Archive for August, 2014

Treasury Task Force, Dues Allocation, Bylaws

Dear IAMSLIC members,

I wanted to let you know about the efforts of three IAMSLIC groups who are working to improve some of our internal processes.

The Treasury Task Force examined the financial policies & procedures and made a series of recommendations that have been approved by the Executive Board. The Treasury Task Force Report and Recommendations are available in the members’ area of the website. It is a long document but the key recommendations are summarized on the first page and will be implemented over the coming months.

Special thanks to the task force for untangling the issues and providing a clear path. They are: Dave Baca (Chair), Sandra Abbott-Stout, Barb Butler, Kristen LaBonte, Sally Taylor, Eleanor Uhlinger, Steve Watkins.

Related to the work of the Treasury Task Force, a few of us looked specifically at how membership dues are allocated to the Regional Groups and to the Officers for travel support. To simplify the process and ensure financial stability, the group wrote a new Proposed Funding Allocation Model for Regional Groups and Officers that has been approved by the Executive Board and is also available in the members’ area of the website.

Thank you to Steve Watkins for crunching the numbers and writing the proposal, and to Barb Butler and Kristen LaBonte for their membership expertise and input.

Last but not least, the Bylaws Committee has taken recommendations from the two reports and identified other much needed edits to the bylaws. The Executive Board has approved their report, and the proposed amendments will be put to a membership vote in the next few days, so be ready!

I would like to thank the Bylaws Committee for going over the text with a fine-tooth comb. They are: Barb Butler (Chair), Amy Butros, Angela Clark-Hughes.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Sally Taylor, IAMSLIC President (2013-2014)

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August 15, 2014 · Filed under Executive Board news, President's updates

IAMSLIC conference program ready

Dear IAMSLIC’ers:

We are pleased to announce that the conference program for the 40th IAMSLIC Conference in Noumea, is now available at the website. Follow us! Soon more news regarding our Anniversary celebration !

On behalf of the program committee,

Guillermina Cosulich  (Conference Convenor)
Kris Anderson  (Junior President Elect 2015)
Mary-Clare Ame (Local host SPC)
Stephen Alayon  (SEAFDEC)
Maria Kalentsits  (past President)
Suzie Davies  (former IOC- GE-MIM)
Dorothy Barr  (Proceedings Editor)

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August 13, 2014 · Filed under Announcements

New book on Gray Whales

E. robustus: The Biology and Human History of Gray Whales. by Jim Sumich.

Written by a well-known gray whale researcher, teacher and textbook author, this book responds to a growing demand for up-to-date and accessible information for the burgeoning whale-watching industry along the US West Coast. Topics range from basic anatomy and migratory behavior of gray whales to the latest research on the genetics of western gray whales. This book provides an accessible yet up-to-date overview of the scientific research on this species, while tracing the history of whaling, gray whales in captivity and the growth of modern whale-watching activities.

Price: $17.99
ISBN: 975-0-692-22542-4
Format: 6”x9” 199 pp. paperback 140 color photographs, maps and drawings
Printed at YTP, Salem, Oregon. The author is the publisher and sole distributor, shipping from Corvallis, Oregon.

Contact info:
James Sumich
jlsumich1@gmail.com
541-231-8898

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August 8, 2014 · Filed under Announcements

CSIRO Marine Library Closure

In the next week, Australia’s largest, oldest and most prestigious marine science library and information service will close. The Library at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Marine and Atmospheric Research Laboratories in Hobart, Tasmania is closing with the loss of all library staff, and removal of all stock.

All book stock was initially to be transferred to a warehouse at CSIRO Black Mountain Library, Canberra, some 800 kilometres away and across Bass Strait. But apparently problems of inadequate space have arisen, so things are still being sorted out with this. This is primarily due to the fact that all (yes, I said ‘all’) CSIRO special libraries around Australia are being closed, except the main Black Mountain library in Canberra. Many library staff are losing their jobs. Across CSIRO many long-term research programs are being cancelled, including most climate change related research.

All library services for CSIRO will be centralised in Canberra, as CSIRO Library moves towards a totally digital service. Researchers and scientists will submit their requests for services electronically, to library staff designated to different divisions. Whilst we all know that science and research needs the most current peer-reviewed information, the best research often looks back at what’s been done in the past, hence the quote “standing on the shoulders of giants”. I struggle to understand just how Australia’s premier research organisation expects to continue to produce world class science with such enormous reductions in access to libraries, information and the professional expertise of library and information managers. It saddens me greatly that the Google mentality of much modern management and government appears to disregard the skills and knowledge of a profession that has developed over generations.

This change coincides with drastic reductions in staffing and resources across the Australian Public Service and Federal Government statutory authorities. Other marine libraries such as the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and Geoscience Australia have undergone major reductions in staffing and resources also. However, these libraries remain open and those librarians continue to provide truly professional service, despite these difficult times.

For those who attended, Hobart was the location of the enormously successful 30th IAMSLIC conference in 2004, organised and so generously hosted by the then Library Director Denis Abbott and his staff. Denis was a driving force in marine information management in Australia for many years, and worked tirelessly with IAMSLIC on the international stage. Since his retirement, the CSIRO librarians have maintained those world-class standards of excellence to provide wide ranging support and assistance to many in the marine library community around the world. I am sure there are many IAMSLICers out there who have been the recipients of the generosity and professionalism of the current librarian, Joel MacKeen, and her colleagues.

It is a credit to Joel and her staff that they have received such wonderful support from their clients and researchers at CSIRO over recent weeks. At this point, I’d like to pass on my personal thanks to the present and past staff of the CSIRO Marine Library for all their support, professional advice and assistance, personal camaraderie and friendship towards me when I worked at AIMS, GBRMPA and the GE-MIM. They have every right to look back with great pride.

Suzie Davies
Townsville, Australia
Alpha Indexing
9 Sidney Street
West End
Townsvlle Qld 4810
Australia
Email: alphaindexing@bigpond.com
Or previous email: jhcarleton@bigpond.com

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August 7, 2014 · Filed under Announcements