NCC News: News

Call for Volunteers to join the Envisioning the Future of NCC Task Force

Dear colleagues:

The North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC) has been supporting the Japanese studies librarian and scholarly community for over three decades. The NCC was established jointly in 1991 by the Japan US Friendship Commission and the Japan Foundation with the intent to distribute funding more equitably among Japanese studies library collections, as well as to act as an intermediary between faculty, librarians and funders to coordinate efforts to improve access of Japanese materials. These goals have been successfully accomplished via a wide variety of programs that assisted with the building of collections at the national level, the training of Japanese information specialists, and the advocating for increased access to Japanese studies resources outside of Japan, both in print and electronic formats.

The changing nature of the above-mentioned organizations’ priorities led to a gradual withdrawal of financial support starting 2016, prompting NCC to re-evaluate its funding and administrative structures. Reorganization efforts have been ongoing over the past few years. A survey was conducted between January 25 and February 9, 2024 to solicit candid feedback from the NCC community. While the importance and value of the NCC as an organization was reaffirmed, the responses indicated that there is a need to address a number of concerns, namely leadership structure and transparency, the role of the Executive Director, and the organization’s lack of clarity and purpose. For reference, please see the “NCC Community Survey: ‘The Future of NCC’ Summary Report”

Call for Volunteers

The NCC Executive Committee is committed to incorporating the feedback received from the responses in addressing the concerns raised, as well as the call for community-wide participation in formulating a future vision of NCC. We are calling for volunteers to join the Envisioning the Future of NCC Task Force. Being a council member is not required. In fact, we encourage the inclusion of a wide range of perspectives from our constituents. The current NCC Chair will serve as ex-officio.

The Task
The members will be asked to draft a document outlining future vision(s) for NCC. The document will be used as a guide for NCC’s leadership to systematically address issues of leadership structure, transparency in decision-making, organization’s missions and goals, and NCC’s sustainability. The task force will create forums to invite community-wide input on the document prior to submitting the final version.

The final document shall articulate a vision for NCC’s future and propose a set of recommendations (actionable or exploratory) for matters concerning 1) Mission & Goals: who de we serve and what programmes we should focus on; 2) Restructuring that will include a review of affiliated groups and their length of terms, member selection and appointment processes, exploration of membership structures, voting rights; 3) Financial Aspects that will include future budget allocation (based on current availability of funds and continuity scenarios); 4) Fundraising activities and opportunities for both programmatic and infrastructural needs; and 5) Revision of by-laws to align with the proposed recommendations

Term
Early May to August 30, 2024 (an extension of the term may be granted if necessary)

Respond by
If you wish to volunteer or recommend a colleague to join the task force, please send an email to Fabiano Rocha, NCC Chair at fabiano.rocha@utoronto.ca by April 26, 2024 (Fri).

The Executive Committee thanks in advance all those who recognize NCC’s value and will participate in this important exercise that will bring stability, transparency and renewal.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Fabiano Rocha
NCC Chair (2022-2024) on behalf of the Executive Committee