MINUTES
AASL BUSINESS MEETING
March 13, 2000

[These minutes were officially adopted at the April 13, 2002, meeting in New Orleans.]

1. Approval of Minutes from AASL Business Meeting, 1999

The minutes of the last business meeting were approved. They are posted on the AASL website.

The current Treasurer's Report was approved.

The Nominating Committee's Report was approved. Judy Connorton was nominated and has been elected to the position of Vice President.

A. AASL Membership Brochure: Anita Carrico has drafted a brochure to attract new members and promote the organization. Jeanne Brown suggested that it should describe ongoing activities and projects, as well as the annual conference. The Secretary/Treasurer should send out the brochure and a letter of invitation in a general mailing to all architecture schools in North America.

B. ARLIS Report: Ted Goodman reported on the ARLIS Vancouver conference, describing meeting highlights, activities and tours. Jeanne Brown's article in Art Documentation on analysis of WWW sites and search engines was noted. Jeanne is also serving on a newly formed Statistics Task Force, which will study this issue in an effort to determine what kinds of statistics should be collected and shared by libraries for accreditation and "benchmarking."

C. Conference Registration Fees: Reduced Rates for Students/Late Fees: A proposal to initiate a reduced conference registration fee of $25 for students was approved. It was suggested that a mailing should go out to library schools near the sites of the annual conferences, to attract student attendance. In addition, a late fee of $10 was approved, for conference registration payments received after the deadline indicated on the registration form.

D. Newsletter: Discussion centered on the need to retain a printed newsletter. Ted Goodman, the current editor, noted that he has problems soliciting material. The AASL website was recommended as the logical place to post news, activities, minutes, the Treasurer's Report, etc. There was general agreement that the newsletter could be dropped, if the website is improved, and kept up-to-date. The office of Newsletter Editor could also be eliminated.

A general discussion on the AASL website followed, emphasizing the need for a new design (perhaps as a student project). If the site becomes our major means of communication (in addition to AASL-L), we must have a new webmaster. Michael Leininger has graciously performed this job, but would like to give it up.

A. Possible Future Projects

AASL Core List of Periodicals: Discussion focused on how to revise the core list. Elizabeth Byrne recommended that selection criteria be established, so that the list does not merely include the most "popular" periodicals. It should also be divided into subject categories.

Reference Core List: Another possible project is a core list of recommended reference sources in architecture. The subject guides on the University of Florida and Berkeley websites could serve as models. Kathryn Wayne's "Architecture Sourcebook" is also an important resource.

Travel Award: Creation of a travel award for first-time conference attendees was suggested as a way of attracting new members, and providing a fund-raising opportunity for the organization.

Membership Development: Formation of a membership committee to explore ways to increase our numbers was suggested. Anita Carrico and Jeanne Brown volunteered to serve.

A. ACSA/AASL Relationship: Our relationship with ACSA is a major concern. Joon Mornes, Kathy Demsky and Kevin McMahon shared their difficulties in negotiating with ACSA on conference arrangements. There have been many problems and inconsistencies, due to poor communication and personnel changes within ACSA. This prompted a discussion on the possibility of severing our ties with ACSA. It was agreed that a letter should be written to ACSA, explaining past difficulties, and requesting a clarification of our current relationship. For now it was agreed that we should try to resolve these difficulties.

B. 2001 Conference in Baltimore: Judy Connorton announced that our next conference will be held in Baltimore, MD, March 17-20, 2001. A side trip to Washington, D.C. is being considered.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Brackney (reporting for Margaret Culbertson, Secretary/Treasurer)