April 23, 1981

Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics

Minutes of Meeting

1. Convene – Roll Call

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by Chairman Ramsey.

Executive Committee Members Present

Norman F. Ramsey, Chairman of AIP; Peter B. Boyce, AAS; Joseph A. Burton, APS; John C. Johnson, Secretary; William H. Kelly, AAPT; H. William Koch, Director

Absent

Robert T. Beyer, ASA; Charles B. Duke, AVS; Jenny P. Glusker, MAL

Nonvoting Participants

Judith Flippen-Anderson, ACA; Elliot A. Kearsley, SOR; John L. Vossen, Jr., AVS

Guest

John Hurshman, Touche Ross & Co. (Consultants), for Item No. 4c.

AIP Staff Present

Gerald F. Gilbert, Treasurer; Robert H. Marks, Associate Director for Publishing; Lewis Slack, Associate Director for Educational Services; Dorothy M. Lasky, Assistant to the Director; John Auliano, Manager of the Data Processing Division, for Item No. 5b.

For clarity in presentation with reference to the printed agenda, events recorded here are not necessarily in the same chronological order in which they occurred.

2. Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting of 27 February 1981

Upon MOTION made for approval, the draft minutes of the 27 February 1981 Executive Committee meeting were accepted by consensus without modification.

3. Financial Reporting

  1. 1980 Quoted Price Variances for Societies and AIP

    Gilbert reported that the 1980 prorations for distributed costs had been completed. A variance report was delivered to APS on 8 April; variances for OSA were advanced to them by telephone on 7 April.

    Comparison of 1980 quoted vs. actual Subscription Fulfillment operations costs were provided as follows:

      1980 Quoted Price 1980 Actual Price
    Dues Billing and Collection $1.25 $1.26
    Master History Record File 1.50 1.65
    Billed Member Subscription 4.00 4.57
    Nonmember Subscription 6.00 6.51

    The experience of 1980 will be used to revise 1981 quoted prices. As soon as these have been reported to the Societies, the 1982 quoted prices will be undertaken. After general discussion, it was generally agreed that a brief description of a proposed procedure should be prepared for calculating advance overhead estimates for the Societies.

    Marks provided a detailed description of the editorial operation of the past year, including establishments of two Divisions, Publication I and Publication II, and the high turnover in personnel. The outlook for 1982 is for a more stable cost picture with improved accuracy of predicted costs. Marks also reported on composition costs and mechanisms. It is judged the situation is now stabilized so that it is possible to make accurate cost predictions.

  2. Schedule for 1981 Society Monthly Financial Reports

    Gilbert reported that, starting with the April 1981 Society statements, it is planned to issue monthly statements by the 20th of the following month.

  3. Schedule for 1980 Audit

    Gilbert reported that, with the assistance of Ed Kuczmarski as liaison between AIP and Touche Ross & Co., it is expected the audit report can go out by the end of May or mid-June.

4. Computerization of Accounting

  1. Appointment of Ad Hoc Committee on Computer Needs

    Chairman Ramsey reported this committee has now been appointed as follows: J. W. Quinn, Chairman; R. T. Beyer, P. B. Boyce, W. W. Havens Jr., Y. H. Pao, and R. A. Sparks. It is proposed that the committee meet with Mr. Hurshman of Touche Ross & Co. and the AIP officers as soon as possible as a beginning in this undertaking.

  2. Guidelines for Computerization of Accounting

    Koch reported that recruitment of a computer-oriented accounting executive, to be designated as Controller, is in process. Consideration of further accounting staff increases will be deferred indefinitely. It was agreed that, though the Touche Ross consultant should be helpful, such person should not take over management and control functions for AIP.

  3. Involvement of AIP Auditors as Consultants

    Mr. Hurshman of Touche Ross was introduced. He then gave a general report on his approach for assistance to AIP. Following this discussion, the following motion was made by Boyce, seconded by Kelly, and passed unanimously:

    MOVED that the proposed contract with Touche Ross & Co. (per Attachment J to the agenda) be approved.

  4. Present Status

    Gilbert reported that Touche Ross representatives are providing professional advice to AIP on accounting problem areas. This arrangement is working very satisfactorily to date.

