LIBRARY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION (LITA)
Annual Report, 1998-1999

REGENERATION

This was a year in which LITA broke its every mold. A fresh format, the annual National Forum, replaced the triennial national conference. At the same time, the association launched the LITA Leaders Pick Top Technology Trends initiative, designed to drive and shape National Forum programming. In the mood for still more creative change, the Board decided to discard the existing strategic plan and begin anew--perhaps it was inevitable that a new logo would follow. LITA also rethought its approach to marketing the benefits of membership and restructured its publications acquisition program. Below are the highlights of a year characterized by exploration and innovation.

NEW STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

In Washington DC the Board decided to scrap LITA's strategic plan (which, over time, had become more operational than strategic) and engage the membership in crafting a new one. A fall e-forum generated a great deal of spirited discussion. In Philadelphia at a Monday morning Town Meeting, members expanded on their ideas, giving the Board plenty of fodder for a Wednesday planning session. The Board adopted the new strategic initiatives and their graphic representation; these will be unveiled and presented to the membership in New Orleans.

Our new strategic initiatives proclaim that LITA:

• Educates, through: programs for everyone (from absolute beginners to hi-tech professionals); continuing education; publications; our Web presence
• Serves, through: developing and disseminating best practice guidelines; mentoring
• Reaches out to: a broad membership; new professionals; systems librarians; library administrators; standardizing bodies; library schools; vendors

These simple goals will inform our future programming, publications, and other activities.

A NEW LITA LOGO

In May the Executive Committee approved a new draft LITA logo which will be taken to the full Board for approval in New Orleans. After approval, the logo will grace the new membership brochures described later in this report. It was designed by a member of Vice-President Michael Gorman's staff. The tree motif incorporated into the letter "A" in LITA represents our association's commitment to growth and vitality.

LITA LEADERS PICK TOP TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Another highlight of Midwinter in Philadelphia were the meetings of LITA's new Top Technology Trends Committee. A group of LITA leaders who are acknowledged for their reputations and expertise in our field met several times to hammer out what they believe to be top technology trends librarians should be watching. A press release announcing their choices was sent to a variety of media including Yahoo, Internet Scout, LITA Notes, Library Journal, and American Libraries.

With its new Top Technology Trends Committee and panel of experts, LITA reaffirms its position as the country's preeminent association for professionals working with information technologies. This year's panel included Karen Coyle, Walt Crawford, Pat Earnest, Elizabeth Lane Lawley, Clifford Lynch, Roy Tennant, Carol Tenopir, Joan Frye Williams, Tom Wilson, and Milton Wolf. Not only will the trends identified by these experts guide programming for the upcoming 1999 National Forum, they will also shape our publications program and other LITA initiatives.

LITA NATIONAL FORUM,

The first LITA National Forum occurred November 16-17, 1998 in Oakland, California, in cooperation with the California Library Association. "Your Technology Toolkit for 1999 and Beyond" delivered 1.5 days of programming and received very positive evaluations from the 125 persons who attended. The opening plenary featured Yahoo!'s Deb Tracy-Proulx. The closing General Session was presented by Stuart Lynn, Associate Vice President for Information Resources and Communications at the University of California, on the topic of Internet2 and the library of the future.

As the LITA Web site shows, planning is far advanced for the second National Forum, November 5-7 1999 in Raleigh, NC. Forum '99 features two full days of educational programming on 21st century technologies for decision makers and practitioners. It also offers a preconference, tours, and access to computers for e-mail and web browsing, courtesy of the Wake County Public Libraries. We expect a much larger turnout for a more ambitious program. Pat Ensor chairs the planning committee for Forum '99.

MARKETING LITA

In the process of designing its new strategic initiatives, LITA also re-examined its marketing strategy and developed some fresh approaches to membership outreach. New membership brochures targeting the several groups LITA wants to reach and serve have been designed and will be submitted for Board approval in New Orleans. The LITA "dance card"--a handy engagement calendar for the New Orleans conference--was distributed at midwinter. For those who missed getting a colorful print copy, the dance card can be downloaded from www.lita.org.

LITA continued its successful "Meet LITA" and Dutch-treat lunch events, designed to bring together members and prospective members, as well as outreach to automation vendors. We are considering a formal mentoring program and have asked the Leadership Development Committee for its recommendation.

