CHAPTER Notes
Washington, D.C. Chapter http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc September 2002 Volume 61, No. 10
September 9-13 Dine Around Metro DC Area (see page 7)
September 23 Iota Chapter of Beta Phi Mu Happy Hour Washington, DC (see page 4)
September 30 USA Today Tours and Open House McLean, VA (see page 5)
October 5
President’s Corner: So Tell Me, How am I Doin’? By Anne Caputo, DC/SLA President On a hot steamy Saturday morning in late July, members of the DC/SLA Board and Committee Chairs met in my family room for our annual summer planning meeting. As a starting point, we began our session by taking a look at the last DC/SLA Strategic Planning document, completed in August 2000. Just like Ed Koch, the flamboyant mayor of New York City during the 1980’s, who loved to wade into a crowd of his constituents and ask, unbidden, “So tell me, how am I doin’?”, we asked ourselves the same question. How is DC/SLA doing anyway? Are we focussed on our strategic goals? Are we meeting the needs of our membership? Do our programs and plans offer value to our members? Check out the Strategic Plan (which can be found on our website at http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/manual.html, Appendix V). We did, and in the next two columns we’ll review our progress. The Strategic Plan queried members on several ongoing Chapter activities. Two of the most important were, Member Communications Chapter Notes is a highly valued service provided by the Chapter to foster all kinds of communication; program announcements, networking opportunities, news about our members, professional development articles and much more. Over the course of the last two years, we have continued to print Chapter Notes but have come to rely more and more on our excellent website to make more timely the news and announcements so important to our membership. The discussion list has also grown and is used as a way to provide instant communication and networking opportunities for DC/SLA members. AND YET, the print version of Chapter Notes continues to be the single most costly item in our budget and the discussion list reaches less than 50% of our membership. We need to transition to an increased use of the electronic newsletter and web site and a decrease dependence on printing and mailing Chapter Notes. Look in the coming October issue of Chapter Notes, which will contain a description of what we plan to do and will offer you an opportunity to tell us whether you need to continue to receive the print copy of Chapter Notes. The savings will permit increased subsidy of the Chapter programs and thus a lower cost to you. We will also be asking everyone to subscribe to the discussion list (go to http://www.sla.org/chapter/cdc/list.html for instructions), if you have not done so already. We can use the list to post Chapter Notes and to tell you when other new content enters the website. Fully 1/3 of all SLA Chapters use electronic communication only as a means of reaching their members. While we are not proposing a complete cessation of printed communications, we are proposing a slimmer printed mailing and a greater reliance on electronic communication methods.
New Member Reception Washington, DC (see page 8)
Programs The 2000 Strategic Plan tells us members want programs that are interesting, professionally helpful, offer chances to meet and talk with each other and are fun. Some free or inexpensive program opportunities are also welcome. This year’s program plans will deliver on each of these objectives many times over. Check for announcements about the formation of a new DC/SLA Book Club, learning opportunities from innovators such as Toni Carbo, practical programs on life planning and presentation skills, an update on virtual reference, selling your value to upper management and much, much more. Look for networking opportunities and events that are simply fun; the Dine Arounds in midSeptember, Happy Hours, library tours, the new members reception with the SLA Board and Board candidates in October, the annual Holiday Party in December and that’s just through the end of 2002. Joint programs with other professional associations such as DCLA, ASIST, the Joint Spring Workshop, and September’s Technology Day with the Maryland Chapter will also be offered
DC/SLA Chapter Notes | September 2002
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Books, Brats and Beers Ft. Belvoir Oktoberfest Ft. Belvoir, VA (see page 7)
October 5