Idaho Awaits: Your Roadmap to Affordable Participation in the 2025 ACL Annual Conference

2025 ACL Annual Conference – In-Person Only

For the past several years, ACL has included an online component in our annual conference. However, due to declining virtual participation and rising technical costs, there will be no virtual component for the 2025 ACL Annual Conference. Instead, ACL will be offering other virtual professional development opportunities throughout the year. This shift allows us to fully dedicate our resources to making the in-person gathering a truly enriching experience with embodied engagement and learning alongside Christian librarians in similar roles.

Making Conference Participation Affordable

We encourage you to start mapping your attendance strategy for the 2025 ACL Annual Conference, held June 2-4 in Nampa, Idaho, at Northwest Nazarene University. We understand that financial limitations are often roadblocks to attending the conference, and ACL remains committed to creating pathways to make participation as affordable as possible despite rising costs. We’re pleased to announce that our hosting library at Northwest Nazarene University has secured a grant to help reduce expenses for attendees in 2025.

Here are additional ways to make conference participation more budget-friendly:

  • Christian Periodical Indexers: If you index for the Christian Periodical Index, you can double your indexing token compensation to be used as credit towards your conference registration. Some indexers have paid very little out of pocket by using this benefit!
  • Presenters Discount: Selected presenters receive up to $50 off their registration, so consider submitting a proposal and sharing your expertise.
  • Institutional Support: Many university administrators view conference participation as vital for faculty to stay current in their field, share research, and network with peers, all while enhancing their institution’s visibility. Presenting a workshop or poster at conference may increase your institution’s willingness to cover your expenses, so start brainstorming presentation ideas early!
  • Non-Traditional Funding Avenues: Explore alternative routes through grants or special institutional funding.
  • Conference Scholarships: Multiple pathways to funding are available through ACL, including the new Jeanette Parker Memorial Conference Scholarship for ACL members pursuing an MLIS or MLS degree.
  • Be an Early Bird: Get on the fast track to savings by signing up during the Early Bird period and receive an automatic $15 discount on your registration.
  • Travel Economically: Chart a cost-effective journey by sharing rides or coordinating travel plans with colleagues to reduce transportation costs.

Stay tuned as we continue to map out more updates and announcements in the coming months, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need directions along the way.

We hope to see you in Idaho!

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The Ruler of Kings on Earth

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. (Revelation 1:4b-5a ESV)

We face unsettling times not only as Christians but also as librarians. Nevertheless, we can take comfort in the Apostle John’s pastoral greetings of grace and peace from God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son. Though people in this world may despise us and undermine God’s truth, we have this assurance that God is sovereign over all. Though our lives may be riddled with uncertainty and concerns, we have this hope that Jesus is ruling. We can look to Him, for He knows our struggles and cares for us.

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October 2024

Note from the Coordinator

Hello friends! Another month has gone by, and the semester is almost halfway over.  I hope you have some sort of mid-semester or Fall Break coming up.  

This month’s update is brief, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out on an exciting opportunity. Our annual EBSCO eBook offer is back, and it’s as popular as ever! It’s a fantastic deal that brings great value to both small and large institutions alike. Be sure to register for the webinar with Robin Coder below if you are interested in learning more about the ordering process.

After hearing of your interest, the CLC team is excited to present you with a new discount opportunity on ACRL Benchmark. Keep reading for more details.

Wishing you all the best as we head into the second half of the semester!

Beth Purtee
CLC Team Coordinator

SAVE UP TO 30% OFF

Our annual offer is now open with 4 new collections in Biblical Studies, Pastoral Ministry/Missions, Leadership, and Mental Health.  Save 30% on these collections, on any of the four 2023 collections, or on consortia-eligible a la carte titles of your choosing ($1000 minimum order).  A 10% discount is available on selected Zondervan/HarperCollins titles.  Please see the ACL website for title lists and all the details. 

For pricing questions or to place an order, please reach out to our rep, Robin Corder.

WEBINAR OPPORTUNITY

Robin Corder will present a webinar this October on how to use ECM for eBook selection and ordering. This session is ideal for those interested in this popular eBook offer and will cover searching the ECM catalog, selecting titles, and placing orders.

Tuesday, October 22  |  2 PM Eastern  |  Zoom

Please register by clicking the button below and the Zoom participation details will be sent soon. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about the EBSCO eBook money-saving offer for your library.

