Association for Rural & Small Libraries

The oldest document on record for the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) indicates that the Association was established in 1982.  Its founder was Dr. Bernard Vavrek, Director of the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship (CSRL) at Clarion University in Pennsylvania. In its early years ARSL’s membership consisted primarily of library and information science students. Each year that membership grew and broadened to include librarians and library workers from rural and small libraries throughout the country.[3]

ARSL  was “home” at Clarion until 2007, when it moved away from the University to its new headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky. ARSL Board Members held a meeting in January 2007 at Clarion to determine the new “shape” of ARSL.  Discussions included enlarging the Board, revising the committee structure, and reviewing guiding documents as a foundation for future services.  As an outgrowth of that strategic planning meeting a course was set and, since then, the strategic plan is updated annually to reflect member needs and remain relevant to the ARSL Mission and Objectives.[3]

At that time the group made a small but important change to their name: from the Association of Rural and Small Libraries to the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. This reflected their openness to welcoming members from beyond the immediate professional sphere of rural and small librarianship and their increased focus on providing professional development tools for the entire rural and small library community. In 2008 ARSL became an official American Library Association (ALA) Affiliate Organization. In 2017 ARSL headquarters was once again relocated to Whitehall, Michigan.[3]

In the fall of 2017 the Board of Directors issued a request for proposals to assess their organizational structure and make recommendations for improvements. The board’s action was precipitated by growing concerns about the sustainability of the association in the face of rapid growth. ARSL’s 14+ person Board was at that time responsible for all strategic decisions and almost all operational functions, with Board members chairing all of the major committees.[3]

In May of 2018 Primary Source,[4] a small agency in Washington state that provides consultation and services specifically for libraries and library-support organizations, was retained by the ARSL board to provide the requested analysis. Through that analysis the Board decided to realign their leadership structure to better serve the needs of the Association’s members. The Board hired ARSL’s first-ever Executive Director, Kate Laughlin, to manage the administrative operations of the Association in January 2020. The Association’s headquarters were moved from Michigan to Seattle, Washington as part of this change. They also adjusted their Board structure, shrinking from 14 members to 9 (along with two ex-officio nonvoting members)[5] and replacing the generic Member at Large seats with four Regional Directors to help ensure more nationally representative leadership. Responsibility for policy development and program implementation was delegated to the major committees.[3]

• 2007- 2008 – Don Reynolds
• 2008 - 2009 – Patty Hector
• 2009 – 2010 – Timothy Owens
• 2010 – 2011 – Sonja Plummer-Morgan
• 2011 – 2012 – Becky Heil
• 2012 - 2013 – Andrea Berstler
• 2013 - 2014 - Tena Hanson
• 2014 - 2015 - Donna Brice
• 2015 - 2016 - Jet Kofoot
• 2016 - 2017 - Judy Calhoun
• 2017 - 2018 - Kieran Hixon
• 2018 - 2019 - Lisa Lewis
• 2019 - 2020 - Jennifer Pearson
• 2020 - 2021 - Kathy Zappitello

[3]

ARSL is a volunteer-driven organization. With the exception of some administrative functions, ARSL’s work is a result of a dedicated group of volunteers who meet regularly to discuss the goals and priorities of the Association.[10]

This committee works on formalizing and maintaining board-approved partnerships that provide opportunities for ARSL members. Assuring that each partnership received regular updates and is of mutual benefit to both organizations. They also engage in regular advocacy efforts on behalf of the organization and promote individual advocacy opportunities to our members.[11]

This committee is responsible for ensuring the timely planning of ARSL's annual conference in cooperation with the ARSL administrative office. The committee's work includes recruitment of keynote speakers and presenters.[12]

This committee creates ARSL's annual organization budget, which is reviewed and adopted by the Board of Directors. It is also charged with forecasting revenues and expenditures based on organizational strategic goals.[13]

This committee oversees the revision and maintenance of the Association's governing documents, including its policies and bylaws. This committee meets as needed to review proposed revisions to those documents before submitting them to the ARSL Board for consideration.[14]

This committee is composed of the Immediate Past President, the current President and the Vice-President, this committee determines the eligibility of candidates for the annual Board election.[15]

This committee is responsible for curating the Association's public voice in print and on social media. They develop campaigns to promote the work of Association and help to attract new members.[16]

This committee convenes annually to coordinate the selection of recipients of ARSL's four conference scholarships: the Dr. Bernard Vavrek Scholarship for current LIS students; the Founders Scholarship for early-career library professionals; the Ken Davenport Scholarship for mid-career library professionals; and the ARSL Angels scholarship for ARSL members.[17]

• 2008 - Sacramento, CA | California State Library
• 2009 - Gatlinburg, TN | Tennessee State Library and Archives
• 2010 - Denver, CO | Joint Conference with the Association for Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS) | Colorado State Library, Colorado Library Consortium, Bibliographic Center for Research
• 2011 - Frisco, TX | University of North Texas
• 2012 - Raleigh, NC | State Library of North Carolina
• 2013 - Omaha, NE | Nebraska Library Association, Iowa Small Library Association
• 2014 - Tacoma, WA | Washington State Library
• 2015 - Little Rock, AR | Arkansas Library Association
• 2016 - Fargo, ND | North Dakota State Library, Minnesota Department of Education State Library Services
• 2017 - St. George, UT | Utah State Library
• 2018 - Springfield, IL | Illinois State Library
• 2019 - Burlington, VT | State Library of Vermont
• 2020 - Virtual (previously Wichita, KS)
• 2021 - Reno/Sparks, NV
• 2022 - TBD
• 2023 - Wichita, KS

[3]