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Get involved with ACRL: Volunteer to serve on a division or section committee
C&RL News, October 2003
Vol. 64, No. 9
ACRL division and section committee volunteers are an integral part of the association and drive our success. Committee members help shape the organization by implementing its strategic plan (available at http://www.acrl.org, click on “About ACRL,” then “What is ACRL?”), reshaping the association, and influencing the direction of academic and research librarianship.
If you have been looking for a way to become more involved with ACRL and weren’t sure what steps to take, consider volunteering for a division or section committee. Vice president Frances Maloy invites all ACRL members to contact the Appointments Committee about serving on one of ACRL’s 23 committees for next year. Members may also contact one of the section vice chairs regarding service on one of the many section committees.
The benefits of volunteering
Volunteers not only give to the association, they get back from the association. As an ACRL division or section committee member, you will:
• build ties with academic and research librarians around the country,
• enhance your leadership abilities through consensus building and persuasion,
• share your expertise with colleagues, and
• gain additional expertise by learning more about a new area of academic librarianship or picking up new ideas for your current area.
The appointment process
Appointments are made at both the section and division levels. The ACRL vice president is responsible for the committee appointments at the division level for the year he or she serves as president. Likewise, section vice chairs are responsible for committee appointments in their respective sections the year they serve as chair. Committee slates are usually completed shortly after the Midwinter Meeting during the year in which the individual serves as president-elect or chair-elect. The ACRL Appointments Committee assists the president-elect in this process in an advisory capacity.
Factors influencing appointment
Although the emphasis in the appointment process may vary from year to year according to the prerogatives of the president-elect and section chairs, the same factors are considered. They include:
• Evidence of potential committee member’s interest. Have you attended the meetings and introduced yourself to the chair? Do you have previous experience that relates to the work of the committee? Have you indicated your interest on the volunteer form?
• Demographics and composition of committee. A balance is sought with respect to type of library (community college, college, or university), geographic representation, ethnic diversity, and gender. Those who have not had the opportunity to serve on an ACRL committee are encouraged to volunteer.
• The recommendation of the current committee chair. Current committee chairs are asked to suggest potential members. Although all of these factors are considered, the final appointments are the prerogative of the ACRL president-elect and the section chair-elects.
How to apply
1. Select the committees that interest you. The ALA Handbook of Organization lists all of ACRL’s committees and their charges. (Ed. note: The handbook will be available online in mid-October, with a print edition mailed to members who have requested it.) Attend the committee’s meetings at the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference to help you decide if those are the activities that interest you.
2. Submit a volunteer form. Complete the volunteer form included with this article. (Ed. note: This form is also available on ACRL’s Web site, go to www.acrl.org and select “Forms” from the Quicklinks drop down menu.)
Be sure to cover all of the items asked for in the background information section of the form. If you have attended committee meetings or programs, mention that. Fill out one form for ACRL division committees and a different form for each ACRL section committee you volunteer to serve on.
Send the ACRL committee volunteer form to Linda Brown at the address on the bottom of the volunteer form; send the section volunteer forms to the appropriate section chair-elects (see list of addresses below).
3. Introduce yourself. Talk with committee members. Express your interest to the committee chair. Explain how you might contribute to the work of the committee.
4. Volunteer again . . . and again. If you are not successful in being appointed one year, volunteer again the next year . . . and the next.
Remember that a multitude of factors—number of appointments made, number of volunteers for each committee, number of volunteers from your type of library or your geographic area—determine the actual appointment, and these factors change from year to year.
ACRL section appointments
ACRL has 17 sections (listed below). You will find a description of their areas of responsibility in the ALA Handbook of Organization, 2003–04. The chair-elect of a section appoints the chair and members of all section committees. Most of these appointments are made in the spring for terms beginning immediately after the ALA Annual Conference.
If you would like to be considered for appointment as a chair or member of a section committee, fill out the ACRL Section Committee Volunteer Form and mail it to the chair-elect of the appropriate section listed below before December 1, 2003.
African American Studies Librarians Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Myrtis Cochran, University of California-Berkeley, 212 Doe Memorial Library, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; e-mail: mcochran@library.berkeley.edu.
Anthropology and Sociology Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Wade Kotter, Stewart Library, Weber State University, 2901 University Circle, Ogden, UT 84408-2901; e-mail: wkotter@weber.edu.
Arts Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Sandra “Sandy” Mooney; LSU Libraries, Design Resource Center, 104 Design Building, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-7010; e-mail: smooney@lsu.edu.
