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From the President posted 25 April 2008 The Colorado mountains and the Denver Conference Planning Committee are beckoning! And those of us who are able to attend the 36th annual conference this year are soon to answer the call. Before you read further about business updates, I want to wish everyone who is traveling a safe and pleasant trip. It has been a busy winter and there are exciting accomplishments to share. First of all, I hope you have all taken a moment to look at the new online directory and have had a chance to update your profiles. The functionality of MemberClicks (now that we have it working) will keep the membership information current and will give you much more control over your information. The search features provide an easy way to find your colleagues, to see who is involved in groups you're interested in, and to communicate with one another. While you are able to print from the directory, we are also looking into a print-on-demand option from which we will be able to order a Handbook/Directory in print. More on that in the coming months. On a related topic, the executive board recently voted to relocate the ARLIS/NA Archives from Syracuse University to the University of Illinois, where a significant number of association archives are managed. Some background on why we are doing this: A few years ago, Syracuse alerted us that they were not interested in continuing to hold our materials much longer and noted that they weren't doing anything with the archives except storing them. The change will be a long-term investment for ARLIS/NA. The first few years require assessment and evaluation costs that will have to be factored into our budget. But once that process is done, we will have a useable archive that will be easily kept up-to-date. Many thanks to Ann Whiteside for finding a new home for our archives. Committee Standards? Do our committees have standards? They do now. Our policy manual is being updated to reflect a survey conducted with committee chairs to determine some standards that will make the rotation of committee members clear. The board reviewed the results of the survey and the recommendations and, with only a few exceptions, approved the minor changes to bring all of the committees in line. Thanks to Tony White for working with me to gather the information and make the recommendations. A few committee changes to note. First, to better reflect the work of the Publications Committee it has been renamed the Communications and Publications Committee. Secondly, as education and professional development take on a higher priority for ARLIS/NA members as outlined in the 2006-2009 Strategic Plan, the Professional Development Committee (PDC) is increasingly busier. In order to facilitate the many aspects of the PDC goals and potential new initiatives, two subcommittees have been organized. These are the Education Subcommittee and the Mentorship Subcommittee. The chairs of the subcommittees will also serve on the Professional Development Committee. The new structure for the PDC follows that of the Awards Committees. Thank you to Tom Caswell, Professional Development Committee chair, and the committee, for helping to manifest the change. Make sure your passports are up-to-date, because Toronto here we come! I am pleased to announce that the Ontario Chapter has invited us all to have our annual conference in Toronto in 2012. The executive board just this week voted to accept the invitation. Be sure to check the future conference listings on the ARLIS/NA Web site to see where we will be going for the next several years! ARLIS/NA Web site updates: The members-only pages have been modified and now only include exclusive access to Art Documentation and financial information. All of our governance documents are now available by simply visiting the ARLIS/NA Web site. This change offers not only more transparency about how we function, but removes any impediment to checking on a policy or bylaw, etc. Membership Dues Increases. Yes, its time. After ten years of no increases, ARLIS/NA needs a boost. The executive board voted to approve a new schedule of membership dues. The Membership Committee vetted the proposal and I am confident that their approval echoes the pulse of our membership. The new dues schedule will be unveiled at the Membership Meeting in Denver. At that time, our treasurer, Fran Scott, will explain in more depth the need for increasing the dues and the rationale for the new schedule. I hope you are planning to attend the meeting, where you will be nourished with a delicious buffet breakfast and engaged with a busy meeting. Some of you may remember in Atlanta when I visited and introduced myself to your committees and sections and so on. In some cases, I shared my hypothetical query about what sort of animal might symbolize this 'transition year.' After living with it for the year, I found myself envisioning an elephant being lead by a turtle. You might laugh, but in China the elephant symbolizes strength, wisdom and dignity, and the turtle symbolizes regeneration; a most positive way to reflect on the thoughtful and persistent progress we've made so far to regenerate and revitalize our society. Perhaps you had other visions as the year progressed? Maybe we can share these when we meet. My annual report will be posted on the Web site soon. I hope it will bring you up-to-date on the initiatives and changes that have filled our year and give us a starting point as Ken Soehner, our in-coming ARLIS/NA President takes the reins. It's been quite a fulfilling year. Thank you, all, for your attention to the goings-ons with ARLIS/NA. Best regards, Deborah K. Ultan Boudewyns ARLIS/NA President Top of Page