sept08b.indd


ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, 
June 2008 
Highlights of the Board’s Annual Conference meetings 

During the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in rectors met June 28 and July 1 and took the 
Anaheim, California, the ACRL Board of Di­ 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. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of April 22–April 29 approving 
the collaboration with AASCU and SCUP to 
develop and cosponsor a Webcast, tentatively 
scheduled for early June 2008. 

Approved the creation of a Task Force on 
Assessment Skills with a two­year term. The 
task force is charged to: 1) gather “best prac­
tices” for various assessment targets, which 
includes activities such as accreditation, 

program review, service improvement, needs 
analysis, and setting goals and outcomes re­
lated to their institutions; 2) identify relevant 
assessment resources (services, experts and 
consultants, guides, online tutorials); 3) create 
a presence on the ACRL Web site and recom­
mend ongoing responsibility for oversight 
and development; and 4) identify topics and 
potential presenters for a workshop (or series 
of workshops) that can be offered to develop 
members’ assessment skills 

Goal Area: Scholarship—ACRL and its members are recognized as authorities on knowledge 
management; and the creation, collection, preservation, access, and exchange of information. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of April 15–April 22 approving 
the use of ACRL’s name as a cosponsor of 
the 2008 Sparky awards and authorizes the 
Scholarly Communication Committee to 
oversee its involvement with the award, up to 
and including contributions to planning and 
providing a judge for the contest. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of June 3–June 9 approving 

support for revisions to Intellectual Free­
dom Policy Manual and that the manual be 
adopted by ALA Council at the ALA Annual 
Conference. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of June 10–June 17 conveying its 
support of the SCOAP3 efforts as a worth­
while experiment in scholarly publishing 
business models to the SCOAP3 principals 
and to the ACRL community. 

Goal Area: Advocacy—ACRL has greater influence on the higher education and research 
environment. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ nating Diane Rein to the position of ALA 
e­mail vote of March 13–March 20 nomi­ representative to the Section Committee of 

C&RL News September 2008  458 



ACRL Board 2007–08 (l to r): (back) Locke J. Morrisey, Mary Ellen K. Davis, Karen A. Williams, Lynne 
O. King, Mary M. Carr, Janis M. Bandelin, Michael J. LaCroix; (front) Elizabeth A. Dupuis, Debbie 
L. Malone, Erika C. Linke, Julie B. Todaro, Pamela Snelson, Theresa S. Byrd, Lori A. Goetsch. 

the AAAS Section on Information, Comput­
ing and Communication (Section T) from 
2009–2011. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of April 4–April 15 approving the 
2008 ACRL Legislative Agenda. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of June 13–June 20 approv­
ing ACRL’s support of the Federal Library 
and Information Center Impact Statement 
and commending the ALA Committee on 
Legislation’s Government Information Sub­
committee for their leadership in drafting 
this important document. Additionally, 
ACRL suggested several changes to the 
introduction to clarify the purpose of the 
document and included other minor com­
ments for consideration. 

Reaffirmed existing document, “Guideline 
on Collective Bargaining.” www.acrl.org/ala 
/acrl/acrlstandards/guidelinecollective.cfm 

Appr oved the “Cor e Competencies 
for Special Collections Professionals.” 

w w w . a c r l . o rg / a l a / a c r l / a c r l s t a n d a r d s  
/comp4specollect.cfm 

Approved revisions for “Guidelines 
on the Selection and Transfer of Materials 
from General Collections to Special Collec­
tions.” www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards 
/selectransfer.cfm 

Appr oved the “Standar ds for Dis­
t a n c e  L e a r n i n g  L i b r a r y  S e r v i c e s . ”  
w w w . a c r l . o rg / a l a / a c r l / a c r l s t a n d a r d s  
/guidelinesdistancelearning.cfm 

Approved the “Political Science Research 
Competency Guidelines.” www.acrl.org/ala 
/acrl/acrlstandards/PoliSciGuide.pdf 

Approved the recommendation from the 
Information Literacy Advisory Committee to 
not revise the “Information Literacy Compe­
tency Standards for Higher Education” and 
to ensure that the document be reviewed no 
later than 2010 (ten years from adoption) or 
upon completion of a review of information 
literacy structure and priorities within ACRL, 
whichever comes fi rst. 

