Hope College Van Wylen Library
Hannah Gingrich

Michigan School of Psychology
Rachel Melton

Aquinas College
Christina Radisauskas

“Holiday break? Who needs a break?”: said No Library Worker, Ever!

As we prepare to close our semesters or terms, as well as the calendar year, many of us look forward to a few days of  catching up with with friends and family, or maybe that series we’ve been wanting to binge. Your Board has been making plans for a busy and  productive new year for MiALA. Watch for an announcement and invite to an all-member midyear meeting, the return of the Academic Librarian Of The Year award, and a kick-off of our strategic planning process.

As always the many programs and activities sponsored by our IGs and committees and our signature conference in May offer opportunities for learning and engagement. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy the winter holiday season and the joy and renewal it will hopefully bring to you and yours.
 
Be good to each other, and most importantly, yourselves.
 
Darlene Johnson-Bignotti
 

Call for Proposals

Libraries: Where Ideas Take Flight
 
"Libraries: Where Ideas Take Flight" captures the curiosity, optimism, and technological innovation propelling academic libraries on an ascent towards new heights. As skilled navigators of knowledge, academic library workers are entrusted to ensure our communities' smooth voyage into intellectual exploration. Have you implemented a forward-looking approach, developed a best practice, or have an engaging idea or project to share? If so, join us as a copilot on this journey, inspiring attendees with ideas that will shape the trajectory of librarianship and academic libraries into the future.
 
MiALA invites you and your colleagues to submit presentation proposals for the 9th annual conference to be held in-person, May 15-17, 2024 at The Fetzer Center, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. Participation from librarians, library staff, LIS students, and administrators from all types of academic libraries is encouraged.  MiALA membership is not required to submit a proposal. We welcome proposals on topics covering any aspect of academic libraries.
 
We are seeking the following presentation formats:

• Presentations, panels, or moderated discussion sessions (45 min.)
  • Individual or group presentations, panel sessions, and moderated discussion sessions are all welcome. Each of these sessions will be 45 minutes, including a Q&A.
• Interactive workshops (105 min.)
  • An opportunity to teach and explore current and emerging topics in a collaborative atmosphere. Workshops encourage a hands-on experience that may combine active learning, collaboration, and discussion.
• Lightning Talks (10 min.)
  • A short individual presentation addressing a specific topic or project. Lightning talks provide attendees the opportunity to hear about a range of innovative ideas from a broad and varied group of colleagues in a short amount of time. Lightning talks will be grouped into sessions that may or may not be themed. Lightning talk sessions will be 45 minutes, including a Q&A.

 
Along with presenter(s) information, program proposals must include title, presentation format, presentation description (up to 300 words), short abstract (up to 75 words), and learning objective(s). Proposals will be evaluated on relevance to the conference theme, impact on academic libraries and higher education, originality, creativity, and clarity. For workshops, include plans for interactivity and audience engagement in the session description.
 
If you have a topic you’d like to explore and are looking for collaborators, consider adding your session idea to the Breakout Session Collaboration spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is not monitored by MiALA or the Program Committee and is not part of the official submission process.
 
Please submit your breakout session proposal using the application form located here by January 19, 2024. The primary contact listed on each proposal will receive a message indicating receipt of the proposal when it is submitted and decisions on proposals will be communicated to the primary contact in late January or early February.
 
Questions about proposals can be sent to julie.garrison@wmich.edu.
Questions about the conference in general can be sent to conference@miala.org.
 

This month’s featured resource from the MiALA IDEA Resources for Education and Training list is:
 
Dunbar-Ortiz, R. (2014). An indigenous peoples' history of the United States. Beacon Press.
Description: American history leaves out or glosses over the colonization and genocides committed against the indigenous peoples of this continent. Dunbar-Ortiz writes this history and examines how the violent seizing of land and life from indigenous peoples has influenced American culture to the modern day.
 
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.
 

Save the Date: The IDEA Committee will be hosting a reading group discussion of Sophia Leung's article, "The Futility of Information Literacy & EDI: Toward What?" on January 24, 2024, at 10:00AM (Eastern).
 
Save the Date: The IDEA Committee will be hosting a reading group discussion of “Nice White Meetings”: Unpacking Absurd Library Bureaucracy through a Critical Race Theory Lens" on February 21, 2024, at 10:00AM (Eastern).
 


 

Join the OER-IG monthly meeting for a Leadership, Advocacy, and Communication discussion. Special guest speaker Mandi Goodsett, Performing Arts & Humanities Librarian and OER & Copyright Advisor at Cleveland State University will be presenting. All are welcome.

Register here

Join the OER-IG for their monthly meeting. We will be discussing and planning a collaborative event for Open Ed Week in March.

For more information, please visit: https://umich.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvfu-vrTwuGtErYzUQB9vBezChee2Xm9sn