ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 3 Surplus Fund Award Committee established. The Committee is responsible for writing objectives for allocating surplus funds, developing guidelines, re­ ceiving proposals from ACRL units, and making recommendations for allocations. Both the regular budget process and the surplus funds allocation policy are guided by the goals, ob­ jectives and strategies in the ACRL Strategic Plan. The plan was adopted in 1986 and was developed w ith widespread participation by ACRL mem ­ bers. Now our challenge is to keep the plan up to date, so th at it continues to reflect our values and priorities as we make budgetary and operating de­ cisions. All ACRL units are being asked to contrib­ ute to the regular and ongoing revision of the plan. It is too easy, as we have learned from experi­ ences in our libraries, to complete a plan, congrat­ ulate ourselves on a job well done, and then file it away. Yet of all organizations, it is vital that a large membership organization such as ACRL has a plan which is a living document to rely on. The com­ plexities of such a wide geographic spread, of meet­ ing only two times a year, and of having manage­ m ent and leadership shared betw een elected leaders and professional staff all call for a clear and current touchstone for guidance. The Planning Committee will soon be asking for additional ad­ vice on unit goals and objectives and how they fit into the plan. The informed advice of members will be critical to our success. My theme for the year is “Fostering Creativity and Innovation.” As President I have had the privi­ lege and pleasure of attending numerous meetings of chapters and affiliated organizations already this year. My talks to chapters have been primarily concerned with creativity and leadership, and the need for both as academic and research librarians cope with the challenges of the information soci­ ety. The new “Innovations” column in C&RL News is one forum for sharing creative ideas. My President’s program on July 11 in New Orleans will also be on the topic of creativity. An exciting and involving experience is promised! The most exciting innovations, to me, are not the technological wonders which have become almost commonplace in libraries, but the social innova­ tions we are creating. Often we are unaware of so­ cial innovations because many people may be in­ volved in th eir creation and because they are evolutionary, based on a cycle of trial, adjustment and adaptation. Nevertheless, they are innova­ tions, and they call upon some of our greatest crea­ tive powers. Social innovations are such things as new organizational structures, new service de­ signs, the development of new ways of looking at our world. They are also found in our goals, plans and budgets for our professional association— those elements which articulate our professional values! ACRL is a lively, dynam ic organization. It strives to be responsible, responsive and innova­ tive. I think we have much to be proud of, as we look back at the past year, and forward to 1988. Joanne R. Euster A C R L President ■ ■ ACRL executive summary Executive Committee The most significant event of the month was the m eeting of the ACRL Executive Com m ittee at Headquarters on November 2. At their meeting, the group took several key actions: The Committee approved the request of CJCLS to sponsor (jointly with AECT/CCAIT) a Telecon­ ference on CD-ROM Technology to be held in April 1988. Details may be found on p. 10 of this is­ sue. The Committee approved a proposal for allocat­ ing “surplus funds.” It is ACRL policy that each year’s budget revenues equal or exceed expenses. For several years, ACRL financial performance has been better than expected, and the Association has been building a fund balance as a reserve for special projects and emergencies. Recently the Board set as a goal the m aintainance of a fund bal­ ance equal to 50 % of the average annual expendi­ tures for the previous three years. At the end of the 1986-87 fiscal year, the fund balance was greater than that goal, and the Budget and Finance Com­ mittee suggested that a mechanism be established to allocate these “surplus funds.” Whenever there is a surplus, proposals will be solicited from ACRL units and a committee will award the funds. F u r­ ther information will be sent to all unit heads soon. The Committee approved the establishment of two new task forces: one on Professional Ethics and one on ACRL and Social Responsibility. The Committee took three actions in connection with planning a project to serve libraries in Histori­ cally Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s): • an effort will be made to seek funding for three annual accreditation workshops; • funding will be sought for an NEH project ta r­ geted specifically at HBCU’s and their communi­ ties; • staff will draft a proposal for a project to col­ lect inform ation about HBCU libraries for use principally in accreditation work. Planning workshop On the day following the Executive Committee meeting, the first planning workshop involving 4 / C&RL News ACRL staff and key members was held. Present were ACRL President Joanne Euster, President- Elect Joseph Boissé, Planning Committee Chair Carolyn Dusenbury, Budget and Finance Chair Pat W and, six ACRL staff members, and consul­ tant Sharon Pierce. The sessions focused on clarify­ ing the process for annual planning, so that ideas and suggestions can be collected from all ACRL units, the ACRL President-Elect can be involved, the Budget and Finance Committee can consider fiscal implications, the staff can prepare the neces­ sary documents, and the Planning Committee can coordinate annual and longer-range plans. Recog­ nizing the complexity of the process, the group ac­ knowledged the lengthy transition period needed to move to a plan-driven mode of operation and the importance of each others’ roles. WESS Conference 3,000 packets were sent out inviting interested people to attend the WESS Conference in Flor­ ence, Italy, April 4-8, 1988. If you would like to receive one, please call Sheryl Stephens at the ACRL office for a copy. Headquarters Staff began the annual budget preparation pro­ cess. Discussion of budget items occupied the Budget and Finance Committee at the Midwinter Meeting, although the final budget will not be ap­ proved until the Annual Conference. Twenty Northern Illinois University students en­ rolled in an “Academic Libraries” course visited ACRL and the ALA Headquarters Library in Oc­ tober. Cathleen Bourdon and Mary Ellen Davis re­ viewed ACRL services and opportunities for pro­ fessional development. The ACRL staff has been receiving excellent ad­ vice in the use of computer equipment acquired over the past few months, both from ALA staff and independent consultants. The new office machines are being used for word processing, spreadsheet, database management, communications, and elec­ tronic publishing. College & Research Libraries News finished 1987 with a total of 748 pages—only 16 pages less than 1986, which included the very large Balti­ more Conference issue. The expanded size is due to an increasing number of articles and columns as well as increasing number of advertising pages.