CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Posted on November 7, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS now until December 1st!

Professional Development Grant Award 

Would you like to attend this year’s ALA conference, but don’t have the means to do so? Apply for the NMRT Professional Development Grant award by 11:59 PM on December 1st, 2023. The award offers $3,000 to one person to offset costs and expenses to attend this year’s Annual Conference in San Diego, California on June 27-July 2, 2024. You must be a current ALA and NMRT member to apply. To join, visit the ALA website and follow the “Join ALA” link.

To apply, please visit https://tinyurl.com/professionalgrant. Applicants will be notified in February.

For questions, please contact the chair of the NMRT Awards Committee, Jennifir Huston: jhuston@sailsinc.org

Shirley Olofson Memorial Award

Would you like to attend this year’s ALA conference, but don’t have the means to do so? Apply for the Shirley Olofson Memorial award by 11:59 PM on December 1st, 2023. The award offers $1,000 to one person to offset costs and expenses to attend this year’s Annual Conference in San Diego, California on June 27-July 2, 2024. You must be a current ALA and NMRT member to apply. To join, visit the ALA website and follow the “Join ALA” link.

To apply, please visit https://tinyurl.com/shirleyolofson. Applicants will be notified in February.

For questions, please contact the chair of the NMRT Awards Committee, Jennifir Huston: jhuston@sailsinc.org

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Nominate an Outstanding NMRT Member for Member of the Month!

Posted on November 7, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

If you’d like to highlight an exceptional member of the New Members Round Table, please consider nominating yourself, a colleague, or student member for NMRT Member of the Month! Members of the Month will be featured in a blog post spotlight on NMRT Notes. To nominate yourself or someone else, please use our Google Form: https://forms.gle/CNq19h9XcX34BEh49. 

Questions about NMRT Member of the Month can be directed to nmrtnotes@gmail.com.

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Resources for NMRT Members

Posted on November 7, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

By Margaret Bates, Research and Instruction Librarian, University of Alabama Libraries

Are you finishing your degree, entering your first librarian role, or do you have a few years under your belt and want to help new librarians? The New Member Round Table has several resources to help you break into the field, adjust to your new position, and build connections.

Resume Review Service

            The Resume Review Service is available year-round with volunteers from all types of libraries and different specializations available to help spruce up your resume! You can send your resume and/or cover letter as an attachment to resumereviewnmrt@gmail.com or fill out the Google form. You will receive your resume, complete with comments and suggestions from your reviewer, within a month.

            The Resume Review Service is also available on-site to anyone attending ALA’s Annual Conference or Midwinter meeting.

Mentoring Program

            The NMRT Mentoring Committee sponsors the Mentoring Program to help newcomers to librarianship navigate their way in the profession. As a Mentor or Mentee, you can participate in:

  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.
  2. Conference Mentoring: This program is designed to help first time attendees of the ALA Annual Conference feel at ease by paring them with seasoned conference attendees. Conference Mentoring participants can choose to extend into the Career Mentoring Program at their discretion. Applications for Conference Mentoring will reopen for the ALA Annual 2024.
  3. For guidelines on being a mentor or mentee, please see the Mentoring Guidelines.

Volunteer for a Committee!

Committee appointments last for one year, beginning at ALA Annual (June/July) and ending at the next ALA Annual Conference. You must be a dues paying member of NMRT to serve on a committee.

Many NMRT committees do not require conference attendance. The following committees require attendance at one or more conferences: Annual Social Committee (Annual Conference); Midwinter Social Committee (Midwinter Meeting); Orientation Committee (Midwinter and Annual Conferences); and Resume Review Service (Midwinter and Annual Conferences).

More Information about NMRT committees can be found here. Please note as well that members can only serve on up to three committees across all of ALA during any year.

Keep up with the latest information by reading NMRT Notes, the Blog of the New Members Round Table of ALA, and Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table.

Readers, let us hear from you in the comments!

