President McDiarmid called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. in the Waldo Schmitt Room, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. Council members and editorial staff present: Ron Heyer (President-Elect), Michael Carleton, Marilyn Schotte, Christian Thompson, Jeffrey Williams (Elected Council); Chad Walter (Treasurer); Carole Baldwin (Secretary); Steve Gardiner (Editor); Richard Banks, Bruce Collette, Oliver Flint, Leslie Knapp, and Don Wilson (Past Presidents), Stephen Cairns (Past President, Finance Committee); Storrs Olson (Past President, Custodian of Publications); Carol Hotton and Wayne Mathis (Associate Editors).
McDiarmid reminded the group that this is the end of his extended
term as President and that "it has been an exciting 4 years,
but we got through it." Relative to previous years, McDiarmid
noted that the past year had been relatively quiet. Successes
included signing an agreement with BioOne to have the Proceedings
included in their database collection, which takes effect
in 2007, and selection of a new Editor for the Proceedings,
Stephen Gardiner of Bryn Mawr, formerly Associate Editor for
Invertebrates.
Minutes of the 132nd annual meeting, published in Volume 118(4)
of the Proceedings, were read and approved. McDiarmid
thanked outgoing Secretary Baldwin for her long service in the
secretarial position.
President McDiarmid then called on Chad Walter for the Treasurer's
Report (Table 1). Income for the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December
2005 was $148,777.60, and expenses for the same period were $145,944.05.
Total Society assets as of 15 April 2006 were $124,755.09, up
from $116.620.11 at the same time in 2005. The increase is attributable
to the Society's endowment fund, which grew $8,780.12 during 2005.
The Society subsidized nearly 37% of page charges in 2005, up
from approximately 25% in 2004. Waived page charges were offset
this year by income from dues, interest, and sales of the Society's
inventory of publications, but Walter noted that the Society is
losing 10 to 15 individual members/subscriptions per year. McDiarmid
stated that the promotion of the Proceedings that will
be part of the Society's new relationship with BioOne could
help reverse the declining trend in subscriptions.
McDiarmid appointed Christian Thompson and Oliver Flint to audit
the Treasurer's records, and the Treasurer's report was approved.
Editor Stephen Gardiner announced that Volume 119 of the Proceedings
comprises 607 pages. Forty one manuscripts had been submitted
to date in 2006, a total likely similar by the end of the year
to the 44 submitted in 2005 but down considerably from the 72
in 2004. Bulletin No. 13, Checklist of the Terrestrial Vertebrates
of the Guiana Shield edited by Tom Hollowell and Robert P.
Reynolds was published in 2005, and Bulletin Nos. 12, Gamba,
Gabon: Biodiversity of an Equatorial Rainforest edited by
Alfonso Alonso, Michelle E. Lee, Patrick Campbell, Olivier S.
G. Pauwels, and Francisco Dallmeier, and 14, Checklist of the
Vascular Plants of Plummers Island, Maryland by Stanwyn G.
Shetler, Sylvia S. Orli, Elizabeth F. Wells, and Marcie Beyersdorfer,
were published in 2006.
Gardiner noted that a couple of issues have arisen during discussions
regarding the Society's request to have the Proceedings included
in BioOne: The Proceedings and the Bulletins have separate
ISSN numbers, but beginning with Bulletin No. 10, the same number
was used for the journal and Bulletins. The ISSN numbers on Bulletin
Nos. 10-14 are wrong. Additionally, the Society must begin copyrighting
its publications to satisfy requirements of BioOne, and Volume
120 will be the first copyrighted volume.
Gardiner took over as Editor in the middle of the year from Richard
Banks, and he thanked Banks for his help during the transition
and that of the Associate Editors as well. Gardiner reported that
Steve Cairns will replace him as Associate Editor for Invertebrates.
A discussion ensued regarding compensation for editorial staff,
and it was unanimously decided to provide Associate Editors with
a free subscription to the Proceedings beginning in 2007,
if they so desire. The Finance Committee was tasked with evaluating
a sliding-scale honorarium to be given to Associate Editors from
an agreed-upon amount of money that would be divided proportionally
based on number of pages handled.
