Volunteer
Advance the profession by serving on one of ACRL's many committees, task forces, and editorial boards. Learn more here.
Attend a Committee Meeting
ACRL committee meetings are open to all ACRL members. Each division-level committee includes under the Resources section a link to its ALA Connect Community, where face-to-face and virtual meeting notices should be posted 10 days in advance of each meeting. If a committee is meeting at the upcoming virtual 2021 ALA Annual Conference, the meeting information will be included on the online scheduler.
Join a Section
ACRL has fifteen sections to help members individualize their ACRL experience through specialized programming, preconferences, discussion lists, recognition, and focused activities. Sections can be added free of charge for current ACRL members. To add a section to your ACRL membership, please download the detailed instructions.
Find Your Niche
ACRL's numerous discussion groups (DGs) and interest groups (IGs) serve as in-person and virtual forums for members to explore emerging issues. Many DGs and IGs meet virtually throughout the year or on-site at ALA Annual Conferences, and you can further connect with members and colleagues through ALA Connect.
Nominate a Member of the Week
ACRL’s Member of the Week feature on ACRL Insider highlights the breadth and depth of our membership. Interesting in sharing your story as a Member of the Week? Want to nominate an outstanding colleague? Fill out our nomination form and we'll be in touch!
ACRL Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Groups
In the 2021-2022 division-level report, committees were asked to self-report EDI activities and accomplishments that took place during the past program year (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022). Those responses have been compiled and are included here.
ACRL/Core Interdivisional Academic Library Facilities Survey Editorial Board
Academic Library Building Design Research Guide, which includes EDI-related resources.
CHOICE Editorial Board
Choice’s “Toward Inclusive Excellence™” (TIE) program regularly reports to ACRL and ALA publicity channels regarding its blogposts, webinars, and podcasts.
Government Relations Committee
The ACRL Government Relations Committee proposes legislative advocacy which address economic issues in higher education and academic libraries which affect accessibility to, and affordability of, post‐secondary education for students from underserved communities.
New Roles and Changing Landscapes Committee
Resources for College Libraries (RCL) Editorial Board
The Resources for College Libraries (RCL) editorial board has undertaken a three-year project to assess, analyze, and grow the diversity of the editorial pool. A benchmark survey was conducted in fall 2020, followed with additional surveys, recruiting strategies, and outreach initiatives in years 2021-2023.
Value of Academic Libraries Committee
The VAL Spotlight Series in ACRL Insider features librarians discussing what it means to integrate equity and social justice into practice and assessment and how they are working toward that goal. The VAL committee continued this dialogue with a panel of spotlighted professionals via the 4/8/22 ACRL Online Discussion, Beyond Words: Initiating, Implementing and Sustaining Change (YouTube).
In the 2020-2021 division-level report, committees were asked to self-report EDI activities and accomplishments that took place during the past program year (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021). Those responses have been compiled and are included here.
Choice Editorial Board
Choice’s “Toward Inclusive Excellence™” (TIE) program regularly reports to ACRL and ALA publicity channels regarding its blogposts, webinars, and podcasts.
C&RL Editorial Board
C&RL has made a concerted effort to publish studies that are representative of all cultures and perspectives: this emphasis is evident in both the published research papers and in the broadening of the books included for review and the reviewers. This commitment is also being modeled in the processes with the adoption of a name change policy.
Government Relations Committee
The ACRL Government Relations Committee proposes legislative advocacy which address economic issues in higher education and academic libraries which affect accessibility to, and affordability of, post-secondary education for students from underserved communities.
Publications Coordinating Committee
Alignments with ACRL Research & Scholarly Environment Committee; continuing work on Open Peer Review (theme of PCC’s ALA 2020 Conference program)
RBM Editorial Board
The RBM editorial board encourages volunteers for service as reviews editor and on the board itself, particularly members from institutions outside the mainstream, particularly those serving culturally distinct Hispanic, black, and tribal populations.
Resources for College Libraries (RCL) Editorial Board
The Resources for College Libraries (RCL) editorial board has undertaken a three-year project to assess, analyze, and grow the diversity of the peer reviewer pool, measured by voluntary demographic information. A benchmark survey was conducted in fall 2020, followed with additional surveys, recruiting strategies, and outreach initiatives in years 2021-2023.
Student Learning and Information Literacy Committee
The scope and shape of EDI activities will be determined by next year’s leadership.
Value of Academic Libraries Committee
The Spotlight series on ACRL Insider. Our new chair, Becky Croxton (racroxto@uncc.edu) is a good point of contact. Beate Gersch (beate_gersch@harvard.edu) was our subcommittee lead for this project.
