Prague 2006 (Committee)

MINUTES OF THE ILAB COMMITTEE MEETING

11th MARCH 2006

LITERANI KAVARNA – PRAGUE

The meeting opened at 9:05 AM. President Bob Fleck welcomed with pleasure the two Presidents of Honour who had come.

PRESENT

Bob Fleck, President (BF)

Michael Steinbach, Vice-President (MS)

Poul Jan Poulsen, Treasurer (PP)

Steven Temple, General Secretary (ST)

Georg Beran, ILAB Committee (GB)

Paul Feain, ILAB Committee (PF)

Adrian Harrington, ILAB Committee (AH)

Dieter Tausch, ILAB Committee (DT)

Anton Gerits, President of Honour (AG)

Alain Nicolas, President of Honour (AN)

Névine Marchiset, Executive Secretary (NM)

APOLOGIES

Steven Temple reported the he had received no apologies, but instead two acceptances, and he also welcomed Presidents of Honour Anton Gerits and Alain Nicolas.

IN MEMORIAM

Steven Temple announced the deaths of some of our colleagues since our last meeting:

Frank Westwood (ABA), 19 January. Proprietor of The Petersfield Bookshop since 1958.

Claude Cox (ABA), on 23 January.

Donnis de Camp (ABAA), 28 January. Schoyer’s Books, Berkeley, California

Ukicki Sakai (ABAJ). 21 February. Isseido Booksellers. Mr Sakai was a charter member of the ABAJ and its third President, from 1974-1982.

David Ferrow (ABA). 06 March. Bookseller in Great Yarmouth since 1940.

All stood for a minute of silence in honour of our departed friends.

PRESIDENT‘S REPORT

Bob Fleck read his report (see attached). It was unanimously approved.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Poul Poulsen distributed copies of his report (see attached). He then commented that he recommends raising the subscription to USD 30.00 per year. We had some unexpected expenses from the Australian meetings of about USD 6000 which makes the administration costs higher than the budget approved in Montreal, but otherwise all expenses are within the budget. AH remarked that if we must raise fees, we should do so gradually whenever possible. He also stated that he believes the book fair levy should be raised from 2% to 2.5%. PP agreed with that. BF asked PP to simulate this year's deficit so as to know exactly what increases should be proposed at the Philadelphia meeting. PP said that he should know, by the end of May, where we stand and what he should advise. Paul Feain moved to accept the report, seconded by Dieter Tausch, and passed unanimously. (Action PP)

It was noted that, according to our by-laws, the Agenda convening the Philadelphia Presidents' Meeting must be sent out to the national associations before 26th July 2006, and that motions to be added to the agenda must be sent to the Committee before 11th July 2006.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MONTREAL MEETING

ST asked whether anyone had comments on the minutes of the Montreal Committee Meeting. As there were none, Michael Steinbach moved they be accepted, PP seconded, and passed unanimously.

ST then said that he had not prepared a report as he had very little to say. NM had sketched the meeting minutes very soon after the meetings and that he only had to add to them. He also remarked that he had agreed to be the website editor but that he has only compiled ideas. He feels our home page needs some re-writing (Action ST)

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY'S REPORT

Nevine Marchiset handed out her report (see attached), and as time was short, read only small excerpts, asking the Committee to read it later.

SECURITY CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

PF said there are no major problems. There are 1,016 books in the stolen books database but many dealers don’t seem to be reporting thefts to us. He gets regular notices from the ABA and the ABAA, which are forwarded to all. Adrian Harrington thanked PF personally, as well as the FBI, for helping get his £12,000 book back. This result was only possible because of the ILAB stolen books database and the list alert. PF said that he would appreciate receiving a written account of the story. He reported that he had met with Alec Burn, IFLA President, a month ago and talked about ILAB / IFLA cooperation. This cooperation can be done in different ways: ILAB can provide IFLA with the software so that they use the same program as we do. We must ask Jelle what that would cost, and he recommended that ILAB pay for that, as a goodwill and PR gesture. Or, IFLA could appoint a person in each country to negotiate with presidents how to allow the libraries of that country to access the stolen book database and use it, by giving each user a username and password. They would be very happy if our dealers would look at the database before making an acquisition. AH remarked that such a solution could swamp our database with their stolen books. NM observed that only English speakers are using the ILAB database, due to cultural reasons. SLAM has its own stolen books database and doesn’t use ILAB’s. BF replied that stories such as AH's book recovery ought to encourage others to use it. PP reminded us that we have already decided to allow specific libraries access and that the Royal Library of Copenhagen is very interested. PF said he would send them a password and username. He added that IFLA wants to open their stolen database to ILAB affiliates, and that if we all use the same software, it will be easier. MS said that Jelle already has the software, that it is paid for already, and that it would be goodwill for him to give it to IFLA. AH remarked that that would give him an opening to IFLA who might want to use his services for other things. It was decided to ask Jelle Samshuijzen later in the meeting which of the two solutions he would prefer. (Action PF)

PROPOSED CHANGE IN INTERNAL REGULATIONS

Proposed by ILAB President.

