Happy Spring NMRT! (Unless you live like I do in the Northeast, where the groundhog was unfortunately right and we’re getting every last day of our six weeks of winter.) Things at NMRT are heating up (if the weather outside isn’t), so I wanted to give you a few updates.
- Attending the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference later this month? While NMRT won’t have any formal events at the conference, several board members will be in attendance – Outreach Director Ariana Santiago, VP/President-Elect Mandi Goodsett, and I. If you see any of us at the conference, don’t be afraid to say hello or ask us questions.
- Want to apply for a committee next year? You can look for the committee form to open later this spring. Note that if you are already on a committee and want to stay on that committee, you will need to complete the volunteer form again.
- Want to apply for an award? NMRT has several awards to help with travel and attendance at the 2017 Annual Conference in Chicago, and the following awards are still accepting applications:
- Mango/NMRT Professional Development Grant: Deadline is March 7th
- Student Chapter of the Year Award: Deadline is March 17th (DEADLINE EXTENDED!)
- Annual Conference Professional Development Attendance Award: Deadline is April 15th
- Elections! The ALA Election period will be open starting March 13th and running through April 5th, with the winners announced a week later (April 12th). You may have received a test email from ALA verifying your email address last week. Ballots will be sent between March 13th and 15th, so don’t panic if you don’t get it right next Monday – there are a LOT of emails going out from the ALA Home Office, it takes some time! You can view the list of candidates on our blog, and look for more information on the candidates soon.
Finally, I am very happy and heartened to see the great discussions that have been taking place on our listserv, both through our Online Discussion Forum committee and in reaction to how ALA has responded to various moves by our current government. People are listening with empathy and expressing their views constructively, avoiding nasty and explosive discussion that leads to hurt feelings and broken friendships. A professional association is as good as its members, and you are making ALA your own – keep up the good work!
-Kate Kosturski, New Members Round Table President