ACRL Awards Program
ACRL's awards recognize and honor the professional contributions and achievements of your peers. This special recognition by the Association of College and Research Libraries enhances the sense of personal growth and accomplishment of our members, provides our membership with role models, and strengthens the image of our membership in the eyes of employers, leadership, and the academic community as a whole. Made possible by generous corporate support, the annual presentation of our prestigious awards and grants to these deserving individuals and institutions enables ACRL to honor the very best in academic librarianship.
ACRL's Awards program will be on hold for the 2021-2022 and 2021-2022 award seasons, during which time nominations will not be accepted or juried and no recipients will be chosen for any ACRL awards.
Present
ACRL membership groups are invited to hold ACRL Online Discussion Forums, which are free events offered by ACRL membership units on a wide variety of topics. If your ACRL group would like to host a Discussion Forum and use ACRL's Zoom room, please submit your request through the virtual meetings calendar form.
Write
Share your expertise and experience with your colleagues by writing an article, book, or blog post through ACRL's publication program. Opportunities are also available to translate ACRL's various standards, guidelines, and frameworks into other languages.
Mentor (or Be Mentored)
Having effective mentors is important for your professional and personal growth. Many mentoring and coaching programs are available through ACRL's sections, as well as the Dr. E. J. Josey Spectrum Scholar Mentor Program, to help you get the most from this important relationship. Learn more here.
The ACRL College Libraries Section’s College Library Information on Policy and Practice (CLIPP) Committee invites you to submit a preliminary proposal for its CLIPP publication series. The CLIPP series allows library staff to share information on practices and procedures they have implemented to address common issues or concerns. Each CLIPP follows a set structure of three parts—literature review, survey results, and sample documents—and should both describe library best practices and provide useful, specific examples that libraries can refer to when developing similar policies and procedures of their own. Recent books published in the series include Academic Library Job Descriptions: CLIPP #46 and Open Educational Resources: CLIPP 45.
While we welcome proposals on any topic relevant for small and mid-sized academic libraries, we are specifically looking for proposals on the following topics:
CLIPP proposals are accepted throughout the year. You can find author instructions and more information about the CLIPP program on the ACRL website.
For questions or to submit a proposal, please contact ACRL Content Strategist Erin Nevius at enevius@ala.org.
ACRL invites proposals for monographs and collections of essays that address significant issues facing our profession and its role in higher education.
ACRL Publications in Librarianship (PIL) is a series of monographic and edited volumes that has reported on scholarly thinking in academic and research librarianship since 1951. The series encompasses single-authored or co-authored monographs as well as edited volumes, and books are peer reviewed and indexed. Books in this series typically run 200 to 400 pages, and many of them have grown out of discussions and conversations among colleagues, or from conference programs, resulting in multiple authors contributing to one book. While it currently has a number of projects under consideration, the PIL Editorial Board is always interested in proposals and manuscripts. To aid potential authors in planning and to ensure the timely review of proposals, a rolling review process is used. Proposals are encouraged by Nov. 1st, Feb. 1st, and June 1st, although proposals will be accepted on a continuous basis throughout the year. Learn more on the ACRL website!
Apply to serve as a peer reviewer for Resources for College Libraries
The Resources for College Libraries (RCL) editorial board seeks peer reviewers with diverse backgrounds and new perspectives to RCL, along with reviewers who can critically assess the RCL subject collections with attention to equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice in scholarly resources. Apply to be considered as a peer reviewer and participate in the editorial development of the ACRL/CHOICE core subject bibliography for academic libraries.
2022 ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey Now Open
ACRL is now collecting responses for the Academic Library Trends & Statistics Survey for fiscal year 2022. If you have participated in the past, thank you. More than 1,514 academic libraries contributed data last year, including 155 institutions which had not participated in the past. We hope that you will contribute your library’s data for the 2022 fiscal year. This period is defined as the most recent 12-month period that ends before October 1, 2022, that corresponds to your institution’s fiscal year.
The data collection period runs from September 2022 to February 28, 2023 on the submission website. If you have difficulty logging in or have additional questions, please contact acrlbenchmark@ala.org. Complete details are also available on ACRL Insider.
The ACRL Diversity Alliance unites academic libraries committed to increasing the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. By working together and thinking more broadly, ACRL Diversity Alliance institutions will help diversify and thereby enrich the profession. Contact ACRL Program Manager for Strategic Initiatives Allison Payne at apayne@ala.org if you'd like to join or learn more.
The ACRL Residency Interest Group supports resident librarians, former resident librarians, and any interested parties to network, share their expertise, and promote resident librarian groups. To learn more, view their website and mailing list.
