Membership Committee Minutes - 2007 Midwinter
From Wess
Meeting in Seattle, January 20, 2007
Attending Committee members: Paula Mae Carns (University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign); Rowena Griem (Yale University Libraries; Chair); Jeff Hanks (Western Illinois University); Pamela Harris (Swarthmore); Dennis Lambert (Villanova University); Jennifer MacDonald (Saint Louis University); Heleni Pedersoli (University of Maryland); Brian Vetruba (Washington University)
Guests: Bryan Skib (University of Michigan); Sarah G. Wenzel (Columbia)
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 8:05 a.m.
1. Introductions
The attendees introduced themselves and signed an attendance sheet.
2. Membership statistics report
Rowena gave a membership statistics report. There were 624 WESS members in December 2006, which is a rise of 2.8% from the previous December.
Emails continue to be sent to new, dropped and reinstated members on a monthly basis.
3. 2007 WESS Cruise
a. Contract update
Representatives of ACRL signed the contract with Odyssey Cruises for a group not to exceed 100, including a buffet, nonalcoholic beverages, and a DJ. There will be a cash bar for alcoholic drinks. The ship will board from 5-6 p.m. and sail on the Potomac River from 6-9 p.m. The dock is conveniently located just minutes from a Metro stop.
b. Fundraising
The WESS Fundraising Committee is doing fundraising for the cruise. Their Chair, Emily Stambaugh, will publicly thank donors at the cruise.
c. Set cost per ticket
This is still to be determined, since ACRL now requires that all donations be guaranteed in writing before the price is set and the event publicized. Emily has been informed of this new policy. The cost per ticket should take into account the five free tickets offered to new WESS members and the complementary tickets given in appreciation of larger donations.
d. Publicity
Jeff agreed to write the text for the WESS Newsletter. Once ACRL and the cruise line approve the text, it will be submitted for the spring issue. Paula volunteered to create the website. Emails to the various listservs will be organized in the spring. The publicity should include all of the details, including the fact that Odyssey does not allow jeans or athletic shoes on their ships.
e. Registration
Megan Bielefeld of ACRL will receive the registrations and compile an Excel list that will be given to Rowena for on-site registration. Registration will close when 100 people have signed up or one month before the cruise, whichever comes first. At Annual, volunteers from the WESS Membership Committee will help with on-site registration.
The committee agreed to use the ALA Conference name badges for identification. Pamela will bring a few additional blank name badges to the cruise, in case someone forgets theirs. Options for further identifying cruise participants were discussed. The Mardi Gras beads last year were very popular, so we would like to come up with something comparable. It was noted that the item should represent the Washington D.C. location without being too political. Possibilities include stickers or pins in the form of a European Union flag or a map of Europe. This issue will be decided in the coming months.
4. Mentoring program
Rowena reported the results of the WESS Mentoring questionnaires sent to WESS-L on Jan. 8. By Midwinter, we had received seventeen responses. The twelve respondents interested in mentoring have between 5 ½ and 33 years library experience and have attended ALA conferences from 2-40 times. Their fields of expertise include collection development, reference, acquisitions and cataloging. The five respondents interested in being mentored have between 3 ½ and 15 years library experience and have attended ALA conferences from 0-7 times. While one of these respondents is active in WESS, the rest of them are not.
Two thirds of these respondents are interested in short-term mentoring for first-time conference mentees. The majority of respondents were interested in providing job-specific support, especially in collection development.
The committee discussed the various types of mentorship that we could offer, including short-term mentoring of first-time conference attendees or those who would like guidance on becoming more active in WESS, and more long-term mentoring related to job responsibilities. It was agreed that the WESS mentoring program should have two tiers: one to tackle WESS issues and one for job-related issues. The committee agreed that the program should be WESS-specific. Librarians interested in other issues should be referred to more appropriate programs or listservs. Participants must be current WESS members or library school students. The Committee will act as a liaison between mentors and mentees. If no one with applicable experience has volunteered for the program, the Committee will identify a potential mentor and approach him or her directly.
Brian described his experience with another mentoring program. He emphasized the importance of making sure that mentor and mentees expectations mesh. He also recommended a 6-month follow-up to see how the relationship is going. It was agreed that this was a good idea and that we could then try to adjust the program or, if that is not successful, reassign the participants.
Heleni mentioned the benefits of approaching recent retirees as possible mentors. Since we had agreed that mentors should be current members of WESS, and all members are automatically signed up for WESS-L, these potential mentors could be reached through the WESS listserv.
Paula introduced the WESS New Members Page that she has been working on incorporating earlier discussions of the committee. This website includes information on joining WESS, how to become involved, attending meetings, joining a committee, publishing and research opportunities, etc. The committee provided feedback and thanks Paula for the time that she has put into it thus far.
It was agreed to begin the WESS Mentoring Program with a pilot program targeted at new WESS members. New members will be assigned to WESS Committee members. Should the number of new members become unmanageable, we can ask for volunteers among people who are active in WESS. Several weeks after they receive the welcoming email from WESS, they will be sent a more informal email from a WESS-buddy or WESS-contact. This person will ask to meet briefly at the next ALA conference, encourage them to attend WESS meetings, offer advice on how to get active in WESS, etc. We hope that this will help us present WESS as a friendly and welcoming community and incorporate new members into the group. If there is no response to a follow-up message, then we will assume that they are not interested and remove that person’s name from the pilot program.
Rowena will work on guidelines for the program and submit it to the Committee for discussion. The Committee will then begin the pilot program outlined above. At Annual, we will discuss the program so far and reassess.
5. ACRL National Conference
Sarah requested that this topic be added to the agenda. She and Heleni agreed to organize a dinner for WESS members attending the ACRL National Conference from March 29-Apr. 1, 2007.
The meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted by Rowena Griem, Chair of the WESS Membership Committee
