It's time to self-nominate for the annual IAMSLIC elections! This year we will be electing a Secretary, and a Junior Vice President-Elect. 

These are both excellent professional development and leadership opportunities. 

The IAMSLIC bylaws describe the duties and our procedures for the election. The Junior President-Elect commitment is for 3 years (and includes Senior President-Elect, and President). The secretary commitment is for 2 years with the ability for re-election. Details are below. 

ARTICLE VIII – DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1:  President.  The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Association, and subject to the Board, shall have general supervision and control over its affairs; shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Board; shall recommend to the Board such measures considered desirable to further the objectives and broaden the effectiveness of the Association; shall sign all contracts and other legal documents affecting IAMSLIC as a whole, but excluding those contracts or legal documents which affect only a Regional Group; shall be a member ex officio of all committees; shall represent the Association at meetings of other professional organizations, or, if unable to attend, shall designate a member of the Association to serve as alternative representative; shall, with the Board, approve such reports as may be required; and shall be responsible for other Association business as may be required by these Bylaws or by vote of the Board.

Section 2:  President-Elect-(Senior and Junior).  The Senior President-Elect shall assist the President in the performance of the duties of the presidency; and in the event of absence or withdrawal of the President, shall assume all the duties and obligations of the presidency.  The Senior President-Elect shall serve as Chair of the Conference Program Committee and shall have overall responsibility for the planning and technical program of the Annual Conference to take place two years after election to office.  The Junior President-Elect will assist with maintenance of Executive Board web pages, official documents on the IAMSLIC website, such as annual reports, and conference website, when needed.

Section 3:  Secretary.  The Secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the Association and of the Board; and shall perform such other duties as the President may assign.  The Secretary also shall report the results of annual elections to the membership and file all annual reports on the IAMSLIC website.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact our current board members. Then, send a statement of intent along with an image of yourself to Kristen LaBonte. 

The membership will be voting on a proposed amendment of our bylaws (per Article XIV) in the general election. It was approved by a majority vote of the officers on 14 Sept. 2023.

“A Secretary or Treasurer may run for more than two (2) consecutive terms upon a majority vote of the Executive Board with the incumbent in absentia."

If ratified, this will be added to Article VII, Section 2.

Ballots will be sent to current members on 22 Sept. 2023.

This issue of the ASFA magazine is focused on the efforts of ASFA regional network in Latin America. There are nine ASFA partners in Latin America and four associates, each of whom contributes to the ASFA partnership by providing records on OpenASFA or participating in one of ASFA’s working groups. ASFA is very thankful to the efforts of Gabi Silvoni (INIDEP) and Silvina Perez Marino (University of Uruguay) for their efforts not only to the ASFA thesaurus and database, but also for acting as ambassadors for ASFA and helping to spread the word of the partnership. This issue of the ASFA Magazine also presents an update from the IAMSLIC conference and abstracts of papers presented by two new associates who recently joined ASFA, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, General Roca, Argentina and Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Cuba. As ASFA is in the final stages of finalizing its new partnership agreement, we hope to build on the new connections and continue to expand the ASFA partnership in Latin America.

Click here to download: ASFA Magazine, Issue #8 – July 2023 (fao.org)

Reminder - the close off date for submissions for the 2023 virtual IAMSLIC conference is just around the corner. 

Submissions are due on 31 May, which is less than a week away now. The conference will be hosted virtually by the University of British Columbia Library from Monday Oct 23 to Thursday Oct 26, 2023. Inspired by the UN IPCC’s core message, the 2023 conference theme is What we do matters: Libraries, climate change, and transformation.

You can submit a proposal via the online portal, and there is further information on the Call for Proposals page on the conference website. Conference registration is required in order to present an accepted paper or poster.

Some good news – you now have more time to submit your proposal for the 2023 virtual IAMSLIC conference! The conference committee has extended the close off date for submissions to May 31, so if you were thinking about submitting a proposal but just hadn’t found the time yet, now is your chance! We would love to have presentations representing all the IAMSLIC regions on the conference program, and there are lots of tracks (sub-themes) to take inspiration from.

As a reminder, the conference will be hosted virtually by the University of British Columbia Library from Monday Oct 23 to Thursday Oct 26, 2023. Inspired by the UN IPCC’s core message, the 2023 conference theme is What we do matters: Libraries, climate change, and transformation.

We welcome presentation sessions and posters related to climate change, libraries, and the following sub-themes:

• Access
• Action on climate change and biodiversity loss
• Change and transformation
• Citizen science and monitoring
• Climate justice and equity
• Community and collaboration
• Data and research
• Historical sources
• Impacts and adaptation
• Library priorities and culture
• Misinformation, disinformation, and information literacy
• Restoration work
• Traditional practice and knowledge
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

There is further information on the Call for Proposals page on the conference website, and you can submit a proposal via the online portal. Conference registration is required in order to present an accepted paper or poster.

Come join us as the European Association of Aquatic Sciences Libraries and Information Centres (EURASLIC) celebrate its 20th biennial conference!

