ALISS AGM 16th June 2011
British Library
Attending
Huw Alexander – Rights & Digital Sales Manager (Sage Publishing); Gill
Briggs, (Thames Valley University) ; Elizabeth Charles (Birkbeck College);
David Clover, (Senate House Library) ; Nick Culliss (HMRC); Nora Daly
(Digital Curator, British Library); Heather Dawson (LSE, ALISS Secretary);
Polly Geater (UCL); Jennie Grimshaw (British Library, ALISS Treasurer);
Barbara Humphries (LSE Library);
Angela Joyce (University of Bristol); Lindsay Joyce (Leeds Metropolitan
University); Helen Mackin (Barnardos); Thelma May (Anglia Ruskin
University); Norma Menabney (Queens University, Belfast); Jean Portman
(University of Surrey); Warren Riches (University of Surrey); Martha Sedgwick
(Senior Manager, Online Products SAGE) Barbara Spina ( SOAS Library)
Vivienne Stiemens (Policy Studies Institute); Joanna Tate (SOAS); Angela
Upton (SCIE, ALISS Chair); Liz Verran (Amnesty International); Karen
Worden (Universities at Medway); Antonella Yarnold (City University)
Apologies
Sally Patalong (Coventry University)
Committee membership
The following were re-elected as officers by the AGM
Angela Upton – SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence) Chair
Heather Dawson – LSE Library (Secretary )
Jennie Grimshaw - British Library (Treasurer)
Helen Mackin - Barnardos
Norma Menabney Queens University Belfast
Joanna Tate SOAS
Angela Joyce, University of Bristol
Sally Patalong University of Coventry
During 2011 Julia Florin resigned from the committee due to a job relocation.
The committee thanked her for her generous assistance in creating and
training members on the use of twitter.
ALISS Finance
Jennie Grimshaw gave a full report on financial position to the AGM. All
accounts has been signed off by the independent auditor John Helms
and were accepted by the AGM as correct.
Income
Corporate and personal membership fees and sale of ALISS Quarterly extra
copies totalled £4,459 and so covered the cost of producing the journal

(£3,672). The 2010 Summer conference made a profit of £515.00, very
significantly reduced from £1,397 in 2009, due to increased running costs and
fewer non-member delegates.
Expenditure
Expenditure on the AGM totalled £804, including £75 in prizes for ALISS
Quarterly best articles. Expenditure on the Summer Conference consisted of
£1061 for room hire and catering and £124 speakers’ expenses Expenditure
on the Christmas Event consisted of a very modest £56.00 for refreshments.
It was brought to our attention that ALISS had been liable for Corporation Tax
on profits since its foundation in 2005/06. Following advice from our
accountant and independent examiner Mr John Helm, ALISS changed its
constitution at the 2010 AGM to trade as a mutual and so limit tax liability to
profits on non-mutual trading. A successful negotiation with HMRC led to our
liability being limited to profits on non-mutual trading from 2009/10 onwards.
This reduced the Corporation Tax bill payable in 2010/11 to £172.00.
Office costs rose very significantly in 2010/11 due to paying £958.00 for
professional support in our negotiations with HMRC regarding the Corporation
Tax bill and the transfer of the accounts from a manual to an electronic
system. The other costs noted comprise £120 for a subsidised visit to
Lambeth Palace Library and Exhibition and £110 for committee expenses.
Financial Position
As a resiilt of these factors Expenditure exceeded income by £856.00 in
2010/11 due to the need to pay for professional financial advice to regularise
the tax position and set up the accounts on the Finance Coordinator software
package. The profits from the Summer conference were also very
significantly reduced. Now that the systems are set up and our relationship
with HMRC is on a sound footing, office costs should reduce in 2011/12.
Review of Activities.
Heather Dawson provided a brief summary of ALISS Events during
2010/2011
Conferences
ALISS summer conference 2010: Innovations in social policy information and
support
ALISS Xmas Special: Developing new resources in difficult times
Visits

Visits took place to the following social science libraries/ information centres
and continued to prove very popular.
July 2010 Lambeth palace library and exhibition
August 2010 City business library
August 2010 RHS Lindley library
December 2010 National Portrait Gallery archive
December 2010 BFI Library
December 2010 Goldsmiths Hall and archive
March 2011 Bishopsgate Institute
April 2011 NSPCC Library
British Library census exhibition tour
Membership.
Despite the financial recession membership had remained relatively stable. It
had been decided to hold a reserve of funds in the current account to cushion
against any future cancellations caused by the recession.
During 2011 a new student membership for £15 per annum will be launched.
Journal
ALISS continues to publish the journal ALISS Quarterly.
Special issues were on EU Information, innovation in difficult times, social
policy information sources
This year we nominated for the first prize (£50) your article walking
through time - Dr Chris Speed which described a new app created by
academics at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). It applies the satnav
technology used by Google Earth, but instead of pinpointing where the user is
on a current map, it shows where they would have stood two centuries ago.”
http://www.alissnet.org.uk/uploadedFiles/Aliss_Quarterly/completeproof.april2
010.pdf
The Life and Loves of a Victorian Clerk: from Nineteenth century
diarist to blogging sensation, Judith Bottomley Local studies
Librarian, Westminster City Archives. Won the runner up prize for the
innovative blog which reused archive materials
http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/libraries/archives/victorian-clerk/
Website
Website relaunched. Also launched twitter and facebook pages.
http://twitter.com/#!/aliss_info
ALISS has also joined the SAGE Social Space as a contributor
http://www.socialsciencespace.com/
This is an opportunity to communicate with a wider audience of social science
researchers.

AGM 2011
featured the following presentations.
These are available on the ALISS website http://www.alissnet.org.uk
Growing Knowledge: The Evolution of Research, Nora Daly
Digital Curator, British Library
eBooks - the View from SOAS and Bristol, Angela Joyce Subject Librarian -
Economics, Finance and Management, University Of Bristol and Joanna Tate
Subject Librarian - Politics and Economics, SOAS
Digital Publishing Tomorrow, Huw Alexander – Rights & Digital Sales
Manager, Martha Sedgwick – Senior Manager, Online Products SAGE.
Forthcoming events
A series of visits are planned including: Bank of England Archive, SOAS
Library
Summer 2011 conference planned for July at Coventry University. Web 2.0
libraries, librarians and research support
Heather Dawson.
ALISS Secretary
h.dawson@lse.ac.uk