By Marissa Priddis
NMRT President Amanda Roberts presided over the NMRT Executive Board Meeting, held June 25 at ALA Annual in Washington, DC, her final act as president before Nanette Donohue took over the leadership.
A variety of topics were discussed amongst the board, the directors and a number of guests at the Mayflower Hotel. Budget line items, including a discussion of the purchase and redesign of the NMRT brochure were covered. Treasurer Catherine Collins reviewed future expenditures and several different line items.
A spirited discussion of the ALA Emerging Leaders program took place; such as the selection process and NMRT’s willingness to fund the selection of a candidate from NMRT. A motion carried for the Board to create criteria for the upcoming year, evaluate the process and select an NMRT candidate. Funding will be provided one time until the expenditure can be approved by the membership.
Roberts plans to redesign the print newsletter and hopes to create a standard template for use.
The Board passed a motion to approve the revised duties of the Scholarship, Research and Writing Committee.
It was announced that ALA passed a resolution commending NMRT for 75 years of excellence.
225 ALA members attended the “Conference 101” session this year, making it a very successful NMRT program. NMRT plans to continue working with the ALA Membership Committee to present future “Conference 101” programs. The administration of NMRT-L, the membership’s listserv, will be transferred to the Web Committee, effective after the Annual conference.
NMRT has plans to purchase a new booth setup; Sally Bickley presented examples and information about various booth types. The board opted to discuss this topic after finding out more information about the booth area at the ALA Member Pavilion, a new addition to the conference this year. The board did vote to participate in the ALA Member Pavilion next year, and hopes to be a “spotlight” booth for a day in Anaheim.