American Library Association

New Members Round Table

Executive Board Meeting

SACC Centro A

Sunday, January 26, 1992

2:00-4:00 p. m.

PRESENT

The New Members Round Table Executive Board Meeting was called to order by President James Mouw at 2:03 p. m. on Sunday, January 26, 1992 at the San Antonio Convention Center, Centro A. The following members were present:

James Mouw, Carol S. Lunce, Laura Jenny Sill, Lorelei Tanji, Joan L. Dobson, Carla Zanotti, Chris Smith, Cindy S. Church, Anne Gordon, Kimberly Spyers-Duran, Ann Branton, Joanna Burkhardt, Colleen Conway, Cecilia Schmitz, Laine Stambaugh, Mary Marcum Evans, Kathy Kie, Elaine Yontz, Suzanne Byron, Joni Gomez, Diane Tureski, Jenifer Stone Abramson,

INTRODUCTION 2:00 p. m.

The voting members of the board were introduced by Mouw as the president, vice-president/president-elect, past president, treasurer, secretary, the four directors, and the affiliates council president. Board members introduced themselves as Mouw passed around the ABSOLUTELY FINAL Agenda for the meeting. He indicated that most of the committee reports could be found on the table. There was one minor change made to the agenda. The Scholarship committee would report just after the Membership Promotion and Relations Committee.

OLD BUSINESS 2:03 p. m.

There were no items of old business.

REPORTS

Leadership Development - Kathy Kie 2:05 p. m.

Kie reiterated the committee's charge to promote the development of leadership skills among NMRT members. The Leadership Development Program will be held Monday, January 27, 1992 from 7:30 - 9:00 a. m. Kie pointed to the flyer attached to the committee report. The speaker for the program will be Dr. H. Joanne Harrar, Director of Libraries, University of_. Maryland at College Park and she will discuss "Tough Leaders for Lean Times". Kie urged everyone to attend and bring questions on managing in economic retrenchment. Items discussed were the committee's suggestion of conducting an informal survey on the evaluation form from the program asking for ideas for topics of future leadership development programs. Any ideas, i. e. your ideas about what is leadership development or what you expect to get from the program can be expressed. The second item of concern was soliciting vendor support for the breakfast which has traditionally accompanied the program.

Mouw commented that vendor support is not a problem, however the committee chair must contact the Exhibitor Contact and Relations committee early. Providing enough lead time is necessary. He then pointed out that the meeting time printed onhis agenda is correct (Marriott River Center Salon D). Kie said that information is also correct on the flyer.

Orientation - Colleen Conway

Essays by the main speaker were passed around the meeting. Blaise Cronin, the Dean of the Indiana University Library School, has accepted an invitation to be the main speaker. The local speakers might include an individual from a San Francisco civic organization, such as the Director for Development for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Another possibility is someone from the San Francisco public library to speak on the issue of the homeless and special'populations. The committee will be contacting Mr. Cronin's publisher to see if they would like to contribute copies of his books to the SALA reception.

The action item of the packets was taken care of at yesterday's committee meeting. All the expenses of the committee were picked up by Hope College. The committe still needs a snazzy title for the program. Ideas so far include: The New Professional; Your Right to Know Your Association; and Getting Involved with and Implementing ALA's Goals Back Home. Mouw suggested that the committee find a buzz word to generate the catchy title.

Mouw asked if the committee is planning on inviting the usual speakers, the ALA President, etc. The committe is waiting on the SALA agenda. They want to avoid duplication. The SALA report will be given on Monday. Ann Branton suggested the title, "New Professionals in a New Age: You Need to Know. " The committee is also looking for something to put in the packets, similar to the salsa packets idea used by the Midwinter Activities committee. Mouw suggested
fortune cookies.

Director for Mace - J. Christina Smith 2:15 p. m.

Smith reviewed the responsibilities of the directorship. She had nothing major to report, other than she has been monitoring correspondence and communicating with all the. committee chairs. Lorelei Tanji inquired about the free membership. Alison Gray also asked about Baker & Taylor's support. Will it be the same as last year? Zanotti will be in contact with her on this issue.

Membership Promotion and Relations - Lorelei Tanji

Tanji reported that there has been an increase in membership. As of December 1991, membership figures stood at 966 members. She has the appropriate brochures available and is using FOOTNOTES to get the word out about NMRT. She reminded everyone about the flashy promotional videotape, which would be an asset to various presentations. The brochures will be reprinted.

Mouw suggested that the committee consider including a welcoming letter from the President and a committee interest form when NMRT information is sent out. Mouw will provide the letter and Abramson will provide the committee interest forms.