The Society has received a proposal for a new Bulletin, The
Natural History of Plummers Island, Maryland - The Invertebrate
Fauna. Publication of this multi-authored Bulletin would be
paid for by the Washington Biologists' Field Club. The bulletin
would comprise approximately 29 chapters, all of which have received
a minimum of two reviews. A motion to proceed with the publication
of this Bulletin was approved.
A procedure for handling submissions for consideration as Bulletins
was accepted by a vote conducted prior to the annual meeting.
The new guidelines are as follows:
All manuscripts will be received by the Editor, who will determine (alone or after consultation with appropriate Associate Editors or other knowledgeable persons): (1) whether the subject matter is appropriate for consideration as a Bulletin; (2) whether funding is available to publish the manuscript as a Bulletin; and (3) whether the Editor will be directly responsible for the peer-review process (typically a single-authored or single-discipline manuscript and handled through the typical review process), or whether another person(s) will serve as the Designated Editor(s) and be responsible for the peer-review process (typically a multi-authored, multidisciplinary compendium of manuscripts on a single topic; a Festschrift or similar contribution). If the latter, the Editor will need to see all reviews and ensure their adequacy to the Society. At an appropriate time (generally early in the process) the Editor and Designated Editor(s), if appropriate, will submit a proposal for consideration and vote by the Council. The request should include a general statement of the content, availability of funding, proposed procedures for handling the manuscript, and a general time table. The proposal can be considered at the Annual Meeting or submitted by the Secretary to the Council for vote by electronic mail. With these procedures in place, the Editor will continue to have responsibility for all publications of the Society. Procedures to be followed for handling submissions that do not fit into this general outline but which the Editor thinks need to be considered will be considered by the Editor and President, or some other person(s) designated by the President, and brought to the Council for its approval.
The Editor's report was approved. Custodian of Publications, Storrs
Olson, then noted that the Society is receiving steady requests
for Bulletin No. 12 on the biodiversity of Gabon.
President-Elect Ron Heyer was then asked to report on a proposal
from Allen Press for the Society to join the Alliance Communication
Group. A proposal was received, but issues with costs vs. benefits
resulted in a decision not to go forward with this in 2007 but
to meet with ACG representatives to discuss a potential future
affiliation.
McDiarmid announced that the Council had voted in July on a new
dues structure: Beginning in 2007, membership dues will increase
to $50 and institutional subscriptions will increase to $100.
The Council also initiated a new membership category for students,
dues for which will be $25. There is currently no Life Membership
category for the Society, but Stephen Cairns agreed to add this
item to the Finance Committee's agenda for discussion. Gardiner
noted that he had recently received a proposal from Allen Press
that would provide a mechanism for Society members to pay dues
through the Society's website. That proposal will be reviewed
in the near future.
Results of the 2006 election of officers were then announced:
President-Elect: Wayne Mathis; Secretary: Stephen Cairns; Treasurer:
Chad Walter; Elected Council: Michael Carleton, Steve Gotte, Ashley
Smythe, Christian Thompson, Jeffrey Williams, and Neal Woodman.
President Elect Heyer called for a round of applause for President
McDiarmid's efforts over the past several years. Prior to turning
the gavel over to Heyer, McDiarmid introduced Kristofer M. Helgen,
a post-doctoral fellow at NMNH, who then gave an address entitled
Adventures in Natural History and Considerations for Taxonomic
Publications in the 21st Century. Among other conclusions,
Helgen suggested that journals adopt explicit minimum standards
regarding type material on which new-species descriptions are
based.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Carole C. Baldwin
Secretary
Table 1.---Summary Financial Statement for 2005
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| Assets: January 1, 2005 |
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| Total Receipts for 2005 |
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| Total Disbursements for 2005 |
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| Assets: December 31, 2005 |
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| Net Changes in Funds |
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a - annual gain in value of Endowment = new contributions
b - annual loss in value of Endowment