New Year, New ways to Get Involved

By Margaret Bates, Research and Instructional Services Librarian, University of Alabama Libraries

Hello everyone and Welcome back the NMRT Notes blog

Here are a few exciting ways to get involved with NMRT and the larger ALA community!

1. Volunteer on a committee.
   • Committees provide key support for a variety of ALA functions from awards, education, conferences, advocacy, and more. Each division and Round Table of ALA have committees, as well as larger ALA committees. If you are interested in learning more about the different committees check out the volunteer website here: https://www.ala.org/aboutala/committees. If you want to go ahead and sign up, you can access the form directly here: https://www.ala.org/CFApps/volunteer/form.cfm?
2. Highlight your fellow members.
   • Do you know a fellow new member who is doing cool things? Nominate them, or yourself, for the NMRT Member of the Month Spotlight! We will include their, or your, great work in an upcoming post on the Notes Blog. Fill out the nomination form here: https://forms.gle/5aybQJ9Hw2pZ1134A
3. Attend different conferences and events.
   • ALA has a running calendar of conferences, meetings, forums, webinars, and other events hosted by the various divisions and round tables. Check out the events calendar here: https://www.ala.org/events and find something that sparks your interest!
4. Use the NMRT Resources available to you!
   • The NMRT Resume Review Service: Librarians from all types of libraries, with various specializations have volunteered to help you make your resume shine!
     • The year-round Resume Review Service via e-mail is available to all Find out more>>The on-site Resume Review Service is open to anyone attending ALA ‘s Annual Conference or Midwinter Meeting. Interested? Find out more>>
       • The NMRT Mentoring Program: NMRT offers two different programs
         1. Career Mentoring:  a year-round program to connect a newer librarian with a seasoned librarian for a mentoring relationship relating to career development in librarianship. Conference mentoring participants may choose to extend into the career mentoring program at their discretion.
         1. Conference Mentoring: a program designed to help first-time attendees of the ALA Annual Conference (whose size can often be overwhelming and intimidating!) feel at ease by pairing them with seasoned conference attendees.
       • Find out more about the mentoring program here: https://www.ala.org/nmrt/initiatives/nmrtmentguide/nmrtmentoring
5. Reach out to us!
   • Do you have something you want to share with your fellow new members? Send us an email at nmrtnotes@gmail.com and let us know!

Membership in NMRT is a first step toward greater involvement within ALA. On NMRT committees, new members can quickly gain positions of responsibility that can help them to achieve similar positions in other ALA groups. NMRT’s divisional liaisons and clearinghouse can likewise be of assistance. NMRT’s role as a stepping stone also extends far beyond the organizational structure of ALA. As a gateway, pathfinder, and stepping stone, NMRT has played — and continues to play — a vital role not only within ALA but also the library profession at large. Individual membership is open and available to any member of the American Library Association who has been an ALA member for ten or fewer years.

 Do you have other resources you want to highlight? Let us know in the comments!