The ACRL Benchmark tool provides U.S. libraries with an invaluable resource for making data-driven decisions through custom peer comparisons. Subscribers gain access to interactive data dashboards with visualizations and filters, as well as a custom report builder that includes longitudinal data dating back to 1998. This tool can be especially useful if academic library data is no longer collected by IPEDS.

The pricing for group subscriptions offers significant savings. For up to 10 libraries, the annual cost is $3,150, with each additional library costing $210. (To compare, individual subscriptions are $630 per year.) If six libraries participate, there’s a 15% savings, and with 10 libraries, the discount increases to 50%. The more libraries that join, the greater the discount, making it a cost-effective option for groups.

Additional Offer Details:

  • A group subscription can start at any time and is valid for one year from the purchase date.
  • A minimum of 6 libraries must participate to activate group savings.
  • ACRL can bill each institution individually.
  • New schools can join at any time during the subscription period, but they will be billed at the original price and will share the same expiration date as the rest of the group.
  • At renewal, pricing will be based on the number of renewing subscribers and any new members.

If you’re interested in joining this group subscription to ACRL Benchmark, please fill out this form by October 31. We’ll confirm participation and see if we have enough libraries to start the group subscription.

SAVE 15%

The Christian Periodical Index® (CPI®) (ISSN 2572-1933) is the comprehensive electronic index to journal articles and book reviews from across the evangelical Christian perspective. CPI, first released in 1957, is updated quarterly by ACL volunteers and produced and distributed by EBSCO.

  • Contains titles from a wide variety of disciplines that present a Christian viewpoint — education, history, literature, medicine, music, nursing, philosophy, science, and sociology
  • 103 titles indexed in CPI are not found in other major religion databases and 70 titles are found ONLY in CPI
  • Indexing done by ACL members
  • New in 2022! Users can limit search results to linked full text or peer-reviewed journals, and search by scripture citation

CLC members are eligible for a 15% discount on CPI available through EBSCO. Contact EBSCO to get a price quote or a trial version. Be sure to mention you are a CLC member to get the 15% savings!

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9/2024 – Addison Lucchi

Addison is a Instructional & Research Librarian / Professor at MidAmerica Nazarene University (1500 FTE) in Olathe, KS. Addison has been a member of ACL for six years.

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September 2024

Note from the Coordinator

Greetings! I imagine most of us are in the thick of all that happens at the beginning of a new semester. May God give us all the strength and wisdom to navigate the challenges that may come, but also the grace and spiritual eyes to see His hand at work.  

Thank you to everyone who has already responded! We have one final request: please review the vendors and products listed to the right. If any of these catch your interest, kindly send a quick email to clc@acl.org to let us know. Your input will be invaluable as we prepare for an upcoming planning meeting. The more we understand member interests, the better we can serve you. As always, feel free to submit additional suggestions through the Suggestion Form on our website.

Beth Purtee
CLC Team Coordinator

Act Now: SEPTEMBER Key Offers and Webinar Opportunity

SAVE 10%

Affordable Resource for Small Institutions

Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) provides access to over 25,000 theological thesis/dissertation titles. Our partnership with TREN offers CLC members a 10% discount (possibly higher based on participation) on an annual subscription. Those who already subscribe to TREN through the CLC offer will receive a notification of continuance. To participate as a new subscriber, please fill out the order form. Deadline for participation is September 11.

SAVE 10%

Affordable Resource for Small Institutions

Did you know that CLC members receive a 10% discount on a subscription to Galaxie’s Theological Journal Library (TJL)? The deadline to take advantage of this year’s offer is September 11. Whether you’re a new or renewing subscriber through CLC, be sure to fill out the order form to update your FTE and secure your discount. If you’re a current TJL subscriber (not through CLC) and would like to transition to the ACL/CLC billing cycle to benefit from the cost savings, please contact Hampton Keathley and fill out the order form as soon as possible.

SAVE 10%

Save 10% on an annual Meescan license! Also, libraries new to Meescan that purchase before March 31, 2025 will receive a $200 equipment credit toward the costs of kiosks or security stations. Want more information about Meescan? A demo is scheduled for Monday, September 16, at 2 pm EST. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcu6spjspE9NF5W97-mISVAkmHP7yopys

SAVE 30%

Save up to 30% on eBooks from EBSCO! The CLC annual offer will open mid-September and run through mid-December. We are working to finalize the collections that will be offered. Details, including title lists, will be posted on the website when they are available.

Save $100 off the registration price to the Internet Librarian Conference!

