1. Veterans Day – S. Thompson gave special thanks to veterans and library families with veterans.
2. Other Business –The AAL Website has been updated.  All minutes are posted.
3. Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting of September 9, 2003 were approved as amended.
4. Report of University Librarian (C. Lang for M. Pastine)
   F. Immler was given some funds to offset some of this year’s cancellations.
5. Faculty Senate Representative Report.  (L.Lane for G. Sneff)
6. Introductions
   G. McKinney introduced two librarians who are new to Temple University.

   Jenifer Baldwin began October 6th as the department head for Reference and Instructional Services, bringing an impressive array of qualifications and experience.   She previously has worked at Drexel University as the team leader for Information Literacy and Subject Specialist in the areas of art, design, and architecture.  Prior to her work at Drexel, Jenifer worked in the Reference Department of Van Pelt Library of the University of Pennsylvania.  At one time, Jenifer also had her own collectibles business, and worked for Borders Books specializing in rare and out-of-print books.   Jenifer has also worked at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh and has studied film production.  Currently, in addition to serving as the Department Head for Reference here at Temple, Jenifer teaches the Resources in the Social Sciences class at Drexel University’s College of Information Science and Technology.

   David Murray came to Temple University Libraries on September 22nd as a Reference Librarian and Subject Specialist in History.  Prior to coming to Temple, David worked as a Reference Librarian at Pierce College.  He is a native of Pittsburgh and did graduate work at the University of New Mexico where he earned his Masters in Mesoamerican Studies, specializing in the Amazon and Mayan civilizations.  David has previously held positions at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh and at the Albequerque Public Library.  David likes science fiction, especially Star Trek.

   The Academic Assembly of Librarians welcomes Jenifer and David to Temple University Libraries.

7. Semi-Social Committee – S. Thompson mentioned restarting the library’s Semi-social Committee, to provide a way for librarians to get to know one another on an informal basis.
8. Librarians’ Travel Policy – J. Le Breton will send to the listserv information about the travel policy.
9. Mentor program for new librarians – This program will provide an opportunity for Temple librarians to provide help to new librarians at Temple if needed, and is intended to be an informal way of librarians helping each other.  Anyone who is interested in the Mentor program please contact a Steering Committee member.
10. New Business – S. Stormont suggested that the AAL webpage should include a listing of interesting projects that Temple Librarians are doing.
11. BrownBag Lunches are to begin again.  M. Edsall has offered to organize these and to take notes.  The intention is for the lunches to be an open forum and to foster interdepartmental communication.
12. Reminder – Merit applications are due soon.
13. Forum – A. Harlow “The Art of Presenting: Tips and Tricks from the Performing Arts.”
    Anne Harlow gave a presentation on practical techniques for public speaking for librarians from the fields of music, dance, and theater.  This presentation is part of one that she will give on Friday, November 14th for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Library Association.

    Presentations, Harlow said, in some ways are like plays, and the creator of the presentation is both actor and playwright.  All presenters, in order to be successful, must know the needs of the people in the audience and address the speech to their needs. Creating a presentation must begin with having clear objectives.

    Presentations have three main parts, just like many plays have three acts.  “Act I” is the Introduction, “Act II” is the body of the presentation, and “Act III” is the conclusion.   Essential components of each part of a presentation were examined.   In “Act I”, the introduction, the audience will meet the characters, get the background, and see the plot set in motion.  Good techniques for getting the audience’s attention are stories, an amazing situation, references to the audience’s specific situation, a controversial comment, an arresting visual, a particularly relevant funny joke, or even a horror story. The introduction must define the subject of the presentation, how the subject will be addressed, and convince the audience that they should care.   The body of the speech, “Act II”, must have a clear organizational structure, which can be problem/solution, good news/bad news, chronological, or an extended metaphor.  Tactics that can be used in the body of the speech are examples, questions, quotes, suspense, humor, stories, personal examples, statistics, or lists.  If possible, a dramatic climax should occur at the end of the body of the speech.  The conclusion, “Act III”, needs to distill the message in a clear, memorable form.  The difference between listening to a speech and reading text were discussed, and why and how these two forms of communication are very different.  Techniques for writing presentations, objectives, visuals, and editing were discussed.

S. Thompson thanked Anne for her helpful and practical presentation.