Is it the contrast with the lazy days of summer and the reality setting in that vacations are behind us for awhile that makes the Fall season so challenging? Or, does it just keep getting busier every year? It sure feels like it. I hope everyone is holding their own with a new academic year commencing and you are managing to enjoy the change to one of the best of seasons. Maybe planning a future trip will help?

My last message provided you with some preliminary information about our exciting 2012 conference venue—Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference website should be ready soon where you can obtain a growing body of information about all the exciting programming and 30th anniversary festivities. Among the events, you will find favorite formats as well as new, dynamic conference experiences, with competent and creative VRA members presenting ideas/projects/plans and a number of experts new to the organization doing so as well. In addition to a strong program and special events, we have: a spectacularly situated city; reasonably priced transportation and lodging; a great headquarters in the Hotel Albuquerque conveniently located in the historic part of town with museums, shops, restaurants, gardens, and even the Rio Grande in walking distance; outstanding cuisine (a foody’s delight); the University of New Mexico an easy bus ride away; the potential to cruise Route 66; and artsy Santa Fe in hitting distance. Overall, VRA 30 will provide an exciting conference experience with the addition of the opportunity to enjoy the cultural richness of the Southwest. So, check the website frequently for updates and prepare to broaden your horizons.

Speaking of our conference theme of broadening horizons, the VRA Board is currently reviewing our existing affiliations to other like-minded professional organizations and expanding them. Thank you for supporting the recent initiative to formally partner with the Society of Architectural Historians. We are now officially a part of their partner program. This formal affiliation comes with many benefits for the organizations and their individual members. Among them are sharing membership rosters to promote membership, exchanging publications, a presence on their website and links to them from ours, and opportunities to get involved in various activities. If you are interested in joining SAH as an individual member, you will get 10% off of the membership fee the first year. It is notable, that the benefits of SAH individual membership include preferred access to SAH study tours and participation in SAHARA (until the end of 2012). SAH has been such an innovator in terms of collaborative digital image project development and the organization has similar goals as well as interesting areas of overlap with the work of VRA. Going through the process outlined in our bylaws, led to the discovery that VRA’s affiliation with the Museum Computer Network was never formalized and so the Board has started discussions with this organization about strengthening our partnership. We may need your support for this affiliation soon too. The official affiliations we do have in place are with the College Art Association, the Southeastern College Art Conference, and the Art Libraries Society of North America, although we do have a number of informal relationships with other important groups and sometimes appointees who report on progress to the Board. Informal VRA liaisons to the affiliated organizations have been in place and a number of VRA members have worked hard over the years to promote and advocate for VRA with these organizations. They insure that VRA is an active presence at the affiliates’ conferences, , develop common interests, get involved in special projects, and communicate through existing publication channels. Thank you to all the VRA members past and present who have, or are, contributing time and energy to strengthen these formal and informal affiliations. Such public relations activities that communicate the mission of VRA and great work of our members are especially important in the light of a struggling economy and budgetary cutbacks. Therefore, the Board is currently considering more formalized representatives to our official affiliates, developing a general appointee job description, and will be calling for volunteers on the VRA-L soon. This type of activity was suggested in the Strategic Plan and we welcome membership feedback about such existing or expanded opportunities.

It’s election time! I would like to urge all VRA members to vote in the Executive Board Election. Please take a look at the wonderful slate of candidates who have provided biographical information and goal statements for you to consider. Thank you to all of the candidates for stepping up in such a big way for VRA and to the Nominating Committee for all their hard work finding such terrific candidates. Here is the direct link to the vote, but you must be a current member in good standing to do so. If you have any questions about your membership, please contact Lise Hawkos, VRA Membership Services Coordinator at join@vraweb.org. The annual membership drive will be starting in mid-October and so expect to hear more about renewing your membership soon. You have until midnight on October 24, 2011, to place your vote, but don’t wait until then, it only takes a minute to actually vote. Please take seriously your responsibility as VRA members to help choose the officers who will lead our organization. Considering the relative ease of the electronic ballot and online voting, we hope to see a good turnout at the virtual polls!

