Virginia Library Association Council Meeting
June 1, 2001
Northside Branch, Jefferson Madison Regional Library
The June meeting of the VLA Council was called to order by President Cy Dillon at 10:10 AM. Present were Iza Cieszynski, Janis Augustine, Jeanette Friedman, Carolyn Barkley, Linda Hahne, Mary Mayer-Hennelly, Ellen Wertman, Skip Auld, Jeff Clark, Ted Hostetler, Olivia Osei-Sarfo, Peggy Burgess, Susan Brown, Nancy Schaefer, Barbie Selby, Elaine Day, Colette Macin, Mary Clark, Zanne Macdonald, Anne Davis, Sharon McCaslin, Jan Rowley, Sherry Pearson, Helen Sherman, Steve Helm, and Heather Hannan. Visiting were Janet Justis, Earlene Viano, Mary Buckley, and Mari-Jana Phelps.
The minutes, which had been previously distributed electronically, were approved.
Executive Director’s
Report:
Linda Hahne announced that VLA now has 1108 members; 292 are new and there are 251 nonrenewals. The membership directory will be published soon. Also the 501(3c) tax forms have been filed, and Linda reminded Council that because of the 501(3c) status, donations to VLA are tax deductible.
Treasurer’s Report:
See attachment. Jeanette Friedman reported that VLA’s reserves are showing some growth. At the moment, it is not clear how much profit, if any, the Paraprofessional Conference generated. Donations to the legislative liaison fund are lagging. The VLA Annual Conference has already generated $10,000 in income.
Executive Committee
Report:
Cy Dillon announced that there is enough money for VLA to award three scholarships this year. Carryover money from last year and raffle at the Paraprofessional Conference will fund two, and a $2000 pledge from the George Mason Friends will fund the third. Sue Brown moved that this year, the third scholarship be named after the George Mason Friends. The motion was seconded and approved by Council.
Cy clarified the procedures for Council succession. He will send letters to the present Unit Chairs requesting the names and addresses of the incoming Chairs. This information will be due from the units by Aug. 1. Hereafter it will be due July 1, which is the date specified in the VLA manual.
A by-laws change concerning succession will be presented to Council at the September meeting, and it will be voted on by the membership at the Annual Conference in October. The election wording in the by-laws needs to be removed because the unit chairs appoint the successors rather than have them elected.
The Executive Committee will work to set up a Public Information Officer intern program with a college or university which has a degree program in journalism or marketing.
Sam Clay will continue as the Chair of the Legislative Committee, and the vice-chair of that committee will be confirmed soon.
Legislative Committee
Report:
Cy presented Chair Sam Clay’s report, which is attached. The Legislative Agenda can’t be set until after the JLARC report comes out, but the following issues will remain part of the agenda: State Aid, Infopowering, VIVA, the LVA budget, and the public law library strategy. Other items will be added at the September meeting. The Warner campaign has contacted the Legislative Committee and is interested in supporting State Aid and Infopowering. In order to give the candidates a chance to state their views on libraries, Iza Cieszynski, Janis Augustine, and Carolyn Barkley will solicit questions from the library community, edit them, and forward them on to the candidates through the Legislative Committee. The responses will be published in an upcoming VLA Newsletter. At the end of June, Carolyn and Sam will get a preview of the JLARC report. With respect to taking action on the LVA budget cuts, the Executive Committee will consult with the Legislative Committee after the LVA Board meets on June 18.
Linda Hahne reported that the concurrent sessions are booked to capacity. 28 vendors have sent in proposals, and they will be put in a vendors’ track. Confirmation letters will be sent to those who proposed concurrent sessions within two weeks. Thursday from 5:15 to 6:15 will be set aside for business meetings. The preliminary program will be ready in July. 33 vendor booths have been sold so far, and the newsletter will carry articles about the Conference. Skip Auld announced that Chesterfield County’s preconference tour also includes new libraries in Henrico and Powahatan Counties. Cy Dillon added that the LVA social on Thursday night would include book signings.
