[Asis-l] Involved in an ASIS&T chapter? You can ask us for funds!

[Chirag Shah]

Dear all,

Did you know that any ASIS&T Regional Chapter could request funds from ASIS&T? These funds could be used for different activities and events that enrich the experience of current members of the chapter and/or engage non-members with ASIS&T. Examples include invited talk+reception, career expo, workshop, etc. The funds are typically a few hundred dollars. You can use the form available from https://www.asist.org/files/chapters/regional/ChapterDevelopmentFundsAppl.pdf to apply. It’s only two pages and you can ignore the deadlines on the form as we are accepting them on a rolling basis!

More FAQs and useful information about ASIS&T chapters can be found at the bottom of this message.

Thanks!
Chirag Shah, Rutgers University, Chapter Assembly Director
Daniel Alemneh, University of North Texas, Chapter Assembly Deputy Director

——


Some points about the regional chapters.


-          Association
for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) Chapters are
chartered by the Board of Directors as local vehicles for fostering
continuous communication among members in geographically-defined
areas. ASIS&T Chapters consist of groups of 15 or more members
living or working within 50-mile radii or some other well-defined
geographic areas. All ASIS&T members are encouraged to
participate in their local Chapters. All ASIS&T members whose
mailing addresses are within a Chapter’s geographic boundaries are
automatically members of that Chapter. Only ASIS&T members may
belong to Chapters. There are 20 regional chapters, but 8 of which
are currently inactive.


Active Chapters:
Arizona, Asia Pacific, Carolinas, Central Ohio, Europe, Indiana,
Los Angeles, New England, New Jersey, Northern Ohio, Pacific
Northwest, Taipei


Inactive Chapters:
Chicago, Florida, Metropolitan New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio
River Valley, Potomac Valley, Wisconsin


Who the members of the Chapter Assembly Advisory
Committee?


-          The Chapter
Assembly consists of an elected or appointed representative from
each Chapter. To assure Chapters of a voice in Society activities,
the Chapter Assembly advises the Board of Directors on all matters
involving the mutual interests of the Chapters. The Assembly
Director, elected by the Assembly as its presiding officer, serves
on the ASIS&T Board of Directors. The Chapter Assembly Director
is assisted in matters relating to the Chapter Assembly by the
Deputy Chapter Assembly Director, the Immediate Past Director, and
the Chapter Assembly Advisory Committee.



Where is the official Websites for the ASIS&ST Regional
Chapters?


-          The public
website for the ASIS&ST Regional Chapters is located at: 
https://www.asist.org/find-your-groups/regional/.
Make sure your Chapter’s information (Officers name, email,
website, etc.) is accurate and up to date on the ASIST Student
Chapter page. Otherwise let our webmaster Jan
Hatzakos (jan at asis.org) know about the changes. There is also an
internal wiki page to be used by Chapters (and other Committees of
the American Society for Information Science and Technology) to
facilitate the operation of their groups: 
http://www.asis.org/wiki/chapters-sigs/index.php/Main_Page



Do we have email list for the ASIS&ST Regional
Chapters?


-       Yes, we have an email list
that you can join by going to 
http://mail.asis.org/mailman/listinfo/chapters-l 
and signing up. Once joined, you can send a message by emailing
to 
chapters-l at asis.org.
Typical messages on this email list are about conference
announcements, job postings, and other opportunities for
members.




Can my chapter get some funds from the HQ 
to start project or revitalize a chapter?


-         Yes. Each Chapter
plans its own programs to reflect the needs and interests of its
local membership. ASIS&T is committed to providing assistance
to help local Chapters to organize activities or special projects
that revitalize and engage local members. Among other available
resources and services, Chapters can apply for one of the Chapter
Development Funds: 
https://www.asist.org/files/chapters/regional/ChapterDevelopmentFundsAppl.pdf


I’m interested in revitalizing my local chapter that’s been
inactive for some time. What do I do?


It varies from chapter to chapter and depends greatly on where the
activities (and funds) were left off.


But typically, it involves the following:


1. Get hold of documents (membership list, chapter manual, by-laws)
and funds.


2. Get the latest membership info. This could be done by contacting
the HQ.


3. Email the members about the chapter being restarted. Ask if
anyone would like to join the leadership (chair, program chair if
applicable, treasurer, publicist, etc.)


4. Theoretically speaking, the chapter should then hold an
election. But in practice, there may be only a handful of people
interested in being in a leadership position. So just form a
leadership committee using those people.


5. Get the web presence. At least have a blog or a
website.


6. Announce these developments to the members.


7. Organize an event that marks the beginning of the chapter
activities. Ask the HQ for help (tools, support, funds).


In general, once the chapter has some momentum going, they could
ask us for chapter development funds (typically a few hundred
dollars).


How do I start a new chapter?

Follow
the advice from the previous question starting with step-4. Make
sure to let us know as you embark on this journey!



Do we have the chapter manual? Where?


-          Yes, you
can find the Chapter Officer’s Manual here: 
https://www.asist.org/files/chapters/regional/chofficermanual.pdf.
We will update the manual, but the purpose of the Chapter Officer’s
Manual is essentially to guide and alert new Chapter officers to
certain procedures regarding Chapter organization and
administration, to suggest possible Chapter activities, and to
remind officers of certain deadlines. There are also a number of
other useful documentations linked from the Chapter Resources
page: 
https://www.asist.org/find-your-groups/resources/.


Are the regional chapters expected to submit an annual report?
What’s the deadline?


-          Yes, the
regional chapters are expected to submit an annual report to the
Chapter Assembly, highlighting efforts the chapter made to recruit
new members, foster member participation in the chapter, and
mechanisms to retain current members and to follow-up with members
who did not renew their ASIS&T memberships. The report also
contains the meetings, projects and services organized by the
chapter and the efforts made by the chapter to communicate with its
members. The annual report can be submitted via this web
form: 
http://www.asis.org/Chapters/ChapterAnnualActivitiesReportForm.pdf.
If the Chapter Annual Report is submitted by the August
15 deadline, it will also serve as the nomination for the
Chapter of the Year award. The Chapter-of-the-Year Award is decided
by a jury. An awareness of the annual report and judging criteria
can be very helpful in planning chapter’s activities for the
year.


Questions or comments?

-          We are very
much interested in hearing from you what we could do to help you
out. So please do not hesitate to contact us both Chirag Shah
(Chapter Assembly Director): 
chirags at rutgers.edu 
and Daniel Alemneh (Chapter Assembly Deputy Director): 
Daniel.Alemneh at unt.edu.

——