Link to register: https://site.pheedloop.com/event/ILC24/register#category
Program: https://site.pheedloop.com/event/ILC24/conference/agenda

Please email clc@acl.org to receive the group discount code.

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Tending the Weeds & Needs: A Steadfast Faith

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)

In the late days of summer, I am often preoccupied by two thoughts: the prospect of a new academic year, and the condition of my garden. The first is a perennial condition of the academic library vocation, and the latter is a personal antidote to the condition of the former. As a gardener and librarian, I find that steadfast endurance is a requisite commitment I make to any hope of ever seeing the fruit of my labor. Just as weeds of the garden inevitably crop up and crowd for space, so too are the unexpected needs of the patron on the well-crafted academic schedule. Each requires tending. James (1:2-3) reminds us that our faith is no different. We will “encounter trials of various kinds” and the “testing of our faith produces steadfastness”. It’s a reminder that the greatest return on our service investment, regardless of occupation, is not in the lofty or grand moments, but in the mundane, everyday obligation of tending the weeds and needs. Truly, in moments of great trial, a resilient faith is required, but the measure of our resilience comes only with the sharpened practice of steadfast endurance in everyday adversity. The daily grind, it turns out, has purpose far beyond the paycheck or of vocational awe.

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8/2024 – Leslie Starasta

Leslie is the Associate Director of Library Services at Illinois State Library (2,000+ card holders) in Springfield, IL. Leslie has been an ACL member for 24 years.

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August 2024

Note from the Coordinator

Greetings! I trust your summer is going well. Maybe you have had a chance to work on those ubiquitous summer projects. But I hope you have also had (or will have) a chance to renew and recharge before the busyness of a new school year begins. 

We want to welcome David Purdy as our newest CLC team member-at-large! David is the University Librarian at Crandall University in New Brunswick. He will be working with Scott in reaching out to and negotiating with new vendor partners as we continue to explore new discount opportunities.

Speaking of which, please take a look at the vendors/products listed below. If any of these are of specific interest to you, we would request that you just send a quick email to clc@acl.org letting us know.  As we plan and talk to vendors, it will be helpful to know the areas of greatest interest to you. Proquest has already asked us about member interest.   

You may always submit other suggestions to us via the Suggestion Form.

Beth Purtee
CLC Team Coordinator

SAVE 20%

We have just received updated CLC discount pricing for ThirdIron’s LibKey product. Libraries at all FTE levels receive a minimum of 20% off list price, with a greater discount for our smallest members. For more information about LibKey, click here: https://thirdiron.com/#products. To find out your library’s exact discount price, or to start or renew a subscription using the CLC discount, contact Ted Tyson at: ted@thirdiron.com. You can also view these details on the website.

The enrollment and renewal period is NOW open through September 11.

SAVE 10%

Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) provides access to over 25,000 theological thesis/dissertation titles. Our partnership with TREN offers CLC members a 10% discount (possibly higher based on participation) on an annual subscription. Those who already subscribe to TREN through the CLC offer will receive a notification of continuance. To participate as a new subscriber, please fill out the order form. Deadline for participation is September 11.

SAVE 10%

Did you know that CLC members get a 10% discount on a subscription to Galaxie’s Theological Journal Library (TJL)? The deadline to participate in this year’s offer is September 11. Please fill out the order form. Current TJL subscribers can transition to the ACL/CLC billing cycle to take advantage of the cost savings. Please contact Hampton Keathley and fill out the order form as soon as possible if you are interested in making this switch.

SAVE 10%

Save 10% on an annual Meescan license! Also, libraries new to Meescan that purchase before March 31, 2025 will receive a $200 equipment credit toward the costs of kiosks or security stations. Want more information about Meescan? A demo is scheduled for Monday, September 16, at 2 pm EST.  Please register via the link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcu6spjspE9NF5W97-mISVAkmHP7yopys

SAVE 30%

Make plans to participate in the CLC EBSCO Fall 2024 eBook offer, which will run mid-September through mid-December! We will provide more details as they become available

Save $100 off the registration price to the Internet Librarian Conference!

Link to register: https://site.pheedloop.com/event/ILC24/register#category
Program: https://site.pheedloop.com/event/ILC24/conference/agenda

Please email clc@acl.org to receive the group discount code.

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July 2024

Note from the Coordinator

Greetings! I want to thank each one of you for renewing your CLC membership for 2024-2025! I trust that your membership will continue to be of benefit to your library. 

This format is our new mode of communication that will be distributed to the primary and secondary contact of your CLC record. You can come back to the CLC Update portion of our website at anytime to view these updates.

