Association Meeting, Fall 2021 (Invitation Only)

The Big Pivot Continues

Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member representatives, committee members, guests, and staff gathered virtually September 28–October 6, 2021, for the 179th Association Meeting, convened by ARL President John Culshaw, Jack B. King University Librarian at the University of Iowa.

As libraries prepared for in-person or hybrid environments with the return of faculty, researchers, students, and library staff, the Fall 2021 Association Meeting continued the examination of pandemic-related issues begun during the Spring 2021 Association Meeting. The Spring Meeting explored how research libraries and their institutions responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing many changes rapidly and by leading and planning for continuity in teaching, research, student services, and library services. This was not a time of “business as usual.” Four themes were the focal point of discussions during the Association’s Spring Meeting: the transformation of teaching; the rise of anti-intellectualism; the dissemination of misinformation/disinformation; and the social justice mission of our institutions.

In the spring, speakers challenged ARL member representatives to consider a number of questions: How are these phenomena transforming the world around us? What does a post-pandemic research institution look like? What opportunities do research libraries now have to deliver services better? What is the library’s (or the university’s) next goal or challenge? Are there new ways to build partnerships that did not exist before COVID-19?

Questions posed during the spring served as a springboard for the following discussions this fall: activating physical spaces of research libraries; pursuing truth, reconciliation, and transformation; and leading through disruption and change. The ARL Leadership and Career Development Program Fellows led the third program and were acknowledged for the completion of their program.

Meeting Details

• Program Schedule
• Code of Conduct
• FAQ on Semiannual Association Meetings
• Guidelines for Dialogue
• Reporters at Semiannual Association Meetings
• Accessibility Guidelines for PowerPoint Presentations
• Future Semiannual Association Meetings
• Virtual Meeting Procedures and Guidelines

Program Planning Task Force

• Claire Stewart, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, chair
• Clem Guthro, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
• Deborah Jakubs, Duke University
• Joy Kirchner, York University
• Jim O’Donnell, Arizona State University
• Shali Zhang, Auburn University
• ARL Staff Leads: Sue Baughman and Deborah R. Grayson

Consulting Group

• Kristin Antelman, University of California, Santa Barbara (Scholars and Scholarship Committee)
• Lisa Carter, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee)
• Gale Etschmaier, Florida State University (ARL Academy Advisory Committee)
• Toby Graham, University of Georgia (Advocacy and Public Policy Committee)
• Beth Sandore Namachchivaya, University of Waterloo (Research and Analytics Committee)

On Social Media

Hashtag: #ARLMeeting

See also: ARL Board Meeting, Fall 2021, 1 of 2, ARL Board Meeting, Fall 2021, 2 of 2, and ARL Fall Forum 2021.