Hi, NMRT! Welcome to February, and congratulations to all those who attended Midwinter in Chicago last month and made it out alive, if a little later than originally planned! We'll be talking about those 19" in 24 hours for years to come, I'm sure.
Getting ahead (and just having fun) in the library world is often about who you know. When you're in library school or just starting out, your circle of contacts is probably pretty small and it can be difficult to expand it. The main way I started meeting other librarians and developing my network was by getting involved in NMRT, specifically by joining several committees. If you're looking to expand your network, learn how ALA/NMRT work, and add something shiny to your resume/CV, now's the time to join an NMRT committee! You're guaranteed to be appointed to at least one committee (as long as your NMRT membership is current)--not something any other ALA group can say!
Rock the vote, NMRT! This year's ALA election takes place online and the ballot will be available from March 24-May 1. Learn more about this year's NMRT candidates for Vice-President/President-Elect, Secretary, Leadership Development Director, and Membership Director on the NMRT Blog. Want to learn more about the elections process in general, or about who's running for ALA President-Elect? Check out the ALA Elections website.
Also make sure new members' interests--your interests--are being represented throughout ALA! Below is a list of NMRT members who are running for office in other ALA groups:
- ACRL Art Section chair: Kai Alexis Smith
- ACRL Education and Behavioral Sciences Section secretary: Samantha Godbey
- ACRL University Libraries Section member-at-large: Tarida Anantachai
- ALA Council: Megan Hodge
- LLAMA Human Resources Section member-at-large: Angelynn King
- LLAMA Human Resources Section secretary: Africa Hands
- RUSA Board of Directors: Kate Kosturski
- RUSA Machine-Assisted Reference Section: Beth Boatright
Finally, NMRT still has three conference scholarships to attend ALA available. Take the half hour or so to fill out those applications:
- Gale/NMRT and Mango Languages/NMRT Professional Development Grants: $1000 stipends to attend ALA Annual in San Francisco. Two grants to be awarded to two separate winners. Due 4/1/15.
- Annual Conference Professional Development Attendance Award: Attend a ticketed event of your choosing (up to $100)! No long application required--just write a short essay about why you want to attend your selected event and how attendance would benefit you professionally. Due 4/16/15.
Megan Hodge, NMRT President, 2014-2015