FAFLRT Board Meeting

ALA MidWinter Meeting
New Orleans, LA
Mon., January 21, 2002, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Ritz-Carlton, LaSalle Room

Attendees:
Jewel Player, Maria Pisa, Joan R. Taylor, Lynn McDonald, Carol Bursik, Lee Porter, Fran Perros, Linda Resler, Stephanie R. Jones, Michael Morrision, Steven Kerchoff, Lucille M. Rosa

  1. The meeting was called to order by FAFLRT President Jewel Player at 9:00 a.m.
  2. Committee Reports - Continued
    • ALA Round Table Coordinating Committee. Jewel attended and, as reported on Friday, the FAFLRT program is not listed in the preliminary program. ALA is still evaluating the success of the new program tracking system. Jewel again voiced concern over the absence of Pat May, our ALA Round Table liaison. She will try to obtain a written commitment from the ALA Washington office for supporting Pat’s attendance at future meetings. ALA is seeking two Round Table representatives to the serve on Conference Coordinating Teams for future conferences. The team is responsible for oversight of programming and scheduling. The Round Table Coordinating Committee (RTCC) has agreed to rotate these assignment s to assure that all round table have the opportunity to participate. FAFLRT was chosen as one of the round tables to provide a representative for this term. Jewel has volunteered to represent FAFLRT on the 2004 Orlando conference team. In addition to meeting at the annual and mid-winter meeting, team members are also flown at ALA expense to a meeting in Chicago. There will also be one Round Table representative serving on the ALA Conference Committee, on a 2-year rotational basis. The focus of this Committee is to oversee the Conference Teams.
    • Awards Committee. No report.
    • Booth Coordinator. Jewel advised that we should try to minimize the time that our conference intern spends in the FAFLRT booth so that the individual will have a richer ALA experience.  Maria Pisa and Stephanie Jones volunteered to serve as mentors.
    • Federal Personnel.  Stephanie and Jewel attended a task force meeting of the Freedom of Information Office, which is addressing the ALA position and checklist on outsourcing.  A toolkit will be done on outsourcing and privatization.  The definitions ALA is using are: outsourcing/contracting out a function vs. privatize/contracting out management and policy.  These differ from Federal usage.  Stephanie will ask Susan Tarr if FLICC could assist in clarifying terminology.  Board members also discussed the differences between A-76 and the FAIR Act and the degree to which any of our members libraries are under immediate threat.  A note will be posted on the listserv, advising members to contact Stephanie if they need assistance.  Stephanie is FAFLRT’s representative on the ALA task force on outsourcing.  It was also reported that due to technical problems with the Library of Congress’s new personnel hiring system last year, several positions are now being posted to the LC and OPM web sites.  If you are interested in a position with LC you should register with LC’s new AVUE system via the LC web page (www.loc.gov) and check the vacancy postings on a regular basis.
  3. Old Business
    • Round Table Brochures and Letterhead. Jewel and Maria will work on text for the new brochure.  Mike volunteered to design letterhead and make it available electronically.  Jewel will look into various printing options for our letterhead.
    • Mission Statement.  Linda Resler and Carol Bursik will work on revising the mission statement.  The by-laws will be consulted.
    • Handbook.  Jewel will obtain files from Shirley Loo and Elizabeth Snoke.  She will try to draft text for a new handbook but may not be able to before ALA annual.
    • Atlanta Reception.  Jewel will check with Jennifer Bushong on the status of reception sponsorship.
  4. New Business
    • Correspondence.  Maria Pisa will send a note to Robert Doyle, Executive Director of the Illinois Library Association (ILA) gratefully acknowledging their letter, which expresses the ILA’s “heartfelt sympathy to the victims and families of the terrorist attack on the U.S.”
    • Irradiation of Materials.  A meeting has been scheduled at the Smithsonian in January to discuss the effects of irradiation of materials at Washington area libraries.  Laurie Stackpole will be asked to serve as the FAFLRT/ALA representative.
    • Spring Programs.  The DCLA Spring program will be held on March 4 entitled,  "Documents and Technological Resources for Researchers in
    • International Law." FAFLRT will be a co-sponsor.  A motion was approved for Jewel to organize a FAFLRT spring program.  An April date will be selected.  Potential topics suggested include: digital reference, irradiation, and outsourcing.
    • ALA Spectrum Program.  FAFLRT will offer to serve as mentors.
    • Black Caucus of ALA.  The meeting will take place in mid-August in Ft. Lauderdale.  A motion was passed approving the expenditure of $40 for a FAFLRT business card to be printed in the souvenir program booklet.
    • Standing Committee on Library Education.  Lee Porter, Liaison to the ALA Education Assembly, will look into whether he should be attending the meetings of the Standing Committee on Library Education.
    • Call for Nominations.  Mike Morrison pointed out that his telephone number on page six of the newsletter should be, 202-685-3971.
  5. The meeting adjourned at 10:42 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted, Maria G. Pisa, Secretary