VLA
Council Meeting
June
9, 2000
Northside
Branch, Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, Charlottesville
Present:
Carolyn Barkley, President; Sandy Heinemann, Past-President; Cy Dillon,
President-Elect; Nancy Newins, Secretary; Ruth Arnold, 2nd Vice
President; Jeanette Friedman, Treasurer; Ruth Kifer, Academic Library Section;
Sue Brown, Public Library Section; Libby Lewis and Heather Hannan, Admin.&
Mgmt. Forum Co-Chairs; Cathy Williamson, Collection Management Forum; Sarah
Wiggins, Multi-Cultural Forum; Clara Stanley, Paraprofessional Forum; Carol
Hunter, Public Documents Forum; Dave Hayes, Public Services Forum; Althea
Aschmann and Sharon McCaslin, TSAT; Mary Lou Carr, Trustee/Friends Forum;
Harriett Edmunds, Volunteer Management Forum; Rebecca Purdy, Youth Services
Forum; Susan Keller, Awards & Recognition Committee; Barbara Rittinger,
Continuing Education Committee Co-Chair; Morel Fry, Conference Committee; Ted
Hostetler and Jeff Clark, Intellectual Freedom Committee Co-Chairs; Sam Clay,
Legislative Committee Chair; Barbie Selby, Publications Committee; Marianne
Ramsden, Scholarship Committee; Nancy Collins, Region I; Wilma Dotson, Region
II; Keith Weimer, Region IV; Jennifer Davison, Region VI; Karen Dillon, Special
Library Section; Andrea Kross, Virginia
Libraries Editor; Mary Hansbrough, VLA
Newsletter Editor; Steve Helm, Webmaster; Mary Mayer-Hennelly, ALA
Councilor; Skip Auld, Federal Relations.
Others: Gail Zwirner,
Liaison/Virginia Association of Law Libraries; Julie James, Library of
Virginia.
1)
President
Barkley convened the meeting at 10:05 a.m.
2) Minutes from the April 7, 2000 Council
meeting were approved as corrected.
(Mary Lou Carr had been omitted from the list of attendees).
3) Treasurer's
Report: Treasurer Friedman
distributed an Income/Expense Sheet through June 2000 (appended to the official
minutes as attachment #1). She noted
that, on the income side, the Paraprofessional Conference has brought in
$62,578 in income although many expenses are still outstanding. Last year this conference netted
approximately $12,000 in revenue for the association. Other continuing education programs have brought in $3,327 in net
income to date with 90% of the programs in for the year. Jeanette commended the program planners for
their excellent budgeting this past year.
Jeanette also noted that the Legislative Fund now stands at $23,965
thanks to Sam Clay's fine work and to a recent contribution from Central
Rappahannock Regional Library. On the
expense side, Jeanette reported that the $2,000 VLA Paraprofessional Forum
scholarship has been awarded.
4) Executive
Director's Report: Carolyn Barkley reported for Linda Hahne, who was absent
due to a sudden death in the family.
Carolyn reported that membership currently stands at 1,101. Non-renewals stand at 289 and VLA has 192
new members. Sixteen scholarship
applications have been received and distributed to Scholarship Committee
members for consideration.
5) Presentation
-- "Infopowering the Commonwealth": Julie James, Technical Consultant at the Library of Virginia,
made a brief presentation on "Infopowering." All Virginia public libraries have been
connected, with several thousand new computers deployed statewide. The focus of the project has been on
equipment/hardware; connectivity and content (continuing education folded into
the Library of Virginia). The objective for next year is to get all public
libraries off dial-up access.
"Infopowering" is also promoting cooperative collection development
for online resources, and the "Electric Library Plus" database has
been made available to all public libraries this past year. A formula for the number of internet
stations per number of public users in a given community is being developed. More information can be obtained at http://www.infopowering.lib.va.us .
