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TO: CARL Executive Board
FROM: Long Range Planning Committee: Carl Bengston (Chair), Mary Dolven, Liz Ginno, Les Kong, Susan Starr, Bill Whitson
RE: Final Report and Recommendations
The Committee has met twice in just over a year and has conducted a membership survey to determine how members feel about CARL's demographics, relationship to other organizations, infrastructure, current programs, and future activities. The following recommendations have evolved out of the results of that survey, the formal meetings of the Committee, and informal discussions with CARL leaders and members. Please be prepared for a full discussion of this report at the June 6th meeting of the Board.
Rationale: Well over half of all CARL members also hold membership in ACRL. Yet, there are many ACRL members in California who are not members of CARL. It is possible that enhancing CARL's ACRL identity might increase California ACRL members' interest in formal participation in and support of CARL. Although ACRL financial support for chapter activities is minimal, ACRL's interest in regional programming might offer CARL the opportunity to enhance its programming efforts, which is seen as a top priority by CARL members. Nearly half of the CARL members surveyed expressed an interest in CARL's becoming an active channel for participation in ACRL, as well as in CARL's sponsoring programs that feature speakers and issues from national conferences.
Recommendation #2: Investigate the possibility of changing the name of CARL to reflect the more diverse population of those who have an interest in academic and research libraries.
Rationale: The current name of the organization, California Academic and Research Librarians, seems exclusive at a time when the nature of professional roles in libraries is changing at a rapid pace. Changing the name to California Academic and Research Libraries, for example, while inconsequential to some, might seem considerably more welcoming to information specialists, library assistants, and others not classified as librarians who might be interested in joining CARL. It is interesting to note that while ACRL is called the Association of College and Research Libraries, and includes many non-librarians among its members, it is nonetheless committed to the professional development of librarians. Furthermore, at least 12% of those CARL members surveyed consider non-librarian staffing academic and research libraries to be a worthwhile target for CARL membership efforts.
Rationale: CARL is a robust organization with a relatively stable and committed membership. It may be the case that an expenditure of funds to substantially increase the size of the organization would provide economic benefits for CARL, but further study would be required to establish that likelihood. At present, the Committee suggests giving a higher priority to making sure that current members maintain their membership in CARL and that potential members are aware of the organization and of the benefits of membership. The current composition of the membership seems to match statewide statistics, with only a few exceptions. That is, there seems to be an under-representation of CARL members in the central valley (the "3rd California") and among the staffs of community colleges, private institutions, and special academic and research libraries. "Para-professionals" in academic libraries are also under-represented as CARL members.
Recommendation #4: Maximize utilization of the CARL mailing list as a member retention and recruitment tool.
Rationale: The CARL mailing list contains a wealth of information that could be quite useful in marketing programs and activities to current and potential CARL members. Resources should be allocated to maximize and exploit its usefulness.
Rationale: Current networking technology offers a variety of cost-effective mechanisms to facilitate communication among CARL members, including basic Internet listservers and gophers. The ubiquity of Internet access among academic libraries could provide a cost-effective means of establishing a communications infrastructure that would contribute substantially to CARL's stated objectives. These include providing opportunities for professional growth, dissemination of information, and the exchange of ideas, as well as supporting participation in regional programming designed to promote and improve library service to the academic and research community. Nearly 25% of the CARL members who responded to the survey expressed interest in such Internet services as a listserver and jobline.
Recommendation #6: Strengthen CARL programming by establishing an infrastructure and committing the budgetary support to develop new and innovative programs, facilitate duplication of successful national programs on a regional level, and insure that programming of the highest quality is available to CARL members conveniently and economically.
Rationale: Strong regional programming continues to be CARL's forte. Nearly 70% of the survey respondents indicated having attended at least one CARL program during the last two years, and nearly half of the respondents identified ³good programs² as the most important reason for joining CARL. Another 49% expressed interest in CARL sponsorship of programs featuring the best speakers and programs from national conferences. Furthermore, half of the respondents indicated a willingness to pay more for CARL programs in order to accomplish this.
Recommendation #7: Proceed cautiously with initiatives for new CARL activities and endeavors beyond regional programming.