INTERNAL REGULATIONS

General

PRESENT RULE:

1.2 The League shall reimburse Committee members, including the Immediate Past

President for one two year term, with the cost of their return fares at standard economy rates, and shall pay a daily subsistence allowance which can be reviewed at intervals as necessary, for attendance at Committee Meetings (deemed to last 2 days), and General Meetings (each deemed to last 3 days).

PROPOSED CHANGE:

1.2 The League shall reimburse Committee members, including the Immediate Past President, with the cost of their return fares at standard economy rates, and shall pay a daily subsistence allowance which can be reviewed at intervals as necessary, for attendance at Committee Meetings (deemed to last 2 days), and General Meetings (each deemed to last 3 days).

Note : Omits for one two year term in line 2. This change would mean that Immediate Past Presidents would always be reimbursed, whether for two year or four year terms of office.

BF explained that we had all felt strange that Kay Craddock was no longer considered part of the Committee until the next President was elected. ST did not favour the change. He felt that by the time someone is elected President he has already been on the Committee for many years and knows the history of the issues. He felt that the two years we currently allow is adequate and that four years would be a luxury. The Immediate Past President can always be turned to for advice in case of a crisis. Furthermore, the Committee is already empowered to invite to its meetings anyone specially needed. DT, PF and Anton Gerits agreed with this viewpoint and AG added that the first year is an absolute necessity but that after that, the necessity is not great. ST also remarked that the Immediate Past Presidents are still copied on our Committee e-mail discussions. AH pointed out that there are two elements to this question: the right to attend a meeting, and the right to reimbursement. We must take care not to make a rule for any one person. If we wish to invite any person for a specific task we do it if our budget can afford it. AG agreed with AH's comment, as if we start like this, then it is endless. BF subsequently withdrew the motion, so the change was not approved.

At 10:00 am, Jelle Samshuijzen (JS), ILAB Webmaster, joined the meeting and the order of the agenda was consequently changed.

WEBSITE

JS reported that Google started indexing book titles two years ago, but that it has not been working very well. Google changes its indexing technique all the time. However, this title indexing should work very well within two weeks.

He had almost finished the Chinese translation in Mandarin. The Committee may want to send a PR release about this. BF asked JS that he give the Committee advance notice to allow it time to look at it so that we can work together on the PR. MS asked how we would communicate with Chinese customers. JS replied that it would be in English, as it is a language that many Chinese can read and understand, but only speak with difficulty. The website will make it clear that they must communicate in English with the dealers. This Chinese version can go live in a few weeks. JS will provide the Committee with a link. He will also look into the cost of providing the translation mask for Spanish or Italian.

BF asked about the statistics of the website before, during and after the Google advertising campaign. JS replied that the hits went up during the campaign and down after it was over, but that the sales have been stable. BF asked for JS's recommendations on Google. JS responded that it definitely works, and that he had let it run a month longer than agreed, but that he will pay for that month himself. ST asked whether it has increased sales or just the number of visitors. JS reported that the sales have gone up but not to the extent that you could easily justify spending $1,000 per month.

AH raised the question of visibility and PR of our website during ILAB-sponsored fairs. There was nothing at the Los Angeles fair. The Committee must implement some of its ideas and not just talk about it. He wanted to go to Libanus [ABA's graphic designer] and get us a quote. Alain Nicolas remarked that the ILAB did a flyer a few years back and he will send one to AH. AH strongly felt that we should work on templates, designs, posters and a design, and that we might need to consider a new logo for advertising. The name Rarebookfinder in England has become available again. He thinks ILAB should buy it. He added that each country should look into the availability of names. JS said it's good to have the names which would help in the search but that they are difficult to market and make widely known. He had picked lots of names but dropped them because it costs too much money to keep many (about 35$ a year per name). AH remarked that Bookfinder,com has been bought by Abebooks,com and wonders whatever happened to JS's meta book search. JS replied that it is sometimes on, sometimes off, as it uses quite a lot of his server power. He explained that he had set it up so that the technique would be ready in case of need; but that marketing it is the tough part, and it would take a lot of money to make it known. He added that the ILAB website now has 514 dealers participating in the database, which is an increase of approximately 60 dealers since the Montreal meeting. He is working on a deal with the Australians and the Swedish, which would also increase the number. BF says we need a better-coordinated PR program, and that AH will work on it, including the announcement of the Chinese version. [Action AH]

