The committee goes on to note that many standards are of direct relevance to the special library community and that SLA is frequently the only voice that represents special library interests, both in commenting and voting on impending standards. It then lists close to 20 standards over the past 3 years that had SLA involvement and another 6 subgroups of the ISO TC 46 Experts Group that the committee monitors.

Dan Trefethen, board liaison to the Technical Standards Committee, was the one to break the bad news. "The FY 2005 budget was a particularly challenging one, and many items (and positions) remained unfunded. We have expectations for a better budget year in FY 2006 and may be able to reconsider some of our memberships at that time." He also said that the mission of the committee remained unchanged: to monitor, review, and comment on standards that affect special libraries and information centers and to assist SLA members in understanding the changing world of technical standards.

How much money are we talking about? According to SLA treasurer Gloria Zamora, 2004 dues were $7,350 for NISO and $5,675 for CNI. Dues for IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations), to which SLA decided to remain a member, were $2,700. However, the IFLA dues structure is scheduled to change, which will probably raise that number for SLA, so it may well be up for re-evaluation next year.

Some SLA members believe that the association is in financial difficulty because of the headquarters building. Zamora denies this. The building in Washington, D.C. sold for $5,617,398.35. The new building in Virginia was purchased for $3,524,710.06, giving SLA gross proceeds of $2,092,688.29. There was an allowance for renovation of $1,600,000, leaving $492,688.29 in net proceeds. She anticipates that the actual net proceeds will be slightly over half a million dollars. She also points out that SLA dues go into general operating funds while expenditures relating to the headquarters building come from a restricted building fund.

So, why did the association have such difficult financial decisions to make? The falling stock market is one answer; hotel attrition payments (money owed to hotels when not enough members rent rooms during the annual conference) are another. It's likely that SLA will end this fiscal year with a deficit, but it hopes to be in better financial shape next year.

SLA president Ethel Salonen commented that this was a budget decision that had to be made, and the process was not easy. There were many line items eliminated in the budget process, not just the membership dues. "It was a very difficult decision. In addition to not funding these memberships, we opted not to buy needed equipment. SLA has eight open positions. Only three will be filled. It's not that we targeted only NISO and CNI dues; there were some 25 items not funded." Added Zamora, "It's not that we don't like standards."

Both Zamora and Salonen emphasized that the Technical Standards Committee still has input into NISO standards making. Anyone can comment. However, SLA won't have voting power. Both also stressed that value for the largest group of members was paramount when prioritizing the board's budgetary actions. "We should focus on memberships we get the most value from," said Salonen, "and if we find that we miss these memberships, we can always rejoin." Zamora said that the original budget, where staff was encouraged to put in everything they wanted, was $1 million over the projected income. This was whittled down to $90,000. That's when the deep cuts started.

Reaction on the discussion lists to the NISO withdrawal has been fierce. Several SLA members have wondered about the continued viability of SLA as a professional organization if it's not interested in standards vital to the profession. A taxonomist for a law firm wondered if she needed to find a different association that would have influence on new technologies' development and standards. Another noted the new Content Management Association as a potential challenger to SLA.

Much more muted has been the response to SLA's withdrawal from NCI. Perhaps fewer members know what CNI does, or maybe they are unclear on its value to the association. Certainly there's no committee comparable to the Technical Standards Committee that monitors CNI activities.

The question of whether SLA should pay membership dues to NISO and CNI can be raised at the next board meeting, to be held Jan 26-29, 2005, in Tampa, Fla. An action item can be submitted to the board requesting the decision be overturned. This does not guarantee a reversal, only that the board will revisit the issue.