(via Gwen Gregory, IACRL President)
The ACRL Board of Directors has recently appointed a task force to review and update the Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (SLHE), as appropriate. Like all ACRL standards and guidelines, these are subject to a regular cyclical review. Specifically, the task force is charged with the following tasks.
- review the SLHE
- review outcomes as articulated in regional accrediting association guidelines as there is increasing expectation that libraries can contribute to them, e.g., educational role, facilities, etc.
- incorporate accreditation expectations into the draft standards as appropriate
- review the performance indicators for each principle and consider expanding them
- recommend needed changes
- produce a draft document incorporating these changes
- seek comments and input from stakeholder communities and the general ACRL membership
- incorporate, as appropriate, those recommendations into the final draft
The SLHE, adopted in 2011, are designed to guide academic libraries in advancing and sustaining their role as partners in educating students, achieving their institutions’ missions, and positioning libraries as leaders in assessment and continuous improvement on their campuses. Libraries in higher education are increasingly required to demonstrate their value and document their contributions to overall institutional effectiveness and be prepared to address changes in higher education. The SLHE is a framework for library planning and assessment that can be used for a variety of circumstances including annual planning, program review, and accreditation self-study.
The task force is led by Andrea M. Falcone, Head of Education & Outreach Services at Auraria Library in Denver, and a presenter with the ACRL workshop “Planning, Assessing, and Communicating Library Impact: Putting the SLHE into Action”. You can expect to hear more in the months ahead as the task force seeks input and circulates a draft for comment (following the procedures for the review of standards found in the ACRL Guide to Policies and Procedures, Chapter 14). In the meantime you can offer suggestions or ask questions of Andrea Falcone, at Andrea.Falcone@ucdenver.edu or (303) 352-3953.