From the President

Much as I felt overwhelmed at the thought of trekking around New York for the first time, I am overwhelmed with excitement and trepidation as I assume this prominent leadership role in LIRT. And just as New York turned out to be my favorite and most fun conference thus far, I'm confident my tenure in LIRT will be full of interesting and fun experiences. As your president, one of my goals for the year is to increase the value of being a member of LIRT. It is critical to LIRT's well being and its ability to provide meaningful products and services to its members so that long-standing members continue to renew their membership. It is also essential to seek out new members to refresh and revitalize the organization.

With the influx of technology, the value you gain from your membership need not be limited to attendance at ALA conferences. The LIRT News is a valuable source of current instruction and technology information. Writing an article about instruction in your library is a good way to share your experience with other colleagues. The LIRT-L Web site is under development to provide members and potential members with information about LIRT. The publications LIRT produces are highly relevant and useful to all practicing instruction librarians, regardless of setting.

We must recognize the strong link between what we accomplish as a organization and the resources with which we achieve our goals. We operate LIRT on revenue generated by membership dues, sales and royalties. ALA asks that we have a reserve fund that equals one year's operating budget, or about $10,000. Presently, we fall short of that amount so ALA has placed LIRT on a "watch list" until we catch up. A task force was charged to draft a report with recommendations for meeting the reserve fund shortfall and ensuring fiscal responsibility and stability. The Five-Year Financial Planning Task Force, headed by Emily Bergman, finished its work in New York. The group's report recommends adoption of a five-year financial plan and establishment of the Five-Year Financial Planning Subcommittee chaired by the treasurer as a subcommittee of the Long-Range Planning Committee. The job of the subcommittee is to modify the five-year financial plan, refining years two through four to create year five. This structure creates an on-going mechanism that provides strong oversight and planning for LIRT's fiscal viability.

One aspect of the financial plan is to raise membership dues. There will be a vote at the business meeting to be held at the Midwinter Conference in Washington, D.C. to determine a dues increase and several changes to the bylaws necessary to implement the Five-Year Financial Planning Task Force's recommendations. More information will be forthcoming on these issues in the next newsletter.