Society for the Scientific Study of Reading
Minutes of the Board of Directors meeting
Vancouver, B.C., 5 July 2006
> Download the board meeting minutes (PDF)
Present: Pat Bowers, Brian Byrne, Joanne Carlisle, Hugh Catts, Don Compton, Charles Hulme, John Kirby (secretary), Frank Manis, Pieter Reitsma (chair), Hollis Scarborough, Linda Siegel, Maggie Snowling, Min Wang, Joanna Williams
Regrets: Catherine McBride-Chang, Stephen Petrill
Report on 2006 Conference
Maggie reported that there had been 294 submissions. 265 papers were accepted, 64 being in 13 symposia, 88 grouped into 19 themes, and 113 presented as interactive papers (posters). A reserve list had been drawn up, and only 8 of those were not eventually accommodated in the program. 8 submissions were rejected. There were 36 withdrawals since January, mainly due to illness or lack of funding.
The first authors of the submitted papers comprised 72 voting members, 66 active members, 77 student members, and 39 non-members.
Maggie described the amount of time and effort required to receive, process, and organize the submissions, and expressed the hope that there would be in future a web-based submission procedure and a budget to support the Program Chair. She also suggested that authors be required to submit keywords with their submissions, to aid in the organization of thematic sessions.
Board members discussed the merits of web-based submission and were in support of it. Hugh Catts reported that he has located a free software package for web-based submission and will explore it further. The Board agreed that Matt Fields should continue as web coordinator and should be asked to help with the web-based submission program.
Linda reported on the arrangements in Vancouver, the difficulties encountered due to building changes, and the expenses especially due to food costs.
A total of 353 participants registered for the conference.
The Board thanked Maggie and Linda for their extraordinary work in making the conference a success.
Format of the next conference and review process
The Board discussed possible formats for future conferences. See Appendix A (from Pieter Reitsma). Suggestions included reducing the overall number of papers, having the only spoken papers be given in symposia, decreasing the number of posters, increasing the number of posters, having only 2 parallel sessions, changing the scheduling of posters to the late afternoon (so that lunch can be for lunch), and using the entire afternoon for posters (with symposia in the mornings). Every suggestion was said to have a weakness. For example, decreasing the overall number of papers may reduce attendance, because some individuals need to be giving a paper in order to obtain funding; and decreasing the number of posters may reduce the number of students.
The consensus was that we would continue to have 3 parallel sessions, with paper/symposium sessions at 8.30-10.10, 10.40-12.20, lunch 12.20-1.20, posters 1.20- 3.10, then a third paper/symposium session 4-6. This will result in a loss of one session a day, thus 5 papers x 3 sessions x 3 days = 45 fewer papers. However the number of posters will be potentially doubled.
Maggie indicated that a review process would operate.
Journal
Frank submitted a report detailing the number of submissions to Scientific Studies of Reading over the last 11.5 years. Lately there have been about 35 submissions per year, and the acceptance rate is approximately 33.3% (not including special issues, presidential addresses, or distinguished scientific contributions). Frank has enough papers to fill issues until April 2007. One special issue, originally to be edited by Michael Pressley and now to be edited by Frank and Joanna Williams, will be #4 this year.
Charles reported that since assuming the editorship in March he has received 16 submissions.
Hollis reported from the Publications Committee, suggesting a choice between the status quo and raising the journal’s quality (by raising the quality and number of submissions, and thus the rejection rate). Discussion included the journal’s impact rating, the value of impact ratings, and the lack of evidence of a problem with quality in the published papers. Questions were raised about the nature of our contract with Erlbaum, and comments made about the enthusiasm and support received from Larry Erlbaum.
Hollis reported later that the journal is now listed by ISI (Web of Knowledge) and has received an "impact factor" score of 1.529. This is based on there having been 52 citations of the 34 articles published in 2004-5, and it is an excellent ranking
The decision was to maintain the status quo, but to informally attempt to increase the number and quality of submissions.
The Board thanked Frank for his excellent work on the journal, and Charles for accepting the editorship.
2007 Conference
The 2007 conference will be at the Corinthia Towers Hotel in Prague, 12-14 July. Room charges will be 109€ for a single room, 119€ for a double. The cost for refreshments and food, etc. will be 43€ per person. Marketa Caravolas will be the local coordinator and Maggie Snowling the Program Chair.
The Board agreed that the conference fee should reflect the actual cost. For 2007 the fee for student members will be $150, for other members $200. A late registration fee of $250 was suggested.
Conference sites for 2008 and 2009.
Hugh submitted a report describing several possible conference sites for 2008 (see Appendix C). The Board agreed to his proposal that the 2008 conference be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, 10-12 July. Hugh will ensure that the members receive extensive information about site and the local area. Hugh will be the Program Chair and Don Compton will be the local conference coordinator.
Several sites were mentioned for 2009, including Cammie’s suggestion of Hong Kong. It was later agreed to hold the 2009 conference in Boston.
International Coordinator
The report) of Cammie McBride-Chang, International Coordinator, was received (see Appendix D).
Awards Committee
Pat presented the report of the Awards Committee (see Appendix B). The Committee had selected Richard Olson for the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award this year. The Committee further recommended that consistent procedures be adopted by future committees, and offered several possibilities. It was also suggested that the nomination form be standardized, so that similar amounts of supporting material are submitted for each nominee. After discussion, the Board agreed that future Awards Committees receive summaries of previous Committees’ procedures, and that a one-page maximum be set for statements supporting nominations.
Treasurer’s Report
Don presented the Treasurer’s report (Appendix E) in Stephen’s absence. Discussion focused on means to control conference expenses.
The Board accepted the report and agreed to the proposed membership of the Financial Advisory Committee: Don Compton, Larry Erlbaum, Hugh Catts, and Stephen Petrill.
Membership Committee
Joanna reported that 11 new voting members had been approved.
Nominations Committee
A new Board member will be elected in Fall 2006, Nominations should be sent to Joanna by September.
Bylaw changes
Bylaw changes will be voted on at the Business Meeting.
Handbook updating
The Board discussed necessary and possible changes to the Handbook. Suggestions should be sent to John Kirby who will assemble them for the Board’s consideration.
Business Meeting
Pieter and John will put together the agenda for the Business Meeting.
There was no Other Business.
See attached PDF for additional information on the following:
- Appendix A - New Conference Concept
- Appendix B - Awards Committee Report
- Appendix C - Letter from Hugh W. Catts, Ph.D.
- Appendix D - Letter from Catherine McBride-Chang
- Appendix E - Letter from Donald L. Compton, Ph.D.
- Budget Information Report