— JoAn S. Segal. ■ ■ ACRL’s Fifth National Conference: A call for papers and programs The Association of College and Research Li­ braries invites proposals for papers and programs to be held at its Fifth National Conference in Cin­ cinnati, April 5-8, 1989. The conference theme, “Building on the First C entury,” celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the College Library Section of the American Library Associa­ tion in 1889. Papers and program proposals are sought on issues in higher education and academic librarianship that link the past with the future. The goals of the National Conferences are a) to contrib­ ute to the total professional development of aca­ demic and research librarians, and b) to promote study, research and publication relevant to aca­ demic and research librarianship. C o n trib u te d papers are a m ajor fe a tu re of ACRL conferences and are invited in the following two categories: 1. Research reports are to be descriptions of stud­ ies that utilize rigorous research methodology and that include identified hypotheses and a clearly stated conclusion. The maximum length for a m an­ uscript is 2,500 words. 2. Position papers are to be presentations in which problems are clearly identified and solutions proposed. Descriptions may be of locally imple­ mented experiences (successes and failures), theo­ retical models, or state of the art reviews. Although not requiring formal research methodology, these papers should be well organized, and should de­ velop clear positions or concepts. The maximum length for a manuscript is 1,800 words. Each contributed paper will be reviewed by at least two referees in a blind reviewing process. Cri­ teria for selection include clarity, originality, rele­ vance to the theme and suitability for oral presen­ tation. Accepted papers will be returned to the authors for final editing and preparation of camera-ready copy for the published conference proceedings. Au­ thors will have fifteen minutes to present their p a­ pers, followed by fifteen minutes for comments and reactions from the audience. Papers may be scheduled for presentation more than once. Au­ thors must attend the conference at their own ex­ pense. Additional instructions to authors will be mailed upon receipt of a notice of intention to sub­ mit a paper. Potential contributors should send a 200-word description of their paper, the tentative title, the category (research or position), their name, mail­ ing address, and work phone number. The dead­ line for sending a notice of intent to submit a paper is June 1,1988. The deadline for submitting the full paper is July 31, 1988. Send the notice to: ACRL Contributed Papers, c/o Jan Fennell, Georgia Col­ January 1988 / 5 lege Library, 231 W. Hancock St., Milledgeville, GA 31061. Proposals for programs at the National Confer­ ence are also welcome. Possible formats include panel presentations, discussion group sessions, idea briefs, or poster sessions. Programs may be either 30 or 60 minutes in length. Presenters must attend the conference at their own expense. Additional in­ formation will be sent upon the receipt of a pro­ gram proposal. Program proposals should include a 200-word description of the program , the tentative title, and nam e, mailing address, and work phone num ber of the contact person. The deadline for subm itting a program proposal is July 31, 1988. Send program proposals to: ACRL P rogram , c/o Jo rd an Sce- p an sk i, U niversity L ib ra ry an d L e a rn in g R e­ sources, California State University, Long Reach, 1250 B ellflow er B o u lev ard , L ong B each, CA 90840. ■ ■ In fo rm a tio n fo r a d m in istra to rs By P e ter G. W atson University Librarian Idaho State University Report of a test of library information support fo r a neglected user group. M o s t academic libraries possess well-developed services to support the teaching, learning, and re­ search functions of both students and faculty, yet offer no com parable support to the administrative function, which is obviously an activity highly cru­ cial to the health and well-being of any college or university. W ithout dwelling on the reasons why this gap has been allowed to exist, this report will present some findings from one library’s attem pt to determ ine through a practical test, w hether or not the library could in fact provide direct inform ation support for campus administrators. Picking up on the insights expressed by a lib rar­ ian who is now an academic adm inistrator (Re­ becca Kellogg, University of Arizona), the Meriam Library of California State University, Chico, last academic year decided to devote a small am ount of physical and personnel resources to seeing w hat would result if the Library offered the services of a librarian as an inform ation assistant to adm inistra­ tors, specifically to support the perform ance of their adm inistrative duties. Evidence exists th at li­ brarians will have to a) make an attem pt to under­ stand the dynamics of the adm iiiistrator’s work- life; and b) be flexible about modes of library service, if they are to be successful in serving this group.1 Strong adm inistrative support was given by CSU Chico’s university lib rarian Judith A. Sessions, who wrote an introductory letter to the six senior adm inistrators of the campus designating m e—I was then assistant university librarian (programs and services)—as the agent to carry out the test. I visited th e offices of those ad m in istrato rs, ex­ plained the concept and general procedures, and took copious notes. 1R ebecca Kellogg, “From the President,” RQ 25 (Fall 1985):9-10; and Rebecca Kellogg, “Beliefs a n d R e a litie s ,” C & R L N ew s 47 (S e p te m b e r 1986):492-96.