Research Integrity: The Center for Research Libraries at 75 

In 2024, CRL celebrates 75 years of successful cross-institutional collaboration among research libraries, an enduring testament to the power and viability of collective action in higher education. As we mark CRL’s 75th year, the mission of the enterprise remains essential. Distrust of institutions, societal polarization, and skepticism of facts threaten higher learning, making CRL’s mission to build and preserve credible collections, foster community, and sustain institutions  more important than ever.  

At the 2024 Council of Voting Members meeting, the CRL community will take stock of a rejuvenated CRL, explore the challenges we face individually and collectively, and together set the stage for a leadership transition that will allow our CRL community to continue forward momentum and advance its mission into the future.  

Featured speakers:

• Nicholas Dirks, [3] New York Academy of Sciences & University of California, Berkeley;
• Lauren Rivera, [4] Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University;
• Crystal Moten, [5] Obama Presidential Center Museum; and
• James Shulman, [6] American Council of Learned Societies 

CRL member voting liaison(s) are encouraged to attend to conduct business at the annual Council of Voting Members Meeting. Each CRL member institution is allowed two designated voting liaisons—typically the acting head librarian, dean, or director of the member institution, and any secondary library leader as determined by the institution, or their proxy(ies). 

** REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED **

Meeting Location

Hyatt Regency Chicago [7]
151 East Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60601

*All scheduled events for the CRL 2024 Council of Voting Members Meeting will be at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. A floorplan for the facility may be accessed here [8], with further room designations reflected in the schedule of events below. 

*To read CRL's FY23 Annual Report, click here. [9] 

Program Schedule

 

Tuesday, April 16
Time	Location	Event
8:00 AM	Plaza Foyer	Check-in & Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Welcome and Call to Order: Denise Stephens, Chair of the CRL Board of Directors & Greg Eow, President, CRL
9:30 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Opening Keynote: Nicholas Dirks, [10] New York Academy of Sciences & University of California, Berkeley In this opening keynote address, Dirks will discuss his recent book, City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University (Cambridge University Press), in which he wrestles with some of the most urgent questions with which educational leaders are presently having to engage, such as free speech and campus safe spaces, the humanities' contested future, and the real cost and value of liberal arts learning.
10:30 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Coffee Break
11:00 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Priorities of Campus Leadership: CRL Deans Discussion Panel Rhea Ballard-Thrower, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Christina Bleyer, Trinity College (CT) Lorraine Haricombe, University of Texas, Austin Doug Way, University of Kentucky
12:00 PM	Big Bar	Networking Lunch
1:30 PM	Plaza Ballroom	Welcome and Call to Order
1:45 PM	Plaza Ballroom	CRL Council of Voting Members Business Meeting CRL at 75: Past, Present, and Future of the Cooperative (Greg Eow, CRL President)  Reports from the Secretary, Treasurer, Nominating Committee, President Search Committee, Governance Task Force, Global Collections Advisory Task Force Supporting documents: 2023 Council of Voting Members Meeting Minutes (Draft); [11] Proposed FY2025 Operating Budget; [12] 2024 Nominating Committee Report [13]
4:40 PM	Plaza Ballroom	Closing Remarks: Denise Stephens, Chair of the CRL Board of Directors & Greg Eow, President, CRL
5:00 PM	Plaza Patio	Happy Hour Networking Reception

 

Wednesday, April 17
Time	Location	Event
8:00 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Continental Breakfast
9:15 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Welcome and First Speaker Introduction: Greg Eow, President, CRL
9:30 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Keynote: Lauren Rivera, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University Rivera will discuss her research on how the way people define and evaluate merit shapes social inequalities. Her best-selling book Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs (Princeton University Press) investigates on-campus recruitment and hiring for elite professional service firms and the roles that social class, gender, and race play in this process.
10:30 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Coffee Break
11:00 AM	Plaza Ballroom	Keynote: Crystal Moten, Obama Presidential Center and Museum Moten will share her work as the Director of Collections and Exhibitions for the Obama Presidential Center Museum. Situated in the same community on the South Side of Chicago, the Obama Center and CRL are local neighbors that both sustain national and international presences.
12:00 PM	Big Bar	Networking Lunch
1:00 PM	Plaza Ballroom	Keynote: Discussion with James Shulman, American Council of Learned Societies In this closing keynote discussion, Shulman will unpack issues associated with change in higher education, as relates to his recent book, The Synthetic University: How Higher Education Can Benefit from Shared Solutions and Save Itself (Princeton University Press).  Discussion panel: James Shulman (ACLS), Karen Estlund (Colorado State University), Scott Walter (San Diego State University)
2:15 PM	Plaza Ballroom	Closing Remarks from Greg Eow, President, CRL
2:30 PM	Plaza Ballroom	Adjourn

 

Tour of CRL 

On Wednesday, April 17, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. CRL will offer a collections and facilities tour. Transportation on your own to our location in Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side. RSVP by emailing events@crl.edu [14], with the subject line “CRL Tour”. 

For information about past meetings, click here [15].