Congratulations to Mover & Shaker Courtney Young!

Posted on March 22, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

Last week, Library Journal announced their list of Movers and Shakers 2011: the People Shaping the Future of Libraries, and we were very pleased that NMRT Past-President Courtney Young was honored as a Change Agent. In addition to her recent promotion to Head Librarian at the Greater Allegheny Campus of Penn State University, the article summarizes, “Young serves as an academic advisor to Penn State students, coordinates an honors program, works to improve university-wide virtual reference services, and evaluates and tracks diversity of the library’s acquisitions. She also serves on the American Library Association’s (ALA) Executive Board and is [past-president] of ALA’s New Members Round Table.”

Courtney has been moving & shaking and change-agent-ing in NMRT for nearly ten years. For the past three years, 2008-2011, Courtney has served as NMRT Vice President/President/Past-President. 2005-2008 she served as NMRT Counselor, and continued on ALA Council after that as a member-at-large.  She chaired the Student Chapter of the Year Award committee in 2004-2005, chaired the Diversity Committee in 2003-2004, was a member of the Diversity Committee in 2002-2003, and was a member of the Liaison Coordination and Support Ad Hoc Committee in 2002-2003.

Courtney’s contribution to the New Members Round Table, and to the American Library Association, is inestimable. We benefit so much from her confidence, courage, and unfailing competence. As she completes her term as NMRT Past-President at ALA Annual in New Orleans, she has already gone on to bigger and better things, and she is a shining example of the possibilities of Association and Round Table involvement. I hate to lose Courtney from the NMRT Executive Board, but I’m glad to share her with the rest of ALA. I know that the work Courtney has done, is doing, and will do, will continue to impact NMRT in the future, and she’ll always be one of us. Once an NMRT or JMRT member, always an NMRT member.

Congratulations, Courtney! I can’t think of anyone more deserving. The profession is tremendously lucky to have you.

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Shirley Olofson Memorial Award Announced

Posted on March 21, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

Eamon Tewell is the 2011 recipient of the New Members Round Table (NMRT) Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. This award, named in honor of the late NMRT President Shirley Olofson, is given annually to help defray the cost of attending the ALA Annual Conference.  Criteria for the award includes membership in ALA and NMRT, promise or activity in the area of professional development, and financial need.

 

Eamon Tewell is Senior Library Assistant at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA, where he provides reference, instruction, and outreach services.  He earned his MLIS from Drexel University and his BA from the University of Colorado at Denver.  Eamon has published and presented on the topics of emerging technologies and popular media, and is an active member of ALA, serving on committees in ACRL, RUSA, and NMRT. He is also active within the Art Libraries Society of North America and the Pennsylvania Library Association.

 

The committee would like to thank everyone who applied for this year’s Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. Further information about this award, including past recipients, is available at the NMRT awards page.

 

The Shirley Olofson Memorial Award Committee 2010-2011:

Marissa Ball, Chair
Sue Anderson
Natalie Clewell
Nicholas Pavlik
Maura Seale

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Save the Date! NMRT Awards/Merritt Fund Reception

Posted on March 17, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

The ALA New Members Round Table (NMRT) and the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund are pleased to announce that we will be collaborating to present a joint reception at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans!

We’ll be combining the NMRT Awards Reception and the Merritt Fund “Reception for a Cause” into one great event. This event will take place on Sunday, June 26, 7:30-10:00 p.m. at L’Entrepot Gallery, 527 Julia (in the Gallery District). Everyone is welcome to attend; refreshments will be provided.

NMRT will be honoring the NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award recipient, Eamon Tewell, and the 3M/NMRT Professional Development Grant recipients, Natalie Traylor Clewell, Jessica Nadine Hernandez, and Julie N. Kane. These awards provide financial assistance for ALA/NMRT members to attend the annual conference in order to encourage and support professional development and participation in ALA and NMRT activities.

The LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund was established in 1970 and is devoted to the support, maintenance, medical care, and welfare of librarians who, in the Trustees opinion, are denied employment rights or discriminated against or denied employment rights because of defense of intellectual freedom.

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Janel White receives SLA conference award

Posted on March 17, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

Janel White is the recipient of the Special Library Association’s (SLA) $1,500 SLA Conference Stipend Award. Janel, the 2010-2011 NMRT Secretary, is a broadcast librarian at National Public Radio (NPR). Active in SLA and on the DC SLA Program Planning Committee, she has repeatedly demonstrated hard work, creativity, intelligence, and a sense of humor while coordinating a broad range of events. In NMRT, she chaired the 2009-2010 NMRT President’s Program and was selected as the NMRT Emerging Leader based not only on her involvement with the Round Table, but on her growing involvement locally in SLA.

This Award will allow Janel to attend the conference to continue to network with other SLA members, and build upon the leadership and planning skills that her DC SLA committee work has advanced. NMRT congratulates Janel on her achievement!

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Still time to apply for Marshall Cavendish Award

Posted on March 3, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

Marshall Cavendish has again generously donated tickets for NMRT members to attend the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Banquet. The dinner, to honor the winners of this year’s Newbery, Caldecott, and Wilder awards, will be held in New Orleans, LA. The evening’s program is sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children.

Any NMRT member who is not currently serving on the Marshall Cavendish Award Committee may enter. Just write a short essay (around 250 words) telling us why you want to attend the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Banquet and how you feel you would benefit.  Information about Newbery, Caldecott and Wilder honorees

Submit your information and essay on the NMRT Award page at  by Friday, May 21st. For more information, contact the award committee chair, Alexandra Tyle-Annen at atyle at homerlibrary dot org.

Please note: only NMRT members are eligible.

Applications due April 22.

Winners will be notified by May 12.

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Highlights from Midwinter – February Footnotes Available

Posted on March 3, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

The February 2011 issue (Volume 40, no. 3) of Footnotes is now available!

If you weren’t able to make it to the Midwinter events this winter, you will find a number of recaps in this issue, among other featured articles and reviews.
Be sure to check out
Thanks again to all committee members and all the authors for their contributions!


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Call for Presenters – LLAMA/NMRT New Leaders Discussion Group

Posted on February 24, 2011 by nmrtsecretary
LLAMA/NMRT New Leaders Discussion Group invites the submission of proposals for  presentation at its meeting at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New  Orleans, LA. The LLAMA/NMRT New Leaders Discussion Group is scheduled to meet on Saturday June 25, from 4pm – 5:30pm.

The LLAMA/NMRT New Leaders Discussion Group is an exciting new joint  venture between LLAMA (Library Leadership and Management Association)  and NMRT (New Members Round Table). This newly created group is designed to provide opportunities for discussion and networking among new  librarians, new members of LLAMA and/or NMRT, librarians who are making  career shifts, experienced leaders, and anyone interested in developing
leadership skills.  Discussion topics are chosen based on issues of  interest to the members of the group.

At this year’s Annual conference, we are interested in topics focusing on  “Developing Leadership Skills for Early Career Librarians”. We seek  proposals for presentation that address this topic from a variety of
angles, including (but not limited to):

  • Developing leadership skills in library school. (It could be from a student or faculty perspective)
  • Leadership skills and experience employers look for.
  • Advice for career changers – transferring leadership skills from a different field..
  • What leadership skills should one develop early in the career? and how?
  • Early career leadership opportunities.
  • Early career leadership development planning.
  • Transitioning from early career to mid-career.
We look for presenters to share their experience (it could either be a  positive experience or a lesson learned), helpful tips, and advice on  the topics. The presenter should plan to speak for about 7 -10 (max)  minutes. The presenter is also expected to lead and facilitate a  discussion group on their topic in the second half of the meeting. There will be approximately 30 minutes of presentations. After the  presentations, we will break into small, rotating discussion groups to  allow more in-depth discussions of the presentation topics and other  theme related topics as determined by attendees’ interests.

