nov05b.indd


Why an ACRL blog? 
www.acrlblog.org 

ACRLog is a new blog for academic 
and research librarians, sponsored by 
ACRL. 

There are thousands of blogs on a 
multitude of topics, including several 
ALA division blogs. So, why would ACRL 
venture into the blogosphere? 

ACRLog has its origins in the essay “Si­
lence in the stacks” by Scott McLemmee, 
published on the Inside Higher Ed Web 
site. McLemme expressed his curiosity 
about the lack of a quintessential blog on 
academic librarianship.1 Certainly there 
are blogs by academic librarians on topics 
of interest to the academic and research 
library community, but nowhere in the 
blogosphere could one find a home for the 
full spectrum of issues facing academic 
and research libraries and those who work 
in them. And until now, no blog existed 
that reflected on the higher education en­
terprise and how the library fits into that 
bigger picture. 

That’s the void ACRLog seeks to fill. 
It’s a grand vision, and giving life to and 
sustaining any blog of this magnitude is 
work for more than one person. ACRLog 
is no exception. It will deliver content 
from a team of bloggers whose members 
are no strangers to voicing their opinions, 
tackling controversial issues, and writing 
about the value academic librarians bring 
to their academic communities. In short, 
they are passionate about the profession. 
The team approach also ensures cover­
age of the issues from a diversified set of 
perspectives. 

ACRLog advances the ACRL Strategic 
Plan 2020, which mandates “Increasing 
ACRL’s communication on major trends 
and issues in libraries.”And unlike many 
blogs, this one will give its readership 
a voice. ACRLog invites contributions 
from the membership. Guest commen­
taries, contributed conference reports, 
perspectives from ACRL chapters, and 
opinions about the latest trends and 
issues can all be shared within this 
blogspace. 

And like any good academic enter­
prise, ACRLog has a mission statement: 

ACRLog is a blog that aims to discuss 
the issues of the day in the fi eld of 
academic and research  librarianship. 
It will strive to get you thinking about 
what you do, why you do it, and how 
it fits into this enterprise we call higher 
education. We are passionate about 
academic librarianship so we will call it 
the way we see it.You may not always 
agree with us. When you do or don’t, 
let us know. If we get you thinking 
more deeply about the professional is­
sues that impact you, your library, your 
user community, and academic librari­
anship, then we are doing our job. 

But what if blogging is fairly new to you 
and you are in need of advice and support 
on how to best follow ACRLog? Now is a 
good time to learn more about RSS (Really 
Simple Syndication) and news aggregators 
because the best way to follow the blog is 
to subscribe to the feed through a news 
aggregator. It’s fairly easy to do and there 
is extensive help on how to get started. 
An excellent starting point for novices 
can be found at staff.philau.edu/bells/rss. 
htm.This Web page has links to a number 
of tutorials and teaches the basics of ag­
gregators. 

ACRLog is online at www.acrlblog. 
org.We hope you will turn to it for ideas, 
commentary, and reflection on the profes­
sional issues of the day. ACRLog is an ad­
venturous endeavor, and we look forward 
to having you join us for the ride.—ACRL 
Blog Advisory Board 2 

Notes 
1. Scott McLemee,“Silence in the stacks,” 

Inside Higher Ed, June 9, 2005. www. 
insidehighered.com/views/2005/06/09 
/mclemee. 

2. Members of the Blog Advisory Board 
are Steven Bell, Barbara Fister, Marc Meola, 
and Scott Walter. 

November 2005  725 C&RL News 

www.acrlblog
http:www.acrlblog.org