ACRL Government Relations Committee

Charge

Work with the ACRL Board and staff to formulate the ACRL legislative agenda seeking input from other ACRL committees and leaders. Assists the ACRL Board in efforts to incorporate the ACRL legislative agenda into the ALA legislative agenda. Serves in an advisory role to the ACRL Government Relations Specialist.

Roster

Rachel Bridgewater (Chair, July 1, 2012, to July 22, 2013)
Dr. Jonathan Miller (Vice-Chair, July 1, 2012, to July 22, 2013)
Dr. Dwayne K. Buttler (Member, July 1, 2012, to July 22, 2013)
Mr. Rocco Daniel DeBonis, Jr. (Member, July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014)
Mrs. Christine Fruin (Member, July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014)
Ms. Mary Mallory (Member, July 1, 2011, to July 22, 2013)
Dr. Jonathan Miller (Member, July 1, 2011, to July 22, 2013)
Elizabeth Smart (Member, July 1, 2011, to July 22, 2013)
Catherine B. Soehner (Member, July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014)
Lynne E. Bradley (Ex-Officio Member, July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014)
Timothy Dodge (Ex-Officio Member, July 1, 2011, to July 22, 2013)
Ms. Maggie Farrell (Board Liaison, July 1, 2012, to July 22, 2013)
Megan R. Griffin (Staff Liaison, July 1, 2012, to July 22, 2013)
Kara Malenfant (Staff Liaison, July 1, 2012, to July 22, 2013)

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Displaying active committee roster as of 06/19/2013. Last retrieved on 06/19/2013. Members can log in to view full contact information for committee members.

Specific Tasks

  • Recommend an ACRL legislative agenda to the Board before the Spring Executive Committee Meeting;
  • Keep the ACRL Board up to date on the activities and discussions of the ALA Committee on Legislation;
  • Monitor the Legislative Advocacy Plan and make suggestions for improvement as needed

Public Posts from ALA Connect

Composition

  • A minimum of five members (i.e. a chair, vice-chair, and three members)
  • Chair will serve as ex-officio member on the ALA Legislative Assembly
  • Ex-officio members will include the Chapters Council Library Legislation Network Coordinator (appointed by Chapters Council), the Director of Government Relations of the ALA Washington Office, and the chair of the ACRL Copyright Committee
  • Additional appointments at the discretion of the Vice-President/President-Elect and Appointments Committee

Resources

ACRL Legislative Agenda

Origin

The ACRL Board approved a revised charge for the Government Relations Committee in 1996. In 2005, the ACRL Board approved a revised charge that includes a revised statement on legislative agenda specifying the committee is "seeking formal input from the Scholarly Communications Committee, the Copyright Committee, and other committees and ACRL leaders as appropriate." The charge was also updated to say, "The Committee will monitor the Legislative Advocacy Plan and make suggestions for improvement as needed. In addition, the Committee will support the ACRL Government Relations Specialist to ensure success of that position Members of the GRC may be asked to write position papers expanding on Legislative Agenda items." In 2005, the Government Relations Committee was included as a component committee of the Advocacy Committee. In 2009, the charged was revised a second time to change the timing of the Legislative Agenda. It was also redefined as a stand-alone divisional committee when the coordinating committee was reclassified as a standard committee, with no coordinating committee umbrella structure.

Get Involved

Volunteer applications for ACRL division-level committees are accepted through February 15 for service the following committee term, which begins July 1. Visit http://www.ala.org/acrl/membership/volunteer/volunteer for more information and a link to the volunteer form.

Staff Liaison

Kara Malenfant
Senior Strategist for Special Initiatives
Association of College & Research Libraries
American Library Association
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL  60611-2788
Work: 312-280-2510
E-mail: kmalenfant@ala.org