Proposals are due by April 1, 2011. Notification of acceptance will be made by May 1. Please include the following information in your proposal:

1. Your name, title, institutional affiliation (or LIS program), mailing address, phone number, and email address.
2. The title and a 200 word (max) description of your presentation. The  description should clearly identify the topic of your presentation, your personal experience with this topic, and how it will contribute to the  professional development of new and aspiring leaders.


Keep in mind that there will be no use of technology for these presentations as they are meant to be informal in nature. Any information (notes,  further reading, etc.) presenter/discussion leader would like to share could be posted on LLAMA’s website.

Please submit proposal by email to Leo Lo (LLAMA/NMRT NLDG convener) at leo.saiho.lo at gmail dot com.

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2011 NMRT Online Candidate Forum

Posted on January 28, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

The 2011 ALA elections are rapidly approaching and the Nominating Committee would like to announce the schedule for this year’s Online Candidate Forum. The forum will allow candidates to discuss their candidacy and answer questions while providing NMRT members an opportunity to hear directly about the issues that matter most to them.

* February 13-19, Vice-President/President Elect
Janel White

* February 20-26, Secretary
Shana Harrington
Rebecca Miller

* February 27-March 5, Director (Member Services and Leadership)
Damon Campbell
Coral Sheldon-Hess
Megan Hodge

* March 6-12, Councilor
Susan Jennings
Jacob Sherman

Additionally, one video response per candidate will be posted on YouTube. Links to these videos will be provided in the candidates’ Online Candidate Forum posts.

As interested members in NMRT, if you have a question you would like the Nominating Committee to consider, please send it to mlhodge@gmail.com at least two weeks before the scheduled forum.  Final questions will be chosen by the Nominating Committee.

All candidate responses to each question will be collected by the Nominating Committee, then posted to NMRT-L.
Thanks,

Megan Hodge

Chair, NMRT Nominating Committee 2010-2011
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Call for Endnote Proposals – Summer 2011

Posted on January 28, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

The 2010-11 NMRT Endnotes Committee invites you to submit an article for publication in summer 2011.

The publication, Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table, is dedicated to providing an opportunity for new librarians to get published and to make an impact as library professionals. Along with the publication opportunity, authors will gain experience with the peer-review and editing process. New librarians from all types of libraries are encouraged to submit proposals.

The publication will also include scholarly reviews of recently published books and web site reviews on topics relevant to new librarians. We are also accepting applications to be considered for the pool of book reviewers.

Article proposal guidelines:

Please submit a proposal describing your article topic and research methodology in less than 250 words.  Remember to include your name, job title, contact information and ALA member number. Authors are required to be NMRT members at the time of proposal submission.

Proposals or questions should be submitted to NMRTEndnotes@gmail.com by close of business on Friday, March 31st, 2011. The tentative deadline for first drafts of accepted proposals is July 1st, 2011.

Book and Web reviewer application guidelines:

Please submit a resume, brief statement of qualifications and interest in the position, and writing sample. A sample book review is preferred, but other writing samples will be accepted. Remember to include your name, job title, contact information and ALA member number. Authors are required to be NMRT members at the time of application.

Applications or questions should be submitted electronically to NMRTEndnotes@gmail.com by close of business on March 15th, 2011. Reviewers will receive review copies in mid-April, with reviews tentatively due in mid-May.

Thank you,

Endnotes Committee

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ALA Election Reminder – Check Your Membership Status

Posted on January 28, 2011 by nmrtsecretary

A reminder that one’s dues must be current as of Jan 31st to vote in the 2011 ALA Election.

Everyone with a 2010 anniversary date must be renewed by next Monday, January 31, 2011, to vote.

Also, if you’re running for an elected position, your membership should be current as well.

Information on individual membership dues are available here

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