Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to this, the first of the new series of Newsletters. As you are aware, the Society has been working to balance the budget in recent years. The income from our investments has fallen since 2008 and we have created a five year plan to help us consider and shape our activities.
It has been clear for some time that our membership publications need to be reviewed. Each year, Archaeologia Cantiana costs about £20 per member and the Newsletters a further £18 per member. With a membership fee of £25, each member is being subsidised from our other income. The Council has to balance the books and ensure that the collections, the Library, conferences and committee activities are maintained. This is why Council, as part of the five year plan, is reviewing the cost of Archaeologia Cantiana and the Newsletters. Council is also keen not to increase the membership fee for the Society, which remains one of the lowest in the country.
In future the Newsletters will continue to be posted to members and will appear twice a year. In this, the Spring newsletter, there is an annual programme of events, so members can plan the activities they would like to attend. The second Newsletter, to be published in the late Autumn, will contain a more extensive collection of illustrated articles.
From this summer, Archaeologia Cantiana will be published in softback. It will be a larger format and will include colour illustrations. This will save money and allow the effective publication of maps and plans. Council has found these decisions difficult but is determined to keep membership fees low and increase the value and quality of the activities promoted by the Society. Lastly, I would like to thank Paul Oldham, Chairman of The William and Edith Oldham Charitable Trust, for funding the production and distribution costs of an extra volume of Archaeologia Cantiana. Our Hon. Editor, Terry Lawson, and his team deserve special mention for the sterling work they have done to see the 134th volume of Archaeologia Cantiana published this January. Thank you to everyone involved.
Jan Coulson
