Suspending our newsletter was a considered decision and one we did not take lightly. There were several factors involved in the making a final decision and the committee was unanimous in its deliberation.
1. Several members had approached me with various comments, all eluding to redesigning the appearance of the newsletter. A facelift was requested.
2. Many previous issues were clearly more than just a 'newsletter' and over the last two years at least, Rob and I tossed back and forth my suggestion that we could consider a magazine style publication, compiled using desktop publishing software. Desktop publishing meant that Rob would have to learn a new software package.
3. During this time I was concerned about the workload that many on the committee, including me, were carrying on a daily and weekly basis and so I instigated a description of each member's role and time allocation. It was clear to me that Rob for one, needed more free time to concentrate on the website.
4. Rob Parker had been reviewing the numbers of members accessing the newsletter and he suggested we consider other options, including suspending the newsletter.
5. To communicate with our membership, the committee needed Birdlife to assist in developing a useful BLP eNews template for regular mailouts. We succeeded in doing so with the appointment of James Matcott at Birdlife. Thank you James for acting on this as your first task upon appointment. With this in hand it was timely to try a different approach other than the newsletter.
6. The big question members may ask is "what will they miss with moving to the eNews?" and the answer is nothing. Newsletters contain a committee report, which will move this month to a folder on the website. The President's column, which occurs only when the President has comments separate from the committee report, will be uploaded to the same folder. Website updates are published on the website and will be announced by eNews. Much of each newsletter is a repeat publication of the Mystery Reviewer articles, which are available as articles on the website. Photographic articles are also reprinted in the newsletter and these are available on the website. All of the above will be announced in our eNews with links to the relevant articles.
7. The advantage of eNews is that when one or more articles or news items become available they can be announced to members almost immediately, the bimonthly scheduling of a newsletter is no longer applicable. Further, there were instances when there wasn't sufficient material for publishing the newsletter and I had raised the possibility of a quarterly publication. Our eNews will be far more timely and far more efficient.
8. I know that Rob Parker is enjoying one less regular commitment.