In my first column as Chair of OBS, I want to begin with many, many "Thank yous!" First of all, Anne Myers has given me a worthy example to follow; I appreciate all of her hard work and gentle reminders. OBS members no doubt appreciate Anne's thoughtfulness in providing food and beverages at all those early morning Indy meetings. The Board has been grand. Cindy May even does readable minutes, not to mention accurate ones. Mary Chapman has kindly lent much needed support. Vianne Sha has done splendid work with the Joint Reception; her ideas have inspired a mentor-mentee program, which Georgia Briscoe, in particular, supported as a mentor. All Board members have monitored their e-mail faithfully and have responded when needed. Thanks must go to Kathy Faust, outgoing Board Member-at-Large.

Approximately 25 librarians have contributed to the work of the 1995-96 Education Committee. In particular, I appreciate Mary Ann Van Cura's ideas for the two OBS sponsored programs in Indy. Mary Ann was the Coordinator for "Logistics of Obtaining and Loading Records from Outside Sources into Local Systems." Sue Roach and Jack Bissett capably co-coordinated "The Untold Story : Reference Databases Need Maintenance Too!" OBS co-sponsored Alva Stone's excellent program on format integration. Whether or not an Education Committee member's program was accepted for the annual meeting, each Committee member contributed time and energy in an effort to benefit their colleagues. That is always appreciated!

The OBS Committee chairs have given generously of their time. OBS members missed seeing Karin Den Bleyker in Indianapolis, because Karin was ill. However, Karin kindly gave her OCLC Committee materials to Sue Roach who was Karin's pro tem (Thanks, Sue). Karin also had arranged for Robert Bremer of OCLC to speak at the OCLC meeting; Robert was an excellent choice and an informative speaker. Heather Hawkins generously presided over the RLIN Committee meeting. Georgia Briscoe led a lively discussion at the Local Systems Meeting at 7 a.m. Mary Chapman, Chair of Nominations, is already at work to provide you with future leadership. Jacqueline Paul, Vice-Chair and Chair of Education, led an enthusiastic and well attended meeting of the Education Committee, and, I might add, Jacqui sent off some well-massaged program proposals for Baltimore.

Speaking of program proposals, I would like to urge each one of you with ideas for programs or with needs for educational opportunities to think about Anaheim in 1998. It is never too early to start developing a program! You can bounce ideas off colleagues, scan programs of other meetings, read what is current on the Internet, or just listen to what other folks are coping with. A good program requires thought, and the two or three weeks after an annual meeting do not allow for careful reflection. Those weeks are just too frantic -- you know!

Also looking to the future is your Ad Hoc OBS Web Page Committee, chaired by Vianne Sha. Vianne is assisted by Janice Snyder Anderson, Mary Chapman, Anna Belle Leiserson, Anne Myers (who set up our Home Page), Jacqueline Paul, and myself. We welcome others with interest and ideas. Vianne's e-mail address is sha@law.missouri.edu. Please contact Vianne with your thoughts for your Web page. As you know, Web pages need updating to inform effectively. Currently we are considering adding the annual survey to the OBS Web Page for all those OBS members who have Web access.

Another forward looking activity is the planning going on now for the OBS Table in Baltimore. Sue Roach has agreed to oversee this work, and it will be hard to improve on the table in Indianapolis. Anne Myers provided countless colorful and informative flyers, the useful computer screwdrivers with a phillips-head and a straight edge, and the idea for a book swap. All of these features of the OBS Table drew people. Books were swapped speedily. It was so enjoyable that I already have a paperback to donate to the Baltimore book swap! Let me invite you to submit your ideas for the OBS Table. We'd like it to continue to be a useful and enjoyable feature of your time at the annual meeting.

Finally, let me encourage OBS members to think about their needs and interests. The annual survey, whether on the Web or in traditional paper format, is your opportunity to express your wishes. It does take time to fill out, but the survey is used to plan OBS activities and to serve OBS members. Make a mental note of what you would like to see OBS do; and when it is time to fill out the survey, you will be ready.