Council of Liaisons Application Process
ACRL’s formal liaison relationship process operates through the ACRL Council of Liaisons. The ACRL Council of Liaison’s reviews applications and makes recommendations to the ACRL Board for approval. The application process is a two step process—the first step being to identify the target organization and the second being to identify a qualified liaison.
Applications to the Council may come from a variety of ways including:
- A member of an ACRL unit, section, committee, etc. identifies an organization and submits an application for that organization to the Council for review and recommendation to the ACRL Board for approval.
- Individuals may apply to be the ACRL Liaison to an approved targeted organization. This application will be reviewed by the Council and a recommendation sent to the ACRL Board for approval.
- Applications for an organization or a liaison to an approved target organization may also come from the Council itself or from the ACRL Board.
- An organization seeking a formal liaison relationship with ACRL may contact the ACRL. These inquires will be forwarded to the Council of Liaisons for review and recommendation.
The following processes are used to identify a liaison’s relationship for an organization and individual.
- Council openings for organizations and individuals are announced in C&RL News, at ALA conferences and–as appropriate–through relevant electronic lists.
- Those suggesting organizations for the Council to consider or individuals suggesting both organizations and an individual for that liaison relationship should complete and submit an application packet that includes a cover letter, a completed application, a résumé, and a minimum of three letters of support. These letters could come from such sources as the target organization, someone who knows the applicant’s work, the applicant’s supervisor, an ACRL unit. The application packet content should describe, in short, why the organization should be an ACRL liaison organization and/or why individual's qualifications make him/her a good choice for serving as a liaison to an organization. There are two forms, one for an organization and one for an individual. Complete and submit applications to acrl@ala.org.
Applications are due November 1 and applications will be reviewed by the Council of Liaisons at ALA Midwinter in light of the selection criteria. The Council will forward to the ACRL Board all application packets received and ranked in order of Council recommendations. At ALA Annual the ACRL Board will select the Liaison individuals and organizations.