At its Spring 2022 Association Meeting held in Toronto, Canada, April 25–April 28, the membership of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) voted to invite the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center (AUC), Inc., to join ARL as the 127th member, effective July 1, 2022. Loretta Parham, AUC CEO and library director, accepted the invitation.
"This membership is a hallmark moment for the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library, one in which we can deepen our commitment to excellence in our provision of information, research, and preservation services for the four HBCU institutions that we support. We are eager to engage, contribute, and learn from the work of ARL, and we are grateful for the invitation to be a member of such a reputable body of research libraries and archives," said Parham.
The vote to approve AUC's membership followed the completion of ARL Membership Reviews: Process, Responsibilities, and Procedures. This review of Woodruff Library considered both qualitative and quantitative data, site visits, site visit team recommendations, library documentation, and a membership committee review. The review highlighted the library's innovative services in digital scholarship, open access, and special collections; its commitment to accessibility and resources; its engagement with the research communities with archival research; its unique holdings in African American history and culture; and how the library advances data science. The Membership Committee review noted in particular how the library prioritizes diversity in collections programming, educational and research commitments, and staffing, and noted the library's incorporation of the "activities of four leading HBCUs with rich social and cultural legacies would itself bring a unique new perspective on diversity to ARL."
"I'm pleased to welcome the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center to ARL. AUC is an important historical and cultural institution. Its work advancing the research enterprise through digital scholarship, special collections, and diversity is pivotal to the future of research libraries," said K. Matthew Dames, ARL president and Edward H. Arnold University Librarian for University of Notre Dame. "We look forward to the contributions of Woodruff Library employees in ARL activities."
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in Canada and the US whose mission is to advance research, learning, and scholarly communication. The Association fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise; advances diversity, equity, and inclusion; and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. ARL forges partnerships and catalyzes the collective efforts of research libraries to enable knowledge creation and to achieve enduring and barrier-free access to information. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
About the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center (AUC), Inc.
The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library partners with the nation's largest consortium of historically black colleges and universities: Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College and Spelman College to provide information management, instruction and access to global information resources in support of teaching and learning, scholarship and cultural preservation of the AUC. The Library is the winner of the 2016 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in the university category from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Home to a premier Archives Research Center, the Library provides collaborative leadership in preservation, access and collection development of unique archival resources documenting African American history and culture. To learn more, visit www.auctr.edu.
