FROM THE TREASURERAuthor(s): Jack RobertsonSource: Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 9,No. 2 (Summer 1990), pp. 103, 105Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948210 .

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Art Documentation, Summer, 1990 103

section, round table, committee, ad hoc group, or local chap ter. A clearly stated subject, appropriate to the mission of ARLIS/NA, is the basis for consideration. A quickly penned, sketchy article viewed as "newsy" may, with a bit more thought, become an important addition to the literature of the field. As editor, I will happily work with anyone wishing to contribute to Art Documentation, providing direction for ideas, and answers to questions.

Beryl Smith Rutgers University

I_I

FROM THE TREASURER This ARLIS/NA treasurer's report is, in slightly revised form,

the statement delivered at the New York conference during the Membership Meeting on Monday, February 12,1990.

I am happy to be able to report that ARLIS/NA's financial condition is very sound. The budget for fiscal year 1990, which began in October of 1989, is, at $235,000, by far the largest ever. This total is $50,000 greater than the previous

year and it is over double the total budget for ARLIS/NA's fiscal year just five years ago. The most important fact about our current budget is that it is balanced. We are still fairly early in the course of the fiscal year, but both the income and expense sides of the budget are on target. At the end of January, that is at the one-third point in the year, the two largest income lines, membership and conference, have at tained 80% and 92% respectively. The total on the expense side has hit the predicted mark at 26% of the budgeted total.

I complete my two-year term as treasurer with this report, and I'd like to make a few observations pertaining to the society's financial structure and status. Several healthy pat terns can be discerned when the budgets for this year and the past four or five years are compared. First, even as the totals for income and expenses have steadily increased dur ing the past five years, the proportion contributed by ARLIS/ NA members has decreased substantially for the services and programs that the society provides. In 1987 the income generated from dues and conference fees paid by members constituted about two-thirds of the total income. In fiscal year 1990 this percentage will amount to approximately one-half of the total income. This shows that the society has been more and more successful in raising the necessary funds for its activities without overly burdening its individual members. Another positive trend has been the steadily decreasing

percentage of the overall budgeted expenditures that are not devoted directly to programs and services. In 1985 nearly 23% of the budget was required to support administrative functions; in 1989 the percentage has diminished to 11%. This means that a great deal more of the society's money is being used to support program services such as publications, the conference, and other special activities that convey benefits directly back to the membership.

During the five fiscal years including 1985 through 1989, the society's success at raising money in excess of expenses has been very good. While income from our individual members has not increased remarkably in dollar amounts (and in fact has shrunk in terms of percentage), income from sources such as interest (over $13,000 in 1989), fundraising, nonmem ber support for conference activities, and advertising fees has increased markedly. These increases have resulted in in come exceeding expenses over the past five years by a total of $77,191. It is this money that has created the core of ARLIS/ NA's cash reserve fund. The cash reserve provides the capital to create long-range growth investment funds to build a solid financial base for the society. A cash reserve totalling at least 50% of the annual operating budget has been established as a sensible goal; this reserve will guarantee financial stability and continuity of programs should we encounter unexpected shortfalls or emergency needs in the future.

Investment of ARLIS/NA's cash reserve has been a very important ongoing issue. The issue has been resolved after a great deal of study and discussion by the executive board

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS February 1990

Current Year to Date '90 Budget Income

Operations: Membership Conference ..

Advertising .

Other: Publications.

Mailing List . Reserve Funds Interest Interest .

Fundraising . Other .

$ 6,325.00 7,418.00 2,068.70

329.00 2,350.00

0.00 982.97

1,990.00 0.00

$ 67,390.99 95,618.43 7,347.00

1,736.65 5,730.00

(63.28) 4,206.18 2,754.00

17.00

$ 76,000.00 96,000.00 14,000.00

10,000.00 9,000.00 5,000.00 6,000.00 17,000.00 2,000.00

TOTAL INCOME . $ 21,463.67 $184,736.97 $235,000.00

Expense Management Fees .

Telephone. Equipment/Supplies. Travel/Mileage. Art Documentation .

Printing/Publications .

Membership Directory _

Postage/Mailing . Conference. Dues/Subscriptions .

Legal/Accounting . I.R.S. Income Tax. Executive Board . Muehsam Award . Committee Expenses. Chapter Expenses. Sec./Div. Expenses. ARLIS Archives.

