Society for the Scientific Study of Reading
Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting
11 July 2007, Prague
> Download the board meeting minutes (PDF)
Present: Marketa Caravolas, Hugh Catts, Charles Hulme, John Kirby (secretary), Catherine McBride-Chang, Stephen Petrill, Pieter Reitsma (chair), Maggie Snowling, Min Wang, Joanna Williams
Apologies for absence: Brian Byrne
Approval of agenda
Approved
Approval of minutes of 2006 Board Meeting
Approved
Report on 2007 Conference
Maggie reported that the web-based system had been a great help, but that there needed to be an automatic response sent to those who had registered and/or submitted a paper. She also suggested that Darlene prepare for future conferences a list of what needed to be done at registration, etc. Marketa will write a report on conferences procedures that will be made available to future conference organisers.
See Appendix A for details on the program and budget.
The Board thanked Maggie and Marketa for their extraordinary work.
Administrative support to the Program Committee
Maggie argued that greater administrative support is required for the Program Committee. She estimated that she had been spending 2 hours per day over the last year on the conference, and that much of this involved relatively small matters that could be dealt with by an administrator. Several alternatives were discussed. One suggestion was that Darlene could deal with many of these matters; at the moment there is no role description for Darlene’s position. Another suggestion was that a program administrator be hired to work with the Program Committee. A third suggestion was that an “academic secretary” be appointed, similar to that of the British Psychological Society, who would have on-going responsibility for the administrative matters of the Society. Some suggested that two different roles were involved, one to do with membership and general matters, the other with the conference, while others argued that membership and the conference were linked and therefore there should be one person.
Hugh, Stephen, and Don agreed to make recommendations to the Board in the Fall concerning how to proceed with covering the administrative duties now required in the organization.
Report from the Editor of Scientific Studies of Reading
Charles reported that submissions to the journal are growing (see Appendix B). The most recent impact factor for the journal was given as 2.38. It was suggested that the impact factor be entered on the journal’s web site.
Charles also reported on our publishing contract. The previous contract with Erlbaum had been taken over by Taylor and Francis. This contract expired in 2006 and was automatically renewed for ten years. Charles listed several features of the contract that he thought were disadvantageous, and described his frustration in trying to discuss the matter with the Publisher. It was agreed that he and Pieter would write a letter to the Publisher and attempt to improve the terms.
Charles also suggested that the increased number of submissions indicated a need for an Associate Editor. There was discussion about the number of submissions needed for an Associate Editor, and what the division of work would be between the Editor and Associate Editor. It was agreed that more information would be sought about arrangements at other journals.
There was general support for having an Associate Editor, assuming the submission rate was maintained. The Board agreed that the process would be as follows: the Editor would nominate an Associate Editor to the Publications Committee, which would review the nomination and make a recommendation to the Board, who would approve the recommendation or not.
The Board thanked Charles for his continuing efforts with the journal.
2008 Conference (and format)
Hugh reported that he had visited the conference site in Asheville and thought that would be work well. The dates of the conference will be 10-12 July 2008.
Susan Brady and Dave Braze have proposed a pre-conference to honour Don Shankweiler. The Board agreed to include this, but to leave the organisation to the proposers.
There was discussion of the format of the program. It was agreed that it was too early to tell if the 2007 format had problems, but that comments from the 2007 Program Committee should be taken into account. Maggie said that there was need to clarify the nature of a symposium, to indicate that the majority of presenters should not be from the same institution.
There was further discussion about the review of submissions and the status of voting members’ submissions. It was agreed that all submissions would be reviewed, and that although submissions from voting members would be given preference, there would be no guarantee of a spoken paper slot. The Board voted to change the format of all submitted proposals to a structured abstract of no more than 200 words.
Exhibitors at conferences (Maggie)
Discussion of this was postponed.
Conference sites for 2009 and 2010
Hugh announced that the 2009 site would be the downtown Marriott Hotel, Boston and the conference organiser would be Nonie Lesaux.
Possible sites for the 2010 conference were mentioned, including Hong Kong (suggested by Cammie McBride-Chang) and Sydney, Australia (suggested by Anne Castles). Concerns were raised about the distances involved and the possible effects on attendance. An alternative Australian site, perhaps in northern Queensland, was mentioned, due to Sydney’s weather in June. It was agreed that feedback would be sought from the members at the Business meeting.
International Coordinator
Cammie agreed to draft terms of reference for the International Coordinator’s position.
Reduced fees for members from developing countries
Maggie suggested that we consider reducing conference fees for some members from developing countries, that this would help to encourage greater attendance. There was discussion about the possibility of also reducing membership fees; this will be looked at in future years.
The Board discussed waiving the conference fees of up to four members from developing countries. Selection would be based on merit; those selected would (a) have had a paper accepted, (b) have an academic position, (c) submit a cv, and (d) arrange for a SSSR member to submit a letter of support. Hugh agreed to draw up a proposal for the Board.
Award Committee
Brian could not attend the meeting and there was no report.
Treasurer's Report
Stephen presented the Treasurer’s report (see Appendix C). He pointed to the line for credit card charges and said he would investigate. He also mentioned that it was difficult to reconcile his records with Darlene’s, because of different accounting procedures; he will investigate harmonising these. He suggested that our reserve be invested more strategically, for instance in equities, and will discuss this with the Finance Committee. There was discussion of raising the reserve over the coming years, but no specific target was selected. This may depend upon whether we increase payments to those working for us, or hire new people.
The Board thanked Stephen for his work on behalf of the Society.
Membership Committee
Joanna reported that 9 new voting members had been approved (see Appendix D).
Nominations Committee
Joanna reported that she is looking for nominations for Vice-President and a Board Member. The Board agreed that she should seek 2 candidates for Vice-President and 2 or 3 for the Board Member. The members will be asked for nominations, and the elections will be held the Fall; results should be announced by December 15. Votes will be counted by Darlene and John.
Handbook updating
Board members discussed some of the suggestions that had been circulated, and agreed to send further suggestions to John by the end of August 2007. John and Min will compile the suggestions into a draft which will be circulated for further comment.
Business Meeting
Pieter and John will prepare an agenda.
Other Business
John mentioned that new editors of Reading Research Quarterly (Ian Wilkinson and David Bloome) had asked him to join their editorial board especially because he was active in SSSR; they are hoping to increase the number of more scientific papers in RRQ.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
See attached PDF for additional information on the following:
- Appendix A - 2007 Conference Report
- Appendix B - SSR Journal Report
- Appendix C - Treasurer's Report
- Appendix D - Membership Committee Report