ ter (ERIC) is an information network designed to provide users with ready access to educa­ tional literature. It is the largest education da­ tabase in the world and contains nearly one million records of indexed and abstracted docu­ ments and journal articles. Search ERIC is available on the menu of ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation gopher server. It contains options for informa­ tion on ERIC and the ERIC Clearinghouses; ex­ planation of ERIC abstracts from RIE and CIJE; information on ERIC Digests and the digests themselves; and sites available for searching ERIC and additional databases. These sites in­ clude Syracuse Library; University of Illinois at C ham paign; C alifornia State U niversity at Hayward; University of Saskatchewan; CARL; Auburn University; Florida State University; and Harvard University. The multiple sites allow us­ ers to switch sites conveniently w hen one is busy or unavailable. There are plans to add more sites as they becom e available. Libraries without ERIC on CD, tape, or on ­ line will greatly appreciate the availability of these sites. Each of the search sites offers its ow n m enu containing the ERIC database and, in some cases, electronic library catalogs, cam­ pus directories and information, and other bib­ liographic databases. For example, the site at Saskatchewan includes the Canadian Education Index. Each of the sites has its own format of search options and strategies. Most allow au­ thor, title, and subject searching with various other options such as descriptors, identifiers, or dates. All include help screens and some even have tutorials. None of them are difficult to master although some are more user friendly than others. The coordinator of the server has designated the Syracuse Library site as the “best” and I agree. The m enu also includes options for infor­ mation on ERIC digests which are reports that synthesize information on educational issues. The full texts of these digests are available here as well. Educational researchers will appreci­ ate the time saved by the availability o f these digests. Search ERIC is well-organized and useful to all those involved in education. The ERIC data­ base and digests serve to keep educators up- to-date with new trends and developments in the field of education.—Emily S. Chasse, Cen­ tral Connecticut State University, New Britain; e-mail: Chasse@ccsua.ctstateu.edu. ■ (ACRL cont. from page 590) tions Com m ittee m ust app ro v e the recom ­ mendation, and the president of ACRL makes the appointm ent. If you w ould like to be considered for ap­ pointm ent to an editorial board, contact the editor of the editorial board. Choice acting editor: Fran Graf, Choice, 100 Riverview Center, Middletown, CT 06457. College & Research Libraries editor: Glori- ana St. Clair, Assistant Dean and Head o f Infor­ mation Access Services, E506 Pattee Library, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; e-mail: gss@psulias.bitnet. College & Research Libraries News editor: Mary Ellen Davis, C&RL News, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: mary.ellen.davis@ala.org. New publications editor: Hugh Thompson, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H u ro n St., C hicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: hugh.thom pson@ ala.org. Publications in Librarianship editor: Ste­ phen E. Wiberley Jr., University of Illinois at Chicago University Library, Chicago, IL 60680; e-mail: u30959@ uicvm.uic.edu. Rare Books & M anuscripts Librarianship editor: Sidney E. Berger, University of Cali­ fornia, University Library, P.O. Box 5900, Riv­ ersid e, CA 92517-5900; e-m ail: spcolseb@ ucrvms.bitnet. ■ mailto:small@cmsuvmb.cmsu.edu gopher://vmsgopher.cua gopher://gopher.cua.edu mailto:ae@cua.edu mailto:Chasse@ccsua.ctstateu.edu mailto:mary.ellen.davis@ala.org mailto:hugh.thompson@ala.org mailto:u30959@uicvm.uic.edu