<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-d572faa9-7fff-f202-5fa1-ce0350057891"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Hi All,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Please consider</span><a href="https://nwccu.tfaforms.net/77" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">submitting feedback</span></a><span style="font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> by Friday, March 6</span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> to the NWCCU on their</span><a href="https://nwccu.app.box.com/s/gqmx5n3vtau7chvz4bd3yd8zq0bvw8jw" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">updated options</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> for the library standard for accreditation. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The NWCCU held a listening session specifically for the library standard on March 4 and presented</span><a href="https://nwccu.app.box.com/s/gqmx5n3vtau7chvz4bd3yd8zq0bvw8jw" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline"> five options</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> that they were considering for revising this standard. They are welcoming feedback from the community, regardless of whether you attended the listening session, by Friday, March 6, 2026. Please</span><a href="https://nwccu.tfaforms.net/77" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">submit your feedback using this form</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> and select Library from the listening session drop-down menu. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">In you would like inspiration for your feedback, here are my concerns:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">All </span><a href="https://nwccu.app.box.com/s/gqmx5n3vtau7chvz4bd3yd8zq0bvw8jw" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">five of the options</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> that NWCCU is proposing for the revised 2027 standard for libraries would weaken and devalue libraries and librarians and do harm to the communities they serve. I urge the NWCCU not to make any changes to the NWCCU standard except to consider how to strengthen the work of libraries and librarians and realign their standard for libraries with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)</span><a href="https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/standardslibraries" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Standards for Libraries in Higher Education</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">. Institutions of higher education need to be required to employ and support qualified librarians to do their essential work for their communities.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">NWCCU explained at the beginning of the listening session on March 4 that the reason that they had proposed removing the requirement to employ qualified library personnel was because there are several small libraries, many of them rural, that have been unable to hire qualified library personnel and would like to instead be able to work out a different scenario, such as through a consortium, contract, or other formal arrangement. They said that their intent was not to devalue libraries and so they proposed</span><a href="https://nwccu.app.box.com/s/gqmx5n3vtau7chvz4bd3yd8zq0bvw8jw" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">five options</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> for the language that they are requesting feedback on by March 6. Their intent with the five options was to allow institutions options, other than employment, for providing “librarian” services, such as through a consortium, contract or other formal arrangement. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">I am deeply concerned about this. A librarian is needed to manage the resources and services of a library. The digital divide is very real and has a huge impact on rural areas. A contract with a “librarian” service provider for rural libraries will not cut it. This will reduce the quality of services for rural areas if we go in this direction. Students and faculty in rural areas need in-person support and space in addition to online support. It is extremely important to their success. Each library also needs a librarian who understands the local context, institution, and can manage the library resources and services to meet the specific needs of that community. Deciding not to employ a qualified librarian, but rather to make some other arrangement will not suffice. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">It is also a further step to devalue the profession in general. If institutions are having difficulty hiring qualified, they would have more success by offering competitive salaries, benefits, and good working conditions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">This proposal would allow institutions to consider librarians as an extra perk for their students and community. Institutions who have leaders who don’t see them as valuable will be able to remove them or institutions who are so pressed for funds that they need to cut everything that is not absolutely required will remove them as well. This will increase the divide between people who are able to attend institutions that have chosen to keep a librarian because they value them and can afford them and those who are not. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Changing this standard could cause irreversible damage to institutions and their communities. Institutions can make decisions quickly based upon little data. They are not required to have an understanding of the library or current information issues, ask the library for data before making their decisions, understand the impact of their decisions on their students and communities, or consult the Association of College and Research Libraries standards. But, once staff, resources, and services have been removed, it is extremely difficult to get them back. Thus, it is essential that the NWCCU keeps this standard intact. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Furthermore, librarians are needed more than ever with the increased use of AI. They are needed to evaluate and curate AI resources and teach students, faculty, and their communities about them. To see librarians and libraries being devalued at this time when they should instead be given more support to do this essential work is extremely concerning. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">For background, the Association of College and Research Libraries - Oregon (ACRL-OR) has provided </span><a href="https://acrloregon.org/news/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">information </span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">about the original proposed change (although not the updated</span><a href="https://nwccu.app.box.com/s/gqmx5n3vtau7chvz4bd3yd8zq0bvw8jw" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline"> five options</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">), its effects, and suggested actions to take. Here is ACRL-OR's sample feedback language about the problems that would result from the original proposed change:</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;margin-left:11pt"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Diminished accountability – Removes measurable standards for professional library staffing, making it difficult to evaluate institutional compliance with quality expectations</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;margin-left:11pt"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Inequitable outcomes – Under-resourced institutions may use this change as justification to eliminate or leave vacant librarian positions, disproportionately harming students at community colleges and smaller institutions who most need professional support</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;margin-left:11pt"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Compromised student success – Loss of professional research consultation and information literacy instruction directly impacts students’ ability to complete coursework, develop critical thinking skills, and meet program learning outcomes</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;margin-left:11pt"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Institutional mission negligence – Without specialized librarian expertise in collection development, licensing negotiations, archives, and emerging and cutting-edge technologies, institutions waste resources and cannot adequately support faculty scholarship or curricular needs</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The NWCCU already weakened their standards for libraries with their 2020 revision by removing their alignment with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)</span><a href="https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/standardslibraries" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Standards for Libraries in Higher Education</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">. Below, you can see that "sufficient" is not defined and there are no associated rubrics or metrics:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:30pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Current 2020 Standard (2.H.1): “Consistent with its mission, the institution employs qualified personnel and provides access to library and information resources with a level of currency, depth, and breadth sufficient to support and sustain the institution’s mission, programs, and services.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:30pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">All </span><a href="https://nwccu.app.box.com/s/gqmx5n3vtau7chvz4bd3yd8zq0bvw8jw" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">five of the options</span></a><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> that NWCCU is proposing for the revised 2027 standard for libraries would weaken and devalue libraries and librarians and do harm to the communities they serve. </span></font></span></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p></div></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:rgb(192,57,43);background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Jennifer Lantrip</span></b><span style="color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"> (she/her)</span><span style="color:black"><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Health Sciences Student Success Librarian | </span></span><span style="font-size:9pt;color:black"><a href="https://www.lib.pacificu.edu/" target="_blank">Libraries</a></span><span style="color:black"><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">503-352-3121</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Pacific University | 2043 College Way</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Forest Grove, OR 97116</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Tran Library 121</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt;color:black"><a href="https://calendar.app.google/jPFSxHRQMQgYUNEB6" target="_blank">Schedule a meeting with me</a></span></p></div></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"></div></div></div></div>