Hello Hello Hello! This past Friday, we had our final Executive Council (EC) meeting of 2025, and here is what we discussed:

Our current accounting firm, Ehlers, has increased its fees by 100%. We are currently exploring options, but it appears that the increase is in line with what other accounting firms charge for their services. Since it's a conference year, we will stick with Ehler’s for now and continue to explore our current options post-conference.

We are still hoping to open registration for the USAIN 2026 Conference before the holidays. Please keep an eye out for the announcement. In the meantime, please consider submitting a conference proposal, as the deadline has been extended to January 12th. Already put in your proposal? What about your proposal to HOST USAIN 2028? The USAIN-Conference Hosting Criteria is out now. 

Professional Development will be sending out information about the USAIN Research Fellows Award soon! We will be awarding TWO proposals! 

In other news, we will be hosting a USAIN Town Hall in January/February to discuss the USAIN Survey that was sent out earlier this year. This survey was created by the Action and Advocacy and Agricultural Research Service groups to assess the working conditions and work atmosphere of USAIN members, affiliated institutions, and users as they operate in the current work environments characterized by drastic changes from the United States government. We will discuss the findings and identify any actionable items we can undertake. Participants must register for this event. The first part of the presentation will be recorded, but the follow-up discussion will not be. We will send out registration after the new year.

The membership survey was sent out in October, and we achieved a 41% response rate. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with members highlighting professional networking and supporting Ag Librarianship as the top reasons for their membership. Most members are from land-grant universities and identify as mid-career. We feel a strong sense of community; however, the top reasons members struggled with participation were a lack of time and scheduling conflicts. Top ideas for improvement include a year-round, predictable rhythm of virtual professional development, additional support for new members, and addressing issues related to administrative issues *hello Google*. Additional goals include outreach to more HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, and extension professionals. There’s also a greater desire for more informal connection opportunities.

So far, the good news posts and updates about EC have been very well received, and people want to see them done more regularly.

We at the EC wish you a wonderful holiday break. Thank you for all your hard work making USAIN an incredible organization.