IGCC meeting
09/12/2023

Unlocking the Art of Crafting Conference Proposals
09/21/2023

MiALA Board Meeting
10/05/2023

IGCC meeting
10/10/2023

MiALA Board Meeting
11/02/2023

IGCC meeting
11/14/2023

Creating proposals for conference sessions, posters, and workshops can be nerve-wracking. The Library Scholarly & Creative Activity Interest Group is pleased to welcome guest speaker Brad Sietz, director of LOEX, who will share his insights into how to create a conference proposal that has a higher chance of being accepted, including strategies for representing your ideas in appealing ways.  

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, from 10-11 a.m. EST on Zoom, as Brad shares strategies and tips from his years of experience reviewing successful (and not so successful!) proposals. A Q&A will follow Brad’s talk.  

Registration for the Zoom link and calendar invite are available here. 

This month’s featured resource from the MiALA IDEA Resources for Education and Training list is:

Fernandez, B., Ivy, C., Livas, M. M., & Callahan, B. (2021, April 21). Many voices, many stories: TEDx Talks to help education on racism and actions to eliminate it. https://library.ucdavis.edu/diversity/resources-for-understanding/many-voices-many-stories/
Description: A curated list of TED talks on racism and anti-racism, hosted by the University of California, Davis Libraries.

As part of the IDEA Committee's continued effort to build a concise, streamlined list of recent articles, books, reports, training resources and toolkits, websites, videos, terminology resources, and online communities related to IDEA, MiALA members are invited to suggest resources. Make your suggestion here.

• No clear path to leadership.
• Limited awareness and reach.
• Lack of advocacy/participation among staff/non-librarians.

• Continue virtual offerings to make events more accessible.
• Create more regional meet-ups.
• Consider venue/geography; engage statewide.

• Geographic limitations- Michigan is a big state/UP is far.
• Long term goal setting/fear of taking risks.
• Burn out among active members. 

MiALA is a for membership by membership organization and in support of that mission, the Board is excited to have budgeted $15,000 in expanded funding for you to organize professional development opportunities through MiALA this year. Got an idea? We want to hear it! 

• If you are an Interest Group that would like to request funds fill out the IG Funding Request Form. (Guidelines for request review)

• If you are part of a Committee that would like to request funds fill out the Committee Funding Request Form. (Procedure for request review)

• If you are an outside group interested in sponsorship, please email the Board at board@miala.org. 

We hope to support things like honorariums for an invited speaker, funds for an in person pop-up conference, virtual workshops or other unique ideas. Not sure where to start? Check out the MiALA Meeting FAQ. The Board is trying out this approach for one year and plans to assess its impact for future years in connection with a to-be-developed strategic plan for the organization. Read more from the Treasurer's Update slides from this past year's annual conference. 

Mark your calendars to join us Thursday, May 16 and Friday May 17, 2024  when we’ll  convene in Kalamazoo and the campus of Western Michigan University for our Annual Conference! Watch the MiALA website and newsletters for a call for proposals, hotel, and other pertinent info  as plans progress.

We could use a few more hands and minds to  make our ninth conference a memorable and rewarding experience. It’s also a fun opportunity to get to know other MiALA  members and leaders while helping to plan the organization’s flagship event. Interested, or want to  learn more?  Please contact the Conference Planning Committee at conference@miala.org.

Have you or someone you know taken on a new position or new responsibilities at your library? Want to share that news with MiALA membership? Complete and submit the News and Events Publication Request Form - and you might see your item in the next issue!