It was a pleasure to return in June to the beautiful University of New Mexico campus for the ARLIS/NA-VRAF Summer Educational Institute 2011. Local chair Cindy Abel Morris graciously hosted a diverse group of participants from museums, colleges and universities, research institutes, commercial enterprises and art and design schools for an intense three-day program in Albuquerque.

In response to feedback from SEI 2010 participants and in concert with the rest of the SEI Implementation Team, newly appointed curriculum specialists Sarah Falls and Beth Wodnick developed a comprehensive program that for the first time included tracked, hands-on sessions on beginning and advanced digitization. Participants were placed in one or the other course depending on their level of experience. Modules that have been well received in the past, such as the intellectual property and metadata sessions, were also offered.

Members of the 2011 SEI Implementation Team included:

• Kathe Hicks Albrecht, American University,VRA Senior Co-chair and acting VRA Foundation board liaison
• Elizabeth Schaub, University of Texas at Austin, ARLIS/NA Junior Co-chair
• Betha Whitlow, Washington University in St. Louis, incoming VRA Co-chair/Faculty Liaison
• Cindy Abel Morris, University of New Mexico, Local Chair 
• Sarah Falls, New York School of Interior Design, ARLIS/NA-appointed curriculum specialist
• Chris Hilker, University of Arkansas, Webmaster
• Trudy Jacoby, Princeton University, Development
• Tony White, Indiana University, ARLIS/NA board liaison (Sarah Carter, Ringling Museum, as of 3/2011)
• Beth Wodnick, Princeton University, VRAF-appointed Curriculum Specialist

The next SEI will be held in June 2012 the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Information about SEI 2012 is forthcoming.

Midwest CONTENTdm Users Group Meeting
October 14-15, 2011
Ball State University, Munice, IN
http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/forms/midwestcdmusersgroupcfp2011.php

Upper Midwest CONTENTdm User Group Meeting
November 14-15, 2011
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN
https://www.minitex.umn.edu/Events/Conferences/ContentDm2011.aspx

NEDCC Webinars
Fundamentals of Digitization series
http://www.nedcc.org/education/webinars.calendar.php

Brick and Click Libraries
November 4, 2011
Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO
http://www.brickandclick.org/

SECAC Annual Conference
November 9-12, 2011
Savannah College of Art, Savannah, GA
http://www.secollegeart.org/annual-conference.html

CAA 100th Annual Conference
February 22-25, 2012
Los Angeles, CA
http://conference.collegeart.org/2012/

Great Lakes Chapter
Marlene Gordon ( University of Michigan-Dearborn)

The Great Lakes Chapter meeting to be held at Oberlin College on Friday, October 28. The business meeting will begin at 10:30 am in the Department of Art Seminar Room located on the first floor of the 1975 Robert Venturi addition to the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Directions will be forthcoming about a week prior to the event. There should be plenty of free parking on North Main Street near the Museum. The fee for non-members is $5.00. Lunch will be on your own.

Marlene Gordon will be leading an Open Forum. This will be an opportunity
for anyone to seek solutions from other Chapter members about issues or
problems that you may be experiencing at your respective institutions. We began this format at the last fall meeting. The annual conference will feature a similar opportunity, What’s Your Story: VRA Open Mike Night in Albuquerque.

There are several restaurants in Oberlin ranging from fast food to elegant dining.
We are allotting ninety minutes for lunch to allow everyone the opportunity to eat
wherever they like and, time permitting, to explore the campus and downtown area.
A list of local eating establishments will be provided. If you haven't been to
Oberlin recently you are encouraged to visit the lovely shops and to see distinguished architecture by architects such as Cass Gilbert, Minoru Yamasaki, Wallace Harrison, and Robert Venturi.

