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From the Print Editors |
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Bruce McClendon, AICP Bill Pable
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The publication of Revolutionary Ideas in Planning constitutes the culmination of what has turned out to be a two-year test of the concept of publishing proceedings for the APA National Planning Conference. A test was needed because APA had ceased publishing proceedings after the 1981 Conference in Boston and our staff was opposed to its reinstitution.
This test was undertaken to answer the following essential questions:
As the volunteer editors who were given the opportunity and responsibility for conducting the test, we have positive results to report for six of the seven questions. As evidenced by the actual 800-page Proceedings for last year's conference and the 750-page Proceedings for this year's conference, we received more then a sufficient number of well-written, high quality papers from the presenters. The proceedings were edited and produced with volunteer labor and with minimal involvement of APA staff. The proceedings were published in advance of the annual conference with the number of copies that were printed based primarily on the number of orders that were received. Thus, APA was not exposed to any significant financial risk. With respect to the operating budget, costs exceeded revenues by approximately $600 in 1997 while a modest net profit is anticipated for 1998. The per copy production cost of the proceedings was kept low and we were able to price the proceedings at $20 in 1997 and $25 in 1998.
The results for the final question concerning the market demand for the proceedings were mixed. Last year, with only minimal marketing, we sold just 300 copies of the Proceedings. This year, with an aggressive marketing effort, we anticipate printing and selling 800 copies. In spite of this significant increase in interest, we do not believe this small production run justifies the volunteer and staff time and effort that goes into producing the proceedings. But this does not mean that we oppose publishing proceedings in the future. It simply means that we do not favor attempting to edit and publish proceedings with such an uncertain, small production run. Proceedings should be produced as part of the annual conference and made an expanded benefit that is included in the basic registration fee for the national conference. Producing copies of the proceedings for all registrations would lower the per copy printing costs to less then $10 and sharply reduce marketing costs. We believe the vast majority of our members who attend the national conference would recognize the proceedings as a terrific return on a very small incremental investment.
What do others say about the value of producing proceedings for the national conference? Last year's proceedings were favorably reviewed in the Journal of the American Planning Association. The following is a lengthy excerpt from the review provided by Deborah Howe, Carl Abbott and Sy Adler, the book review editors:
"The publication of conference proceedings is certainly not a revolutionary concept. What makes this particular effort unusual is that APA has not published proceedings since the Boston conference in 1981. Thus the record of the intervening meetings is limited to conference programs, audio tapes, and the memories of those who participated in specific sessions. In the absence of a written record, our profession has more limited capacity to build on previous initiatives, to assess and appreciate the nature and extent of trends in planning practice, and to comprehend the breadth and depth of planning interest. Contributors to the 1997 conference proceedings did so voluntarily. They reported that writing their contributions helped them to focus their thoughts, which in turn made them better prepared for their actual presentations. A logical extension of this perspective suggests that the collective quality of conference sessions would improve if all speakers were required to submit written comments for a proceedings. Perhaps such a requirement would cause some speakers to shy away from participating. But the range of lengths (from four to thirty-four pages) and styles (including opinion pieces, instructions, glossaries, and more academic articles) provides an array of alternatives for the writing-wary conference speaker.
Besides, planners aren't writing enough. This statement may come as somewhat of a surprise, given the predominance of writing in a planner's list of daily activities. We are speaking, of course, about a particular style of writing, one targeted to the profession itself as opposed to the public at large or a specific client. Professionally-oriented writing can bring a different perspective to bear, one that emphasizes self-reflection, context, and lessons derived from experience. It gives planners a chance to gain perspective on their efforts, and also to undertake responsibility for sharing their insights in the interest of improving planning practice.
Rumor has it that planners can't write. Regardless of one's opinion on this matter, it is important to note the relative lack of publication opportunities for professional planners. This can be interpreted two ways: 1) planners are perceived as not being able to write because so few are published; or 2) planners can't write because they have few opportunities to do so.
Conference proceedings can go a long way toward rectifying this situation. They benefit the individual contributors by giving them a very important audience, their peers. They benefit the profession by capturing a portion of the dialogue that infuses each national conference. And they benefit the public at large by providing a written record that can be preserved in libraries throughout the United States."
Julia Gelfand, the Chair of the Council of Planning Libraries, has submitted a letter of support to the APA Board endorsing the publication of conference proceedings. In her letter, she offered the following specific observations:
"I am delighted to learn that APA has resurrected its conference proceedings. Not only do participants like having these documents but it is very valuable for those who do not attend - it gives them a pulse on what the key themes and issues of the annual meeting were, and allows them to refer to a series of current papers. If speakers know that they can get a publication from their presentation, they are more inclined to plan ahead and do a better job in organizing material. This is a good incentive to recruit excellent speakers. Historically, this publication documents issues in the profession that were addressed by the membership as we refer back to note trends and participants. I was glad to know that several of the CPL papers were also included in this year's publication. As a librarian, I would be very interested in buying such a publication for my library as I am sure my colleagues also expect to do. Planning programs in academic institutions are growing and developing rapidly and this is considered valuable primary literature.
Roger Hedrick, the President of the American Institute of Certified Planners has also been a strong proponent for publishing proceedings. In the forward to last year's Proceedings, he pointed out that:
"Proceedings provide a lasting documentation of the values, practices, and priorities of the planning profession. The publication of the Proceedings is something that most planners and those interested in the American Planning movement will want on an annual basis. Particularly those who can not always attend our annual get together. I believe the need is great and the time is right to restore the tradition of publishing annual conference proceedings."
It has been a long two-years that we; as both editors and advocates for the proceedings, have invested in this test project. The fact that you are reading these comments means you have taken the initiative to obtain a copy of the Proceedings. However, you are in the minority. Most of the planners attending the national conference did not order a copy of the Proceedings. This is the problem and this is the issue that we as a profession must take collective action to resolve. "To be or not to be, that is the question" is how William Shakespeare framed the issue. And this quote has relevance to today, not just for the proceedings, but also for the very existence of the planning profession itself.
We are living and working in the Information Age. Knowledge is a commodity and knowledge really is power. In our opinion, we have no choice but to institutionalize the publication of proceedings for the annual national planning conference. For too long, APA has neglected its responsibilities to make the information that was presented at the national conference available to all of our members. This profession is struggling for respect and relevance. Collectively we know we can do better. We can start by doing a better job of sharing information about our successes and also about our failures. Our point is that we must all be lifelong learners and we must have expanded access to the information that is presented each year at the national planning conference. Our test results have proven that we can successfully publish proceedings. Let us quit debating the issue and make the commitment to annually publish the proceedings for the national planning conference. We sincerely hope that this volume is not the last time that APA will publish proceedings.
In closing, we want to extend special recognition to Karen Fernandez, the Chair of AICP's Multi-Media Task Force. It would not have been possible to publish this year's Proceedings without her encouragement and active support. And, of course, we want to thank Roger Hedrick and the entire AICP Commission for providing the seed funding necessary to underwrite this year's Proceedings.
Finally, we must extend a special thank you to Paul Sedway, Sedway Consulting, and the Sedway Group for their generous grant that made it possible to add 150 pages to this year's Proceedings. The funds originally budgeted by the AICP Commission only allowed this year's Proceedings to include 600 pages of published material. Because of a grant from Sedway Consulting and the Sedway Group, we were able to include an additional 15 papers in ' the Proceedings.
Sincerely,
Bruce McClendon, AICP Bill Pable