The membership of VLA will elect two new officers later this year during the regular fall election: Vice President/President-Elect and Secretary. The Nominating Committee is responsible for preparing a slate consisting of two nominees for each office. The selections of the Nominating Committee will be announced in the April issue of the VLA

Newsletter. Nominations by petition can be submitted through May 15.

Now is the time to send the Nominating Committee the names of individuals you would like to recommend for nomination to the respective offices. To submit recommendations for nomination or to receive a nomination form, please contact: Lis Chabot, Chair, Nominating Committee, (540) 887-7085, fax (540) 887-7297, email: lchabot@cit.mbc.edu.

The VLA-L listserv provides an opportunity for members and other interested parties to make announcements, request assistance from colleagues, and participate in discussions of mutual concern. The list is not moderated, and all replies to postings on the list go back out to the entire list.

To subscribe, send an email message to: listserver@leo.vsla.edu. In the body of the message, type: subscribe vla-l your first name your last name

Please remove any signatures or other lines of text from the message before sending it. You will receive a confirmation that your subscription has been recorded. This "welcome message" will provide instructions for setting up a password, but please ignore this request. The welcome message also provides instructions for using the features of the listserver software.

The VLA Council held its first meeting of the year on February 13 at the Northside Branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in Charlottesville. Tom Hehman, VLA President, called the meeting to order by introducing himself and asking those present to introduce themselves as well. The minutes from the October 1997 Council meeting were then approved.

Lis Chabot, Past President, reported on the 1997 Annual Conference in Crystal City. The total attendance was 513 consisting of 407 registered attendees, 35 unregistered speakers and 71 vendors. New data was collected this year to describe the conference population by region and type of library in order to analyze the relationship between where the conference is held and who attends. One goal of the conference this year was to not lose money, and in fact, the conference made a profit of $8773.52. Cy Dillon was commended for the excellent report on the conference in Virginia Libraries and there was a vote of thanks for Lis and Linda Hahne, Executive Director, for their hard work organizing the conference.

Terry Sumey, Treasurer, reported on the financial status of VLA. Although VLA enters 1998 with a budget deficit of $15,000, one goal of the Executive Committee is to balance the budget this year. Much of VLA’s revenue is based on membership dues, and Terry mentioned that only about 400 of the approximately 1,300 members of VLA have renewed their membership so far. Tom asked all Council members to be sure they had renewed their membership and to encourage others to do so as well. The proposed interim budget, though a deficit budget, was accepted with real hope of ending the year at a balance.

Linda Hahne distributed an updated Council roster as well as unit and region rosters to assist chairs in contacting their members. Several renewal reminders were included in recent issues of the VLA Newsletter, however, since the renewal rate has been low, direct mailings will be sent to those who have not yet renewed their membership.

Tom presented VLA’s 1998 designated agenda which includes three major themes: continuing education, advocacy and association management. Specific goals include reviewing the annual and paraprofessional conference schedules, structures and budgets; developing the 1999 legislative agenda; adopting a balanced operating budget; and rebuilding financial reserves to one year’s operating expenses. Tom also presented specific charges to the various committees to guide them in supporting these goals.

Carolyn Barkley, 1997 Chair of the Administrative Services Committee, presented the results of the biennial membership survey. The survey was conducted at the annual conference and there were 131 responses. The survey indicated that respondents value the annual conference, workshops and legislative efforts highly, followed by the journal and newsletter, paraprofessional conference, jobline, homepage, membership directory and intellectual freedom manual. The top choices among strategies to increase VLA’s ability to fund activities were regional workshops, joint conferences, increased advertisements in publications, two day conferences and fewer publications. Least favorable choices were alternating annual and paraprofessional conferences, limiting the annual conference to one day and paying higher dues.

Stella Pool, Second Vice President reporting for the Administrative Services Committee, requested that unit chairs read the appropriate section of the VLA Manual and notify her of any outdated or erroneous guidelines.

Tom reported that the Finance Committee is working on a strategy to balance the budget and will report back to the Executive Committee in April. The Finance Committee is also working on a strategy to form an endowed scholarship.

Spencer Watts of the Legislative Committee described the many library related bills in the House and Senate this year. An interesting discussion of internet filters and the library Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics ensued. The Intellectual Freedom Committee was charged to review VLA’s official position on these topics and to report back to the Executive Committee in April. In pre-session activities, state legislators were contacted by library supporters. Most of the legislators seem to be supportive of VLA’s agenda items. The Legislative Committee was commended for their excellent work in the past year.

The 1998 annual conference, "Libraries: From Gutenberg to Gigabytes", will be a joint conference with VEMA held at Virginia Beach from October 15-17. The new concurrent session feature is hoped to encourage more hands on, skill oriented programs and allow more people the opportunity to be presenters. VEMA has had successful conferences in the past and the Conference Committee hopes that a joint conference will help VLA to again make money on the annual conference.

