At the time the 1981 Guidelines for Extended Campus Library Service were being written a discussion group was created. Records of the early meetings are not very complete but the files at ACRL do show approximately 20 or 25 persons in attendance at some of the early meetings. However, by the mid-1980's attendance had dropped considerably. At 1985 ALA Midwinter five persons were in attendance. Prior to the July 1985 Annual Meeting, Robert Cookingham as Chair of the group sent a letter to all persons who had previously attended or indicated an interest in the discussion group. In that letter he requested that the group discuss at the upcoming conference whether there was sufficient reason to continue.

Seven persons attended the 1985 Annual Meeting. As had often been the case, this was the first meeting for several attendees. Those present decided they needed the group as a forum to share ideas, that discussion topics should be preannounced, and there should be a concerted effort to publicize the group. Mary Joyce Pickett agreed to chair the group. Since the 1986 Midwinter was to be held in Chicago, several Chicago libraries with extended campus programs were invited to participate and their anticipated participation was included on the flyer announcing the meeting. Nineteen persons attended 1986 Midwinter. Although the attendance dropped to thirteen at the 1986 Annual Meeting, participants were enthusiastic and Lynn LaBrake agreed to serve as vice-chair/chair-elect for the coming year. Eighteen persons attended at Midwinter 1987 and the 1987 Annual Conference in San Francisco found 28 persons in attendance. Since chat date the discussion group has consistently had attendance of 25 or more. At the 1990 midwinter conference there were 40 in attendance.

In the spring of 1987, Mary Joyce Pickett, as chair of and representing the Discussion Group, wrote a letter to ACRL suggesting the need for an Extended Campus Library Services Committee within ACRL which could carry on projects not appropriate for a discussion group (e.g.,compilation of a directory of extended campus librarians, sponsorship of programs at ALA conferences). She suggested the first assignment of the committee might be to review the Guidelines for Extended Campus Library Services. The response from ACRL was that the ACRL Standards and Accreditation Committee recommended the appointment of a Task Force to Review the Guidelines. It was suggested that the request for a permanent committee be resubmitted after the guidelines revision, if it still seemed appropriate. After the 1987 Annual Conference, the names of twelve person who had indicated an interest in serving on the Task Force to Review the Guidelines were sent to Joanne Euster, the President of ACRL. She appointed five persons from the list to the Task Force: Barton Lessen, Lynn LaBrake, Colleen Power, Julie Todaro, and Mary Joyce Pickett, Chair.

As the work of the Task Force progressed, the widespread interest in the guidelines convinced the Task Force that it was time for ACRL to take a stronger leadership role in this increasingly important area of library services. The issue also came to the forefront in discussion group meetings. In the discussion group meeting at the 1989 Midwinter Meeting, Sally Chipman, Lynn LaBrake, Barton Lessin, and Kathleen O'Connor volunteered to draft a statement of charge to be forwarded to ACRL with a request for formation of a committee. In March of 1990 Barton Lessin wrote a letter on behalf of the Guidelines Task Force to Joe Boisse, ACRL Chair, requesting the creation of a standing committee to deal with matters related to off-campus library services. This was followed by a letter from Barbara Emmer, chair of the Discussion Group which included the charge developed by the Discussion Group volunteers. In addition, Mary Joyce Pickett, as chair of the Task Force, wrote a letter of support which discussed the ways such a committee might support the ACRL Strategic Plan. At the 1989 Annual Meeting in Dallas, Barbara Emmer spoke in behalf of the request at the ACRL Board meeting. Bart Lessin and Lynn LaBrake were also in attendance. The question was raised by some Board members that a section might be more appropriate than a committee but the attitude was positive. One board member, Evan Farber, gave a very positive statement in support of the proposal. The ACRL Board referred the request to the ACRL Planning Committee.

The proposal came before the ACRL Planning Committee at the 1990 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. Four guidelines task force members (Lynn LaBrake, Barton Lessin, Mary Joyce Pickett, Julie Todaro) and the chair of the ECLSS discussion group Joyce Rumery) attended the Planning Committee meetings. The ACRL Planning Committee did not recommend the formation of a committee but recommended that section status be considered. Signatures for a petition requesting section status were readily collected at the 1990 Midwinter Conference. In the discussion group meeting it was reported that the petitions were being presented to the ACRL Board. Mary Joyce Pickett spoke on behalf of the request at the final ACRL Board meeting of 1990 Midwinter. Lynn LaBrake and Julie Todaro were also present. The request was approved.

Once approval was given for the section, questions related to getting the section started needed to be addressed. Barton Lessin agreed to communicate with ACRL concerning procedures for establishing a section and to serve as temporary chair. After consulting with the ACRL office, he appointed three committees. An executive committee consisting of the chair, the three committee chairs, and one member-at-large was formed. This group including Barton, Joyce Rumery (ByLaws), Lynn LaBrake (Planning), Kathleen O'Connor (Program), and Mary Joyce Pickett (Member-at-large) would serve until an election could be held in the Spring of 1991.