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Dear ETKN Members- My apologies for taking so long to get back to you regarding Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network (ETKN) elections. The time for elections has come! But before moving forward, let me indulge in a brief look backward. BACKGROUND The idea for ETKN was around for many years before gaining momentum in the summer of 2007, at the annual Special Libraries Association (SLA) in Denver, CO. With support from member Mary Ellen Tucker, we pulled together a core group of founding members for a meeting at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center in November, 2007. We were off to a start. Following that meeting I agreed to serve as an interim Chair (Chair Pro Tempore) of the ETKN until we could hold our first official elections. At that time we were forming a mission, bylaws and other governing documents, and while most of us had known and worked with each other for many years, we had little more than the desire to collaborate on a more formal level. In the Midwestern states the Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network (MTKN) had formed eight years earlier with the support of the National Transportation Library. TRB Special Report 284 was published in 2006 calling for the formation of other networks (see: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr284.pdf ), and in the Western Transportation Knowledge (WTKN) had formed to include transportation libraries in the Western states and Alaska. If we wanted to form a network, it was clear that we would have to form one ourselves…and to our credit that’s exactly what happened.
Shortly after ETKN formed, work began on NCHRP 20-75, which proposes a business and funding plan for TKN networks (see: http://www.cts.umn.edu/Research/Featured/NCHRP20-75/ ). That plan will be completed in the coming months, but the draft version calls for $13.5 million in federal funding a year, for 5 years for TKN member libraries.
Looking back, much has happened in a short and exciting period of time! Few of us could have predicted the state we would be in as I send you this e-mail today, however. Suddenly we find ourselves in the middle of a massive global economic crisis, and a deep economic recession for our country. A new presidential administration offers some hope for a transportation stimulus package, but with so many economic needs nationwide, it is unclear what funding, if any, state DOTs and other transportation agencies will receive. The National Transportation Library is facing reauthorization and all of us are being asked to do more with less on the local level. It is a tough time…and we keep hearing that times will get harder before they get easier, so it is easy to feel the strain of uncertainty about our future. It is a great thing that we took the time to form the ETKN when we had the opportunity. Now is our chance to show we can work together in increase our productivity, decrease our operating costs, and accomplish things together that we could never accomplish alone! Now is the time to steady our nerves and show our value, and I believe being an active part of ETKN is an investment that will yield both long- and short-term benefits to members. Still, I acknowledge that some of us are so busy it is hard to find time. TODAY’S ELECTIONS AND SLATE OF OFFICERS The following candidates have been nominated and have agreed to serve as ETKN officers for the term of one calendar year: · Sandy Brady, Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC), has agreed to run for Chair of the ETKN · Jane Minotti, New York State Department of Transportation, has agreed to run for Vice Chair of the ETKN · Carol Paszamant, New Jersey Department of Transportation, has agreed to run for Recording Secretary, of the ETKN
IMPORTANT: PLEASE VOTE!: YOU HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY, JANUARY 30TH While it may seem silly to vote because we only have one candidate running for each position, it is important that you all vote in order for the election results to be valid! Please reply to me directly with your vote. Please do not “reply all” or send your reply to the ETKN listserv. Because we are not able to meet in person, the voting process will last until the close of business this Friday January 30th. At that time I will inform you of the results and we can move forward.
MY PLANS I plan to remain active in ETKN and it will be a part of my job as past Chair to work with the incoming Chair and other officers to help with this transition. My hope is that as incoming Chair of TRB’s Library and Information Science for Transportation (LIST), I will also be able to effectively help ETKN continue to evolve. Attached is a copy of our Bylaws for your convenience. <<ETKN Bylaws_6-11-08.pdf>> Ken Winter, MLIS
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