Association of Christian Librarians

Association of Christian Librarians

Abbreviation	ACL
Formation	1957
Purpose	"The mission of the Association of Christian Librarians is to strengthen libraries through professional development of evangelical librarians, scholarship, and spiritual encouragement for service in higher education."[1]
Headquarters	Cedarville, Ohio
Website	http://www.acl.org

The Association of Christian Librarians (ACL) is a non-profit, professional organization of librarians whose members are evangelical Christians. The stated mission of the organization is to “strengthen libraries through professional development of evangelical librarians, scholarship, and spiritual encouragement for service in higher education.”^[2] ACL holds a national conference each year hosted by one of its member institutions.^[3][4][5] ACL also publishes The Christian Librarian and the Christian Periodical Index, an index of articles and reviews written from an evangelical point of view labeled as "the leading guide to periodical literature from the evangelical perspective" by the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences.^[6]

History

The organization began in 1957 with seventeen initial members and has grown slowly over the course of its history.^[7] In 1993 it had roughly 300 members,^[8] and as of 2012 ACL’s membership has grown to over 500 members representing around 150 institutions.^[9]

Membership

Membership requirements include profession of the Christian faith as outlined by the association’s statement of faith,^[10] as well as employment at a higher education institution. Associate memberships are available for non-librarians who both agree with the ACL's statement of faith and are interested in libraries or librarianship. ^[11]

References

1. "About ACL". Association of Christian Librarians. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
2. "About ACL". Association of Christian Librarians. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
3. Brock, Lynn; Tonya Fawcett (Jan–Feb 2011). "National Library Conference Coming to Cedarville" (PDF). Centennial Library E-news 18 (3): 3. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
4. Hawkins, Donald (2007). "Large Association Conferences on the Horizon". Information Today 24 (6): 26.
5. "Past Conference Sites and Hosts". Association of Christian Librarians. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
6. Stuehrenberg, Paul (2009). Theological Librarianship. Taylor & Francis. p. 5325.
7. Ashby, Patricia (1993). "The Association of Christian Librarians". Retrieved 26 October 2012.
8. Ashby, Patricia (1993). "The Association of Christian Librarians". Retrieved 26 October 2012.
9. Stuehrenberg, Paul (2009). Theological Librarianship. Taylor & Francis. p. 5235.
10. Stuehrenberg, Paul (2009). Theological Librarianship. Taylor & Francis. p. 5235.
11. "Join ACL". Association of Christian Librarians. Retrieved 29 October 2012.

• The Association of Christian Librarians. "Association of Christian Librarians." http://www.acl.org (accessed Oct. 29 2012).
• Ashby, Patricia W. The Association of Christian Librarians. Master's thesis, Kent State University, 1993. In ERIC, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=ED367322 (accessed Oct. 26, 2012).
• Brock, Lynn and Tonya Fawcett. “National Library Conference Coming to Cedarville.” Centential Library E-News, 18:3, 2011: p. 3. https://www.cedarville.edu/Academics/Library/Whats-New/~/media/Files/PDF/Library/ENews/enews2011feb.pdf (accessed Oct. 29, 2012).
• Hawkins, Donald T. “Large Association Conferences on the Horizon.” Information Today, 24:6 2007: p. 26-27.
• Nelson, Corinne and Evan St. Lifer. "ACL Meets in Record Numbers." Library Journal. 121:16 (October 1, 1996): p. 16.
• Stuehrenberg, Paul F. "Theological Librarianship." In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, 3rd Ed. Taylor & Francis: 2009, p. 5231-37. DOI: 10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043860.