debbyaframe@worcesterart.org
Reminder: Membership Renewal Due.
It is time to renew your ARLIS/NE membership! Renewal forms were sent out with the ballots. We need
to update and distribute the membership directory for 2006, so please, send in your renewal form and
check for $20 to:
Anne Reid, Administrative Manager
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Simmons College
300 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115-5898
Phone: 617-521-2805
If you have misplaced your form, or wish to recommend membership to a new colleague, the form is also
available on the chapter's web site: http://www.arlisne.org/membership-form.html
Fall Meeting, September 30, 2005
Chesterwood and Hancock Shaker Village
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Call to order: After a morning tour of Chesterwood, the ARLIS/NE group held a
brief meeting during lunch. Kathy Ritter, chapter president, welcomed members to the meeting.
Treasurer's report: Susanne Javorksi reported on revenue and expenses, as well as
the chapter accounts. Revenues totaled $2269.40 (for period of October 2004 membership mailing to
Sept. 30). Expenses totaled $3106.63 (January to Sept. 30). The combined total of the checking
account ($1556.92) and two CDs (1 year CD $3404.64 and the 2 year CD $4726.49) is $9688.03. Susanne
noted that there are more expenses than revenues, but it is not a problem because there is plenty of
money in account.
PR/Membership Committee: Anne Reid and Rachel Resnik reported on the October 20
alumni/student networking and careers panel event at Simmons College GSLIS. As part of this event,
Anne and Rachel will represent ARLIS/NE as part of a professional organizations fair during the
networking session.
Kathy Ritter brought up the issue of revising the by-laws to create a membership/PR position separate
from the secretary position. In discussion, those present agreed that a separate PR position,
following the NY chapter model, would be beneficial. It would also create a larger governing board.
The group voted to bring the issue to vote to the whole membership. Kathy Ritter will send out a
formal ballot. The membership/PR position will be up for vote at the next round of elections.
New member Michael Young expressed interest in helping with programming. The group expressed interested
in more programming, such as the NY chapter's monthly programs. Kathy encouraged the group to use the
ARLIS/NE listserv more for discussion.
ARLIS/NA Funds, Annual Request: Kathy Ritter reported that there were no replies for
the request for special projects. Kathy suggested members think of speakers for next year;
recommendations may be sent out on the listserv or e-mailed to officers.
Awards Committee: Debby Aframe will chair with assistance from Susan Milstein. The
committee will award the travel, Seibel, and Frietag awards. Two travel awards of $300 will be awarded.
The awards are designed for the ARLIS/NA conference. Members are encouraged to apply for the awards,
even if they are already partially covered by their institutions.
New Webpage: Christina Jedziniak reported that the new web site is almost complete.
She updated the coding and the design, which will include the official logo. She plans to have the
new web site completed in time for the October 20 event. She encouraged members to give her feedback.
ARLIS/NE Timeline/Spring Meeting Site: VRA is still interested in holding a joint VRA and ARLIS/NE
spring meeting at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, although a date has not been set. Suggestions
for the meeting content should be sent to the listserv or Rachel Beckwith.
Ars Libri in December: The Ars Libri event will be held Friday, December 2. The talk
and reception at Ars Libri will begin at 4:00, followed by the South End gallery hop from 5:30 to 8:00.
The Ars Libri space will only accommodate standing room for a talk and reception, so other space will
have to be found for programming beyond the Ars Libri portion. The possibility of finding a space nearby
for a talk by ARLIS/NE members on collection development was mentioned. The suggestion was made to
instead provide a forum for other book local dealers or the Boston Artist's Book Group could be invited
to showcase what they do. Amanda Bowen recommended keeping the event focused on Ars Libri, perhaps
inviting other Ars Libri staff to speak, and the gallery hop, since ARLIS/NE has been working to set up
the Ars Libri event for two years.
ARLIS/NA Web site (AWS) news and features: Carol Graney is editor of the replacement
for ARLIS/NA's Update. It is now called News and Features, so please send your news to Carol. Linda
Zieper is still our ARLIS/NE Focus editor so any local news should go to her.
