FRIENDS OF THE GOLDA MEIR LIBRARY

ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

Thursday, 20 May 2004, 4:30 p.m.

Special Collections Reading Room

 

Present: Pat Van Alyea, Ewa Barczyk, Lois Blinkhorn, E.J. Brumder, Gilbert Church, Deborah Conta, Scott Enk, Bruce Fetter, John Koethe, Robert Meldman, Martine Meyer, Lolita Scheiders, Gov. Martin Schreiber, Rabbi Silberg.

 

Guests:  Dawn Lee-Vue, Susan Modder, Doug Kirkman (and both parents)

 

The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m.

 

  1. The minutes of the June 12, 2003 annual meeting were approved as submitted.

 

  1. President’s report:  As of May 1, 2004, Friends membership total is 322.  President Bruce Fetter reviewed some of the year’s highlights.  The Friends:

 

·        Co-sponsored the Golda Meir 25th Anniversary Commemoration event in December.  In conjunction with the event, the Friends offered a New York Theater package drawing in a successful effort to raise money and recruit new Friend, special thanks to Bob Meldman.

·        Developed the idea of a Golda Meir Library Society, an extension of the Friends, as a way to provide ongoing major support for the Libraries.

·        Met with Boris Frank, a fund raising consultant, who is assisting the library in preparing for the UWM comprehensive capital campaign.

·        Underwrote the Libraries’ 2003 Outstanding Staff Awards.

·        Contributed to the efforts to preserve the WTMJ-TV News Film Collection.

·        Friends financial support also included:

 

Ø      American Geographical Society Library’s Academic Adventures faculty lecture series

Ø      Special Collections’ Book Forums

Ø      Archives’ Revisiting the Past lecture

Ø      Holzheimer Lecture: Maps and America

 

The Friends held 2 successful book sales in October and April and raised over $9,000 for the Library, a 50% increase over the previous year.  Bruce thanked the program committee, volunteers and other committee members involved. 

 

Deborah Conta, chair of the Program Committee, and other Program Committee members were acknowledged for organizing the book sales and planning today’s program.  He also thanked the members of the Board for their involvement in the Friends for their active support as well as their involvement.  The library staff were also thanked for their help with the book sale and programs.  Finally, he thanked Interim Director of Libraries Ewa Barczyk for her cooperation and guidance. 

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report:  Rabbi Barry Silberg noted that the ending balance should be May 20, 2004 not June 6, 2003.  Proceeds from the booksale were transferred to the library special acquisitions. Beginning balance was $52,943.28; ending balance, $54,613.69.  Treasurer’s report was accepted as corrected and amended.

 

  1. Report of the Interim Director:  Ewa thanked the Friends’ President; the Executive Committee; the Board of Directors; and the membership at large for their support and help.  The Friends’ programs have contributed to the campus and the community and from that, the Friends’ have been involved with laying some of the groundwork for the UWM Capital Campaign.  Ewa highlighted several of the Libraries activities:

 

·        The Libraries participated in the national customer satisfaction survey this spring called LibQUAL+, and as part of a UW System Library initiative, we are preparing to offer a new linking software, SFX, allowing users to seamlessly search many databases simultaneously.

·        Despite the budget cuts, the Libraries had received a one-time ‘grant’ from the university to strengthen the Libraries monographic and research collections. 

·        Opening a coffee shop in the East Wing of the Libraries.

·        The Libraries also received a national grant to support and promote the WTMJ-TV News Film Collection for the Libraries Archives Department.

·        The American Geographical Society Library received a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation grant to assist with preserving rare materials.

·        Additional funding came from the Center for International Education from a federal grant to expand holdings in global studies and communications.

·        The Libraries’ digitization unit, established two years ago, continues to create electronic collections from the Libraries collections in Archives and AGSL.  The last project titled, Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps 1885-1992 has been immensely popular.  The Mark Avery Photographic Collection received recognition from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

·        Christel Maass, one of the Libraries staff, published a book— Illuminating the Particular: Photographs of Milwaukee’s Polish South Side based on images from the Libraries Kwasniewski photographic collection.  We are also in the process of publishing, with non-State funding, two more books: the third volume of the Fromkin lectures and, with some financial assistance from the Friends, a book on John Downey. 

·        The Libraries have also exhibited materials from two of our collections at off-campus venues this last year.  The Milwaukee Central Library hosted an exhibit celebrating the AGSL’s 25th anniversary at UWM and a selection of book works drawn from the Book Arts Collection in the Libraries’ Special Collections was on exhibit at the William S. Fairfield Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.   

 

Ewa thanked the following UWM Libraries staff who assisted with the preparations for today’s event: Steve Burnham, Margaret Cushinery, Dawn Lee-Vue, Susan Modder, Kathi Paly, Kim Silbersack and Max Yela.  Ewa also thanked the Friends and will be looking forward to working together.                     

 

  1. Committee Reports

 

Development- Bob Meldman reported that this year, the committee tried a different tactic to raise money in addition to the booksale.  The Friends had a drawing for the Golda Meir 25th Anniversary Commemoration event; the couple who won the drawing also received backstage passes and tickets to the broadway production of Golda’s Balcony in New York. The committee was also thinking of organizing a cruise for 20- 25 couples with a talk or exhibit of the maps from the collection.  If the group has other suggestions or ideas, to please let him know. 

 

Nominating- Lolita Schneiders moved the adoption of a slate of nominees for 2004/05; the adoption was seconded.  There were no further nominations from the floor.  It was carried unanimously that the nominees be elected.  Officers elected to two-year terms were as follows: Pat Van Alyea, Vice President; Deborah Gardner Conta, Secretary.  Donn Haglund, John Koethe, Suzy Ettinger, Gwenn Plunkett and Scott Enk were elected to four-year terms on the Board. 

 

Program- Deborah Conta reported that the first booksale will be held on October 18-20, 2004.  Deborah thanked the library staff for providing the extra staff support, security, advertising and making arrangements for the left over books.  Tonight’s program will feature readings from four UWM writers from their recent works: John Koethe, Sheila Roberts, Marilyn Taylor and Gordon Weaver. 

 

  1. Old business- No old business to report

 

  1. New business

·        Friends president Bruce Fetter presented Doug Kirkman, a student library security guard with a certificate of appreciation for assisting in the capture of two arsonists at UWM.

·        Fetter called for motion to accept the Interim Library Director’s request for $6,300 to help with costs associated with Library events such as Academic Adventurers, Book For[u]ms, Revisiting our Past, Holzheimer lecture and staff development activities; it was moved, seconded and approved unanimously. 

·        Fetter called for authorization to transfer book sale receipts to the Libraries; it was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

 

8.  The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.