march08b.indd ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, January 2008 Highlights of the Board’s Midwinter meetings During the 2008 ALA Midwinter Meeting rectors met on January 12 and 15 and took in Philadelphia, the ACRL Board of Di­ the following actions. Strategic Area: Higher Education and Research Goal Area: Learning—ACRL and its members are recognized as collaborative leaders and partners in ensuring that students graduate with lifelong learning skills, improving techniques for assessing learning outcomes, and in creating environments for discovery. Approved the new “Information Literacy Standards for Anthropology and Sociology Students” (www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstan­ dards/standardsguidelines.cfm). Approved an amended FY09 Strategic Initiative Action Plan proposal from ACRL’s Women’s Studies Section (WSS). The Board directed staff to include funding of up to $1,890 to send a panel of two (preferably a librarian and faculty member) to the National Women’s Studies Association Annual confer­ ence (2009) to discuss the subject­specifi c information literacy standards for the inter­ disciplinary field of women’s studies now under development. Goal Area: Advocacy—ACRL has greater influence on the higher education and research en­ vironment. Approved the following recommenda­ tions of the CUPA­HR Position Descriptions of Academic Librarians Task Force: 1) Approved the task force’s “Final Posi­ tion Descriptions of Academic Librarians” for transmittal to CUPA­HR for inclusion in their fall 2008 Salary Survey–to replace all current academic librarian listings in the survey. 2) Assigned responsibility to ACRL’s Com­ mittee on the Status of Academic Librarians for maintaining and updating the listing for academic librarians and CUPA­HR publica­ tions. 3) Directed that ACRL create a highly visible Web link or portal to present the position descriptions and to include instruc­ tions about using them in discussions with Human Resources personnel at college and universities. 4) Additionally, the Board approved an extension of the task force through the 2008 ALA Annual Conference to advise the Com­ mittee on the Status of Academic Librarians as it works to implement the second recommen­ dation and to assist ACRL staff with the imple­ mentation of the third recommendation. Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ e­mail vote of July 25–August 1, 2007, that approved the CUPA­HR Position Descriptions of Academic Librarians Task Force’s posi­ tion descriptions for academic librarians for CUPA­HR. After submitting these position descriptions, CUPA­HR responded that they 166C&RL News March 2008 www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstan would only accept 15 position descriptions Approved funding not to exceed $15,000 at most for academic librarians, leading to to support a one­day retreat for the ACRL Task the final set approved at this meeting as Force on Positioning the 21st­Century Library in noted above. the Competitive Academy in the spring of 2008. Strategic Area: The Profession Goal Area: Continuous Learning—ACRL provides continuous learning opportunities en­ abling members to strengthen their effectiveness and achieve recognition as valued contribu­ tors to their academic and research communities. Approved the further investigation, ex­ ploration, and development of an ACRL Consulting Services program pilot. Approved a business plan for an ACRL­ driven applied research service, including $113,000 for development expenditures in FY08, which includes a consultant to help assist staff and the advisory board with iden­ tifying topics, developing the research ques­ tions and reviewing the reports, as well as $10,000 to fund an initial face­to­face meet­ ing of the advisory board. Strategic Area: The Association Goal Area: Membership—ACRL’s membership growth builds on retaining core member­ ship while recruiting from new and diverse communities. Approved the second of two required votes to place bylaws revisions that allow for the creation of a wider array of sub­ groups, collectively known as Communi­ ties of Practice, on the 2008 ballot for a membership vote. (See article on page 170.) Charged the Executive Director to re­ spond to a proposal from the Chinese American Library Association (CALA). The response should recommend that CALA use the ACRL Forum electronic discussion list to recruit potential speakers for the CALA 21st­Century Seminar program; note that ACRL has a process in place to man­ age translation of its standards; and state that the Board appreciates their interest in ACRL’s involvement with CALA’s program, but cannot support their request at this time as ACRL focuses on other strategic priorities. Approved the following actions based on the recommendations in the ACRL Sec­ ond Life Task Force’s fi nal report: • approved up to $100 to purchase a parcel of space for ACRL/Choice to create a presence on ALA Info Island; • asked the ACRL President to appoint a knowledgeable ACRL member to set up, furnish, and decorate the ACRL/Choice space in Second Life by June 1, 2008; • approved $500 to be