SCLA Trustees Section Annual Report, 2002

Officers elected for 2002 were Rich Panter, Chair, and Troy Roberts, Vice Chair. Rich resigned in March to relocate to California. The Section completed 2002 with 56 members and a treasury of $1,518. At the Joint SELA/SCLA conference, the section sponsored “The Library Design/Build Process, What the Contractors Won’t Tell You”. This session played to standing room only and informed librarians about the library design / build concept and processes and dispelled myths and revealed realities in the design / build process (which substantially shortens the architectural planning timeline).

Officer recruitment and retention has been a problem with this section for many years. The 2002 SCLA Executive Board has asked the SCLA Planning Committee to offer remedies for this ongoing problem. One suggestion from Trustee Tom Sutherland (a former SCLA President) is to incorporate the trustees as an Interest Group of the Public Libraries Section, with joint leadership by librarians and trustees. This would enable the librarians to assist trustees with some strong training programs, which are annually needed. Trustees, by their very nature, are volunteers, and often short-term. The SCLA officer cycle normally requires a longer-term commitment than they are willing to give. However, on the “plus” side, the section always has a healthy number of members and solid finances.

—Submitted by Jeanette Bergeron, 2002 SCLA President