FACRL News & Announcements

The FACRL Board is seeking nominations from the membership for seven positions that will become available in 2023:

• President-Elect (Term: 2023-2026)
• Treasurer (Term: 2023-2026)
• Communications Manager (Term: 2023 - 2025)
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (Term: 2023-2025)
• Board Member at Large, 3 vacancies (Term: 2023-2025) - Board members will be selected to represent specific regions of Florida (north, central, and south). Information on these regions is available in the FACRL Bylaws.

Please consider running for the board if you are at all interested! Previous experience serving on committees or in organizational leadership positions is useful but not required—we will mentor you and help you develop valuable skills that you can apply well into the future!

Position Descriptions: Position descriptions are stated in the FACRL Bylaws. Our meetings are conducted online, and generally occur monthly. Terms begin June 1st, 2023 and end at the May 2025/2026 meeting, depending on position.

Membership Requirements: Nominees for the office of President-elect must maintain active ACRL member status. Nominees must be current FACRL members. Members of ACRL are automatically members of FACRL. Individuals who are not members of ACRL may join FACRL itself for $30 per year.

General Service Expectations: Monthly meetings of the Board are conducted via conference call. In addition, in typical years there are two in-person meetings, one held during the fall at the FACRL annual conference and the other in the Spring during the FLA annual conference. In addition, the Board may convene as needed to address urgent issues and Board representation at meetings of various FACRL subcommittees may also be required. 

Nominations are due by Friday, January 13, 2023. To submit nominations, please use our nomination form. Self-nominations are welcome. If nominating others for open positions, please get their permission prior to nominating. If you wish to nominate more than one person for each position, please submit the survey again.

Please contact Elana Karshmer (ekarshme@fiu.edu), Past President, if you have any questions.

Did you know that any group of ten or more members of the Chapter, representing a field or activity of interest and within the scope of the Chapter’s field of interest, may organize a group upon receiving approval from the Board of Directors. Interest groups shall be open to all members free of charge and composed only of Chapter members.

To learn more, see our guidelines for starting an FACRL Interest Group.

The Florida Association of College & Research Libraries (FACRL) is pleased to announce our final program for the FACRL 2022 Annual Conference (virtual) on Friday, October 21, 2022. This year's conference will be focused on Information Ethics & Access.  Information access is one of the cornerstone values of the library profession. How do libraries facilitate equitable and ethical access to different types of information? How can we as library staff help overcome internal and external barriers to information access? This year's program encourages librarians and library staff to explore, share, and discuss different aspects of information access and ethics.

The opening speaker for the FACRL 2022 Annual Conference will be Dr. John Burgess from the University of Alabama School of Information! Dr. Burgess’ research focuses on moral reasoning and sustainability ethics for library and information science professionals. He teaches courses in the areas of information ethics, academic librarianship and information literacy and is active in several information ethics and policy related special interest groups. His keynote address will focus on moral reasoning skills in the prevention of vocational awe and burnout in academic libraries. Don't miss this important and highly relevant talk! Register for the conference today!

This year's conference has something for everyone, including:

• Twelve presentations in three concurrent tracks 

• Six poster presentations

• Lunch & Learn sponsored EBSCO and Baker & Taylor

• Mid-day chair yoga 

• Interactive happy hour session 

FACRL 2022 Annual Conference (virtual)

October 21, 2022

9:00 AM - 5:00 P.M. 

Stay for some additional fun during the FACRL Virtual Happy Hour at 4 p.m.

Registration is FREE for current FACRL members and only $15 for non-members.

Register Today

Interested in participating in FACRL but not an ACRL member? FACRL has non-ACRL memberships for only $30 annually. The only requirement is to be a student, staff, or librarian working in, seeking work in, or retired from a Florida library (or related organization) with some affiliation to higher education. Join today and attend our FACRL 2020 Annual Conference for free!

Join FACRL

We are pleased to announce that the opening speaker for the FACRL 2022 Annual Conference (virtual) will be Dr. John Burgess, from the University of Alabama School of Information! 

Dr. Burgess’ research focuses on moral reasoning and sustainability ethics for library and information science professionals. He teaches courses in areas of information ethics, academic librarianship and information literacy and is active in several information ethics and policy related special interest groups. His keynote address will focus on moral reasoning skills in the prevention of vocational awe and burnout in academic libraries. Don't miss this important and highly relevant talk by registering for the conference today!