September 2008  459 C&RL News 

www.acrl.org/ala
www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards
www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards
www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards
www.acrl.org/ala


ACRL Board 2008–09 (l to r): (back) Locke J. Morrisey, Mary Ellen K. Davis, Linda A. Kopecky, 
Karen A. Williams, Mary M. Carr, Janis M. Bandelin, Michael J. LaCroix; (front) Elizabeth A. 
Dupuis, Debbie L. Malone, Lori A. Goetsch, Erika C. Linke, Julie B. Todaro, Theresa S. Byrd. Not 
shown: John A. Lehner. 

Strategic Area: The Profession 
Goal Area: Continuous Learning—ACRL provides continuous learning opportunities enabling 
members to strengthen their effectiveness and achieve recognition as valued contributors to 
their academic and research communities. 

Approved the following professional 
development programs. 

ALA Midwinter Meeting—Denver, January 
28, 2009: 

• Bring It On Home! Creating Custom 
Search Plug­Ins for Your Library 

• Do You Q? Looking at Your Users in a 
New Way 

• Nobody Told Me I’d Have to Teach! 
Strategies for the Accidental Instruction Li­
brarian 

ALA Annual Conference—Chicago, July 
10, 2009: 

• The Not­So­Distant Librarian: Online 
Library Instruction to Engage Students and 
Faculty 

• Instructional Design for Librarians: The 
What, Why, and How of ID 

• Discovering Digitization: Defi ning Your 
Path to Digital Access 

Directed Western European Studies 
Section (WESS) to work with ACRL staff 
to submit in September 2008 an expanded 
proposal to hold a 2010 International Confer­
ence, so that it can be considered at the Fall 
2008 Executive Committee meeting. 

Approved Professional Development 
Coordinating Committee (PDCC’s) recom­
mendation for a competitive, peer­reviewed 
[ALA Annual Conference] conference program 
selection process from which only the ACRL 
President’s Program would be exempt and 
that PDCC give full consideration to feedback 
heard from Communities of Practice. 

Approved delegating to PDCC the review 
and approval process of ACRL professional 
development workshops and preconferences 
to be offered at ALA Midwinter Meetings and 
Annual Conferences. 

C&RL News September 2008  460 



Goal Area: Leadership—ACRL members achieve recognition as leaders and advocates for 
academic and research libraries. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of March 6–March 13 approving 
ACRL’s cosponsorship of the CHEMA wom­
en’s leadership institute, along with ACUI, 
NACUBO and other CHEMA colleagues, with 
a focus on midlevel women managers who 
aspire to senior leadership positions in higher 
education, understanding that some staff time 
will be required to market the program, that 
some volunteer time will be needed to review 
the applications, and that ACRL’s maximum 
direct financial exposure would be limited 
to $7,750. 

Endorsed the nominations of six ACRL 
members to serve on IFLA standing com­
mittees for Art Libraries (ARTS), Information 
Literacy (IS, shared with AASL), Rare Books 
and Manuscripts (RBMS), Science and Tech­
nology Libraries (STS), Social Science Librar­
ies (EBSS and ANSS), University Libraries 

and other General Research Libraries (ULS), 
and forwarded those nominations to the 
ALA International Relations Committee for 
further action. 

Charged the Government Relations Com­
mittee chair, the Government Relations Special­
ist, and an ACRL Board member to develop crite­
ria and build a pool of member content experts 
that would advise the Board, the Government 
Relations Specialist, and the Government Rela­
tions Committee on government information 
issues and initiatives (e.g., digitization, Federal 
Depository Library Program) and that this initial 
pool (and criteria) be shared with the Board by 
the Fall 2008 Executive Committee meeting. 

Approved the appointment of Beth 
Whittaker, associate professor and head of 
special collections cataloging at Ohio State 
University, as RBM editor for a three­year 
term (2008–2011). 

Strategic Area: The Association 
Goal Area: Membership—ACRL’s membership growth builds on retaining core membership 
while recruiting from new and diverse communities. 