BF asked what can be done to keep the PR momentum? ILAB has spent $3,000 already on Google advertising. NM had mentioned raising the Rockingstone subscription per dealer on the database by EUR 2 per month, but it seems that a lot of dealers would drop out it that were done. Furthermore, it would be a bad PR signal to the dealer, at a time when Abebooks is also raising its commissions. AH added that some of the ABA dealers have had difficulties when signing up, and that their comments have been forwarded to JS. He asked whether it is possible to create catalogs per subject. JS explained that it is difficult because each dealer uses different keywords for the same theme, and that such a possibility would need standard keywords, and what should be done about the existing books in the database which did not have the standard keywords? BF asked JS if he can prove that the money spent on Google has shown a large increase in visits, hits, sales, amd number of pages read? JS replied that there is an increase but that it is difficult to assess whether it is due to the Google advertising or to the time of the year which traditionally shows an increase. He added that Google is certainly one of the elements, but that it cannot be the only one. PP suggested that the Presidents agree to repeat the Google campaign next year for the same period. This proposal will be put on the Agenda. AH said that a yearly Google advertising would mean a budget of USD 12,000. Do we have this sum? BF added that we're also talking of PR in general. We have to develop a PR budget which would also involve hard copy advertising, including flyers, posters, bookmarks, etc. If we present a good justification to the Presidents, they'll understand. BF said that we should ask the Presidents to agree to increase the PR budget, including Google advertising. ST remarked that we don't want to push the Presidents into agreeing to spend a large sum of money on a only a quarter of the affiliates. AH replied that the website is more than the database. He added that there is a debate about opening up the website outside ILAB. We should have information on the website about book collecting in general, not just ILAB information. He feels the ILAB website should aim to be the “one stop shopping” site in the world of rare books, including information about non-ILAB fairs. JS pointed out that the member database is used a lot by visitors. BF asked him what were his thoughts on setting up a competing database to Abebooks, to which would automatically be added all the ILAB book database. JS replied that it can still be done but that it is probably too late. It would cost too much money for PR. AH thinks that in 5 or 10 years time, Abebooks will no longer exist, because anyone will be able to buy directly using the Google search engine. JS did not agree with this. BF concluded that it was clear that JS was not ready to spend money and time on another database, and that it is better to concentrate our efforts on the ILAB one. He asked again how our website can be enhanced, and he said that there are two things which we can do; look at the editorial part to see what we can add, and see whether we spend money to enhance it. How can we improve the contents? AH replied that we must create a collectors' corner and a calendar of events. ST will work together with AH to set up this idea, as well as others. MS asked whether we have money to hire a professional designer? AH replied that Libanus understands the book world, and that he will get costs from them. JS adds that he now has a designer working for Rockingstone, and that he will get him to work on this, and come up with quotes. JS stated that about 1,500 visitors have already signed up on the website. AH will see whether we can use the ABA list for mailing purposes. NM will post to JS the extract from the ILAB book term dictionary in several languages. BF is willing to launch a challenge to his private press clients, with $1,000 reward to the winner of a second logo design. DT said that it is a good idea as it will take at least a year to come up with a new design. We can do that as soon as possible, then we know in which direction we want to go and we can hire a designer. NM added that we need to define the concepts a logo is supposed to suggest before creating it. ST thinks it would be a good idea to send e-mails on the ILAB list to ask our affiliates to contribute ideas for the logo. AN remarked that ILAB will not be able to come up with a logo which will be as recognizable as Nike's. Furthermore, he thinks that Latin should be kept, as it is automatically linked with old books. This is what differentiates us from second hand book dealing. BF summarized all that had been said: he will work on the logo concept and will give the Committee a marketing plan. AH will develop hard copy ideas and costs for stationery, ads, flyers, etc. ST will work on the contents of our website with AH. All this will be shown the Presidents at our next meeting in Philadelphia. [Action AH & ST)

JS then mentioned his project of opening up an auction site open to ILAB sellers and buyers only [the idea was already mentioned during the Zurich committee meeting], which would make it very trustworthy, would allow for reserve prices, and Rockingstone would get a commission from the sellers, although he has not yet decided on the fee. The results will not be public. The auction will be constant, just like on eBay. BF asked him to put his plan in writing.

