Standards & Guidelines
ACRL is the source that the higher education community looks to for standards and guidelines on academic libraries.ACRL promulgates standards and guidelines to help libraries, academic institutions, and accrediting agencies understand the components of an excellent library. These standards, guidelines, and model statements are reviewed and updated by the membership on a regular basis.
A listing of ACRL standards and guidelines by topic area is below. An alphabetical listing is also available. For other ACRL Board-approved documents that are not Standards & Guidelines, go to White Papers & Reports.
Access
ACRL-SAA Joint Statement on Access to Research Materials in Archives and Special Collections Libraries (July 2009)
Guidelines for the Preparation of Policies on Library Access (Dec. 1992)
Originally prepared by the ACRL Access Policy Guidelines Task Force December, 1992, these Guidelines were rescinded on October 27, 2006 at the Executive Committee meeting in Chicago. They have been superseded by the 2005 ALA Guidelines, available here.
College and University Libraries
Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (June 2004)
Spanish Translation (PDF)
Greek Translation (PDF)
Japanese translation (PDF)
Guidelines for University Library Services to Undergraduate Students (June 2005)
Community, Junior and Technical College Libraries
Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (June 2004)
Spanish Translation (PDF)
Greek Translation (PDF)
Japanese translation (PDF)
Education, Personnel, and Academic Status
Guidelines for Academic Status for College and University Librarians (January 2007)
Statement on the Certification & Licensing of Academic Librarians (June 2007)
Guideline on Collective Bargaining (June 2008)
A Guideline for the Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure of Academic Librarians (June 2010)
Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians (June 2007)
Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians (June 2007)
A Guideline for the Screening & Appointment of Academic Librarians (July 2009)
Statement on the,Terminal Professional Degree for Academic Librarians (June 2007)
Information Literacy and Instruction
Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators, Standards for (June 2007)
Information Literacy Standards for Science and Technology (June 2006)
Farsi Translation (PDF)
Information Literacy Standards for Anthropology and Sociology Students (January 2008)
Farsi Translation (PDF)
Research Competency Guidelines for Literatures in English (June 2007)
Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline (June 2003)
Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians (Jan. 2001)
Greek translation (PDF)
Spanish translation (PDF)
Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (Jan. 2000)
Spanish Translation
Greek Translation (PDF)
French Translation (PDF)
Chinese Translation (PDF)
Japanese Translation (PDF)
Farsi Translation (PDF)
Italian Translation
Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries (June 2003)
Japanese Translation (PDF)
Farsi Translation (PDF)
Psychology Information Literacy Standards (June 2010)
Political Science Research Competency Guidelines (PDF) (July 2008)
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Special Collections, and Archives
Competencies for Special Collections Professionals (July 2008)
Guidelines for Borrowing and Lending Special Collections Materials for Exhibition (January 2005)
Guidelines for the Interlibrary Loan of Rare and Unique Materials (June 2004)
Guidelines on the Selection and Transfer of Materials from General Collections to Special Collections, (July 2008)
Guidelines Regarding Security and Theft in Special Collections (September 2009)
Special Topics
Guidelines for Curriculum Materials Centers (January 2009)
Standards for Distance Learning Library Services (July 2008)
Guidelines for Media Resources in Academic Libraries (January 2006)