Mars Executive Committee Tuesday January 22, 2002 Convention Center 280 Minutes Appendix: MARS Goals, 2002-2003 Members Present: Executive Committee members: Bill McHugh (Chair), Nancy Buchanan, LeiLani Freund, Carole Richter, Pat Riesenman, Doris Ann Sweet, Naomi Lederer. Committee and Task Force Chairs/Representatives, including incoming chairs: Carolyn Larson, Kelley Lawton, Mary Popp, Mary Mintz, Marcella Stark. William McHugh brought the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. A. Orientation Committee members and chairs were introduced. B. Reports 1. Outreach: Kelly Lawton a. Happy Hour was well attended, including 25 non-member guests. The committee plans to leave Happy Hour publicity at Annual Registration area. A MARS handout of programs and discussion groups will also be handed out at Happy Hour. b. Projects include redesign and revision of the MARS brochure, welcoming e-mail to new MARS members including volunteer opportunities if a list can be obtained. Jim Crooks is considering re-establishing the mentoring program. 2. User Access to Services: Mary Popp reported that the committee is planning an expansion of the Bibliography of User Behavior (published in RUSQ) to an Occasional Paper. They will need to update, remove dated information, and add context. Following this project, the committee wants to rethink the direction of the group. They hope to be more proactive in thinking about their focus in relation to reference services. User Access plans to experiment with conference calls and smaller incremental deadlines to move projects forward. 3. Planning: Marcella Stark a. The section review process for Planning was completed. b. A PDF version of the Handbook has been completed; it will be proofed and posted to the MARS site. c. MARS Goals for 2002-2003: See Appendix A d. There was some discussion about section level program scheduling difficulty; no immediate action will be taken. e. Planning reviewed the handbook text text for the Recognition Certificate,and considered ways to ensure that information about the recipient is appropriately disseminated. ExComm proposed several changes to the text Planning had presented: (1) The recipient will be notified before a public announcement, within a month of selection. The public announcement will be made at about the time the ALA election results are announced. (2) The list of recipients will be posted on the MARS site. A motion to approve "text as edited" in Handbook corrections was made and approved. 4. RUSA Planning & Finance: LeiLani Freund and Nancy Buchanan. a. LeiLani reported that money in the endowment fund has shrunk dramatically; there was discussion about whether to continue transferring monies in light of this situation. The group agreed to continue to transfer some funds to the endowment for now. There is currently enough money in the operating budget to transfer the usual $50,000. RUSA reserve is now $280,000. b. Potential budget cut exercise: Because RUSA expenditures may need to be cut, the committee produced a contingency 20% budget reduction plan. The main RUSA costs are in staffing. (1) The committee will phase out the Directory of Peer Consultants and the print guide to policies and procedures. (2) The past-presidents breakfast will be discontinued. (3) Discussion of whether the Executive Committee Fall Meeting could be rolled into an ALA meeting; this plan seems unlikely. (4)There was general brainstorming about projects that could be dropped. (5) Nancy reported that Cathleen Bourdan thinks a cut is more an ALA need rather than RUSA; RUSA activities always have been dependent on revenue and reserves. (6) Can money be saved by doing all publications in-house? (7) Good news: membership dues revenue is on target; postage savings have resulted from growing e-mail use. 5. Managers in MARS Discussion Group: Naomi Lederer reported on the "Electronic Resources on a Shoe String" discussion. This group may have needed more publicity. 6. Preconference publicity: officially this is a divisional program, so it will be known as a RUSA pre- conference. Our publicity will include reference to MARS; it was suggested that RUSA be asked to include MARS name in publicity if possible. 7. Historian: Pat Riesenman reported on MARS-L archive keying project. 8. RUSA Board: Bill McHugh a. The board reminded us that passports (or birth certificate and other identification) will be needed for Toronto. b. RUSA should be referred to by its full name in all publicity. c. ALA may consider a spin-off organization with different tax status, which would enable advocacy of certain issues such as pay equity. d. Pre-conferences: there will be six or seven for RUSA in Toronto, the most at any conference. MARS will repeat its Atlanta pre-conference. e. Program time slots were discussed. f. There is a conflict with the ML King holiday; future conflicts will be eliminated after the currently scheduled conferences. g. ALA Conference attendance is down slightly (7,600 compared to 8,400 in 2001). h. Reference Album Project: initiated by Jo Bell Whitlatch when president of RUSA and intended to provide a searchable database of reference Web sites. Some work has been done, but it is not publicly accessible or complete. RUSA is looking for a home for this project. ExComm agreed to investigate further the needed level of commitment to populate the template. How comprehensive should this be? i. Bill McHugh suggested the idea of a task force to explore a fee-based 'Best Sites' list. LeiLani Freund suggested this be postponed until after Atlanta in view of the many new projects currently under way. 8. Conference Program Planning 2003: LeiLani Freund reported that Lesley Bell will join the committee. The working topic will address "Service with a Smile." Are we still providing what the patron wants in a friendly way, or have the demands of the new technology made us less than a friendly place? This discussion could include authentication and other security issues that may be driving people away. The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m. Appendix A: MARS Goals 2002-03 1. Complete the 2001-2002 MARS Section review, addressing any issues raised and implementing appropriate changes suggested by the results. 2. Explore possibilities for future RUSA/MARS pre- conferences and encourage committee-sponsored programs that promote the mission of RUSA/MARS. 3. Establish a discussion group dealing with digital reference issues. 4. Explore feasibility of a fee-based reference resources "best" list similar to the MARS Best Free Reference Web Sites. 5. Encourage a broader and more active membership in the MARS Section. a. Look at membership roster and consider the need for targeted outreach. b. Seek ways to promote more active participation by the membership in committees and discussion groups. 6. Focus on current issues in technology and the provision of electronic reference, such as: a. Educating and preparing reference service personnel for the future, especially digital and live reference. b. Discussing the role of direct-to-the-consumer electronic services such as Ask Jeeves or refdesk.com. How do we define ourselves with respect to these services? Do they supplant or do they supplement library reference services? c. In light of recent heightened security concerns, ensuring that technological safeguards do not disenfranchise our users. d. Keeping informed of legislation that affects access to electronic products, including copyright and licensing, archiving, and fair use issues. e. Defining the needs of distance learners and using technology effectively to meet those needs. 7. Continue to enhance the MARS Web site. 8. Continue to enhance the MARS Handbook, and continue to update the MARS Bylaws. Transcribed by Carole Richter MARS Secretary Carole Richter Pilkinton Electronic Resources Librarian University of Notre Dame Libraries (574) 631-8405 richter.8@nd.edu