Library & Information Technology Association

Library and Information Technology Association (LITA)

Board of Directors

2003 Midwinter Meeting, Philadelphia

Saturday, January 25, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Convention Center, Rm. 102-B

Minutes

Present: Pat Ensor, President; Flo Wilson, Past President; Tom Wilson, President-Elect; Barbra Higginbotham, Councilor (in at 10:30 a.m.); Susan Jacobson, Bylaws and Organization; Mary Taylor, Executive Director; Directors-at-Large Karen Cook, Thomas Dowling, Jim Kennedy, Scott Muir (in at 11:00 a.m.), Pat Mullin, Bonnie Postlethwaite, Colby Riggs

Guests: Susan Logue, Zoe Stewart-Marshall, Lorre Smith

Staff: Rob Carlson, Valerie Edmonds

Agenda Item #1, Call to order, announcements, introduction of guests

President Ensor called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. and introduced guest Zoe Stewart-Marshall, who would be observing both Board meetings in Philadelphia, and new Deputy Executive Director Rob Carlson. (Logue and Smith were not present at this time.) She gave a brief update from the meeting of Committee and IG chairs, noting that there would be no LITA Happy Hour in Philadelphia due to difficulties experienced by the recently-recast Membership Development Committee. The chair has indicated that the Happy Hour will take place in Toronto. President-Elect Tom Wilson reminded everyone of the LITA Town Meeting scheduled for Monday morning. He plans to ask attendees what they want more of from LITA, and what they want less of from LITA.

Agenda Item #2, Agenda additions and approval

Ensor invited additions to the agenda. She noted that Sue Martin would be coming to the Tuesday Board meeting at 3:30 to talk about establishing an award in memory of Bret Butler. Tom Wilson asked that a discussion of scholarship and award committees be scheduled after the budget discussion. It was agreed to make it “Item #4.1” on today’s agenda, and the agenda was approved.

Agenda Item #3, Consent agenda

Actions taken by email since the last meeting were approved without discussion. They included approval of the Atlanta Board meeting minutes, a $10,000 donation to ALA’s CIPA legal fund, the disbanding of two IGs (Telecommunications and Online Catalogs) and the establishment of two new IGs (Emerging Standards and Internet Portals). The Board also accepted previously-distributed reports from the President, the President-Elect, and the Executive Director.

Agenda Item #4, Budget Review Committee Report

Past-President Flo Wilson reported on the previous day’s Budget Review Committee meeting, and gave an overview of LITA’s financial status. She complimented Mary Taylor on her presentation of financial information. Reviewing Document 6, “LITA Budget 10 Year Trend Data,” Wilson pointed to the growth in LITA’s reserve fund, noting that we have reached the ALA-recommended accumulation of approximately four to six months’ operating expenses.

Directing the Board’s attention to Document 5, “FY 2003 1^st Quarter Results,” Wilson pointed out that while dues revenue appears to be up, personal membership numbers are declining. Approximately 10% of ITAL subscriptions were handled through the bankrupt Divine/RoweCom; LITA plans to fulfill those subscriptions itself if possible. Advertising in ITAL is also down, largely as a function of the economy. The XML workshop in Philadelphia sold out quickly. She noted that this report did not include revenues from an institute in November, and that there were still some Forum expenses outstanding.

Flo Wilson then directed the Board’s attention to the draft FY 2004 Budget, Executive Committee Document 4, pointing out that this was a very early draft. If expense items come up at Midwinter, there is time to make adjustments. She pointed out the projected FY 2003 surplus of $7,700 could be wiped out by ITAL subscriptions due to the Divine/RoweCom issue. The FY 2004 is essentially a steady-state, hold-even budget due in large measure to the economy. It is predicated on two additional Regional Institutes (bringing the total to eight) and two Midwinter workshops.

Agenda Item 4.1, Procedural Guidance for Award Committee Chairs

Tom Wilson introduced the topic of the need for procedural guidance to new scholarship and award committee chairs. This topic was discussed in the Committee and IG Chairs joint meeting. Some committees have an office of “past chair,” but others do not. Tom proposed standardizing this practice. Since the work of scholarship committees is driven by the ALA scholarship schedule, Wilson proposed that the Board discuss the LITA awards committees and then refer the issue to Bylaws and Organization for review.

Susan Jacobson recommended that the relevant sections of the LITA Manual be looked at very carefully, and that input be sought from current and past chairs. Tom Wilson suggested that award committees could meet at Midwinter or virtually to discuss issues and process and evaluation criteria before beginning work on evaluating nominees. Flo Wilson pointed out that award committee chairs need to be told in advance that they might have to come up with nominees themselves. Pat Mullin suggested this be included in the charge. Jacobson reported that committee charges are being looked at. Colby Riggs suggested requiring the chair to serve a second year, which Ensor noted should be in the manual, not the charge.

