ALCTS SERIALS SECTION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes from the 2005 Midwinter Meeting in Boston, MA

First meeting: Sunday, January 16, 2005

9:30-11 am

Westin Hotel, St. George C/D

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Lauren Corbett Chair

Jill Emery Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect

Mary Page Past Chair

Meg Mering Secretary

Helen Gbala Member-at-Large

Maggie Horn Member-at-Large

GUESTS/LIAISONS PRESENT:

Allen Achman (Chair, Union Lists of Serials Committee)

Tschera Harkness Connell (Representative to the ALCTS Planning Committee)

Susan Davis (Chair, Nominating Committee and Representative to ALCTS Budget & Finance Committee)

Connie Foster (Representative to North American Serials Interest Group)

Linda Smith Griffin (Chair, First Step Award Committee and Representative to ALCTS Education Committee)

Gary Ives (Chair, Journal Costs in Libraries Discussion Group)

Carolynne Myall (Representative to the LRTS Editorial Board)

Scott Opasik (Chair, Committee to Study Serials Standards)

John Radencich (Chair, Bowker/Ulrich's Serials Librarian Award Committee)

Cathy Weng (Chair, Continuing Resources Cataloging Committee)

Charles Wilt (ALCTS Executive Director)

PLEASE SEND CORRECTIONS TO Meg Mering at mmering1@unl.edu

¦ Introductions

L. Corbett welcomed Executive Committee members and guests to the meeting. Everyone introduced himself or herself. L. Corbett announced that M. Horn would serve as the meeting's timekeeper.

¦ Approval of the Minutes

The minutes from the 2004 Annual Conference were approved without corrections.

¦ New Business

? Ahead to 2010 Draft Strategic Plan

The Committee discussed ALA's Ahead to 2010 Draft Strategic Plan. Further comments can be sent to L. Corbett.

? ALCTS Strategic Plan 2006-2011

The Committee discussed ALCTS' plan. Further comments can be sent to L. Corbett. The plan is based on work done at the half-day retreat just before the 2004 Annual Conference. L. Corbett and M. Page attended this retreat.

¦ Scheduling of Committee

C. Wilt announced that a proposal had been made to normalize the scheduling of committee meetings. All committee meetings at ALA conferences would have four uniform starting times. The hope is that conference scheduling would become more efficient. This proposal would effect the meeting time of the Serials Section's Executive Committee and all other Section committee's meeting times. If approved, it will go into effected in 2006.

ACTION: Scheduling of committees will be an agenda item for the Serials Section's Executive Committee at the 2005 Annual Conference.

¦ Audio Visual Costs

C. Wilt reported that audiovisual equipment costs have risen dramatically over the last several years. Requests for equipment will not be filled as automatically as they once were. At the 2005 Midwinter Conference, most AV requests from committees were not filled by ALCTS. Internet connections are no longer being provided. Handouts are a less expensive option.

C. Weng reported that the Continuing Resources Cataloging Committee's request for AV equipment had not been filled by ALCTS. Speakers had provided their own equipment. The hotel approved this arrangement. Some hotels may only allow their own equipment to be used.

¦ Reports of Committee Chairs and Section Representatives to ALCTS Committees and the North American Serials Interest Group

? Union Lists of Serials Committee Chair (A. Ashman) (written)

Cathy Kellum from OCLC updated the Committee on the changes that are scheduled to take place over the next several months in OCLC's Union Listing Module. These changes include the adoption of MARC 21 for holdings, the demise of Passport, and the implementation of a union listing module in the browser version of Connexion. This update led to a discussion about the future of union listing in general and libraries' needs in regard to the inputting and exporting of serials holdings. The Committee also discussed the critical relationship between serials union listing and interlibrary loan activities.

All of these issues relate directly to ALCTS' goals and objectives concerning the promotion of standards and best practices. To assist in this promotion, the Committee decided to pursue two short-term activities. The first effort will be to create and distribute a written document outlining an ideal future for union listing. This work will address union listing in a very broad perspective including the various needs and concerns of people in different parts of the profession, as well as, the needs of library patrons.

The Committee's second effort will be to instigate more direct communication between those immersed in the world of union listing and those individuals working in interlibrary loan. Various ways that this might be pursued were explored.

? Representative to LRTS Editorial Board (C. Myall) (written)

The Editorial Board of Library Resources & Technical Services met once at the 2005 Midwinter meeting. Information of interest to the Serials Section Executive included the following:

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Issues of LRTS continue to appear on schedule; recent issues averaged seventy-two pages in length.

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Submissions have increased, with twenty-six papers submitted for consideration during the past six months.

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Subject coverage continued to emphasize cataloging topics, but showed somewhat more diversity in recent issues and submissions.

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The number of subscriptions continued to rise from the low point experienced during the Rowecom collapse and the journal's period of tardy publication a few years ago

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Currently, LRTS has a low rejection rate. To a large extent, the low rejection rate is the result of the editor's choice to work with potential authors to revise their submissions and make their article publishable. The Editorial Board supports the editor's approach.

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LRTS is co-sponsoring an ALCTS pre-conference at the 2005 Annual Conference, entitled "Writing for Publication: Demystifying the Process." Serials Section members who are interested in learning more about preparing their manuscripts for publication in refereed journals are urged to register for this event, which will feature a number of excellent presenters.

