EAHIL General Assembly 

Krakow, September 11^th, 2007   

1.  Quorum

The Secretary reported that although the attendance exceeded 80, some were non-members so the meeting remained inquorate and therefore no business could be transacted. 

2.  Minutes

The minutes of the Cluj general assembly were accepted as a correct record.  There were no matters arising 

3.  President’s report

The President summarised her report (tabled). In particular she gave an account of the secretariat’s move from the NVB (Dutch library association) to the association’s accountants, which would save unnecessary duplication of work.  She also reported that the board has appointed Oliver Obst and Gusson Gunes as auditors to oversee the financial work of the new secretariat. 

4.  Treasurer’s report

In the absence of the Treasurer, the President introduced her report (tabled).  EAHIL’s financial situation remains healthy, and from a financial point of view the abolition of the annual subscription has been a success.  A new sponsorship from Ebsco will make it possible for EAHIl to provide two additional scholarships to future conferences and workshops. 

5.  Editor’s report

Delivered by the President on behalf of JEAHIL’s Editor, the report showed a continued expansion of the Journal’s scale and ambition.  Members met an expression of thanks to the Editor with loud and prolonged applause. 

[At this point in the meeting, the Secretary indicated that a stream of latecomers to the Assembly meant that a quorum had now been achieved and that the meeting was now competent to conduct substantive business.  The President asked the Assembly whether any member wished to raise any points arising from matters already dealt with, for discussion and decision.  No points were raised.] 

6.  Any Other Business

(a)Web infrastructure

The Past President reported on the workings of the virtual infrastructure on which EAHIL now depends.  His announcement that there were now over 1,200 members thanks to the online members’ database and the abolition of subscriptions was met with applause.  He thanked councillors for their work on reviewing applications for membership and on encouraging colleagues to join.  After a trebling of membership in a single year, there were only 100 members who had not renewed their subscription for 2007.  For the 2008 renewals, there will be a tick box enabling automatic sign-up to the EAHIL-L list. 

An online system for accepting and managing abstracts has been developed with the aim of providing a system that may easily be used by successive conferences and workshops over a number of years.  It will be implemented in time for use by the Helsinki programme committee for their Call For Papers on September 24^th.  It will link to the membership database for personal details and online help will be available.  In response to a question from the floor, it was confirmed that the new system would permit authors to modify abstracts after initial submission, and will also allow reopening for a further revision period after programme committees have given their verdicts. 

(b) Online elections

The Past President announced that in January 2008 nomination forms for presidential and board elections would be published online and on paper.  The electronic poll would be open for a month from May 15^th.  Council elections will take place in the autumn, and the number of councillors per country will be determined by the membership figures on September 30^th.  

(c) The President reported that the 2010 conference will be in Lisbon (applause). 

(d) The President summarised the council’s discussion of the acquisition of CINAHL by Ebsco and its decision to restrict access to the EbscoHost platform.  On behalf of EAHIL she will write to Ebsco informing them of the widespread disquiet among the membership, asking them to reconsider their decision, and asking for a meeting to discuss the matter further. 

(e) The President announced that a new working group has been formed to produce a set of proposals for an EAHIL certification and/or registration process.  It will be chaired by board member Helena Bouzkova and will include Ioana Robu, Mauriella della Seta and Françoise Pasleau.   

There was no further business and the assembly closed at 11.35am.