VLA Annual Business Meeting

October 20, 2000

MacArthur Ballroom, Radisson Hotel

1) President Barkley convened the meeting at 2:20 p.m. and introduced the head table.

2) Minutes from the 1999 business meeting at the Homestead annual conference were approved.

3) Nominating Committee Report: Sandy Heinemann reported that Iza Cieszynski (Newport News Public Library) was elected Vice-President/President-Elect, and Janis Augustine (Salem Public Library) was elected Secretary. Sandy thanked Chuck Koutnik and Keith Weimer for running for office, and also thanked the Nominating Committee (Jim Gwin; Caroline Parr and Patty Powell) for their assistance.

4) State of the Association Report: Carolyn thanked VLA members and Council members for a very successful year, and recognized newly elected Council members. She reviewed specific accomplishments for the year for the four designated agenda categories of advocacy for libraries and library personnel; continuing education; membership services and financial stability of the organization. Under advocacy, she cited several accomplishments including full funding for state aid and "Infopowering the Commonwealth;" work on a UCITA amendment; input for the JLARC study of the state aid formula; and the establishment of a recommended minimum salary for entry-level professional librarians in Virginia of $32,500. She cited several quality continuing education programs presented over the year, and complimented both the Paraprofessional Conference (with proceeds of $15,000) and the 2000 Annual Conference with the highest registration in years of 623 registrants. Under membership services, Carolyn reported that membership stands at 1,142 with 217 new members. The Membership Committee presented a conference program on Career Development and will be starting a VLA mentorship program. The Awards & Recognition Committee streamlined their applications and selection process this past year, as did the Scholarship Committee. CapitolWiz, an online database for legislative information and advocacy, has been recently added to the VLA web site. Finally, VLA’s financial position is strong, with a solid reserve fund. The Finance Committee is looking at new initiatives for income growth. An advertising plan has been completed and a sponsorship plan is underway. The ultimate goal is to move VLA from primary reliance on dues and conference income to investigate other additional sources of income.

5) Passing the Gavel: Carolyn formally passed the gavel to new VLA President Cy Dillon. Cy commended Carolyn for her work as VLA President over the past year. He also noted that he was very impressed with the high quality of work both in Council and in the VLA conference presentations. He briefly addressed the great responsibilities inherent in the librarians' current role, commenting on the importance of universal access to information and support for the digital library effort in Virginia. He noted that librarians have multiple roles as information organizers, evaluators and disseminators. He reiterated VLA's commitment to service, advocacy and professional development, and encouraged librarians to take the initiative in continuing VLA's strong tradition in working with these areas.

6) James West -- Styron video: The program concluded with a video of William Styron's presentation introduced by his biographer, James West.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Newins, Secretary