Bulletin Editors HandbookTABLE OF CONTENTS
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FOREWORD
I. LEGAL AND TAX CONSIDERATIONSEach state and Canadian province has its own tax law and regulations. As a general rule, an organization that is exempt from U.S. federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) is also exempt from state income taxes. In addition, in some states, local sales and use tax exemptions are available to Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Since SLA is not incorporated in Canada, it cannot apply for tax exemption from Canadian provinces. Because SLA, rather than individual chapters and divisions, is responsible for compliance with state tax laws, responsibility for dealing with state tax authorities is that of the Executive Director. It is not desirable that individual members or chapter or division officers deal directly with state tax authorities. Any questions concerning state taxation of SLA units should be directed to the Finance Director. Political and Legislative Action A Section 501(c)(3) organization may not participate in any campaign for any public office and, as noted in the statute, "no substantial part of the activities" of the organization may consist of "carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation." Therefore, SLA may lobby or encourage its members to lobby in a limited fashion. However, some activities would usually not be considered an attempt to influence legislation, such as making available the results of nonpartisan analysis or research, or communications between SLA and its members regarding legislation of interest to the member. Thus, it is allowable to state the facts but generally not to take a position on legislation. The policy of SLA is that no more than 5 percent of its activities may be directed toward influencing legislation. Because SLA is so large and so geographically diverse, the Board has decided that only the Executive Director and the President are authorized to speak on behalf of the Association. Other members who wish to speak for the Association must first obtain the approval of the Executive Director and/or the President. As bulletin editors, you must be sure that nothing goes into your bulletins that could be construed as trying to influence legislation without first gaining the above-mentioned approvals. Association Liability and Contracts Because SLA is a single corporate entity, obligations of the chapters and divisions are SLA obligations. A normal business contract made by a chapter or division chair will also be binding on SLA. The Board has adopted the policy that "An agreement, contract, or obligation entered into by an Association unit requires advance approval by the Association Board of Directors if liability exceeds the unit's available or budgeted funds." In addition, Association unit contracts in excess of $5,000 must be reviewed and signed by the Executive Director. Any questions regarding contracts and their execution should be referred to the Executive Director. You should keep these policies in mind if you are contemplating any contract involving considerable sums of money. Bartering For the purposes of the US Internal Revenue Code, a barter transaction is in substance the same as a sales transaction. Every barter exchange transaction by any chapter or division should be reported, in writing, to the Deputy Executive Director. Exchange of services, such as printing, for advertising space or acknowledgment in the bulletin, should be offered publicly. Either an announcement in the bulletin about such opportunities or a mailing to suppliers will do. If one of these is not done, a supplier might claim that the bulletin was causing restraint of trade. Copyright Copyright protects the particular way an author has expressed himself/herself, and one of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies. This right is subject to certain limitations, one of the most important of which is the doctrine of "fair use." However, the distinction between "fair use" and infringement may be unclear. Section 107 of the Copyright Law contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair. As bulletin editors, you must be sure that you have obtained permission in writing for reproducing copyrighted material appearing in your bulletins. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted matter does not substitute for obtaining permission in writing. Remember that photographs, illustrations, and cartoons are copyrighted, as well as written material. Always obtain permission when in doubt. One exception is government publications, which are in the public domain, and do not require permission to copy.
