Annual Report (2002)
ARLIS/NA Northeast Regional Representative


Laurie Whitehill Chong  
lwhitehi@risd.edu  
401.454.6227  
401//454/6226 fax  

EXECUTIVE BOARD ACTIVITIES:

Attended Annual Conference in St. Louis, March 20-27; participated in the Pre and Post Conference Board Meetings.  Presented an overview of “Leadership at the Chapter Level” at the Leadership Breakfast.

Attended annual business meetings of the Research Committee, Professional Development Committee, the Art and Design School Library Division, and the Reference and Information Services Section, as Board Liaison.

Revised the ARLIS/NA Chapter Success Book with Ursula Kolmstetter.

Participated in the Mid-Year Board Meeting in New York City, August 10-11.

As Board Liaison, communicated regularly with the chairs of the Research, Professional Development, and Collection Development Committees.  Communicated regularly with the officers of the ARLIS/ New England, ARLIS/ New York, ARLIS/ Western New York, and the ARLIS/ Delaware Valley Chapters.

Participated in Board deliberations, motions, discussions, and other activities throughout the year.

COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES:

Professional Development Committee

Tom Greives, Chair

Heather Ball successfully launched the committee’s website (linked from the AWS or found at http://www.lib.vt.edu/info/ARLIS/pdc.html), incorporating and updating resources from Jack Robertson’s list of “Education and Training Opportunities for Arts Information Professionals”.  Information and guidelines for the ARLIS/NA Internship Award are provided as well as many useful links to other professional resources.  Applications for the second annual ARLIS/NA Internship were reviewed and a recipient selected.

I worked with Terry Belanger, Director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, to finalize the revised wording of the guidelines for the ARLIS/NA Robertson Rare Book School Scholarship.  This scholarship was initiated by Terry, in honor of Jack Robertson.  ARLIS/NA members interested in applying will find these guidelines at http://www.arlisna.org/robguid.html.

I forwarded Elizabeth Clarke’s draft “Certification/ Professional Designation Program” to this committee along with the “ARLIS/NA – VRA Joint Education Task Force Summer Institute” proposal for their discussion and suggested they have a VRA member review the PDC website and make suggestions for additional useful VR links. 

No issues for the Board

Research Committee

Tom Riedel, Chair

Applications for the Wilson Foundation Research Grant, the Worldwide Books Award for Publications and the Worldwide Books Award for Electronic Resources were reviewed and award recipients selected.  This committee requested and received funding ($150.00) to cover the photocopying and mailing expenses incurred in the application review process.  Over the course of the year I participated in numerous email conversations regarding the dilemma of the excess funds given by the Wilson Foundation at the beginning of 2002.  While discussing how to invoice Wilson for the 2003 award, it was learned that they may have intended the excess amount given in 2002 to be used over a three year period.  At this time, we are still awaiting confirmation of this. 

At the Mid-Year Board Meeting, the Board’s decision to eliminate all ad-hoc committees meant that the Research Committee would be dissolved as it now stands in March 2003.  I communicated with the chair, following the President’s initial memo regarding this and answered questions about the future work of this committee.  Pending approval by the Board, this committee will be reconfigured under an umbrella standing committee covering all awards.

Issues for the Board:

Collection Development Committee

Nancy Pistorius, Chair

Members from this committee, among other ARLIS/NA committee members will be part of a group advising ArtSTOR on which collections to target for digitization.  The Collection Development Committee, being another ad hoc ARLIS committee will also be dissolved at the annual conference in March 2003.  I communicated with the chair, following the President’s initial memo regarding this and answered questions about the future of the Directory of Art Book Dealers and the Collection Development Resources links this committee created on their website.  It was decided that these useful resources may best reside on the Contents page of the AWS under “Events, Information and Resources”.

No issues for the Board

DIVISION/ SECTION ACTIVITIES:

Art and Design School Library Division

Alan Michelson, Moderator

Members of this division submitted a proposal for Occasional Paper #14 on the subject of Accreditation in the Design Disciplines.

