LibGuides: ACRL Board Manual 2023-2024: 1.1 Reporting

1.1 Annual Reporting

Strategic Planning Overview

The ACRL Board is responsible for stewarding the association’s implementation of its strategic plan, the Plan for Excellence. The Plan for Excellence details the Board’s vision for ACRL’s initiatives related to the Value of Academic Libraries; Student Learning; Research and the Scholarly Environment; New Roles and Changing Landscapes; and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

The Board has vested five strategic goal-area committees with the responsibility for identifying specific activities to accomplish ACRLs’ strategic objectives. The Board works closely with its five strategic goal-area committees, as well as all division-level committees to establish a cohesive and comprehensive association-wide plan for action.

In addition to the five goal areas, the Plan for Excellence includes a Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (approved November 2018). "This core commitment permeates the work of the Association, cutting across all ACRL sections, committees, interest and discussion groups, and communities of practice." Additionally, the ACRL Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee is charged, "To oversee and coordinate ACRL’s Core Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, as described in the strategic plan."

The ACRL planning cycle includes both detailed planning for the current year, as well as planning for future years as appropriate to ensure that ACRL has the resources and foundation in place to realize ACRL’s strategic goals. The committee chair, vice-chair, board liaison, and staff liaison comprise a leadership team responsible for accomplishing a committee’s charge.

Work Plan Preparation Responsibility

Division-level committee chairs have been tasked by the Board with preparing annual committee work plans in coordination with the committee vice-chair, Board and staff liaisons, and committee members. Component committees are also expected to coordinate work plans with coordinating committees and coordinating committee chairs are expected to establish a time frame and lead coordination efforts. Annual committee work plans should address responsibilities included in the committee charge, as well as any additional special projects committees plan to undertake to advance ACRL’s strategic goals.

Work Plan Review Responsibility

Each Board liaison is responsible for:

Providing feedback in concert with staff liaison to committee on its draft annual work plan in order to collaboratively develop the final work plan. (A review checklist is available in chapter three of the Guide to Policies and Procedures)
Approving the final work plan via email.
Reviewing the work plans, identifying any activities that relate to the strategic goal initiatives and then sending such activities to the attention of the chairs of the strategic goal-area committees, Board members serving on the goal-area committees, and the staff liaisons of the strategic goal-area committees.
Providing support (working with the staff liaison) to the committee as the work plan is implemented throughout the year.
A Board member is assigned to be a liaison and a working member of the committee to each of the four goal-area committees (Research & Scholarly Environment, Student Learning & Information Literacy, Value of Academic Libraries, New Roles and Changing Landscapes) as a way to ensure the strong communication among the Board and its committees in advancing ACRL’s highest priorities.