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II. BULLETIN CONTENTSCover: Each issue should have a cover. Title: The title of the bulletin should appear on the cover in the same place in each issue. The Special Libraries Association logo must have a separate location from any other logos in all publications in which it appears. It is for use in all chapter, division, and caucus publications. The logo should appear on the cover or editorial pages where credits are listed. Please refer to the SLA logo style guide for visual examples. The size and style of type should make the title distinguishable from other information that is printed on the front cover. Volume number, issue number, and issue date: These should appear on each issue in the same place. Page numbers: Numbers should run from page 1 through the end of each issue or volume. Identification Statement: The statement should appear on one of the first five pages, and should include the title, issue date (unless it is printed on the front cover or on the cover page), issue number, frequency of publication (number of issues per year), interval of publication (i.e. quarterly, bi-annually, annually), name and address of the mailing permit holder, and the ISSN or USPS number and subscription price (if applicable). Masthead: This may include the bulletin editor, feature editors, business manager, chapter or division officers and committee chairs, and deadlines for submitting material. Disclaimer: Each issue must contain the following statement. "Special Libraries Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors to the Association's publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official position of Special Libraries Association. Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by Special Libraries Association." Optional Contents
Table of Contents Not all Association news should be published. For example, you should keep confidential such news as nominees for SLA awards (Hall of Fame, the Professional Award, etc.), interviewees for SLA scholarships, and organizations using the Chapter Consultation Service. Legal considerations may be involved. If you are not sure if you should publish an item of Association news, please call the Deputy Executive Director. Information/columns that may appear:
SLA Association News SLA press releases, camera-ready ads, and other announcements are sent to all bulletin editors each month from the Managing Editor. These items will inform you of upcoming events, new publications, award programs, etc. These are usually of interest to members but often need to be rewritten to fit your bulletin. Official SLA policy statements should be printed word for word. It is important that everyone reads exactly the same information. How to Obtain News Contact library schools and related professional associations in your area and ask to be kept informed of seminars and events your readers might find interesting. Make staff assignments. One reporter could gather member news; another could put together coming events; some reporters could be responsible for certain geographical areas. Establish special feature columns and invite members to assume responsibility for them. Advertising
Policy--Whether or not to accept advertising is up to each chapter and division. Bulletin advertising should not compete with Association publications; it is best, therefore, to concentrate on local or special interest vendors, or the larger national suppliers. Examples of possible advertisers are the following: back issue periodical dealers, magazine agencies, subscription services, consulting firms, translating, interpreting, or typesetting companies; document retrieval services, publishers, filing and storage systems, educational institutions, temporary services, library book binderies, information systems, book stores, and microfilm vendors. You should have an index of advertisers in the bulletin with a reminder to your readers to use the advertisers' services and mention the bulletin when doing so. It can be effective to annex this list to your table of contents. Also, if you exchange advertising or notices in your bulletin for services, please read the "Bartering" section of the "Legal and Tax Considerations" part of these guidelines. Begin the process by analyzing what, if any, advertising the chapter/division has placed in the past. Contact the appropriate vendors to find out if they are still interested in advertising in the publication. Keep advertising records for each issue of your publication...there's nothing worse than omitting an advertiser from the proper issue. Offer deals to companies that tend to spend a lot of money with the chapter/division--this small concession will "keep them coming back." Offer incentives to those that have the potential to do more. Examples of this could be 1) providing a monetary discount for multiple issue advertising, and 2) providing special placement in the publication.
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III. EDITING, PRODUCTION AND DESIGNWhen writing and editing for your newsletter, use concrete words to form images and examples, and choose active, rather than passive, verbs. Avoid clutter. Juggle phrases and sentences until they fit precisely together. By creating strong, tight prose, you will develop an informative style that will increase your readers' interest. Be consistent throughout your publication. When editing your newsletter, choose one style guide to follow, such as the Chicago Manual of Style or the Associated Press Stylebook. By creating a consistent style in your treatment of numbers, hyphens, spelling, etc., you will produce a more professional newsletter. Proofread Your Newsletter Proofread your newsletter thoroughly before it goes to the printer. Read your final typed or typeset version against the original manuscript. Use standard proofreading marks which your typesetter will understand in order to avoid confusion and ensure that your corrections will be made properly. When you proofread, make sure you review everything: text, headlines, mastheads, etc. Layout To design your newsletter, arrange copy and art in columns on an established grid to make attractive, practical pages. From an aesthetic standpoint, good design yields pleasing pages which invite your reader's attention. From