Merging Chapters by Anna Burke, aburke1@babson.edu

Kathy Coolidge and I just returned from the Leadership Summit in Louisville, where the Board voted to approve the merger of the Connecticut Valley and Boston Chapters! The merger was announced in the Chapter Cabinet meeting on Friday and is effective February 1, 2008.

What does this mean?

• SLA Boston has about 90 new members - Welcome everyone from Connecticut Valley!
• Connecticut Valley will be a programming region of SLA Boston. (Other regions include: Boston/Cambridge, Central/Western MA, Maine, New Hampshire/Vermont, Southeastern MA, Suburban Boston, and Virtual.)
• Current Connecticut Valley President Kathy Coolidge will become Connecticut Valley Region Chair, responsible for coordinating programming in that region.
• We will be busy working with SLA Staff as well as our Boards to ensure a smooth transition through the rest of the merger process. We’ll keep you updated as we move along the process.

As a reminder, here are the agreed upon terms for the merger:

• The merged chapter will use the name SLA Boston from the effective date of the merger until at least 2010, which is the centennial anniversary for the Boston Chapter. After 2010, consideration will be given to a name change that will reflect our membership throughout the northeast.
• The Nominating Committee will actively seek representation from the former Connecticut Valley Chapter.
• The merged chapter will financially support and provide adequate funding to offer a minimum of two programs annually located specifically in the Connecticut geographic area.
• The Boston Board will create a position known as Program Planner for the CVC region. This person will serve as a liaison to the Board and will have the option to coordinate and help recruit Program Chairs for the Hartford and New Haven areas. This person will have a voice and a vote at the Boston Executive Board meetings.
• The merged Boston Chapter will retain the scholarship now offered by the current Connecticut Valley Chapter (a $500 biennial scholarship to a current LIS/MLIS student with an interest in pursuing a career in special libraries).

We are very excited about the opportunities this merger presents and want to recognize and thank the people who worked hard all along the process to make it happen, from initial discussion to final vote: Peter Moon, Hope Tillman, Georgia Scura, Diane Klare, Tom Clark, Linda Broussard, Anne Caputo, Libby Trudell, and the entire SLA Board of Directors. We would also like to thank the membership of both chapters for your support of the merger.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Anna Burke, President, SLA Boston, 781-239-6407, aburke1@babson.edu
Kathy Coolidge, President, CVC, 413-272-6275, kcoolidge@bulkley.com