A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT

Several years ago members of the Archives Society of Alberta met in Banff to assess the society's accomplishments and to chart a course for the next several years. Several new initiatives and the continuation of others resulted from this Strategic Planning Meeting.

Recently members of the ASA have expressed the desire to see the Association re- assess its directions, its programming and its resourcing. Some members are concerned that most of our programs are geared to urban rather than rural archival programs. Some see a need for development grants, especially as the amount of backlog of unprocessed records diminishes.

Some members wish to see the Control of Holdings Program shift to an emphasis on RAD-compliant fonds level description projects. Some members see the need for a greater emphasis in grants programming to conservation/preservation projects. Some members are concerned that the grant adjudication process as currently constituted is elitist where large institutions receive more funding than smaller institutions.

Some members believe that the education program has met its main goals and objectives and needs to be re-founded on the advanced or specialized needs of our members. Some members believe that the ASA should direct its advisory, outreach, public awareness, and advocacy activities to the creation of new viable archival programs rather than providing assistance to existing well-established archives.

Some members are concerned about the amount of the Society's resources which is spent on contract staff and the administration of the Society. Some members would like to see the functions of the Archives Advisor shifted from advising and assisting existing archives and the encouragement of new archival programs to an executive director type of position in support of Executive and committee activities and projects.

With the availability of contract staff to assist in the management of the Society, some members wonder whether the existing executive and committee structure is appropriate to the needs of the Society. Many members wonder how the Society can sustain its current activities and move in new directions without new funding from outside sources.

All of these concerns and questions are welcome. However, they do not help the Society determine its priorities and strategies for the future.

The Executive needs help in addressing these concerns and developing programs and activities which will meet member needs over the years leading to the turn of the century. As a consequence, it has established a task group.

Its purpose is to define appropriate prioritized strategies for the ASA, to recommend appropriate programs to carry out these strategies, to recommend the financial and staff resources appropriate to the implementation of the Society's strategies and programs. Members of the task group are Dr. Sandra Thomson (chair), Eileen Hendy, Wayne Murdoch, Carolyn Hill, Jane Bowe McCarthy, James Bowman, and Karen Buckley.

The task group will complete its work in time for the Annual General Meeting (being planned for May). Member input on any of the above concerns or any others is most welcome and necessary. I encourage all members to participate in the task group's deliberations. Your input is crucial to the success of the Society as we approach 2000.

Bryan Corbett
President