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Jan.-Mar. 2002                                          Volume 23   Number 1

 


Letter from the Chair

Bob Pringle

Kathy Murray kindly reminded me that one of the "perks" of chairship is meeting her deadlines for our newsletter. So here's my first attempt!

Many of us enjoyed networking, learning, and playing together in Oregon last fall, in spite of the tragedy which marred the country Sep. 11. As always, the energizing we get from that session with our colleagues has translated into work that we hope will benefit the chapter.

Past, present, and future conference chairs met while in Salishan to share information about putting on an annual meeting. We believe the session was beneficial, and Kathy has promised more information in the Planning Manual for our web site. As our Canadian colleagues develop this fall's program, check out that web site from time to time. You'll have seen Kathy Murray's note about the joint meeting we're planning for January 2004, with the Northern California chapter. It should be a great opportunity to see how other folks put on a meeting!

The Executive Board met in March in Oregon City to review the Chapter MAP. We hope you'll review the draft, make suggestions for improvements, and be prepared to adopt the final plan this fall. The process was more fun than I expected - it was great to see what we had accomplished since the last review, and identify the areas we want to focus on. The session reinforced for me the value of conversation on a topic, as people bounce ideas off one another, and one idea leads to others. Both fun and profitable! One of the things we think will be useful is to make progress notes on the MAP as we go. Send me any ideas you have on the best way to do that, so we can all see how're doing over the next few years.

I also must admit I already feel behind in my responsibilities as Chair. I should have sent information before this to those on our committees, looking for both progress and plans. I'll try to catch up with that real soon. Many of our committee chairs have graciously agreed to continue (they must be enjoying what they do). We do get to welcome a new Chair of Government Relations, Bob Richart. Marcia Batchelor recruited him after her years of service in that role. Perhaps the fact that he works with her at Madigan helped! I'm looking forward to seeing the ALA advisories, and other items Bob will select for us to pay attention to (can you say UCITA?).

Regarding committees, the Board wants, in the future, to invite any chairs who live nearby to come to our meetings if they can. While most of our "face to face" time will continue to occur at the Annual Meeting, it would be swell for committee chairs to join the Board's discussions, for as long as they wish. We could even provide lunch!

In any member-driven organization like ours, the quality of the service depends on the quality of the work the members are willing to commit to the group. I am impressed again at the expertise, enthusiasm, and wisdom of the members I work with. We all have our own favorite interests - make sure yours get covered. Use the web site and Northwest Notes to see what's happening in the Chapter, and communicate what you want to those of us you've entrusted with the leadership roles. Remember, next year it will be your turn!

I hope to be hearing from you all soon. Seriously yours in Spokane, Bob Pringle

From the Editor
Two new columns make their debut in this issue; Tech Tips and Publications and Presentations. Tech Tips will be a forum to share everything from simple "everyone uses this" (but they don't) to more complex tricks of the trade. Publications and Presentations is a way to share with others your successes - whether getting an article, book or book chapter published, or talks given to colleagues or to others. Don’t forget to look for a column that began in the last issue -- Spotlight on Colleagues, where people you know (and maybe some you don’t) answer some interesting questions.
 
The Membership Committee does double duty for PNC - first they help recruit new members and query lapsed members about joining our wonderful group. Second, they are my field reporters. I'm counting on them to help me find out what accomplishments we need to highlight in Northwest Notes. Please send me your ideas for Tech Tips or the title of your latest presentation. But if you'd rather communicate with someone in your state or province, the list of reporters follows.