The conference Sustainability and infodiversity: (aquatic) libraries strengthening biodiversity knowledge will be held as an in person conference in Brussels, Belgium from 3-5 May 2023.

Registration now open: 

Conference fee

·         Members: 100 € (121 € VAT incl.) + bank charges

·         Non-members: 120  € (145,2  € VAT incl.) + bank charges

Please fill in the following REGISTRATION FORM

**Conference fee includes: coffee breaks, lunches, conference dinner and field trip!**

This promises to be an inclusive, knowledgeable, interactive and entertaining conference. 

The conference will be hosted by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). 

Dear current EURASLIC Members,

The poll is Now Open for voting and we need your vote! Closes: 2 May 2023 Please vote in the poll below. Two members are to be chosen for the membership committee. Thank you, Kristen LaBonte, Chair of the Membership Committee Go to poll page https://iamslic.wildapricot.org/Sys/Poll/43058 POLL DESCRIPTION: Please vote in the 2023 EURASLIC election.  The candidates are: President: Stephanie Ronan - CV Vice-President: Olga Kopytova - CV Membership Committee Representative: Snejina Bacheva - CV Olivia Diehr - CV Andreas Walker - CV The Nominating Committee: Olga Kopytova - Chair Barbara Schmidt Natalija Kondratjeva Best regards, IAMSLIC

The IAMSLIC Conference committee is delighted to officially announce the 49th Annual Conference of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC), and the 34^th meeting of the Cyamus regional group. The conference will be hosted virtually by the University of British Columbia Library from Monday Oct 23 to Thursday Oct 26, 2023.

The conference committee is also pleased to announce at this time that the call for proposals is now open!

Every bit of warming matters, every year matters, every choice matters.

- IPCC 

Inspired by the UN IPCC’s core message, the IAMSLIC 2023 conference theme is What we do matters: Libraries, climate change, and transformation.

This theme speaks to the roles of libraries and library workers in supporting research and learning; building connections and supporting communities; and undertaking the transformative change that is needed in our communities, our institutions, and ourselves.

We are all connected and the changes we make can have far reaching impacts. To achieve “transformative systemic change” (IPCC), we seek inspired approaches to investigate and imagine new futures, accelerate change, and most importantly, work together. Throughout the conference, we will explore how these core messages relate to libraries and library workers.

In British Columbia, we see this theme of transformative change captured in the salmon, as a biological and culturally significant entity. Salmon transform throughout their life cycles, moving from stream to ocean to stream, and their health is closely tied to all of these places, inseparable from the health of Southern Resident Killer Whales, eagles, rivers, oceans, forests, bears, and human communities who rely on salmon for food, culture, and identity.

In 2022, heat and drought caused by climate change led to streams and rivers drying up and the death of thousands of salmon. Such events are expected to increase as we lose an estimated 95% of our glaciers in our lifetimes, decreasing fresh water levels and increasing water temperatures. While we witness these changes and resulting impacts, there are efforts to prioritize and teach Traditional Indigenous Knowledge, restoration, climate solutions, and climate justice.

Tracks 

We welcome presentation sessions and posters related to climate change, libraries, and the following sub-themes:

• Access
• Action on climate change and biodiversity loss
• Change and transformation
• Citizen science and monitoring
• Climate justice and equity
• Community and collaboration
• Data and research
• Historical sources
• Impacts and adaptation
• Library priorities and culture
• Misinformation, disinformation, and information literacy
• Restoration work
• Traditional practice and knowledge
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Submitting a Proposal

There is further information on the Call for Proposals page on the conference website, and you can submit a proposal via the online portal. We are accepting proposals until May 1 2023.

See the submission FAQ page for more details about required materials and important dates. Conference registration is required in order to present an accepted paper or poster. Please indicate the presentation format that would be most suitable for your proposal.

Presentation Format Options: 

• Presentation (15 mins, including question period)
• Presentation (30 mins, including question period)
• Panel discussion (up to 45 mins, including question period) 
• Poster (poster, 1-3 min video, poster presentation and question period)

Please see the conference website for more details.

Please save the date for the 49th IAMSLIC Conference, to be held virtually on Monday, October 23 - Thursday, October 26 from Vancouver, Canada.  More details coming soon, so please stay tuned!

IAMSLIC has launched the Member Sponsored Membership drive for the third year in a row. This has been a great success for retaining active and valuable IAMSLIC members. The purpose of this fundraising effort is to support memberships for library and information science professionals that are already part of IAMSLIC but cannot pay for their membership fees. If you would like to support this effort, please go to the Support Us page.

If you are a current or former member who would like one of these supported memberships, please visit the Membership page and follow the link to the form after you have signed in to your account to confirm that your membership expires before or on 1 Jan. 2023. The deadline for applications will be 4 Feb. 2023 with applicants being notified no later than 15 Feb. 2023. The Membership Committee will review the applications.

If you are a potential new member interested in joining IAMSLIC, please also use the same form to apply for a sponsored membership. IAMSLIC generously funds up to five three-year sponsorships for new members in low and middle income countries and up to five one-year sponsorships for new members in high income countries. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to the chair of the Membership Committee, Kristen LaBonte.