Newsflashes from the Branch Executive Committee

The Branch Executive Committee including Interest Group Chairs or representatives held a committee meeting on 22nd February 2006.

Here are some highlights and news from the meeting:-
* SA Library Week 2006 launch will be hosted together with Western Cape Provincial Library Services and City of Cape Town Libraries on Wednesday 8 March atBridgetown Public Library. Watch your email for your invitation and programme details.

* The updated Branch diary for 2006 will soon be posted to the branch webpage and on the branch weblog. The new integrated diary will include the interest group committee meetings.

* The Branch newsletter is scheduled to appear in March, July, October,December. The March issue will appear after the SA Library Week launch.

* There is a new revised fee structure for membership. Full details will be circulated by the national office and will appear in the next LIASA-in-Touch and in the March issue of the Western Cape newsletter.

The membership period will be reverting to a calendar year (January -December) from 2007.

There are special incentives to renew your membership during 2006:If you renew for 2006 between March and September you will pay a reduced fee of R150.00. This membership will be valid until December 2006 after which you have to renew for 2007. If you renew between September and December, you qualify for an early bird special for 2007 of R180.00. Your membership is then valid until December 2007.

New members who join between March and December 2006 pay R180. The fee for 2007 is R210.00.

* A membership campaign is on the go for 2006. There are awards for thebranches who recruit and/or retain the most members, as well as an award of R1000 for an individual who recruits the most members. More about this later!!

* Queries/Complaints about membership should be directed to the Chair, Naomi Haasbroek or Membership Secretary, Wilhelmina Zaal.

* SABINET Librarian of the Year Award: the Branch has to nominate afinalist to go forward to the national competition. Watch this spacefor information about the call for nominations, the process, criteria and deadlines. Are you the SABINET Librarian of the Year? A substantialcash prize accompanies this award.

* The first call for nominations for the 2006 Branch Award will be made in the March newsletter - more details will also be announced at the meeting of the 8th March.

* Conference 2006: the venue is the St Georges' Hotel and ConferenceCentre (between Johannesburg and Pretoria) from 25 - 29 September 2006. Naomi Haasbroek is the interim national Co-ordinator for Conference2006. The national Co-ordinating Committee has already appointed a professional conference organiser. The exhibitors also now have a representative on the Local Organising Committee in order to address their particular needs.

The Branch Executive Committee meeting was followed by a meeting ofInterest Group Chairs and Treasurers with the Chair of the Branch and the Branch Treasurer.