ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


134

ACRL issues for the 80s and 90s

A C R L ’s two presidential candidates offer their views on 
the Association’s future.

W illiam A. M offett David B. Walch

T his presentation of statem ents from A CRL’s 
candidates for Vice-President/President-Elect is an 
inform ation service for ACRL members. Many of 
the issues and concerns facing ACRL are discussed 
informally at meetings, but this does not provide a 
national forum available to all members. These 
statements provide the basis for an informed choice 
when you receive your ballot next month.

William A. Moffett:
The candidate elected this spring will serve as 

President in the 1989-90 year.
Each year at this tim e ACRL elections can be 

counted on to produce some stocktaking on this 
page (sometimes a little hackneyed), characteristi­
cally looking forw ard to challenges looming ahead; 
inevitably looking backw ard in hopes of taking 
some e n c o u ra g e m e n t fro m  ev id en ce of p a st 
achievement.

The impulse to indulge in such an exercise seems 
heightened w hen th e  electio n —or th e term  of 
office—coincides w ith a notable milestone: observ­
ing the hundredth anniversary of the beginnings of 
an academic library section in ALA, beginning a

second half-century as ALA’s prem ier division, or 
even just entering a new decade. This tim e, when 
all three more or less coincide, the process is ines­
capable. Resides, for me the decision to accept the 
nom ination hinged on just such a review.

Looking back. A wag once dismissed a m idw in­
ter assemblage of dedicated ACRL activists as 
“people who have em braced gridlock as a way of 
life.”

But when one looks over the record, and espe­
cially th a t of the past ten years since Evan Farber, 
Le Moyne Anderson, and their colleagues on the 
Board began targeting and engaging the “issues for 
the 80s” (a record fully chronicled in the annual re­
ports of successive Presidents and Executive D irec­
tors th a t have appeared regularly in this journal), 
one finds both rem arkable movement and substan­
tial accomplishment to celebrate.

•  ACRL has worked out a more congenial rela­
tionship w ith ALA.

•  W e’ve not only survived a fiscal crisis, but em ­
erged w ith a sounder and more m anageable finan­
cial structure.

•  Continuous tinkering w ith constitution and 
bylaws has in fact resulted in a leaner, more effi­
cient Board and more responsive machinery for 
governance and communication.

•  Sustained effort by a succession of leaders has 
produced a model apparatus for strategic planning 
and evaluation.

•  W e’ve seen steady development of an excep­
tionally supportive headquarters staff.

•  A much needed program  of continuing educa­
tion has been created and gained acceptance.

•  There have been adm irable achievements in 
our publications program —the success of the new 
journal, Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian- 
ship, being the most notable recent example.

•  There has been the splendid series of well-



135

arranged national conferences, along w ith the 
surge of new interest they’ve provoked; m em ber­
ship has climbed w ithin this period from below 
nine to nearly ten thousand.

•  There have been stirrings in the grassroots; the 
num ber of chapters will have almost doubled by 
the end of the decade, and the enthusiasm and vi­
tality of Chapters Council is at an all-time high.

A n d  ahead. For all th a t progress, however, none 
of us should be surprised if m any of the “issues for 
the 80s” reappear in subsequent pages as “issues for 
the 90s.”

O ur relationship w ith ALA is inherently prob­
lem atic, and judging from an anxious meeting in 
San Antonio in which indignant Division heads 
protested their not having been consulted before 
new ALA costs were imposed, we still need a skill­
ful and com bative advocate to represent us. (Inci­
dentally, it m ight help if the ACRL membership 
would bestir itself to use its electoral strength to 
claim a com m ensurate share of Council seats— 
something w e’ve never done.)

O u r recen tly  established fiscal stren g th  can 
hardly be taken for granted, especially as we re­
spond to a very real need to allocate support for 
new initiatives being developed by sections and 
chapters.

W e’ve got to get the bugs out of the Strategic 
Plan. Although “strategic planning” is undoubt­
edly the busiest buzzw ord of the year in higher edu­
cation, our own is no fad; it is eminently reasonable 
and well considered; it is also breathtaking in its 
comprehensiveness. There is some concern th a t 
w e’ve become absorbed in perpetual planning; 
some groups at M idw inter w ere beginning to 
grumble th a t so much tim e was being devoted to 
planning and evaluation there was going to be little 
left in which to actually do anything. The Strategic 
Plan, however, is not an end in itself; a model for 
decision-m aking is, afte r all, still just th a t, a 
model. U ltim ately it is about values, not process.

