ACRL Board of Directors

Charge

The composition and the duties of the Board of Directors are defined in Article IX of the ACRL Bylaws; Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have general oversight and direction of the affairs of the Association. It shall conduct all business pertaining to the Association, and shall have authority to make decisions for the Association during the periods between meetings.

Roster

Dr. Beth McNeil (President, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)
Dr. Leo S. Lo (Vice President, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)
Erin L. Ellis (Past-President, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)
Tarida Anantachai (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2027)
Jessica Brangiel (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024)
Walter Butler (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2026)
Mrs. Amy Dye-Reeves (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2027)
Dr. Mary Mallery (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025)
Yasmeen Shorish (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025)
Rebecca Miller Waltz (Director-at-Large, July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2026)
Ms. Kara M. Whatley (ACRL Division Councilor, July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025)
Joe Mocnik (Budget and Finance Chair, July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024)
Ms. Allison Payne (Ex-Officio Member, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)
Elois Sharpe (Staff Liaison, July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)

Displaying active committee roster as of 03/18/2024. Last retrieved on 03/18/2024. Members can log in and refresh the page to view full contact information for committee members.

Resources

ACRL Board documents, discussions and meeting announcements are shared publicly on ALA Connect.

Composition

ACRL Bylaws article IX section 1 states the Board of Directors shall consist of the officers of the Association, the chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, the ACRL councilor, and eight elected directors-at-large. The ACRL executive director shall be an ex-officio member without vote. 

Origin

In 1889, a group of 13 college librarians caucused at the Annual Conference in St. Louis and recommended that a college library section be formed. 

In 1897 the section acquired a new name, the College and Reference Library Section (to recognize the participation of reference librarians) and, after the turn of the century, began to select officers to plan annual meetings. Not until 1923, however, did the section adopt its own bylaws.

In 1936 the chair of the section appointed a Committee on Reorganization to develop plans for restructuring the section. The final report of the committee in 1938 recommended the adoption of new bylaws that would transform the section into an Association of College and Reference Libraries with full autonomy over its own affairs. The new bylaws provided for the creation of subsections within the association for college libraries, junior college libraries, teachers college libraries, university libraries, and other groups that might wish to affiliate.

The section approved the proposed bylaws in June 1938 and officially became the Association of College and Reference Libraries (ACRL) by the end of the year. The ALA Council responded by ratifying a new ALA constitution that made provision for the creation of self-governing divisions within ALA, entitled to receive a share of ALA dues. ACRL swiftly prepared a new constitution to meet the conditions for division status, and the ALA Council recognized ACRL as ALA's first division on May 31, 1940.

Get Involved

The Leadership Recruitment and Nominations Committee identifies candidates to stand for election to the Board of Directors. All personal members are entitled to vote. 

Staff Liaison

Allison Payne
Program Manager for Strategic Initiatives
Association of College & Research Libraries
American Library Association
225 N. Michigan Ave., Ste 1300
Chicago, IL 60601-7616
Work: 312-280-2519
Email: apayne@ala.org