Nominating Committee: Richard McElroy will chair the nominating committee, with
assistance from John Teahan. Offices up for election are: vice president, treasurer, and the public
relations position. Students can run for offices, though they should be reminded that the schedule
flexibility to attend meetings is mandatory. With respect to the new PR position, Kathy Ritter and
Rachel Beckwith will look into the timeline for changing the bylaws. Rachel Resnik suggested the
current secretary decide which position she is more interested in: the secretary position or the PR
position.
Martha Maier inquired about the outcome of previous discussions on joint meetings. RISD is a possibility
for fall 2006. Rachel reported that because the ARLIS/NA conference would be in Banff this year, it
would be difficult to go to Montreal.
The meeting adjourned at 1:35. The group then went to the Hancock Shaker Village for the self-guided tours.
ARLIS/NE Executive Board Meeting
Mount Holyoke College, July 22, 2005
In attendance: Rachel Beckwith, Anne Haas, Susanne Javorski, Christina Jedziniak,
Anne Reid, Rachel Resnik, Kathy Ritter, Linda Zieper
Call to order and introductions: Kathy Ritter convened the meeting. Anne Reid was
introduced as the new secretary, replacing Cameron Caswell who resigned because she was moving to
Baltimore. Rachel Beckwith offered to assist with the transition. The possibility of splitting the
current secretary position into a secretary position and a PR/membership officer was discussed. The
secretary position involves more work than the other position because of the membership component.
Adding another position devoted to membership and PR, as many other groups have done, could be helpful.
Rachel Resnik volunteered to assist Anne Reid in the current secretarial position; the board will look
into the ARLIS/NA Chapter Success Book and at the ARLIS/NY model for a PR position ideas.
Treasurer's Report: Susanne Javorski reported that there is currently $2,059.44 in
the checking account, $4,700.88 in the 2-year cd that came up in February, and $3,388.96 in the 1-year cd
that comes up in August. The travel awards will be $300 each. The Freitag Award and the Seibel Award
are each $500. The travel awards are $300. Linda suggested increasing the scholarships. Susanne will
work up a budget sheet.
ARLIS/NA Strategic Plan and ARLIS/NE Plans: Kathy Ritter distributed copies of the
ARLIS/NA Strategic Plan 2000-2005 and the ARLIS/NA Chapter Success Book, as well as the ARLIS/NE
bylaws, calendar, and Nominating Committee documents. ARLIS/NE and other chapters have been asked by
ARLIS/NA to look at chapter goals to see how they fit with goals in the strategic plans. In reviewing
the ARLIS/NA goals, the board agreed that, in general, ARLIS/NE is currently following goals, but
perhaps needs to be �louder.�
Examples:
Outreach. ARLIS/NE involvement in October 20 careers/professional organization panel for
students being organized by the Simmons GSLIS Alumni Board. Anne Reid will follow up with more
information when it is available.
Event Promotion. Use ARLIS/NE web site to promote events. A survey sent out to membership
in March 2005 resulted in 13 responses, which varied greatly. Members expressed desire for more
substance in events (such as the ArtStor event) and more advance notice about events, although the
board discussed that events are already advertised 6 to 8 weeks in advance.
Listserv. All members should be on the listserv, though there was some question if that is
actually the case. Anne will check the membership database. In the future, all new members will
automatically be added to the listserv.
Membership involvement. Critical to get members involved.
Chapter Success Guide and Calendar:
Ars Libri: Rachel Beckwith reported on her inquiries to Ars Libri in Boston's South End as
a potential meeting location. Because of limited space, it would not work as a location for the fall
meeting. However, it could work for a special event, such as cocktail reception during a First
Friday (open gallery night on the first Friday of each month). Ars Libri could also provide lectures
on their rare book and reference collections. Rachel will pursue December as a time for an ARLIS/NE
event. This was discussed as a possible outreach event for Simmons GSLIS students.