There is some apprehension th a t our leaner, 
more efficient governance structure reinforces still 
more powerfully the traditional bias towards the 
concerns of librarians identified w ith larger institu­
tions. But can still more tinkering be counted on to 
offset it? Surely the chief corrective must be greater 
assertiveness by those associated w ith smaller insti­
tutions, and greater responsiveness by those in posi­
tions of leadership.

Some older issues are likely to re a p p e a r, of 
course, because we never m anaged to address them 
adequately in the past. Despite at least a decade of 
panting and wing-flapping, for example, the much 
discussed initiative to achieve visibility in and re­
spect from other professional bodies is still strug­
gling to get off the ground. I myself presented a ses­
sion for ACRL in the 1981 meeting of the American 
Council of Education; it was our first such effort, 
and very nearly the last. (I trust it wasn’t something 
I said.) In 1988 we find ourselves once again trying 
to determ ine which associations in higher educa­

tion ACRL should establish ongoing liaisons with. 
I t’s square one.

And w e’ve still not come to grips w ith th a t vener­
able conundrum : how do we convert resource shar­
ing from a lofty concept to which most of us pay lip 
service into a workable reality we can support in 
practice? Will our changing environm ent, eroded 
by economic decline and reshaped by new technol­
ogy, make this problem more, or less intractable?

Meanwhile, some wholly new issues are coming 
our way, or at least some rath er old problems w ith 
a new sense of urgency. Forecasters are predicting 
a serious shortage of academic librarians w ithin the 
next decade. T hat may gladden the hearts of li­
brary school adm inistrators, but hardly the rest of 
us. W here are our new librarians corning from? 
And w h at can ACRL do, if anything, to promote 
recruitm ent and improve the quality of the educa­
tion they’re likely to get?

In short, there’s no shortage of challenges. It is a 
question of how to engage them  productively.

Not surprisingly, ACRL has often shown greater 
readiness to address procedural and constitutional 
problems th a t arise from the internal workings of 
the organization than either the professional issues 
th a t confront the average librarian or the needs of 
the clientele the academic librarian exists to serve. 
Ultimately, it is in dealing w ith these latter two 
goals th a t our success or failure will be judged.

And it is precisely here th a t the Strategic Plan 
may be most useful, for it holds out both—“the to­
tal professional development of academic and re­
search librarians” and “enhancing the capability of 
our libraries to serve the needs of users”—as the 
very first of our objectives.

Can elected officials make a difference? But can 
an individual president, even w ith a three-year 
term  on the Board, really make a difference in how 
we fulfill the plan?

O n e c a n n o t a c c e p t an  in v ita tio n  to be a 
candidate—an honor, to be sure, but potentially 
and even more im portantly, a substantial com m it­
m e n t of e ffo rt a n d  in s titu tio n a l re s o u rc e s — 
w ithout convincing oneself th a t the answer has to 
be yes.

One has only to think of some recent presidents 
who unquestionably m ade a difference, persons 
who could be held up as role models for any p ro ­
spective candidate:

•  Le Moyne Anderson, who I rem em ber p ri­
m arily for being a tenacious and articulate advo­
cate of ACRL interests.

•  Penny Abell, for her good-humored encour­
agement of others.

•  D avid W eber, for his clearheaded and far­
sighted establishment of long-range planning.

•  C arla Stoffle, for a sense of vision and a grasp 
of how to get things done th a t is still causing things 
to get done years later; whose exceptional presiden­
tial report (C&RL News, July/August 1983), w ith 
its eloquent statem ent of purpose, should be re­
quired reading for all ACRL officers.



136

•  Evan Farber, for his ability to listen, his wise 
counsel, and for dem onstrating conclusively th a t 
effective leaders are to be found in small as well as 
large institutions.

And from my own span of active involvement I 
know full well any such list needn’t be confined to 
presidents. One can think of m any examples of in­
dividuals w ho’ve made a difference—in the people 
w ho’ve put together our national programs, who 
edit our publications, who steer committees, who 
sustain the life of a section.

But my very awareness of and appreciation for 
those individuals and their contributions give way 
to a quandary. I t’s not easy to express in a few 
words, but let me try.

Extending the circle. Those who already serve 
on committees and participate regularly in other 
ways on the national level must acknowledge th a t 
the Association must look very different to m em ­
bers who infrequently attend the major confer­
ences, as well as to the vast host of professional aca­
demic librarians who are not members at all (and 
there are far more of them than there are m em ­
bers) , but whose interests we say we are attem pting 
to serve.

Let me adm it to an evangelical impulse. I have 
alw ay s b een  c o n c e rn e d  a b o u t th e  p e o p le  
“outside”—those who do not join, w ho’ve dropped 
out or been turned off, who aren’t attracted or sim­
ply can’t afford to come to our national meetings. 
W e’ve had some success in the College Libraries 
Section recently in reviving interest and bringing 
new people in. I ’d like to see th a t happen across the 
board.

