Viewpoint From the Chair - September 2015

The new fiscal year, and my term as Chair of the Amigos Board of Directors, is fully underway. Before I outline what the Amigos Board intends to focus on this year, I want to thank my fellow Directors for their faith in my ability to lead Amigos as its Chair this year. Once again, your Board is composed of a number of outstanding individuals eager to apply their time and talents toward making Amigos the best organization it can be, and it is an honor to lead them.

As you are hopefully aware from recent news articles, the Amigos eShelf℠ Service e-book platform is now on the verge of being fully operational. Much time and effort has gone into its development, and we believe this service will provide a first-rate, cost-effective option for libraries seeking to provide e-book collections and services to their patrons.

Library participation is critical to the success of this new service. If you have not already done so, I urge you to explore the Amigos eShelf℠ Service as soon as possible to learn how it can work for you. It's time to sign up!

In addition to doing its part to get the Amigos eShelf℠ Service off to its best possible start, the Board intends to focus considerable time this year on the all-important areas of member retention and achieving greater visibility for Amigos' programs and services.

To that end, Amigos staff will be reaching out to members and non-members alike at various library conferences to make them aware of the many benefits of Amigos membership. Staff will be there to emphasize such valuable benefits as no-charge attendance for Amigos members at the many topical online conferences we conduct throughout the year, our informative Know and Go sessions, the RDA toolkit, reciprocal borrowing agreements, our wide-ranging member discount program, and our member job bank that reaches candidates in at least 22 states.

While non-members need to know of these many benefits, members need to be reminded of them to ensure they're getting the biggest bang for their membership buck.

Here again, as Amigos members your participation is vital to the success of these efforts. We will pursue every opportunity to tell our story, but nothing is as credible as hearing from an actual Amigos member. When you encounter a non-member, talk us up. Let them know how Amigos membership benefits you. It helps us all.