AUC Woodruff Library to Join Association of Research Libraries

May 9, 2022 Dear Spelman community, I am pleased to share a distinct honor related to one of the Atlanta University Center’s most valuable resources. Effective July 1, the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center (AUC), Inc., will become the 125th member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in Canada and the United States. Committed to advancing research, learning, and scholarly communication, and established in 1932, the ARL fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise; advances diversity, equity, and inclusion; and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. The invitation of membership was developed during the organization’s Spring 2022 Association Meeting in Toronto, Canada last month, and Loretta Parham, AUC CEO and library director, accepted. "This membership is a hallmark moment for the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library, one in which we can deepen our commitment to excellence in our provision of information, research, and preservation services for the four HBCU institutions that we support," Parham said in a release. "We are eager to engage, contribute, and learn from the work of ARL, and we are grateful for the invitation to be a member of such a reputable body of research libraries and archives." The winner of the 2016 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in the university category from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and home to a premier Archives Research Center, the Library provides collaborative leadership in preservation, access and collection development of unique archival resources documenting African American history and culture.

I am incredibly proud of the role this incomparable institution has played in the lives of so many Spelman students, faculty, staff and alumnae in the legacy of the AUC as we know it. Please join me in celebrating this welcomed distinction, and its uplift of such a treasured community cornerstone.

Regards,