FROM THE PRESIDENT

An article in the Chicago Tribune on July 10, 1995 featured some new terms for the new workplace, including "job morphing" which refers to workers being required to change jobs and skills daily as a result of corporate cutbacks and heightened office competition. Other new terms are "time-deprived workers" which refers to workers who have to do part of someone else's job as well as their own and "You Inc." - the indispensable employee who will do anything to make the business grow, and is usually one of the last to be laid off. These terms are as applicable to the library scene as "chaos" and "reinventing."

LIRT has been asked to assist in reinventing the ALA conference beginning in '96. One goal is to reduce the frustration of commuting between meetings, and most daytime programs and meetings will be held at the Javits Convention Center in New York. Another goal is to coordinate programs with other groups and to highlight for the public the tremendous role of libraries and librarians in our society. LIRT is somewhat ahead of other groups in combining our committee meetings in one session. The '96 program committee, chaired by Mimi King, is planning a program on technostress with co-sponsorship by ACRL IS and LITA.

As we start a new year, a big thank you to Charlotte Files for her leadership as president, to Carolyn Walters and the program committee for the well-received program "Class Act: Producing and Presenting Library Instruction", to Diana Shonrock and the research committee for the forthcoming handbook on evaluation and to all chairs and committee members who enthusiastically carried out their charges.

By the time you receive this newsletter, you may have read about the Structural Revision Task Force appointed by ALA Council to flesh out the changes proposed by the Organizational Self Study Committee of ALA. Two Round Table representatives will be named to the task force. Thus, there will be opportunities for Round Table input. We were ably represented at an Open Hearing held at Conference by Julia Todaro and Thelma Tate. We shall keep you informed on future developments.