Minutes April 24th, 2008

Present: Diane Batemarco, Aurora Cruz, Ann-Marie Cutul, Ed Falcone, Maxine Grandison, Jodie Hopkins, Harriet Huang, James Leftwich, Opal B. Lindsay, John Monahan, Cathy Paulsen, Jennifer L. Ransom, Sara Rodgers, Sharon Rothman, and Judith Rovenger

Excused: Tim Baird, Cheryl Berent, Patrick Callahan, Rebecca Eller, Dulce Juarbe, Srivalli Rao, Carolyn Reznick, and Karen Zielinski

The meeting came to order at 10:05 A.M. Motion (Cruz/Falcone) to accept the Minutes from March 19, 2008, passed.

President’s Report:
·    Lindsay welcomed Sharon Rothman who has accepted the nomination for Vice-President/President-Elect for 2008-2009. She also noted that Ellen Tannenbaum has resigned from her position as Co-Chair of the Directory Committee.  Lindsay expressed thanks for all involved in producing the new WLA Directory.

Treasurer’s Report:
·    As of March 31, 2008, the Checking Account had a closing balance of $16,247.00 and the Savings Account $19,831.24. Rodgers questioned when the balance was due at Doubletree and mentioned that she will drop off a check at the hotel to cover the overnight expenses for the keynote speaker.

Membership Report:
·    Rao was excused but in an e-mail had agreed to distribute the directory to WLA members May 1st. She will e-mail the url for the pdf version of the Directory.

Web Administration Committee:
·    Cutul has contacted webmaster Tim Baird, and he has agreed to set up the Conference follow-up survey online. Ransom and Leftwich volunteered to write it up.

Reference Section:
·    Paulsen reported that all is in order for the conference. She will find out the equipment needs of the presenters.

Public Relations Committee:
·    Eller has prepared a conference program which has been distributed via e-mail. She has also sent out several press releases. The Board commented on her great work.

Legislation Committee:
·    Juarbe was excused. Lindsay will check with her which legislators plan to attend the Conference.

Professional Development Committee:
·    Cutul reported on behalf of Zielinski, who was excused, that the winner of the WLA Scholarship award is Zahra M. Baird. Pat Miller, last year’s winner, will do a poster session about the course she took with her award money.

Directory Committee:
·    The WLA directory is ready to go. Co-Chair Huang asked the Board if the Directory should be labeled 2008-2009 or 2008-2010. The Board voted for 2008-2010. Tim Baird has created a separate url for the pdf file, and Rao has agreed to e-mail the url to WLA members May 1st.

The School/Public Library Cooperation Award:
Rovenger reported this year’s winners as follows:
·    For Pre-School Children: Hendrick Hudson Free Library and the Hendrick Hudson School District – Montrose for their “Step Up For Literacy” project.
·    For Children: Briarcliff Manor Public Library and Todd School-Briarcliff Manor for their “B’cliff Kids Video Booktalks.”
·    For Teens: The Field Library, Peekskill High School and Peekskill Middle School – Peekskill for their “Poetry Slam” series.
·    For Teens: Warner Library – Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow High and Sleepy Hollow Middle School for the creation of a new Teen Area named CONNECTIONS.

Book Tour:
·    Rodgers and Batemarco have arranged an all day program which will feature a walking tour of bookstores in lower Manhattan and a visit to the Morgan Library. Rodgers distributed two fliers. The Board agreed to change the tour date from June 7 to June 14.

Annual Conference:
Conference Packets:
·    Cutul read Zielinski’s list of items to be included in the packets. Ransom and Leftwich will prepare the Conference evaluation form. Leftwich will work with Eller to prepare a revised Conference program which will include biographies of the presenters. Rodgers will prepare the annual Treasurer’s report. Grandison, Lindsay, Cutul, Batemarco and Leftwich will assist Zielinski in assembling the packets. 

Registration:
·    Cutul reported on behalf of registrar Zielinski who was excused. As of April 26, there are 30 registrants. 
·    Zielinski, Cutul, Paulsen and Rodgers will take turns at the registration desk. There will be separate tables for membership (Rao and Batemarco) and exhibits (Hopkins).

Vendors:
·    Hopkins reported that as of April 22 there were 16 vendors confirmed and 4 strong possibilities. One vendor has agreed to a $200 donation toward the breakfast.

Lunch Tickets:
·    Deadline for registration is April 28.  The Board decided to add 5-6 extra lunches to the total number to be given to Doubletree May 2.
 
Publicity:
·    The Board decided to ask Rao to send out an e-mail with the corrected Conference schedule and that it is still time to register.

Raffle prizes:
·    Cutul has received five raffle prizes so far, and Hopkins reported that there are several vendor prizes.

Props and A/V equipment:
·    Leftwich needs all A/V requests promptly. Since Doubletree charges for each piece of equipment separately Lindsay, Cruz, and Monahan volunteered to bring extra laptops, LCD monitors, a multimedia projector with sound system, and a portable microphone. 
·    Lindsay will enlarge the conference program to have by the registration desk.
·    There will be two easels with room designations for the workshops.
·    Cruz will make signs, and Hopkins will make a breakfast acknowledgment sign.
·    Lindsay will bring the WLA banner.

Troubleshooting:
·    Cruz is preparing a list of useful numbers for troubleshooting. She collected the cell phone numbers of the Board members present.
·    Monahan volunteered to be a backup A/V person.

The meeting was adjourned (Batemarco/Cruz) at 11:55 A.M.

                        Respectfully submitted by Ann-Marie Cutul

Upcoming WLA meetings:
Date: Annual Conference May 9, 2008
Place: Doubletree Hotel, Tarrytown
Time: 8:00 A.M. – 4:15 P.M.

Date: Luncheon meeting June 5, 2008
Place and Time: TBA