No, it doesn't need member access. I just had a look and I'm not a member of the ASA. I think the Council needs to release a plan for how to turn this around as quickly as possible as this sort of news won't encourage new members to join.
I think its time we got some straight informaiton and answers fron Council. We are being kept in the dark about reasons for a very significant decision to cancel one of the important services the Society provides to members, without any consultation whatsoever. Council needs to immediately respond to members' concerns and tell us clearly what the 'operational and financial circumstances' are that led them to the decision. I would also like to hear some proper justification about why members were not consulted BEFORE the decision was taken.
It appears that Council is operating to a secret agenda that it will not reveal to us members who pay our dues to keep the Society running. We don't have to put up with this and we shouldn't.
Kathryn Dan > Andrew WilsonFebruary 17, 2011 at 3:05pm
In answer to questions about finances (some asked here and some on the google group) papers from the 2010 annual general meeting, including financial statements and treasurer's report are on the ASA website. It may need member sign in to access.
Commiserations to Adelaide's Organising Committee. I know that many volunteer hours/days have already been spent so far... not to mention to the emotional energy expended too!
Anne Picot > Brigid CooperFebruary 16, 2011 at 12:55pm
dear all,
It seems a strange state of affairs when the ASA President speaks first to the CAARA representatives about the momentous decision to cancel a well-established event like our annual confrence before communicating to the members, let alone asking their opinion.
Both financial and operational circumstances were instanced by Pat. When will we find out what these circumstances are?
Please see ASA Council's response to the Adelaide conference situation below in the blogs area. Yesterday the ASA Council informed the Conference Commitee of our decision to cancel the Adelaide conference and reschedule a professional development event elsewhere. Then I spoke to all of the CAARA representatives to let them know the state of play. They were very supportive indeed. I spoke to the last of CAARA representatives this morning. Then I worked communicating to our members first, which has been sent out to their individual email addresses. If you haven't got it yet then you may need to check with Mel White at the office that your email details are correct. Should you wish to view a PDF version of my letter, here is the link http://www.archivists.org.au/news/id/31. Finally non-members have been informed by ArchivesLive! and by posting to the website.
Let me reassure you that this decision was not made lightly but with many hours of deliberation and soul searching from Council.
Regards
Pat Jackson
President of the Australian Society of Archivists
Gerard Foley > 3uh9uf42pgvhtFebruary 15, 2011 at 4:56pm
Hi,
This main thing this letter leads me to conclude is that the ASA is in dire straits financially (and in human resource terms too) if it can't organise a Conference that pays for itself. Does this mean there isn't enough money to even pay deposits? I'm far from sure what the sentence "ASA Council, and I, may perhaps take some of our members into territory for which they are not yet ready" means? Please explain...
Thanks Sue. This must be very disappointing for the conference committee members who put so much work into the planning.
I wonder how many people would like to come to Adelaide for the "Not the Archives Conference Get Together"? I suspect a BarCamp could prove very attractive as an information and knowledge sharing activity without the need to be paying to listen to very nice but very out of most archives reach international speakers.
For the information of members, the Adelaide-based Conference Committee was invited to consider holding a one day symposium instead of a two day conference. However, we were not confident that a single day symposium would attract a sufficiently wide national audience and that the effort involved would be similar to the traditional conference in any event. We offered to continue with the traditional conference model and manage further expenses through sponsorship and other local arrangements. Council was not willing to accept that offer and cancelled the conference booking. It now seems that an alternative event may take place in Sydney.
Good question Jenny. Some rather major news like this shouldn't be the subject of rumour.
If this is confirmed it is very disappointing and makes me wonder about the direction of the Society. Conferences are the ONLY opportunities for professional development for many Archivists.
If money is the main consideration then Conferences should be able to pay for themselves. You set a budget, work out all the expenses involved in running the Conference, estimate how many people would come to the Conference and set the charge per person to cover the costs (and perhaps to even make a small profit). It's a rather large task, but still a do-able task if you have a good team.
Replies
I think its time we got some straight informaiton and answers fron Council. We are being kept in the dark about reasons for a very significant decision to cancel one of the important services the Society provides to members, without any consultation whatsoever. Council needs to immediately respond to members' concerns and tell us clearly what the 'operational and financial circumstances' are that led them to the decision. I would also like to hear some proper justification about why members were not consulted BEFORE the decision was taken.
It appears that Council is operating to a secret agenda that it will not reveal to us members who pay our dues to keep the Society running. We don't have to put up with this and we shouldn't.
Commiserations to Adelaide's Organising Committee. I know that many volunteer hours/days have already been spent so far... not to mention to the emotional energy expended too!
dear all,
It seems a strange state of affairs when the ASA President speaks first to the CAARA representatives about the momentous decision to cancel a well-established event like our annual confrence before communicating to the members, let alone asking their opinion.
Both financial and operational circumstances were instanced by Pat. When will we find out what these circumstances are?
Dear All
Please see ASA Council's response to the Adelaide conference situation below in the blogs area. Yesterday the ASA Council informed the Conference Commitee of our decision to cancel the Adelaide conference and reschedule a professional development event elsewhere. Then I spoke to all of the CAARA representatives to let them know the state of play. They were very supportive indeed. I spoke to the last of CAARA representatives this morning. Then I worked communicating to our members first, which has been sent out to their individual email addresses. If you haven't got it yet then you may need to check with Mel White at the office that your email details are correct. Should you wish to view a PDF version of my letter, here is the link http://www.archivists.org.au/news/id/31. Finally non-members have been informed by ArchivesLive! and by posting to the website.
Let me reassure you that this decision was not made lightly but with many hours of deliberation and soul searching from Council.
Regards
Pat Jackson
President of the Australian Society of Archivists
Hi,
This main thing this letter leads me to conclude is that the ASA is in dire straits financially (and in human resource terms too) if it can't organise a Conference that pays for itself. Does this mean there isn't enough money to even pay deposits? I'm far from sure what the sentence "ASA Council, and I, may perhaps take some of our members into territory for which they are not yet ready" means? Please explain...
Gerard
Thanks Sue. This must be very disappointing for the conference committee members who put so much work into the planning.
I wonder how many people would like to come to Adelaide for the "Not the Archives Conference Get Together"? I suspect a BarCamp could prove very attractive as an information and knowledge sharing activity without the need to be paying to listen to very nice but very out of most archives reach international speakers.
For the information of members, the Adelaide-based Conference Committee was invited to consider holding a one day symposium instead of a two day conference. However, we were not confident that a single day symposium would attract a sufficiently wide national audience and that the effort involved would be similar to the traditional conference in any event. We offered to continue with the traditional conference model and manage further expenses through sponsorship and other local arrangements. Council was not willing to accept that offer and cancelled the conference booking. It now seems that an alternative event may take place in Sydney.
Good question Jenny. Some rather major news like this shouldn't be the subject of rumour.
If this is confirmed it is very disappointing and makes me wonder about the direction of the Society. Conferences are the ONLY opportunities for professional development for many Archivists.
If money is the main consideration then Conferences should be able to pay for themselves. You set a budget, work out all the expenses involved in running the Conference, estimate how many people would come to the Conference and set the charge per person to cover the costs (and perhaps to even make a small profit). It's a rather large task, but still a do-able task if you have a good team.
Gerard Foley
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