Presidential Message August 2011

I would like to congratulate our colleagues for organizing an interesting, efficient and enjoyable conference in Philadelphia this past May. The theme “Preserving Memory: Documenting and Archiving Latin American Human Rights” was timely and of interest to us all. Many excellent presentations were held, thanks to the work of our past president Nerea Llamas. Many thanks as well to our excellent hosts, Joe Holub and David Murray of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University libraries and our very generous sponsors.

Several important issues were expressed this year at the two Executive Board meetings, the Business meeting and at Town Hall. Executive Board Member-at-Large Sean Knowlton (Columbia University) presented a list of proposals compiled by Patricia Figueroa (Brown University) that represent concerns voiced by SALALM members in recent years:

• that SALALM change its name to reflect the reality of the work we accomplish; i.e. a name that is more general in nature and by default more inclusive
• that the SALALM conference be limited to 3 days instead of 5
• that we eliminate panels and themes from our meeting so that we can devote more time to our committees, regional meetings and vendors
• that we meet and celebrate SALALM in conjunction with LASA, mimicking the arrangement that MELA and MESA have for their yearly congresses. This arrangement would provide an outlet for SALALM members who must present a paper in order to receive funding to attend. The conference need not take place at the same hotel as LASA, but rather the same city and dates.

While some of these concerns have surfaced at various moments in our organization’s history, the present economic crisis has brought them to the fore once again. We are faced with a shrinking membership; our institutions provide less professional development funding than in the past; and conference costs are rising.

In order to address these proposals, I have named an ad-hoc Membership Survey Committee to collect information, opinions and ideas relating to the above issues. Members include Anne Barnhart (chair), David Block, Mary Jo Zeter, John Wright and Patricia Figueroa. Please respond thoughtfully to their survey which will be sent out in early fall.

A second committee will work concurrently with the Survey Committee to investigate the consequences, cost and feasibility of a name change for the organization. Ideas for new names or new meanings for our existing acronym will be explored. Should the membership agree on the desirability of a name change (via the survey process), the work of this committee will provide helpful information. The SALALM Name Change Committee includes Sócrates Silva, Melissa Gasparotto, Stephanie Miles and Sean Knowlton.

Treasurer Peter T. Johnson put forward a related proposal geared toward increasing membership in our organization. An initial SALALM scholarship of $1,000 will be awarded to a student enrolled in an MLS program (in the U.S.) who intends to work in the field of Latin American Studies, and who will join our organization.

In response to some of the concerns expressed above, I plan to experiment with the format of next year’s SALALM meeting. We will we return to a slightly more economical 4-day schedule; at the same time, I would like to create more time and space to work with each other and with our vendors, who are an integral part of our organization. I plan on repeating a version of the successful Libreros Workshop which was held in Philadelphia and organized by John Wright, Ellen Jaramillo and Stephanie Miles. Based on the feedback I heard, it provided a necessary forum for communicating information about the technological changes we face in our professions. Although I will continue to organize panels, workshops and committee meetings, there will be fewer of them. I encourage committees and affiliated groups who meet or work outside of our annual meeting to consider foregoing a meeting at SALALM if at all possible.

And last but not least, for those of you who have not yet heard, SALALM LVII will be held in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T!), from June 16-19, 2012. Our hosts will be the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago and the Library Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) and meetings will be held at the Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre, Port of Spain. Our theme will be “Popular Culture: Arts and Social Change in Latin America.” I hope that we will be able to attract colleagues from across the Caribbean as well as from South America. A call for papers and will be released soon, and I look forward to receiving your ideas and contributions!

Lynn Shirey
Harvard University

Tags: Anne Barnhart, David Block, David Murray, Ellen Jaramillo, Joe Holub, John Wright, Mary Jo Zeter, Melissa Gasparotto, Nerea L, Patricia Figueroa, Peter T. Johnson, SALALM56, SALALM57, Sean Knowlton, Sócrates Silva, Stephanie Miles, Temple University, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago, University of Pennsylvania, University of the West Indies
Category Messages |

Treasurer’s Report 2009/2010

2009/2010 Treasurer’s Report | Mutual Funds Investment

Money Matters

As your new treasurer, I come with a sense of SALALM’s significance on many different levels that I experienced over the course of forty years of engagement with the organization’s work and objectives. Many non-profit organizations continue to suffer from declines in membership and donations, due in part to the difficult financial circumstances of the past three years. These realities received the attention of the Finance and Membership Committees as well as the Executive Board during our Philadelphia meetings. We hope that the adopted measures will revitalize our membership and finances. The following descriptions are brief; greater detail will appear in the reports in the next few issues, and if anyone has specific questions, please contact me directly: ptj4512@gmail.com.