ACTION ITEMS
6) 2001
Legislative Agenda: Sam Clay
distributed a copy of the Legislative Committee's Legislative Agenda, approved
with a bit of re-ordering by the Executive Committee. Carolyn Barkley noted that items requiring
specific advocacy had been moved to the top of the list. Sam reviewed each item of the agenda and
noted that the Legislative Committee will meet by conference call on June 20 to
establish a work plan to accomplish the agenda. Cy Dillon expressed appreciation for the work of the Legislative
Committee. Sam responded that "all
politics are local" and in turn thanked the VLA Council for their
efforts. He also commended Phil
Abraham's fine work as legislative liaison on behalf of VLA. Morel Fry moved, with Barbie Selby
seconding, the approval of the Legislative Agenda. The motion carried.
7) Scholarship
Designated Agenda Report: Marianne
Ramsden reported that 16 applications have been received for VLA scholarships. She noted that the Scholarship Committee
recommends changing the schedule of the application process. March 1 will be the new deadline. The Paraprofessional Forum scholarship will
be presented at the Paraprofessional Conference in May, and announced at the
VLA annual conference. The VLA
scholarships will be presented at the VLA annual conference and announced at
the Paraprofessional Conference.
Scholarship awards will be kept separate from other VLA awards. Cy Dillon moved, with Nancy Collins seconding,
that Council accept the changes as proposed by the Scholarship Committee. The motion carried.
8) Council Succession Plan: Ruth Arnold presented and reviewed the
recommendations from the Administrative Services Committee regarding changes to
the VLA Manual which would clarify
the Council succession process. (The
full report is appended to the official minutes as attachment #2). The committee's recommendations were made
with the goal of encouraging participation from new VLA members in committee
work, without sacrificing continuity and expertise of current committee
membership. With the exception of
certain committees with special needs --the Conference, Nominating,
Publications, Awards and Scholarships Committees -- the general recommendation
from the Administrative Services Committee is for appointments for two-year
terms, with service normally limited to three consecutive terms. New committee members will be solicited in
summer and early fall for appointment in December. Appointments to the Legislative Committee will be made in the
spring. The committee report also
included proposed methods of soliciting new committee membership and a review
with minor revisions of the VLA Committee Interest From.
In
discussion, Steve Helm noted that he is not automatically loading all committee
members onto the VLA listserv. Cathy
Williamson asked if forums had membership lists, and Ruth replied that this
information is included on the membership application and Linda Hahne maintains
a database of forum members. Ruth also
noted that committees can have more than the minimum membership. Sam Clay moved, with Cy Dillon seconding,
approval of the report and the consequent manual revisions. The motion carried.
9) Financial
Plan Designated Agenda Report: Jeanette
Friedman presented an overview of VLA finances, noting that VLA's current
financial plan adequately meets the association's need for financial
stability. In the next few months the
Finance Committee will be looking at planning for financial growth by
investigating planned giving, sponsorship and advertising opportunities. The result of this investigation will be
reported at the September Council meeting.
Jeanette thanked Linda Hahne for her successful efforts over the past
year to reduce expenses. She cited the
VLA Jobline, the two conferences (Paraprofessional and annual), CE programs and
donations to the Legislative Fund as all contributing positively to VLA's
income. She noted that 80% of VLA's
operating budget comes from dues and that the dues structure will continue to
be studied, with any changes deferred until more data is available. She also noted that membership in VLA has
decreased somewhat over the last two years.
Fifty percent of VLA members paid less than the cost of membership. Forty percent of VLA memberships are
institutional ones. In summary, where VLA finances are currently very stable,
the association needs to look toward moving into a plan for financial
growth.
In
discussion, Sam Clay suggested that the Finance Committee might check with
other nonprofit associations/organizations to see if similar patterns could be
ascertained. Jeanette replied that it
is difficult to make comparisons. Barbie
Selby suggested going to state association websites, and Mary Mayer-Hennelly suggested
that chapter relations at ALA might be able to provide helpful
information. Barbie Selby moved, with
Althea Aschmann seconding, that the report from the Finance Committee be
accepted. The motion carried.
