ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 588 / C &R L News LIBRAS internship in college lib rary adm inistration By Jo n a th a n D. L au er Library Director Aurora University W here to get some hands-on experience. M ore than two years ago William A. Moffett sounded the clarion call proclaiming the continu­ ing vitality and value of college librarianship in his ACRL conference address, “Reflections of a Col­ lege Librarian: Looking for Life and Redemption This Side of A R L ,” later published in College and Research Libraries. The sentiments expressed in his paper rang true for many college librarians, a num­ ber of whom shared his hope “that the Great Lakes College Association (and perhaps other college consortia) can be persuaded to offer internships in college library administration... By doing so we may be able to compensate for the lack of a recog­ nizable career ladder for college library directors and perhaps counter some of the bias which dis­ courages good people from seriously considering careers in smaller institutions.“1 As a direct response to his challenge, the LIBRAS consortium will offer its first internship in college library administration during the summer of 1987. LIBRAS, a consortium comprising 15 Chicago- area liberal arts college libraries,2 celebrated its 1William A. Moffett, “Reflections of a College Librarian: Looking for Life and Redemption This Side of A R L ,” College & Research Libraries 45 (September 1984):338, 345. 2Aurora University, Barat College (Lake For­ est), Concordia College (River Forest), Elmhurst College, Illinois Benedictine College (Lisle), Jud son College (Elgin), Kendall College (Evanston), Lake Forest C olleg e, Lew is U niversity (R o ­ twentieth anniversary in 1985. Since its inception, LIBRAS has established an impressive record of li­ brary cooperation. While the expeditious exchange of resources among its con stitu en t m em bers through interlibrary loan remains an integral as­ pect of its commitment to cooperation, LIBRAS activities encompass cooperative collection devel­ opment, continuing education (including an an­ nual all-day workshop), and group purchasing of supplies. No fewer than six members also partici­ pate in LC S, Illinois’ statewide library computer network, with two more institutions authorized to join in the near future. And five LIBRAS libraries recently extended their interlibrary loan capabili­ ties to include telefacsimile reproduction. It is in this context of cooperation that the L I­ BRAS internship program came into being. The in­ ternship will extend over a mutually agreed upon four week period during the summer of 1987 (broadly conceived as May 10 through September 10, 1987). As Ed Meachen, library director at North Central College, so ably stated, “The sum­ mer months, particularly at the end of the old fiscal year and the beginning of the new, are especially critical. This is the time of budget discussions, writ­ ing the annual report, special (library-wide) pro- meoville), North Central College (Naperville), North Park College (Chicago), Rosary College (River Forest), Saint Xavier College (Chicago), Trinity College (Deerfield), and Wheaton College. O ctober 1986 / 589 je c ts ...a n d individual staff projects. Summer, herefore, is not a slack time, but rather the most mportant library ‘business’ time of the year.” One LIBRAS library will serve as the Mentor L i­ rary with a number of cooperating libraries serv­ ng as field trip sites to provide a depth of exposure nd experience not possible if the entire program ere confined to one institution. LIBRAS will ex­ end a $1,000 stipend and a $200 room allowance. he intern is responsible for transportation and in­ idental expenses. Applicants must have completed ne year of library school or be currently employed n a college library. The intern will complete a t i b i a w t T c o i written report of the experience which will in­ clude, but not be limited to, such activities as a su­ pervised reading program in library management, shadowing the host director, analyzing the library budgeting process, comparing the library’s organi­ zation chart and job descriptions with the realities of day-to-day activities, and helping revamp col­ lection development policy and mission state­ ments. Internship applicants should submit a letter and resume by March 1, 1987, to: Jonathan D. Lauer, Chair, LIBRA S Internship Committee, Aurora University, Aurora, IL 60506. ACRL actions, Ju ly 1 9 8 6 Highlights of the A nnual C onference meetings of the A C R L Board of Directors. T he Board of Directors of the Association of Col­ lege and Research Libraries met twice during the ALA Annual Conference in New York: on June 28, 1986, and July 1, 1986. American Council on Education The Board endorsed the statement of the Ameri­ can Council on Higher Education, “A Call to Con­ science,” in support of funding for higher educa­ tion at the Federal level. BIS Think Tank The Board endorsed in principle the concept of a Bibliographic Instruction Section Think Tank re­ treat in June 1987, contingent upon the section’s success in raising funds for it. Budget T he Board approved the A C R L budget for 1986-87, which projects a deficit of approximately $50,000, largely for the work on Books f o r C ollege Libraries, 3d edition. Chapters The Board approved the petition for the estab­ lishment of an ACRL chapter in Alabama. Cinema Librarians The Board dissolved the Cinema Librarians Dis­ cussion Group. The Art Section has expanded its program coverage of the visual and performing arts and will be increasingly concerned with topics of interest to cinema librarians. Commemorations The Board voted to observe the 100th anniver­ sary of the founding of the ALA College Library Section— the forerunner of A C R L— at the ACRL Fifth National Conference in Cincinnati in 1989, and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Association of College and Reference Libraries (as ACRL used to be called) at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago in 1990.