Linda reported that the Paraprofessional Conference was generally evaluated very positively. More evaluations may come in, as it can be filled out on the VLA website. There were 438 attendees, including the speakers (see attached conference profile). Mary Buckley and Mari-Jana Phelps, who will be next year’s Paraprofessional Forum co-chairs, announced that next year’s conference will take place May 19-21, 2002, and that the social’s theme will be the 50’s.
Federal Legislative Day:
Mary Mayer-Hennelly said that over 25 librarians and constituents from Virginia attended Legislative Day. VLA will continue to underwrite the cost of the bus to transport participants to Washington, but a reservation deposit will be required so that a firm number of riders and lunches may be determined. Attendees were able to talk to three Representatives and George Allen about CIPA. Skip Auld asked for a volunteer to help him with the VLA Legislative Action Center.
Action Items:
There were no action items from the Executive Committee.
Unit Reports:
Publications Committee: Chair Barbie Selby announced that the committee would convene after the Council meeting. She is working on the next issue of Virginia Libraries, and has some applications for the editorship of that publication.
Multi-Cultural Forum: Chair Olivia Osei-Sarfo reported that the forum would have a concurrent session at the Conference on the unusual aspects of diversity.
ALA: Mary Mayer-Hennelly, the ALA Councilor, reminded everyone that the ALA Conference will be in San Francisco June 15 – 20.
Technical Services and Technology: Co-Chair Sharon McCaslin is looking for a co-chair for next year.
Collection Management Forum: Chair Ellen Wertman announced that the Forum made over $500 from the April workshop held at the Library of Virginia.
Public Library Section: Chair Sue Brown said that the section will sponsor four concurrent sessions at the Conference, and that she is also looking for a chair for next year.
Region IV: Co-chair Mary Clark announced that they are planning to reorganize Region IV and want to hold a business meeting at the Conference.
Volunteer Management Forum: Chair Jan Rowley reported that the forum presented a program at the Paraprofessional Conference.
Webmaster: Steve Helm said that the VLA listservs are growing. It was suggested that he automatically add e-mail addresses to the VLA listserv. He said that he could dump the e-mail addresses in and then members could opt-in to the list. Cy Dillon also asked that the number of hits on the VLA website be published.
Intellectual Freedom/Region VI: IF Co-chairs Jeff Clark and Ted Hostetler and Region VI Chair Zanne MacDonald reported that their April 13 workshop titled “Fair Use in the Digital Age” attracted over 30 participants. A powerpoint presentation of the workshop is on the IF website. Also on the website is the VLA/SIRS Intellectual Freedom Award application (a copy is attached). The application deadline is August 15.
Shipping List: Editor Janet Justis says that the latest issue of the publication will be on the VLA website by next week. There will be information about the recent e-government bill, SB 803, in this issue.
VLA Newsletter: Editor Helen Sherman reminded everyone that the next issue will be published in August.
Youth Services Forum: Chair Sherry Pearson announced that the Jefferson Cup winner, Jim Murphy, will attend the Jefferson Cup breakfast on Friday at the Conference.
Region II: Chair Elaine Day announced that the Region will sponsor a two-day workshop on business reference in the early fall.
Paraprofessional Forum: Incoming co-chairs Mary Buckley and Mari-Jana Phelps announced that the forum would meet on June 20.
Miscellaneous:
Linda Hahne announced that she still has a few mousepads for sale.
Skip Auld reported on the filtering issue in Chesterfield County. On June 20, the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing about the filtering policy. Skip has found in his testing of filters that there is not a significant problem with overblocking of sites; underblocking is more of a problem. The best filters seem to be Websense and Cyberpatrol, and Chesterfield will probably go with Websense. He also thinks that the library will be forced to use filters on all workstations.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:03 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Janis Augustine
VLA Secretary