Women’s National Book Association Annual Board Meeting
June 6–9, 2008
San Francisco, California
Minutes of the Meeting
Saturday, June 7, 2008, Chancellor Hotel
Attendees:
Laurie Beckelman National President, Boston Chapter
Joan Gelfand National VP/President-elect, San Francisco Chapter
Margaret Auer National Treasurer, Detroit Chapter
Jill Tardiff National Past President/UN/DPI, NYC Chapter
Cindy DooleyDetroit Chapter President
Lee L. Fairbend Nashville Chapter President
Mary E. Knippel San Francisco Chapter President
Kelly Sullivan-WaldenLos Angeles Chapter President
Valerie A. TomaselliNew York City Chapter President
NC Weil Washington DC Chapter President
Sylvia Cross WNBA Eastman Grant, NYC Chapter
Nancy Kelly WNBA Award, Boston Chapter
Mary Grey JamesWNBA Pannell Award, Nashville Chapter
Katherine Dibble Long-Range Planning, Boston Chapter
Shannon Janeczek The Bookwoman Editor, Detroit Chapter
Excused:
Erin Brown, Boston Chapter President
Ruth Light, Incoming National Secretary, Los Angeles Chapter
Guests:
Henriette Ann Klausner Seattle
Linda Lee San Francisco Chapter Vice President
Melinda Woolf Los Angeles Chapter Vice President
Welcome and Introductions
Laurie Beckelman, President called the meeting to order at 9:40 a.m. She announced that, due to the high cost of the hotel food, we would be ordering lunch in.
Laurie explained the rules of the Introduction Game, and everyone enjoyed learning about the secret passions and background information on everyone attending. She mentioned that in the absence of Ruth Light, newly elected secretary, Sylvia Cross and Margaret Dibble would be taking the minutes.
One piece of parliamentary business was to vote to let the non-board members present speak. There was consensus to let guests speak as long as board members spoke first.
Jill distributed neko gifts for all—little Japanese gifts that insure good luck for the next year.
Chapter-to-Chapter
Best Program Ideas
Laurie said that the idea should be to focus on what’s been new, great, and those items that included some component of literacy and charitable outreach.
Nashville: Lee Fairbend explained that some of the good things their chapter accomplished included nine fascinating programs that provided a variety of subjects. They have a number of different writers that contribute articles for their newsletter. They support young writers with scholarships and a camp, and they support Book’em, which provides volunteer readers in area schools and by distributing children’s book to young readers who otherwise might be unable to afford them.
Detroit: Cindy Dooley said their chapter tries to connect to the community with charitable activities. Longtime member Edith Phillips died this past year and left an endowment for the chapter. The chapter also made a contribution. They put together a list of 40 books, and one sixteen-year-old member helped by going out to collect funds for more books, which eventually totaled 80 books. They also adopted a library that was in need and collected books for children who were in the hospital.
San Francisco: Mary Knippel mentioned that some members formed a literacy council. They started a youth club to nurture middle-school kids that wanted to become writers, and the students learned those things that were necessary to become a published writer. The chapter will donate some of the proceeds from that evening’s dinner to a to-be-decided member who can’t afford to go to a writer’s conference. They had a silent auction, which was an authors’ showcase. (They charged their author members a fee to be able to sell their books, and the authors were able to keep the money from their sales.) They also had a fund-raiser that raised over $2,500.
Henriette Klausner from Seattle arrived and was introduced. She wrote Writing on Both Sides of the Brain, and Write It Down, Make It Happen. She also does writers’ workshops. Henriette is the Seattle representative who the national board members have been talking with about starting a new chapter there.
Los Angeles: Kelly Sullivan-Walden said that membership is almost up to 70 members. Their silent auction raised $500 from items members brought in. Their Web site is now up and running, and they have a newsletter. They donated books to LosNiñosBookCenter for children six to nine. The Dream Project is taking off. New members, such as Melinda Woolf, with media experience, will be contributing to the growth of the chapter.
Boston: Erin Brown joined the group on speakerphone. Boston had 50 to 60 people attending the January and April events. One chapter member is at WCBH in Boston and brought an editor from the station to talk about the Jane Austen programs. In April they had a memoir event, and at each event they had people interested in becoming members.
They felt they had higher caliber speakers this past year. They considered changing venues from time to time to reach new audiences. They are also trying to facilitate member networking so that people can have some fun socializing, while also benefiting from sharing their expertise. One proposed program for next year is “Membership Directory Comes Alive”—to enable people to get to know one another better. Charitable: they need a member to fill this chair. The most philanthropic venture this past year was collecting many books at the holiday tea for the ChildensHospital.
