College and Research Libraries


Message from the Executive Secretary 

W HENEVER a group of librarians met during the past year or so, the 
Association of College and Reference Li-
braries and its activities were probably the 
subject of more discussions than any other 
division of the American Library Associa-
tion. This is all fine. It is a heal thy 
situation when an organization is doing 
things-and is expected to do things. 

You are all very much interested in the 
new Executive Secretary's office and want 
it to succeed. Many of you have already 
contributed to its success by answering 
Charles H. Brown's request for a state-
ment of preferences in regard to the 
activities that might well be performed by 
a national professional library association. 

Your Executive Secretary would like 
for every member of the Association of 
College and Reference Libraries to feel 
that this is his organization. I would be 
pleased if every member would say to him-
self, "Now if I were the A.C.R.L. Execu-
tive Secretary, I would do such and such," 
and then follow this by actually sitting 
down and sending in whatever his thoughts 
might be. All such suggestions will be 
welcomed and will aid in the direction of 
A.C.R.L. through the period ahead-a 
period that we are confident will find more 
and more leadership in the library profes-
sion coming from university and college 
librarians. 

It is obvious that all suggestions cannot 
be carried out, and there is a great danger 
in spreading our work too thin. Major 
ideas submitted will be presented to the 

I 
officers and the board of directors, who 
may appoint committees to explore them 
further. 

This year our board of directors has ap-
proved President Carlson's program for 
the year, which he presented at the San 
Francisco Conference, and has approved 
the appointment of four special com-
mittees which have now been .set up. 
These committees are : 

I. A committee on membership in the As-
sociation of College and Reference Libraries 

2. A committee on recruiting the type of 
librarian needed in the college, university, 
and reference fields 

3· A committee to consider the educational 
preparation and qualifications needed by col-
lege and university librarians, to promote 
development of these qualifications through 
in-service training, and to work closely with 
the library schools to assist them in trans-
mitting to their students the needed qualifica-
tions 

4· A committee to consider the financial 
needs of our association and to suggest a 
program for their realization. 

President Carlson's proposals are calcu-
lated to bring us college, university, and 
reference librarians of the proper learning 
and scholarly dispositions; librarians who 
will supply the type of library service 
which the American college and university 
must have. As President Carlson said in 
his address, "the most important thing in 
any profession is the people who practice 
it and the new people it attracts." 

These special committees need the help 
and support of all of us. 

N. 0RWIN RusH, Executive Secretary 

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