Exploring Information Environment
The Association of College and Research Libraries, also known as the ACRL, is a division of the broader American Libraries Association (ALA). This division focuses on representing primarily academic libraries and academic librarians, but also includes support staff, and even those with a vested interest in academic libraries. It is important to note that this association is not an elitist one. All academic libraries and their staffs are given due consideration: “ACRL represents librarians working with all types of academic libraries—community and junior college, college, and university —as well as comprehensive and specialized research libraries and their professional staffs” (ACRL History).The division itself
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“Advancing Learning, Transforming Scholarship,” is the way chosen by the organization itself. With a tagline such as this, it is clear that the emphasis of the ACRL proper has a more intellectual slant than its larger superset. In point of fact, the ACRL describes its core purpose as, “lead[ing] academic and research librarians and libraries in advancing learning and scholarship… serving as a channel of communication among academic librarians, faculty, students, administrators, other information professionals, higher education organizations, federal, state, and local governments, and the larger society” (ACRL History). http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/history/history Indeed, members are lauded for making contributions to bodies of research and publications. There are twenty awards given annually to academic librarians for distinguished service or significant scholarship in the field. A great emphasis is placed, also, on innovations, intensive training, and professional advancement. Membership to the ACRL allows opportunities to discover job postings that might otherwise not be found. The various facets of academia are also well-represented by the association. There are sections for librarians who specialize in specific academic disciplines. The website obligingly underscores this point by placing a link to these sections along a toolbar along the top of the site. Each link on this toolbar will take you to a page representing the section in question, giving users the opportunity to learn more and