Chemistry Division
Special Libraries Association

Special Libraries Association
Minutes
Mineapolis
June, 1999

Executive Meeting, June 6, 1999
Executive Meeting, June 9, 1999
Annual Business Meeting

Chemistry Division
Executive Board/Advisory Committee
Meeting of June 6, 1999

MINUTES

The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m. by chair Ellen Mimnaugh.

Present: Ellen Mimnaugh, Barbara Best-Nichols, Michael Golden, Mary Strife, Joan Long, Tina Chrzastowski, Grace Baysinger, Susanne Redalje, Bartow Culp, Chuck Huber, David Peck, Sandra Plisch, Suzanne Fedunok, Dana Roth.

1. The minutes of the June 1998 board meeting as posted on the division www page were approved by voice vote.

2. Treasurer Michael Golden reported an increase in the balance shown on his printed report, because of refunds from SLA on overpayments for conference expenses. Also, the division owes Gary Wiggins $458 for email list expenditures. The report was approved by voice vote.

3. Committee reports

a. ACS Liaison Chuck Huber reported

a successful TriSocieties symposium at the last ACS meeting
CINF will launch a electronic newsletter, separate from paper one
SLA will host the next TriSocieties meeting in Los Angeles in 2002.
ACTION: Volunteers to help with planning are needed.

b. Archivist. Ellen Mimnaugh reported for Dan Chandler who was absent from the conference.

ACTION: PLEASE SEND ALL MINUTES, REPORTS, ETC FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS MEETING TO HIM BY JUNE 30, 1999. He will turn over these documents to the new archivist.
The electronic www site is not archived yet. ACTION: A print copy of what is on the www page must be sent to the archivist.

c. ASIS Liaison Ann Rogers was absent and there was no report. Bartow Culp offered to share his notes from the pre-Pittsburgh program on the history of information/chemistry and ASIS.

d. Fundraising. In the absence of Ron Pinkston, Tina Chrzastowski reported that money obtained from six sponsors (RSC, CAS, CA, CRS, Ebsco, and Micropatents) came close to meeting expenses for the Minneapolis meeting. Any uncommitted funds may go into the general fund.

e. In the absence of Jennifer Wong, Ellen Mimnaugh reported 69 new members joined from March 1998 through April 1999.

f. Sandra Plisch reported for the Nominating Committee in the absence of Ron Pinkston. The slate is Dana Roth: Chair-Elect/Chair and Suzanne Fedunok: Secretary.

g. Newsletter editor Mary Strife reported:

recorders and reporters for this meeting were thanked;
the latest issue is in the mail;
SLA requests all conference wrap-up reports by June 22, 1999.
DEADLINE FOR COPY FOR THE SUMMER ISSUE IS JULY 9, 1999.

The board DISCUSSED switching from bulk mail to first class to get the newsletter to members faster.

h. Newsletter Business Manager Joan Long reported the average cost of an issue is $1257 and advertising revenue from 9 clients covers all but $417 of that. There is thus a projected shortfall. The board DISCUSSED ways to increase advertising revenue, cut production costs or absorb the deficit. This topic will be on the agenda of the next board.

i. Programming chair Tina Chrzastowski reported on the Minneapolis meeting:

problems with the preliminary program
high expense of equipment rental
Barbara Best-Nichols reported on plans for the next meeting, in Philadelphia
Tina Chrzastowski agreed to continue as program chair
Co-sponsored programs on "Toxicology" and "Good WWW sites"
Increase number of speakers at vendor updates
Chemical Heritage Foundation event
CE ACTION: Tina will ask MDL if they would hold a user update meeting in conjunction with the SLA conference. Suggestions for programs: Personal bibliographic software; Successful electronic journal collection management; SPARC/PubMedCentral/XXX Tina Chrzastowski reported that Global 2000 at Brighton will include a chemistry program with Sci-Tech and the RSC.

j. Professional Development. Bartow Culp reported there will be CE courses at the Philadelphia meeting.

k. Strategic Plan. Tina Chrzastowski handed out draft copies to the board and they will be distributed to members at the division annual business meeting. ACTION: She reminded the board to call for a motion to accept the plan at that meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Fedunok

Acting for Secretary James Oliver

November 14, 1999

Special Libraries Association

Chemistry Division
Executive Board/Advisory Committee
Meeting of June 9, 1999

MINUTES

The meeting was called to order by chair Barbara Best-Nichols at 7:35 a.m.

