On Dec. 16, members of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries voted unanimously to admit the University of Arkansas as a new member of the association. The U of A is the first new member to join the association since 2011. The Association of Southeastern Research Libraries is among the largest of regional research library consortia in the U.S., with a total of 38 institutional members in 12 states. 

"Many people in ASERL have long and highly trusted connections with the fine people working at the University of Arkansas," commented Tim Pyatt, ASERL's Board president and dean of ZSR Library at Wake Forest University. "Including the University of Arkansas as part of the association's membership and programming was a very natural extension of our work together. We are very pleased to count them among our ranks." 

Added Jason Battles, dean of Libraries at University of Arkansas, "I'm fairly new to this post, but even before I arrived my staff had been exploring the possibility of joining ASERL. I was familiar with ASERL from my previous positions, so I know the top-notch quality of their programming. I believe the University Libraries' collections, initiatives, and interests will make this new relationship beneficial for ASERL and the University of Arkansas for years to come." 

Founded in 1956, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries is a national leader in cooperative research library programming. ASERL focuses much attention on professional development — including diversity, equity, and inclusion issues — and building large-scale shared print library collections.