Dogwood and redbud trees were in full bloom April 10–13 in Charlotte, North Carolina, for “Learning to Make a Difference,” the Association of College and Research Libraries’ 11th National Conference, as a record-breaking number of academic librarians met to discuss issues and bring ideas home. ACRL National Conference Chair Larry Hardesty gave the final attendance figure at the closing session as over 3,490—150 more than the previous record set in Denver in 2001.
One highlight was the rollout of ACRL’s national public-education campaign to promote the contributions of college and research librarians. Conference registration packets were stuffed with a toolkit filled with ideas on how to market libraries strategically, and an all-day preconference that encouraged attendees to conduct their own training sessions locally was a sell-out. “The toolkit is just a taste of the full campaign,” ACRL President Helen Spalding told American Libraries. “The entire process is a way to get to know your users and listen and respond to their needs.”
Other popular programs included an invited paper by education theorist John Gardner, who argued that librarians need to play a more dominant role in the academic lives of first-year students; a featured session by Joan Frye Williams on the cultural differences between librarians and information technicians; and a five-member panel on how to help faculty members cope with and combat the epidemic of student plagiarism.
ACRL is a division of the American Library Association. A full report on the conference will appear in the June/July issue of American Libraries.
Posted April 21, 2003.