Another approach would be to ask that potential members be asked to show some evidence of their scholarship in the fields of study, perhaps by publication, perhaps by submission of a sourced lineage. This would be a move in the opposite direction, but it too would eliminate the sham from membership elections. Other options exist to be explored.
''The [[Augustan Omnibus|The Augustan Omnibus]]'' is now on a semi-annual schedule, and the [[Omnibus Editor|''Omnibus'' Editor]] is asking that we increase that to three issues per year. It has yet to be shown that the rate of submissions will be sufficient to maintain that rate of publication, but it does give one hope that our journal may return to its former size, frequency, and prominence in the field.
''[[Augustæum]]'' has proven a worthy tool, both for staying in more regular contact that the ''[[Augustan Omnibus]]'' schedule will permit, and particularly for giving management the means for quick communications with the membership. In an age of electronic communications, it's difficult to keep ahead of the rumors, but we seem to be keeping up well. Indeed, letters received that say, “Why didn't I know about this earlier?” are thus actually quite reassuring.
''The [[Augustan Society Roll of Arms|The Augustan Society Roll of Arms]]'' project has had a rocky history of late. With an inactive [[Hereditary Order of Armigerous Augustans|HOAA]], it was taken on by the [[Communications|Publications Committee]]. First a color reprint of Volume I was targeted, then the focus was switched to a new Volume IV. More change may well be in the offing. The major challenge is with obtaining translations of the blazons into “English”, as our [[Vice-Justiciars|Vice-Deputy Justiciars General]] are not uniformly responsive. This project, along with new [[Registration of Arms|Registrations of Arms]], badly needs a traffic manager; someone to track which blazons are ready, which have gone to the artist, right through to delivery of certificates. [''Note: The office of [[Arms Chancellor]] was created to address this need.'']
The [[Cataloging|Library Cataloging]] Project has finally begun in earnest, with over 300 books entered into the [[Online Public Access Catalog]] to date [''Note: 3,500 as of 2017.''] We invite [[Directors]] and interested members to visit the site at <[http://library.augustansociety.org library.augustansociety.org]> and see for yourselves. Work continues almost daily. [''Note: No login is required to use most features of the catalog.'']
Our storage facilities have been substantially reorganized in the past few months. The Library Collection was moved from a dark 15×15' room to one 10×25' with lights (and an aisle!). The office files and back issue storage have been moved into a 7×25' unit, again with lights. The [[Museum|Museum Collection]] remains in a 15×15' room, packed quite solidly, awaiting someone with enough concern to begin conservation (and deaccession) efforts. These changes make only a small difference in our expenses, but they greatly aid staff's ability to access materials and respond to requests, especially now that the materials aren't stuffed in various rooms of their house.
Three of our four review committees, [[Heraldry Committee|Heraldry]], [[Chivlary Chivalry Committee|Chivalry]], and [[Royalty & Nobility Committee|Royalty & Nobility]], all now have active chairmen, and all are reviewing submissions and making recommendations to the [[Board]] in a timely fashion. It will take a bit of time for all of them to firm up their procedures and achieve the sort of response time we all want, but their clear dedication to their duties is most satisfying. We hope that the [[Genealogy Committee]] will soon find an active Chairman and join them.
We do have some research committees, primarily the [[Descents from Antiquity Study Group|Descents from Antiquity]] and [[Family of Augustans Study Group|Family of Augustans]], which have been moving slowly, but are far from dead. And even those many committees that are presently dormant are but that … they can be reactivated at the whim of a single willing member.