Minutes of 1st meeting of the Executive Committee Management of Library Associations Section, 2, 8 August 2003

Chair Christina Stenberg (Swedish Library Association) called the meeting to order and welcomed those present to the 1st Standing Committee meeting of the new Management of Library Associations Section. She thanked Sabine Stummeyer for her work in preparing the handouts for the meeting and announced there will be a 2nd session on Friday, August 8, 2003. (Note: These minutes will be a record of both sessions.)

Executive Committee members present were:
* Norma Y. Amenu-Kpodo (Commonwealth Library Association)
* Edita Bacic (Croatian Library Assoc.)
* Gerard Briand (Association des Bibliothecaries Francais)
* Arlene Cohen (Pacific Islands Assoc. of Libraries and Archives, Guam), SecretaryB * Keith Fiels (American Library Assoc.)
* Carla J. Funk (Medical Library Assoc., USA)
Britt-Marie Haggström (DIK Association)
* Boris Marshak (ELNIT Assoc.)
* Jill Martin (CILIP: The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals)B Jennefer Nicholson (Australian Library and Information Assoc.), IFLA Info. Coord.
* Alicia Ocaso (Uruguayan Library Assoc.)
* Andrea Paoli (Italian Library Assoc.)
* Jan-Ewout van der Putten (Netherlands Public Library Assoc.)
Tuula Ruhanen (Finnish Research Library Assoc.)
Sinikka Sipilä (Finnish Library Assoc.)
Sabine Stummeyer (Berufsverband Information Bibliothek e.V.)
* Gwenda Thomas (Library and Information Assoc. of South Africa)
* Winnie Vitzansky (The Danish Library Assoc.)
Duane Webster (Assoc. of Research Libraries, USA),

* indicates attendance at both sessions.

At the 1st session, there were 31 observers present representing library associations in 21 countries. The 2nd session had 11 observers representing library associations in 8 countries.

2. Approval of the Agenda

Winnie Vitzansky asked that we omit Item 18: "Status report on Soros Open Society Institute Network Library Program (NPL) 2000 Initiative" as there was no report at this time.

3. Apologies for Absence

Henriette Seydou (Association Nigérienne des Bibliothécaires de la Lecture Publique) sent her regrets.

4. Approval of 44th MLAS Interim Executive Committee meeting Minutes, Oslo, Norway

The minutes were approved as presented.

The Chair then thanked Tore Kr. Andersen and his staff for contributing to a very successful, productive and memorable mid-year meeting in Oslo.

5. Nomination and Election of Standing Committee Officers

Norma Amenu-Kpodo nominated Christina Stenberg as Chair and Jennefer Nicholson seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations and Christina was elected by acclimation. Carla Funk nominated Arlene Cohen as Secretary and Jennefer Nicholson seconded the nomination. With no other nominations for this office, Arlene Cohen was elected by acclimation as well. At the request of the Chair, Carla Funk agreed to continue as Treasurer and Jennefer Nicholson as the Information Coordinator. The Chair thanked Duane Webster for doing a great job this past year as the Information Coordinator.

6. MLAS Change to an IFLA Section and Member Terms of Office

The Chair read from a letter sent by Ross Shimmon, IFLA Secretary General, dated 2 July 2003, conveying the IFLA Governing Board's decision regarding terms of office for people elected to the MLAS in the 2003 elections. Shimmon wrote, "The 2003-2007 term of office of those members of the SC who have previously served on the Executive Committee of the preceding RTML is considered to be their second term, after which they will not be re-eligible."

7. Financial Report

Treasurer Carla Funk distributed a Financial Report indicating a net balance of US $ 11,904.17 as of June 30, 2003 in an interest bearing account. From January 1, 2003 through June 30, 3003, the account has earned $ 79.04. Since the last report in February 2003, $ 369.00 has been disbursed for brochure translations and $ 600.00 has been received for travel reimbursement.

8. MLAS Annual Report, January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003

The Secretary asked that items anyone wishes to be included in the MLAS Annual Report be sent to her by November 15, 2003.

9. MLAS Strategic Plan 2003-2005 including Scope, Mission and Goals of the new Section

The Chair asked for volunteers to work on the 2003-2005 MLAS Strategic Plan. Norma Amenu-Kpodo, Alicia Ocaso, Sinikka Sipilä, Gwenda Thomas, Winnie Vitzansky and the Secretary offered to work on the document during this conference. In drafting the plan, the recommendations of the IFLA Social Responsibilities Discussion Group relating to MLAS will be considered. After the conference, the plan will be finalized by Winnie and Gwenda, sent out to the Executive Committee for final approval. Gwenda will then send it to IFLA headquarters.

After the plan is finalized, it needs to be translated into our working languages and the Secretary will contact those offering to do the translations.

10. Information Coordinator's report

a. Status of IFLANET MLAS WWW site The site has been and continues to be updated, although some of the pamphlets are difficult to read. Jennefer Nicholson will work with the translators and follow-up with Duane Webster and Sophie Felfoldi at IFLA headquarters to fix this problem.

b. Special Libraries Association (SLA) MLAS listserv The Secretary reported that the listserv now has 228 members representing 106 library associations. Of the 157 library associations in IFLA, 54 are represented on our listserv. SLA was thanked for supporting this important project and they reaffirmed their commitment to continue. During all MLAS sessions at this conference, we will collect the names of new people wanting to be added to our listserv and the Secretary will coordinate adding the names.