Tom announced for Sally Reed, Federal Relations Coordinator, that a luncheon will take place on Library Legislative Day, May 5, in Washington D.C. The committee hopes to have at least 100 Virginia library supporters at the lunch.

Betty Ann Dillon, Chair of Friends of Virginia Libraries, visited Council to describe the activities of that group. The Friends will be celebrating their fifth anniversary in May. There is some concern that they may be duplicating some of the effort of VLA’s Trustee Section. Tom will discuss with the Executive Committee the possibility of including the Friends within VLA.

Scottie Cochran, ALA Councilor, reported that the COLT conference will take place before the ALA Annual Conference in Washington D.C. this summer. Lis Chabot requested input for the current evaluation of Executive Director Linda Hahne. Carolyn Tate, SELA Representative, announced that the Southeastern Library Association Conference will take place in Little Rock, Arkansas from September 29 through October 3. Steve Helm, Webmaster, thanked Linda Farynk for making the VLA web server available at Radford University.

The meeting adjourned at 1:05. The next Council meeting will be held at the Central Library in Charlottesville on April 3.

For the past five years, the VLAPF has sponsored a successful two-day spring conference at the University of Richmond. Members of the Virginia Library Association’s Paraprofessional Forum, who have been busy planning the May 18-19, 1998 spring conference, are excited about what this year’s conference has to offer.

Will Manley, author of eight humorous books dealing with library-related topics, will be the featured speaker. He will kick off the conference during the Monday morning opening session with a keynote speech entitled "The Manley Art of Librarianship". As the grand finale for the conference, Mr. Manley will speak on a topic that we will all want to know more about -- "Sex and Violence in the Workplace".

Gene Kinnaly, who is active in a variety of professional organizations, including VLA, COLT, and SELA, and who has had articles featured in The Associates and Library Mosaics, will be the Tuesday morning keynote speaker.

Conference attendees will have the option of selecting from twenty-four unique workshops that encompass a variety of specialized topics. Workshops dealing with computer technologies are always in demand and several are offered. Sherrie Waddill’s storytelling session was such a big hit last year that she will return to share her creative storytelling ideas. Dr. Frank Howe, another popular speaker last year, will be returning to present a session entitled, "How to Deal with Difficult People". Topical roundtables will be held after lunch on Monday, and they will focus on specialized topics that affect our library environments. This will be a time for people with common interests to network and discuss a library-related issue. An option for those who are not interested in attending a roundtable will be a tour of one of the University of Richmond libraries.

There are special events planned during the conference. Those who arrive on Sunday evening will be able to attend a picnic to be held on the grounds of the University of Richmond. This will be a time for people to relax and get to know one another over casual picnic fare. On Monday evening, conference attendees may attend a tee-shirt social that will include refreshments, door prizes, a D.J., and dancing for those who are young at heart. There will be a special buffet luncheon provided for conference attendees on Tuesday just prior to the special closing session that will feature Will Manley.

The VLAPF members look forward to a conference that will be both informative and fun, and at the same time bring people together to network and learn about what is happening outside their own library environments. If you are interested in receiving a registration form or have questions in regard to this conference, please contact either Mary Fran Nash at (804) 395-2451 (mnash@longwood.lwc.edu) or Lydia Williams at (804) 395-2432 (lwilliam@longwood.lwc.edu).

New Orleans in January was as sassy as ever, with warm, often rainy skies. ALA wasn’t sassy at all. This Midwinter’s meetings of Council were quieter and less contentious than any I’ve experienced. Some attribute this development to the use of the ALA Council listserv for discussion and debate before we come to conference.

The group showed its appreciation to Mary Ghikas for her stellar work as Acting Executive Director with a standing ovation, then followed suit for the incoming E.D., William Gordon. Many of you have known and worked with Bill during the past 20 years when he’s been director of the Prince George’s County, Maryland libraries. I have enjoyed getting to know him during our time together on the CAPCON Library Network Board, and am thrilled with his appointment to the ALA position because he has the knowledge, political savvy, sense of humor, and most of all (by his own admission) the skin of an armadillo!

On a similar happy note, ALA’s financial health appears to be improved over last year, with expenditures tied to ALA’s key action areas of Diversity, Education and Continuous Learning, Equity of Access, Intellectual Freedom, and 21st Century Literacy. Two well-qualified candidates were announced for the office of ALA Vice-President/President-Elect: Sarah Long, Director of the North Suburban Library System in Illinois and Martin Gomez, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Public Library. Ballots will soon be mailed and winners announced just before the annual conference scheduled for Washington, DC starting June 26.

