TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION REFERENCE ROUND TABLE

TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION REFERENCE ROUND TABLE PUBLICITY/MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, 8 July 2013 9:30-10:50 a.m. Hyatt Regency Hotel, Big Bend B TLA 2013 Annual Assembly 1. Attendance/Introductions AGENDA 2. RRT Exhibit Booth a. Button for 2014 (Anthony Micchelli) b. Revision of Display Panel (approximately $250 to produce locally in Denton) 3. 50 th Anniversary Reception in 2014 a. 4-5:30 p.m. after main conference program and membership meeting, 100-150 estimated attendance, Conference Center room near program/meeting room; at least cake and punch to be served b. Birthday/Anniversary Cake with RRT Logo and 50 th Anniversary [Elise Walker says it will need to be provided by the venue caterer] c. Vendor Sponsorship 1) Cabells contact 2) Reference Source contact d. Slide Show production e. Invitations for Past Chairs f. Gold RRT Ribbons for 2014 [arrange with Natasha McAuliffe before Annual Conference] 1) 100-150 to be produced 2) Red or Blue or Black lettering g. Costs for San Antonio events 4. RRT Website Progress Report (Hollie Gardner) 5. Membership Promotion a. Membership Promotion Video on RRT Website b. Outreach to Library School Students c. Welcome message 6. Other business 7. Adjournment

Attendance: John C. Hepner, Chair Hollie Gardner (Webmaster) Anthony S. Guardado Jeffrey Levy Anthony Micchelli Coby Condrey Alexia Riggs Connie Matheny, RRT Chair Melissa Place, RRT Chair-elect John Hepner called the meeting to order at 9:33 a.m. He announced that RRT membership reflected in the MyTLA RRT page is 256. A TLA membership directory search yields 557 names. RRT Exhibit Booth The RRT wristband change purses supply was depleted at the 2013 Annual Conference. John has received 200 LED Flashlight Key Chains from National Pen (costing $241.90 donated by John Hepner). They have Texas Library Association/Reference Round Table/Since 1964 printed in three lines on a blue background. He distributed samples to the committee members attending the meeting. The key chains will be available at the RRT Exhibit Booth during the 2014 Annual Conference. He suggested we also add one to each of the speaker gifts for our programs in 2014. We could also distribute some at the 50 th Anniversary party. Anthony Micchelli reported on the costs of ordering our two anniversary buttons for the 2014 Annual Conference. Cost for 250 3 buttons (half of one design and half of the second design) would be $205 from Janway, which is also a TLA supplier. Anthony will check with the TLA office staff about how to handle invoicing and using the TLA tax exemption. The committee approved completing the order. John passed out a draft of a new display panel for our booth. The revision may only be good for the 2014 conference because of other changes proposed for RRT. John will work with Alexia Riggs about a positive alternative to commercial production on vinyl: producing a paper version with Velcro backing just for the 2014 conference. Production on vinyl would then be postponed to 2014-2015 to incorporate possible major changes needed in text. Because the MyTLA feature of the TLA website ends at the end of July 2013, reference to the RRT MyTLA presence was eliminated from the draft. A Twitter presence will be added to our Facebook presence. A screen shot of the RRT homepage will be added to the panel. John asked committee members to consider helping set up and take down the RRT exhibit booth at the 2014 Annual Conference. Anthony Micchelli and Alexia Riggs volunteered to help set up the booth and Jeff Levy and Mellissa Place volunteered to

help take down the booth. John Hepner will arrange exhibitor badges for the set up crew. John also asked committee members to consider if anyone among them would volunteer to take over booth coordinator duties after the 2014 conference. This requires storing the materials between conferences, getting volunteers to staff the booth, detailing booth furnishings to the TLA exhibits staff, sending a reminder notice to booth volunteers the week before the conference, gathering supplies for the booth (candy, handouts, giveaways), setting up the booth (usually on the day of preconferences), and taking down the booth (usually at noon on the last day of the conference). Some of the activities could be delegated or apportioned among committee members. The booth coordinator also arranges for periodic updating of the display panel. 50 th Anniversary Reception in 2014 The main RRT program (past and future of reference) for the 2014 Annual Conference has been asked to be scheduled Thursday from 2-3:50 p.m. The reception/party is tentatively planned for 4-5 or 4-5:30 after the program if the venue is the Convention Center. If the venue is an off-site restaurant, the time will be adjusted to 5-6:30 p.m. Connie would like a short RRT membership meeting at the start of the party. We are estimating attendance at 100 people (not limited to RRT members only). We will make the reception a free ticketed event initially capped at 100 people to gauge attendance. We will be flexible on the cap if necessary. John still had not received a response to his request for information about costs prior to Annual Assembly. Connie Matheny and Anthony Micchelli will investigate the possibilities for off-site venues. We will continue to investigate costs for the Convention Center. Elise Walker provided some information at the Conference Planning Q&A session just prior to the committee meeting. A standard microphone with mixer will cost approximately $75. A wireless mike costs $125. Elise noted that programs are no longer being recorded (the company doing the recordings was losing money on the operation). A projection screen will cost approximately $100 with an additional $100 for a support package. A screen, projector, and support package will cost approximately $400. Elise noted that if the room already has a projector available because of prior programming, we usually can use it. Anthony Micchelli offered to provide the computer and projection screen for the party. It was assumed that an off-site venue would be able to provide a screen. We were planning to ask for cake and punch and coffee. Elise noted that a gallon of coffee would cost about $75. At the TLA 100 th conference, a cake cost $1500. The committee also thought we could consider having a ticketed dinner as an alternative (depending on funds raised and the venue chosen). RRT should provide tea and/or coffee and/or punch, but if we choose an off-site venue, a cash bar might be a possibility. Connie Matheny suggested that if we choose to do a dinner, a buffet might be best. Elise Walker has some menu options available to consult in Foothills 2 at Annual Assembly. If we choose to use an off-site venue, we probably could have a cake

