Library and Information Science Student Organization (LISSO)

University of Kentucky

Meeting Minutes: June 4, 2012

Officers present: Debbi Lloyd, Mercedes Hopewell, Jessica Herrington, Justin Conder, Ida Sell

Total present: 5

Call to open: 5:45pm EST

New Officers and Duties:

Debbi checked with all new officers had made some contact with their predecessors and understood their primary responsibilities. She is available to answer any questions about officer duties. We will also aim to institute a new president and treasurer by the end of the coming semester, replacing Debbi and Ida.

Budget and T-shirt Sales Status:

The LISSO bank account is expected to hold $118, once the T-shirt shipping costs have been removed this week. The t-shirts have arrived and are planned to be packaged and shipped over the coming week. Debbi intends to send out notifications to customers as packages are being shipped.

Additional Topics and Changes:

It was suggested that we reinstitute the dues drive at the fall picnic. All members that pay their dues on that day will have their name entered into a prize drawing. Prizes suggested were $25 gift cards to a restaurant or a store of interest.

Previous club administrations have networked with local businesses, asking for donations, such as food for events. While it would be nice to continue these connections, it has become more difficult as the current officers do not have the same local connections. Debbi and Ida will try contacting previous officers for help locating previous contacts.

The LISSO Christmas party will be continued this December. It was tentatively decided to ask Dr. O’Connor to host the party at her house. The party will be a potluck.

With the shortage of students preparing for the comprehensive test, it was discussed to change the dinner into a general LISSO night instead, as well as abandoning any exam previous exam preparation activities.

It has been decided that LISSO will try to limit all events to about one or two major events per month, in order to be more focused and to promote each event better. These will be in addition to the monthly meetings. All events will also include some form of RSVP, although it has not been decided what application will be used.

The collaborative calendar for all SLIS organizations is still in progress. Debbi is working to decide on what program or application to use.

There was discussion of creating some type of forum in order to better engage all students, especially those that are online, as well as provide a place for new students to find answers about graduate school. This could also be supplemented by a FAQ page for new students. This could include any topics of interest to SLIS students, including some library blogs that could be of interest.

The fall picnic has been tentatively planned for Saturday, August 6, 2012, which is the weekend immediately after classes begin. There was some concern that Woodland Park does not accept reservations for the gathering areas, which are taken on a first-come-first-serve basis. Other venues are being considered, as well as the possibility of planning for early arrivals to hold our place. An email reminder will be sent in July for people to save the date of the picnic, with an RSVP notice to come once all location plans have been finalized.

In addition to the new student orientation, Debbi suggested talking to professors with face-to-face classes and organizing a schedule of representatives to inform these classes about all SLIS organizations. LISSO would like to distribute a handout detailing the FAQs and additional information about the club, including contact information.

It was suggested to discontinue the LISSO blog, as updates and interest have waned. One possibility is a collective email update sent to the listserv, including meeting minutes and highlighting any events for the month.

In general, our plans for the fall semester are set as follows:
August:            Fall picnic and the launch of the forum
September:       Bowling/Karaoke Night
October:           Attending the Zombie Parade as a group, including meeting for dinner beforehand
November:       Board Game Night in the Cats Den
December:       Christmas Party Potluck

Another officer meeting has been planned for Monday, August 6, 2012 in order to finalize all the picnic plans and to further discuss the events and meetings of the fall semester.

Call to close: 7:45pm EST