One of the great pleasures of chairing the Board of CLIR is having the opportunity to work with the committed and visionary people who serve on it. CLIR’s staff can rely on the Board for guidance in developing and carrying out the organization’s program. The agendas of Board meetings focus on issues that the staff and members of the Board expect to become important for institutions and individuals responsible for managing information and information systems.
The composition of CLIR’s Board changes each year through the normal rotation of members’ terms. While this change ensures the continual renewal of the Board, it also means that we lose the experience and wisdom of members who have served CLIR for years. In 2001, we lost more experience than usual because of the evolution of CLIR’s Board as the successor of the Boards of the Council on Library Resources and the Commission on Preservation and Access. I want to use this opportunity to recognize those who stepped down this year.
Betty Bengtson left the CLIR Board when she retired from her position as library director at the University of Washington. We will miss Betty for her understanding of the research library community and for her commitment to preservation.
Virginia Betancourt, who joined the CLIR Board while she was director of the National Library of Venezuela, completed her term. Virginia is now devoting her energy and talent to the Fundacion Romulo Betancourt. We are especially grateful for the expert advice she offered on matters related to CLIR’s international work.
Christine Borgman, professor of information studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, gave the Board knowledge of the information science research community. She also made an important contribution through her connection to the National Science Foundation’s digital library initiatives.
Robert Bovenschulte, director of publications at the American Chemical Society, joined the CLIR Board as a representative from the publishing community, but he also contributed business acumen, knowledge of the technological changes in publishing, and plain good sense to the Board’s deliberations.
David B. Gracy II, a faculty member at the University of Texas, provided strong representation of the archival community. David made archives and archival issues a part of every CLIR project. In addition, as secretary of the Board, he introduced us to proper archival procedures.
Marilyn Gell Mason joined the CLIR Board while she was director of the Cleveland Public Library, and she continued to represent the interests and concerns of public libraries after she left that position to become an adviser to OCLC. Marilyn also served as vice chair of the Board.
We are delighted to welcome four new members to the Board.
Francis X. Blouin, director of the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, brings the perspective of an archivist to the Board. Before accepting the invitation to serve on the CLIR Board, he had already contributed significantly to CLIR’s work as a member of its Task Force on the Role of the Artifact.
Paula Kaufman, university librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, comes to the CLIR Board with broad professional experience and a history of service on numerous boards, including the Research Libraries Group, SOLINET, the Society for Scholarly Publishing, and the Association for Research Libraries, of which she is president-elect.
Susan Kent, who heads the Los Angeles Public Library, has had a distinguished career in the world of public libraries. She has been recognized nationally and internationally for her accomplishments and leadership.
Finally, Celia Ribeiro Zaher, director of the National Library Foundation of the Ministry of Culture in Brazil, contributes to the Board’s international perspective and gives us particularly valuable views on Latin America.
The diverse professional backgrounds of the CLIR Board members mirror the expanding range of communities with which CLIR has become connected. The success of CLIR’s work today depends on cooperation with industry, publishers, and museums, as well as with our traditional partners in universities and libraries.
As the CLIR Board and staff look to the future and make decisions about new initiatives and directions, we will welcome new Board members with diverse experience and knowledge who can assist us with planning those activities.
Stanley Chodorow
Chairman of the Board
