FROM THE PRESIDENT
Cathy Gerhart
It was a pleasure to see so many of you at the ALA meeting in San Diego in January. The weather was wonderful, the city beautiful and the meetings informative.
I was hoping to have news regarding the status of our request for an official Representative on CC:DA, but the most recent message from ALCTS informed me that it will be some time before the final decision is made. The position of Audience Observer to CC:DA is open (see the announcement in "Volunteer Opportunities") and, since this position may well be transformed into an official Representative during the next incumbent’s tenure, I would like to encourage those who think they are ready for this kind of challenge to apply.
In the December 2003 Newsletter, I reported that the Board would be considering a raise in the dues since we are unable to support the programs we are currently offering with the current dues level. The final decision has not been reached in this matter, although in general, those attending the Membership Meeting were in favor of the dues raise if it increased the stability of the organization and the ability of the organization to continue providing high quality service to its members. As we continue to discuss this important issue, I assure you we will keep in mind how financially stressed most of us are at this time.
Recently OLAC was the beneficiary of a generous gift in memory of Jo Davidson from her friends and colleagues at the University of Georgia. This monetary gift will be used to partially fund the scholarship awarded to an OLAC member to use for the biennial OLAC Conference. This scholarship specifically funds the attendance of a cataloger who has not previously been able to attend an OLAC Conference. I hope many of you who have not yet attended an OLAC Conference will take this opportunity to apply for the scholarship and join us in Montreal. Information about how to apply can be found in this issue. At a time when OLAC is doing some painful belt-tightening, we particularly appreciate being given such a kind and generous donation in memory of such a wonderful librarian and friend.
You will notice that this issue is full of opportunities for OLAC members to become more involved in the organization. We have a number of important and challenging positions open, requiring volunteers with vision, creativity and, most of all, enthusiasm for non-book cataloging. OLAC Archivist, OLAC Outreach/Advocacy Coordinator, MOUG/OLAC Liaison, CAPC member, OLAC Audience Observer to CC:DA, and Poster session presenter at the Montreal conference--these are all the opportunities you have to contribute to the health and continuing prosperity of OLAC. These opportunities represent a varied range of time commitments, some taking less than an hour a month, and some closer to an hour a week. Regardless of the time commitment, all of these jobs are essential for OLAC to continue to communicate successfully with its constituents and to the wider cataloging community. I hope you will all take this opportunity to review your participation level in OLAC and consider whether you have given back an equal amount to what you received from this organization.
Lastly, the election is coming up. OLAC will be electing its new officers soon. I encourage all of you to read the resumes of each candidate carefully and vote for the person you think best exemplifies the energy and spirit of OLAC. It is very important that everyone vote, since it is through the participation of its members that OLAC will remain strong.
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Last updated: March 5, 2004
http://www.olacinc.org/newsletters/mar04/president.html
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