Systems offices that deal with library information technologies have played an important role in academic libraries. However, not much is known about how systems offices are positioned within academic libraries. The study demonstrates the present status and the influence of systems offices by exploring the power differences among five principal functional units. Based on Strategic Contingencies Theory, the study tests the following hypotheses: 1. Systems offices have more power than other units; 2. Coping with uncertainty, substitutability, centrality and criticality are good predictors of power; and 3. Systems offices have higher levels on each of the four predictors than other units. A mail survey questionnaire was sent to the principal functional unit heads of each of 95 university libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in the US. The preliminary findings of the study include that the hypothesis 1 is supported and criticality is a good predictor of power.