During the past few years, LRTS has expanded its range of acceptable submissions to include operational research as well as more traditional academic research. As a result, publication in LRTS is more feasible for the practitioners who make up the majority of ALCTS' membership. C. Myall urges members of the Serials Section to consider the value of sharing their research with others through submission of papers to the Association's journal.

? Representative to the ALCTS Planning Committee (T. Connell) (oral)

Serials Section committees and other groups seem to be reporting more on activities rather than on their future plans. More existing tactical initiatives are getting tweaked rather than new initiatives added. Planning needs to become more fully integrated into the culture of ALCTS groups at every level.

? Representative to North American Serials Interest Group (C. Foster) (written)

NASIG's nineteenth annual conference, held in Milwaukee, was rated as its third best conference. The blend of hotel with pre-conferences at a nearby campus was favorably received, as was the conference's programming options.

The twentieth anniversary conference, "Roaring into Our 20s", will retain the hotel and programming positives. The poster sessions and the focused vendor sessions will also be a regular part of the schedule. The conference will be held May 19-22, 2005 at the Hilton Minneapolis. More information about the conference can be found on the NASIG Web site.

In recognition of its twentieth anniversary, NASIG is seeking professional candidates for its first Champion Award. The award will be presented at the 2005 annual conference.

DESCRIPTION OF AWARD: The purpose of the NASIG Champion Award is to acknowledge the contributions of a professional to the serials field. Years of service are not the primary focus, but rather the impact one has made on the profession. This could be exhibited in publications, presentations, innovative thinking, service, and personal excellence. The award provides the recipient with conference registration, three nights housing, and travel costs to NASIG's annual conference. In addition, he/she will receive a year's free membership and a monetary award of five hundred dollars.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants can be nominated by him/herself or a NASIG member. Applicants must currently be in a position of a professional nature with current primary responsibilities for or a history of past professional experience focused on some aspect of serial (e.g. check-in, binding, electronic serial maintenance, serials acquisitions, serials vendor, serials publisher, or serials technologists). Applicants have to be current members.

The Executive Board struggles with the need to cover operating expenses without dipping into reserves every year. It has developed a financial plan that will present to the membership a dues increase this spring and with a parity approach The proposed ballot will raise U.S. dues to $75; Canada $60; Mexico $18; students and retirees $25.

Beverley Geer has replaced Carol MacAdam as a member-at-large.

? Representative to the ALCTS Program Committee (Cindy Hepfer) (written)

Members of the ALCTS Program Committee reviewed and offered advice to individuals planning programs and pre-conferences already approved for ALA's 2005 Annual Conference. Genevieve Owens, the Program Committee chair, reminded program planners of several upcoming deadlines and the need to keep handouts to no more than two pages plus an evaluation form.

Programs sponsored or co-sponsored by the Serials Section for the 2005 Annual Conference are: "Innovations in E-Journal Management" (chaired by Sandy Srivastava) and "How to Assess Your Vendors' Financial Viability" (chaired by Daisy Waters).

A modular approach is being taken with the pre-conferences, where individuals can - if they wish - move from one pre-conference to another. How this approach will work remains to be seen. One pre-conference that might particularly appeal to Serials Section members is "Electronic Resources Management Systems: Opening a Can of ERMs."

Any Serials Section Committee that is considering planning a program or pre-conferences for the 2006 annual conference is encouraged to get in touch with C. Hepfer or G. Owens.

Closed Session:

? Bowker/Ulrich's Serials Librarian Award Committee (J. Radencich) (oral and written)

The Committee received three strong nominations for the award. They recommended one of the candidates for the award.

ACTION: The Serials Section's Executive Committee approved the award committee's recommendation.

ACTION: L. Corbett will take the Committee's recommendation to January 18th ALCTS Executive Committee meeting for final approval.

The Committee intends to write procedures for its activities.

? Nominating Committee Chair (S. Davis) (oral and written)

The Serials Section's Nominating Committee for the 2005 election was charged to develop a slate of candidates to fill the offices of Vice Chair/Chair Elect and Member-at-Large. The Committee solicited nominations from the Serials Section and received many excellent suggestions. The Committee carefully considered all those nominated and successfully developed a full slate of candidates.

ACTION: The Serials Section's Executive Committee approved the Committee's slate of candidates.

ACTION: L. Corbett will take slate to the January 18th ALCTS Executive Committee meeting for final approval.

? First Step Award Committee Chair (L. Griffin) (oral and written)

The First Step Award Jury met electronically from September 2004 through early January 2005 to discuss, promote, and identify potential candidates for the award. Information about the award was distributed to all appropriate state, regional, and national discussion lists. Eight candidates submitted applications for consideration. The Award Jury made a recommendation to the Serials Section Executive Board to present the award to one of the candidates.

ACTION: The Serials Section's Executive Committee approved the Committee's recommendation.

ACTION: L. Corbett will take the recommendation to the January 18th ALCTS Executive Committee meeting for final approval.

? Blue Ribbon Committee

L. Corbett recommended establishing a new award committee. The award would recognize publishers' and vendors' special efforts to improve any aspect of serial work. It might not be given every year. No money would be given with the award.

ACTION: Members of the Executive Committee approved the award in principle. L. Corbett agreed to create the new award committee.

The meeting adjourned at 11:00 am.

Respectfully submitted,

Meg Mering, Secretary