of the library profession and the scholarly community,” said Jim Neal, Columbia University, and Chair of the ARL Scholarly Communication Steering Committee. “It is incumbent upon us to share information about these major contracts we are signing on behalf of our library users.” “While research libraries may have in the past tolerated these clauses in order to achieve a lower cost,” acknowledged Charles B. Lowry, ARL Executive Director, “the current economic crisis marks a fundamentally different circumstance in the relationship between libraries, publishers, and other vendors.” ARL will be establishing a mechanism by which its members can share information with one another about their agreements. To cite this article: “ARL Encourages Members to Refrain from Signing Nondisclosure or Confidentiality Clauses.” Research Library Issues: A Bimonthly Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC, no. 264 (June 2009): 1–2. http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/rli/. RLI 264 2 ARL Encourages Members to Refrain from Signing Nondisclosure or Confidentiality Clauses ( C O N T I N U E D ) JUNE 2009 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A BIMONTHLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC