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Bulletin, October/November 2010


ASIS&T President, Gary MarchioniniPresident's Page

Gary Marchionini
2010 ASIS&T President
march@ils.unc.edu

2010 is drawing to a close and as I reflect on what has transpired, I am gratified by what ASIS&T has accomplished and also pensive about what we have not been able to do. On the positive side:

  • We had successful Information Architecture and Research Data and Preservation Summits.
     
  • We had another great year of publications in JASIST and the Bulletin and another superb issue of ARIST.
     
  • We established the ASIS&T Annual Lecture Series. 
     
  • We welcomed a new student chapter at McGill University.
     
  • We created new participation scholarships that allow new members to be mentored for chapter and national leadership.
      
  • We made substantial efforts to expand interactive communication to include social media elements for ASIS&T members and held two teleconference conversations with ASIS&T leadership.
     
  • There was tremendous energy put into the 2010 Annual Meeting, which attracted a record number of submissions.
     
  • We increased ASIS&T international activities, including support for a doctoral consortium to be held in Ireland in the spring of 2011.
     
  • We appointed a task force to be chaired by Toni Carbo to plan for the ASIS&T 75th anniversary in 2012.
     
  • Our society is in strong financial shape thanks to the skill of our treasurer and the budget committees over the past several years and especially as a result of the reputation of JASIST and the ASIS&T members who worked with Wiley-Blackwell to negotiate our revenue sharing package.
     
  • We saved a bit of money and reduced our carbon footprint by having a teleconference Spring Board Meeting rather than a face-to-face meeting.

On the negative side, even though we welcomed some new members, who I hope will bring energy and vision to ASIS&T, our efforts to grow membership have been challenged by the difficult economy, and our membership has declined by almost 200 over the past year. Membership is the key to a strong society and I urge every member to redouble your efforts to recruit new members. For those who say that ASIS&T is too narrow, too broad, too this or not enough that, challenge them to get involved and help shape the society. Members do make a difference and our future depends on new people and ideas to thrive and serve the research and development needs of information professionals everywhere.

I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh. We will have full papers, short papers and posters, as well as stimulating special panels and activities that should engage researchers and practitioners alike. A great series of continuing education seminars is available to help members advance their careers, and a range of focused workshops will address key information R&D challenges. Considerable effort will be given to recruitment and placement for faculty and information professionals. As always, there will be many opportunities for networking and meeting colleagues. This year, several important meetings will be co-located with ASIS&T, including the Dublin Core International Conference and the International Conference on Knowledge Management. It should be a rewarding experience for all of us. 

Gary Marchionini is the 2010 ASIS&T president and the Cary C. Boshamer Dean, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He can be reached at march<at>ils.unc.edu.