10) Advertising
Plan Designated Agenda Report:
Barbie Selby reviewed the report, "Advertising Plan for VLA
Publications" as distributed via e-mail (appended to the official minutes
as Attachment #3). She noted that paid
inserts in the VLA Newsletter have
been implemented. Goals for advertising
include enhanced revenue to support VLA publications; strengthening of vendor
relations; and service to members (discounts on products, as an example). A cap on percentage of advertising in VLA
publications is recommended. Tax
implications need further study. Barbie
also noted that currently the VLA Executive Director maintains a database of
vendors and that Linda Hahne has agreed to continue in the role of
"advertising manager."
In
discussion, the question was raised about ads on the VLA web page. Barbie reported that currently there are
server issues. Cy Dillon noted that
this will be reviewed by the Finance Committee. Jeanette Friedman noted that a single database of vendors is key
to approaching vendors for advertising and contributions. Council members should check with Linda
Hahne regarding which vendors have or have not contributed. Keith Weimer moved, with Susan Keller
seconding, to accept the advertising plan as reported and to forward the plan
to the Finance Committee for further study.
The motion carried.
REPORTS
11)
Awards
·
Resolutions for ALA award
winners from Virginia: Carolyn Barkley announced
that VLA and the Library of Virginia made recommendations for the national
advocacy honor roll. The final listing
of award winners includes (living): Robert Ball; Patricia Wilson Berger; Dean
Burgess; Ida Patton: Carol Shackelford; and (posthumous): Randolph Church;
David K. E. Bruce; Thomas Jefferson; Mary A. Marshall; and Earl Gregg
Swem. Sally Reed, Director of the
Norfolk Public Library, received the Virginia and Herbert White Award for
Promoting Librarianship. Resolutions
honoring these award winners will be drafted and presented at the VLA annual
conference.
·
Awards & Recognition
Committee Brochure: Susan Keller shared the draft
brochure prepared by the committee. The
scholarship part will be deleted and the last page will be a tear-off form to
request application forms.
12)
Appointments
·
Read Aloud Virginia: Carolyn Barkley announced that Caroline Parr (Central
Rappahannock Regional Library) had accepted the appointment as the VLA
representative to the Read Aloud Virginia Board.
·
UCITA Study Committee: Carolyn Barkley announced that Ruth Kifer (George Mason
University) will be the VLA representative.
13) Membership
Committee Update: Cy Dillon
reported that the committee plans to survey the 289 non-renewing members to
determine reasons for membership cancellation.
He distributed the draft plan to recognize “VLA-Friendly Libraries,” and
plans to keep a running tally of members on the VLA web site. The committee’s new initiative is a VLA
Mentors Program, where successful VLA members will help new members with
professional development. A program is
planned to introduce the mentor initiative at the VLA annual conference.
14)
Conference Update: Morel Fry
reported that acceptances for 66 concurrent session proposals have been sent
out, and Linda Hahne will send letters confirming times and places for
sessions. A preliminary conference
program will be out by early July.
Steve Helm will post the program on the VLA web site. Many exciting non-program activities are
also planned. Morel also welcomes
additional committee volunteers.
15)
Continuing Education Committee:
Barbara Rittinger reported that the “Program Planners Workshop” will be
folded into the annual conference as a pre-conference workshop this year on the
Wednesday preceding the conference. The
Solinet group will again do their presentation from two years ago on how to
plan a successful program. Program
topics will also be covered.
16)
ALA Chapter Relations: Mary
Mayer-Hennelly will be attending ALA in July and the ALA Chapter booth needs
volunteers. VLA will participate in the
scholarship raffle. She also announced
that Robert Kinney (library associate at the Norfolk Public Library) is a
recipient of an ALA Spectrum Scholarship.