WashingtonDC: NC Wiel reported that they collect books for the Reading Connection, a group that supports literacy efforts. They may do a literacy fair. They sent a questionnaire to members about what they would like in the way of programming for the coming year, which was very successful. It was used for planning the forthcoming season’s programs. Their big challenge is that a venue they used for their meetings is now no longer available. Cindy suggested that if there are librarian members they might be able to provide a room at their branch. They also hold brunches, which enable people to network and socialize, and they also have a group called The Downtown Diners, who meet for dinner just to socialize. It gives people time to establish social relationships.
New York: Valerie Tomaselli reported that their membership count held steady at 130 to 140. One of the biggest achievements is that the quality of their members has risen; they have more published writers, for example, Andrea Sachs, Time magazine book report editor. They will aggressively go after people who show interest in the group. The panel program was probably the best they’ve had. They’ve established a rhythm of financial inflow, which is putting them on a stronger footing. For example, an agent/author night, where they paired writers with agents—a hands-on workshop to critique query letters, etc. Laurie said they charged about $75 for non-members and $65 for members for the same general kind of program. The best-attended program was the one about the author/agent relationship and editor/author pairing and the changing trends in publishing. They also do some charitable work: they made a donation to the UNICEF fund.
Revisiting Our Long-Range Goals
Katherine reviewed the priority items:
Appoint a board-level sustaining member chair (done); list all members on National Directory (close to done); honor our UN relationship; Action Items: WNBA award citation should be placed on the Web site; there should be a link from the Pannell winners to the Web site and from their sites to ours; a logo for the Pannell citation. At this point, we’re batting about 80-90 percent.
She listed some non-priority objectives that should probably be done at the chapter level.
Action Item: Put an article in The Bookwoman about the long-range plan. Katherine asked for suggestions on how chapters can focus on reaching our objectives. Margaret suggested two categories: routine priorities for chapters and national overall responsibilities. Another suggestion was to put a paragraph on long-range goals in the chapter newsletters. Action Items: 1. Maybe Katherine could send out a quarterly reminder. Each time the paragraph might have a different focus to keep it interesting. 2. Also, add this information to our Web site and include information on what objectives have been accomplished (successes). We could use a thermometer diagram to show how close we are to our goals. 3. Also, it would help if the national officers and committee chairs would send their information to the chapters to include in their newsletters. We could use the WNBA_all list server to distribute this information. 4. Shannon could coordinate a listserv and distribute to the chapter newsletters.
Questions that Katherine feels should be addressed:
- Are there any items in the long-range plan that are no longer relevant?
- Are there any items that should be added?
Action Item: We should do a thorough review of the Long-Range Plan next year, because it’s a five-year plan.
Action Item: Establish a committee to review the Long-range Plan in 2009.
Reports from the field – Part 1
WNBA Eastman Grant
Sylvia reported that there were six applications in 2007 and a seventh that came in late. The evaluation procedure worked well, and recipient Hana Kim had already sent in her report. Sylvia had asked for reports from the 2003, 2004, and 2006 winners, which came in and can be excerpted for an article in The Bookwoman.Action Item: Shannon said she would allocate about three-quarters of a page for the Fall issue, which would have a July copy deadline. Sylvia said she would also send a small ad to be placed in this issue reminding librarians to apply for the 2008 grant.
Margaret suggested that each year, the report should go on the Web site with a link.
Margaret moved that each WNBA Eastman Grant recipient receive a one-year network membership to the chapter of her/his choice. The chapter chosen would not be responsible for the per capita payment to national for these complimentary memberships. Lee seconded. Unanimously passed.
Sylvia asked that when the president writes the congratulatory letter to the recipient, she include a paragraph asking that the report be sent directly to the Eastman Grant chair, and give the chair’s contact information.
Action Item: Add this to the president’s duties in the Manual.
WNBA Book Collection
Katherine Dibble reported that the collection was officially turned over to the Boston Library May 5th. Close to 200 books were sent, and all the chapters were represented. Releases will be sent out locally for the authors who showed up. They accepted books written prior to a member joining, but they will not accept books from non-authors or authors who are no longer members. Margaret suggested that we should have a list of all the books that were donated and compare it to the list of authors’ books on the Web site.
Action Item: For long-range goals, include books by authors on Web site and see that the National Directory is kept current so the lists correspond.
This authors’ collection is limited to members of WNBA. Each list will include the sentence saying “This author is a member of WNBA.”
