ALUW Fall Quarterly Meeting, November 2, 1999

The meeting was called to order at about 3:20 p.m. by Anne Zald, President.  The agenda was a business meeting followed by a Legislative Committee program, Decision '99: The Future of Legislative Activities for ALUW.

BUSINESS MEETING

Rob Estes, Treasurer, reported that ALUW has $52.14 in checking and $1844.62 in savings for a total of $1896.76.

Linda Pitts, Secretary, reported adding the minutes from the Executive Board meetings of October 7 and October 21 to the ALUW Web site.  She also put the report on the brown bag lunch on the Voluntary Employee Benefits Association (VEBA) on the Web site and updated the list of committee chairs and members.  She corrected outdated links and made some modifications to the Web site that will make it easier to find reports of past year's meetings and events.

Anne Zald reported on committee membership and chairs for the 1999-2000 academic year. The Program Committee is chaired by Christina Byrne, and the members are Randy Hertlzer, Elaine Jennerich, Chandra Heller, and Kari Anderson.  The Elections Committee chair is Louise Richards, with members Pam Yorks, Corey Murata, and Jim Stickman.  Andy Johnson is chair of the Legislative Committee, rounded out by members Joe Kiegel, Nancy McMurrer, Kathryn Womble, and Alan Grosenheider.

Anne reminded members that ballots are due on VEBA on November 8.  She also announced that the Faculty Senate has approved giving a vote to the librarians who sit on faculty councils.  This is a real tribute to the work of the librarians who have served on these councils.

Judith Henchy, appointee to the Faculty Council on Academic Standards, reported that besides setting the undergraduate curriculum, the Council is dealing with such important matters as grade inflation, distance learning, and I-200 and its impact on admissions.

Diane Grover, appointee to the Faculty Council on University Relations, reported on the Council resolution to the Senate Executive Committee expressing their reservations about the proposed light rail stations in
the University District.  The Council requests that the Faculty Senate endorse the resolution.

Diane gave out a handout that included the text of the resolution and a list of the Council's concerns; please contact Linda Pitts if you need a copy.  If there will not be a station at Northgate, one of the proposed stations in the University District will be on University property close to NE 45th St. and 15th Ave. NE (right behind the Burke Museum).  This would have a very significant impact on the
University and could have a negative effect on research, especially in physics.  Other concerns include traffic disruptions during construction, noise, dust, and safety issues. Government Publications will have a copy of the Environmental Impact Survey report for the next two weeks.

The University has proposed alternative sites for the rail stations, but they have not been approved.  There will be a public hearing on light rail in the University District on Wednesday, November 10 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. in room 110 in Kane Hall.  Sound Transit is slated to come to major decisions on November 18.
 
 

Decision '99: The Future of Legislative Activities for ALUW

Christina Byrne introduced the members of the Legislative Committee.  Andy Johnson, Joe Kiegel, and Alan Grosenheider presented the program. The Legislative Committee needs to get feedback from us on the importance of having a lobbyist in Olympia and what sort of time and effort we are willing to put in to Legislative activities.

**Reasons to Have a Lobbyist and Historical Perspective**

There are a number of reasons to have a lobbyist.  On a broad scale, it gives ALUW more effective legislative representation.  A more specific reason is for salary increases.  Unlike librarians at other four-year colleges and community colleges, UW librarians are not part of the faculty, so we must be specifically mentioned in salary increases in order to get them.  A key part of ALUW legislative work has been educating the legislators about UW librarians' status; the lobbyist has been very important in that effort.

The only other library lobbyist in the state works for the Washington Library Association (WLA).  ALUW first hired a lobbyist about 10 years ago when the faculty got a larger percentage salary increase that did not
include librarians.  UW librarians have had to fight to be included in the budget bill.  The current lobbyist, Tom Bristow, is a former legislator who knows many people in state government and is very familiar with the legislative process.  Thanks to his ongoing efforts, it was not as difficult to get UW librarians included in the last salary increase as it has been in some past years.