Strategic Planning Meeting Fundraising . Advert.

Commissions. Reserve Fund. Contingency.

TOTAL EXPENSE .

REVENUE/EXPENSE

5,078.67 94.92

225.50 219.47 55.79

488.56 0.00 0.00

9,413.56 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

400.00 0.00

35.31 0.00

3,886.08

0.00 0.00

49.93

$ 19,947.79

$ 1^15.88

25,017.51 698.58 572.66 924.84

5,857.41 3,885.77

0.00 2,315.01

25,892.11 600.00 630.00 116.88 893.71 200.00 206.97

1,475.00 62.26 184.78

0.00 7,678.62

2,004.37 0.00

899.91

$ 80,116.39

$104,620.58

61,480.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 3,000.00

26,000.00 7,000.00 7,000.00 4,000.00

75,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 500.00

6,200.00 500.00

5,800.00 1,000.00 1,800.00 500.00

2,800.00 13,000.00

3,500.00 6,500.00 2,420.00

$235,000.00

$ 0.00

with input from the membership as well. The society has implemented an investment program that stipulates use of socially responsible funds and investment instruments. For long-term growth of the cash reserve, the executive board has decided to invest $25,000 in two well-regarded socially responsible mutual funds. One is the Parnassus Fund which has realized an average annual rate of return of Tl% during the past five years. The second is the Pax World Fund, which has realized better than 14% annually for the past five years, and has grown by 640% over the past 15 years. Two socially responsible money market funds were also selected to ac commodate surpluses of the society's operating funds and the remainder of the cash reserve. One money market is

Working Assets, which yielded an average interest rate of 7.84% for the second half of 1989. The second money market is with the Calvert Fund, and this one averaged 8.79% interest rate in 1989. Our investments in all four of these funds are too new to show any notable return yet. I feel confident, however, that our invested money will do very well based on the past performances of all four funds. And, most impor tantly, it is very good to know that ARLIS/NA has divested itself of all investment instruments that reap monetary gains through alcohol, tobacco, armaments, and overt forms of pol lution, sexism, and racism. Of all the positive financial developments that I have wit

nessed during the past several years, the one that to me is most promising and exciting is the very real prospect for financial support from the society for individual and group projects. Already in this current fiscal year we had funds available to increase the amount of financial support for chapter and committee projects by 53%. This increase, I

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Art Documentation, Summer, 1990 105

would like to think, can continue as a trend assuming that

groups within the society continue to create projects and activities that warrant funding. Another highly promising manifestation of financial support offered by ARLIS/NA to individual members is the Research Fund. With an allocation of $2,000 from last year's cash reserves, the executive board has already initiated the build-up of an endowment fund, the interest from which will be used to support individual ARLIS/ NA member's research. Additional $2,000 amounts will be added from cash reserves on an annual basis for the foresee able future. And the focus of this year's Development Com mittee has also been raising capital for the Research Fund's endowment. As this endowment grows it will provide greater and greater amounts of interest income to be made available annually to our colleagues in the society in order to carry out research projects whose products will benefit all members of

ARLIS/NA.

Jack Robertson University of Virginia

ARLIS/NA AND AFFILIATION Over the past two years ARLIS/NA has trebled the number

of organizations with which we are officially affiliated, so this seems like an opportune time to present an overview of what affiliation means to our society and to describe the types of relationships we have with other groups. One of the most challenging aspects of affiliation is that

each organization is likely to have its own definition of the term. An ARLIS/NA committee on affiliation, appointed in 1979 by then-President Joyce Ludmer and chaired by Bill

Walker, surveyed 17 different library and art organizations and came up with nearly as many different definitions of affiliation. Affiliation between two associations may there fore involve some compromise so that a definition accept able to both can be achieved when they wish to affiliate.

Some Definitions In August 1988 the ARLIS/NA Executive Board approved

the following definition for the society: "Affiliation is defined as the formal establishment of a relationship of mutual sup port and encouragement and of such forms of cooperation as will enhance this relationship. The concrete ongoing forms of cooperation are to include a regular exchange of information between the organizations, particularly through exchanges of publications, and reciprocal assistance to indi viduals wishing to attend each other's conferences, including reciprocal members' rates for conference registration. Addi tional rights and privileges may subsequently be conferred by the executive board of ARLIS/NA." The intent of this defi nition is to provide some basic criteria for affiliation with another group but also to allow accommodation to other groups' definitions.