  1. Are you on a committee?
  2. Are you/ have you been a mentor/ mentee?
  3. What other resources do you think new members should know about?
Posted in Get to Know ALA, NMRT, NMRT Mentoring Committee, Volunteering | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Call for Candidates for the 2024 NMRT Elections

Posted on October 31, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

The NMRT’s Nominating Committee is calling for nominees to run on the 2024 spring ballot for the following offices:

Vice-President – 3 year appointment (Vice-President / President / Past President)
Secretary – 1 year appointment
Networking Director – 2 year appointment
Outreach Director – 2 year appointment

Help lead NMRT into an exciting future! All interested parties wishing to submit names for nomination, please contact any of the following individuals via e-mail:

Jules Shore      7shore@gmail.com                 Nominating Committee Chair
Erica Knapp     ericaj.knapp@gmail.com     Nominating Committee Member
Annice Sevett    asevett@gmail.com             NMRT Past President

For more information on the positions and other Nominating Committee activities visit https://www.ala.org/rt/handbook

Please address any questions to Jules Shore (7shore@gmail.com) The deadline for nomination is November 12th.

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Call for Papers for Endnotes

Posted on October 16, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

On behalf of the American Library Association’s New Members Round Table (NMRT), the Endnotes Committee is pleased to announce the latest call for papers to Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table. Please feel free to pass this call along to your faculty, staff, and students who may have an interest in publishing with us.

About Endnotes

Endnotes is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal that addresses issues faced by librarians. This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Endnotes accepts research and practitioner-based articles. Each edition of the journal will contain 2-3 scholarly articles written by members of NMRT, as well as website reviews and scholarly book reviews of titles relevant to new librarians. 

Endnotes’s aim is to work with new authors to produce quality scholarly articles and provide an understanding of the publication process. It welcomes submissions from LIS students, early-career professionals and researchers, and first-time writers. Endnotes encourages potential authors to consider their course research projects or affiliated institutional programs, surveys, and studies, and how they might convert these options into publishable journal articles, posters, or reviews. 

Guidelines for Submission

Articles should range from 2,000 to 6,000 words and be written by LIS students or early-career library professionals. Endnotes welcomes research papers, technical papers, conceptual papers, case studies, and literature reviews. More information on these types of articles is available in our complete submission guidelines. Authors must be members of NMRT.

Topics that might be appropriate for Endnotes include, but are not limited to: 

  • Graduate student research and projects
  • Early-career research and projects
  • Training and mentoring
  • Job searching or hiring
  • Developing leadership and management skills
  • Library instruction and assessment
  • Developing new collections or services
  • Working with specific community groups
  • Committee work and development – at your library or university, regionally or nationally
  • Reviews of new books or other educational materials such as websites

How to Submit

Please submit completed manuscripts to our electronic form.

Those interested in discussing an idea for an article are encouraged to contact the editors, Sarah Lerner and Emily Zerrenner, at nmrtendnotesjournal@gmail.com to determine if the proposed article fits the publication scope. 

Submission Timeline

Manuscript submissions are due no later than January 31, 2024. Initial responses to manuscript submissions are typically sent out a month after the submission deadline. If selected for peer review, reviewers are given two weeks to evaluate a submission. Typically, 2-4 weeks are given for manuscript revisions between each peer-review evaluation. The publication date for Endnotes issue 12.1 is tentatively set for June 30, 2024.

Paper ideas and manuscripts may be submitted outside of this timeline, but are not guaranteed publication in the 2024 issue. 


For more information about Endnotes, including complete submission guidelines and previous issues, please visit https://journals.ala.org/index.php/endnotes/. Please feel free to contact the Endnotes editors, Sarah Lerner and Emily Zerrenner, at nmrtendnotesjournal@gmail.com with any questions.

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The ABCs of ALA

Posted on October 5, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

By Mary Kamela, University at Buffalo

Get to Know ALA

As a new academic year gets underway, students across the country are learning their ABCs. At ALA, many new members may also need a refresher on the various acronyms that make up our organization. For anyone feeling like they’re stuck in a pot of alphabet soup, here’s a review of ALA’s overarching structure and acronyms you may encounter:

  • ALA – American Library Association, the oldest and largest library association in the world!
  • Divisions—Due to ALA’s size, the organization is broken down into divisions that focus on specific roles and library environments. These eight divisions include:
    • AASL—American Association of School Librarians
    • ALSC—Association for Library Service to Children
    • ACRL—Association of College and Research Libraries
    • Core—Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures
    • PLA—Public Library Association
    • RUSA—Reference and User Services
    • YALSA—Young Adult Library Services
  • Round Tables—Round Tables are groups created to address aspects of librarianship that don’t fall within the scope of any single division. Current round tables include:
    • CSKBART—Coretta  Scott King Book Awards Round Table
    • EMIERT—Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table
    • FMRT—Film and Media Round Table
    • GAMERT—Games and Gaming Round Table
    • GODORT—Government Documents Round Table
    • GNCRT—Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table
    • IFRT—Intellectual Freedom Round Table
    • IRRT—International Relations Round Table
    • LHRT—Library History Round Table
    • LIRT—Library Instruction Round Table
    • LRRT—Library Research Round Table
    • LSSRT—Library Support Staff Round Table
    • MAGIRT—Map and Geospatial Information Round Table
    • NMRT—New Members Round Table
    • RRT—Rainbow Round Table
    • RMRT—Retired Members Round Table
    • SRRT—Social Responsibilities Round Table