11. Reports on Publications

a. RTMLA Membership brochure The Chair thanked Duane Webster for once again updating the brochure for this conference and for making copies for distribution. Since our Strategic Plan will be changing, we also need to update and translate this brochure. Jennefer Nicholson will follow up on this.

b. RTMLA Newsletter Duane reported that Vol. 24, the Fall 2003 issue of the RTMLA Newsletter is out and available for everyone to enjoy at the conference. A copy will also be posted on our MLAS WWW site.

c. Brochures based on chapters of the UNESCO/RTMLA Guidelines for the Management of Professional Associations in the Fields of Archives, Library and Information Work

Carla Funk announced that Organizational Structure, the last of the brochures, is done and will be distributed at our sessions. Duane and Carla were thanked for all their work on the brochures. And, thanks to Duane for the formatting and printing, there are copies of the brochures in several different languages for distribution at the sessions.

There are still several brochures that need to be translated. The people who are willing to do the translations are French, Briand Gerard; Spanish, Alicia Ocaso; German, Sabine Stummeyer; Russian, Katja Zaitseva; Chinese and Jiang Weiming. At this time, Andrea Paoli will translate the Advocacy brochure and the Strategic Plan into Italian. The Secretary and Information Coordinator will follow-up.

12. Report on IFLA 2003 Berlin Programs

The Executive Committee felt the programs were good and very well attended. The presentations provided a balance between developing and developed countries and the issues they face.

a. Open Session "Strategic Planning: Developing Effective Strategies for Library Associations" Session no. 109, Tuesday, August 4, 2003.

Ellen Tise and Mitch Freedman planned this interesting program that drew 116 people to the session. Papers were presented by Mitch Freedman (USA), Bob McKee (UK), Keith M. Fiels (USA), Ellen Tise (South Africa), and Ana Maria Peruchena Zimmermann (Argentina). Antonio M. Santos (Philippines) was unable to attend. Due to limitations of time, his paper was not read, although it is on the IFLA WWW MLAS site.

For this session, it was felt there were too many speakers and not enough time for discussion, although all the papers were very well done.

b. Joint Workshop with Library Theory and Research Section "Libraries and Politics - How to Bring Libraries and National Associations into the Political Sphere? Session no. 134, Wednesday, August 16, 2003.

This exceptional 4 hour workshop, planned by Tore Kr. Andersen and Marion Koren and attended by 103 people, began with introductions by Kerry Smith, Chair of the Library Theory and Research Section and our Chair, Christina Stenberg. Presentations were then given by Dr. Christof Eichert (Germany), Professor Bob Usherwood (UK) and Finn Vester (Denmark) and research reports were given by Premila Gamage (Sri Lanka), Aleksandra Horvat (Croatia). The presentation by Robert Ikoja Odongo (Uganda) was given by Dick Kawooya. The session ended with a panel discussion moderated by Bob Usherwood.

Àngels Massisimo of the Management and Marketing Section planned this workshop with the MLAS and attended by 63 people. Presentations were given by John Berry, (USA); Madeline LeFebver (Canada); Aida Naaman (Lebanon); Gillian Hallam (USA); and Adela d'Alos-Moner (Spain).

13. Report on IFLA 2004 Buenos Aires Program Planning

The Chair reported that a Section will only have one two hour slot for a program in IFLA 2004 in Buenos Aires. If our Section joins with another, then there will be one 4 hour slot. The Chair will contact Jacinta Were from the African Regional Section and Division 8 to look at program possibilities. Norma Amenu-Kpodo, Alicia Ocaso, Winnie Vitaznsky and Arlene Cohen offered to help plan this program. There was a concern that the program be designed to look at strengthening library associations in developing countries, promoting the work of IFLA and how to do advocacy work in a country where this might not be done easily.

Winnie Vitzansky also suggested that the session could focus using and promoting IFLA documents and the special role library associations can play in IFLA as the political advocacy arm. The session might address what library associations can do to get into the political sphere, using IFLA documents such as the Internet Manifesto, the Glasgow Declaration and copyright. This could be a follow up to the workshop just done Tore Kr. Andersen and Marian Koren for this conference workshop. The Chair felt there was a possibility that this could be another session. She will follow up and if this is possible, she will work with Winnie Vitzansky, Edita Bacic, and Tore Kr. Andersen to plan this session.

The Chair noted that the Latin American and the Caribbean Section were planning a pre-conference program on library associations for the IFLA 2004 in Buenos Aires and the MLAS would like to offer our help. The Chair will contact Elizabet M. Ramos de Carvalho, the Information Coordinator of the Section in Brazil to see what we can do to support the pre-conference program.