Discussion about an endowment began in the late 1980s although donations had been received beginning in 1979. SALALM’s ambitious programs and plans required the type of financial support common in many universities and increasingly so with other tax-exempt charities [501(c)(3) as defined by IRS code]. The “Endow Our Future” campaign began, first with creating the category of sponsoring institutional membership, and a bit later with a donation line for personal members at renewal time. The purpose of the endowment is to ensure adequate income during those periods when operational costs cannot be met from regular sources (e.g., membership, publication sales, conferences), as well as to fund special projects to advance different aspects of SALALM’s involvement with Latin American studies. To continue our tax-exempt status, we must adhere to IRS requirements governing our giving program for the benefit of research and education.

The Investment Working Group (IWG) oversees for the Finance Committee the endowment’s portfolio of investments in various mutual funds that total (as of May 20, 2011) $745,452. In the coming year IWG will seek to diversify the portfolio and thereby reduce the potential for broad losses should the stock market take another sharp and sustained drop in share prices. Due to the economic conditions worldwide, our income through capital gains and dividends has been very modest. Last fiscal year we had to sell $28,793 of mutual fund shares to meet the operating costs of the organization. Dipping into principal always carries risk, and the budget just approved has avoided the need for such sale of assets. Clearly the profit generated from the annual meetings in Providence and Philadelphia is critically important for balancing our budget. We are all indebted to our hosts and presidents for their fiscal creativity in fund raising and managing costs, as we are for the Berlin conference that did not accrue a deficit. Our annual conferences remain an essential part of this organization’s work, and by extension, contribute significantly to our effectiveness at our home institutions as Latin American specialists. Much time and thought goes into the budgetary planning of a conference, and the related work of securing sponsorships. This year we all benefitted from an extraordinary donation from Professor Paul C. Smith and four Southwest Airlines tickets that were auctioned for a total of $1,600. Many of the libreros and publishers generously underwrite parts of the conference’s costs. To all we are deeply grateful.

To address the membership decline, a new initiative involves a scholarship for a MA level student in an accredited school of library and information studies who has strong interests and commitment for Latin America or for work with Latino/a populations. The fellowship for $1,000 will be national, and a task force is now developing criteria and procedures for this important award.  Depending on our income, we hope to be able to offer multiple scholarships in coming years. Through the publicity designed for directors of graduate study in the many dozens of accredited schools, an entire generation of rising professionals should be introduced to SALALM. The SALALM funded scholarship in memory of our founder Marietta Daniels Shepard remains at The University of Texas at Austin, but SALALM will no longer solicit donations to add to the endowment administered by that university. Rather, SALALM members will have the option when renewing membership to donate to the new SALALM scholarship, and all donations are tax deductible.

Our endowment was given in the 2009/10-tax year $587, and in 2010 a member offered our first anonymous match of $1,000 for donations received since September 2010. The match was met at the Philadelphia meeting, and this generous gift will further our endowment. Since that meeting, an anonymous match for $250 came for donations from September 2011 – August 2012, so please consider giving to the “Endow our Future” campaign when you renew your membership in September so that we can garner this additional support. Should you be able to offer a matching amount now or in the future, please contact me.

The Webinar Pilot Working Group and the Communications Committee produced many creative suggestions and solutions for enhancing SALALM operations. Conference registration and payment of membership will be streamlined and, to cover some of the costs for credit card use, the charge increased from $3 to $5; the option to send in a paper check with appropriate forms remains. An option to pay a three-year membership in advance at the current price with a $5 discount also received approval.

SALALM is as good as its volunteers strive to make it through committee work, task forces and projects. The Finance Committee seeks individuals willing to contribute time and thought to such matters as investments, fund raising, vetting budgets, and long-range planning. We require a new generation being prepared for leadership. The complexity of SALALM’s finances is such that some years of exposure to the accounts and decision process will prove invaluable for the next treasurer. Jane Garner’s many years of unstinting service as treasurer I cannot strive to match! Please consider this as a personal invitation to become involved in this critical aspect of our organization.

Peter T. Johnson
Treasurer
Princeton University (retired)

Tags: Jane Garner, Peter T. Johnson, Treasurer's Report
Category Treasurer's Reports |