To all who were able to attend either the CLC Membership Meeting at the in-person conference or the Lunch with CLC during the virtual portion (or both), we were glad to see you! We appreciated your interaction and feedback. For those who couldn’t make it, a short recap of the information shared is below.

Looking forward to another great year together,

Beth Purtee
CLC Team Coordinator

CLC Meeting Summary

The CLC team was introduced, including Beth Purtee as the CLC Team Coordinator, along with Pam Greenlee, Rebekah Leidenfrost, and Scott Lloyd as members-at-large. The goals for 2023-2025 were discussed, with the 2023-2024 objectives focusing on recruiting an additional member-at-large, expanding consortial vendor options, and investigating the expansion of the Reciprocal Borrowing Program to include virtual libraries. For 2024-2025, the goals include recruiting another member-at-large to assist with vendor partnerships, continuing to expand vendor options, and collaborating with the ACL Home office to make changes to the CLC newsletter.

Time-sensitive offers were highlighted, including deals from Perlego (June 21), EBSCO Spring Offer (June 21), World Trade Press (July 1), and Bloomsbury (July 14). Updates on the ACL Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and Reciprocal Borrowing Programs (RBP) were provided. The ACL ILL continues to support smaller schools and make unique collections available, with thanks extended to lenders. The ACL RBP is being reviewed to potentially include virtual-only libraries and to clarify policies for lenders.

Current conversations about new discounts are ongoing or forthcoming with several potential partners, including AM Digital, Docuseek, Grammarly, Loeb Digital Library, ACRL Benchmark, and Proquest. Members are encouraged to express interest in these possibilities by contacting clc@acl.org or submitting additional suggestions via the Suggestion Form.

During the Q&A session, discussions covered the timeline for new offers, with survey results indicating a bi-annual release to capture a broader audience. The CLC leadership confirmed that CLC members receive a 15% discount on CPI and reviewed details on products such as Third Iron and Perlego. Questions were raised as to whether ACRL Benchmark’s offer applies only to the US and if the offer from Demco would return; these were noted for further investigation. Suggestions included exploring consortial discounts for Bible software like Accordance and direct physical purchase offers from publishers (i.e. Baylor UP, B&H Academic, Lexham).

Below are a few pictures from the CLC Meeting and Poster at the 2024 ACL Annual Conference.

There is still time to take advantage of our Bloomsbury consortial discount, but the open enrollment period closes July 14.  In addition to the minimum 15% consortial discount available to CLC members, Bloomsbury is currently providing a special discount on some of their religion resources – deadline also July 14.

An additional 10% discount is available for the following products:

ABC-CLIO World Religions

Theology & Religion Online:

For the Bloomsbury ebook collections linked below, there is a 20-35% discount available:

Bloomsbury Collections

  • Take 20% off Frontlist Collections (2022, 2023, 2024) 
  • 35% off Backlist Collections (2021 and earlier/Archive) 

Please contact Katie Bennett, our Bloomsbury rep, for quotes/pricing information.

Did you know that CLC members get a 10% discount on a subscription to Galaxie’s Theological Journal Library (TJL)? The deadline to participate in this year’s offer is September 11. Please fill out the order form on the website. Current TJL subscribers can transition to the ACL/CLC billing cycle to take advantage of the cost savings. Please contact Hampton Keathley and fill out the order form as soon as possible if you are interested in making this switch.

Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) provides access to over 25,000 theological thesis/dissertation titles. Our partnership with TREN offers CLC members a 10% discount (possibly higher based on participation) on an annual subscription. Those who already subscribe to TREN through the CLC offer will receive a notification of continuance. To participate as a new subscriber, please fill out the order form on the website. Deadline for participation is September 11.

Make plans to participate in the CLC EBSCO Fall 2024 eBook offer, which will run mid-September through mid-December! We will provide more details as they become available

Interested in a self-checkout option for your library?  Meescan offers CLC members a 10% discount on an annual license.  A webinar/demo of their product, including an additional equipment discount, will be coming soon. Watch for details. 

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Fruitful Work

Along the front of my house are two rows of shrubs. Some years they get trimmed a lot. Some years they do not. Recently, I was trimming some branches that had been damaged by the unusual cold we had last winter. When I took a break, I saw an open space that looked a bit awkward. Some might even say ugly. I looked at my pile of trimmings and saw a lot of dead leaves, but there were also some healthy leaves in there. They just had been growing in the wrong spot, too far from the base.

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