Reference and Information Services Section

Judy Donovan, Moderator

Section members Paula Gabbard and Barbara Sykes-Austin are working on revising the art section of the Sheehey Guide to Reference Books.  Members of this section contributed to the very successful Occasional Paper #13, devoted to bibliographic instruction and sponsored a session at the St. Louis Conference in “The Visual Learner and Information Literacy”.  An informal Library Instruction Discussion Group met during the conference.

No issues for the Board

CHAPTER ACTIVITIES:

Throughout the year I maintained communication with chapter presidents, monitored chapter email discussions, and sent reminders of various deadlines and reports.  When necessary I provided leadership advice and input from the ARLIS/NA Executive Board.  I met with most of the chapter officers at the annual conference in St. Louis. Sent a summary of the activities and decisions of the Board following its Mid-Year Board Meeting to all chapter presidents and inquired as to chapters’ decisions regarding donations to the 2003 Annual Conference.  Sent welcome emails to all incoming chapter presidents, congratulatory letters to all newly elected chapter officers, and thank you letters to outgoing presidents.  Most of the chapters are involved in recruitment and outreach to library school students in one way or another.

No issues for the Board at this time.

ARLIS/ New England

Richard McElroy, President

I attended the May  2002 meeting at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, CT; the October 2002 meeting at the Cape Ann Historical Museum, Gloucester, MA; and the ARLIS/ NE Executive Board meeting in January 2003.  This chapter awarded its first Elmar Seibel Scholarship ($500.00) to a library school student from Simmons College and voted to raise its annual dues from $15.00 to $20.00.  Plans are being made for a joint meeting in Spring 2003 with the ARLIS/ Western New York Chapter at Smith College, Northampton, MA. 

ARLIS/ New York

Paula Gabbard, Chair

I attended the December 2002 meeting at the Cloisters Museum, New York City.  This is a very large and active chapter, holding many varied meetings throughout the year.   Meetings included: the Neue Galerie; the Thaw Conservation Center at the Morgan Library; the newly opened MOMA QNS; the New York Public Library; and the Greenwood Cemetery.  Members voted to raise annual dues from $15.00 to 20.00, keeping student and retiree dues the same.  They also decided to offer members the option of receiving their chapter newsletter electronically or in paper.  The chapter initiated a chapter travel award ($500.00) in memory of former member Celine Palatsky.  Ted Good man, ARLIS/NA Past President and Margaret Webster, member of ARLIS/WNY as well as past Co-Chair of the St. Louis Conference, are Co-Chairs for the New York City ARLIS/NA Annual Conference in 2004.

ARLIS/ Western New York

Becky Simmons, President

I attended the May 2002 meeting at the Corning Museum of Glass and Rakow Research Library, Corning, NY.   Bylaws changes, voted on the previous fall were approved by the ARLIS/NA Executive Board and now reflect the separate positions of the Secretary and Treasurer as well as the revised title for the Publications Editor.  The chapter’s new brochure was sent to library schools at the Universities in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany as part of the chapter’s outreach to library school students and a November 2002 meeting was held at the Bird Library at Syracuse University.  Members voted to change the criteria of the ARLIS/WNY Travel Award from an award which is open to all members, to an award which would underwrite funding for a chapter officer attending the national conference.  Plans for the joint meeting in Spring 2003 with the ARLIS/NE Chapter are under way.

ARLIS/ Delaware Valley

Mary Louise Castaldi, President 

The chapter held a May 2002 meeting which included a tour of Rose Valley, PA, a turn of the 20th century Arts and Crafts community in the Delaware Valley.  The October 2002 meeting was held at the Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania.  Allen Townsend, current ARLIS/NA Vice-President/ President-Elect, as well as Past President of ARLIS/DVC, announced his new position, effective late December 2002, at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX.  Carol Graney, the newly elected ARLIS/NA Northeast Regional Representative, will assume her new responsibilities at the Baltimore Conference.  This chapter has been participating in an active outreach to library school students at Drexel University.

LWC  
January 31, 2003