FINAL DRAFT

 

SLA/FAN Division

Executive Board Meeting Minutes

Wednesday June 12, 2002

Los Angeles, California

 

Present:

Lutishoor Salisbury (Luti), Chair

Pat Allen, Chair-Elect

Anita Ezzo, Past-Chair

Mary-Louise Pusch, Treasurer

Valerie Perry, Secretary

Catherine Jeanjean, Director & Membership Committee

Sue Schultz, Director

Anne Hurst, Membership & Vendor Relations Committees

Carolyn Speakman, Vendor Relations Committee

Kevin Adams, International & Web Page Committees

Sharon Fujitani, Nominating Committee

Stacey Lazarow, Public Relations Committee 

Pat Wilson, Procedures Manual Committee & Discussion List Coordinator

Dick Wallace, Bylaws Committee

Maria Porta, 2001/2002 Strategic Planning Committee

 

  1. Call to Order – Meeting was called to order at 7:05am and agenda approved. Moved (C.Speakman) and seconded (P.Allen)
  2. Introductions – Chair Salisbury asked everyone to introduce themselves.
  3. Officer Reports – The Treasurer and Incoming Secretary did not need to make a report.
  4. Committee Reports
    1. Archives – All materials should be sent to the Archive at the end of year. See Procedures Manual on FAN website for description of materials included.
    2. Awards – Carolyn Speakman announced that the Outstanding FAN Division Member was awarded to Pat Wilson at the FAN Business Breakfast Meeting on Monday June 10 , 2002.
    3. Bulletin/Newsletter – On behalf of Heather Moberly, Past-Chair Ezzo solicited volunteers to write conference program reviews for those that were not taken.
    4. Bylaws – No report needed.
    5. FAN Web Page – No report
    6. International Relations – No report
    7. Membership/Directory – No report
    8. Procedures Manual – Committee Chair Pat Wilson asked the Board to make the committee aware of any procedures listed in the manual that do not accurately reflect current practices. Procedure Manual is now located on the website (at http://www.sla.org/division/dfan/Procman02.html). Chair Salisbury reminded Chairs of Committees to consult the FAN Procedures Manual to familiarize themselves with their committee’s roles, procedures and tasks.
    9. Public Relations – Stacey Lazerow will make sure the Kathy Kohli Award press release is sent to the appropriate venues including “Food for Thought.”
    10. Strategic Planning – Maria Porta reported that some changes in the current plan need to be made, including the Mission Statement (See Old Business item 5c below). The current Strategic Plan is posted on the website (at http://www.sla.org/division/dfan/Strat03.htm). Chair-Elect Allen agreed to serve as liaison to the Strategic Planning Committee in order to provide input on future goals. It was agreed that reporting should always include sharing past activities and desired future goals and activities. It was noted that this is a three-year commitment for committee members. Chair Salisbury will send the older version of the Strategic Plan to the Archives.
    11. Vendor Relations/Event Management – Carolyn Speakman and Anne Hurst visited potential sponsors for next year’s conference programming.
  5. Old Business
    1. FAN Scholarship Taskforce Report – Kevin Adams and Valerie Perry gave a presentation and identified the need for more exploration and a framework for implementation immediately following the 2003 conference. They suggested that all three scholarships opportunities (Student, New Professional and International Member) be explored assigning one two-person committee per scholarship with ongoing communication between these groups. The Board decided to refer this matter to the Awards Committee chaired by Past-Chair Ezzo. This committee will explore all relevant concerns including recruitment methods, policies and procedures. The committee will, in particular, pay close attention to the successes and lessons learned of other SLA units. The committee will present a full report at the first board meeting of the 2003 conference. It was also suggested by Chair Salisbury and Past-Chair Ezzo that FAN may wish to consider participating in the SLA Twinning Project.
    2. Division Cabinet Meeting – Past-Chair Ezzo suggested that FAN may wish to consider participating in the SLA Twinning Project. The obligation would include paying 90% of an international member’s SLA dues for two years.
    3. Mission Statement – –Maria Porter made the observation that FAN mission statement was too narrow in scope and should be broadened to include the agricultural aspects of food.  After discussion, the committee agreed that the  mission statement should be more inclusive of agriculture librarianship. The Board agreed that the mission statement should read “The mission of the Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition Division of the Special Libraries Association is to provide a forum for discussion of common aspects of food and agricultural librarianship; to keep abreast of the latest information technologies and trends, and to provide opportunities for networking with other information professionals.” Moved (C. Speakman) and seconded (S. Fujitani).
    4. Possible FAN Research Project: Collection Budget Survey – Past-Chair Ezzo explained that a researcher wants to collect budget information from FAN’s corporate members, possibly in combination with the FAN member survey. The Board decided not to approve this project as many of our corporate members may not be allowed by their companies to participate in such a study because it may be considered as sharing marketing intelligence.
    5. Membership Recruitment/Retention Strategy: Use of Brochure – Past-Chair Ezzo emphasized the role the FAN Membership Brochure could play in the recruitment and retention process and suggested that the brochure be updated. Other ideas related to the recruitment of new members included:

                                                     i.     Sending letters to SLA members without divisions

                                                      ii.     Distribution of FAN Membership Brochure at other related organization meetings (e.g. USAIN, ALA, etc.)

                                                        iii.     Placing FAN Membership Brochures at a table during SLA Annual Conference

                                                        iv.     Sending letters to former FAN members inviting them to consider rejoining the division. This could be accomplished using the online version of Who’s Who in SLA.

It was noted from the SLA-produced statistics circulated at the meeting by Chair Salisbury that the number of FAN members has varied throughout the years. In 1990, FAN had 312 members. This increased to 346 in 1993 and then decreased to 279 in 2001.

    1. Sponsorship Brochure and Logo – Stacey Lazarow will continue to work on the sponsorship brochure, but recommended that the FAN Board of Directors should consider hiring a professional to design the FAN logo due to the many SLA regulations and the anticipated varied uses of the logo. She recommended that Mannavision.com be considered as a viable professional company for this task. After discussion, the board unanimously decided to pursue this recommendation and approved an expenditure up to $1000 for a professionally-designed FAN logo. Moved (C. Speakman) and seconded (A. Ezzo). Dick Wallace and Kevin Adams agreed to work with Stacey on this project.
  1. New Business
    1. Nominating Committee: A slate of candidates for the nominating committee consisting of Alice Marksberry (chair), Sharon Fujitani  and Dana Smith was presented to the Board for approval. The slate of candidates was unanimously approved.
    2. Membership Survey – It was noted that a membership survey is due to be conducted during this year. The Chair-Elect and Directors will design, conduct and analyze the survey.
    3. Bylaws changes – Dick Wallace announced that FAN may need to review its bylaws again after the SLA revises the association bylaws.
    4. FAN Research Project – Chair Salisbury announced that money is available from SLA for research projects. The Board decided not to pursue a project this year, but to consider future projects.
    5. SLA Unit Officer Acknowledgement Forms were completed and returned to Chair Salisbury.
    6. Association Business – Chair Salisbury announced that the Executive Director Search Committee has already formed.
    7. SLA 2003 Annual Conference – Chair Salisbury and others announced that the conference hotels for the 2003 New York Conference will be Hilton New York (exhibits & programming, 2000 rooms, Avenue of Americas & Fifth Avenue), Sheraton (Seventh Avenue) and Marriott (meetings & receptions, Broadway). These hotels are located close together. The expected room cost is $230-275. Bus service will not be provided. Morning events will start at 7:30am. There will be ½-hour between events. Catherine Jeanjean volunteered to coordinate matching up roommates.
  2. Adjournment – Meeting was adjourned at 8:40am. Moved (C.Speakman) and seconded (A. Hurst)

 

Respectfully submitted by Valerie E. Perry, FAN Secretary