Minutes, Long Range Planning Meeting, Saturday, August 15, 2009 Washington Convention Center, Room 207B

Svetlana Korolev opened the meeting at 8:00AM with introductions. Present were:

Greg Banik, Fundraising Committee Chair Svetla Baycoucheva, CIB Editor, Publications Committee Grace Baysinger, Education Committee Rachelle Bienstoch, Programming Committee Jan Carver, Membership Committee Chair Judith Currano, Secretary, Publications and Education Committees Jeremy Garritano, Education Committee Chair Jonathan Goodman Guenter Grethe, Awards Committee Rajarshi Guha, Programming Committee Chair Chick Huber, Alternate Councilor, Education Committee Svetlana Korolev, Chair Bonnie Lawlor, Councilor, Audit Committee, Archivist David Martinsen, Past Chair, Publications Committee Marge Matthews, Awards Committee Rob McFarland, Programming Committee Phil McHale, Awards Committee Chair Carmen Nitsche, Chair Elect Susanne Redalje, Bylaws Committee Chair Pamela Scott, Alternate Councilor, Programming Committee Leah Solla, Programming Committee Bill Town, Publications Committee Chair Andrea Twiss-Brooks, Councilor, Awards and Programming Committees Wendy Warr, Awards and Fundraising Committees

I. Future of the CINF Publications Committee (Bill Town) The print Chemical Information Bulletin will be replaced by an online publication, using e-newsletters and the Web site to deliver content. The CINF E-News will be folded into the CIB, which will be published at least four times a year and will be used to drive traffic to the Web site, where the majority of the information will be published. The ACS Meeting newsletter was distributed to the Publications Committee prior to the meeting, and, although they had some design concerns, they liked the concept of a nicely-designed newsletter that provides “teasers.”

A large portion of the discussion centered around whether the electronic CIB should be open access or should be reserved as a members’ benefit. There were differing views on the subject; Bonnie Lawlor asserted that the Bulletin provides general information that is of interest to many; so, it should reach the widest audience possible. This led to the second major topic, that of advertizing. It was suggested that a wide readership would drive sponsorship. In order to advertize in the CIB, an entity would have to provide a certain level of sponsorship. However, CINF could run into problems with advertizing, should they ever decide to move the CINF Web site to the ACS server.

The next topic of conversation surrounded delivery of the content to non-members. Suggestions were that non-members could sign up on the CINF Web site, and that the text of the “teaser” newsletter could be posted to CHMINF-L.

It is very important that an archival pdf file exist for historical reasons, and this could also be mounted online with a link. The group found it very important that each issue be an actual entity and not a series of constantly changing information. It is also very important that the technical session abstracts continue to be presented in the CIB prior to the National Meetings. Finally, the CIB is a good way to get CINF information to other groups that are doing related activities, as well as other technical divisions. Bill Town reminded the group that the committees should consider things that the CIB can do to help them in their endeavors.

The last two print issues of the CIB still need to be loaded into the digital archive at the University of North Texas.

Bill Town reminded the group that the Publications Committee is still in need of an editor-in-chief of the CIB, as well as several other types of editors. The suggestion was made that there be a photo editor to make sure that important photos are presented in the Bulletin. Rick Williams suggested that the Web might be used as a staging area, where content could be posted, checked, and then finalized.

There was some discussion of using the ACS Network as a permanent repository for the CIB. The Network offers possibilities to store documents with various levels of security and could also be used as a staging ground. Furthermore, ACS is actively soliciting groups that are interested in experimenting with the Network.

Another suggestion was for CINF to have a Facebook page, on which reminders of upcoming activities could be posted, along with the CIB tables of contents, pictures, and more. Pamela Scott recommended that LinkedIn also be examined since many corporations block their employees from using Facebook while at work.

II. Member Benefits Many of the benefits offered to CINF members seem to have eroded. The membership list disappeared, and the CINF E-News went open access. Compared to other divisions, CINF appears to offer its members little. The following member benefits were discussed.

 Awards: These are still member benefits and are very important.  Serving on Committees: While you need to be a CINF member to serve on the Executive Committee, it is unclear whether other committee members need also to be CINF members.  CINF Salary Survey: Currently a members-only benefit  Online access to program content: Could potentially be restricted to members only.  Regional events open only to CINF members were suggested.

Some technical divisions provide journals and book series at reduced rates. However, these are most frequently the large divisions. It would be helpful to do a survey of benefits offered by other divisions. It is also important to remember that CINF co-sponsors CHMINF-L, which is a huge benefit.

The following motivations for joining CINF were voiced.

 Community of people with similar jobs/interests  Opportunity to work with an extremely diverse group of people  Networking  Programming: CINF programming is really cutting-edge, and one can learn things that position one in one’s job to do something new. As a member, one gets to influence programming, although non-members can also attend CNF programs.

The group recommended that CINF focus more on the networking aspects of its member benefits and cite all of the activities that support it. Once someone becomes a member, s/he feels more closely related to the division. Division activities present opportunities to see people that one knows and have face-to-face interactions with people one might not always see.

The Membership Committee announced that it is in search of new members.

III. New Business The chair of the Joint Board-Council Committee on Publications suggested that the future of the Open Meetings be discussed at the Long Range Planning Meeting. There is an overall directive from ACS to reduce costs, and they want to know if the Open Meeting is serving any need. They would like to know whether CINF finds this meeting useful or if other items, such as booth time, would serve the same purpose. One suggestion of the ACS Publications President is that CINF set the agenda for the meeting.

The following suggestions were made by the group.

 More time should be spent on questions and answers and less time on marketing. The Joint-Board Council Committees should actually report.  CINF should still have the opportunity to know what is going on, but the meeting has deteriorated. CINF still wants the opportunity to speak directly to the people who can address issues raised, but many people stopped attending the meeting because it lost its lively character.  A brief summary of what happened in committee should be given at the meeting, and marketing could be done at the booth. There should be one main issue discussed at each meeting

The group was agreed that lines of communication need to be maintained between the CINF membership and ACS Publications and CAS.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00AM.

Respectfully submitted,

Judith N. Currano