JS then outlined his ideas on another project, conducting a book fair in China in the spring of 2007. He explained that his Chinese interpreter has wide contacts and can be of great help. He has already traveled three times to China and has discovered many things. It is a very different culture. Personal contacts are very important. You build up credit by doing something for the people, which is called "Kwangzhee" [phonetic transcription]. He knows many people now, but things are complicated. He has visited bookshops in Shanghai and Peking to find out about the market. There are hardly any western books, but the interest is growing. New universities are being built and they need libraries. They need help to catalog the books in the existing libraries. The Chinese like to collect old things. The economy is growing very rapidly, there is a lot of money and many rich people who, once they have bought enough cars, machines, houses, will turn to collecting art. The Art and Antiques fair has been going on since 1993. Sotheby's and Christie’s are present and have auctions which are going well. Prices are going up. The government is prepared to spend money. There are lots of possibilities. He has looked at buildings for hosting a fair. It can be done in the Forbidden City. TV & newspapers' publicity will be no problem as it will be a first time. People he knows have started collecting addresses. A catalogue should be sent to them. He thinks that the fair should allow experts, outside dealers, and librarians, for example. The Amsterdam library is willing to exhibit there. Lots of books were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Some librarians still have western material, and will be happy to have western librarians help them out. So a part of the fair could house an exhibition from libraries. We should also have Chinese exhibitors.

AG said that there had been talks, under his presidency, to form an association in China, but that the committee had replied that as long as there was no private enterprise in China, such an association would not be accepted by ILAB. JS replied that the bookshops are now privately owned, so we can imagine the creation of a Chinese association. The object of the fair would be to make contacts.

He then explained that he went to the LA fair in a very enthusiastic frame of mind about the Chinese project, and that in his enthusiasm, he printed a leaflet with the ILAB logo on it. He realized now that he had made a mistake and apologized for it. He just wanted to find out the reaction of the dealers, as it would be a great deal of work to organize this fair. He knows that ILAB cannot take the responsibility, but he needs to know whether ILAB is willing to back him up and approve of his actions. BF asked him on what he has based his price figures for the cost of stands. He replied that the basis is 125 participants from ILAB. BF tells him that he needs to make sure that it will not give ILAB a bad image. JS replied that he is considering whether he should carry on with the project. He needs to know what the Committee now thinks. AG asked whether they will accept anti-communist books? Or travel books where Taiwan is mentioned? JS replied that there is some freedom but that it is still very limited, but that selling new books is different from antique books. AN pointed out that at this stage, the Committee being in possession of all the facts, it needed to discuss this matter without his presence, and then give him its answer. JS added that it also concerns ILAB's attitude towards new markets, and the possibility of holding fairs in countries where there are no national associations: China, India, Dubai, Russia, Latin America. AH said that, concerning China, censorship is a real question. We need to have answers on freight, import, export conditions. We also need to know what is it exactly that JS means by ILAB involvement. Is it only moral support or active support? BF agreed that we have to discuss all this as a committee.

ST then asked why the ILAB discuss list and chat room was no longer present. JS said they were removed because they were rarely being used. The discussion then moved to the stolen books database. PF was asked to explain the morning's earlier discussion, which he did. PF then asked how much it would cost to let IFLA have the software? There are, in fact, two proposals: either IFLA opens their own database with Rockingstone's software, or they use ours. JS replied that it is more a maintenance question, and that it would involve no extra work if it is the second solution which is chosen; but if it's the first, he needs to make a quote. He needs to know how many people will access the database. PF replied that it would be similar to ILAB. JS said that in that case, it does make a difference in maintenance but that to give an exact quote, he needs more information.

There being no more questions to ask JS, he left the meeting at 12:20 AM.