17) Federal
Legislative Day: Skip Auld thanked
everyone who helped. April 30-May 1,
2001 is the scheduled date next year, with the VLA lunch on May 1. Skip invited everyone to participate and
stressed that the relationship with legislators/legislative assistants is a
very valuable one. He will also be
writing an article for an upcoming issue of Virginia
Libraries.
Carolyn Barkley announced that ASCLA is
looking for VLA representatives for certain e-mail discussion lists dealing
with Library Services and Technology Act; E-Rate; Intellectual Property and
Government Documents. Ruth Kifer
volunteered for the Intellectual Property list; Barbie Selby for the Government
Documents list; and Mary Mayer-Hennelly with Sam Clay as backup for the E-Rate
list. A volunteer for LSTA will be
sought. Susan Keller (Awards & Recognition) reported that nominations
are needed for awards. Cathy Williamson (Collection Management
Forum) announced the upcoming workshop “Changeweavers: Collection
Developers and Policy Writers for the 21st Century)" which will
be held on Friday, June 23, at the Library of Virginia. Dr. Sydney Pierce (Catholic University) will
be the presenter, followed by a panel of collection management librarians and a
discussion session in the afternoon. As
of the June 14 deadline 30 plus registrations have been received. Jeff
Clark (Intellectual Freedom Committee) announced that Jeff Newton from the
Rockingham County Public Schools will be presenting at the annual
conference. A possible half-day
workshop on copyright is being discussed as a program idea. Althea
Aschmann (TSAT) announced that
the forum’s spring workshops on “Basic Serials Cataloging” were very successful,
and that the forum wants to continue to take a training role for future
programs. Rebecca Purdy (Youth
Services) announced that the forum is at work on a web page on the VLA web
site. They plan to create a Jefferson
Cup page with winners listed. A future
program, “patchwork of programs” is planned to share programming ideas. Sarah
Wiggins (Multicultural Forum) reported a successful workshop in April. Harriet
Edmunds (Volunteer Management) reported a meeting in May and a workshop
planned for July. Awards are now in
sync and they have selected a recipient for their award. Karen
Dillon (Special Libraries) announced that she is trying to recruit more
special library employees.
Unfortunately there is a conflict between the Medical Library
Association Conference and the VLA annual conference. Steve Helm (Webmaster)
announced that the VLA listserv is now at Radford. He has established the following listservs: Continuing Education;
Collection Management; VLA Council (closed); Intellectual Freedom; Public Librarians;
and Youth Services. He distributed a
handout with VLA listserv subscription information. Barbie Selby (Publications Committee) reported that
she has posted an ad for a new VLA
Newsletter editor. The committee is
working on a picture archive and sample photos can be seen at her house at
lunch. Andrea Kross (Virginia Libraries)
announced the new editorial board. She
still needs a special library representative.
At a meeting in May the guidelines for submission were reviewed and the
length of articles was extended. Future
themes: two issues on the true millennium.
A follow-up on past VLA scholarship recipients is also planned. Reporters are needed for the annual
conference. Clara Stanley (Paraprofessional Forum) reported on their successful
conference in May. Ruth Kifer (Academic Library Section) reported that the section is
working on a web site. Two sessions are
planned for annual conference: one from VIVA's Resource Sharing Committee on
managing interlibrary loan for those not using ILLIAD or CLIO, and a session on
web tutorials for library instruction. Sue Brown (Public Libraries Section) reported
that last year PLA was working with the book Planning for Results (published
by PLA in 1998) and this year they'll be following up with Managing for
Results. Sue will become a trainer
and plans to present a workshop in September.
The public libraries section will also host a listserv and a possible
summer institute/retreat is being considered as well.
Carolyn
Barkley reminded Council that the September meeting will be held at the main
library.
The
meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m. for the second annual picnic at Barbie Selby's
home.
Respectfully
submitted,
Nancy
Newins, Secretary