Board of Directors' actions, June 1999: Highlights of the Board's Annual Conference meetings
C&RL News, September 1999
Vol. 60, No. 8
During the 1999 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, the ACRL Board of Directors met on June 26 and 29 and took the following actions.
ACRL governance Confirmed the Executive Committee action to establish a Friends of ACRL Advisory Committee.
Approved bylaw revisions for the Western European Specialists Section and the Law and Political Science Section.
ACRL structure
Voted to change the name of the Librarians of Library Science Collections Discussion Group to the “Librarians and Information Science Discussion Group.”
Approved a charge and membership composition for the ACRL/TLT Group Task Force.
Awards and honors
Established an Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award Nomination Committee to improve the pool of candidates being considered each year for the award.
Increased the size of the Selection Committee for the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award to include two members who are practicing librarians from two different types of libraries, thus bringing the total membership of the committee from five to seven.
Approved the establishment of a Nominations Subcommittee and a Selection Subcommittee for ACRL’s newest award, Excellence In Academic Libraries.
Diversity
Voted to contribute $25,000 to the ALA Spectrum Initiative from the FY2000 budget and that by this donation, ACRL expresses its commitment to support recruitment of increasingly diverse academic librarians. The Board requested that the Spectrum Initiative provide information on the impact the donation has to the program and on the recruitment of Spectrum participants into academic librarianship.
Finances
Approved the FY2000 budgets for ACRL revenues of $1,548,493 and
expenses of $1,872,346 and Choice revenues of $2,162,898 and expenses of $2,251,327.
Voted to provide advance funding of up to $1,500 to sections for special membership events with total amount not to exceed $10,000 annually. Sections are required to repay the advance loan one month prior to the date of the event.
Government relations
Endorsed the resolution from the ALA Committee on Legislation commending Washington Office Director, Carol Henderson’s service and leadership upon her retirement in August 1999.
Endorsed the resolution from the ALA Committee on Legislation encouraging that the spirit of the intent of the law that established the Institute of Museums and Library Services to rotate the position of director between museum and library professionals be followed; that a librarian be appointed to replace Diane Frankel, who came to the position from the Institute of Museums and resigned in March 1999.
Upon recommendation of the Government Relations Committee endorsed
the following resolutions: H.R. 1858, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act of 1999 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization.
Upon recommendation from the Government Relations Committee to approve the Legislative Agenda for 1999–2000, with the understanding that other appropriate items will be added throughout the year.
Guidelines
Approved the revised “Guidelines for the Security of Rare Book, Manuscript, and other Special Collections.”
Information literacy
Approved the continuation of committees working with information literacy programs through their duration with members being recommended for appointment to the ACRL President-elect by the program chairs for two-year renewable terms.
Approved a planning meeting in Chicago, October 2–3, 1999, for ACRL
member leaders currently involved in ACRL’s information literacy initiatives for the purpose of clarifying roles and responsibilities, sharing understandings, identifying new initiatives, and establishing a mechanism for continued collaboration, coordination, and communication. A report of the meeting will be made to the ACRL Board.
Approved funding to provide staff to support ACRL’s information literacy initiatives.
Intellectual freedom
Upon recommendation of the ACRL Intellectual Freedom Committee to
approve the “Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries.”
Voted to go on record by voicing support for local decision making on Internet content.
Memorials
Approved memorial resolutions for Michael Freeman who was director for the College Library at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and for Rochelle Sager, a past ACRL Board member and a vice president of Mollege College in Long Island, New York.
Partnerships
Confirmed the Executive Committee action to establish an ACRL/AAP Work Group to address issues and topics on copyright and intellectual property rights.
Approved a partnership between ACRL and the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group (TLT Group) for the purpose of exploring ways to strengthen local and national collaboration between librarians and others in teaching and learning with technology.
Professional development
Confirmed the electronic mail vote to endorse ARL’s satellite teleconference on “Copyright in the New Millennium.”
Confirmed the Executive Committee action to maintain conference registration fees for the next (2001) ACRL National Conference at the 1999 National Conference level.
Confirmed the Executive Committee action to cosponsor an assessment workshop with the TLTR Group under its Flashlight Project.
By consent, voted to extend the term of the Recruiting into the Profession Task Force through the 2000 Annual Conference in order for it to complete its work. Also voted to approve cosponsorship of the University of Arizona Library’s “Living the Future III, Conference in Tuscon, Arizona, in April 2000 and to promote the event to its members through C&RL News.
Received the report from the Code of Ethics for Academic Librarians Task Force, extended the term of the Task Force through Midwinter 2000 and asked that it develop a charge for an ACRL Ethics for Academic Librarians standing committee.
Established an advisory committee for the ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute to advise the Harvard School of Education’s Program Director and the ACRL Executive Director.
Approved sponsoring a preconference on legislative leadership training at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago in 2000.
Approved programs from 19 ACRL units for presentation during the ALA 2000 Annual Conference in Chicago.