Hurricanes Charlie, Frances, and Ivan have just left their marks on Florida. I hope you all are doing well under these tough circumstances. As a resident of the Orlando area, I can tell you that this area was hit pretty hard and yet everyone I’ve talked to marvels at how lucky we were. For the most part during Charlie, trees fell everywhere but on us. The UCF Libraries main campus building sustained some water damage from Frances. The Orlando Airport Holiday Inn is intact and our October 29th program will go on as planned. The sessions scheduled on the topic, “Visions For Change,” are meant to inspire us to be proactive and guide change in the directions that best suit our institutions. See the sidebar for a link to the announcement and registration information.

Is it pure coincidence that the theme of the 2005 ACRL Conference in Minneapolis is “Navigating the Rivers of Change?” My guess is that it’s not just a catchy title. It’s a popular issue because constant change is something we really have to deal with on a daily basis. More information is available at www.acrl.org/minneapolis.

At the last FACRL Board meeting in March 2004, the upcoming resignations of longtime members prompted a discussion of pros and cons of term limits for FACRL Board members. Quoting from the minutes, “It was generally agreed that having term limits would provide an ongoing stream of new ideas, however, terms should be staggered so there is a mix of ongoing and new members on the Board. The Board members present at this meeting agreed that a three-year term with the option of one three-year renewal seems reasonable. If someone is elected as vice president during their fourth or fifth year, they would have an extension of service until their presidential cycle was completed.” At the October 29th meeting we will vote on a proposed bylaws amendment.

Speaking of the Board, please join me in welcoming two new members. Ms. Nora Quinlan is Head of Reference at the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. We want to express our sincere gratitude to Jenny Saxton for her willingness to take on the additional responsibilities of FACRL Newsletter Editor. Jenny is a Reference Librarian at Miami-Dade College Kendall Campus.

I hope to meet you in Orlando.

Last updated September 17, 2004