Increase In Subscription Rate

A Special General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 25 March 1998 in the University of Sunderland, immediately before the Annual General Meeting. At the Council meeting of 8th October 1997, it was noted that the subscription for membership of The Society rate would have to be raised to cover increases in the cost of publishing the Journal.

A Letter From The Treasurer:

Subscription Rates 1999

The last increase in subscriptions took effect on 1 January 1995. Council has agreed to recommend increasing the subscription rates as follows:

Ordinary members from £32 to £36,

Student members from £20 to £22.

This proposal will be formally presented at a special general meeting immediately preceding the AGM at Sunderland on March 25 1998. I am writing to explain the reasoning behind this proposed increase. The Society pays Oxford University Press for production of the Journal one year in arrears - which is a good deal for The Society. The 1996 issue of the Journal cost ú31 per member and the projected cost is ú34. We cannot maintain a deficit, hence the proposed increase. If you refer to the 1996 accounts presented in the last issue of the Bulletin, you will note that OUP has a profit share agreement for the Journal with The Society which meant that our bills were effectively reduced by ú6189 in 1996 and will be reduced by ú3665 for the 1997 volume. This has helped to maintain The Society in a financial position it would not otherwise have enjoyed. In previous years, the Journal had been running at an accounting deficit for OUP. In future years, with the likely decrease in institutional subscriptions, the Journal may again become less profitable. Other expenditures by The Society include support for meetings, publishing the Bulletin and the award of research bursaries and prizes. I feel that these activities, together with publishing the Journal, mean that The Society continues to support the interests of Malacology in the broadest sense and that the subscription offers good value for money. I thank you for your support in the past and hope that you will be able to continue this in the future.

D Roberts (Hon. Treasurer), January 1998

Notice Of Annual General Meeting

The AGM of The Malacological Society of London will be held after the Special General Meetings at 1 p.m. in the Ecology Centre of the University of Sunderland, during the Annual Meeting on "Feeding Behaviour of Molluscs".

1. Apologies for absence

2. Matters of the last (104th) AGM

3. Matters arising

4. Financial Report

5. Annual Report of Council

6. Annual Award

7. Centenary Research Grant Award

8. Sir Charles Maurice Young Award

9. Election of Council

10. Meetings

11. Any other business

G.B.J.Dussart (Hon. Secretary)