Greetings everyone

Information Outlook, May, 2003 by Bill Fisher

It's amazing how quickly a year can go by, and as I write my final column in Information out1ook[R], I realize what a year it has been. It has been a great honor for me to serve as President of SLA. This experience has truly been an exciting time for SLA and my life. With all of the excitement, I am now looking forward to SLA's Conference in New York, and then finally, becoming a past president. I would like to take the opportunity to thank a few people who have given me advice and helped me along the way. Without the support and dedication of the Board, staff, past and present association leaders, chapters I've visited, and interactions with members this year would not have been a success.

As an association, we have experienced a number of changes the past few years, and we can anticipate more changes in the future. These changes reflect what is happening in society, in the information industry, and at many, if not all, of our employing organizations. SLA is a vibrant organization, one that thrives on change. And what a year of change it has been. In the fall of 2002, SLA revised Bylaws were accepted with an adoption rate of 93% of members. As a result of the bylaws revision, the chapters and divisions will be able to revise their operating documents, in effect going from unit bylaws to unit guidelines, which will be easier to modify as local conditions dictate. The bylaws revision was a large step forward for SLA as a whole, and the entire Association will benefit under these new bylaws.

At SLA's 94th Annual Conference in New York June 7-12, our next big step will be the branding of the Association. Branding has been a topic of discussion for several years now. The discussions are over and now it is time to prepare yourself for the branding vote. Please review the information that the Branding Task Force has created so that you can make an informed decision at the Annual Business Meeting in New York. It is located on Virtual SLA at http:// www.sla.org/content/SLA/assocbrand/index.cfm and contains the entire history of the Branding initiative at SLA. The importance of branding was also featured in the April issue of Information Outlook[R]. I strongly encourage all members to attend the annual conference and to attend the Annual Business Meeting to cast a vote on this important issue. Even if you are not registered for the full conference, special provisions are made for all members in attendance to attend the Annual Business Meeting and receive a pass to Info Expo as well.

I look forward to seeing many of you in New York.

Cheers,

Bill Fisher,

SLA President, 2002-2003