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Government Relations Committee meeting June 12, 2008

The VLA Government Realtions Committee met at Mid-State Regional Library.

Members present: Lisa von Kann, Hilari Farrington, Paula Baker, John Shullenberger, Marty Reid, Deb Spackman

In May, Lisa, Martin Hahn (leaving the committee having served with Lisa as co-chair) and John Shullenberger had a wrap-up meeting to review the year and make some plans for the future. An agreement was reached to pay John a stipend of $1000 during the 2009 legislative session to keep us “in the game” despite the expectation of a poor economic outlook. The committee all agreed. We are deeply grateful for the work that John did for us and feel that his connection to the legislature on our behalf us is vital.
We plan to have conference call meetings when possible to avoid driving.
Marty and Paula reported on their day at the Snelling Center conference on: Vermont E-State. Legislative Breakfasts are important and we want to encourage libraries to schedule them for the week of November 17, 2008. This is before the session but after the elections. We will meet in late August around this topic and prepare packets to mail out. Hilari has agreed to do the update on packet materials. Lisa will retain the Card Room for Library Leg. Day with the help of John Shullenberger. Naturally, we are all very pleased with Marty’s new position and feel excited about the possibilities ahead for Vermont libraries. Way to go, Marty! Special thanks to Martin Hahn for the dedicated work he has done to promote the state funding initiative. Good luck Martin in your interesting journey ahead. We welcome Robert Coleburn from the Fletcher Free Library as a new member. Robert has agreed to take over the responsibility of developing our collaboration with the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.

Lisa von Kann, St. Johnsbury Athenaeum

VLA 2008 Annual Meeting Highlights

The VLA Annual Meeting took place on May 13, 2008 at the Vermont Library Conference in Burlington. The results of the election are:

  • Vice-President/President Elect – (1 year each) John Payne

  • Treasurer (2 years) – Wynne Browne

  • NELA Representative (2 years) Kip Roberson

The approved minutes of the May 2007 Annual Meeting and the Year End Budget Report 2007 have been posted (under Publications – Meeting minutes). The ballot for the Proposed Constitution and Bylaws changes will go out next week. Those members with email addresses on file will receive their ballot electronically. All other members will be sent a paper ballot. The deadline to vote is June 10th. VLA sections will be posting their annual reports soon if they have not done so already. The Government Relations Committee Report and the Intellectual Freedom Committee Report have already posted theirs.

Proposals for ACRL 14th National Conference

Contributed papers, panel sessions, preconferences, and workshops are due May 12, 2008. The ACRL 14th National Conference, to be held in Seattle, March 12-15, 2009, will offer a forum for an exciting and energizing exchange of ideas on research, practices, developments, and visions in the field of academic and research librarianship. The conference theme, “Pushing the Edge: Explore, Engage, Extend,” reflects the promise and the challenge of the Northwest. The ACRL National Conference Executive Committee invites submitters to send their edgiest, most “out-there” proposals, to help make ACRL 2009 a truly groundbreaking conference.

Proposals are sought for a variety of formats including contributed papers, panel sessions, preconferences, workshops, poster sessions, and roundtable discussions. Deadlines for proposal submissions are as follows:

May 12, 2008 – Contributed papers, panel sessions, preconferences, and workshops

  • October 20, 2008 – Poster sessions
  • November 23, 2008 – Roundtable discussions

Full text of the Call for Participation is available online at http://www.acrl.org/seattle (Click “Proposals”). Proposals must be submitted via the online proposal form, available at http://www.eshow2000.com/acrl/2009/program_proposal_submission.cfm. Complete details about the conference are online at http://www.acrl.org/seattle. Questions about the call for presentation and the 14th ACRL National Conference should be directed to Margot Conahan at mconahan@ala.org, or by phone at 312-280-2522.

Updated Slate for VLA Election

We have found a candidate to run for Vice-President / President elect.  John Payne of St. Michael’s has agreed to run.  A revised ballot can be found here : official-warning.pdf.  As always, additional nominations for all open offices may be taken from the floor.  – Brenda Ellis, VLA Secretary