LIT-SIS Executive Board Meeting Recap

The LIT-SIS Executive Committee met last Tuesday, December 1. Here’s what we talked about:

DET-SIS Merger

The biggest agenda item was our proposed merger with the Digitization and Educational Technology Special Interest Section (DET-SIS). Some quick background: because of the significant overlap in our missions and our membership, LIT-SIS and DET-SIS have been discussing the possibility of merging for a couple of years now, and the time has finally come to bring the proposal to the AALL Executive Board. 

The next step is to present a petition to merge our SIS-es at the next AALL Executive Board meeting. They’ve asked us to get as many members to sign on to the petition as possible, so get your petition-signing pens (keyboards?) ready – we’ll be doing a major drive for signatures and member input starting in the new year. 

We also discussed some of the logistical details associated with the merger. Technically, we’ll propose to dissolve the current SIS-es and form a new one, so we’ll need to make sure the histories of the “old” SIS-es are maintained. (Of all the “merger” options available under AALL’s bylaws, this one made the most sense.) We’ll also need to decide how to fairly merge our boards, and what name to use for the new SIS. 

As for membership, all members of LIT-SIS and DET-SIS will automatically become members of the new SIS when it’s formed, so you won’t need to take any action. We’ll be in touch with more information when renewal season comes around. 

Grants

We discussed the ABA TECHSHOW grant, which we’ll be offering again this year. Because the conference is virtual this year and has lower registration fees, we plan to award more than one grant – stay tuned for more information from our Grants & Awards Committee! 

Annual Meeting Programming

We’ve submitted our proposed programs for next year’s Annual Meeting, and will meet early next year to begin planning the more “informal” programming – roundtables, receptions, Alphabet Soup dinners, and of course, karaoke. 

Committee Members Needed!

We’ve semi-finalized the committee rosters for this year – many thanks to everyone who volunteered, and to past committee members for your contributions! The Education Committee and the Recruitment & Involvement Committee still have room for more members, though. If you’d like to get involved, please contact the committee chairs, Katie Brown (Education) or Iantha Haight (Recruitment & Involvement).