After a wide-ranging discussion of timing and committee size Tom Wilson moved that Bylaws and Organization review and revise awards committee charges to reflect nature of awards, review and revise LITA Manual sections to reflect specific details regarding committee expectations to work virtually immediately following Annual meeting and to provide candidate nominations. Seconded by Pat Mullin and passed with 10 for, 1 absent.

It was then moved by Colby Riggs and seconded by Bonnie Postlethwaite that IG and Committee Coordinators and Vice President investigate how to orient new IG and committee chairs on their responsibilities and LITA as an organization and its services and opportunities. The motion passed with 10 for, 1 absent.

Agenda Item #5, Issues Discussion

Pat Ensor proposed adding issues discussion to the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting rather than holding a separate Board planning session. At this meeting, she invited the Board to discuss how this might be done. One suggestion was to have all reports submitted electronically in advance, so face-to-face time could be better spent discussing issues. This approach was tested at this Board meeting. All reports except the Budget reports were included in the consent agenda. The consensus was that the expanded consent agenda was good and that if commentary to the budget reports were distributed with the budget documents, then we could add the budget to the consent agenda as well. It was suggested that having a long-range issue identified in advance would help people prepare for the discussion. Some thought perhaps changing the Committee and IG reporting form to be more straightforward and informative would elicit possible issues and topics for discussion. Ensor offered to take the lead in continuing this discussion online in the weeks to come.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 noon.

Library and Information Technology Association (LITA)

Board of Directors

2003 Midwinter Meeting, Philadelphia

Tuesday, January 28, 2003, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Convention Center, Rm. 102-B

Minutes

Present: Pat Ensor, President; Flo Wilson, Past President; Tom Wilson, President-Elect; Barbra Higginbotham, Councilor; Susan Jacobson, Bylaws and Organization; Mary Taylor, Executive Director; Directors-at-Large Thomas Dowling, Jim Kennedy, Scott Muir, Pat Mullin, Bonnie Postlethwaite, Colby Riggs

Not Present: Karen Cook

Guests: Camila Alire, Buckley Barrett, Michelle Frisque, Sue Martin, Emily Sheketoff, Zoe Stewart-Marshall, Lorre Smith, Rick Weingarten

Staff: Rob Carlson, Valerie Edmonds

President Pat Ensor called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. She had one addition to the agenda, a report with action item from the Regional Institutes Committee. She passed out an information sheet on the USA Patriot Act, which was to be a subject of discussion at Wednesday morning’s ALA Council meeting.

Agenda Item #6, Web Redesign

Michelle Frisque, chair of the Web Coordinating Committee reported first on the members-only capabilities of the upcoming ALA content management system (CMS). It will greatly ease the creation of members-only sections by use of a check-off box. She reported that a subcommittee of the ALA Web Advisory Task Force had been formed to determine appropriate content for members-only sections. Frisque then reported on the redesign of the LITA website. She proposed a two-tiered approach because of the introduction of the new CMS. Our current home page will not work with the new CMS, so she proposes to do a limited redesign to get the page into compliance. Then, a survey can be taken, and other forms of input and suggestions received, to feed into a more complete redesign. Archives and other bulky, static content would be converted last, possibly not until after the CMS goes live.

Frisque then introduced a motion from the Web Coordinating Committee, that the LITA Board create a task force made up of stakeholders within the LITA organization, including members of the Publications Committee, Web Coordinating Committee, Bylaws & Organization Committee, and Education Committee to establish policies governing the LITA web site’s content, responsibilities for its management, and an approval process for posting content online. With the addition of a request for a progress report at Annual Conference and final report at 2004 Midwinter, the Board passed the motion with 10 for and 1 absent.

Agenda Item #7, Bylaws and Organization

Susan Jacobson presented the final list of Bylaws revisions to be included on the spring 2003 ballot. There was considerable discussion on the distinction between voting members and members eligible to vote in Section 9, Duties of Members. It was decided to change the wording to “members eligible to vote,” and the motion to approve Bylaws revisions was passed with 10 for and one absent.

The Board then paused to hear from the ALA Executive Board liaison to LITA, Camila Alire. She reported on progress toward electronic voting and discussed the FY 2004 budget. She thanked LITA for its contribution to the CIPA legal fund. She reported on the third Congress on Professional Education on library support staff. She noted that the Campaign for America’s Libraries is about to kick off its university and research libraries phase, and that the school libraries phase will kick off this spring during National Library Week. She reported on discussions taking place at Midwinter over a number of resolutions. She told the Board that the ALA-APA bylaws had passed unanimously in Council.

The Board then returned to recommendations from the Bylaws and Organization Committee. A motion to approve the renewal of the Distance Learning, Open Source Systems, and the Secure Systems and Services IGs, as well as to approve the disbanding of Geographic Information Systems and Serials Automation IGs was passed with 10 for and 1 absent.

