December 1999 issue
Membership Renewal
It's that time of year again. All VLA memberships expire on December 31, 1999. If you have not yet sent in your 2000 membership renewal, please use the form found on page 3 of this issue or contact Linda Hahne at (757) 583-0041, hahne@bellatlantic.net. Be a member!
Election Results
The Nominating Committee is pleased to announce that Cy Dillon has been elected Vice President-President Elect of the Virginia Library Association for 2000. Ruth Arnold has been elected 2nd Vice President and Jeanette Friedman has been elected Treasurer. Mary Mayer-Hennelly will be the new ALA Councilor. The Nominating Committee would like to thank all of the candidates who stood for office this year.
VLA Council Meeting
The 1999 VLA Council held its final meeting on Thursday, October 28, during the Annual Conference at the Homestead. Incoming chairs for 2000 joined Council for lunch and then remained for the meeting.
Sandy Heinemann, President, called the meeting to order. After the approval of the minutes from September's meeting, Treasurer Terry Sumey reported on VLA's financial status. Operating income is $74,474 as of October 28, 1999, with a budgeted amount of $66,500. Most of the additional revenue has come from membership dues. Total donations are at $27,269 and VLA is awaiting several outstanding pledges. Conference income is at $118,681 and projections for the remaining income look good. As of the 28th, expenditures have reached $135,052. $35,000 have been transferred to investments. A $95,000 reserve is predicted for the end of this year, moving VLA well towards its goal of $105,000 in reserve.
Linda Hahne, Executive Director, presented the preliminary conference figures for attendance. Of the 83 exhibitor booths available, 73 were sold by the start of the conference. There were 409 conference registrations made in advance and 50 to 100 more were expected to be made on site. 348 registrations were for the full conference. Linda also reported later at the business meeting that VLA ended the 1999 year with a membership of 1,180.
Secretary Nancy Newins reminded council members that annual reports were due from all unit chairs. Second Vice President Stella Pool announced that revisions to the VLA Manual were available. Carolyn Barkley, President Elect, welcomed the incoming 2000 Council members and invited them to attend the Program Planners' Workshop in Richmond in November. After the close of this brief meeting, Council adjourned to attend the grand opening of the exhibits.
Get Involved with VLA
Publications
This winter brings opportunities for every interested VLA member to become involved with the Association's publications. With Cy Dillon's election to the President Elect position of VLA, applications are being solicited for editorship of Virginia Libraries. Applicants should submit letters outlining relevant qualifications accompanied by sample issues of publications with which they have been affiliated to: Cy Dillon, Publications Committee, Stanley Library, Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA 24088. Questions may be addressed to Cy at (540) 365-4428; email: cdillon@ferrum.edu or to Barbie Selby, (804) 924-3504; email: bms8z@virginia.edu.
Virginia Libraries is also seeking interested persons to serve on the Editorial Board. Serving on the Editorial Board is a great way to learn more about VLA publications, meet people, and contribute professionally to continuing the quality publications for which VLA is known. Editorial Board members are expected to attend several meetings during the year, suggest article ideas, and recruit authors to contribute articles. Appointments are for one year with the possibility of renewal. A representative cross-section of the membership is sought. Those interested in serving on the Virginia Libraries Editorial Board should contact Cy at the above address or email.
It is hoped that the above positions will attract applications from every segment of the Association. The deadline for all applications is January 1, 2000.
Library of Virginia
Board Meeting
The Library of Virginia Board met in Richmond on November 15. Bobbie B. Hudson, chair, presided.
The Legislative and Finance Committee reported that although nothing definite about the budget will be known until the Governor announces his budget on December 17, a possible favorable indication is that the State budget analysts have been showing an interest in and understanding of the Library of Virginia. Some of the Library's main budgetary priorities are to double its collection development funds to $1 million per year, fully implement Infopowering by requesting $11 million over 2 years, fully fund State Aid by requesting an additional $7 million over 2 years, and add staff positions to speed up publication of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. In addition, the Library is attempting to generate sufficient internal revenues to pay for additional staff positions.
The Public Library Development Committee reported that the LSTA Advisory Council recommended approval of 36 project enhancement grant applications totaling $200,000 and 13 assistive technology grant applications totaling $75,000. These were later approved by the Board. Virginia's statewide application to participate in the third round of the Gates Library Initiative has been approved. The estimated value is $6.7 million for hardware, software, and training and technical support. Preliminary work will begin in September 2000, with actual implementation scheduled between March and May of 2001. Get Carried Away With Books is the theme of the year 2000 Summer Reading Program.
The Publications and Educational Services Committee announced the reprinting of Charles B. Dew's book Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson and the Tredegar Ironworks. The next edition of the Hornbook of Virginia History is schedule to appear around 2005 or 2006, just prior to the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. The next exhibit to appear in the lobby is scheduled to open on January 10, 2000. "A full vote, a free ballot, and a fair count" will document 400 years of politics in Virginia.
