TO:

TO: Board of Directors

FROM: Marcelle Saint Arnaud and Nancy Stewart

Co-Chairs, Task Force on International Activities

DATE: December 18, 2002

RE: Task Force on International Activities Report

Recommendation: (1) That the Board of Directors approve that the International Information Exchange Caucus (KIIE) become the clearinghouse for information on international activities and that the International Relations Committee (IRC) be sunset. (2) Additionally there are five tasks that we recommend be addressed by ad hoc task forces on current international issues. They are described further down.

(1) To promote more centralized information sharing of all international activities, we specifically recommend:

• That the International Relations Committee (IRC) be de-activated and replaced with ad hoc task forces as needed, on acceptance of the following recommendations:

• That the International Information Exchange Caucus (KIIE) become the clearinghouse for SLA members’ international activities

• That more visibility be given to international activities by having a link from the SLA home page to KIIE

• That more reporting be done by units to KIIE: development of an interactive form for KIIE home page, requesting information through annual reports and through requests after the annual conference, including further reminders

• That KIIE give a more prominent place to the KIIE electronic discussion list and do more publicity to make it known as the platform for communication on international issues and activities

• That KIIE provide a chart, accessible through SLA and KIIE home pages showing all units leading international activities

• That KIIE annual conference breakfast meeting bring together all Chapter and Division IRC chairs and interested participants

• That KIIE exchange information with Social Science Division regarding the international reception at Conference

• That SLA continue support for the Social Science Division reception at conference

• That SLA continue support and encouragement of the DC Chapter’s international partnership program (known as “twinning”), of PAM division’s initiatives and of any other initiative promoting international exchanges

• That SLA establish a staff contact at headquarters to facilitate articles on international issues in Information Outlook; to coordinate the list of all international activities planned at conference (for handout at Social Science Division international reception); to prepare a briefing for President to use in annual conference report

(2) That SLA Board set up ad hoc Task Forces to address the following current international issues:

• To develop a form to be used for reporting international activity to KIIE

• To survey units to develop lists of needs of non-US members

• To write a business plan describing needs and recommend solutions, as well as for communicating within SLA and to other organizations with whom we could liaise, taking into account the developed list of needs of non-US members

• To look further into membership fees for international members and recommend that practical and feasible solutions be adopted

• To look into funding sources for international members and work with SLA Fund Development staff in doing so

Background Information: The Board asked The IRC to review its charge in 2001, and to define or re-define itself or disband. The IRC committee members felt more discussion was needed and recommended that an answer be deferred. At the June 2002 conference, the IRC annual report (Document A03-01 attached) was submitted to the Board, along with a memo with four issues to be reviewed: international information gathering; sharing information widely; working to establish a central point of communication and information and cultivating sponsors for international members. The President, in response, appointed this Task Force on International Activities to determine the best way to coordinate our international information and activity based on Document A03-01. The co-chairs solicited input from all members of the task force. See summaries of their contribution in Annex 1. During the course of discussion, reference to several papers on SLA international activities since 1992, came up. See summaries of these in Annex 2. The IRC, in its 2001 annual report, recommended as well that either the President or the Executive Director approve all international activities. The Board approved that. Consequently, in the fall of 2001, the DC Chapter International Projects Committee (one of the most active in international affairs) needed an association-wide platform for publicizing its resources on international activity. The International Information Exchange Caucus (KIIE) website seemed the most logical repository. In September 2001, SLA Executive Director approved the DC Chapter and KIIE request that KIIE website become the clearinghouse of international activity. After reviewing all the rich discussion, comments, and past reports, it is felt that KIIE is currently the best source of international information and should be the central point for the information. But, more reporting of information is needed as well as more visibility through the SLA website. To ensure this process we are recommending an ad hoc Task Force be appointed to develop an interactive form (that units could use, in sending information more promptly to the KIIE website). We also recommend additional task forces to survey units on current needs of their international members as well as prepare a business plan to address our relationships with international members and with outside professional associations. We believe the issues of international members status and membership fees, as well as possible funding sources are topics of such importance, that they require more Board attention and input as well, and should be addressed through task forces for further study. De-activating the International Relations Committee and replacing it with ad hoc groups as needed will ensure that specific international issues that were discussed in the past ten years will be better addressed and assignments will be completed within the mandate of the President.

Return-on-Investment (ROI): The recommendations of this report meet the following priorities of the Mission and Vision of the Association: We recommend alternative methods to coordinate our international information and activity. De-activating the IRC is an opportunity to streamline our structure and offer focussed alternatives to conclude on international issues that have been discussed over and over for the last ten years. Setting up specialized task forces to address current pressing international issues such as appropriate membership services to international members and categories of membership, will better serve the membership based on current needs. Making KIIE known as the central focus of international activity and information will enable increased networking opportunities at international level for all membership and offer a platform to share members’ international activities and information.

Financial Impact Statement: There is no financial impact from these recommendations. If a staff contact is appointed, there will be some time involved: assisting the ad hoc task forces, assisting KIIE staff in linking their webpage to SLA’s homepage, assisting in facilitating reporting in publications, and for President’s reports and handouts for conference.

Prepared by: Marcelle Saint-Arnaud and Nancy Stewart, Co-Chairs

Produced by: Marcelle Saint-Arnaud and Nancy Stewart, Co-Chairs

Reviewed by: All Committee Members:

Karen Croneis; Jesus Lau (Board liaison); Dee Magnoni (Board liaison); Doug Newcomb (HQ staff liaison); Wilda Newman; Ann Sweeney

Att.