After lunch there will be a tour of the recently renovated Allen Memorial
Art Museum led by Jason Trimmer, Museum Education Curator. After the tour individuals may choose to tour the recently downsized Visual Resources Collection and/or the Clarence Ward Art Library.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast - Room 172 Allen Art
Building `75'
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Business meeting - Room 172
11:30 - 12:30 p.m. Open forum led by Marlene Gordon - Room 172
12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Lunch on your own ( a list of eating establishments within walking
distance will be provided
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Tour of the Allen Memorial Art Museum with Jason Trimmer
3:15 - 4:00 p.m. Tours of the downsized Visual Resources Collection and/or Art
Library

Hope you can all make it!

Please RSVP to Joseph.Romano@oberlin.edu by October 15

New England Chapter
Carey Mack Weber (Baltimore Museum of Art)

The VRA-NE Chapter is pleased to announce the details of our fall meeting. This meeting is open to any VRA members. We will be meeting on Friday, October 21st at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH, and hosted by Jen Greene. The details of the day’s schedule are as follows:

Meeting and Mini-Conference Schedule:

• 9:30-10:15  Welcome and light breakfast: Hage Room, Hartman Union Building (HUB)
• 10:15 – 11:45  Visual Resources and Library Presentations, Hage Room, HUB
• 10:15-10:30  Brown Paper Collection, Presenter: Alice Staples, Archives/Special Collections Librarian, Plymouth State University
• 10:30-10:45  Institutional Repository Implementation, Presenter: Jen Green, Digital Projects Librarian, Plymouth State University
• 10:45-11:45 Rethinking Space and Facilities Planning, Presenters: Jon Cartledge, Smith College; Caitlin Pereira, MassArt, Elaine Allard, Plymouth State University
• 12-1:30pm Lunch (open to all attendees) and Business meeting (for VRA-NE members): Prospect Dining Center, Little Squam Room

• 1:40-3:30  The Art of the Woodcut Novel: Hage Room, HUB (Coffee and dessert will  be provided)
•  
• Presenter: David A. Beronä, Dean, Library and Academic Support Services, Plymouth State University
• About the Presenter: David A. Beronä is an international authority on the woodcut novel and wordless comics and the author of Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels, which was a First Place winner at the 2009 New York Book Show, nominated for a 2009 Harvey Award, and translated into French and Korean. He has written numerous articles and presented papers on wordless comics and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Comic Art and Image & Narrative. Beronä is the Dean of the Library and Academic Support Services and Chair of the Humanities Council at Plymouth State University, New Hampshire and on the visiting faculty at the Center for Cartoon Studies.Woodcut novels are imaginative and realistic stories told in black and white pictures that had an important impact on the development of the contemporary graphic novel.  Beronä examines early work by Frans Masereel; rediscovered books by Roger Buck; and contemporary woodcut novels by Marta Chudolinska, Stefan Berg, Megan Speer, George Walker, and Neil Bousfield. Works by these artists will be on display in the Lamson Learning Commons.  

• 3:30 Exhibits and Tours
• Take a guided tour of The Art of the Woodcut Novel Print Exhibit on display in Lamson Learning Commons
• Visit the Museum of the White Mountains exhibition of  Guy Shorey: Among the White Hills on display in the Drerup Gallery located in the Art Department, Draper and Maynard Building
• Visit student work on display throughout the Draper and Maynard Building
• Take a tour of the Lamson Learning Commons

Registration fee: $20 Please click on the following link to register. https://www.events.unh.edu/RegistrationForm.pm?event_id=9030

Feel free to contact Carey Mack Weber at cweber@fairfield.edu with any questions concerning this meeting. 

Northern California Chapter
Karen Kessel ( Sonoma State University)

Blanche Chase has replaced Ian Frederick Rothwell as Secretary/Treasurer, and Abby Dansiger is our new Co-chair to replace Heather Cummins, who resigned in January when she left her Visual Resources position at the Art Academy.  We have revised our Bylaws to better define the duties and titles of our officers. 

Jan Eklund has planned a program for our Fall meeting in November, a tour and presentation of the Center for Digital Archaeology at UC Berkeley with Staff Researcher Michael Ashley, who worked as the media term lead at Çatalhöyük for 7 years and has been a leader in media innovation at the campus, to coincide with a major exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum of the work of Kurt Schwitters put together by the Menil Collection in Houston, TX.