Suggestion: That each year there be a liaison between the chapters and the Boston Library. Katherine volunteered to be that liaison. She has written guidelines for the liaison person. That person has to receive the books and hold them so they can be sent to the Library in spring. A reminder would be sent.
Katherine moved that WNBA have a liaison between the WNBA and the Boston Library who will be responsible for coordinating the WNBA authors’ collections. Seconded by NC. Passed unanimously.
Lunch Break: 1:00 – 2:00
Kevin Smokler, a gen-Xer and author of Bookmark NOW!, spoke to us during the lunch break. His book, a collection of articles, was a San Francisco book of the year. He grew up with books, and to him literacy meant cultural literacy, and reading was just a part of that. He founded Booktour.com. It is the largest database of book events. They get event information from many of the big bookstores, and it is distributed free in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Any author can open a free account and input their information.
He made the following points:
- We should not dictate that you can’t be considered an educated person if you don’t read books.
- Technology is our friend. It is tool that can be used by everyone.
- Our first reaction to change is NO. It is a reaction of fear, the reaction of a victim.
- Books are in constant dialog with other media.
- We are constantly underselling what we do.
- We have forgotten about the fun. Reading is supposed to be one of the most entertaining things we do. We are so afraid of talking about how much fun reading is.
Let us talk about it that way. What we do is giving people joy.
Discussion:
Joan: There is so much available today; there are so many choices; book people are in a more competitive position. Cindy: The Newbery Awards for example. This is not a new phenomenon—Newbery awards changed when people started to realize that children should enjoy books. Laurie was struck by Kevin’s observation that books are part of a web. For example, if you like a book, then you should see the movie. We should make those connections for people. Kevin: Yes, why can’t you buy Country forOld Men, the book, when you walk out of the movie? Lee: Your Web site would be a wonderful resource for our members who are authors. What kind of reciprocal links might be available with Booktour.com and WNBA? Kevin: We don’t have any links, but I can certainly hype you. Kelly: Do you have a relationship with Kindle books? Kevin: No, but remember it is important not to talk about books and technology only in terms of e-books; the electronic book phenomenon is real, but I seriously doubt it will ever take the place of print; we are in the business of promoting a lifestyle and a cultural experience, not simply in the promotion of books. Valerie: My understanding is that electronic distribution of music has helped independent musicians; the same may be true of books. Kevin: The book itself is no longer contained by the package.
Intermission for a chance to buy Kevin’s books.
Reports from the Field – Part 1, continued
WNBA Pannell Award
Mary Grey James stated that the WNBA Pannell award was established in the early ‘80s with a bequest left by the Pannell estate. Go to the WNBA Web site for more information about Lucile Micheels Pannell. The Bremer Trust administers the endowment, and they need to be kept in the loop about what we are doing. The Award is given each year to two bookstores, a general bookseller and a children’s bookstore. The presentation is made at the opening ceremony of BEA. Bremer Trust is always notified about the winners. Up until two years ago, the Trust was out of money. We were dependent on going to publishers to ask for money. Penguin Young Readers gave $2,000 and said this year they will continue to support the Award. This year, there was a distribution from the Trust. Each winner gets a check for $1,000 and a piece of original art from a children’s book illustrator. It was very meaningful to hear a full ballroom of people give WNBA thanks for sponsoring this award. These are booksellers who don’t give much recognition, but all the sellers and others in attendance are very grateful for this award. In the folder I’ve distributed are examples of the support of the book industry press for this award. There are two things I’d like in put on the table: we’ve talked about changing the name of the award from the Lucile Micheels Pannell Award to the WNBA Pannell Award. I’d like to be able to send a press release saying that the Board has approved a change of name.
Mary Grey moved that we change the name from the Lucile Micheels Pannell award to the WNBA Pannell Award Valerie seconded. Passed unanimously.
Laurie suggested that a brochure be developed that lists previous award winners. Jill suggested a bookmark, which would be more useful to bookstores. Laurie suggested a “Pannell recommends” list. Mary Grey asked if there were an objection to doing both—a brochure and a bookmark. Margaret asked about the costs. Action Item: Mary Grey said she’d investigate the cost and that she would like the bookstores to have some recognition they can give to their customer base. She said the brochure could include information about WNBA, about Pannell, and why the store met the criteria for winning the award. Valerie asked if it would it be possible to expand a bookmark and put that all that information on it? Other suggestions were to include a link on the bookmark to the WNBA Web site, or something that could be posted on the bookstore’s window. Mary Grey stated that everything that goes out about the Pannell Award includes information on WNBA.