Reporting to Members
For UK-TUG to remain relevant it is critical that the Committee, through consultation with the members, identifies future needs of the members. The Committee would welcome and encourage your thoughts on this matter. In particular what do you regard as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for UK-TUG as an organization. What do you want to see the organization doing in the coming years?
Future Directions
At the AGM, a resolution mandating the Committee to consider the future direction of the UK-TUG, and to report back to the membership, was passed. This is clearly not a static exercise, but is a dialogue between members and between the membership and the Committee. Feedback from the membership on how the UK-TUG can move forward is always welcome.
Key points at the AGM were that the focus of the UK-TUG should be on TeX users (rather than TeX developers), and that training was an area that needed consideration. With that in mind, the Committee is establishing a network of trainers. There are TeX trainers in a number of UK institutions, but they are often isolated and can be hard to locate. By establishing a network, the UK-TUG will enable new users to find the help they need, and will help to support trainers themselves. The Committee has appointed a Training Officer to co-ordinate contact between trainers.
The UK-TUG Book Scheme
The future of the UK-TUG book scheme was discussed, as it has been under-used for the past two years. The AGM voted to retain the scheme, but it was suggested that new avenues should be explored. The Committee will be exploring the possibility of seeking access to on-line resources from relevant publishers (for example Safari Books Online from O’Reilly). The Committee are keen to hear from members which books and publishers are of particular interest.