In preparation for the visiting committee, the applicant library is requested to submit a narrative description of approximately 10 pages that addresses all of the ARL Membership Principles, supplemented by other documentation addressing the points below if needed:
Collections
A commentary on the significance of collections of all media in the institution and their contribution to higher education and research, in particular the nature and scope of research collections and those supporting research efforts similar to doctoral research programs. The committee will consider such questions as:
- The scope of collections and level of comprehensiveness, as compared to other ARL member libraries and to standardized collection development tools
- The distinctive research-oriented collections of national significance
- The library's commitment to developing and maintaining collections, e.g., policy on providing cataloging and user assistance to gift collections, established preservation programs, etc.
- The nature of the information services in support of research and graduate education
- The role of the library in providing leadership within the research community on matters relating to scholarly communication
- The library's demonstrated interest in national library issues, such as preservation and information policy
- Data submitted to surveys such as ACRL, CARL, NCES-IPEDS for the same four years (if possible) as submitted to ARL
- Examples of recent federal or foundation grant applications, if relevant to demonstrating the characteristics outlined in the Membership Principles
- Additional relevant documentation, which might include:
annual reports and statistics
exhibit guides
staff organization charts
guides to collections
journals and other publications sponsored by the library
conference papers sponsored by the library
monographs to which the collection made a sizeable contribution
current planning documents, such as a five–year plan
outside evaluations or consulting reports prepared in the last five years