14. IFLA Membership Dues Restructuring

During IFLA 2003 in Berlin, IFLA membership fees were brought up at a special meeting held with representatives from both National Library Associations and IFLA headquarters. During this meeting, it was suggested that a group from the MLAS be appointed to work on methodologies for restructuring dues for National Association members and issues relating to restructuring. The MLAS were invited to present suggestions of people to be considered for this working group. Once appointed, this group would work on methodologies and present their suggestions to the IFLA Governing Board and Council.

In response to this suggestion, at the MLAS 2nd session meeting, the composition of a working group to provide the best representation was discussed. Kelly Moore, IFLA Membership Manager was invited to give background After discussion, the MLAS agreed to suggest the following MLAS Executive Committee members to be considered for the working group:

Christina Stenberg, MLAS Chair;
Duane Webster, Director, Association of Research Libraries;
Jan-Ewout van der Putten, Director, Netherlands Public Library Association and President, The European Bureau of Library and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA);
Norma Amenu-Kpodo, Executive Secretary, Commonwealth Library Association (COMLA);
Alicia Ocaso, President, Uruguayan Library Association and
Gwenda Thomas, Director, Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA).

These names will be forwarded to IFLA headquarters for consideration.

15. Involvement in 10th Crimea 2003 Conference and other related issues

For the third consecutive year, the MLAS was represented at this conference. This year, Dr. Mats Lindquist, a Board member of the Swedish Library Association, participated in a workshop at the conference, held in Sudak on June 11, 2003. The workshop was co-chaired with Boris Marshak from the MLAS and drew close to 30 people. This was the third time the MLAS participated in the Crimea conference, fulfilling our commitment to participate for three consecutive years. A report made by Dr. Lindquist was handed out to the committee.

The value of this kind of participation and the need for guidelines was discussed.

The Chair agreed to discuss with Tore Kr. Andersen and Boris Marshak the creation of some guidelines for participation in conferences and workshops other than at the IFLA annual conference. This will be further discussed at our next mid-year meeting.

Also, at the last MLA meeting, it was suggested that MLAS Standing Committee members or representatives attend regional conferences within their region representing the MLAS and promoting advocacy, library association development and other important issues. One way to do this is working through the Regional Section Offices. To begin this process, Jill Martin offered to do a listing of regional association meetings that can be posted onto the MLAS listserv, as well as on our MLAS WWW site.

16. MLAS Role in planning for the World Summit on the Information Society

Winnie Vitzansky reported on her work preparing for the IFLA Pre-World Summit Conference, planned for Geneva , November 3-2, 2003. To now, the focus of the World Summit has been toward technology, with little interest in information content or the role of libraries. This focus needs to be shifted toward content and those professionals providing it, as well as the technology. To this end, IFLA is actively becoming involved and has a delegation going to the Geneva conference. Winnie discussed how IFLA is attempting to mobilize national library associations worldwide to express the concerns of librarians with their local delegates to the World Summit. Advocacy starts at the grassroots and library associations are the best resource IFLA has to spread the word. The WWW page for information about IFLA's role is http://www.ifla.org/III/wsis.html and the World Summit WWW page is http://www.itu.int/wsis/

17. Response to Compass Paper, a follow-up to the Green Light Paper

This will be discussed at our Mid-year meeting. At this time, the group agreed that all key IFLA papers should be translated into the IFLA languages. It should be the role of IFLA headquarters to do the translating, so that IFLA memberships not having English as their primary language can easily be a part of the governing process. The Chair will write to IFLA headquarters with our concern.

18. Young Librarians Forum

The MLAS was asked to look at a proposal by Andrew Cranfield (Denmark) and Stuart Hamilton (Denmark) for the creation of a IFLA Young Librarian's Forum with the possibility they could be established under our section. The Chair will communicate with the IFLA Governing Board about some possibilities for working them and will report back at our mid-year meeting.

19. Farewell and 21st Anniversary Celebration at IFLA 2003 in Berlin

The party was a great success. The Chair expressed thanks to Sabina and all those behind the scenes for a beautifully planned party and to Carla Funk, who had lovely commemorative paperweights made that were passed out to the guests. She also expressed a special thanks to Katalin Haraszti and her Hungarian colleagues for the beautiful and delicious Birthday cake.
There were over 100 guests to help celebrate this important occasion.

20. MLAS 2003 Mid-year meeting

Andrea Paoli invited the MLAS Executive Committee to hold their next Mid-year meeting in Rome, Italy from Thursday, February 19 to Saturday, February 21, 2004. The Executive Committee unanimously accepted Andrea's generous invitation.

Jennefer Nicholson then invited the MLAS Executive Committee to Canberra, Australia for the Mid-year meeting in 2005. There is an online conference planned for Feburary 2005 and our meeting could be held either before or after conference. The Executive Committee unanimously accepted Jennefer's offer for 2005.

21. Other business

The Chair brought up the issue of Corresponding members in the MLAS. After some discussion, it was decided that we would not have any corresponding members

23. Adjournment

The Chair expressed her appreciation to the Executive Standing Committee for their hard work and dedication to the MLAS and great pleasure on chairing the first meeting as a Section.

Christina Stenberg, Chair
Arlene Cohen, Secretary

Latest Revision: September 19, 2003