150th ARL Membership Meeting
St. Louis, Missouri
May 23–25, 2007

ARL President Sherrie Schmidt (Arizona State University) convened the 150th ARL Membership Meeting May 23–25, 2007, in St. Louis, Missouri. One hundred and six member libraries were represented at program sessions examining "Libraries & the Research Process: Exploring How to Demonstrate Returns on Investment."

Speakers engaged the audience on trends in higher education and graduate education and how research institutions are addressing quality at the macro level rather than at the micro or program level. A representative of an accrediting agency described how such agencies are responding to public calls for greater accountability within higher education. Librarians representing the UK's SCONUL and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network reported on their experience demonstrating the value of research libraries in their communities. Directors of ARL Libraries led discussions on lessons for ARL's programs, on measures of the purpose and use of e-resources (MINES and Indirect Costs), and on metrics for evaluating physical and virtual space.

SPARC's 10th anniversary was celebrated with a program reviewing SPARC's strategies used to stimulate new models of scholarly communication, capped with a briefing on "Federal Purpose: Clarifying the Legal Underpinnings of Public Access."

The program was complemented with briefings and informal discussions on:

• Creating Partnerships between ARL and NASULGC
• Developing Services Responses for Faculty and Graduate Student Needs
• Open Access & Open Questions
• The Global Resources Network—Update from CRL
• Strategies for Library Support of Research: Bioinformatics as a Model
• Outreach Strategies for Campus Conversations on Access to Federal Funded Research
• Negotiating Mass Digitization Agreements.

Member representatives, speakers, and guests were warmly welcomed to St. Louis during receptions on each evening. The libraries of the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University hosted a reception in the expansive Missouri Botanical Gardens. Washington University Libraries opened their campus to all for a reception and for tours of three new or newly remodeled libraries. About two dozen participants stayed after the ARL Membership Meeting adjourned for a special tour of Washington University's remarkable Henry Hampton Film and Media Archive.

Speaker slides and papers are being posted on the meeting proceedings Web site as they become available.