Jacobson reported on a survey about the issues of virtual committee membership. Results were inconclusive, but one theme that came up frequently was that virtual members tend to miss out on the background discussion, and that committee chairs need to make extra effort to keep virtual committee members in the loop. Bylaws & Organization Committee moved that the Committee Chair Coordinator be assigned the responsibility of working with committee chairs to assist them in ensuring the effectiveness of virtual committee members. The motion passed with 10 for and 1 absent.

After a break, the Board heard from Sue Martin regarding the creation of an award to honor Brett Butler, a long-time LITA member and supporter. The award is to be sponsored by the Gale Group, and would go to a librarian or vendor who is contributing through information technology. At Annual Conference, a more complete proposal will be presented.

The Board then heard from Rick Weingarten from the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), Emily Sheketoff of the ALA Washington Office (WO), and Buckley Barrett, chair of the LITA Legislation & Regulation Committee. Weingarten led off by expressing a desire to cultivate a closer relationship between OITP and LITA, especially in the areas of cybersecurity and eBooks. Ensor noted that this seemed to be a recurring theme, and proposed that Barrett work with OITP to improve ties between the two organizations. Taylor and Weingarten will also keep in contact and be alert for opportunities for cooperation.

Sheketoff reported on ALA WO issues and activities. Copyright and privacy continue to be hot issues. Reauthorization of the Library Services and Technology Act is back on the schedule for this year. Funding for libraries is a looming crisis. Councilor Higginbotham asked what the WO was doing to inform people about the Teach Act. To some degree, the Patriot Act has overshadowed the Teach Act completely, but Weingarten reported that OITP and other organizations are working on what advice to give educators. He feels ALA, Educause, and other organizations still don’t have the whole picture. Sheketoff sees this as an opportunity for librarians to take the lead in helping their colleagues sort out the issue.

Buckley Barrett reported on the Patriot Act resolution coming before ALA Council. He asked the LITA Board for its endorsement of the proposed resolution handed out by Ensor at the beginning of the meeting. On a motion from the Legislation and Regulation Committee, the Board gave its endorsement to the Patriot Act resolution. The motion passed with 10 for and 1 absent.

The Board then returned to the Bylaws and Organization report. B&O reviewed the charges of Budget Review, Bylaws & Organization, National Forum, Nominating, Program Planning, Publishing, Regional Institutes, TER and the Web Coordinating Committees. The Committee recommends changes to the charges of the following committees: Bylaws and Organization, Publications, Regional Institutes, and Web Coordinating Committee. The revised charge for Bylaws and Organization was presented at the meeting; the others will be presented at Annual Conference in Toronto. Bylaws and Organization moved that the Board approve the revised charge of the Bylaws and Organization Committee. The motion passed with 10 for and 1 absent.

The Bylaws and Organization Committee moved that the Board create a task force charged with creating a LITA policy and procedures repository that incorporates the contents of the LITA manual and other procedural documents currently on the LITA website. The task force will create a repository that accurately reflects LITA operating procedures by removing duplication and redundancy, correcting errors and creating new content when necessary. The task force will collaborate with Committee chairs, Interest Group chairs, the LITA Office and others as appropriate. The task force should include representatives from Bylaws and Organization and the Web Coordinating Committee as well as others selected by the Board. The deadline for completion of this will be 2004 Midwinter Meeting, with an interim report at Annual Conference 2003. After a discussion of staff roles in accomplishing this work, and an offer from Colby Riggs to work on this with other LITA members at UC Irvine, the motion passed with 9 for, 1 opposed, and 1 absent.

Flo Wilson introduced a motion from the Regional Institutes Committee that to support quality assurance, the first presentation of a new or substantially redesigned Regional Institute should not normally be licensed to an outside organization. A complimentary registration will be provided to one non-licensed presentation of each new or redesigned institute for one representative of the Regional Institutes Committee for observation purposes. Any exceptions to these measures will be based upon consultation between LITA staff and the Regional Institutes Committee chair. The motion passed with 8 for and 3 absent.

Councilor Higginbotham then reported on ALA Council issues and activities. The ALA/APA business plan, bylaws, and procedures passed unanimously.

She reported on the status of and changes to what was formerly called the ALA Endowment, now referred to as LTI (Long Term Investment).

The ALA budget is of great concern. Divisions are being asked to be extremely careful with equipment requests for Annual Conference. ALA is also pushing all units to speed up efforts at electronic delivery of goods and services (publications, ballots, CE) to save money.

Oral arguments on CIPA are scheduled before the Supreme Court on March 5^th. ALA legal expenses so far are around $1.4 million, and are expected to rise to $1.75 million.

Other resolutions and issues: resolutions in support of the University of Arizona library school and the Florida State Library were passed. A resolution on war with Iraq failed by a two-to-one margin. The Patriot Act resolution is expected to pass now that language about repealing the Act has been removed.

Higginbotham indicated she will send a summary report to the Board after the Wednesday Council meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 4:54 p.m.