ARLIS/NE Fall Meeting
MIT Museum
Boston, Massachusetts
October, 2006
Welcome: President Rachel Beckwith welcomed the group and thanked Ann Whiteside for
hosting the meeting at MIT. She introduced Brooke Henderson, Vice President/President Elect, and
Anne Reid, Secretary.
Announcement: Rachel announced the November 17 deadline for the Gerd Muehsam Award.
The award is given annually "to recognize excellence in a graduate student paper or project on a
topic relevant to art librarianship." Application details are available on the ARLIS/NA website.
Treasurer's report: Rachel Beckwith presented the Treasurer's report on behalf of
Robert Garzillo. The checking account balance as of 4/30/06: $918.68. The two-year CD balance is:
$4,892.51. The one-year CD balance is: $3,552.42.
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.
Secretary's Report: 2006 Membership: Anne Reid reported 106 current
members for 2006. ARLIS/NE and ARLIS/NA Membership: Of the 106 current members, 52
are ARLIS/NA members; 54 are not.
ARLIS/NA Chapter Affiliation Agreement: Rachel Beckwith distributed copies of the
agreement ARLIS/NA has asked local chapters to sign and provided an update on the discussion.
Chapters must sign to retain relationship with ARLIS/NA; if we do not sign, ARLIS/NE would sever all
ties with NA and would not be able to use the ARLIS name anymore. The affiliation agreement provides
protection for NA against legal claims. It does not provide legal protection for chapter officers,
although chapter officers currently do not have legal protection. For example, if an attendee at an
ARLIS/NE event drinks at that event and then gets into an accident driving home, chapter officers
could be sued. As part of the new affiliation agreement, all chapter members would be required to be
members of NA, a rule which has been in the NE bylaws, though it hasn't been enforced. Since
approximately 50% of NE members are not NA members, an alternate category, such as affiliate, will be
created to help retain those members who do not belong to NA. Dues would continue to be collected
through local chapters. The deadline for signing the agreement is December 20th; ballots on this
issue will be mailed to current NE members later this fall.
Rachel opened up the topic to questions. Ann Whiteside, ARLIS/NA President, and Carol Ann Fabian,
ARLIS/NA Northeast Regional Representative, helped answer questions about the legal implications of
the agreement. In response to a question about options for providing legal protection to the chapter
and the chapter officers, Carol Ann Fabian presented four of the possible options for legal coverage:
- Incorporated association - involves initial and annual fees, as well as annual reporting.
- General liability insurance - annual cost, covers events.
- Directors and officers insurance - protects officers' personal assets.
- Schedule events at institutions that provide general coverage through their global insurance.
ARLIS/NA will provide chapters with what coverage they might pursue, but it is up to chapters to
determine what level of coverage they are comfortable with. Because of the cost, it is not feasible
for NA to extend protection to chapters.
The discussion continued, during which the following issues were addressed:
- ARLIS/NE is not currently incorporated as a non-profit; incorporation would make the chapter
legally responsible rather than officers individually.
- A chapter has never been sued.
- Other professional organizations have similar structures (ex. ACRL).
- ARLIS/NE could form a committee to explore incorporation and insurance options (ok to
do so after December 20th signing).
- The new agreement will allow chapters to maintain the autonomy and flexibility to set membership
and affiliate categories to encourage involvement of students, for example.
- ARLIS/NA has formed a task force to address communication problems in the association. An
attendee suggested opening the chapter officer listserv to membership as read only.
At the close of the discussion, Rachel encouraged members to review the ARLIS/NE bylaws and to
use the chapter listserv for additional questions and additional comments. Later this fall, members
will receive agreement ballot, officer ballots, and a renewal letter in the mail.
Awards Committee: The awards committee this year will be Christina Jedniziak, Rachel
Resnik, and Janis Manzo, chair. Information on the Freitag (professional development), Seibel
(scholarship), and travel awards to attend the national conference is available online. The
application deadline for the Freitag and Seibel is December 15. Rachel encouraged students and all
members to apply.
Nominating Committee: The nominating committee this year is Ellie Naecham, Susan
Milstein, and Kathy Ritter, chair. Positions open for 2007 are vice president/president elect,
secretary, and public relations officer. Anyone interested in being an officer should contact the
committee or a current officer.
December Meeting Ideas: Brooke Henderson asked members for December meeting ideas
(the original plan seems unlikely since ICA opening has been delayed). Attendees recommended the
Rose Art Musuem, and based on the popularity of last year's event, ArsLibri/South End First Friday
open studios, or First Friday at the MFA.
Spring Meeting: The spring meeting will again be a joint meeting with VRA New
England and will be held at RISD. The proposed meeting date from RISD is May 25.
Simmons Career Panel: Rachel asked for volunteers to staff the ARLIS/NE table at
the October 19 Career Panel/Networking event at Simmons, sponsored by the GSLIS Alumni Board. Alix
Reiksind, Adeane Bregman, and Brooke Henderson volunteered.
Respectfully submitted by Anne Reid, Secretary
October 19, 2006
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