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ILA Executive Board Meeting Minutes Saturday, August 15, 1998 Sun Valley (Corrected minutes approved by the Board October 27, 1998)
President Dawn Wittman called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. Announcements: The Board needs a parliamentarian for its meetings. Force volunteered to serve in this capacity for the upcoming year. Ollie Cossman will take any "freebie" bags remaining after the conference. Minutes of August 12, 1998 Meeting: These are forthcoming, and will be approved at the next Board meeting.
Board Reports President: Dawn Wittman thanked everyone for helping make the Sun Valley conference a success, and reminded everyone to send material to the ILA Archives at the University of Idaho Library. Membership is the priority for Wittman’s presidential year, and she is asking the Division Chairs to address membership within the divisions. The Chair of the ILA Membership Committee is Ruth Cochran, and she is looking for volunteers to work on the committee. Discussion of membership issues followed, and a variety of points were raised. We need to have more membership information on the web site and in the Idaho Librarian. The fundamental question is why should people join ILA? What do we offer? What do we do that is of value to the individual that they wouldn’t get if they didn’t join ILA? The fact sheet on ILA and what it does needs to be revised and circulated more widely. (Perhaps the Public Relations Committee can help here.) The conference registration discount for members should be continued at both the state and spring conferences. ILA is a place where you can work on a team, and develop a role where you can "shine." ILA service looks good on a resume. How can we best appeal to our support staff members? We also need a way to capture the names of new hires in Idaho’s libraries, so that we can send them ILA membership information packets soon after their arrival in the state. Should there be a public relations effort through the state’s library directors and Board presidents, emphasizing to their staff and members that belonging to ILA and service to the state/profession are good things? Should there be a personal letter from President Wittman? Should an information packet be sent to each library in the state so that they have it on hand? Should first time members be offered a price break? Should there be a New Members Round Table, or new members event of some sort at the annual conference? Is it a good strategy to get people involved in an ILA project, then ask them to join? Wittman asked that the Division Chairs let their constituents know that membership is a priority, and let her know if there is anyone that she needs to send letters to. First Vice President: Ron Force reported that the President hasn’t provided a theme for the 1999 annual conference, so it is up to the conference planners to develop one by November. Force plans to find a keynote speaker soon, and set up an e-mail list so that much of the conference planning can take place online. In the past, vendors at the conference have wanted to have a list of conference registrants so that they can send them material before the conference. (It is ILA policy not to give out our membership list, but this would be a list of annual conference registrants only.) Would ILA charge for this? Provide it free as a "perk" for vendors who have purchased exhibit space? What would it cost to generate the list? Should it be part of a two-tiered fee, for minimal/deluxe exhibit packages? Any fee change would have to be decided on by the Board. There would have to be some sort of deadline, so that the list would consist of conference registrants as of a certain date. Would/could the vendors then use the list after the conference for follow-up, or should the agreement specify that only contact before the conference is permitted? Motion (Price/Pool) that the Board approves the principle of giving vendors access to a list of conference registrants, but will decide at its next meeting how to implement this. Passed unanimously. The first letters have traditionally gone out to vendors in January. Force will discuss this with Penni Cyr, Exhibits Chair. Second Vice President: Larry Almeida is in charge of the regional conferences for the upcoming year. Each region already has a conference chair, so work can proceed. Should there be some sort of advocacy training or legislative advocacy program at each conference? Treasurer: Sandra Shropshire reported that there are a great many conference bills still to come in. At last count, there were 236 registrants, and all the meal tickets were sold. The breakdown between ILA and PNLA registrants is unknown at this time. Various boxes were left at the registration desk when vendors left. Force will take them, in case any vendors are looking for them later. Past President: Susannah Price suggested that there be an award or other recognition for people who have been long-time ILA members or conference attendees. Price also distributed a brochure describing the Lawyers for Libraries Training Institute II sponsored by the American Library Association and the American Bar Association (see attachment #1). She will collect the names, and send them to ALA. There should be some geographic diversity, and the names need to be submitted as soon as possible. Price is also collecting the nominations for the ALA Intellectual Freedom Honor Roll. Price chairs the Nominations Committee for the upcoming year, and the four outgoing Division Chairs are committee members. State Librarian: Charles Bolles reported that the State Library Board now has six members rather than four. The representatives of the three regions and the State Superintendent of Public instruction (or their designee) remain, but one representative has been added from each of the state’s two congressional districts. The Northern position is currently vacant. Appointments are made in September. There are several legislative issues on the horizon: the State Library budget, the desire to extend the Library Improvement Account to all libraries (not just public libraries), and the question of levy overrides for three years for new library buildings.