Date Due	Action(s)	Responsible Party
Approx. 2 weeks before Annual Conference	Submit Annual Conference agendas (Note: Agenda should include review of draft year-end report and coming year’s work plan.) to ACRL staff. Post Annual Conference agendas to committee’s ALA Connect space Draft year-end report of accomplishments and ideas for coming year’s work plan documented and distributed to committee and liaisons (and coordinating committee as appropriate) for review prior to Annual Conference. Note: documents should be posted to the committee ALA Connect space.	Committee chair and vice-chair
Approx. 2 weeks before Annual Conference	Begin drafting goal-area committee annual report on progress toward ACRL goal that is your committee’s responsibility Finalize and post goal-area committee annual report to committee’s ALA Connect space by outgoing chair for access by incoming chair. Note: after July 1, the previous year’s Committee chairs will not have access to committee’s ALA Connect space.	Strategic goal-area committee chair and vice-chair
Annual Conference or virtual meeting (Typically third week of June)	Discuss draft year-end report of accomplishments Discuss annual committee work plan ideas for coming year	All committees, Board and staff liaisons
	Discuss the long-range initiative ideas for appropriate strategic goal-area objectives that will be placed on the multi-year planning grid Add initiative ideas to the multi-year planning grid; turn in to staff liaison by August deadline Participate in Board Meeting for the Plan for Excellence agenda item	Strategic goal-area committees, Board member serving on the committee, staff liaisons
No later than July 1	Turn in year-end report on progress towards ACRL goal that is your committee’s responsibility	Strategic goal-area committees, Board member serving on the committee, staff liaisons
	Using the year-end report and work plan template posted to the committee’s ALA Connect space, current committee chair fills in the coming year’s work plan grid for each project planned in the coming year detailing intermediate deadlines, committee members responsible, resources needed, and anticipated outcomes. Note: Chairs should work with committee members and liaisons throughout the process. In particular, Board liaisons should be kept informed of activities related to strategic goal areas.	Committee chair
	Send relevant work plans to the strategic goal-area chairs and vice-chairs, the Board member serving on goal-area committees, and the staff liaisons to the goal-area committees	Board liaison and staff liaison
July (last two weeks	Working with staff liaison, identify and coordinate next steps for communication and coordination with strategic goal-area committees as needed. Working with staff liaison, communicate feedback regarding the draft annual committee work plan to committee chairs and vice-chairs. Conduct initial scan of work plan done for activities related to strategic goal areas in order to ensure coordination and communication with strategic goal-area committees.	Board liaisons
Mid-July	Submit goal-area committee year-end report	Strategic Goal Area Committee and Immediate Past Chair
No later than August 1	Finalize work plans in coordination with committee members, liaisons, and strategic goal-area committees as appropriate.	Committee chair
No later than August 1	Approve the final work plan via email (with copy to vice-chair and staff liaison) and remind committee chair to: post as a final document to the committee’s ALA Connect Community submit to the ACRL office via email to Program Officer Allison Payne (apayne@ala.org) commence work plan activity	Board Liaison
August	Post final work plan to the committee’s ALA Connect Community Submit final work plan to the ACRL office via email to Program Officer Allison Payne (apayne@ala.org) Commence activity to carry out the work plan	Committee chair
	Review committee work plans and identify select, relevant activities that advance any of the four strategic goal areas planned for coming years for addition to the Strategic Initiative Planning Grid	Board and Staff liaisons
	Review compilation of annual committee work plans for current year and multi-year planning grid Develop framework for discussion of gap analysis and ACRL’s progress in advancing its Plan for Excellence Suggest any needed updates to the multi-year planning grid Identify items for discussion such as perceived gaps or resource challenges for the Board’s Strategic Planning and Orientation Session (SPOS) agenda	President, Board members serving on strategic goal-area committees, Executive Director, and Staff liaisons
At Board SPOS (September)	Facilitate discussion at SPOS regarding any perceived gaps, resource challenges, etc. identified in the Strategic Initiative Planning Grid and annual work plan process	President, Board members serving on strategic goal-area committees, Executive Director, and Staff liaisons
October	Make any needed updates to annual work plans based on discussion at Board SPOS Post revised annual work plan to committee’s ALA Connect space; submit to the ACRL office.	Strategic goal area committee chairs
December /January	Meet with Board at LLX for a discussion regarding committee progress	President, Board members serving on strategic goal-area committees, Executive Director,
Ongoing	Check in with chair of committee for progress update coinciding with key deadlines in the work plan	Board liaisons
Ongoing	Keep Board and staff liaisons informed of committee activities	Committee chairs

Reports & Work Plans

ACRL division-level committees are asked to complete an annual report to document the past year's activities, as well as an annual work plan to chart out the goals for the coming year. Each summer, committee chairs work with their Board and staff liaisons to complete reports and work plans. Reports and work plans are submitted in a combined template by late summer of each year. The Board receives the packet of reports and work plans annually (typically in the fall).

Plan for Excellence Implementation Reports

ACRL sections, interest groups, and chapters are asked to submit an annual Plan for Excellence Implementation Report, and submit by July each year. Units complete an online form which asks for activities tied to the strategic goals and objectives outlined in the ACRL Plan for Excellence.

Plan for Excellence Activities Report (PEAR)

At each of the four ACRL Board meetings, the Board receives an updated quarterly Plan for Excellence Implementation Report (PEAR). The first quarter report is received at the Board's meetings during LibLearnX and the fourth-quarter report is received at the Fall Board Meeting. After the first-quarter report, each report is cumulative, with previous entries indicated in italics.

Enabling Programs and Services Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

At each of the four ACRL Board meetings, the Board also receives an updated quarterly Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) report. Due to delayed financial reporting and staff vacancies, the KPI has been paused.

ACRL KPI - Annual 2022