0 - Mycological Society of America

The Mycological Society of America
FOUNDED DECEMBER 101
Report of the Newsletter Editor
1983-1984
During the 1983-1984 year, Volume 34(2) and Volume 35(1) were published.
The former was printed and mailed with the MSA Uirectory. These issues consisted
of 132 pages (including covers) with 32 pages of the June issue devoted to the
Abstracts and an outline of the 1984 annual MSA Meeting Program. With the
exception of one piece used with perrni ssion of the ori ginal pub1 i sher , a1 1
artwork, humor, poetry, and other fi 1 lers were ori gi nal and previously
unpubl i shed. Pub1 i cation and a1 1 mailings were made on schedule.
Newsletter questionnaires for all of the 1984 and 1985 issues were printed
and prepared (except for labeling axfinal sorting, etc.) for mailing.
Two newsletter questionnaire mailings were made to domestic members. This
year, a change in the method of sending questionnaires to foreign members (about
350) was made--they are now included as an insert and mailed with the MSA
Newsletter. Because these questionnaires were previously sent first class
airmail in order to a1 low time for receipt and response, this new procedure
results in a postage savings of approximately $140.00. An additional and
unpredicted benefit, evident in the June 1984 issue (Vol . 35L111, was a distinct
increase in toreign member participation.
Some questionnaire preparation work was completed using a small amount of
Society funds for student labor. Most sorting of questionnaire data and
manuscript typing were done with help provided indirectly via a $500.00 grant to
the editor from the Southern I1 1 inoi s Uni versi ty Office of Research Uevel opment
and Admi nistration. The remai nder of the work noted above, a1 1 1 ayout and
composition, and processing for mailing were done gratis by the editor and the
SIU-C mycology students.
In order to eliminate freight costs, concomitant time delays, and obtain
potential reduced postage costs by inserting the 1984 MSA Directory in the MSA
Newsletter and mailing them together, it was decided to print the December issue
at Manfred Press in Rhode Island--the site of MSA lJi rectory production. A1 though
the printer contacted to keep actual printing costs near that obtainable locally
(in Carbondale), incidental labor and preparation costs (most of which is
normally done by us gratus) resulted in somewhat a higher printing bi 11.
Further, a1 though clearly spell ed out in instructions to the pri nter-preparer,
a1 1 foreign Newsletter-Di rectori es were apparently mailed first class ai rmai 1 (?)
rather than book rate thus eliminating most potenti a1 postage savings. Costs for
mailing this issue ($1111.49; paid direct by MSA) include $968.56 in postage and
$142.93 in admi nistrative costs to the University of Rhode Island. Distances
involved also added to comnunication costs and logistic difficulties.
Operating costs for 1983-1984 are summarized at the top of the next page.