The Vision and The Name
The Results of Membership Surveys

1   Background

The Library Association (LA) and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) have been in discussions to jointly dissolve and form a new organisation since 1996.  Both organisations have felt it vital to consult their members about the proposed merger and in particular about the vision and the name of the new organisation.

A consultation held in 1999 resulted in the approval, outright in the case of the LA, in principle in the case of the IIS, to proceed with the process of forming the new organisation.  But the consultation also revealed concerns, particularly among IIS members, that the vision was insufficiently challenging, and the proposed name did not command widespread support.

As a result of the votes at the AGMs of the two organisations, an Implementation Working Group (IWG) was set up to undertake the detailed planning for the new organisation.  The IWG has a number of subgroups which undertake the detailed work, which the IWG oversees.  One of these subgroups produced a vision, and the IWG itself proposed a name. 

The IWG circulated a short survey to LA and IIS members and the survey was also accessible on the internet.  This report details the findings of that survey.

The Survey

In total 1,173 responses were received before 15 December 2000.  Of these, 950 (94%) were received from members of the LA while 175 members of the IIS replied of whom 98 were only members of the IIS and a further 77 were members of both organisations. 

2. The Vision