[Chapters-l] Congratulations to LACASIS and NEASIST - 2007 ASIS&T Chapters of the Year!

[Beata Panagopoulos]

Dear ASIS&T members:

The work of the 2007 ASIS&T Chapter of the Year Jury was difficult this 
year because we received several great nominations for the award.   These 
submissions are a wonderful testament to the value and impact that the 
chapters have in their local information science and technology 
communities.  If you are lucky enough to live in an area where there is an 
active ASIS&T chapter, I highly recommend that you check it out!  Attend a 
program and/or become involved.  It's a very rewarding experience. 

Speaking of rewards, I would like to sincerely thank the 2007 Chapter of 
the Year Award Jury for their tireless work: Heather Hessell, Christine 
Connors, and Tatjana Aparac-Jelusic. 

This year we have two winners: LACASIS and New England - it was a dead 
heat between the two chapters.  Below is the citation for them which will 
be in The Bulletin, the ASIS&T Annual Meeting Program and on the ASIS&T 
website.


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2007 Chapter of the Year (Two Winners): Los Angeles and New England

The Los Angeles Chapter was selected 2007 Chapter of the Year due to its 
stellar performance in all of the assessment criteria.  With 25 active 
local members, LACASIS provides its membership with myriad educational and 
networking opportunities in the Los Angeles area.  The five events 
organized by LACASIS were on topics which ranged from the practical 
“Working with Wikis” to the theoretical “Toward Multimedia Surrogation,” 
each incorporating time for socializing and networking.  With one board 
member responsible for member recruitment and retention, LACASIS has an 
impressive array of activities geared towards attracting members from many 
different professional and geographic areas and keeping them hooked on the 
Society.  The chapter sponsors two awards: The Margaret McKinley Memorial 
Student Scholarship which provides reimbursement funding up to $1000 for 
one student to attend ASIS&T Annual, and The Contribution to Information 
Science and Technology Award honoring individuals who have made 
significant contributions to the field.  It also co-sponsors the UCLA 
GSE&IS Lazerow Lecture.  Additionally, LACASIS recognizes the 
extraordinary service of its active members with a LACASIS Member Award. 
This year the chapter moved their award-winning quarterly newsletter, 
OASIS, from a traditional print/pdf format to a wiki format, enabling 
registered users to contribute content to it.  And finally, by watching 
expenses and juggling priorities, LACASIS maintains its fiscal health 
while continuing to offer its members rich local programming and services.

Our second winner, the New England Chapter, was equally outstanding in all 
Chapter of the Year assessment criteria.  The Chapter sponsored four 
successful programs with an average attendance of 85.  The diversity of 
the program topics (“The Dawn of the Embedded Library”, “Geographic 
Information Made Accessible,” “Designing Usable Interfaces”, and 
“Visualizing Wikipedia”) reflects the understanding that not all of its 
200 members work in libraries.  In support of the Society’s goal to 
increase membership, NEASIS&T has begun offering discounted ASIS&T 
memberships to nonmembers who join ASIST at the same time they register 
for a NEASIST program.  The chapter has also shifted the pricing structure 
of its programs to provide deeper discounts to ASIS&T members, thus 
encouraging membership.  By convincing speakers to waive fees and securing 
free meeting space, the major programs net profits that enable the Chapter 
to offer free programs as well.  At an annual awards banquet, the Chapter 
honors the Student Member of the Year, as well as the Chapter Member of 
the Year.  NEASIST sponsors a Student Travel Award competition: up to two 
winners receive $750 to cover travel expenses to attend the ASIS&T Annual 
Meeting.  The Chapter also supports the International Calendar of 
Information Science.  With these initiatives which nurture and support the 
information science and technology community in New England and 
internationally, the chapter exemplifies the old adage: “Think Globally, 
Act Locally.”

A hearty congratulations to both Los Angeles and New England for winning 
the Chapter of the Year Award – with your dedication to your local 
membership you promote ASIST's core values from coast to coast.

Beata Panagopoulos
ASIS&T Chapter Assembly Director

Head of Technical Services
Kennedy School of Government Library
Harvard University
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
tel. 617-496-1775
fax 617-495-1972
email: beata_panagopoulos at harvard.edu