President’s Column

Welcome to another exciting year with NMRT! I’m looking forward to great discussions and networking among our membership.



At ALA Annual in Anaheim, NMRT held another New Leaders Discussion Group session with our partner the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA). There was a great discussion about skills needed for being a new leader. Building on that discussion, my presidential theme this year is Growing Your Professional Skills. I want to help NMRT members grow their networking, public speaking, communications and other professional skills no matter where they are in their library career. There are many different opportunities for library science professionals today and often times we find ourselves in jobs requiring skills that may not have been covered in library school classes. Look for discussion topics on NMRT-L and webinars throughout the year, as well as my President’s Program at ALA Annual in Chicago to grow your professional skills. In the meantime, there are a number of updates I would like bring to your attention.



Get ready for updates to ALA Connect coming in the next month! ALA Connect is the official online community for committee work and networking throughout ALA. NMRT Committees utilize this space to perform their duties and communicate throughout the year, so be prepared for the new look. Read about the changes. Also of note, one feature in Connect you may or may not know about is the Opportunities Exchange: a database of assistantships, grants, equipment available, speaking engagements, and publishing opportunities.



Just before ALA Annual, the NMRT Board approved the NMRT Strategic Plan 2012-2015, which was based on the ALA Strategic Plan. This document will guide the board and committees as we look for future collaborations and continue providing great services to our members.



This past year, NMRT also had an Emerging Leaders Group working on an association level opportunities fair. They surveyed divisions and roundtables throughout ALA on their orientation sessions and helped a Presidential Task Force successfully plan the first Association Options Fair at ALA Annual. This fair was open to all ALA Annual attendees to explore volunteer opportunities throughout ALA. Over the next couple of months, NMRT will be exploring how to continue this fair in years to come.



NMRT expanded our social networking presence this past spring by creating a NMRT Google+ Group. Join us there or on any of the other platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog, NMRT Notes.



We are starting to plan events for Midwinter in Seattle and I hope you’ll join us at the NMRT events. If you have friends or colleagues who are NMRT alumni, or maybe never had the pleasure, please bring them along: especially to the NMRT Midwinter Social! I will be unable to join you at Midwinter, as my husband and I are expecting twins sometime around Thanksgiving, but I am looking forward to ALA Annual in Chicago.



Feel free to send your questions, suggestions or concerns about NMRT to me via email. I’d love to hear from you!



Janel Kinlaw

NMRT President 2012-2013