The series of national conferences th a t started in 
Boston ten years ago and continues in Cincinnati 
next year has obviously helped to some extent; 
w e’ve observed the rise in m em bership and the 
stim ulation of professional discourse directly a t­
tributable to those meetings. But surely more can 
be done.

The President-Elect can make a difference by 
the people he or she puts on the A ppointm ents 
Comm ittee and by the kind of m andate they are 
given. We can insure th a t we don’t perpetuate an 
“old persons netw ork,” but instead encourage fresh 
participation and provide new opportunities for 
growth and for potential leadership.

But such affirmative action, as well as the prolif­
eration of committees and task forces, and the ex­
tension of committees by internships—helpful as 
all t h a t is in in c re a sin g  o p p o rtu n itie s  for 
participation—still will not address the question of 
how to involve the m any thousands of academic li­
b ra ria n s in th e U nited States and C a n a d a  for 
whom regular attendance at M idwinter meetings is 
just not an option.

One very promising initiative, and the one I’d 
w ant to prom ote if elected, is to give greater sup­
port to activities at the chapter level. They are in­
creasingly seen as providing a more gratifying op­
portunity for interaction, for getting to know one’s

counterparts, for sharing ideas, experiences, and 
inform ation, for meaningful workshops, for devel­
oping new cooperative ventures, for starting things 
th a t can be sustained after the meeting is over. The 
challenge, of course, is not merely one of encourag­
ing grassroots activity, but of integrating it w ithin 
the Association, of insuring th a t it genuinely invig­
orates, not dissipates our effort to fulfill the mission 
we’ve set out for ourselves.

I w ant ACRE to make a difference in the quality 
of academic librarianship and the service we ren­
der to higher education. I believe th a t elected of­
ficeholders, part-tim e and fleeting though their 
terms may be, can make a difference. T h a t’s why I 
accepted the nomination.

W illia m  A . M o ffe tt is d irecto r o f libraries at 
Oberlin College, Ohio.

David B. Walch:
In preparation for this activity and also as an ef­

fort to be as well prepared as possible as an ACRL 
Presidential candidate, I have again reviewed w ith 
keen interest the activities and foci of the Associa­
tion during the decade of the 80s. The review re­
affirms the fact th a t ACRL is a dynamic, healthy, 
organization th a t is striving to meet the needs of its 
members. For example:

•  Since 1985 membership has grown from 8,500 
to close to 10,000.

•  Since 1980 the budget has improved to a point 
where ACRL now has a six-month reserve fund.

•  Since 1980 publications (identified as m em ­
bership’s #1 priority) continue to grow in num ber 
and quality.

•  Since 1980 the num ber of chapters has grown 
from a very few to 39.

•  Since 1980 the baton of the Executive Director 
has been successfully passed from Julie Virgo to 
JoAn Segal, and the services rendered by th a t im ­
portant office and staff continue to be strong and 
well-directed. Elected leadership has likewise been 
affective and perceptive.

•  Since 1979 three successful ACRL national 
conferences have been held and attracte d  large 
numbers of participants.

•  Since 1980 a very capable Strategic Planning 
Task Force has developed an ACRL Strategic Plan 
th a t provides a clear sense of mission, a strong set of 
goals w ith specific objectives and strategies.

One might ask w hat can an ACRL President do 
in a relatively brief tenure th a t w ould influence the 
direction of an organization th a t already appears 
to be making good progress. Obviously there are a 
num ber of responsibilities assigned to th a t position 
th a t influence the organization, e.g., recom m end­
ing appointm ents to a variety of committees, chair­
ing th e  ACRL C o n feren ce P ro g ram  P la n n in g  
C om m ittee, reviewing budget requests and ex­
penditures, etc. Beyond this there are other, some­
w hat obvious, but certainly im portant m atters on 
w h ich  to focus, an d  as a c a n d id a te  for Vice-



137

President/President-Elect of ACRE, I w ant you to 
know where I stand in regard to at least four areas 
th at I believe deserve emphasis and attention.

1. The Strategic Plan. As a candidate I see the 
Strategic Plan approved by the ACRL Roard on 
July 1, 1986, as a critically im portant document 
th a t reflects where the grass-roots membership of 
ACRL wants the Association to go. I make a com­
m itm ent as a candidate to use whatever influence, 
whatever energy, w hatever time is required to see 
the plan realized. I would also note th a t the plan is 
a five-year plan w ith the fifth year being 1990, i.e ., 
the same year th a t this year’s candidate will be in 
office. Hence the need to work carefully w ith the 
Planning and Rudget Committees and other m em ­
bers of the Association tow ard the continued devel­
opm ent of plans and strategy.