Division Chairs Academic/Special: no report. Educational Media: Marlene Earnest reported that representatives from the State Board of Education and the Idaho State Library have been discussing the issue of school media generalist certification. As a result of the recent changes in state requirements for schools, some schools have removed librarians/media generalists and replaced them with aides. There will be an Educational Media Division task force for the certification issue, and the State Board of Education is expected to help draft a bill for presentation to the legislature. The Division will be requesting money for mailings as part of its budget request to the ILA Board. Public: Max Leek reported that the Division is continuing to revise the guidelines for public libraries, and hopes to present these at the next annual conference. Division bylaws are also being created/revised. The Public Library Division would also like to present a Public Librarian of the Year award. The idea will be developed this year, including budgeting and/or corporate sponsorship. Trustees: John Pool reported that, according to the conference registration forms, there were two trustees registered for the conference. There are a number of good ideas for training kits for trustees, and Pool plans to work on these with Gardner Hanks of the State Library. As part of ILA's efforts to recruit members, should there be special information for trustees in the packets we are considering sending out to libraries? Should the Division do some sort of salary survey? Bolles said that it is difficult to do one that is statistically significant, because of the differences between libraries in the state. The State Library is considering doing one every five years, but there are many problems surrounding the issue. (The State Library currently collects information on directors salaries.) Pacific Northwest Library Association Representative (see attachment #2): Kevin Booe reported that there is an action plan to revitalize PNLA, and it is up on their web page. The Board is seeking input on it. The association will also be out of the "red" by the end of the year. PNLA has reorganized its Board, and proposed bylaws changes have been passed. The PNLA Quarterly will shift toward the web. There has been a great deal of discussion about conferences. Should they be biennial? Should they be a trade show? Should there be cluster workshops? Should continuing education credits be offered? Should there be joint conferences? Should the conferences be changed to a date other than August? Should the interest groups do the conference planning? In the wake of one state considering leaving PNLA, everyone is reminded that the Young Readers Choice Award is the property of PNLA, and if a state wishes to participate, it needs to be a member of PNLA. The medal is copyrighted. PNLA has had a positive and impressive year, and is looking forward to seeing everyone at its annual conference in Calgary next year. Committee Appointments: Motion (Bolles/Almeida) that the following Committee Chairs be approved by the Board. Unanimously approved. Constitution/Bylaws: Camille Wood Intellectual Freedom: Rand Simmons Legislative: Lynn Melton, state; Lynn Baird, federal Scholarships and Awards: Kevin Booe Publications: Christine DeZelar-Tiedman (and the ad manager, as yet unnamed) Motion (Booe/Leek) that the following Spring Conference Chairs be approved by the Board. Unanimously approved. Moscow/Latah/Lewiston: Nancy Young Pocatello: Larry Goold Northern Idaho: Cheryl Breidt Idaho Falls: Jean Shawver Treasure Valley: Margaret Fujishin
Committee Reports
Public Relations: Barbara Greever presented a draft communications plan for ILA (see attachment #3), to be considered by the Board at its next meeting. Bolles expressed the concern that needs to ILA define what it means by advocacy, and coordinate efforts with the State Library. Bylaws/Policies and Procedures: The proposed constitution and bylaws changes were all approved by the membership on August 14 (see attachments #4 and #5). It was noted that the chairs of the Divisions are elected according to the bylaws of their individual divisions, so those should be checked to be sure that there are no conflics with the ILA constitution and bylaws just passed. ILA Strategic Plan: Almeida, Wittman, and Price will work on strategic plan revision, and bring suggestions to the Board at its next meeting. We need to get a copy of the final draft of the strategic plan from Mary Carr. Board Meeting Dates: Tuesday, October 27, 1998, in Lewiston In January in conjunction with the Legislative Breakfast in Boise Some time in April Additional Business: As a matter of policy, ILA encourages the posting of draft documents on the web site so that the membership can look at them and offer comment. The Intellectual Freedom Auction made $2700.00, to be split equally between ILA and PNLA. It is up to the ILA Intellectual Freedom Committee to decide how to spend the money it receives through the auction, so some planning should take place. Since the auction took a great deal of time this year, we may want to try a combination of a silent auction for some items with the regular auction for others. Motion (Booe/Price) that we adjourn. Passed unanimously, adjourned at 10:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara C. Greever, ILA Secretary |
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