What's New?

The ILA/ACRL Website address! Our URL has changed, and we now have our own domain name: www.iowaacrl.org! All pages from the "iren" sites have been moved to the new domain.

And in case you're wondering...

The ILA/ACRL Membership Directory is now completely online, as is the Iowa Academic and Research Libraries Directory. Well done Directory and Membership Committee Members!

President's Piece

A few year ago, Christine Kline, a University of Iowa SLIS student, asked me to advise her work for an independent study on the workforce projections for college libraries in Iowa. Chris completed that study, surveying college library directors around the state, and assembled her findings. She predicted that there would be a sudden rise in openings in academic libraries in Iowa , especially in leadership positions. It is amazing to see how accurate her predictions were as we see the changes occurring in leadership in several Iowa colleges. The retirements of our long-time colleagues in directorships at Central and Grandview, accompanied by Jill Gremmel's departure from Wartburg to Davidson College, affirm Chris's prediction that new leadership will be needed. We certainly wish Sandra Keist, Robin Martin, and Jill Gremmels all the best as they experience their respective transitions. Also, we extend best wishes to long-time Iowa-ACRL member Betty Rogers, who retires from Coe College .

Ryan Gjerde, chair of the electronic communication committee deserves special thanks and recognition for his work on our website. Not only has he worked diligently to bring information up to date on the website, now, as the IREN website hosting solution disappears, he has been busily finding us a new host and transitioning our website to that new location. Our new address is www.iowaacrl.org.

Reminders:

•  The Iowa Library Association fall conference October 10-12 in Coralville's new convention center. ILA-ACRL will be sponsoring a session on library consortia featuring Julia Gammon of OhioLink. [More on this below.] The conference promises to be a reader's delight featuring YA author Chris Crutcher; Masha Hamilton, author of The Distance Between Us;as well as many Iowa authors.

•  Research award proposals: Watch for a call for applications in October. A $500 grant will be awarded to an ILA/ACRL Chapter member for a presented or published scholarly work

•  Consider volunteering for ILA ACRL. Find the form for offering your services at http://www.iowaacrl.org/organization/volunteer.html.

Find a little time to relax before the hectic days of fall arrive! Submitted by Jean Donham

ACRL Chapters Council Report

ACRL Chapter Council June 2007 Campus Advocacy ToolKit The University section of ACRL has launched an initiative to help chapters develop their own regional campus advocacy programs. See the Advocacy Toolkit Website for more details.

2008 Division Awards
Iowa has many outstanding academic libraries. Why not start now to develop an application for one of ACRL's three awards:

•  Excellence in Academic Libraries. Recognize the accomplishments of librarians and other library staff as they come together as members of a team to support the mission of their institution. Blackwell's gift of $12,000 provides a $3,000 gift to each of the three winning libraries and $3,000 to support travel by an ACRL officer to the three award ceremonies.

•  Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. Recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of an academic librarian who has worked in the areas of library automation or library management and has made contributions (including risk taking) toward the improvement of library services or to library development or research

•  Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding member of the library profession who has made a significant national or international contribution to academic or research librarianship and library development.

Nominations are due by December 7
See details at http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlawards/acrlawardsprogram.htm

Legislative Issues. Of particular interest to ACRL right now is legislation calling for a mandate to require public access through PubMed to federally funded research twelve months after completion. The bill has passed the Senate and is on its way to the House.

Submitted by Jean Donham

ILA Fall Conference Buzz

This year the ILA/ACRL is sponsoring a speaker followed by a panel discussion on the subject of starting a statewide library consortium. The speaker will be Julia Gammon of OhioLINK, and panelists include State Librarian Mary Wegner, Jan Dellinger of Hawkeye Community College, and Becky Mather of the Mississippi Bend AEA. Each will bring her own unique perspective and experience to the discussion of how a library consortium in Iowa might work. Look out for more information on these sessions in the coming months, as the conference schedule gets finalized.

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