Asian, African and Middle Eastern Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Majed Khader, Marshall University, University Libraries, One John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755-0001; e-mail: khader@marshall.edu
Community and Junior College Libraries Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Mary M. Carr, Spokane Community College, 1810 North Greene Street, MS 2160, Spokane, WA 99217-5320; e-mail: mcarr@scc.spokane.edu.
College Libraries Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Damon D. Hickey, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691-2364; e-mail: dhickey@wooster.edu.
Distance Learning Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Stephen H. Dew, 100 Main Library, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1420; e-mail: stephen-dew@uiowa.edu.
Education and Behavioral Sciences Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Judith A. Walker, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, J. Murrey Atkins Library, Charlotte, NC 28223; e-mail: jwalker@email.uncc.edu.
Instruction Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Elizabeth A. Dupuis, University of California-Berkeley, 302 Moffitt Library, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; e-mail: edupuis@library.berkeley.edu. An online IS committee volunteer form is available at: http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/iscommittees/committeevolunteer.htm.
Law and Political Science Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Lynne P. Rudasill, University of Illinois Library, 1408 W. Gregory, Room 100, Urbana, IL 61801-3607; e-mail: rudasill@uiuc.edu.
Literatures in English Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Jennifer Sue Stevens, Washington State University, 130 Cleveland Hall, P. O. Box 642112, Pullman, WA 99163; e-mail: stevensj@wsu.edu.
Rare Books and Manuscripts Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Elaine B. Smyth, Special Collections, Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-3300; e-mail: esmyth@lsu.edu.
Science and Technology Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Jeanne Davidson, 121 The Valley Library, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-4501; e-mail: jeanne.davidson@oregonstate.edu.
Slavic and East European Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Janice T. Pilch, 1922 Melrose Drive, Apt. C, Champaign, IL 61820; e-mail: pilch@uiuc.edu.
University Libraries Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Carol Ann Hughes, Public Services, UCI Libraries, P. O. Box 19557, Irvine, CA 92623-9557; e-mail: hughes@uci.edu.
Western European Studies Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Thomas M. Izbicki, Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218; e-mail: izbicki@jhu.edu.
Women’s Studies Section. Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Ruth Dickstein, University of Arizona Library, P.O. Box 210055, Tucson, AZ 85721-0055; e-mail: dicksteinr@u.library.arizona.edu.
ACRL divisional committee appointments
ACRL has 23 standing committees to which appointments may be made for 2003–2004. A list appears on the volunteer form at the end of this article. You will find the committees listed with a description of their charges in the ALA Handbook of Organization. Appointments to ACRL standing committees are made in the spring for terms beginning immediately after the ALA Annual Conference. The Appointments Committee recommends to the president-elect of ACRL the names of members who might fill the vacancies. The president-elect makes the final appointments. If you want to be considered for an appointment to an ACRL committee, complete the form and return it to Linda Brown at the address given on the form before December 1, 2003.
Editorial boards
ACRL has six editorial boards for its publications: CHOICE, College & Research Libraries, College & Research Libraries News, New Publications Advisory Board, Publications in Librarianship, and RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage.
Appointments to editorial boards are made at the Midwinter Meeting for terms that begin immediately after the ALA Annual Conference. The editors recommend the name of a person to fill a vacancy. The Publications Committee must approve the recommendation, and the president of ACRL makes the appointment. If you would like to be considered for appointment to an editorial board, contact the editor of the editorial board early in the fall.
CHOICE editor: Irving Rockwood, Choice, 100 Riverview Center, Middletown, CT 06457; e-mail: irockwood@ala-choice.org.
College & Research Libraries editor: William Gray Potter, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, GA 30602-1641; e-mail: wpotter@arches.uga.edu.
College & Research Libraries News editor: Stephanie Orphan, C&RL News, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: sorphan@ala.org.
New publications editor: Hugh Thompson, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: hthompson@ala.org.
Publications in Librarianship editor: Charles Schwartz, Florida International, Green Library, University Park, Miami, FL 33199; e-mail: tony.schwartz@fiu.edu.
RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage editor: Richard Clement, head of special collections, University of Kansas, Spencer Research Library, Lawrence, KS 66045-2800; rclement@ku.edu.
For the ACRL and section committee volunteer forms visit: http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ACRL/About_ACRL/
Resources_for_Working_with_ACRL/ACRL_Forms/ACRL_Forms.htm.
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