The Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Society for Information Science (ASIS/DVC) is committed to meeting the needs of its members through the provision of opportunities for the exchange of information and expertise, through the development of relevant programs and publications, and through recognition of significant contributions to the fields of information science.

Greetings! The 1998-1999 DVC "year" is off to a good start. Technically new officers at ASIS pass the gavel as the ASIS Annual Meeting concludes. Local Chapters usually follow the same pattern. ASIS/ DVC is a bit more informal and usually looks at its Fall Meeting, held this year on October 13, as the start of the new "ASIS year."

ASIS is a diverse organization -- which makes it an interesting group. But that same diversity presents a big challenge when it comes to leading an organization. New membership recruitment, membership retention, programming, and even the newsletter must take a multi-pronged approach in order to interest and challenge current and potential members. In addition, the Board has the burden of recruiting volunteers who will keep the organization solid and foster growth.

The DVC Board has adopted a new strategy. No more big meetings -- at least in the short-term! We decided that to appeal to wider constituency we needed to do two fundamental things. First, we want to offer informal, highly focused but individually unique dinner meetings. Second, we felt that we need to schedule these meetings at different geographic locations and not, as we have in the past, only hold them in West Philadelphia.

We have already initiated this plan. Instead of our usual Business Meeting we presented a Fall Dinner Meeting on October 13 in West Philadelphia. Dr. Barbara J. Flood, who is with the ARC/Philadelphia Developmental Disabilities Corp., delivered an interesting presentation. Her subject was "The Implications of Gardner's Multiple Intelligence's Model for Human/Computer Interaction." Dr. Flood suggested the topic. She contends that understanding the brain as a multiple parallel processing system -- and what that implies for information system design -- is essential.

Was it successful? Yes, we feel that it was. The meeting was small. The physical atmosphere -- a corporate conference room -- was a bit austere but the ambiance was fine. People talked and enjoyed themselves as they ate an informal dinner prior to the presentation. There was great interest in Dr. Flood's presentation and many questions and remarks from those attending. We thank Barbara for the initial suggestion to hold these dinner meetings and for her excellent contribution that evening.

We plan to continue with this type of programming. We realize that there will be some dinners that you will not be interested in just as there are some tracks and/or sessions at the Annual Meeting that you would choose not to attend. Abby Goodman and Gail Hodge each have volunteered to set-up future dinners. They will choose the topics and find speakers and places for the meeting. Both have found people to help them.

ASIS/DVC is a small group with an even smaller group of volunteers who have done most of the work for years. These people need to be applauded. We now have some new people who are interested. They are offering new ideas, new energy and assuming some responsibility. We are delighted to have them join us and look forward to working together.

There is room for you in the organization. If you would like to get involved we can offer you an opportunity to network freely with the other members of the organization. And if you would like to help, we promise only to request help in "small chunks".

-Jacqueline "Jay" Trolley,
ChairASIS/Delaware Valley Chapter

ASIS/DVC Views Editorial Board
Kathe Junkins (Editor), Marie Cafone-Moss (Production Editor), Cathy Minecci, Helen Atkins, Jay Trolley, and James Walsh. ASIS/DVC Views is published three times per year by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Society for Information Science (ASIS/DVC).

Copyright (C) 1998 ASIS/DVC
Opinions and views expressed herein do not necessarily represent official positions taken by the American Society for Information Science or its Delaware Valley Chapter.

For permission to reprint articles, contact the editor. Except where noted herein, all communications, including manuscripts, comments and letters to the editor, should be addressed to: Kathe Junkins, ISI, 3501 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 FAX: 215-386-6362 E-mail: kjunkins@isinet.com Submit copy for the spring issue, by March 12, 1999; for the summer issue by July 9, 1999.