EBSS: Education and Behavioral Sciences Section

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The Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (a division of the American Library Association) exists to serve the common interests of education and behavioral sciences librarians. Formed in 1968, EBSS now boasts about 1,000 members who are concerned with a host of issues in the areas of information literacy, applications of technology, collection development, library management, and communication of research findings in education and behavioral sciences librarianship.

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Read the Fall 2025 EBSS Newsletter (PDF) and access previous issues.

Chair's Report from the Fall 2025 EBSS Newsletter

By Robin Ewing, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN | EBSS Chair 2025 - 2026

Hello, EBSS colleagues!

I hope your fall semester is going well. I’m excited that fall is here because it’s the start of the holiday candy season. Pumpkin Reese’s for the win!

I am delighted to tell you all about our section in this issue of our newsletter. EBSS members and committees continue to work on exciting and interesting projects to support EBSS members and the wider academic library community.

To start, I want to highlight section work that has been accomplished since the spring newsletter. At the 2025 ALA Annual Conference, we hosted two well-received discussions. On Saturday morning, Charlene Loope, chair of the Membership and Orientation Committee facilitated EBSS: Hot Topics in Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarianship. That afternoon, Ewa Dziedzic-Elliott, chair of the Education Committee, facilitated EBSS: Education Librarians Discussion. EBSS members are looking for opportunities to exchange ideas in informal settings and we are committed to providing those opportunities.

In June, the EBSS Executive Committee approved a revision to our Honorarium Guidelines. Speakers can now be offered up to $100 and EBSS members are eligible for honorariums. Also in June, the Executive Committee worked with our ACRL Board Liaison at the time, Kara Whatley, to request a statement from ACRL on ERIC. In August, ACRL published a Statement of Support for the ERIC Database (https://acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider/statement-of-support-for-the-eric-database/).

At our September meeting, the Executive Committee approved the revised criteria for the EBSS Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award. ACRL has finished its review of awards and the awards portal will open for nominations later this year. On behalf of EBSS, I want to extend our appreciation of the Awards Committee’s work to review and revise the criteria.

The 2026 Conference Program Planning Committee submitted an ALA conference proposal titled, “Preparing Students for College: Insights on Generative AI from School and Academic Librarians.” If accepted, this program will be an educational program at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

I also want to thank the Nominating Committee for their work in presenting us with a new slate of outstanding candidates for EBSS officer positions. EBSS will be in excellent hands.

If you are interested in contributing to the work of EBSS, keep in mind that on December 1, 2025, the ACRL volunteer form used for section-level committee appointments will open. All committee appointments will be made by EBSS Vice Chair, Stephen Maher. If you have questions about volunteering, please reach out to Stephen at Stephen.maher@nyu.edu.

Thanks,

Robin