provided by a local bakery at a more reasonable cost. Instead of a dinner, we could consider having appetizer-based food. No attempt has yet been made to contact potential vendor donors for the party, but we will to do so after Annual Assembly. RefUSA contact was especially recommended by Cindy Boyle. Volunteer to contact RefUSA: Melissa Place. Volunteer to contact Cabells: Hollie Gardner. Volunteer to contact LexisNexis: Jeff Levy. Volunteer to contact Emerald Group Publishing at Annual Assembly booth: John Hepner. Gale and Mergent are two additional contacts we may make depending on responses from the initial vendors. We will ask for $1500 from each vendor but will settle for $1000 or less. For the present time, we are avoiding asking EBSCO and ProQuest because they are already major donors to TLA conference expenses. Information about venues and funding will be due by September 1 and the committee will make a decision then about how we want to proceed. Hollie Gardner and Anthony Micchelli will produce a slide show to use at our party. John Hepner will assist as needed. Resources available are primarily in the History section of the RRT website. Invitations for past officers to attend as special guests will be sent via email for most officers identified. John will arrange with Natasha McAuliffe in January to produce gold RRT ribbons for the 2014 Annual Conference. We will ask for 100 ribbons to serve as a supply for the conference. We prefer black lettering. RRT Website Progress Report Hollie Gardner updated the committee on RRT website developments. Hollie, Melissa Place, and Anthony Micchelli will handle the Facebook and Twitter RRT updates. Membership Promotion There will be a proposal before TLA Council II for an increase in membership dues to be initiated in 2015. Progress toward a membership promotion video on the RRT website was detailed by Hollie Gardner. She has consent forms available. She already has some video interviews to work with. If anyone else wants to be interviewed about why they joined RRT or what it means to them, Hollie needs to be contacted. A name change to Reference and Information Services Round Table and a revision to our statement of purpose are being considered. The primary rationale is for RRT to change with the times to stay relevant. More emphasis on the breadth of our activity

coverage and the types of libraries we serve are being addressed in the purpose statement. Issues we will focus on relating to improving membership will include outreach to library school students and targeting public and school librarians, especially making sure programs are relevant to these groups. We also need to devise a welcome message for new members. Another consideration is coming up with reasons why someone should join RRT, including what members should or want to get out of RRT. We may want to use a Survey Monkey approach to garner information from our members about the issue. We will begin discussing these issues through email and devote much of our 2014 Annual Conference committee meeting to them. Other business John also asked committee members to consider volunteering to take over as chair of the committee for the 2014-2015 year. John Hepner adjourned the meeting at 10:55 a.m.

TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION REFERENCE ROUND TABLE PUBLICITY/MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, 8 April 2014 1:00-1:50 p.m. San Antonio Convention Center, Room 208 TLA 2014 Annual Conference 1. Attendance/Introductions 2. RRT Exhibit Booth 3. 50 th Anniversary Reception 4. RRT Website 5. Membership Promotion 6. Other Business 7. Adjournment AGENDA