2. M embership Involvement. As a candidate I 
see the need to involve as many members of the As­
sociation as possible. This year the membership ex­
ceeds 10,000. Serving this membership are 14 Sec­
tions, 39 Chapters, 48 Committees, 14 Discussion 
Groups, and a num ber of Task Forces. It is esti­
m ated th a t those involved in leadership positions 
num ber approximately 350, or only 3.5% . I be­
lieve it is appropriate to review the opportunities 
provided for membership to participate. Are we 
tapping the vast pool of new and young expertise 
available or are we relying too heavily on those 
whom we know by virtue of their previous com m it­
tee service? Certainly, the intern process has been 
helpful, but in addition I should like to see encour­
agement extended and opportunities provided to 
the newer members of the Association and to fu r­
ther encourage th a t appropriate balance between 
university, college and com m unity college a p ­
pointees be made.

3. Continuing Education. As a candidate I see a 
need to continue the emphasis placed on continu­
ing education opportunities. The 1984 ACRL sur­
vey distributed to a random  sample of 600 mem ­
bers re fle c te d  a m a jo r need fo r c o n tin u in g  
education. Of the ten items listed, it was ranked a 
close second to th a t of publications. There are a va­
riety of ways continuing education occurs w ithin 
the Association, including attendance at the an ­
nual convention, the national conferences, and 
pre-conference workshops. It is the chapters, how ­
ever, th a t enable the Association to reach out to the 
grassroots level of both members and potential 
members. This link must continue to be nourished. 
C o n tin u in g  education o p p ortunities th a t have 
been heavily based on courses and meetings offered 
at ALA Annual and M idwinter Conferences need 
to be extended to a series of learning opportunities 
in different formats, and different locations, and at 
different times.

4. Consumerism. As a candidate I see a critical 
need for academic libraries to pull together and 
unitedly address the rapid escalation of journal 
subscription prices. As one noted national library 
figure observed, “libraries have become hostages to

those publishers who have priced their journals be­
yond a fair p ro fit.” Journal prices continue to in­
crease at a much greater rate than other consumer 
goods. For example, the 1986 periodical subscrip­
tion price rose 8.9% as com pared to only a 1.9% 
increase in the Consumer Price Index. This prob­
lem has been further exacerbated w ith the declin­
ing dollar. Though this concern is one th a t relates 
more to the institution in which we work than the 
organization in which we hold membership, it is a 
problem th a t is exacting a heavy toll on the quality 
of our academic libraries. A basic working princi­
ple of this Association is th a t it “speaks for the aca­
demic library profession on issues of im portance 
t o . . .a c a d e m ic .. .lib ra rie s.” G iven th e fact th a t 
there are nearly 1,000 institutional, i.e. library, 
memberships in ACRL, it seems appropriate for 
the organization to vigorously address this m atter.

Obviously there are many other areas of concern 
th a t deserve attention beyond the four upon which 
I have focused. Since being nom inated I have a t ­
tem pted to contact a num ber of ACRL members 
and inquire after their specific concerns. A variety 
have been broached including such m atters as the 
development of output or perform ance measures, 
preservation, the role of rare book and special col­
lection libraries in times of fiscal constraint, and 
adm inistrative relationships between libraries and 
campus com puting organizations. Many of these 
issues are being reviewed by the various com m it­
tees and organized groups w ithin ACRL.

In 1968 Lawrence Clark Powell reflected on his 
life as a library organization man. He noted that 
professional organizations have a common life cy­
cle. They begin, he stated, “as small clusters of gre­
garious, dedicated individuals, gradually grow, 
proliferate, subdivide, and depersonalize, and be­
come powerful, useful, necessary—and tedious in 
their involved proceedings.” Of the Association of 
American Library Schools he said: “I can say noth­
ing either for it or against it. It is a nonentity.” Of 
the Special Libraries Association he said: “Though 
a member I found their publications and meetings 
intellectually arid and overly technical.” Of the As­
sociation of Research Libraries, where he served as 
an executive board member and also as chairm an, 
he said, “ T he proceedings never engaged me 
deeply, except for some brushes I had w ith Keyes 
M etcalf...” Though he said nothing specifically 
about ACRL he did say, “I was a good organization 
man. Although critical of professional groups, I 
never broke w ith them. I made myself an inside 
nuisance to some and a conscience voice to others.”

As a candidate I would welcome th a t opportu­
nity of becoming, if not an inside nuisance, at least 
a voice of conscience for the membership of this es­
teemed Association.

David B. Walch is director of libraries at Califor­
nia P o ly te c h n ic  S ta te  U n iversity, San L u is 
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