Association of Research Libraries: Overview with a Focus on 2001-07

1 ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES: OVERVIEW WITH A FOCUS ON 2001–07 ABSTRACT: The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a not-for-profit membership organization comprising over 120 libraries of North American research institutions. ARL influences the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. This account of association priorities and activities updates the entries in the first and second editions of the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science and focuses on the years 2001 to 2007. FOUNDING AND FOUNDATION For seventy-five years, ARL has addressed issues of concern to the library, research, higher education, and scholarly communities. The Association was established at a meeting in Chicago on December 29, 1932, by the directors of several major university and research libraries who recognized the need for coordinated action and desired a forum to address common problems. Forty-two libraries adopted a constitution that stated, “the object shall be, by cooperative effort, to develop and increase the resources and usefulness of the research collections in American libraries.” On December 5, 1961, the Association was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia and certified that “the particular business and objects of the society shall be: Exclusively for literary, educational and scientific purposes by strengthening research libraries.” A grant from the National Science Foundation in 1962 enabled the Association to establish a full-time secretariat in Washington, DC, with a paid executive director and staff. In 1987, a series of member discussions led to the construction of a vision statement that portrayed the future aspirations for the Association. Following the statement’s review by the membership and adoption by the Board of Directors, ARL undertook a planning process to develop the Association’s strategy for the 1990s. These efforts culminated in a new mission statement, a values statement, revised programmatic objectives, and a set of financial principles to guide the ARL leadership. In 1988, a new Executive Director was hired and charged with building the Association’s capacity to implement the strategic plan. ARL’s mission and objectives were reviewed and updated in 1994. The ARL Board annually adopted priorities to guide the ARL program for the current year and developed a statement of priorities to guide the Association programs for the next three to five years. In 2001, the membership undertook a review of core ARL programs. In February 2004, the ARL Board recognized it was time for a comprehensive membership-wide review and assessment of the ARL agenda. This plan was developed by the Strategic Planning Task Force, based on member input and with guidance from the ARL Board. Guiding Principles The following principles guided the Task Force in its work. (The “we” in these statements refers to the Association.) Distinctive Mission * We complement and build on the strengths of other organizations. * We rethink historic assumptions. * Our policy positions guide our strategies. Community * We are a member-driven organization. * We are accountable to our members. * We provide opportunity for full engagement by all member representatives. * We respect the diversity of our membership. 2 Intellectual Freedom and Scholarly Communication * We promote and advocate barrier-free access to research and educational information resources. Collaboration * We build relationships with other higher education societies and associations. * We work closely with other library-related associations, councils, federations, etc. Diversity * We encourage and support our members as they strive to reflect society’s diversity in their staffing, collections, leadership, and programs. * We strive to employ a diverse staff. Operational Effectiveness * We are focused on the needs of our member libraries. * We allocate our resources wisely and practice sound fiscal management. * We promote continuing staff development and growth. The resulting strategic plan identified key priorities for ARL for 2005–2009, areas where the members agreed ARL should play a leadership role at this point in time. The three strategic directions identified in the plan relate to scholarly communication; information and public policy; and research, teaching, and learning. http://www.arl.org/arl/governance/stratplan.shtml Summary of Strategic Directions (2005–2009) Strategic Direction I ARL will be a leader in the development of effective, extensible, sustainable, and economically viable models of