FROM THE PRESIDENT
Robert Freeborn
Now that the ALA Annual meeting is over, it is time once again for the new President to write his initial Newsletter column. I thank all of you for this opportunity to serve OLAC, and I hope to live up to the high standards set by our past leaders. A special thanks to Cathy Gerhart for all of the support she has given me throughout my OLAC membership. She gave me my first break when I was a CAPC intern, and it has been a pleasure working with her this past year on the Executive Board. Speaking of the Executive Board, I want to congratulate Rebecca Lubas and Amy Weiss on their new positions. As Cathy stated in the last Newsletter, we had an excellent slate of candidates, and I feel that this coming year will be a very productive one for the Board.
On behalf of OLAC, I want to thank Nancy Olson and Verna Urbanski publicly for all of the work they have done for our organization in particular, and for the AV cataloging community in general. In fact, without them there would not be an OLAC. Their contributions to library scholarship and service are an inspiration to us all. I am sorry to see them step down as Q&A Guru and Archivist respectively, but they have definitely earned a respite. Our fondest hope is that they will continue to share their expertise with us for many years to come. Nancy and Verna, we cannot thank you enough.
I also want to thank Jay Weitz and Iris Wolley for volunteering to step into the positions formerly held by Nancy and Verna. OLAC is very fortunate to have members of their caliber who are willing to share their time and talents with us, and I want to encourage others to do the same. Our organization needs all of us to contribute what we can, and I hope that you will consider taking on one of the many open positions that we have. OLAC is only as strong as its members, and we cannot move forward without you!
As your President, I want to share with you a couple of points that I would like to see OLAC examine. First, I think we need to explore various avenues for insuring our financial security. The new dues increase that was announced at the Orlando meeting is definitely a step in the right direction, but we must also consider other possibilities, such as endowments, sustaining memberships, and the like. If OLAC is to grow, we must take a page from similar specialized library groups, such as the Music Library Association, and plan for our future. Second, I would like to see OLAC expand its presence in the international AV cataloging community. I am extremely gratified that we now an official liaison to CC:DA, but I also believe we have a tremendous opportunity to work closer with our colleagues throughout the world (especially with the advent of the AACR3). I view this year's Conference in Montreal as a great step in that direction, and I cannot wait to see the program that Lisa O'Hara and Marc Richard have in store for us. I hope to see you there.
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Last updated: September 15, 2004
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