Volunteer for an ACRL Committee

Are you looking for ways to expand your professional network and contribute to ACRL? Committee volunteers help shape ACRL by advancing its strategic plan and influencing the direction of academic and research librarianship. Serving on a committee is one of the best ways to become involved and make an impact on the profession. If you’d like to become more engaged, ACRL Vice-President/President-Elect Cheryl Middleton invites you to volunteer to serve on a 2017–18 division or section committee.

Want to learn more about the ACRL appointment process?  The ACRL Membership Committee hosted a webcast on how the ACRL appointment process works for division-level committees, sections, interest groups, and discussion groups.  View the full recording here. 

The link to the volunteer form is included at the end of this page.

Rewards of volunteering

Volunteers benefit by:

  • Building ties with academic and research librarians around the country,
  • enhancing their leadership abilities through consensus building and project management,
  • sharing their experience with colleagues,
  • developing new expertise or updating knowledge in a current specialization, and
  • advancing the work of the association and the profession.

Volunteer requirements

Certain criteria must be met in order to serve on an ACRL committee. Volunteers must:

  • be a member of ALA and ACRL for the duration of the appointment,
  • be willing and able to participate in the activities of the committee, support its mission or concern, and carry out assignments in a timely manner, and
  • submit an electronic appointment acceptance form.

 Please limit your selections to a maximum of three committees, not including editorial boards.

Additionally, committee members should be aware of ACRL's Conflict of Interest Policy, which can be seen in the ACRL Guide to Policies and Procedures, chapter 15.3.

Appointment Process

Most of these appointments are made in the spring for terms beginning immediately after the ALA Annual Conference.

Division Committees: The Appointments Committee recommends to the president-elect of ACRL the names of members who might be suitable to fill the vacancies. The vice-president/president-elect makes the final appointments for the committees. 

Editorial or Publication Advisory Boards: The editors or chairs of editorial or publication advisory boards recommend to the Publications Coordinating Committee individuals to fill vacancies. The Publications Coordinating Committee is responsible for approving appointment recommendations and the vice-president/president-elect extends the appointment offer.

Sections: Section vice-chairs appoint the members of section committees.

Deadline

The online volunteer form must be completed by February 15, 2017, for consideration for 2017-18 appointments.  Most terms begin July 1, 2017.

Questions

For more information, please refer to Volunteer & Appointment Process and Member Service on ACRL Committees.

Questions about division-level appointments may be directed to the chair of the Appointments Committee, Erin L. Ellis, Assistant Dean, Research and Learning Division, University of Kansas, E-mail: eellis@ku.edu. 

Questions about section appointments may be directed to the vice-chair of each section. Full contact information is available from the section landing page.

Questions about the form may be directed to Allison Payne at apayne@ala.org or Megan Griffin at mgriffin@ala.org.

Volunteer Now

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