Dear ARLIS/NA Board and Membership,
First of all, I would like to thank the Board for sending
out the survey and giving us a chance to give some feedback. All in all, I think the organization
continues to do a great job, many thanks.
As I filled out the survey, a thought occurred to me which
might improve communication between the local chapters and ARLIS North America. This would involve changing the
structure of regional board representation. Rather than maintaining the current
system of regional reps, what if each local chapter elected its own
representative to the ARLIS/NA Executive Board. While this would increase the number of
representatives, it would give each chapter its own representative, and these
representatives would be known to all members of the local chapter she or he
represented. She or he would also
be available to the local membership (not merely the board members through
formal correspondences) at local meetings and events. This would provide a much easier conduit
for information to go back and forth between the local and NA organizations and
would help make local members feel they have more representation at the NA
level. This representative would
effectively serve on both boards and would represent the interest of both the
larger organization and the unique needs and perspectives of a specific
chapter, rather than a geographic region with competing chapters and interests. While I realize such a change would
require a by-laws change, I feel it is worth consideration.
Further thoughts or input from other members is welcome!
Thanks,
EW
Director of the Library
212-472-1500 x216