1. Office Name: Secretary
2. Office Term (Date: Ex. 2005-2006): 2005-2006
3. Discuss/summarize your involvement with your committees this year:
I contacted the Archives and Handbook Committees at different times during the year by e-mail and phone to stay aware of their progress, and to see if they needed help. I also helped the Archives Committee get their handbook description updated on our website to reflect that they are a Midwinter-to-Midwinter Committee, instead of an Annual-to-Annual one (the Archives Committee had changed their timeline and revised their handbook description a couple of years ago, but had been delayed in getting it up on the NMRT website—the revised version is now available online). I also monitored which committee chairs turned in their reports and sent reminders to ones who had not done so.
4. Based on your year's experience in this office, what future directions do you see your office or NMRT needing to take this year or the following year?
One possibility is to work with the Archives and Handbook Committees to revisit the Archives Policy, and consider what other kinds of materials besides reports and minutes may be useful for archiving in the future, such as brochures used to publicize NMRT to library schools, etc.
I have also suggested to Nadine that the most recently approved Board minutes (the current and previous year) be made available through our website, and plan to forward the 2005-2006 minutes to the Web Committee. I would recommend that the new Secretary work with the Web Committee to add minutes for the upcoming year as they get approved. I would suggest announcing when they become available on both NMRT-L and NMRTBD, and to use this as an opportunity to publicize our Archives Database, reminding members that this is where older minutes and reports can be found.
5. What tips or hints do you have that might help your successor carry out the duties of this office?
I would suggest being familiar with the timelines, including the new secretary's timeline (revised this year) and those of the committees. It is also important to follow-up with the committees regularly on specific goals and projects in order to know when to help. I would also suggest communicating with the Archives chair about duties that may overlap (for example, whose responsibility it is to send reminders to committee chairs who have not turned in reports)
6. Please address the role of the board member as
coordinator. For example, projects between membership promotion, diversity & recruitment
and student outreach would need to be coordinated.
How might activities such as this be handled by board members efficiently and
smoothly? Your thoughts here will be most helpful for future boards.
Board members are in a position to facilitate communication between committees. It is important to stay aware of how goals among them may overlap or conflict. Board members can help keep chairs informed about things the other committees are doing that may impact them and help them coordinate their activities. They may also refer them to others in NMRT who may help them accomplish their goals.
7. Date of report:
8. Submitted by: Jeannette Ho