PUBLICATIONS: A FRESH APPROACH

In the past, LITA had both a monographs editor and a LITA Guides editor. Each was expected both to acquire and edit LITA publications. This year, we replaced those jobs with a single position for a LITA Acquisitions Editor. The Acquisitions Editor is charged with acquiring manuscripts for both books and guides (whose chief difference is one of length). A "Publications Suggestion Box" is available from the LITA Web site; it allows members to suggest topics for publications or to submit a proposal to Acquisitions Editor Karen Coyle. LITA premiered two new publications at Midwinter, "Getting Mileage Out of Metadata" and "Digital Imaging of Photographs."

As volume 17 of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) became volume 18, editor Jim Kopp handed over the reins to new editor Dan Marmion. With volume 18 no. 1 (March 1999) ITAL's appearance was also updated. The membership is very grateful to Jim Kopp and Ann Leslie Jones, outgoing editor and managing editor, for their compilation of the journal's tables of contents and abstracts from vol. 1, no. 1, 1982 to date. It is available on the LITA Web site.

THE LITA WEB SITE

Our Web site continued to flourish. There, members can find the latest event and publication information, as well as program schedules for conference, committee and interest group rosters, key documents, and so forth. The new LITA Regional Institutes page invites proposals, ideas, and requests to host an institute. The LITA Jobsite includes new listings every week. Postings remain for four weeks and are organized geographically. The Board is considering moving the LITA Web site to the ALA site, pending the resolutions of a few issues.

THE LITA/CHRISTIAN (CHRIS) LAREW MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Each year, LITA awards a number of scholarships and prizes. This year a new opportunity, the LITA/Christian (Chris) Larew Memorial Scholarship, was created. This $3,000 scholarship is awarded jointly on an annual basis by LITA and Electronic Business and Information Services (EBIS), a unit of Baker & Taylor, Inc. The scholarship is designed to encourage the entry of qualified persons into the library and information technology field, people who plan to follow a career in that field and who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, and a vision in pursuit of library and information technology.

LITA AND THE CONGRESS ON PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Barbra Higginbotham represented LITA at this event, and LITA Board member Susan Jacobson prepared LITA's official congress paper. She was assisted by the chairs of LITA's Publications and Education Committees, Tom Wilson and Russell Bailey.

PROGRAMMING

One of LITA's strengths is high caliber programming. In 1998 the Board decided to restyle an old warhorse, the Automation Products Review (a vendor-presented showcase for new products) as The Connection: Technology Vendor Showcase. In Washington DC, each of the four sessions explored a particular up-and-coming technology, opening with an conceptual overview and followed by a creative discussion and demonstration of strategies and technologies. 1998's topics included client/server architectures, Unicode, resource sharing, and the cybermobile. Both vendors and participants in The Connection expressed a high degree of satisfaction with format and content, and coordinator Colby Riggs has an excellent program planned for New Orleans.

Preconferences and regional institutes (designed to reach persons who may not come to conference) continued their patterns of success. The "Managing and Deploying Microsoft NT and Related Technologies in Libraries" preconference in Washington DC sold out. Other events included a preconference in DC on presentation software and these regional institutes:

• September 14, 1998,
  "Nuts and Bolts of Z39.50"
  "Crooks, Crackers, and Cookies: Internet Security and Privacy Issues"
  Worcester, Massachusetts
  
• May 14, 1999
  "Nuts and Bolts of Z39.50"
  Philadelphia

LITA BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 1998-1999

Barbra B. Higginbotham, President
Michael Gorman, Vice-President/President-Elect
Linda D. Miller, Past President
Tamara Miller, Councilor
Pat Ensor
Susan Harrison
Susan Jacobson
Karen J. Starr
Kathleen A. (Kate) Wakefield
Florence J. Wilson
Lawrence A. Woods
Sara L. Randall, Bylaws & Organization (Ex Officio)
Jacqueline Mundell, LITA Executive Director (Ex Officio)

LITA STAFF

The LITA staff includes:
Jacqueline Mundell, Executive Director
Rebecca Felkner, Program Officer
Tel Aviv Barbee, Administrative Secretary
Valerie Edmonds, Secretary

Elizabeth Cooper resigned as LITA's part-time Deputy Executive Director. On January 4, 1999 Rebecca Felkner joined the staff as LITA Program Officer. Rebecca holds an MLS from Kent State and a B.A. in English from Ohio State. She brings to LITA excellent experience in public, academic, and special libraries, as well as good Web development skills. In the coming fiscal year, her position will become full-time.

In sum, this has been an active and stimulating year for our association, which moves toward the new century with a renewed and strengthened sense of mission.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbra Buckner Higginbotham, DLS
May 27, 1999