The following year, in July 1989, the board took another step in defining a different type of relationship called "ex change partner," when formal affiliation was either not possi ble or not appropriate. An exchange partner is defined "as an organization, or exceptionally as an individual, with which the society wishes to conduct an exchange of information and

publications and possibly an intermittent dialogue of mutual interest, but not enter into a full affiliation. Exchange partners

will be approved by the executive board of ARLIS/NA, as will

any proposed joint initiatives which arise from such relation ships." Establishment of an exchange partner relationship therefore requires only action by the ARLIS/NA Executive Board while full affiliation necessitates approval by two thirds of the eligible society members who vote on the issue. As a practical matter, we provide to most organizations in both categories, and receive in exchange, the following: copies of all society periodicals (including the Handbook and List of Members), press releases, publications publicity (and

review copies if appropriate), and conference registration in formation. Who then is ARLIS/NA affiliated with and whom do we have as exchange partners as we begin the 1990s?

Affiliations ARLIS/NA's earliest affiliation was with ARLIS, now called

ARLIS/UK and Eire. Any formal action taken by either group now seems lost in the mists of early history, but the ARLIS Council responded positively on January 17,1973, to a request for affiliation sent earlier by ARLIS/NA, and affiliation be tween the two ARLIS groups was announced in the June 1973 issue of the ARLIS Newsletter. Affiliation was defined by

ARLIS/UK as including regular exchange of information, pos sible joint publishing ventures, representation at each other's conferences, and respective committees to coordinate pro jects and foster friendly relations. This affiliation was recently reconfirmed by the two society presidents, Beth Houghton of

ARLIS/UK and Eire and Clive Phillpot of ARLIS/NA, under ARLIS/NA's 1988 definition of affiliation.

ARLIS/NA next sought to affiliate with the College Art As sociation, which was approved in 1975. In 1979, however, CAA redefined the types of organizations eligible for affiliation and

ARLIS/NA had to reapply. In 1980 the second request was approved, and affiliation with CAA operates on their terms. This includes receipt by ARLIS/NA of the CAA News, which carries an annual listing of CAA affiliates and space for affili ate news; and space for an affiliated group meeting at the CAA annual meeting. Affiliation does not include reciprocal conference registration rates (although ARLIS/NA members may attend the CAA exhibits by showing their ARLIS/NA badge), nor does it any longer involve a guaranteed annual joint conference session. Since 1987, CAA affiliates' session proposals must receive approval by the conference program chairs in order to be considered as truly "joint."

Over the course of the past two years, ARLIS/NA voting mem bers have approved affiliation with the other existing ARLIS groups?ARLIS/Norden, ARLIS/Norge, and ARLIS/Australia New Zealand?and with the Visual Resources Association. These affiliations are all under the terms of ARLIS/NA's 1988 definition and include reciprocal conference registration rates as well as exchange of information and publications.

Exchange Partners ARLIS/NA has exchange agreements with a number of dif

ferent organizations which, being more informal, tend to vary in character more than formal affiliations. Our closest rela tionship is with the Music Library Association, with which we exchange a nonvoting institutional membership and exhibit space at each other's annual conferences. Since ARLIS/NA and MLA have nearly the same number of members and share a similar-size budget, we also exchange a good deal of information informally on procedures and policies. With the other non-ARLIS art library groups that exist?the

Japan Art Documentation Society (JADS), BiArte (Italy), and the Sous Section d'Art of the Association des Biblioth?caires Fran?ais?we share information and periodicals. The same arrangement exists with the Women's Caucus for Art.

The last two organizations with which ARLIS/NA has ex change agreements are the American Library Association and the Special Libraries Association. We send to the ALA Headquarters Library copies of all our periodicals plus con ference information. To American Libraries we send press re leases and publicity on new publications. In exchange we receive American Libraries, the ALA Handbook, plus press re leases and publications publicity. We also send publicity on society activities to the ACRL Art Section newsletter, and receive copies offris Newsletter in return. We send the same type of information to SLA's Information Resource Center as

we do to ALA's Headquarters Library, and in exchange re ceive Special Libraries plus press releases on SLA activities and new publications. We also exchange periodicals and publicity with SLA's Museum, Arts, Humanities Division. Fi nally, SLA and ARLIS/NA have an arrangement for exchange of reciprocal conference registration rates.

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