Members of ALA can opt to add Division and Round Table memberships of their choosing to their ALA membership; pro-rated dues apply.

So, I’m a member of New Members Round Table. Now what?

If you’re reading this blog post, you’re likely a member of New Members Round Table, or at least new to the profession or organization. Here are just a few of the opportunities available with your NMRT Membership.

  • Get Involved—NMRT members can get involved by joining one of our committees! These committees help our Round Table run efficiently and from conference planning to mentoring, there are committees for every interest! Go to https://www.ala.org/rt/nmrt/oversightgroups/comm to learn more about our committees.
  • Stay Connected—As a member of NMRT, you have access to our space on ALA Connect. Make sure you stay connected by turning on email notifications for the NMRT (New Members Round Table) group (found under Settings on ALA Connect). You can also follow NMRT on Twitter @alanmrt and stay up to date with our NMRT Notes blog.
  • Take Advantage of Professional Development Opportunities—NMRT offers many services to help new members navigate the profession. One is our Resume Review Service, which helps newer information professionals perfect their application materials. To help new members navigate ALA Annual, NMRT also hosts an annual conference orientation. Look for more information in 2024!

Want to get started right away? The Resume Review Service is also looking for volunteers to review resumes–volunteer now!

Still unsure about what to do with NMRT or whether or not to join? Check out this document from ALA.

Readers, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to sound off in the comments.

  • How has NMRT helped you?
  • What questions do you have about NMRT or Round Tables in general?
  • Is there any specific content you’d like to see highlighted on the blog this year?

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Open Call for Resume Reviewers

Posted on October 3, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

Help ALA members refine resumes, acclaim achievements, and solidify success!

The New Members Round Table Resume Review Service Committee is looking for volunteers to review resumes for our virtual review service. Reviewers should have at least 5 years of professional work experience and involvement in hiring or service on a search committee is a plus. We especially need reviewers from public, school, and subject/special libraries. 

If interested, please contact the NMRT Resume Review Service at resumereviewnmrt@gmail.com to volunteer!  

Please include the information listed below in the body of your email: 

Name:

Employer:

Job Title/Position:

Library Type:

Area of Specialization (i.e., reference, cataloging, archives, children’s, etc.):

E-mail address:

We always seek to match a reviewer with someone from the same library type and specialization!

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NMRT Conference Orientation for ALA 2023 – Friday June 23, 1:30pm

Posted on May 31, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

The New Members Round Table will be hosting its annual Conference Orientation on Friday, June 23 1:30-3:00pm in W187B at McCormick Place at the ALA 2023 Annual Conference. The orientation will include information about ALA and NMRT to orient new conference attendees, remarks from ALA and NMRT leadership, and a panel discussion about getting involved in ALA, conference tips, and information about Chicago from a local. Previous conference attendees are welcome to attend as well!

Posted in ALA Annual | Leave a comment

Job Resources for Librarians and Information Professionals

Posted on May 30, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

By Tristan Draper, DeKalb Public Library

Looking for a new job, or a first job, in the library field can be daunting. The application and interview process can often seem like an endless cycle. For new library workers with fewer professional connections, finding a job can feel impossible, but there are resources that can help you find jobs and ace your interviews. This blog post is intended to highlight a few of the many library and information science career resources that can help you in your job search.  

Exploring and Planning Career Paths

Whether you’re new to the library and information sciences field or interested in a career change, the below resources can help you learn about the wide variety of library careers.

  • The ALA offers information about library careers including education and financial help as well as career pathways: link to ALA Career Information
  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers information on a number of careers. The following link will direct you to the Library Occupation page, where you can find information on entry-level education requirements, wages, number of jobs, and job outlook in a variety of library related fields: link to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Blogs and social media can also be a good place to find information about working in libraries directly from library workers. These resources can give you a better idea of the day to day work that people do in different library careers. Some examples include the I Need a Library Job Facebook group and the LIS Career Options LinkedIn Group.