Schmitz stated that there were no membership forms for the booth. Tanji will take care of this. Schmitz asked if the video should go with the travelling booth? Tanji didn't know, however, Mouw remembered talking about this with the slide-tape presentation. NMRT would provide the tape, however would not supply the playback equipment. Conway remembered that a copy of the video would be sent, but not returned. Abramson also added that the problem of cost entered in. Local groups could not afford the electrical hook-up costs to run the equipment. Schmitz asked if a line should be added to the travelling booth form indicating that the tape was available. Mouw thought it would be cheap to duplicate the ten minute tape. Joanna Burkhardt commented that Membership Promotion and Relation should take care of this. Abramson thought the note that Schmitz recommended might be confusing. Quality Books is taking care of booth shipping costs. Branton added, however, that the Mississippi Library^, Association has a copy in their possession and has received a good response to the video. Mouw suggested that the Affiliates Council and Membership Promotions and Relations work on this issue.

Tanji also discussed the potential costs of redoing the video using live coverage versus still shots. The budget however is a problem. Mouw recommended comparing costs three years from now. Which will be easier to update? Tanji felt that isdepends on what you want to change. Live videos would be more difficult to update. Mouw commented that the video is important. Out of date products are funny. NMRT needs to plan to update regularly, however our current budget does not allow for this. Dobson said that the video's use needs to be evaluated on a regular basis as well. Is Mississippi the only affiliate that has made use of the video? Abramson asked if the video been properly promoted? The board is talking about money that NMRT does not currently have. While Mouw felt these were all valid points, we need to link the questions of redoing the video with the promotional questions. Suzanne Byron asked if the video should be sent to Library Schools as well? Again, Mouw felt this was a potentially valuable audience. Abramson recommends that the Booth committee, Library School Outreach committee, the Publication and Public Relations Director and Director for Mace pursue the costs options and promotional possibilities.

Tanji directed the discussion to boosting membership. Part time students should get more information. Student advisors should be contacted for interest. Does this overlap the Library Outreach committee's goals? She would like to include a list of NMRT and ALA scholarships and their deadlines. Mouw commented that ALA scholarships are available in the ALA handbook, but it is good information to give new members. Abramson thought this might already be being done by another group within ALA. Check with JoAn Segal. Tanji is especially concerned about NMRT scholarships and would like to consolidate this information for our membership.

Ideas from the Membership Promotion Task Force were outlined. They included drawings at the booth, minorities mentorships, and chapter relations at ALA. Abramson noted that we must link the mentor program with orientation. One possibility included that in between SALA and orientation, the audience could remain in the room to link mentors and mentees. Conway stated that she was concerned about this issue in the planning of the orientation program. Mouw recommended evaluating the audience. If these are primarily students, it may be more appropriate to link with SALA. Abramson would like SALA and the Orientation program to discuss this: Mouw would like Smith to help her committe chairs sort this out.

Scholarship - Kimberly Spyers-Duran

The committee mailed out approximately 200 applications and they received a high caliber of applicants. The selection for the recipient and runner-up will be made tomorrow. Mouw asked that the decision be brought to tomorrow's Executive Board Meeting if possible.

Grassroots Grant - Anne Gordon

Attached to the committee report is a list'of the 18 award winners. The committee is in good shape with contacts and the handbook has been revised. $80. 00 was spent from B&T and from her institution's funds. Mouw was pleased that the contact situation is looking so good. Dobson reminded everyone to thank B&T. Gordon commented that Christina Krazinski is NMRT's B&T representative.

Library School Outreach - Suzanne Byron

A mailing was completed to all U. S. ALA accredited library schools. Because of a problem with the database, the committee was not able to send information to schools outside the U. S. The action items include the possibility of NMRT purchasing software to travel with this committee. The other proposed offering a membership drawing in conjunction with a presentation effort. This would be the hook that allows the presentation to take place. On the software issue, Mouw noted that the cost is within the committee's budget. Go ahead and purchase the software. Let him know if authorization is needed for more money. Mary Marcum Evans remembered when Affiliates Council looked into the question of buying a package and licensing agreement for the duplication of the software. How many other committees need this kind of software? Mouw would like the New Initiatives Committee to look at this question. Abramson moved that the New Initiatives committee investigate the need for such software and the costs of purchasing and duplicating it. Evans seconded the motion. Branton suggested tapping into your institutions computer centers for educational discounts. Lunce agreed that a discount should be negotiated. There was no further discussion; the motion carried.

The idea of the membership drawing was a difficult one. Mouw recommends that Byron contact JoAn Segal. Byron suggested collecting cards at the presentations and make the drawing at one of the conferences. Mouw thought SALA might be a good place. Conway thought that originally NMRT was talking about several memberships. Dobson added that the drawing were only for NMRT memberships. Mouw said this would be a good investment and we should talk about how many to offer. Abramson moved to authorize the contacts to library schools to collect student names for a drawing for a free NMRT membership to be given at SALA, a maximum of five memberships offered. Dobson seconded. Mouw reiterated seeing JoAn Segal. NMRT might ask ALA to include five ALA student memberships. He also would like Byron to speak with Tanji, Smith and Rita Yribar. This needs to get on the agenda for SALA. Byron thought that this would be most appropriate for the next cycle. Mouw made a friendly amendment to add the discussion to the motion. Conway would like to let students at SALA fill out forms this year. This will create interest for the next year. Dobson also thought this would be a good way to get names and addresses of new members. Mouw moved to distribute forms at this year's SALA in anticipation for the membership giveaway the next year. The motion carried.