5. Computerization of Subscription Fulfillment

  1. Decoupling of Accounting and Subscription Fulfillment Functions

    Koch reported that these functions are currently coupled and operating on the UNIVAC, but in order to accelerate computerization of accounting, they must be temporarily decoupled. It is planned that the new computer systems for both functions will be compatible to permit necessary coupling to take place in the future. Proposals for this will be forthcoming from Business Controls Corporation, and these will be discussed with the new Ad Hoc Committee on Computer Needs.

  2. Preliminary Report of Business Controls Corporation

    Auliano reported that a preliminary report on this had just been received. An evaluation of the report by AIP is in process.

6. Acceptance of AIP as Publisher of Physics Briefs

  1. Background

    Koch reported that the two-party agreement between Fachinformationszentrum (FIZ) and AIP has worked well for several years. The proposal by the French for a new trilateral agreement does not appear satisfactory to AIP. It therefore appears that any arrangement with the French will be on a bilateral basis between them and the Germans only. Germany wishes to continue a bilateral agreement with AIP.

  2. Proposed Contractual Agreement

    Marks distributed a draft of a proposed agreement with FIZ whereby AIP becomes publisher and owner of Physics Briefs. He discussed the estimated Income and Expense Budget, and showed that it will take three years for this operation to break even financially. This item is to be brought back to the Executive Committee after legal review and a tentative agreement with FIZ has been reached.

7. Appointment of Committee on Need for Study of Communication Among Scientists

Koch called attention to agenda Attachment C and reported the members of the subject committee, as designated by Chairman Ramsey, are: Heinz Barschall, Chairman; Sidney Abrahams, Roderick M. Grant Jr., David Lazarus, and H. William Koch. The main target and concern of the AIP committee will be to encourage and foster closer cooperation within the U.S. scientific community, with special emphasis on the use of new technologies in communication of scientific information. The National Academy of Sciences has been approached on possible collaboration in this area.

8. Inclusion of AIP Name in Association of American Publishers Letter to Selected Corporations Regarding Copyright Infringement

Following a discussion led by Koch, there was general agreement that AIP should not be on the AAP letterhead and should not be involved in a threatening letter to those who are possibly infringing on copyrights.

9. Sale of Journals to People’s Republic of China

Marks called attention to agenda Attachment E and expressed pleasure with the rate of sales (over $70,000 in 1981) to China. This is regarded as a compliment to the AIP translation program.

10. Information Items

  1. ACS Subscription Prices in 1982

    Marks called attention to agenda Attachment F and noted that the American Chemical Society is facing the problem of increasing prices. Some persons have joined as many as seven different Societies in order to get member subscription rates on journals for use by libraries.

  2. “Putting the Library on Computer”

    Noting agenda Attachment G, Koch conjectured that this technique may affect not only the nonmember but also member subscriptions to the AIP journals.

  3. “Textbooks Custom Tailored”

    Koch noted that some operations adjacent to university campuses use the libraries as a resource for book copying. Agenda Attachment H describes a legitimate operation of this type where permission has been gained from the publishers.

  4. Conclusion of Another AAP Lawsuit

    Koch called attention to agenda Attachment I which reported on a second photocopying lawsuit which has been settled.

11. Other Business

  1. Status of New York City Real Estate Tax

    Gilbert reported the City Tax Commissioner was not receptive to the AIP plea for release from taxes at the informal hearing. AIP plans to file a petition before the full Tax Commission on 19 May 1981.

  2. Legal Services for Member Societies

    Kearsley reported on a problem experienced by SOR last year when they called on AIP for legal services help, and asked if it is possible for AIP to provide advice to the Member Societies. Koch noted that AIP does not pay legal fees for Member Societies, but is glad to help within “in-house” resources and perhaps on advisability of contacting a lawyer.

12. Future Meetings

  1. Next Meeting

    It was proposed that 26 May be reserved as a probable date for the next meeting in New York City.

  2. June Meeting

    It was proposed that 19 June be reserved as the date, even though it is recognized not to be a good date for Duke and Kelly. An invitation was extended to hold that meeting on the Penn State University campus.

  3. September Meeting

    The dates of 10, 11, and 12 September were selected as the time of the fall extended meeting. The place was not decided.

13. Executive Session

A brief executive session, starting at 11:40 a.m., included discussion of progress being made in computerizing the accounting system, and the urgency for acquiring a Controller for AIP. It was agreed by the Director that the matter of a Controller would be given first priority.

14. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at noon, following the executive session.