Attendance: John C. Hepner, Chair Hollie Gardner (Webmaster) (absent) Anthony S. Guardado (absent) Jeffrey Levy Anthony Micchelli Alexia Riggs Ashlynn Kogut Sarah Callahan Connie Matheny, RRT Chair (absent) Melissa Johnson, RRT Chair-elect (absent) John Hepner called the meeting to order at 1:04 a.m. He announced that RRT membership for 2014 is 262 (6 more than the same time in 2013) as revealed through a member search limited to year 2014. A general TLA Reference Round Table member search not limited by date yields 592 total names, including past members still included in the file. RRT Exhibit Booth Anthony Micchelli, Alexia Riggs, and John Hepner set up the exhibit booth Tuesday. A temporary paper panel for the RRT 50 th anniversary provided by Alexia Riggs is being used this year. Anthony Micchelli, Jeff Levy, and John Hepner will take down the booth Friday. Anthony Micchelli will be storing the booth materials himself and will be the new Booth Coordinator for 2015. Getting volunteers to staff the booth prior to the conference was not as successful as some prior conferences. We have six volunteers scheduled for 11 hours, leaving us with 8 hours still vacant (3 Wednesday afternoon and 5 Thursday after 11 a.m.). We may still get some volunteers during the conference for some of these hours. A new panel will need to be produced for the next annual conference in 2015, incorporating changes in the name and logo for the new RISRT. We can use the existing current panel design (not the 50 th anniversary version on which it is based) as a starting point for revision. We will need to check with the Planning Committee about whether or not we need to change the Since 1964 to Since 2014. We are continuing the same organization under a new name, so we may want to continue under the Since 1964 statement. The sense of the committee is to keep Since 1964. The membership brochure and volunteer form also will need revision to reflect changes. Some of the anniversary buttons and the keychain lights are being distributed at the booth. A few have been reserved for distribution at the 50 th anniversary party Thursday. A limited number (60) of membership brochures were printed for the booth and we have provided some volunteer forms from our stock. Some of the special gold 50 th

anniversary RRT ribbons are also available at the booth. Fifteen bags of various Hershey and Dove chocolate candies have been supplied. Booth expenses charged by TLA for our 2014 exhibit will not be final until the budget statement comes out prior to Annual Assembly. With the change in the Booth Coordinator designation, the committee may want to reconsider booth procedures and design during the next meeting at Annual Assembly. Our contact at Positive Promotions for ordering any of their items as giveaways at our booth is Haley (888-672-7370, ext. 3342). They have periodic special offers and provide samples. They have been the source for our keychain and wrist wallets promotional items. 50 th Anniversary Reception The party is scheduled for Thursday, 5-6:30 p.m., in the Alamo Room of the Crockett Hotel (320 Bonham, across the street from the River Center Mall and two blocks from the San Antonio Convention Center). An invitation to the party was sent to all RRT members through the member listserv. Connie Matheny is handling the food and drink setup, John Hepner and Melissa Johnson are handling decorations, and Anthony Micchelli and Hollie Gardner are handling the AV setup Thursday starting at 8:00 a.m. and continuing throughout the day. Connie Matheny s husband will be serving the cakes. John Hepner, Connie Matheny and her husband, and Melissa Johnson and her husband will be handling cleanup duties after the party. The Texas Reference Source Award for 2014 will be presented during the party. Keychain lights and buttons will be available as party favors. RRT Website Hollie Gardner has submitted her resignation as Webmaster effective at the end of the 2014 Annual Conference. A replacement is being sought. Hollie has done a stellar job as Webmaster and will be missed. Membership Promotion John Hepner emailed TLA Executive Director Pat Smith about new member notices to units and she responded that monthly notices to units about new members are expected begin after the 2014 Annual Conference. The RRT Publicity/Membership Committee should arrange with the RRT Chair to receive these notices. A Welcome email message needs to be composed to go out to each new member and we may want to designate someone on the committee to send the standard message after we are notified. Anthony Micchelli and Alexia Riggs agreed to draft a message to be

considered by the committee prior to Annual Assembly in July. The committee members suggested some characteristics which they felt would contribute to a good welcome message: warmth, encouraging participation, officer emails for contact, website links, succinct, clear, concise, bullet points. Anthony Micchelli and Alexia Riggs agreed to draft a message to be considered by the committee prior to Annual Assembly in July. Hollie Gardner was not available to report on progress toward a membership promotion video. Anthony Micchelli and Alexia Riggs ill work on improvements to our Facebook and Twitter presences respectively. One suggestion was to start alerting members to opportunities for continuing education through webinars and other training sessions using our social media presences and our member listserv. TLA staff will be asked to eliminate the RRT blog from the blogs list in the members only section of the website: we are not using it any more. A proposal for an increase in 2015 TLA membership dues will be presented to the TLA Council during this conference. The last dues increase was in 2001. Further optional increases after 2015 are proposed to be no higher than the prior year s CPI and will have to be approved by the TLA Executive Board and the TLA Council, but will not need to be voted upon by TLA membership. Historically, dues increases are followed by a drop in membership. A name change to Reference and Information Services Round Table has been approved by membership. This will require many revisions to our webpages and other resources to reflect the new designation. Anthony Micchelli has been asked to create a new RISRT logo. Other topics to be considered in future committee meetings include outreach to library school students; targeting public and school librarians, especially making sure programs are relevant to these groups; reasons why someone should join RRT; and possibly surveying members to find out what they want to get out of RRT. Other business John is retiring from the Publicity/Membership Committee. Anthony Micchelli will be appointed to replace him as Chair of the committee for 2014-2015. John Hepner adjourned the meeting at 1:55 p.m.