Minorities Recruitment - Laine Stambaugh

The Mentor Program at the Annual Conference went well. The committee would like to continue the program, since the comments in the evaluations were positive. Some suggested changes include having a set of guidelines on what is expected of a new member and arranging for a meeting room for mentors. Mouw felt it might be difficult to book a room between functions. Before the meeting might be a more feasible possibility. Evans suggested signing in at a table that says "Mentor System" in SALA. Conway thought this might be an advantage for late-comers. Stambaugh said that the idea of exchanging photographs was discussed. A firmer deadline is need before the conference. The committee has also explored requesting mentor's vitae to be used as background information. They will be contacting past mentors to participate again.

In the area of scholarships for minorities recruitment, Stambaugh found that there are many groups doing the same types of things as NMRT. The committee's next meeting will be a work session, concentrating on scholarship awareness and partnership. The committee would also like to consider aiming library recruitment at an earlier audience--grade school or high school. Mouw asked that the written report for this committee be brought to the next meeting or mailed to officers.

Affiliates Council - Carol Lunce/Diane Tureski 3:10 p. m.

Lunce reported that 4 people attended their meeting that morning. There is more and more indirect interest in the affiliates. Lunce spoke about the deadline for brochures for chapters, which serves as a general information brochure. Copies of the draft brochure were distributed to the council for comments. The costs for printing are unclear at this time, however she will send that information to Mouw went she has it. Lunce thinks it is a necessary item to be completed for the survival of the Affiliates Council, however, she recognizes the difficulty of the cost. Mouw said that when the costs come down, NMRT will consider this idea. The council is plugging away at making further contacts. Lunce said she was disenchanted by some of the responses she has been receiving. Gordon offered to send addresses and phone numbers for Grassroots representatives that might be helpful to the affiliates. Lunce said that would be helpful, since she is working from an old list. The list she is working from is not complete and it changes continuously. Her goal is one complete list. Lunce would like to request a complete list of NMRT membership. Mouw thought that this would not be a problem to obtain. Abramson
suggested that Byron, Gordon and Smith could offer their knowledge and lists to the Affiliates Council.

Communication may be difficult, as Lunce must begin to watch the phone calls from her institution. Abramson reminded her to use the networks that are in place. Lunce inquired whether or not the list sorted by state? Mouw and Dobson both felt that was possible, but not free. Lunce emphasized that NMRT must start building the affiliates back up or the system will die. Conway stated that she felt this problem illustrates that the affiliates have meshed with the day to day operation of the other committees. Is this NMRT's aim? Mouw commented that this is something that Tureski should think about. Is the Council doing enough? Lunce added that she continues to meet with new members who are not getting the proper information. Dissemination of information was the original purpose of the Affiliates Council. Scholarships are unknown to many. Where are we missing the boat? Lunce would like NMRT to address these problems. She continued that we are only connecting to those already involved, not the "little people". The information is not getting to state and local levels. Mouw agreed. While the network is the best way to do this, it has not been effective. These are questions the Affiliates Council must ask. Lunce believes that contact is the basis for all these problems.

The Mississippi chapter has reworked the proposal to reinstate its chapter as an affiliate. Lunce submitted the proposal for the board to accept. She added that they researched their situation well and have presented a good case for reinstatement. The documentation is complete. Lunce made a motion to grant seed money to the Mississippi Library Association for the reestablishment of their state NMRT chapter. Evans seconded. Discussion: Evans reminded the group that seed money is made available to new or defunct chapters. Lunce added that Mississippi was defunct. This is well documented. Mouw tabled the motion until Monday's meeting. Lunce credited Branton with doing a lot of the documentation work. Mouw added that this is good news for NMRT. Abramson offered to send Lunce extra copies of the committee interest forms to add to NEWSNOTES.

NEW BUSINESS (James Mouw) - 3:35 p. m.

Mouw would like to talk more about the orientation program. The PLA (Public Library Association) would also like to hold a conference orientation for its new members. This would be more than just an orientation to PLA. NMRT believes there ought to one conference orientation and that NMRT should be the sponsoring body of such an orientation. Conway does not want to duplicate effort. How about cosponsoring? There is not enough time for more than one orientation. How about labelling it as THE conference orientation program. Mouw will talk with JoAn Segal on this issue. He would like to deal with the broader question. Conway asked if PLA is planning anything for the annual conference. Mouw stated that PLA ignored statements from the NMRT liaison. NMRT needs to resolve this issue in the short and long term.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 3:40 p. m.

The Leadership Development program will be held at 7:30 a. m. tomorrow. Mouw assured everyone there would be plenty of strong coffee provided.

Dobson encouraged those who need the forms to pick up extra copies of the tax exempt certificates and request for reimbursement forms.

Lunce welcomed the representative from Quality Books. Thanks to them for the seed money.

ADJOURNMENT 3:45 p. m.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p. m.