ARLIS/NA has a new management firm, Technical Enterprises, Incorporated (TEI.) TEI is headquartered outside of Milwaukee WI, and as their name implies, they provide a wide range of technology support. It was their technical capabilities, combined with their personalized support and more than twenty years experience that put them at the top of the twenty-one association management firms that responded to our call for proposals. I am very excited about what they have to offer chapters. They intend to provide web hosting for chapters as well as chapter listservs, which should give great relief to chapters which have struggled to maintain their sites and lists on various institutions servers. The transition will be complete on May 1, when Nancy Short become s our new Executive Director.
The ARLIS/NA Career Mentoring Program has expanded, and will have a kick-off workshop at the Annual Conference in Indianapolis. Because not everyone can attend the annual conference, the Mentoring Subcommittee invited chapter leaders to attend and learn how to present the workshop in their region.
The 2009 Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management has been announced. It will be held at Simmons College in Boston, MA, from June 8th – June 13th, 2009. The program, co-sponsored by ARLIS/NA and the Visual Resources Association Foundation, is in its sixth year. The SEI advisory group has recommended that SEI stay in one location two years in a row, which will ease pressure on the implementation team, while still allowing the program to move around North America and serve a wide audience.
The spring chapter meeting is a good time to brainstorm projects. Could your chapter’s idea be something the society would help fund? Applications for special funding are due July 1. Past projects have included support for symposia, and outreach materials targeted at library schools. Projects may be awarded up to $500 depending on merit of the project and availability of funds. The guidelines and a simple application form are available on the ARLIS/NA Web Site.
I am looking forward to a great conference in Indianapolis, and want to thank the Mid-States Chapter for all their hard work hosting what promises to be an exciting program!