Fall Meeting: Rachel Beckwith reported on the plans for the fall meeting. Two dates were
chosen: October 14 as a first choice and September 30 as a backup date. It will be held at the
Chesterwood Museum and the Hancock Shaker Village in Stockbridge. The proposed schedule is Chesterwood
for a morning lecture and tour; Hancock for lunch and business meeting, followed by self-guided tours
in the afternoon. Chesterwood charges $9/person for the lecture and tour only and $20/person if it were
to include box lunch; Hancock charges $8/person for the self guided tour and $12 for a box lunch.
According to the proposed schedule, the meeting fee would be $20, with approximately $14 to be subsidized
by ARLIS/NE. Students would be charged $10. A save the date email will be sent. The idea of a joint
spring meeting with VRA was mentioned. The Ars Libri event would be the second event of the fall.
Awards Committee: According to the ARLIS/NE calendar, the committees for the Freitag
Award, the Seibel scholarship, and the travel award are formed in July. The awards committees usually
include the previous year's winners, however Ursula Murphy, one of the past Seibel winners, has moved
to New York City. Anne Reid will check the database for members who may have indicated interested
in being involved in this area. Committee members may not apply for the awards. Board members may
apply for the travel award.
Chapter Success Book: Kathy Ritter reviewed the ARLIS/NA Chapter Success Book. In
light of this document, the possibility of moving towards a PR/membership officer position was
discussed again. The board decided to table the idea of a new PR/membership position until Anne Reid
has finished her current tenure as secretary. Rachel Resnik offered to help Anne with the membership
work. Kathy will write up an e-mail announcement about a new position. The board was asked to look
over the Chapter Success Book to make sure the ARLIS/NE activities align with it.
Web site: Christina Jedziniak presented the new web site design. Upcoming meetings
will be added to the welcome page. The timeline will be added to the programs section. Linda
mentioned that the ARLIS/NE archives are at Harvard, if items were missing from the timeline. Anne
will send Christina an updated membership form as well as a PDF version of it. The webmaster will
update the calendar. The official ARLIS/NE logo will be added to the site (logo from stationery).
The board agreed that the clean design of the site would be a great improvement and thanked Christina
for her work on this project.
Auction Catalog Project: Kathy reported that John Teahan is still working on the
project. Board members should e-mail each other ideas about other projects we might want ARLIS/NA
to fund.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:30.
Submitted by Anne Reid, Secretary
From the Members:
As part of her year long sabbatical, Laurie Whitehill Chong, special collections librarian at Rhode
Island School of Design, spent a month in Italy as a studio assistant to book artist, Angela Lorenz.
During her stay in Bologna, she helped to complete the edition of 200 copies of Angela's book Soap
Story and observed this talented artist as she developed both conceptual and technical portions of
her newest book, based on Pilgrim's Progress. Laurie also conducted research on the watermarks found
in the pages of the �Tavole Acquerellate� of Ulisse Aldrovandi, a set of late 16th-century bound
volumes of watercolor paintings of plants and animals in the Sala Manoscritti of the Biblioteca
Universitaria di Bologna. Laurie received a Professional Development Grant from RISD in support
of her travels to Italy.
Two additional projects furthered her involvement in the book arts. Laurie visited Ruth Laxson in
Atlanta, Georgia and was able to record a wonderful interview with this amazing 81-year-old book
artist. The RISD Library has collections of archival materials for both Angela Lorenz and
Ruth Laxson, so spending time with these artists was a real bonus. Throughout the year Laurie
worked as a member of the steering committee, planning for ABC: the Artists' Books Conference, which
was held at Wellesley College in June. She also served on one of the panels at the conference,
"Collecting in Private and Public Institutions".
Norine Duncan is the new ARLIS/NA & VRA liaison.
Anne Haas is a grandmother. Her first grandchild First Grandson...he was born
Nov 5, and is named John Abraham Shankland...
Ann Whiteside will be returning to MIT's Rotch Library in January, as the new Head
Librarian replacing Margaret de Popolo who retired after 34 years of outstanding service.
Thanks to John A Woods Appraisers for underwriting the cost of mailing this issue of Focus.
