September 2019

Welcome New Members!

Welcome to our new institutional member, Alma College!

Two New Interest Groups Created!

Welcome to our newest member-driven interest groups!  The Access Services as well as the Michigan Alma Interest Groups were created this month.

For more information on any/all of our interest groups, go to the interest group information page.

If you are interested in creating an interest group and know of at least four other MiALA members who would like to join, fill out the application form here.

Member Spotlight

Holly Flynn

Holly smiling at camera












What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading Library Marketing Basics by Mark Aaron Polger, an academic librarian in New York. For fun, I just finished reading The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion, Educated by Tara Westover, and The Lost World by Michael Crichton. 

What are your research interests?
It's not exactly research, but I have written and presented on planning and promoting large scale finals week activities in academic libraries.

Do you have hobbies or interests outside of the library?
I have two kids that I drive around to dance, Girl Scouts, band, and other activities, which doesn't leave a lot of extra time in my days. Some of my awesome colleagues tried to teach me to knit. It didn't take. When I can, I like to go to those "paint your own pottery" places with friends.

What drew you to the library profession?
When I was a kid, I planned on becoming a high school English teacher. Then I did some pre-student-teaching and realized that definitely wasn't for me. So what was an English major to do? I got a job as a copy editor at Gale, a publisher or reference books. Eventually I made the switch to libraries because, despite being introverted, I really like to be around people and love public service.

What do you value about MiALA?
I really love talking to my colleagues from around the state from all different types of institutions. National organizations are huge and impersonal. I really love going to the MiALA annual conference and talking with people, especially at the Outreach Interest Group lunch table (which you should definitely join. We are lots of fun).

President's Message

Beth Martin

I want to thank all our leaders in MiALA who came together last month to come up with vision and goals for the coming year. The board met and was excited to get started with how we wish to serve our members. We wanted to honor the momentum and growth of the past five years and really look at ways we can support and continue that growth. We came up with a tree analogy by wanting to celebrate our roots or the groundwork we laid five years ago until now. We reviewed what worked in the past and how we can grow our accomplishments. Here are some items the board discussed as goals for this year.  

  • Look into an equitable pricing model for our annual conference. Knowing that not all prices fit all organizations or those who serve in our member institutions. We will examine ways to make the conference affordable for all types of employees and for students.  

  • Reexamine our conference scholarships, offering more based upon need or circumstance. Again, trying to equitable to all members of MiALA.  

  • Investigate virtual conferencing or recording of some key sessions of the annual conference to be archived and be viewed later. This will take some time for the board to review to see how to implement and how to best to offer this service for those who were unable to attend or those wanting to review certain presentations of the conference. As of now, the board is willing to investigate how or if we can provide a virtual or recorded session for its members.  

  • The board would also like to work with the Communications Committee to see about a Tips/Tricks section of our monthly newsletters. The section will cover practical tips and applicable how to’s for various services our libraries provide. 

  • Lastly, the board wants to review ways we can grow our membership and broaden offerings for support staff and MLIS students. We recognize the importance these two groups provide our membership and want to be inclusive in our professional development offerings. 

While this is not reflective of all the work the board will be doing this year, it does represent some of the areas we wish to investigate to help support and nurture its members through professional development. I look forward to all the work ahead of us and am confident MiALA will continue to grow into our fifth year and beyond. 
 

2019 Leadership Retreat Recap

The 2019-2020 MiALA Board of Directors, Committee chairs, the Interest Group Coordinating Council, and Interest Group leaders came together at the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday, August 6 for a leadership retreat.

Lead by MiALA President, Beth Martin, leaders received a keynote presentation from Julie Garrison, Dean of University Libraries at Western Michigan University, on being an engaged and active association leader.

MiALA Administrative Support Staff, Heather Ladiski gave a presentation on the resources available to association leaders through the MiALA website. Leaders then participated in a visioning exercise to determine SMART goals for their respective groups. 
MiALA Newsletter - September 2019