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OX 4-5-9
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NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE GENERAL SERVICE OFFICE OF A. A.
Vol. 18 No.4
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August-September 1973
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Most shipments of A.A. literature (96 17o) are received in good condition by A.A. groups, apparently, and 76% in less than four weeks. Eighty per cent of the receivers consider that a reasonable time, as compared to other mailorder sources. Those are major results of a survey made to find out how well your G.S.O. shipping service works. About 670 recipients of literature orders completed and returned a questionnaire sent with January shipments. Although it is much better than we expected, it still is not good enough. Eighty-seven per cent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the G.S.O. shipping ser vice, but the survey helped us pinpoint problems we can work on, such as occasional mistakes in filling orders, billing errors, failure to notify customers when an item is out of stock, etc. But one problem we found can be solved only by you who order literature. One hundred and fortyfour respondents had ordered from us material not published by G.S.O.! The Conference-Approved Literature Order Form (free for the asking) lists all the items handled by G.S.O. If it’s not on that form, we don’t publish it! (Most common example: local meeting lists are not published by G.S.O.) At any rate, the expanded quar ters of the Shipping Department (see p. 3) should make possible a noticeable improvement of the service.
ArchivalILibrary toiBe a Reality Earliest written records of the founding of A.A. by Bill W. and Dr. Bob, letters, manuscripts, photos, and related items will form the heart of an archival library on the Fellowship to be established at G.S.O. Attention: Oldtimers Do you have valuable letters, clippings, or other memorabilia of A.A.’s early days? The originalsor photocopiesof all such material are needed to make sure the A.A. library is as complete as possible. Or, if you want G.S.O to duplicate your material at no cost to you, send us your originals, with a note that you want them back, and, after duplication, back they’ll come! The new library is being assembled under the personal supervision UMS L41 110 WWI 111,00111,14
That one millionth copy of the Big Book which rolled off the press this spring brought to light some interesting facts. End to end, these million books would stretch 132 miles; stacked atop each other, they’d rise 27.62 miles, higher than 116 Empire State Buildings. The first print order, in 1939, was for 4,800 copies, and it took the Fellowship three years to pay
of Nell Wing, Bill W.’s long-time nonalcoholic secretary, with a professional library expert, Ms. Edith Klein, as consultant on the project. Many A.A. members got their first look at “our Nell” when she appeared on two Dick Cavett TV shows on alcoholism early this spring. She did a beautiful job of explaining the spiritual and psychological values of our Tradition of (Cont. on next page)
the bill! In recent years, according to Dennis Manders, nonalcoholic controller at G.S.O., we’ve ordered 100,000 copies at a time, and paid the bill in ten days. Such a rerun requires four carloads (or 80 tons) of paper, must be placed a year in advance, and has usually been a supply big enough to last one year. But the next order will have to be for 150,000 copies, Dennis said, because in April this year, 9,400 copies were distributed – an alltime monthly high. A.A. must be doing something right!
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Box 4-5-9 is published bimonthly by the General Service Office of Alcoholics A nonymous, 468 Park Avenue South, New York, N, Y. 10016. .’
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1973
Mail address: P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y. 10017 Subscriptions: Individual, $1 per yr.; group, $2.50 for each unit of 10 per yr. Check-payable to A.A. W.S., Inc. must accompany order.
ARCHIVAL LIBRARY (Cont. from p. 1)
anonymity in public broadcast and print media. Already stored in a fire- and waterproof safety-deposit box in our bank vault, says Nell, are the original manuscript of the Big Book, taped recollections of oldtimers in Akron and Cleveland, microfilms of the first articles published on A.A., early correspondence, and other invaluable, irreplaceable mementos of the early development of the movement. Minutes of trustee meetings, complete films of directories, Conference reports, and office bulletins, and material from early friends of A.A., such as Dr. Carl Jung, Dr. Silkworth, Sister Ignatia, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Henrietta Seiberling, and Ruth Hock will also be preserved, along with reminiscences of Dr. Bob’s son and daughter and such early Ohio members as Dick S., Wally G., Dorothy M., and Ed H., plus those of Jim B., Clint F., Russ R., Cebra G., and Ebby T. Correspondence with early A.A. groups is also filed for safekeeping. Future scholars wishing to trace early developments in A.A., as well as A.A.’s interested in the Fellowship’s foundations, will find the new library, when opened, a priceless “fourth legacy” from the A.A. pioneers to A.A. It is hoped that sufficient material can be assembled, evaluated, and catalogued during the next 18 months to make possible a “grand opening” at the 1975 General Service Conference.
iWP,sii’il TS,Ii-1 2 1 JIn rn In 1970, G.S.O. moved to its present address, in a middle-income business section of New York City, where many noncommercial, nonprofit, health-oriented organizations have offices. G.S.O. leased 13,206 sq. ft., but sublet about 2,800 sq. ft. to the Grapevine, and 1,350 to an architect tenant. By February this year, A.A. liter ature distribution had increased by as much as 92% over 1970! Sixteen additional employees had been required; Grapevine circulation reached a record high; and the number of A.A. groups kept increasing rapidly. As visitors to
At last, the 1973 A.A. World Directory, Part I: U.S. and Canada is being printed. Each group will receive one free copy. Additional copies, if needed, can be ordered through your group secretary. Price: $1.50 to A.A. members only. The copy you’ll get is for the entire group’s use, not for just one member. Please pass it around, or tell your group about it. Also note: the Directory is clearly marked CONFIDENTIAL: FOR A.A. USE ONLY. As reported before, the Directory is late because the rapid growth of A .A. presented problems in production this year. As a result, the 1973 General Service Conference approved a one-year moratorium on our directories, in order to make possible an in-depth study of production problems. This means there will be no 1973 Part II (overseas) and no 1974 Part I (U.S. and Canada) published at all, so take good care of the new (1973) one! It has to last. Meanwhile, we need more than ever to be kept informed about new groups, changes of address, inactivated groups, etc., so our mailing list will always be accurate
G.S.O. know, things were so crowded in our fifth- and sixthfloor premises, we had overflowed to the 14th. Result: leasing of an additional 5,000 sq. ft. of space has now been approved by the directors of A.A. World Services, Inc. It is on the eighth floor. Our accounting and records departments will be moved to the fifth floor (from the sixth), and Grapevine staffers, expanding into the space formerly occupied by the fifth-floor tenant (who will soon move to the 14th floor), can take a deep breath again.
and up-to-date. Otherwise, we can’t reach you, nor can we refer alcoholics to you. Thanks for your help.
Q. (from the floor at the 1973 Conference): Is there any way we can get the Directory earlier in the tourist season? A. This matter is under study, and we will try. I&