novtoc 500 College & Research Libraries September 1998 Editorial The Growing Importance of State Library Associations Change is occurring faster than ever be­ fore in the history of libraries. This un­ precedented rapidity in change is espe­ cially noticeable in academic libraries. Moreover, change is now more discon­ tinuous, more ambiguous, and certainly involves greater risk. There is greater competition in the delivery of library ser­ vices. One of the primary driving forces of change in academic libraries is technol­ ogy. Among its many positive attributes, technology has enabled the library to be­ come a much more integral part of the academic enterprise. Moreover, we should expect even greater things from the evolving technology. More Continuing Education, More Training To keep current with the various changes occurring in libraries, library staff has to be given the opportunity to engage in continuing education activities and train­ ing sessions. Without this opportunity, it will, in time, fall farther behind in its ef­ fectiveness in organizing, delivering, and accessing those components and services expected by students and faculty. We are being swept downstream by a torrent of change while, concurrently, fewer funds are available to assist library staff in re­ tooling and training. The days when change in academic libraries resembled a slow-running river are long gone. Unfortunately, many library staff members cannot attend the various na­ tional and regional library conferences and meetings due to a lack of travel funds. An examination of the composition of the various ALA committees reveals that there are far more administrators than nonadministrative librarians. And there is next to no sup­ port staff on these important committees or in attendance at the ALA midwinter meetings and annual conferences. This is a sad commentary on a profession that depends heavily on nonprofessional staff to get the bulk of the work done in aca­ demic libraries. The lack of opportunity for support staff to participate in regional and national library and information sci­ ence conferences is now being com­ pounded by a blurring of work responsi­ bilities and duties between librarians and support staff. More of the daily applica­ tion of technology in academic libraries can be—and is being—accommodated by support staff. These staff members require regular updating of their skills—and this updating of skills extends far beyond technology. Role of State Library Associations All fifty states have a state library asso­ ciation. Most of these associations focus on advancing and promoting libraries and librarianship in their respective states. In addition, most of them have a The days when change in academic libraries resembled a slow-running river are long gone. college and university section/division, along with sections/divisions for other types of libraries. Annual conferences, section meetings, strategic plans, and ongoing continuing education opportu­ nities are common elements of state li­ brary associations. 500 Editorial 501 Moreover, state library associations normally have a hand-in-glove working relationship with their state libraries. A positive, constructive working relation­ ship between these two organizations can pay many dividends, especially when attempting to get additional funding from the state legislature. The ACRL currently has forty-two state chapters that work closely with state li­ brary associations’ college and university sections. The ACRL chapters play an im­ portant role in introducing best practices in various areas and providing topical discussions on evolving developments in academic libraries. ACRL members who cannot attend the national conferences have an opportunity to participate in ACRL programs within their own states. Some ACRL chapters are regional and are capable of offering expanded programs. Additional Responsibilities Based on my experience as president of three state library associations (Arizona, Colorado, and West Virginia) and attend­ ing several conferences of other state li­ brary associations, I have been quite im­ pressed with the enthusiasm, energy, and work shown by their members. Some state library associations (e.g., the Texas Library Association) are well known for holding effective and impressive annual conferences. I served as a speaker at the Texas Library Association 1989 and 1998 annual conferences. Even though I was extremely pleased with what I observed at the 1989 conference, the 1998 confer­ ence was "megaimpressive.” Its programs focused on the key issues facing the pro­ fession today and offered more than one would expect from a state library asso­ ciation. In addition, there were more ex­ hibitors than one would anticipate. Why are the TLA conferences well at­ tended? Over the years, the TLA has taken its members' needs seriously and has de­ signed its programs to exceed their ex­ pectations. Other state library associa­ tions do very well and can serve as a model for those that are struggling. Li­ brary associations in states with large populations are expected to have an ad­ vantage over those in less populated states. However, size should not be per­ ceived as a handicap when program planning is at stake. Indeed, I have wit­ nessed many excellent programs spon­ sored by library associations in small And the importance of state library associations will become greater as libraries evolve into learning organizations. states. The magnitude of the ever-changing environment in academic libraries will expand dramatically as we move into the twenty-first century. It is anticipated that nearly all of an academic library’s staff will experience more training, re­ training, and, in a sense, regular renew­ ing. And the importance of state library associations will become greater as li­ braries evolve into learning organiza­ tions. Peter M. Senge believes that the organization that will truly excel in the future will be the one that discovers how to tap people’s commitment and capac­ ity to learn at all of its levels.1 Along with the professionals, the support staff in academic libraries must be engaged in an ongoing learning process. Support staff should not be perceived as sec­ ond-class citizens in any library; they can no longer be ignored and their skills must be upgraded on a regular basis. The importance of state library asso­ ciations in advancing libraries and librarianship is magnifying each year. They are to be applauded for their fine work! And they should be expected to deliver more in the future. I think they will. DONALD E. RIGGS Note 1. Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (New York: Doubleday Currency, 1990), 14. << /ASCII85EncodePages false /AllowTransparency false /AutoPositionEPSFiles true /AutoRotatePages /All /Binding /Left /CalGrayProfile (Dot Gain 20%) /CalRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CalCMYKProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2) /sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Warning /CompatibilityLevel 1.3 /CompressObjects /Tags /CompressPages true /ConvertImagesToIndexed true /PassThroughJPEGImages true /CreateJobTicket false /DefaultRenderingIntent /Default /DetectBlends true /DetectCurves 0.0000 /ColorConversionStrategy /CMYK /DoThumbnails false /EmbedAllFonts true /EmbedOpenType false /ParseICCProfilesInComments true /EmbedJobOptions true /DSCReportingLevel 0 /EmitDSCWarnings false /EndPage -1 /ImageMemory 1048576 /LockDistillerParams false /MaxSubsetPct 1 /Optimize true /OPM 1 /ParseDSCComments true /ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true /PreserveCopyPage true /PreserveDICMYKValues true /PreserveEPSInfo true /PreserveFlatness false /PreserveHalftoneInfo true /PreserveOPIComments false /PreserveOverprintSettings true /StartPage 1 /SubsetFonts false /TransferFunctionInfo /Apply /UCRandBGInfo /Preserve /UsePrologue false /ColorSettingsFile () /AlwaysEmbed [ true ] /NeverEmbed [ true ] /AntiAliasColorImages false /CropColorImages false /ColorImageMinResolution 151 /ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleColorImages true /ColorImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /ColorImageResolution 300 /ColorImageDepth -1 /ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1 /ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.10000 /EncodeColorImages true /ColorImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterColorImages true /ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /ColorACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /ColorImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000ColorImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages false /GrayImageMinResolution 151 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.10000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /GrayImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000GrayImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages false /MonoImageMinResolution 600 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.16667 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict << /K -1 >> /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped /False /CreateJDFFile false /Description << /ENU (IPC Print Services, Inc. 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