The meeting of the International Relations Committee was convened at 12:45 pm. Present were Leslie Abrams (97/8 Chair), Jane Devine (97/8 Board Liaison), Patricia Barnett (96/7 & 97/8 Member), Janis Ekdahl (visitor), Angela Giral (96/7 Member), Mary E. Graham (Board Member), Roger Lawson (President), Ed Teague (97/8 Member) and Elizabeth Gulacsy (96/7 Member and Recorder).
Announcing that outgoing chair Murray Waddington was unable to attend the San Antonio Conference, Leslie Abrams called the meeting to order. The Committee reviewed last year's activities as outlined in the annual report. Both the Japan Art Documentation Society and the Sous-section des Bibliothèques d'art, Association des Bibliothécaires Français have indicated an interest in an affiliation with ARLIS/NA. These were approved by the Executive Board and will be submitted for membership ratification at the Philadelphia conference. It was suggested that a second letter requesting indication of interest in affiliation should be sent to the organizations which have not responded.
Mary Graham announced that the Executive Board had approved the revisions of the Policy Manual, specifically regarding affiliates and their relationships with ARLIS/NA (Section X). Jane Devine expressed the importance of having one single committee approaching all international organizations and the need for good feedback on all actions.
The IRC committee structure and appointment terms were discussed. The yearly transition was deemed problematic since the charge of the IRC to foster and develop relations with international library organizations often spreads over many years, and continuity of membership is critical for success. Different models were discussed for length of membership and chair appointments.
The ARLIS/NA representation at annual conferences of foreign affiliates was discussed, especially IFLA. The roles and responsibilities of the official ARLIS/NA IFLA representative(s) needs definition and clarity. Although there is no financial assistance from ARLIS/NA at present, the principle of some stipend (flat amount, registration fees, etc.) will be sent to the Executive Board for consideration as part of the budget call. In addition, Ed Teague suggested, for example, a travel award for travel outside the U.S. might help support such activity. RLG may be a potential sponsor.
The IFLA Satellite Conference/Boston 2001 idea needs further discussion at both the Executive Board and IRC level. A satellite conference may be held pre or post IFLA's Boston conference, must run from 2-5 days, and the planning for such a meeting is the responsibility of the hosting group (in this case ARLIS/NA). Leslie has the guidelines for such meetings, which will be sent to the IFLA representatives when appointed. Once the Board gives its endorsement, the IFLA representatives and possibly a sub-committee will take the lead on developing a proposal for a satellite conference. It will need to be presented to the ARLIS/NA Executive Board and IFLA. Also related to IFLA: Jane Devine reported the ARLIS/NA Executive Board has voted down the notion of official participation as a member of IFLA's National Organizing Committee due to the financial requirements and time commitment expected of two ARLIS/NA representatives.
Item 107 of the Strategic Plan for the IRC (monitoring and scanning affiliate organizations publications, including listservs, web sites, for reporting to the general membership) needs rethinking in view of the IRC membership as constituted at present. It was suggested that web sites of all the international organizations ARLIS/NA has affiliation with be linked to the ARLIS/NA site, thus allowing members to individually pursue reviewing information (vs. having the IRC scan, digest, and post information on these organizations).
The meeting adjourned at 2 pm.
Leslie Abrams
University of California San Diego
Leslie_Abrams@UCSDLIBRARY.ucsd.edu