Present: Michelle Apps, Sheri Brown, Nancy Cook, Nancy Cunningham, Mary Faulkner, Elizabeth Killingsworth, Carol Moon, Beatrice Nichols, Betsy Simpson and Linda Sobey.

Absent: Jonathan Miller and Nora Quinlan.

Introductions: Board Chair Betsy Simpson called the meeting to order at 4:03pm. She opened the meeting with introductions.

Minutes: Minutes: In lieu of reading minutes, Secretary Beatrice Nichols presented two sets of minutes that had been submitted to the Board via email prior to the meeting. A draft of the minutes from the April 10, 2007 meeting was sent to the board on October 9, 2007. A draft of business conducted online since the April meeting were submitted via email on October 15. Mary Faulkner moved that the minutes be approved subject to the corrections that had been submitted to the Board online. Elizabeth Killingsworth seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously accepted.

ACTION ITEM: ACTION ITEM: Beatrice will send a copy of the corrected minutes to Nancy Cook for inclusion in the online archive.

Treasurer's Report: Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Mary Faulkner detailed FACRL’s financial standing through October 25, 2007. The account balance as of October 25 is $5873.16.

ACTION ITEM: Mary will submit a final report online after all costs for the fall program are finalized.

Newsletter: There was a discussion of the newsgathering process and deadlines and how the number of contributing institutions might be increased. Email distribution via the FLA, FACRL, CCLA, and FCLA lists, potential sources and crediting contributors were discussed. The board asked to be copied when Nancy contacts the newsletter reporters.

Web site: The Board discussed recent changes made by Web Master Nancy Cook and possibilities for photo hosting.

Legislative Update: Beatrice reported on legislative issues since the last meeting and distributed a written summary that had been culled from ALA, ACRL and other news sources. There was a brief discussion as to the need to more broadly distribute the legislative alerts that the Board receives. Several Board members said that they pass along to relevant parties as needed. Board consensus was that no change in handling the legislative updates is needed at this time.

2007 FACRL Fall Program: Mary gave an update on the status of preparations for the program. Betsy moved that, as in previous years that the Board thank the speakers with a gift. There was a brief discussion of the restrictions on receiving gifts by state employees. Beatrice moved that the speakers be given gift cards in the amount in accordance with the state guidelines. Elizabeth seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously.

The Board also wishes to thank Mary Faulkner and the Edison College library personnel who gave their time and energy so generously; their hard work behind the scenes help make the Fall Program a success.

2008 FACRL Fall Program:

Location: The Board consensus was that the next meeting should be held at a north-central or northeast location.

Date: Several possible dates were identified for the program: Friday November 7, 2008 was tentatively selected.

Theme: The Board discussed themes drawn from the ACRL “Top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries and librarians” and examined a list of topics from previous fall programs and FLA meetings. Proving or demonstrating your value in the institution and centrality and sustainability of services were two themes mentioned.

ACTION ITEM: Nancy Cunningham and Sheri Brown each agreed to make inquiries to institutions in that area that might host the next fall program.

Nominating Committee: Betsy noted that Nora, as Past President, will head the Nominating Committee in accordance with the bylaws and solicited two volunteers from the Board to round out the committee. Beatrice and Michelle, who are both aging off the board in 2008, volunteered to join Nora on the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will seek a candidate for the Vice President/President Elect position, but there was discussion regarding the need to fill additional officer positions. The Board talked about the possibility of extending the terms for the Secretary and Treasurer positions beyond a single year, which would require a by-law amendment. Although Beatrice and Mary will complete three year terms in spring 2008, at that point they will have each served two year terms as officers. Mary expressed an interest in serving a third year as Treasurer.

ACTION ITEM: Michelle and Beatrice will contact Nora to confer on candidates to fill the openings on the Board.

ACRL Chapters Council: It was noted that Nora had previously represented the Board at ACRL Chapters Council at the ALA midwinter and annual meetings. Betsy noted that she would not be attending the ALA midwinter meeting and solicited the Board as to who might attend to represent FACRL. Nancy Cunningham offered to attend on behalf of FACRL.

By-Laws: There was a brief discussion of the need for periodic review of the FACRL by-laws. Betsy asked members to read the bylaws and review their own officer position descriptions, where applicable, in preparation for a meeting via conference call.

ACTION ITEM: Betsy will arrange a conference call to discuss the by-laws and officer position descriptions.

501c3 status: Betsy shared the response received from FLA with regard to the group’s 501c3 status. There was a discussion of the process and benefits to be derived from achieving 501c3 status. The Board decided not to pursue 501 c3 status under the FLA umbrella. The issue was raised that FACRL might be obligated to submit a tax return as an incorporated entity without 501c3 status.

ACTION ITEM: Betsy will investigate this issue.

FLA update: Elizabeth gave an update on the liaison relationship with the FLA conference planning committee. Proposals for the 2008 FLA conference were reviewed in August. A large number of academically oriented programs were accepted for 2008 and the FLA President’s program is about the future of academic libraries. The consensus among Board members was that we would like to co-sponsor as many of the academic programs as possible. There was discussion of the types of assistance we could offer in promoting these programs. Betsy shared information from the FLA Board about FLA membership and upcoming meetings and activities.

There was a discussion of creating a grant or scholarship for someone to attend the 2008 FLA conference. Potential criteria to be considered might be type of institution, region of state or new librarian status. Elizabeth moved that a task force be formed to explore the possibilities for developing a scholarship program for the FLA conference. Mary seconded the motion; it was approved unanimously.