PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 63 No.2 Winter 1999
President, 1997-98
Gordon Ray
This has been an exciting and challenging year for PNLA and one which will be significant for the future health and development of the Association. In my platform statement for the presidency of PNLA, I stated that I would initiate an extensive review of the Association because several factors indicated that the Association was unfocused, had wavered from its regional mandate, and was losing member support. Further, we received the news that the Oregon Library Association was proposing withdrawal from the Association because they felt that it was no longer useful or relevant to their needs. That proposal will be debated at the 1999 annual meeting of OLA.The review process was begun at the Seattle Conference in 1997 with the distribution of a survey form to members. This was followed by more extensive surveys to the membership and the library community at large, particularly to library leaders and educators throughout the PNLA region. While the response from the membership was not large, the issues raised were consistent with all the other survey groups. We also received a great deal of support and information from Gerald Hodges of ALA. I would like to thank everyone who involved themselves in this information gathering process. The information gathered was invaluable and enabled the review to address the crucial factors in developing the new PNLA.
The Action Plan that was distributed and discussed at the annual business meeting, together with the constitutional and bylaw changes which have been voted on, are a blueprint for the future of PNLA. Your Board has worked hard in the past year in sifting through a large volume of information, evaluating it and developing concepts and actions to address the issues that were raised to produce an action plan that will ensure a strong future for PNLA. In working through a review process of this nature, it is easy to identify the problematic issues; but strength is added to the process by identifying and celebrating those things we do well. YRCA, the PNLA Quarterly, and conferences were consistently considered to be excellent services and programs of the association. To achieve the proposals outlined in the Action Plan will require more active involvement by members of the Association. I urge you to become personally involved in the renewal of your Association.
It has been a difficult year financially as we worked to deal with the deficit from the Seattle conference and the overall financial picture. Monica Weyhe, Treasurer, did an excellent job of keeping us all on the financial track and dealing with the crucial issues. I would again like to recognize the generous support of the American Library Association in attacking the conference deficit. While our finances remain extremely tight, we can, with a clearer picture of our vision and priorities, ensure that the budget clearly supports those priorities and enables us to achieve the goals set forth in our Action Plan.
I regret that due to illness I was unable to attend the state association conferences, and I am grateful to incoming president Andrew Johnson for doing such a good job in representing PNLA at many of the conferences. Andrew has also worked hard as PNLA's conference organizer for the August 1998 conference.
While the review process has occupied most of the Board time, the ongoing activities of the Association have been maintained. In particular, YRCA has again been very successful, the revamped Quarterly has maintained its quality in the second year of publication, a successful join conference has been held in Sun Valley, and planning is well advanced for the 1999 PNLA conference in Calgary, Alberta.
It has been an honour for me to serve as your president, particularly in such an important year for the Association. It has been challenging and exciting, and I have enjoyed it immensely. Your Board has been exemplary in their commitment to our Association. They have worked hard with creative energy, insight and good humour, and I am deeply indebted to them for enabling us to achieve so much this year. I am going to miss the old nunnery! I want to wish our new President, Andrew Johnson, and our new Board the best of luck in the coming year in working on the future development of PNLA. Under Andrew's leadership, I know they will succeed.