FROM THE PRESIDENT
Robert Freeborn
Greetings all! This time around I want to make an appeal to the membership. Since an organization can only be as successful as its least active member, I want to urge everyone to become more involved in OLAC. There are numerous ways to do this. Currently, OLAC is looking for an Outreach-Advocacy Coordinator to fill in the vacancy after the excellent work done by Ian Fairclough. The duties involved are given in the position description in the OLAC Handbook, which I reproduce here:
"The OLAC Outreach-Advocacy Coordinator is responsible for promoting the purposes and objectives of OLAC and encouraging membership growth. This position also acts as a repository for fundraising data related to conference sponsorship and pursues conference donations in cooperation with the Conference Planning Committee. The Outreach-Advocacy Coordinator is an ex officio member of the OLAC Executive Board and is required to attend at least one Board meeting per year, consult with the Board and contribute regular reports to the OLAC Newsletter. At the Coordinator's request and the Board's discretion, task forces may be appointed as needed. A stipend of $100 will be given for each board meeting attended. The term of office runs two years with the possibility of reappointment upon satisfactory performance."
So if you are interested in taking on this task, please contact a member of the Executive Board before June. We are hoping to make our decision at the Board Meeting this summer at the ALA Annual Conference.
Another way to contribute is to host an OLAC Conference. As many of you know, the 2006 Conference will be held in the Tempe/Phoenix region in Arizona. Our thanks go to Timothy Diel and his colleagues for their successful bid. But what of 2008--and beyond? We encourage you to invite our organization to your neck of the woods so that we can sample your region’s cultural offerings and hospitality. In case you are unsure about the expectations in making a conference bid, the OLAC Handbook has an entire section on the topic (look under "OLAC Conference Hosting Requirements and Planning Guidelines" at <http://www.olacinc.org/hb.html>). So, please take a look and, if interested, check your calendars and start working on that proposal!
Other avenues that might be considered for OLAC involvement include serving on the Cataloging Policy Committee, acting as a liaison between OLAC and another library organization, or even running for a position on the Executive Board. While some of these jobs require many years of service to OLAC, others are just right for a newer member interested in making his or her mark. So I hope you will consider sharing your time and talents with your colleagues and help our organization in its progress towards greater and greater accomplishments.
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Last updated: March 25, 2005
http://www.olacinc.org/newsletters/mar05/.html
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