**Financial Data on Legislative Activities**

The Committee handed out a rundown of the cost of the lobbyist, the amount of legislative fund contributions, the number of contributors, and the percentage of librarians who contributed over the past ten years. (Copies of the handout are available from Linda Pitts.)  Participation has varied from a low of 36% (in 1997/98) to a high of 73% (in 1996/97).  The handout also detailed the expected cost for the lobbyist for the 1999-2001 biennium: a retainer of $500 for 1999-2000 (a non-budget year) and a projected cost of $4,400 for the budget-writing session in 2000-2001 (5.5 months at $800 per month).  The projection includes a proposed salary increase for the lobbyist.

In the past, the members have only been asked for legislative fund contributions in budget-writing years.  However, the Committee has suggested that a smaller contribution every year might be preferable.  If
all 140 librarians gave to the fund every year, the contribution would only be $18 per person per year.  At 60% participation, the amount would still only be $29 per person per year.

**The Role of the Legislative Committee, the Members, and the Lobbyist**

The Committee talked about what they do and discussed the role of the members and the lobbyist.  The Committee leads the legislative efforts and sets strategy with the lobbyist; this includes work on salary increases and such issues as intellectual freedom and harmful to minors.  They gather information, such as ILL statistics for different districts, to show legislators what the UW Libraries do for them.  The Committee also coordinates meetings between librarians and legislators and pursues phone and letter writing   campaigns.  They track bills, work with the lobbyist, and communicate with the ALUW Executive Board, the membership, and the rest of the UW community.

The role of the ALUW membership is to help set legislative priorities, contribute money, and communicate with the legislators through meetings, letters, and phone calls.  The importance of member communication cannot be over-emphasized.  The lobbying efforts are much more effective if there is solid grass roots support to back them up.  It is important to tell the Committee if you write a letter to a legislator so that that information can be passed to the lobbyist.

The lobbyist in turn represents the concerns of UW librarians to the legislature and is a continuing presence in Olympia on our behalf.  He is the point of contact with the legislators and boosts our influence.  Besides his importance in getting us included in salary increases, he also functions as our eyes and our representative for other causes of importance to librarians.

**Survey on Legislative Activities**

The Committee handed round a draft of a survey that will go out to all ALUW members.  The purpose of the survey is ascertain the level of members' commitment to ALUW legislative efforts, to find out what they are
willing to support and to bring legislative efforts in line with what the members want.

The survey asks members to chose among four levels of commitment.  The A level includes donating money for the lobbyist, participating in legislative day or meeting with legislators, and writing letters or making
phone calls.  The B level endorses member contact with legislators as in the top level but does not include money for the lobbyist.  The C level states a commitment to write letters or make phone calls.  The D level
does not include any direct member involvement, although the Committee would still carry out informal legislative monitoring.

**Discussion**

Discussion of the survey followed.  Some members were concerned that circling A (or B) would mean that they commit to doing all of the activities listed there.  The Committee indicated that they did not expect
members to do everything in level A but that choosing A did indicate a willingness to buy into that level of commitment.  However, members concerns will be considered in revising the survey.

The Committee stressed that writing letters is very important in showing grass roots support for the lobbying effort.  They emphasized that members do not have to write letters from scratch, as the Committee has devised a form letter which members can personalize.

There was a suggestion that the Legislative Fund contribution be figured on a sliding scale depending on salary level.  However, if enough people contribute, it won't require a very large amount from anyone.

There was also concern over lack of member preparation for the meetings with legislators. One solution would be for a new person to go with someone who has participated in these meetings in the past.  ALUW could host a brown bag lunch before Legislative Day so that folks would know what to expect.  The lobbyist might help us anticipate questions from legislators; another good strategy is to emphasize to legislators what the UW Libraries can do for them.  Ultimately, member feedback is important in letting the Board and the Legislative Committee know what sort of educational activities are helpful.

Another possible strategy would be to work more closely with the UW lobbyist.  We could also try coordinating our lobbying efforts with those of WLA; however, their primary emphasis is on public libraries.  It is uncertain what effect there would be if ACRL Washington affiliates with WLA; perhaps there would be more opportunity to push academic library issues through WLA.

The Legislative Committee thanked the membership for their feedback on the survey; it will be changed in response.  In a couple of weeks, the survey will go out with a cover letter summarizing these proceedings.  The Legislative Committee asks that we return the survey promptly.

The meeting was adjourned at about 5:00 p.m.

Submitted by Linda Pitts, ALUW Secretary