Approved the minutes of the ACRL 
Board of Directors meeting held at the 2008 
ALA Midwinter Meeting. www.acrl.org/ala/acrl 
/aboutacrl/acrlboard/acrlboarddirectors.cfm 

Approved changing the name of the Ad­
vocacy Coordinating Committee to Coordinat­
ing Committee for ACRL Advocacy Initiatives 
and revising its charge. The charge may be 
found at www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/aboutacrl 
/acrlcomm/committees.cfm 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of February 11–February 19 ap­
proving the Joint ACRL/LAMA Interdivisional 
Committee on Building Resources Action charge 
and composition. The charge and composition 
may be found at www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/abouta­
crl/acrlcomm/committees.cfm. 

Declined creating separate student 
chapters but asked the Membership Advisory 
Committee to work with the Board to identify 
ways to engage students in ACRL activities 
and membership. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Direc­
tors’ e­mail vote of February 11–February 
19 reviewing the Slavic and East European 
Section (SEES) Revised FY09 Action Plan and 
requesting that SEES answer specifi c ques­
tions and resubmit if it wanted to pursue 
action plan funding. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of June 10–June 16 approving 
the following polices related to interest 
group (see sidebar on page 462). 

September 2008  461 C&RL News 

www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/abouta
www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/aboutacrl
www.acrl.org/ala/acrl


Goal Area: Sustainability—ACRL will have the fiscal resources, staff expertise, and organi­
zational structure to advance the association’s strategic plan. 

Approved disbanding the Alliances for 
New Directions in Teaching/Learning Discus­
sion Group. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of February 15–February 22 ap­
proving the signing and execution of the 
Purchase and Sale Agreement for Unit 3, 
Liberty Square Commercial Condominium 
in Middletown, Connecticut, and the use 
of CHOICE assets for this purchase per the 
Memorandum of Understanding between 
ALA and ACRL dated January 18, 2007. 

Approved the agreement proposed by 
Bank of America to finance the purchase of 
the CHOICE offi ce space. 

Approved rescinding the “Dissolution of 
Section” policy. 

Confirmed the ACRL Board of Directors’ 
e­mail vote of April 16–April 28 approving a 
change to the approved use of the funds in 
the 2007–2008 ANSS Action Plan. 

Approved giving the ACRL Executive 
Director the authority to approve minor 
changes in the implementation of Board­ap­
proved action plans. 

Approved the FY2009 ACRL and CHOICE 
budgets with total ACRL revenues of $4,214,397, 
total ACRL expenses of $4,524,522, and total 
CHOICE revenues of $3,459,070, and total 
CHOICE expenses of $3,636,390. 

Forming and managing an ACRL interest group 

1) Formation of interest groups. To 
form an interest group, members must 
complete an Interest Group Proposal 
form that includes name of the pro­
posed group, identification of the initial 
convener(s), proposed scope, and an 
explanation of how this is either a unique 
group or to identify groups it overlaps 
with and to articulate how this interest 
group is different. This proposal is re­
viewed by the ACRL Board, which has the 
authority to create new interest groups. 

2) Dues. As part of the ACRL member 
dues, each ACRL member can pick a com­
bination of sections and interest groups, 
(with a maximum of two sections as is 
current policy). For example: two sections 
and one interest group; one section and two 
interest Groups; or three interest groups. 
There is a fee for additional memberships 
as determined by the ACRL Board. 

3) Funding. Interest groups are allo­
cated $150 per year, which can be used to 
support the work of the interest group, as 
allowed by ACRL policies and procedures. 

Interest groups proposing special projects 
that directly support the ACRL Strategic 
Plan are also eligible for and encouraged 
to submit an Action Plan Proposal to apply 
for special funding for the project. 

4) Governance. Interest groups are gov­
erned by a steering committee, consisting 
of a convener, incoming convener, and past 
convener. The steering committee is the 
only group that would appear in the ALA 
Handbook of Organization, since they are 
the only members who need to sign formal 
appointment acceptance forms. Each inter­
est group will determine the mechanism for 
selecting its incoming conveners. 

5) Continuance. Interest groups reach 
a sunset date every three years. At the re­
newal stage, an interest group may request 
to be dissolved, may request to be renewed 
with the same charge, or may propose a 
replacement group with a different name 
and charge. If the interest group takes none 
of these actions, the interest group will 
automatically dissolve three years from the 
date of its authorization. 

C&RL News September 2008  462