News

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Board of Directors has appointed Elliott Shore as Executive Director of the Association, effective January 1, 2013. Dr. Shore is currently Chief Information Officer, Constance A. Jones Director of Libraries, and Professor of History at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) will host a webcast on October 16, 2012, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. eastern time, to discuss the Kirtsaeng v. Wiley case, the first-sale doctrine, and what’s at stake for libraries and others. The webcast will be moderated by Brandon Butler, Director of Public Policy Initiatives at ARL, and will feature discussion from:

ARL is seeking nominations and applications for the 2013–2014 Leadership and Career Development Program (LCDP). The LCDP is an 18-month fellowship program that prepares mid-career librarians from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups to take on increasingly demanding leadership roles in ARL libraries.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) announces the selection of two master’s of library and information science (MLIS) students to participate in the 2012–2014 ARL/Music Library Association (MLA) Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (DII):

The 2013 Service Quality Evaluation Academy, co-sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), is now accepting participant nominations, with a deadline of December 14, 2012.

The academy is an intensive five-day program that focuses on introductory qualitative and quantitative methods for collecting and analyzing library service quality data. Although some of the training will be presented in the context of ARL assessment programs and activities (LibQUAL+®, ARL Profiles, etc.), the program will emphasize basic concepts and skills in measurement and data analysis that will be applicable to service quality evaluations in general. There will be some time spent on relevant software skills, including the use of ATLAS.ti to analyze text-based evidence like responses to open-ended surveys and the use of SPSS for quantitative data analysis.

Washington, DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Library Contribution to Accreditation, SPEC Kit 330, which explores the scope of accreditation standards, the data provided by research libraries to meet the requirements of accrediting bodies, and which library staff participate in preparing reports and site visits. The survey results may help libraries identify and understand what standards exist, and how their contributions lead to successful accreditation and reaccreditation for their parent institutions. Additionally, this survey sought to identify how deeply ARL libraries are involved in the accreditation process at the institutional level. As libraries strive to establish their impact and value in higher education, this measure is one way to gauge how institutional leaders perceive their libraries’ contributions.

Washington, DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Managing Born-Digital Special Collections and Archival Materials, SPEC Kit 329, which explores the tools, workflow, and policies special collections and archives staff use to process, manage, and provide access to born-digital materials they collect. This SPEC Kit looks at which staff process and manage born-digital materials and how they acquire the skills they need for these activities. The publication also examines how libraries have responded to the challenges that managing born-digital materials present.

Washington, DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) will host a forum, “Library Workforce for 21st-Century Research Libraries,” on October 11–12, 2012, in Washington, DC, immediately following the ARL Membership Meeting. The forum is open to all and is geared for research library directors, senior library staff, and organization development and human resources staff. This event will provide a balance of discussion between two sets of issues—the workforce of the future and the processes undertaken to create that workforce.

LibQUAL+ is pleased to announce the opening of registration for 2013. With an ever-expanding community composed of libraries from over 25 countries around the world, now is the time to kick-start your assessment with the capability to benchmark with more than a million completed surveys.

Washington, DC—This is the final week to register for the 2012 DuraSpace/ARL/DLF E-Science Institute. There are just a few openings still available in this offering of the institute, which runs from September 6 through December 13, 2012.