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2008 Annual Report
At the beginning of my presidential year, there were several activities that I knew we would be involved with most of the year. Fortunately, with the help of the CLA Office, the members, and the staff in Richmond, I believe it was a successful year.
Perhaps the biggest project this year was the Bylaws changes, which were approved overwhelmingly by the membership in the recent election. Approval of these changes indicates your desire for a new way of reaching members, providing value, and making CLA a flexible organization. However, our work is not yet done! During this upcoming year, the Assembly, the Executive Committee, all the Committees and Round Tables, and the members themselves will experience a year of transition work. Some changes will be implemented fairly quickly so that we can begin developing leaders for the next 20 years. I urge you to participate as much as you can, because your input will be invaluable.
Technologically, there were changes and improvements this year as well. The CLA website continues to grow with the additional Forum Message Boards and a President's Blog, among other resources. I was especially excited about the special project for mentoring that took place in Second Life. I know that some of you were very excited about this opportunity to mentor new members and new librarians in a virtual space. Because of geographical limitations, many of you had never mentored. Second Life gives you the opportunity even if you are a distance away from your mentee. Additionally, CLA has an office in Second Life. If you've never visited it, please take a moment to drop by.
Before I leave office, I am appointing a task force to look at return on investment for libraries in California. I am charging a task force to examine whether or not it is feasible for ROI to be calculated for California. ROI can be a useful tool when advocating for libraries and funding. This is potentially a leadership area for CLA, and in our role as advocates for libraries in California, it makes sense. I don't want to commit resources to this task, however, unless it is something that will be useful, thus, the task force. Barbara Roberts is supportive of this idea and feels that it's something I should continue during my year as Immediate Past President.
Last, the departure of Susan Negreen as Executive Director for CLA provides us with the opportunity to evaluate the day-to-day activities and operations of the organization. We wish Sue the best in her future endeavors. During this interim period, the Executive Committee has retained the services of Claudia Foutz, of the Foutz and Young Group, to serve as Interim Executive Director. Claudia will work with the elected representatives of CLA to examine exactly what CLA's goals and objectives are, especially in terms of the revised Bylaws. Based on her analysis of our operations, she will make recommendations that will allow us to choose the best management structure for CLA.
It's been an honor to be your president during such an exciting time. Thank you all for your support!
Monique le Conge, 2008 CLA President
- 2008 Annual Report (97k)
Posted on November 21, 2008 11:47 AM | Permalink