Rationale: Support among current CARL members who responded to the survey for activities other than regional programming is diffuse, with no other suggested activity receiving a positive response rate of as much as 25%. While many activities may have benefits for the organization unforeseen by survey respondents, the Committee encourages the Board to carefully consider any proposals for new initiatives, making sure that the benefits far outweighs the costs before granting its approval.
Rationale: The first four recommendations, especially #3 and #4, imply a more sophisticated infrastructure than currently exists in the organization. The functions of the Membership Director are seen as critical to the survival of CARL and more organizational support for membership initiatives is needed to insure its health and continued robustness. Such a committee could be chaired by the Membership Director and might include as members the junior CARL vice president, liaison coordinators, interest group coordinators, and the mailing list coordinator, as well as members-at-large. Regular meetings for the committee, perhaps two per year, should be supported by the Board.
Recommendation #9: Establish a standing planning committee to advise the Executive Board on such issues as long-range planning, bylaws and organization, financial matters, etc..
Rationale: It is the opinion of the Committee that the issues mentioned above require ongoing attention beyond what the Board is able to give at its regular meetings, which are of necessity devoted to decision making and policy setting rather than investigation and discussion. Currently, the Board has no body to whom organizational issues may be referred for further study. A standing committee with responsibility for studying such issues and making informed recommendations to the Board would theoretically improve the functioning of the Board and thus the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. The committee could be chaired by the senior vice president and should include the junior vice president among its members, as well as the Treasurer. Other members might include the immediate past president, as well as several members-at-large. A minimum of two meetings of the planning committee per year should be supported by the Board.
Recommendation #10: Establish an ad hoc program development committee or task force to implement recommendations #5, #6 and #7.
Rationale: Again, it is the opinion of the Committee that adequate infrastructure to insure continued strong programs and activities to meet the needs of CARL members and future members does not currently exist. While a standing committee to perform this function may not be necessary in the long run, an ad hoc committee could immediately provide needed support and coordination for interest group and other CARL activities beyond that which either of the Interest Group Coordinators or the CARL Board might be able to accomplish individually. This task force might also recommend seed money or other support mechanisms for new interest groups, as well as support mechanisms for new CARL initiatives, such as the CARL Annual Conference, teleconferencing and distance learning, liaisons with other organizations, Internet-based initiatives, etc.. This committee might include as members the Interest Group Coordinators, interest group leaders, and other active members-at-large.
Recommendation #11: Refer the CARL constitution, bylaws, administrative manual, and fee structure (for membership and programs) to an ad hoc bylaws and organization committee for re-examination and revision.:
Rationale: It is not possible to implement the above recommendations within the provisions of the current bylaws and constitution on other than an ad hoc basis. Thus, in order for the Board to act on these recommendations within a reasonable time frame, a concurrent process to revise the bylaws should be undertaken immediately. The ad hoc bylaws and organization committee should be charged to propose revisions to the CARL bylaws and constitution that will facilitate implementation of the above recommendations. The committee should also consider a restructuring of membership dues and/or a modest increase in dues to reflect the true value of membership in CARL and CARL's identity as an ACRL chapter. It is interesting to note that more than 75% of the survey respondents indicated a willingness to pay more in dues than the current annual fee of $10.00, if the benefits of such an increase are tangible. The proposed revisions should be approved by the Board and submitted to the membership for ratification as soon as possible, but no later than the 1995 annual election of CARL officers.
Recommendation #12: Allocate CARL funds to support administrative functions carried out by the President and his or her staff
Rationale: It is clear that the increasing level of responsibility for management of this organization placed upon the CARL President is burdensome to the extent that many qualified candidates for the position may be unwilling to take it on. CARL should commit the resources necessary to support the administrative function of the office so that no potential candidate need be discouraged due to the lack of institutional or personal resources.
Recommendation #13: Develop a financial model for the organization that could be used to predict the fiscal implications of these recommendations or any other strategies the Board might choose to implement, and guide the organization in developing long range plans generally.
Rationale: Many of the recommendations in this report will have a fiscal impact on CARL that cannot be ignored. This impact must be anticipated and planned for to insure continued financial stability. Development of a financial model might be undertaken by the Board as a whole, delegated to the Treasurer, delegated to the proposed planning committee, or accomplished through a blend of these organizational approaches.