If you are a current or former member who would like a supported membership, first please sign in to your account to confirm that your membership expires before or on 1 January 2025. You may then apply for a sponsored membership by using this form to apply. The deadline for applications is 10 February 2025 with applicants being notified no later than 21 February 2025. 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. 

We are seeking a motivated member to step up as the Membership Committee Chair. 

Charge:

• To encourage membership in IAMSLIC, particularly in developing countries and underrepresented areas where such membership would enhance and promote access to the rich resources of IAMSLIC’s expertise and library holdings.
• Administer the IAMSLIC Sponsored Membership Program (granting up to five three-year sponsored memberships and up to five one-year sponsored memberships per year).
• To administer the process and forward names of nominees to elected positions to the membership
• Coordinate advice and mentoring of new IAMSLIC members and provide information on networking opportunities.
• Forward nominations of IAMSLIC Honorary Members to the Executive Board.

A new chair will be elected by the majority of the board. Please submit your name to Kristen LaBonte by February 1 to be considered.

Kristen has been in this position for four years and am very happy to answer any questions you have. She will also provide mentoring for the new chair.

Each IAMSLIC member should have received an invitation to join the annual business meeting. It is happening at 9:00 EEST (UTC +3) on 30 October and is open to each member, regardless if you are attending the conference. 

The invitation includes the packet with the agenda, our parliamentary procedures, and the text of a resolution relating to the format of our annual conference. 

We hope you can join us!

If you are a member and did not receive this invitation, please check your spam folder. If you still did not receive it, please reach out to Kristen at klabonte@ucsb.edu

IAMSLIC is seeking volunteers and nominations for the following IAMSLIC Executive Board offices:  Jr. President-Elect and Treasurer. These are both excellent professional development and leadership opportunities. The election will take place prior to our annual conference. 

Our 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 Treasurer commitment is for 2 years with the ability for re-election. Please note that the Treasurer must be located in the United States due to our bank location. 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 4:  Treasurer.  The Treasurer shall be in charge of the Association’s funds and/or assessments; shall have established proper accounting procedures for the handling of the Association’s funds; shall be responsible for keeping of the funds in such banks, trust companies, and/or investments as are approved by the Board.  He/she shall report on the financial condition of the Association at all meetings of the Board and at other times when called upon by the President.  The Treasurer shall allocate funds to the Regional Groups based on the February 1^st census prepared by the Membership Database Manager.  At the end of each fiscal year (September 30), the Treasurer shall prepare an annual report.  At the expiration of the term of office, the Treasurer shall deliver over to his/her successor all books, money, and other property in his/her charge or, in the absence of a successor, shall deliver such properties to the President.

Please let me know if you have any questions and send me a statement of intent if you are interested in running for either of these positions. Also, please let me know if you have another member in mind that I can reach out to who would be a good leader. 

Thank you on behalf of the membership committee,

Kristen LaBonte, chair

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)

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).