provided to the person appointed to set up the ACRL/Choice space for Second Life expenses for furniture and related event expenses during this fi s­ cal year; and • reconstituted the Second Life Task Force with member appointments through June 30, 2008, to work with ACRL staff and March 2008 167 C&RL News other appropriate ACRL groups to identify specific informational materials and delivery mechanisms to provide to Second Life visi­ tors, to develop a position description and call for volunteers for the ACRL Second Life administrator position, to investigate the possibilities and related costs for hosting a virtual event to tie in to the 2009 ACRL Na­ tional Conference through discussions with the conference Virtual Planning Committee, to recommend promotional materials and approaches for increasing awareness of this new space/service to ACRL members, and to suggest possible metrics for assessing the impact and potential of ongoing investment in the Second Life space as an assistance and a recruitment tool. The final report and recommendations of this task force will be submitted to the Board for further action at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference. Goal Area: Sustainability—ACRL will have the fiscal resources, staff expertise, and organi­ zational structure to advance the association’s strategic plan. Approved the minutes of the ACRL Board of Directors meetings held at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference (www.acrl.org/ala/acrl /aboutacrl/acrlboard/acrlboarddirectors. cfm). Approved the second of two required votes to place various procedural and edi­ torial bylaws revisions on the 2008 ballot for a membership vote. (See article on page 170.) Approved a revision of ACRL’s profes­ sional development budgeting practices to recognize 90 percent of registration rev­ enues instead of 80 percent. Directed that a letter be drafted by the Ex­ ecutive Director and signed by the President expressing concern over recommended pol­ icy changes in the ALA Division Budget Re­ view Guidelines specifying a 5 percent bud­ get to actual variance instead of 10 percent. Renamed the Blog Advisory Board the ACRLog Advisory Board and approved revi­ sions to the advisory board’s composition. Approved the addition of three editorial board positions to the C&RL Editorial Board to allow for broader diversity of board com­ position. Approved changes to the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) bylaws revising the duties of the section’s past­ chair. Approved changes to the Instruction Section (IS) bylaws revising the composi­ tion and terms for its Executive Commit­ tee’s members­at­large. The Board also approved an exception to the standing interpretation of the ACRL bylaws to al­ low the proposed IS bylaws changes to go the additional step of being placed on the spring 2008 ballot for IS membership approval by voting. Dissolved the Task Force on Not­for­ Profit Entrepreneurial Best Practices. Approved a resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of ACRL’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) and directed the ACRL Councilor to take it to ALA Coun­ cil for consideration by that body during the Midwinter Meeting. Approved the appointment of the chair of the ACRL Assessment Committee (or his/ her designee) as an ex­officio member of the President’s Program Planning Committee. Confirmed the next steps for the ACRL Assessment Committee to take in fulfi lling its charge: 1. The committee will focus its attention on working with the current ACRL President’s 168C&RL News March 2008 www.acrl.org/ala/acrl Program Planning Committee to ensure measurable outcomes are developed for the current president’s priority initiatives. Assess­ ment Committee members will have input into the language of the outcomes so that they can select/develop assessment methods before the activities are underway. 2. Assessment of initiatives from previ­ ous presidencies will not be handled by the Assessment Committee. A consultant could work on these, as well as an evaluation of the early assessment activities by ACRL chapters, if the Board desires. 3. During the next year, the committee will focus on the design and implementation of outcomes­based evaluation and other as­ sessment methods of the activities in support of the president­elect’s goals and priorities. The committee will make recommendations to the Board, as necessary, for contracting with a consultant and/or increasing the num­ ber of members to serve on the Assessment Committee. Endorsed proposed changes to the ALA Code of Ethics, as presented in the draft available prior to the Midwinter Meeting. Approved an offi cial policy about the use of action plan funding, stating that “Stra­ tegic Initiative Action Plan funding is to be used only for the approved project. Unex­ pended funds revert to the ACRL net asset balance.” Confirmed that ACRL’s Coordinating Committee structure will continue in its present form—with appropriate structural evaluation as needed—with next steps including addressing recommendations stemming from a recent survey of that structure. March 2008 169 C&RL News