We are excited to announce that registration for the FACRL 2022 Annual Conference (virtual) is now OPEN!  This year's conference will be focused on Information Ethics & Access.  Information access is one of the cornerstone values of the library profession. How do libraries facilitate equitable and ethical access to different types of information? How can we as library staff help overcome internal and external barriers to information access? This year's program encourages librarians and library staff to explore, share, and discuss different aspects of information access and ethics. This year's conference will include: an opening keynote address by Dr. John T. F. Burgess, Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies live presentations  an interactive poster session  and more! FACRL 2022 Annual Conference Details  Conference Date: Friday, October 21st, 2022, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Location: Online via ZOOM - attend and participate from wherever you are! Conference Website: https://facrl.wildapricot.org/Annual-Conference Registration Information:   FACRL Members: $0 (Free registration) Out-of-State OR Non-FACRL Members: $15 (conference only) Non-FACRL Members: $30 (includes a 1-year FACRL membership) Presenters: $0 (free registration with code - to be provided)

Register Now

Apply now for one of the student scholarships to attend the 2022 FACRL Annual Conference, “Information Ethics & Access.”  The conference will take place virtually on Friday, October 21, 2022. Two scholarship winners will receive an educational grant and complimentary registration to the conference. 

Application deadline:  August 31, 2022.  Winners will be notified on or before Wednesday, September 14th, 2022.

Don't Delay! Apply Today!  

Questions? Please contact Ava Brillat, FACRL Scholarship Chair at abrillat@miami.edu

Florida Association of College & Research Libraries (FACRL) condemns the threats of racial violence and the terror they are intended to inspire at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). Our state’s four HBCUs - Bethune-Cookman University, Edward Waters University, Florida A&M University, and Florida Memorial University - serve and employ thousands of Floridians. We commit our solidarity to the HBCU community of scholars and educators, and stand in opposition to acts of terror that threaten the physical and psychological safety and lives of our fellow Florida higher education community. FACRL’s membership reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of our state and we grow in our representation as we stand with and support our HBCU institutions.

FACRL would like to acknowledge and honor the indigenous communities upon which Florida and its colleges, universities, and institutions now sit. We recognize that our state has been built on the homelands and resources of the Calusa, Cuchiyaga, Miccosukee, Muscogee, Seminole, Taino, Tequesta, Timucua, and Tocobaga peoples. Thus, we acknowledge the heritage of these tribes as we honor the resilience of the nations indigenous to the state of Florida.   

We recognize the history of genocide and forced removal of indigenous people from their territory, and the painful legacy these acts have left upon our community and among the indigenous peoples still connected to this state. We honor and respect their continued relationship to the land, and we call upon our community to reflect upon the past and learn how to be better stewards of the soil and water upon which our state rests. Acknowledging our indigenous and native neighbors is only a small part of what we can do to honor them. We must amplify their voices in our collections, programs, and activities at work and in our lives. Indigenous and native peoples and communities do not only exist in the history of Florida; they exist in the present and will exist in the future of Florida as well. In this acknowledgment, we honor the memory and history of Florida’s indigenous communities as defenders and stewards of the land upon which we all now live, work, and play. 

For more information on Florida’s indigenous communities, please visit the following sites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa (Calusa)
http://www.keyshistory.org/histindians.html (Cuchiyayga)
https://www.miccosukee.com/history (Miccosukee)
http://www.mnoffl.com/ (Muscogee)
https://www.semtribe.com/stof (Seminole)
https://www.uctp.org/ (Taino)
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/Timucua/ (Timucua)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequesta (Tequesta)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocobaga (Tocobaga)

FACRL stands with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and other organizations that condemn violence and racism aimed at Black people and communities of color.

FACRL’s Board of Directors denounces the deaths of Black people at the hands of law enforcement, among them George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others who were targeted because of their race. The Board asks members of the Florida library community to recognize, acknowledge, and work in solidarity to eradicate systemic racism. Ignoring the threats of racism serves not only as a barrier to equality for citizens and residents of our country but ensures that the violence associated with racism remains unchecked and continues to spread within our borders and beyond.

In addition to fighting racism, FACRL is committed to enhancing the diversity of its leadership by creating a more inclusive Board of Directors. To that end, the FACRL Board of Directors  pledges to make diverse representation and inclusivity a priority, and will actively seek out Black members and people of color to run for leadership roles for upcoming elections and to fill chair positions.

The fight against racism is important. We must do better; and starting now FACRL commits to be engaged and vocal in the fight.