Sandra Kitt
s.kitt@att.net

Special Libraries Association Conference
Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN
June 8, 2004
Sponsor: American Physical Society

Call To Order: Chair Michael Fosmire called the meeting to order at 8:01AM. He welcomed those attending.

Announcements: Michael thanked The American Physical Society for their sponsorship of the business meeting breakfast, and all other sponsors of PAM programs at the conference.

Michael thanked PAM members who got up early to see the Transit of Venus. Brenda Corbin provided safety glasses for the viewing.

Secretary's Report: Sandra Kitt announced that the minutes of the June 2003 Annual Business meeting were published in the August 2003 issue of the PAM Bulletin. Minutes from the current meeting will appear in the August 2004 issue.

Treasurer's Report: Alison Verbeck said that $25,000 in sponsorship had been raised by Cynthia Holt. She is still awaiting final figures for income from the conference. Assets total $43,137.08. The breakdown will be published in the August Bulletin.

Committee Updates:

Manual: Pam Yorks reported that many of the web links in the Manual were broken when SLA changed servers. The Manual is still undergoing substantial repair work.

International Relations: Zari Kamarei is coordinating international meeting awards. There is a program following the business meeting.

Professional Development: Carol Hutchins reported on the CE course held on Saturday June 5th, Mathematics, Computer Science, and General Science Reference Fundamentals for Non-Scientists. There were eight participants.

Hospitality: Bob Noel organized the division's Open House and thanked Melanie Faithful for keeping us on track.

Bulletin: Sara Rutter reported that the bulletin version of record went electronic during the past year. Copies were printed from the PDF for the archives. We are still in transition as to how to distribute an electronic only bulletin and how members who do not have email can opt in for print.

Membership: There are currently 237 members. The trend is upward in general.

Strategic Planning: The committee has developed a feed-back form for this conference; they are also working on a survey form for the fall.

Outgoing Chair Comments: Michael tabled the issue of Governing Documents; there will be no vote on it at this conference. Headquarters still needs input. Further discussion and vote will likely take place next June in Toronto.

Award Presentation: Kizer Walker made the presentation for Committee Chair Bert TePaske-King. There were three awards announced:

PAM Division Award: Presented to the American Physical Society, accepted by Martin Blume, publisher for APS.

The criteria for the Division Award read as follows: The award should be given for a significant contribution to the literature of physics, math or astronomy or to honor work which demonstrably improves the exchange of information in physics, math or astronomy. The contribution should also significantly benefit libraries or enhance the ability of librarians to provide service. It should be special—above and beyond the normal job requirements of the individual(s) or group concerned. This year the committee has chosen to honor a publisher with the Division Award. Much of our time as librarians, in our jobs and on our list–serv, is spent discussing publishers, most often in a rather unflattering light. In the last few years, as we have all confronted the inevitable move from paper to electronic publication and access, we have had to deal with unresponsive publishers and unsatisfactory tools for dealing with issues of increasing importance: access to older literature, archiving, copyright and the obstacles it may present to general dissemination of scientific knowledge. In presenting the award we note this publisher's long-standing awareness of the importance of the historical literature in its discipline, and its commitment to archiving that literature in scanned, reference-linked and searchable back files made available to its researchers and subscribers at reasonable cost. We also recognize its trail-blazing role in the secure archiving of electronic versions of its publications. Finally, we acknowledge its careful and generous policy on copyright and its continuing support of arXiv in enhancing the dissemination of scholarly information to all. For these reasons we honor the American Physical Society with the 2004 PAM Division Award.

PAM Achievement Award: Given to Molly White of the University of Texas.

The PAM Achievement Award is reserved for those recipients whose professional work is marked by distinction and dedication to librarianship in astronomy, mathematics and/or physics. The purpose of the award is to recognize those Division members who have made outstanding contributions to the Division. The winner of this year's Achievement Award began her service to the division by acting as moderator of the Mathematics Roundtable. She subsequently chaired the Nominating Committee. She then served as Division Chair, and in the very next year volunteered her services as Hospitality Chair. She has since served on the Awards Committee and currently serves as chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. In addition to this superb record of service to the division, this year's award winner has well represented the division's interests as a liaison to INSPEC for several years, and as a member and current co-chair of the AMS Library Committee. The nominations for this year's award winner were also strikingly consistent in noting the personal qualities of the nominee: her intelligence; her willingness to share her experiences both as librarian and as division officer; and her generosity of spirit and sense of humor that have graced all members of the division, from the newest to the most experienced.

PAM International Meeting Award: Given to Marie Antoinette Villaflor, University of the Philippines. Miss Villaflor was present and introduced to the members.

Presentation/Acceptance of Slate: Debra Bailey presented slate for Committee Chair Diane Fortner:

Laurel Kristick for Chair-Elect
Zahra Kamarei for Treasurer

There were no further nominees from the floor. Slate was approved as presented.

General Announcements:

Recognition of Doris Helfer who is running for SLA President. Doris is also a member of the PAM Division.

Brenda Corbin announced plans for a LISA V in conjunction with Harvard Smithsonian, to be held in 2006.

Liz Bryson named those members who are retiring this year.

All Committee Chairs, and Moderators for PAM Division programs at the conference, were thanked.

David Stern (Yale), Michael Fosmire (Purdue) and Stella Ota (Stanford) all announced position openings in their facilities

Cynthia Holt, incoming Chair of PAM, thanked members for their support in electing her. She emphasized her agenda for the coming year, and thanked Michael for his year as Chair. A gift was presented to Michael in appreciation.

Adjournment: 8:45AM

Respectfully submitted,

Sandra Kitt
PAM Secretary