Hello Upstate New York Chapter Members!
I am now half way through my two-year term, as Chapters Liaison on the ARLIS/NA Executive Board. I’ve enjoyed working with all 17 chapters and I look forward to working with you until the 2015 annual conference in Forth Worth, TX.
At the 2014 annual conference in Washington D.C., the Executive Board had pre- and post-conference meetings and during the conference the Chapter Chairs and I met for a roundtable meeting. I wanted to share few highlights with you:
Conferences
Washington D.C. Conference: It was a record-breaking success (surpassing the success of the 2013 Pasadena conference)! We welcomed 791 registrants, the largest ARLIS/NA conference to date. The fundraising efforts totaled $77,000. We greatly appreciate the support of the sponsors and the 76 vendors.
Future Conferences: I look forward to seeing you in Fort Worth, TX from March 19-23, 2015. We will meet in Seattle, WA in 2016 for the 3rd joint conference with the Visual Resources Association (VRA). The Executive Board is working with prospective host chapters to select a 2017 location.
Virtual Conference: There will be four taped sessions from the D.C. Conference available to members and non-members through our new learning software. Watch ARLIS-L for more details.
Chapter Chairs Roundtable
The chapter chairs will begin to meet virtually every quarter. These virtual meetings will be a venue for chapter chairs to discuss similar topics and brainstorm new ideas. The meetings will also include key members from the Society who will discuss relevant chapter related topics such as development, diversity, and ARLIS/NA’s Strategic Plan. In addition, to these virtual meetings, we will have the in-person meeting at the conference and have discussions on the chapters officers listserv.
Strategic Plan 2011-2015
I would like to remind you that chapter activities should align with ARLIS/NA’s Strategic Plan. I recommend that all chapter members familiarize themselves with the plan, which is available here. [http://www.arlisna.org/about/strategic-plan-11-15]
ARLIS/NA Website (AWS)
I hope you have had the chance to peruse the newly-designed website. Be sure to log in to the website with your member username and password to see all member-only information. The website no longer has a dedicated member’s page, instead member-only information can appear on any page within the website.
The Executive Board will continue to have our monthly phone meetings and we will gather in-person in New York for the mid-year Executive Board meeting on August 14-15, 2014. As usual, with every meeting we will have a lot to discuss toward the advancement of ARLIS/NA. I will keep you posted!
If you have questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.
Wishing you all the best,
Sarah Sherman
ARLIS/NA Executive Board, Chapters Liaison
Reference Librarian
Getty Research Institute
ssherman@getty.edu
ARLIS/NA Upstate New York 