LISNews: Librarian News

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has released a proposed new set of standards for accreditation for colleges in their region. The proposed standards are alarmingly weak concerning libraries, where the previous standards were quite good and expected a high level of professionalism in library services. Academic librarians in the region are up in arms, trying to get the proposed standards changed. They may turn out to be successful, and they may not. It is a scary reminder that the place of librarianship and libraries is anything but secure, regardless of how you conceive of libraries and library service. The latest Library Juice has an article from TEXLINE, a newsletter of the Texas Library Association, on the issue, with links to relevant SACS documents, followed by some discussion from COLLIB-L, the listserv of the ACRL college libraries section, which give some insight into what is happening and what can be done about it.