Attending: Barbara Kempf, Kristin Manke, Sherry Smith, Cher Paul, Martha Osgood.

1. The meeting was called to order at 5:30pm.

2. Previous Minutes were accepted without changes.

3. Treasurer’s Report - Martha Osgood presented an overview of the previous year (2000) and the year 2001 to date. The bookkeeping methods provided a way to see that the workshops were generally making a small profit which has supported the chapter administration, trade show booth expenses, the Publisher’s Guide (Directory) and the Newsletter in the year from June 2000 through May 2001.

4. Archives Web Page - It was suggested that the officers informally write their duties and jobs, including anticipated issues, for the web page so that members and potential officers can have an idea about what being an officer might entail. This institutional memory may be very helpful in future years.

5. Pro Bono Projects - The committee is in the process of formalizing the guidelines for screening indexers and the organizations. While the Oregon Historical Society project has been delayed, the Eugene Relief Nursery Fundraising Cookbook is progressing.

6. By-Laws Revisions - Although the count is not finished, the division of the Secretary/Treasurer’s position into two, and the Board being allowed to conduct elections by email ballot are both passing.

7. Nominating Committee - Sherry Smith, Shirley Hansen and Mary Ratcliffe are recruiting officer nominees for secretary, treasurer and vice-president for the (calendar and fiscal) year 2002. Sherry also suggested that the officer loop be expanded by each member asking someone else to participate.

8. Workshop Locations - Discussion was entertained about changing the workshop locations and timing around to avoid meeting in Richland in the dead of summer. Reasons for keeping the schedule approximately the same included: We have free, good meeting space in the summer in Richland (as well as worthy volunteers), and April is too early and later October is too late to be able to draw attendees from Seattle across the mountains. The schedule will remain the same for now, but we are always open to adjustments or better ideas. Seattle area (if there are volunteers) in Spring, Richland in the summer, and Eugene or Portland (again depending upon volunteer levels) in the Fall.

9. Canadian Reciprocity - We decided that we expressly wanted to encourage workshop reciprocity, speaker exchanges, newsletter-sharing, and PR with indexers in Canada. To that end, we will offer members of their indexing association the lower workshop prices offered to members of ASI, and we will encourage our members to participate in Canadian indexing events (Vancouver, B.C. events in the Spring) in the Pacific Northwest region. We will look for other specific opportunities to connect with our Canadian neighbors.

10. Archive Reminder. Elspeth Pope is our archivist and she seeks information that will show the growth, direction, and struggles of the chapter to the delight of indexers 25 years from now. This could include but is not limited to Minutes and Treasurer’s Reports, email discussions showing elements of a discussion leading to a vote, newsletters, handouts, SideLights, actual election ballots, etc.

11. Mini-Wilson Award idea - it was decided that the focus of the chapter is on cooperation rather than competition, and holding such an annual competition was way too much work. The discussion provoked some new ideas though, such as new columns in the Newsletter called “My Most Unusual Indexing Challenge” and another one highlighting “the philosophy of publishers who support indexing of their books.” (Those publishers might be located in Wilson Award books, in books with good indexes, in our own experiences with publishers).

12. President’s focus this year (through December 2001):
1) Build on Sherry Smith’s foundations
2) Maintain and increase Canadian connections
3) Seek corporate sponsorship of the Seattle annual meeting, perhaps through SLA or the Information Professionals. (Barbara will work with Zoe Holbrook)
4) Increasing visibility of ASI and the chapter through trade fairs and
encouraging speaking engagements at regional library schools.

The meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm.


Submitted by Martha Osgood
Secretary/Treasurer, PNW/ASI