Respectfully submitted by Co-chairs David Henderson and Susan Tucker
on behalf of the 1995/1996 M&PSA Council:

Marlayna Gates, Interlibrary Loan
David Henderson, Manuscripts and Archives
Vivian Oliver, Medical Library
Elizabeth Pauk, Manuscripts and Archives
Sarah Prown, SML Reference
Karen Reardon, Systems Office
Lisa Spar, Law Library
Joselyn Tipton, Seeley Mudd Library
Susan Tucker, Preservation

M&PSA is proud to have accomplished the following in the 1995/1996 academic year given the strike situation that occurred in two of the three months of the second half of the academic year:

New Staff Reception

For the first time the new staff reception welcomed not only new M&P employees but also new C&T employees to the Yale University Library on Thursday,  October 26, 1995 at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. In conjunction with honoring new C&T staff, the entire C&T staff at the library, was invited to the reception for the first time. As a result we welcomed a total of forty-five people and had attendance of about 100 people. The new format worked very well and it was the consensus of the Council to continue this new practice.
 

Holiday Raffle

Again M&PSA sponsored a raffle, in conjunction with the annual holiday party, to benefit Columbus House, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in New Haven. The party and raffle were held on Wednesday, December 13, 1995 again with great success at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Through the concerted efforts of all the Council members to first collect prizes from local merchants and then sell raffle tickets throughout the library system the raffle raised a total of $1,042. This represents and 20% increase over the 1994 total which was also 20% more than the 1993 total. Special recognition is due Beatrice Luh who attended all the Council meetings, although not a member of the Council, and helped out on all our projects and obtained the highlight donation of a $50.00 gift certificate from Scoozzi's for the Holiday raffle.
 

M&PSA/SCOPA Forum

Working with the Standing Committee on Professional Awareness, M&PSA sponsored a forum "Future Perfect: Internet Access to Yale's Scholarly Resources" on Thursday, June 6, 1996 at the Luce Hall auditorium. The speakers for the forum, attended by approximately 125 people, were Paul Conway, Head, Preservation Department, Yale University Library and Frederick Martz, Director, Library Systems, Yale University Library. Paul's presentation, "Digital Image Conversion: Research Findings from Project Open Book" described the principal findings about image conversion costs and the quality of the end product associated with Project Open Book. Fred's presentation, "Web Access to Orbis and Electronic Research Resources at Yale," delved into the new worldwide web-based interface to Orbis and other selected research tools. In addition, Fred described the Z39.50 standard for exchange of bibliographic information, access to SGML full-text databases, and future development of electronic research resources. Both presentations were computer-based, skillfully presented, and elicited a long and spirited question and answer period.
 

Strike interruption

Due to the two thirty day strikes that occurred during the heart of the second semester, and the stretching it required on the part of all M&P employees the M&PSA Council did not attempt to undertake any of the initiatives that had been tentatively planned. These included exhibit tours at noon and a series of microcomputer tours in departments that had developed interesting applications. The first of the microcomputer tours was to have been at Manuscripts & Archives.
 

Elections

In keeping with the bylaws, M&PSA elected new Council members in June. The following individuals were elected to a two-year term as Council members:

Stephanie Allen, Acquisitions Department
Rolfe Gjellstad, Divinity Library
Sue Preneta, Office of the University Librarian

Elizabeth Pauk, Manuscripts and Archives, will serve a one-year term as an alternate. These individuals, together with Marlayna Gates, Sarah Prown, Karen Reardon, Joselyn Tipton, and Susan Tucker, will serve as the M&PSA leadership for the 1996/1997 academic year.