In addition to the routine committee reports and reaffirmation of positions previously taken, such as the use of filtering software in libraries and the speedy and effective implementation of universal service provisions for schools and libraries, the Council voted to approve the following measures:

A resolution commending librarian Steven Herb and the ALA 700+ Sites Website committee of volunteers and directing ALA to provide whatever technical and other assistance is required to maintain and develop the "700+ Sites" Website was referred to the Budget Analysis and Review Committee for their recommendations regarding the short and long-term costs of this project.

A resolution commending Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO), our own Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA), and Representative Tom Campbell (R-CA) for their introduction of the landmark Digital Copyright Legislation (S.1146 and H.R. 3048) and urging Congress to enact the provisions in these bills so that libraries and educational institutions may continue to effectively serve the nation in the information age.

A resolution urging the appropriate Congressional committees to take immediate action to assure that publicly released Congressional Research Service reports and information projects are distributed in a timely manner to the general public through Federal Depository Libraries and on the Internet.

A resolution calling for Congress and the Dept. of Defense and Dept. of State to continue publication of the Area Handbook Series.

Voted to have a list of ALA Council actions placed on the Council listserv and the ALA website as soon as possible after the adjournment of Council III at each conference of the association. That was done shortly after our return from NOLA, and is a good initiative.

In response to continuing concerns about the amount of time and money almost 200 people spend in Council meetings twice a year, incoming ALA President Ann Symons will appoint a task force to propose alternative Council agenda formats for the two meetings next year (Midwinter 1999 and Annual 1999). Given my own serious concerns about this issue, I have volunteered to serve on the task force. I’ll let you know whether I am appointed.

As always, I attended Chapter caucus meetings and numerous Chapter Relations Committee (CRC) functions. I enjoyed introducing VLA President-Elect, Sandy Heinemann, to our some of our counterparts from other chapters. As I have done for some years now, I presented a brief parliamentary procedure session for new Chapter Councilors at their orientation. I am serving on a Membership Promotion Subcommittee of the CRC. In general I continue my CRC involvement of almost 10 years.

It continues to be a privilege and pleasure to be your Chapter Councilor. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns about our national organization.

Respectfully submitted,

Scottie Cochrane, Virginia Chapter Councilor to ALA

The School of Library and Information Science and its Alumni Board announce that the ninth annual Elizabeth W. Stone Lecture will be held on Friday, April 24 in the Herzfeld Auditorium of Hannan Hall on the campus of The Catholic University of America.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.

This year's Elizabeth Stone lecturer will be Mr. Kurt Cylke, Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at the Library of Congress. Mr. Cylke has taught for the past 23 years the Institute on Federal Library Resources that the University offers each summer. He has devoted a lifelong career to library service for the blind and physically handicapped, and will present a lecture entitled "That All May Read." Former students, colleagues, and members of the library community will be interested in Mr. Cylke's presentation.

The Elizabeth W. Stone Lecture is delivered annually in honor of Dr. Elizabeth Stone, Dean Emerita of the CUA School of Library and Information Science. Previous lecturers have included university presidents, governmental representatives, esteemed librarians such as Eileen Cooke, journalists such as Sheilah Kast, and members of professional associations.

Delora Collins has accepted the position of Reference Librarian at the Waynesboro Public Library. Dee, as she likes to be called, received her library degree from the University of Washington. She moved to Waynesboro from Federal Way, Washington. Dee is also a retired Army Warrant Officer.

Dennis E. Robison, Dean of Integrated Learning Resources at James Madison University, has retired. He came to JMU as university librarian in 1985.

Eva L. Kiewitt and Lois J. Lehman, librarians emeritus at Regent University in Virginia Beach, have been selected the 1997 recipients of the Emily Russel Award by the Association of Christian Librarians. The award is in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Christian librarianship.

VLA Council meetings will be held in Charlottesville at the Central Library, McIntire Room on April 3 and the Northside Library on June 12 and September 11.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for April 6.

Public Library Association National Conference, Kansas City, Mo.

Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University

Place: Tompkins-McCaw Library, VCU

Contact: John D. Jones, Jr.

(804) 828-1881

jdjones@vcu.edu

Freedom of Information Week

Sponsor: SLA and LEXIS-NEXIS

Place: Satellite broadcast in Washington, DC

Contact: SLA Professional Development Dept.

(202) 234-4700 ext 649

profdev@sla.org

Sponsor: LAMA and Williamsburg Regional Library

Place: Williamsburg, VA

Contact: Susan Pitard

(757) 259-7737

spitard@mail.wrl.org

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: Richmond, VA

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: College Park, MD

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: College Park, MD

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu

International Special Librarians Day

National Meeting of the Center for the Book, Washington, DC

National Library Legislative Day, Washington, DC

Sponsor: VLA Paraprofessional Forum

Place: University of Richmond

Contact: Mary Fran Nash

(804) 395-2450

mnash@longwood.lwc.edu

or Lydia Williams

(804) 395-2432

lwilliam@longwood.lwc.edu

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: College Park, MD

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu

VLA/VEMA Annual Conference, Virginia Beach