SLA Leadership Summit January 20, 2006

Unfortunately, due to a combination of housekeeping turning down the volume on the clock radio in my room and some medication I took for a headache last night, I missed the first part of today's sessions.

I got to hear the last half of the member forum to discuss issues being considered by the board of directors. Dav Robertson reported on Sue Johnson's effort to raise money for Muhammad Yaquib Chaudhary.

DC SLA is asking for your financial support for our colleague, Muhammad Yaquib Chaudhary, Library Director of the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The entire campus was destroyed by the the Kashmir Earthquake in October. (see http://www.ajku.edu.pk/ ).The amount we can raise from individuals, chapters and divisions in SLA will be primarily a symbol of our personal support to him, but it would let him know we care and realize what he is facing. We expect he will use it to move what books and library shelves can be salvaged to Islamabad, where he has been personally tasked by the President of the university to find temporary quarters for the university, and living quarters for staff and students.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Sue Johnson, Sueojohnson@hotmail.com; or 301-299-8268.

This session also included a brief report of SLA's involvement in the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Janice Lachance attended the Summit in Tunisia in November 2005.

The next session was the Division Cabinet meeting. One member asked about the delay in getting membership rosters in a timely manner. John Crosby reported that due to changes in staff, they lost the capability to do certain reports and there were some delays in getting other information out. SLA will be bringing in a new database administrator, which should fix this problem. Daniel Lee reported on the Technology Review Advisory Report; that task force will be doing an inventory of technology used to support divisions and cabinets. After this meeting, I got a chance to meet Mangala Krishnamurthy, a PAM-er and member of our International Relations Committee.

We then had lunch, where the Board of Directors Candidates gave brief speeches. PAM member James Manasco is running for Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect - he mentioned Liz Bryson & PAM's welcome at the first SLA conference he attended. Online voting for board candidates will begin January 23, 2005 and end on March 3, 2005 at 5:00 PM EST. The slate of candidates this year is excellent. Be sure to vote!

After lunch, we had a session on fundraising, one of the responsibilities of office for Division officers, a report on the SLA Public Relations Committee, and a session on the Value of Membership by Jill Calabria, the Director of Membership Marketing. PAM members will not be surprised to hear that networking and learning and the two benefits of SLA members most frequently mentioned.