The Records Management Committee reported that the Records Center generated $21,000 in fees from July through September. Also, a new edition of the Records Management Manual will be released early in 2000 in both hard-copy and web-based formats. The first edition appeared in 1949 and the current edition in 1992.
Peggy Stillman is the new president of The Library of Virginia Foundation Board; its size was increased to 23 members. The annual fund drive is doing well, as is the Library bookshop.
Nolan Yelich, the Librarian of Virginia, reported that senior staff will revisit the Library's strategic plan within the next few months. He also stated that until the State Legislature is fully organized under its new leadership and committee teams, there may be a period of uncertainly in regard to State Library/Legislative relationships.
In other business the Board approved the wording of resolutions honoring 3 former Board members: Patricia Lawler, Serf Guerra, and the late Royal Cabell, Jr. The Board also authorized Mr. Yelich to write to the Fairfax County Library Board requesting that it withdraw or postpone its request to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to ask the Legislature to eliminate the funding "caps" in the State Aid formula. The Library of Virginia Board felt that the proper time to revisit the State Aid formula would be after the formula is fully funded. The Board does not want to jeopardize the probability of full funding by sending mixed signals to the Legislature.
The next Library Board activity is the Legislative Reception on January 20, followed by the Library Board meeting on Friday, January 21.
--Alan M. Bernstein, VLA Observer to LVA Board
If you’ve done an outstanding job of making your community more aware of your library, the John Cotton Dana Public Relations Awards Contest can tell the world about your efforts. Sponsored by the H.W. Wilson Company and the Public Relations Section of the Library Administration and Management Association of ALA, the award honors outstanding library public relations, whether a summer reading program, a year-long centennial celebration, fund-raising for a new college library, an awareness campaign, or an innovative partnership in the community. Entries will be considered from libraries of all types, sizes and budgets and will be judged by a panel of peers. The deadline for entries is December 29, 1999 and awards will be presented at the 2000 ALA Annual Conference. For more information, please write to the John Cotton Dana Public Relations Awards Contest, American Library Association/LAMA, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611 or visit the website at http://www.ala.org/lama/awards/jcd.
Scott Firestine is the new Assistant Director of the Appomattox Regional Library System. Firestine was the Assistant Director of the Little Turtle Branch of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has a BA in English and History from Wabash College and an MLS from Indiana University.
Ariel Myers has recently joined the Lynchburg College staff as Public Services Librarian and is in charge of interlibrary loans and archives. She received her MLS from the University of Pittsburgh.
Harold Gordon Bechanan, 77, died Tuesday, October 26, 1999, at his home in Blacksburg, Virginia. He was born January 11, 1922, in Hodgeville, Kentucky. Mr. Bechanan graduated from Transylvania University in 1947 and received a Masters Degree in Library Science from Columbia University. He worked as a librarian at Harvard, and served as Director of the Virginia Tech Library from 1972 to 1985. After retirement, he became active in local and state politics.
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the availability of the first two projects associated with the statewide Virginia Digital Library Program (VDLP): the Tazewell County Public Library Photograph Collection and the Petersburg Public Library Newspaper Index. The Tazewell County Public Library Photograph Collection contains nearly 3,900 Tazewell County pictures representative of the life and history of the county and region. The images depict the civic, agricultural, commercial, educational, recreational and religious life of the community from the late nineteenth century through the 1960s. The Petersburg Public Library Newspaper Index is a digitized card index to predominantly Petersburg newspapers held by the Petersburg Library, covering the years 1797 to 1877. The index includes detailed entries for proper names and subjects including births, marriages, deaths, property sales and chancery suits. Local events are covered in great detail, including the period of reconstruction following the Civil War. To view these projects, see the Digital Library Program section of the Library of Virginia website at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/dlp/index.htm.
VLA Council Meetings
VLA Council meetings will be held in Charlottesville at the Northside Library on February 11, April 7 and June 9, and at the Main Library on September 15.
Library of Virginia
Board Meetings
Board meetings are scheduled for January 21, March 13 and June 18-19, 2000.
January 20, 2000
VLA Legislative Day
May 5, 2000
Friends of Virginia Libraries (FOVL) Annual Meeting
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: Central Rappahannock Regional Library
Contact: Bill Whitesides
(804) 932-8261
May 22-23, 2000
Reaching for the
Stars: Success, Recognition, Professionalism
Sponsor: VLA Paraprofessional Forum
Place: University of Richmond
Contact: Wanda Brown
(540) 231-4887
or Clara Stanley
(540) 231-5926
October 19-20, 2000
VLA Annual Conference
Norfolk