[Sig-bwp] ASIST SIG Blogs-Wikis-Podcasting: Next Steps & Official Status

[leach]

Dear Folks,

If you have not noticed, there is much activity on our SIG-BWP blog 
(http://asist.typepad.com/sig_bwp/). We currently have some 7 folks 
managing this service for us. I want to thank them publicly for 
volunteering to support this service. Your feedback on this blog would 
be greatly appreciated, especially on any suggestions for improving the 
blog.

Also, if you have not yet noticed, the blog for the Annual Meeting is 
now up (you can access that from the ASIST front page, 
http://www.asist.org <http://www.asist.org/>). I know that Beatrice is 
looking for some more volunteers, so, if you are interested, please 
contact her.

We must begin seriously considering whether or not to apply for official 
Special Interest Group (SIG) status within ASIST. According to Section 
8.14 of the ASIST Bylaws (please see 
http://www.asis.org/Board/Bylaws2004.pdf), in order to create a new 
Special Interest Group “50 for more individual member...may submit to 
the SIG Cabinet Director a written application signed by all the 
applicant members together with a list of officers, an activity plan for 
the year, and a paragraph containing the SIG name, acronym and purpose, 
including scope of interest…

This application must be approved by the SIG Cabinet (which will meet at 
the Annual Meeting in October 2005) and then by the Board of Directors.

We can maintain our “proto-SIG” status for only two years, and we are 
still required to have the 50 signatures. However, as a proto-SIG, we 
can not collect dues, apply for special development funds, sponsor 
programs, etc.

We currently have more than 50 people on this email discussion list. So, 
I do not feel that getting signatures will be too difficult. However, we 
will need volunteers to step forward and be the leaders for this SIG: 
one Chair, one Chair-Elect, if we want to be an official SIG. These two 
people would be the coordinators and managers of our new SIG, for a term 
of one year. If you would like detailed information on the 
responsibilities of SIG officers, and to get further information on the 
policies and procedures of managing a SIG, please see the “SIG Officers 
Manual” at http://www.asis.org/AboutASIS/SIGOfficersManual.pdf.

So, the key here is: Are two of you willing to step forward and lead 
this process? (I am ineligible, because I will soon be your President). 
If we get the leaders, writing up the activity plan and defining the 
scope and purpose will not be difficult. Of course, I can help with that 
part of the application.

So, are you folks ready for official SIG status? Let the discussion begin.

Michael

-- 
Michael R. Leach
Director, Physics Research Library, Harvard University
17 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
&
Head of Collection Development, Cabot Science Library, Harvard University
1 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
1-617-495-2878 (voice); 1-617-495-0416 (fax)
leach at physics.harvard.edu or mrleach at fas.harvard.edu