ACRL Volunteer Information

What would ACRL do without, You? Really!  We are excited to extend this opportunity for you to expand your professional network, help shape ACRL by advancing its strategic plan, commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and influence the direction of academic and research librarianship. Serving on a committee is a fantastic way to become involved  and make an impact on the profession.

Are you ready to be considered for an opportunity to advance learning and transform scholarship through a committee appointment? I invite you to serve on a 2023-2024 division or section committee. Face-to-face attendance at conferences is not required and committee work can be completed virtually throughout the year.

Thank you for volunteering to contribute your time and expertise to ACRL! Our association relies on the time and energy of our member volunteers, and we value the talent they invest in accomplishing the work of the Association. 

                                                                    Thank you,
                                                                    Beth McNeil
                                                                    ACRL 2022-2023 Vice-President/President-Elect

ACRL Volunteer Guidelines

These guidelines are intended to help ACRL members understand which priorities are considered in appointing members to volunteer positions at the division level. These guidelines are not intended to serve as a strict rubric. Generally, the Vice-President, Appointments Committee, and section Vice-Chairs should approach appointments with a holistic perspective, seeking overall balance in service to the association’s goals and priorities. In 2019, an ACRL Board Working Group worked with the ACRL Appointments Committee to review and make ACRL's appointments process more inclusive; outcomes included the addition of the below guidelines, as well as the addition of optional demographics questions in the volunteer form. 

Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

ACRL has made a core commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Appointments should seek to offer leadership and service opportunities to members with the commitment to build diverse and inclusive communities within the Association. Racialized and racially or ethnically underrepresented colleagues should be offered opportunities wherever possible, in order to help ACRL acknowledge and address historical racial inequities; challenge oppressive systems within academic libraries; value different ways of knowing; and identify and work to eliminate barriers to equitable services, spaces, resources, and scholarship.

In general, appointments should:

• seek geographic diversity on committees and sections. This can include international representation, and/or it can include representation from different regions of the United States.
• seek diversity in types of institutions represented on committees and sections. Candidates from public, private, and non-educational (research) institutions, consortia, and other institutions should be included, as well as candidates from community colleges, four-year college and universities, and research and doctoral universities. Historically, community college representation is particularly needed in order to ensure equitable representation for colleagues employed in community colleges.
• consider diversity in roles and duties represented on committees and sections. Candidates from all areas of academic and research librarianship should be considered for appointment, although in some cases it may be important to appoint candidates with particular expertise to carry out particular duties.
• seek to balance seniority, experience, and tenure in committees and sections.

Eligibility

• Candidates must be current members in good standing of ALA and ACRL, and must remain so for the duration of their appointment. Candidates cannot serve on any committee or section for more than 5 consecutive years.
• Candidates must not hold more than 3 concurrent appointments within ALA or ACRL at any one time.
• If a candidate with 3 existing appointments wishes to take up additional appointments, they must resign from one of their current appointments.

If you were not able to attend the free online forum, ACRL Membership Committee: Get Involved: Everything You Need to Know about Volunteering for an ACRL Division-level Committee, Section Committee, Interest and Discussion Groups, held on December 14, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. CST, you can view the recording.

Volunteers benefit by:

• Building ties and engaging with academic and research librarians around the country
• Enhancing their leadership abilities through consensus building and project management
• Sharing their experience with colleagues
• Developing new expertise or updating knowledge in a current specialization
• Advancing the ACRL Plan for Excellence
• Advancing the work of the work of the profession

Volunteer by February 28, 2023!
Appointments are made in the spring for terms beginning immediately after the ALA Annual Conference.

Division-level Committees: The Appointments Committee recommends to the President-Elect the names of members who might be suitable to fill the vacancies. The President-Elect makes the final appointments for committees.

Editorial Boards: The editors or chairs of editorial or publication advisory boards recommend to the Publications Coordinating Committee (PCC) individuals to fill vacancies. PCC is responsible for approving appointment recommendations and the President-Elect extends offers.

Sections: Section vice-chairs appoint the members of section committees.

Trouble logging in? The volunteer form is tied to your ALA/ACRL membership. To become an ALA/ACRL member or to add sections, please login to the ALA website or call ALA Membership Relations and Services at 1-800-545-2433.
Trouble accessing the form?  Try clearing your cache and use Chrome of Firefox.

Volunteers should only volunteer with their personal ALA login. All volunteer applications made through an institutional account will be void.

Please make sure your ALA/ACRL membership is current prior to attempting to volunteer for a division-level committee or section.  Questions about the form or eligibility may be directed to ACRL Program Officer Elois Sharpe at esharpe@ala.org or ACRL Program Officer Lauren Carlton at lcarlton@ala.org.

For more information, please refer to Volunteer & Appointment Process and Member Service on ACRL Committees or view the recent post in the December 2022 issue of C&RL News.

• Questions about division-level committee appointments may be directed to the ACRL Appointments Committee Chair Mark Puente at puentema@purdue.edu or ACRL President-elect Beth McNeil at memcneil@Purdue.edu. 
• Questions about section appointments may be directed to the vice-chair of each section. Full contact information is available from the section landing page.
• Questions about editorial board appointments may be directed to the chair of the Publications Coordinating Committee Candice C. Dahl at candice.dahl@usask.ca or Editor-in-Chief of C&RL News/Senior Communications Strategist David Free at dfree@ala.org.
• Questions about the form or eligibility may currently be directed to ACRL Program Officer Elois Sharpe at esharpe@ala.org or ACRL Program Officer Lauren Carlton at lcarlton@ala.org.