PF believed that 2007 is too early, and that JS will not have sufficient time for organizing the China bookfair. AH added that we need the approval of the Presidents before embarking on such a scheme. AG thought it is more reasonable to aim at 2008. DT thought it is a very good idea and was very enthusiastic about it. AH added that we have to show the Presidents a detailed and clear project. DT explained that all JS needs for the time being is the use of the ILAB logo and moral support. But that as the time will get nearer the committee will need to be more involved if we want to make it professional. AG remarked that we must not miss this chance and risk arriving too late on the market. But, if we allow JS to go ahead, we must realize that it involves a lot of work from us, as JS is not a bookseller. ST is afraid that JS has bitten off more than he can chew. He thinks the total cost for a dealer may be around 10,000 EUR and that it is a sum that many of us cannot afford. PF said that there is a market in China, and that we must take our chance. AH wondered whether the fair could not be held at the same time as the Olympic Games? And added that before knowing whether we can support JS, there are many boxes that need to be ticked. AG added that we must not forget that it is still a communist country, where a law can be changed in half an hour. AH said that if JS cannot tick all the boxes that we need him to look at, we might be able to study a similar project in India. We must give JS a list of our criteria, and he has to check them. We should involve the Presidents by email before Philadelphia. DT added that JS should get one more year for preparation. AG said that each year, Mr. Nitta holds an exhibition in a Chinese hotel.

BF asked NM to do a preliminary criteria list (censorship, freight, customs, duties, government guarantees), and then send it to the Committee who will in turn send it to the Presidents. JS would be told this over lunch. (Action NM)

LEGAL STATUS AND INSURANCE

NM reported that the Committee is now insured with a Directors and Officers Liability and Company Reimbursement Insurance Policy, from 20th October 2005 to 20th October 2006, for 1,000,000 EUR, and that the premium of 1,700 EUR plus taxes has been paid by PP [see attachment for details].

The Committee has unanimously decided to delete our registration in Geneva, as it is not necessary for a non profit organisation to be registered under Swiss law.

DIRECTORY

BF had asked Stuart Lee to come up with a written proposal. He then received a phone call from George to launch sales. BF replied that no sales should be launched before receiving the written proposal by Stuart Lee. Concerning the index, we will ask Rockingstone's collaboration, who will quote Publications UK.

STOLEN BOOKS DATABASE

The matter was thoroughly discussed during the Security Chairman's report.

DICTIONARY OF BOOK TERMS

BF said that he has convinced Nicolas Barker that it will not decrease his royalties to have Carter's ABC on the ILAB website. He should soon allow it to get back on line again.

The meeting adjourned for lunch at 1:00 PM, and resumed at 2:05 PM.

BF stated that he had talked to JS during the lunch break, and that Jelle was still feeling nervous about the whole China project. BF told him that ILAB would morally support him if he would provide us with the information asked for. MS commented that we do need new markets.

IDENTITY CARDS

NM said that the new batch of ID cards were ordered and sent out. The next order will take place around May. AH showed a letter from the Antiques Trade Gazette. He would like ILAB to send a similar welcome letter to each new affiliate. A thin plastic card would be attached to this letter. All we need to do is buy a printing machine which can print such cards. He will ask the Antiques Trade Gazette where they have found such a printer. PP said that we hardly use the ID cards, and that there is no point in having them. BF answered that they are useful to get into fairs for free (except the NY fair). AH said that the present card is minimalist, and that both sides should be printed. [Action AH]

BOOKMARKERS AND FLIERS

This matter was discussed earlier in the meeting.

INSERTION OF INITIALS AND LOGOS ON ABE

AH will check back with the ABA office. The ABA is going to encourage their dealers to take their books off the ABE site on 1st April, for one day and is going to try and get as much PR about this as possible. He read and distributed the ABA Internet Committee report [see attached]. BF said that the ABA should ask the ABAA to do the same, and added that Robert Frew should send this report on the Presidents’ discuss list, then the ILAB announce list. He prefers countries to deal with this matter, not ILAB. NM stated that the manager of ABE France is going to be meeting with the SLAM President.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL PRIZE

BF had received an e-mail from Raymond Kilgarrif just before leaving for Prague. The prize winners have been chosen. We just need to know where and how to give it out. BF suggested that we postpone this conversation until we have more information about this. NM suggested presenting it at the opening of the NY fair, as there will be a lot of people and it can be given a maximum publicity. The opening night would indeed give it the most publicity and PR from newspapers. However, BF said that there is a possibility of giving it out at the ABA Centennial Ball. AH added that there is a chance ILAB could be given a booth at the Olympia fair, free of charge, where the prize and the other books could be on display for sale. BF asked that we postpone the discussion until we get more facts. BF also mentioned that we shall have to send letters to dealers and publishers to get funding for the prize.

