Annual Report 2001
2001 Letter from the Chairman
On behalf of the Board of Director's of the Alliance for Innovation in Science and Technology information, I am pleased on the events and activities of 2001. For many of us it man seem difficult to realize but AISTI has been in existence for 10 years. This past year has been the culmination of a number of our original intentions and ideas.
One of the most exciting events of the past year was the AISTI Board of Director's decision to hire and Executive Director. Since November 2000 when Corinne Machado was hired, it has been my privilege to work with her. With her commitment, dedication and assistance we were able to accomplish a number of important goals.
A majority of these goals focused on the development of the business functions of our growing enterprise. This year was AISTI's transition into a full service, full-time consortium. Of significance is the IRS's final determination, which was a 5-year process, of our 501 c 3 non-profit status. We can now proceed with considering new membership categories based on this permanent position.
In terms of operating our consortium as a business, we have adopted a more professional environment and image. We have added such simple but needed services such as our toll free phone number, a dedicated phone line and a domain name. We have certified that the organization is protected through appropriate insurances. And, we have instituted accounting policies and practices to authorize and validate our financial records.
Our membership continues to grow, with 1 new full-member, 3 new associate members and 1 member in the new membership category of special affiliate. Our access to electronic resources continues to expand as well, with several new product offerings and several more in negotiation.
The introduction of our first tools funding project was a salient event of the past year. AISTI was able to offer its members the opportunity to initiate the development of new collaborative tools designed to exploit access to information resources currently unavailable. AISTI, through its business development, has established a process to grant funds to projects, which will investigate, create, develop and support new models of scholarly collaboration and communication. This has been a long-term goal of AISTI that has come to fruition.
Clearly, the Board of Directors with the unfailing assistance of the Executive Director has continued to move the organization forward. I am pleased to be able to turn over the Chairman's leadership position into the capable hands of Margaret Alexander. The attached summary highlights our accomplishments during the calendar year 2001.
Sally Landenberger
Chairman, AISTI, January 2002