a practical standpoint, good design yields an efficient format: pages produced at a minimum cost measured in both time and money. If you choose, use photographs or graphic art when applicable to create a more interesting layout. Copyfitting When designing an issue of your newsletter, you will need to use copyfitting in order to ensure that your final articles will fit in your designated layout. Copyfitting is based upon character count. Figure each letter, numeral, space, and punctuation mark as one character. To fit an article, you need to know: 1) how many characters it has, and 2) how many characters per line you get in your format with your type size. When reducing copy, remember that it reduces in both directions while remaining in the same proportions. Once you have figured a character count per line and per column inch for your format, you will find copyfitting happens as much by instinct as calculation. You will develop a sense of where an article will go in each issue and how much space it will fill. Always remember to calculate space for headlines. Also remember that copyfitting usually requires editing as well as counting. You may have to edit or expand your article to fit it in your space. An effective bulletin does not have to be expensive, but it does have to be readable. To reduce the type so much that it is difficult to read or to make the lines so long that they are an effort to scan are not good measures to save money. Typewritten copy can be acceptable if it is spaced evenly, broken up with heads and subheads, and clearly varied to designate different levels of importance. There are a number of informative books on publishing and production to help you increase your knowledge of the publishing process. A good book to start with is Editing Your Newsletter, by Mark Beach (Coast to Coast Books, 2934 N.E. 16th Avenue, Portland, OR 97212). Editing Your Newsletter was used as a reference source for the above section. Typesetting and Printing You need contracts for typesetting and printing, if they are outsourced jobs. You may be able to negotiate a better price for a full-year contract than for a per issue contract. Get bids from several vendors if you can. Be sure to find out the charges for changes you make during the process (author's alterations); they can be very expensive. Ask to see the paper the printer suggests using and be sure it is opaque enough for your purposes. Always discuss with the typesetter and printer how they want you to work with them to produce your product efficiently and economically. SLA's Serial Publications staff is always available to discuss any bulletin issues. Scheduling Written schedules for producing the bulletin, the dates of issue, and deadlines for copy are important. Working with advertisers, printers, and staff is much easier when everyone has the same schedule. To set a realistic schedule, work backwards from the time of mailing of the issue, through printing and receiving or preparing copy.
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IV. MAILINGCopies of your bulletin should be sent to the following: all members of your chapter or division; each member of the SLA Board of Directors; and the SLA Information Resource Center. If you wish, you may send copies to the presidents of other chapters and/or the chairs of other divisions. SLA can provide mailing labels to do this. Ordering Labels Bulletin editors are mailed a form asking about their mailing label needs for the next calendar year. It is important to order labels as you need them and not all at one time. The membership department receives more than 1,000 chapter, division, and address changes each month. With so many address and affiliation changes being made, ordering labels as you need them ensures that you receive the most accurate labels possible. If you need labels for special mailings, please fill out the enclosed form (which appears as Appendix A) and send it to SLA, Attn: Leadership Development, at least three weeks before your mailing date. Specify whether you need 1-up (1 address wide) or 4-up pressure sensitive (gummed). Be sure to indicate where the labels should be sent. How to Mail US Chapter and Division Bulletins You need contracts for mailing preparation, if you outsource this job. Again, you may be able to negotiate a better price for a full-year contract than for a per issue contract. Get bids from several vendors if you can. If you mail at least 200 pieces, you may want to use nonprofit third class mail, which costs less than first class mail, but has more restrictive mailing requirements. To mail by Standard (A) postage rates (formerly third class) nonprofit bulk mail, which must be sorted in zip code order, an application form must be filed at your post office, including a copy of the Association federal/income tax exempt form (available from Association headquarters); and you must supply a photocopy of the SLA Bylaws (which are listed in the Who's Who) and pay the annual fee and permit-to-mail fee. Your local post office can give you information and forms; Leadership Development can send you the tax exempt form; and the Information Services Department is always willing to help with any question or problem. Keep in mind that Standard (A) postage rates delivery is slow--five days to several weeks--and that mail to Canada and other countries outside the United States must be sent via first class mail and in an envelope. In Fall 1995, new US Postal Service requirements for nonprofit third class periodical publications went into effect [now Standard (A) postage rates]. At that time, SLA headquarters staff reviewed the requirements for all SLA chapter and division bulletins. Everything was found to be in order. Copies of the Evaluation and Compliance Kit for nonprofit Standard (A) postage rates mailing may be requested from Leadership Development. Periodical (previously second class) mailing is more restrictive than Standard (A) mailing, as it has more specific requirements dealing with subscribership, allocation of dues to the publication, and audit documents. The required paperwork will make it undesirable for most bulletin editors, but you may inquire with the Public Communications and Publications Senior Director about this option.
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