UNIDROIT

NM read the report she drafted after the meeting held in Brussels on 8th March, at the invitation of CINOA., and which she attended with Frederic Castaing. PP remarked that Denmark has recently ratified UNIDROIT. BF will write to Bo Knutsson and Jan de Maere, CINOA president and vice president, to thank them for the invitation, and to agree to remain on the Observatory. PP asked what is to be done about the invitation to Mr. Carducci ? BF said it would be a good idea to have him hold one of the workshops in Philadelphia. NM will get in touch with him and see whether he is free to travel to the USA for the 8th September workshop. If yes, we will then precis the financial implications of the invitation. [Action NM]

INCREASE IN SUBSCRIPTION AND BOOK FAIR LEVY

DT remarked that the increase which was mentioned earlier in the meeting will only add an extra $5,000 to the ILAB income. He wondered whether we should not aim for more. The Committee decided to wait for PP's proposal.

CHINA

This subject had already been broached earlier in the meeting.

23. NEWSLETTER

MS said he would like to produce a quarterly newsletter of a few pages, similar to the one produced by some of the national associations. It might be cheaper to produce and to send. DT asked whether the last newsletter was the last in the format we know? BF replied that it is probable. The ABA, ABAA and SLAM newsletters are short, to the point, and easy to read. However, we must not forget that our newsletter must remain in two languages. He said it needs more pictures, and that the minutes would only be in one of the four years issues. MS and DT will work on the idea.

21. ELECTIONS IN PHILADELPHIA

BF asked whether there are any candidates. NM replied that the SLAM has nominated Jean Pierre Fouques. MS said that the ABAA had nominated Tom Congalton, the NVVA the candidacy of Arnoud Gerits, and that he would like the ABAJ to nominate someone. BF remarked that we usually try to get just as many candidates as there are vacancies, so that we do not need to have an election. BF, DT, ST and GB are stepping down. GB added that he would have liked to continue, but he is willing to step down. MS says that he would have liked to keep him in the Committee, that he appreciated very much all he has done, but that he has four nominees already and wants to avoid elections. GB says that if MS does not get enough nominees, he will like to stay on the committee. MS agreed.

22. WORKSHOPS IN PHILADELPHIA

The matter was discussed during the UNIDROIT discussion. AH mentioned that it would also be a good idea to devote a part of the discussions to PR ideas.

25. OTHER NEW BUSINESS

PP informed the meeting that he has stepped down from the presidency of the Danish association, and that there is a new president: Mr. Peter Daugaard from Daugaard Antikvariat. He will send us the details of the new Danish committee. PF said that he will probably attend the IFLA meeting this summer in Seoul as the ILAB representative. BF distributed tourist information about New Castle, Delaware, USA, where the next Committee meeting will be held just before the Philadelphia meeting. The meeting will probably start on Wednesday 6th September at 1:00 pm, and continue on Thursday 7th September in the morning. A bus can then take us to Philadelphia, which is 45 minutes away. We can therefore decide to arrive in New Castle on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.

PP asked about the appointment of Kay Craddock as ILAB President of Honour. The proposal was seconded by PF. Everyone agreed that she had rendered exceptional services and worked very hard; she has attended a total of 10 meetings. She deserves it. The proposal is adopted unanimously, with one abstention (BF). It will be added to the Philadelphia agenda.

DT then brought forward the subject of the ABAA leaflet for Philadelphia which was only sent out in English. He asked if the ABAA is planning to send out a written invitation? MS said that he has had an answer from John Spencer the day before he arrived, asking him for advice. MS thinks that in order for the Congress to become a success, the ABAA needs to mail a complete file in both languages to all affiliates, whatever the cost. BF said it need not be an expensive leaflet. All agreed with this recommendation. MS will send John Spencer the recommendation of the Committee. [Action MS]

26. FUTURE MEETINGS

Spring 2007: Beijing will probably not take place, so a Committee meeting can be organized in Vienna, where the rental of a room would be unnecessary.

Fall 2007: Presidents' Meeting in Paris

Spring 2008: Committee meeting in Beijing? Or London?

Fall 2008: Congress in Majorca

Spring 2009: ?

Fall 2009: Presidents' Meeting in Japan?

Spring 2010: ?

Fall 2010: Congress in Italy

Fall 2012: Switzerland has applied to organize a Congress.

Argentine is about to form its national association, and will then apply to ILAB for membership.

DT & BF are going to attend the ABA centennial ball. The Committee sent its congratulation to the ABA on their 100th anniversary.

There being no further business before the Committee, MS moved to adjourn. Seconded by PF and passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 4:00 PM.