ALCTS Electronic Discussion Forum Premieres

Since the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia (2008), the Board of
Directors of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services
(ALCTS) has used the “7 Measures of Success,” an evaluative tool from the
American Society of Association Executives, to review the association’s
strengths and weaknesses.  The process revealed that ALCTS members have a
very favorable impression of the association’s services.  However, in order
to become more successful, the assessment results underscored the need for
improvement in three areas: communication, collecting and using data, and
organizational adaptability.

Effective communication is the cornerstone of a remarkable association and
improving communication is a priority.  A proven means to accomplish this is
to host electronic discussions on topics of immediate interest.  Other
associations have been hosting such discussions successfully for several
years.  Topics are discussed while interest is “hot” and individuals choose
to participate in the discussions that interest them.

Discussion topics on the ALCTS Electronic Discussion Forum will be pertinent
to the ALCTS areas of interest but may cover a wide range of issues.  Topics
will be announced in advance and the discussion will last for a short period
of time, generally 2 or 3 days.  At the conclusion of the discussion, a
summary will be provided by the facilitator.

Since creating an organization with improved transparency and better
communication is the number one priority of the ALCTS leaders and
membership, the first electronic discussion will focus on that very topic:
communication.  To participate in the discussion, please register in
advance.  Registration for the inaugural event begins on May 8th and
discussion begins on Wednesday, May 14 at 10am Eastern time and runs through
Friday, May 16 at 6pm.  Your hosts for this discussion are Pamela Bluh
(ALCTS President) and Dina Giambi (ALCTS President-Elect).

To register go to: http://lists.ala.org/sympa, click on ALCTS (spelled out)
under the ALA Division heading, then choose alcts-eforum@ala.org.  A login
and password are required to register. Membership in ALA or ALCTS is not
required to participate.
Instructions for obtaining a login and password may be found on the list
homepage.

Additional topics and dates for future discussion will be announced soon.
Suggestions for other topics are welcome.

************************

Pamela Bluh

President, Association for Library Collections & Technical Services
(ALCTS) a division of the American Library Association

and

Associate Director for Technical
Services & Administration
Thurgood Marshall Law Library
University of Maryland
School of Law
501 West Fayette Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-1768

410-706-2736
410-706-2372 FAX
pbluh@umaryland.edu