ACRL New England Chapter News Online

ISSN 1527-0106

Fall 2003, Number 100

In This Issue (Home):

President's Letter

Where Does Your $ Go?

Board Meeting Minutes, May 28, 2003

Chapter Annals: Our History Derived From Past Newsletters

Interest Group Reports:
Access Services
Business
Instruction
Information Technology

Spring Conference Announcement

Linda Collins
Harvard University

The New England Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries is one of the more active ACRL chapters, offering a variety of programs throughout the year. We are fortunate to work in an area that is rich with institutions of higher education and with talented professionals who provide the strong network on which our organization is based. Librarians who give willingly of their time and expertise provide the structure and content for ongoing professional development and collegial support for librarians in all stages of their careers.

At the most recent Spring Conference we learned that demographic trends indicate major changes ahead for libraries and librarians. We have since realized that recent economic trends have tempered those changes. We can still ask where the new leaders are coming from, but now know they will have less to lead with. While ACRL/NEC plays an important role in continued professional development, it can play an even more important role in challenging economic times. Networking with area librarians, mentoring new librarians, leadership development for mid-career librarians, and discussing retirement options and alternatives can help us all better position ourselves and our institutions in the face of emerging challenges.

Special Interest Groups support the professional growth of regional academic and research librarians by hosting programs that keep us informed of new technological opportunities, such as the recent LOCI program, "Building Course Management Software into Strategic Plans." The Information Technology Group hosted a program in conjunction with the Instruction Group on "Web Based Instruction/Information Literacy Tutorials." The Access Services Interest group explored the recent changes in copyright legislation. These are only a few of the many programs that were the combined efforts of our members.

The ACRL/NEC mission states that we will "provide opportunities for the professional growth of academic and research librarians by conducting workshops and arranging programs in the various [geographic] areas of the region and encourage the exchange of ideas and information relating to library developments, in order to promote and improve library service to the academic research community." Looking back at the past year, we have more than lived up to our mission.