Present: Barbara Best-Nichols, Ellen Mimnaugh, Ann Eastham, Michael Golden, Mary Strife, Joan Long, Tina Chrzastowski, Susanne Redalje, Bartow Culp, Chuck Huber, David Peck, Jennifer Kostelnik, Suzanne Fedunok, Dana Roth, Sandra Plisch, Peter Hoey, Grace Baysinger, Julianne Beall, Jeanine Williamson.

1. The minutes were read by the secretary and approved as corrected.

2. The Treasurer's report remained as distributed at the annual meeting.

3. Committee Reports

WWW Page Manager Susanne Redalje reported

a members-only portion of the SLA WWW page has been created;
SLA has a vision of itself as a "Virtual Organization;"
Information Outlook will be www-only for members; others will pay;
SLA sponsored chat rooms exist for chapters and divisions. ACTION: Susanne Redalje will investigate use of the SLA chat room functionality for a division discussion about the by-laws and the strategic plan drafts.
She raised the issue of moving the page off the SLA computer and onto another host, perhaps that of her home institution.
The board DISCUSSED moving the newsletter to the WWW. Concerns about loss of revenue from advertising and about members who lack WWW access were mentioned.
The board DISCUSSED archiving the content of the www page. Grace Baysinger suggested the Chemical Heritage Foundation, which is archiving ACS's CINF-L.

4. Old Business

a. By-laws. Sandra Plisch distributed a draft of the by-laws revision.
ACTION: Submit the the draft to the board first, then distribute to the membership six months prior to the next annual meeting. Using an electronic chat room to discuss the document was endorsed. IF THE BALLOTS ARE AGREED UPON BY THE BOARD AND MAILED TO THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP, EMAIL VOTES ARE VALID. CORRECTIONS MUST BE MADE WITH BOTH OLD AND NEW TEXT INDICATED.

b. Newsletter and Editorial Review Committee

The board DISCUSSED what to do about a projected shortfall in revenue to cover the cost of publication. Barbara Best-Nichols distributed a draft PROPOSAL to form an EDITORIAL REVIEW COMMITTEE, one responsibility of which would be to develop and maintain new sources of revenue. The board DISCUSSED the proposal, particularly with regard to the membership of the new body. ACTION: The board voted in favor of the idea in principle and decided to refer the draft charge to the By-laws Committee for inclusion in that document. The board decided THIS WAS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE OVERALL CHAT ROOM DISCUSSIONS OF THE BOARD.

c. Global 2000 Brighton Conference

Tina Chrzastowski reported

there is a www page with details about the conference;
the division will be represented, along with the RSC and Sci-Tech.

The board DISCUSSED the need for a budget allocation to support these activities. It was MOVED and SECONDED That the Chemistry Division support the initiative to offer a fellowship of up to $1000 to be administered by the Washington DC chapter, preferably for someone from a developing country with a chemistry or sci-tech background, that Tina Chrzastowski be charged to investigate the fellowship and report to the board, that the recipient be required to have some formal contact with the division, and that the division chair commit the funds at the apropriate time. APPROVED by voice vote.

5. New Business

The following agenda items remained to be discussed

a. Funds transfer
b. Mentoring program
        New to profession
        New in chemistry positions
c. Membership commitee -- Directory update
d. Student scholarship
e. Newsletter name

but due to the late hour, the board DECIDED to continue discussion of the remaining items by CHAT ROOM OR CONFERENCE CALLS.

