For immediate release | May 3, 2011

Bell elected ACRL vice president/president-elect

CHICAGO - Steven J. Bell, associate university librarian for research and instructional services at Temple University, has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). He will become president-elect following the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans and assume the presidency in July 2012 for a one-year term.

Irene M. H. Herold, dean of the Mason Library at Keene State College, and Loretta R. Parham, CEO and library director at the Atlanta University Center - Robert W. Woodruff Library, have been elected to the ACRL Board of Directors as director-at-large.

"As the incoming vice president/president-elect of ACRL, I am excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Joyce Ogburn, our next ACRL president, and Lisa Hinchliffe, who will become past president, and the Board,” Bell said. “Together we will engage our members in designing the solutions that will sustain ACRL’s position as a strong, vibrant and forward looking association."

Bell’s activities in ACRL include serving as co-chair of the 2011 President's Program Planning Committee (2010-present), as co-chair of the ACRL 2011 Conference Keynote Speaker Committee (2009-present) and as chair of the ACRL Appointments Committee (2008-09).



He served as co-chair of the ACRL 2007 Conference Innovations Committee (2005-07) and was on the ACRL College Libraries Section (CLS) Executive Committee (2006-09), where he served as chair (2007-08). Bell was also active as chair of the CLS Research Committee (2004-06) and served on the ACRL 2005 Conference Workshop Committee (2004-05). In addition, he was a member of the ACRL Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Committee (2000-04) and served a term on the ACRL Excellence in Academic Librarianship Award Nominating Committee (1999-2000).

“ACRL is delighted to have Steven join the Board as vice president/president-elect,” ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis said. “He has made valuable contributions to ACRL, including serving on many program planning committees and as ACRLog’s founding blogger. His breadth of knowledge about academic librarianship and higher education as well as his service on other Boards and throughout ACRL will be an asset to the Board as it continues to work with members to meet their needs and to advance ACRL’s strategic plan.”

Bell’s work with state and regional associations includes serving on the PALINET Board of Trustees (2002-05), and as president of the ACRL Delaware Valley Chapter (1998-2000).

He is author of “Fit Libraries Are Future-Proof,” American Libraries, 2010, (http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/09212010/fit-libraries-ar…); author of “Taming the Textbook Market,” Inside Higher Ed, June 11, 2010, (http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/06/11/bell); and co-author with John Shank of the book “Academic Librarianship by Design” (ALA Editions, 2007).

Through projects such as the Keeping Up Website (2001), Kept-Up Academic Librarian (2003), the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community (2004), ACRLog (2005), Designing Better Libraries (2007) and his Library Journal column “From the Bell Tower” (2009), Bell demonstrates a consistent track record of thought leadership and opportunity creation for academic librarians seeking out new ideas to stimulate innovation in their libraries.

Bell received his doctor of education in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his master’s of library science from Drexel University, and his bachelor of arts in American Studies from Temple University.

From 1997 to 2006, Bell served as library director at Philadelphia University. Prior to that, he held positions at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Library, where he was assistant director (1995–97) and head of access services (1989–94).

For full ACRL election results, visit http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/election.cfm.

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ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 12,500 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments. ACRL is on the Web at http://www.acrl.org, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ala.acrl and Twitter at @ala_acrl.

Contact:

David Free