Job Boards

Now that you have an idea of what career pathways exist in the library science field, it’s time to start the job search! But where to look first? Below are a few of the many job boards you can look at to find library jobs.

  • The ALA has a job board that features a variety of library and information science job postings that can be filtered by location, job function, and job type. This is not an exhaustive list of available jobs, but it is a good place to start: link to ALA Job List.
  • I Need a Library Job is a popular job board for information professionals. Users can search by keyword or location to find available jobs: link to INALJ.
  • USAJobs lists federal government jobs, and they are often hiring librarians and/or information professionals for a variety of roles. Make sure to research the application process before submitting your application, however, as there are important guidelines for applying: link to USA Jobs.
  • Lib Gig is another job board that focuses on library and information science jobs. Jobs can be filtered by location, job function, and other factors: link to Lib Gig.
  • In addition to the above job boards that are more general in scope, make sure to look at specialized job boards as well. Professional societies often host their own job boards.
  • Colleges and Universities often offer job assistance to current students and alumni. They also often have career resource pages that are available online to the general public. These pages can be valuable resources themselves, or help you find other resources.
  • Don’t forget to check local library consortiums, library vendors, and state and local library associations for job postings. Thinking creatively about your skill set can open up a wide variety of job opportunities both within and outside of the library field.

Resume and Cover Letter Help

Good news, you’ve found a few jobs that you’re interested in applying for! All that’s left to do is fill out the application. Below are a few resources you can use to help make your resume/CV and cover letter stand out.

Interview Help

Your application was successful and you’ve landed an interview. Not sure how to prepare, what to wear, or what questions might be asked? The below resources can help you out!

Hopefully, with these resources you can feel more confident in your job search. Remember to think creatively about the skills you already have and don’t be afraid to reach out to your connections and network to ask for help. Best of luck in your career planning and job search!

Posted in Communications Committee, Finding jobs | Leave a comment

ALA Annual Games & Gaming Round Table Events

Posted on May 15, 2023 by nmrtsecretary

If you’re attending ALA Annual 2023, stop by the Games & Gaming Round Table booth in the Graphic Novels & Gaming Pavilion! Pick up some resources about gaming collections and programming, geek out with us about your favorite games and fandoms, play a game, or grab a sticker! You can find GameRT at Booth 1319. For more information about GameRT at ALA, email gamert@ala.org.

GameRT is also hosting some epic programs this year! Here is the GameRT schedule of events:

ALA Play
June 23, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM (CT)

Location: Hilton Chicago, International North

The Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) is back at ALA with another incredible ALA Play session! Gamers of all stripes are invited to join us for this free event, enjoy an evening of awesome games, and meet up with other awesome people who aren’t afraid to let their geek flag fly. We will also be announcing the 2023 Game On! Grant recipient.

GameRT Board Meeting at ALA Annual
June 24, 1:00 PM – 02:00 PM (CT)

Location: Hyatt Regency McCormick, Huron

Meeting of the Games & Gaming Round Table Board. All GameRT members are welcome to attend board meetings. If you’re not a GameRT member and would like to learn more about GameRT, please join us at this ALA Annual Conference meeting. Meet the board members and committee teams, hear updates on GameRT initiatives, and ask questions. Agendas for board meetings are posted in the GameRT ALA Connect forum.

Gaming in School Libraries
June 24, 4:00 PM – 05:00 PM (CT)

Location: McCormick Place, W183b

Presenter: Carolyn Vibbert, NBCT (she/her/hers), School Librarian, Sudley Elementary

Learn more about gaming programs for school libraries.

GameRT President’s Program: Creating Role-Playing Games in the Library
June 25, 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM (CT)

Location: McCormick Place, W193

Learn how to run a game jam and create a role-playing game at your library.

ALA Trivia Championship
June 25, 7:00 PM – 09:00 PM (CT)

Location: Hyatt Regency McCormick, Grant Park ABC

It’s well known that librarians are the best at trivia, but who is the best of the best? Join us at this national championship cosponsored by GameRT, RUSA, and NMRT and compete for the title of “Reference Champions of America” in this team-based trivia event.

In addition to conference attendance, event tickets are required for this event. Purchase via conference registration or event scheduler. And if you missed the signup during conference registration, we’d still love to have you – tickets can be bought onsite!

Posted in ALA Annual | Leave a comment