The meeting adjourned at 9 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Fedunok

Secretary

November 14, 1999

Special Libraries Association
Chemistry Division
Annual Business Meeting
June 7, 1999

1. A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order at 7:50 a.m. by Chair Ellen N. Mimnaugh.

2. Approval of MINUTES of the last annual meeting was dispensed with.

3. The TREASURER'S REPORT from Michael Golden was approved by voice vote.

4. Committee Reports

a. ACS Liaison Chuck Huber reported that abstracts of papers presented at the TriSocieties meeting on "Chemistry on the Internet," organized by Bruce Slutsky and held at the ACS meeting in Boston, are available on the ACS web site. The Chemistry Division will host the next meeting in 2002. Volunteers are needed to plan the meeting.

b. In the absence of the Archivist, Dan Chandler, there was no report.

c. Fundraising Rod Pinkston reported a successful year and acknowledged major support from sponsors ACS, CAS, CRC, Ebsco, and Micropatent.

d. Membership Ellen Mimnaugh made a report in the absence of the chair, Jennifer Wong. Membership has been stable for the past 4-5 years.

e. Nominations In the absence of chair Roger Beckman, Sandy Plisch reported the following slate of candidates Vice Chair/Chair-Elect- Dana Roth Secretary/Assistant Newsletter Editor-Suzanne Fedunok There were no further nominations from the floor. Ms. Plisch's motion to accept the slate was seconded by Bartow Culp. The candidates were elected by voice vote.

f . Newsletter Editor Mary Strife asked for comments about how the newsletter might be improved. She reported the Board was discussing reduction of the number of paper copies and "going electronic." Costs of the newsletter are more or less offset by advertising revenue.

g. Division WWW site. Susanne Redalje reported. She asked those present several questions -- How many look at the site (about half); -- Are you finding what you want? -- What browser do you use? (Netscape 4.0 was preferred; Some of those present used Explorer);--How many reach the site from home? (none) That is, do fire walls cause problems? (not for most of those present)

h. Program Tina Chrzastowski reported where members could find the schedule for division activities at this meeting and sought feedback to her email address chrz@uxl.sco.uiuc.edu regarding plans for future meetings :SLA Annual Conference in Philadelphia (June 2000) and Global 2000 (Brighton, October 2000.)
i. Professional Development Bartow Culp reported and then asked those present for input.
j. Strategic Plan Tina Chrzastowski reported that the draft text was on the division WWW site all year. It was on the agenda at the last business meeting, and revisions had been made based on comments received. Sandy Plisch moved to accept the Plan; Susanne Redalje seconded the motion. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

IV. Old Business

a. Bylaws: Sandy Plisch did a draft revision to be presented to the Board at its next meeting. Following Board discussion, a draft will be posted on the division WWW site. She mentioned the possible creation of a publications committee. Use of an email vote to ratify the changes was discussed. The Chair thanked Ms. Plisch for the work she has done so far on this project.
b. Tina Chrzastowski and Rod Pinkston and Mary Long received the special thanks of the Chair for their contributions to the Division during her term. The division is in a good financial position for the next annual meeting in Philadelphia.
c. With this the chair turned over the meeting to the incoming chair, Barbara Best-Nichols, who asked for a round of applause to acknowledge the outgoing chair, Ms. Mimnaugh.

V. New Business

a. Ms. Best-Nichols asked those present for suggestions about future directions the division wants to take. She then brought up one issue of immediate concern: database anti-piracy legislation currently before the House of Representatives will seriously damage the effectiveness of corporate libraries. She suggested a letter-writing campaign on company stationery telling her how the proposed legislation would affect members. She will use this information to fight the bill in the division's name. Calling this her "gift" to the division, she asked those present to return some gifts in the form of ideas for next year.
b. In response to the announcement of his retirement from the Royal Society for Chemistry from Mr. Peter Hoey, Ms. Best-Nichols called for a resolution of thanks and best wishes from the membership.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:40 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne Fedunok

Acting for Secretary James Oliver

November 6, 1999

Comments to: Susanne J. Redalje
Chemistry Division
(206)543-2070(voice)
(206)543-3863(fax)
curie@u.washington.edu

Chemistry DivisionSpecial Libraries Association

Special Libraries Association Minutes Mineapolis June, 1999

Chemistry Division
Special Libraries Association

Special Libraries Association
Minutes
Mineapolis
June, 1999