Welcome Geography and Map Division members!

Approved-A04-15 "That the Board of Directors honors the results of the fair and proper vote held among the members of the Social Science and Geography and Map Divisions and approves the merger of these two Divisions which effectively dissolves the Geography and Map Division as an independent division and enables this division to join the Social Science Division as its fourth Section. The effect would be immediate subsequent to the approval of the Board at the October 2003 Board meeting."

Stephanie Russell from SLA has advised that our merger with the Geography and Map Division was approved by the SLA board at their fall meeting, so we can now extend an official welcome to all the G&M members who will now be utilizing their expertise and talents as a special section of the Social Science Division! It's great to have them and their distinctive programming on board. Vanette Schwartz, who has done a terrific job spearheading the merger as G&M division chair these past months, will be chair of the G&M Section. Thanks also go to Ann Sweeney and Anita Oser, DSOC and G&M past division chairs, for all their hard work on this during the past year.

Our other sections are growing as well, with over 40 members each in International Relations, Nonprofit Sector, and Public Policy. If your membership renewal comes this month, remember to check the section codes on the back, listed under the DSOC division code, and add any or all of them to your member description list at no charge, depending on your interests. Karen Shaines chairs International Relations, Ailya Rose Public Policy, and Liz Green the Nonprofit Sector, and all three are working with Nashville Programming Planner Iris Anderson on some vital and interesting sessions for next year's conference. (FYI, you can also add a section any time you wish by contacting membership@sla.org.)

Once again, a hearty welcome to all Geography and Map members!