Welcome to the new ALA year! As an academic librarian (and someone who has always loved school), I have always thought of late summer and early fall as a season of renewal and transformation. It therefore feels appropriate that I'm starting off my presidential year at this time, too!
The theme of my presidency is Being Influential at All Stages of Your Career. I want to help NMRT members develop their leadership skills so they are able to influence others and take charge of their careers, whether they intend to go into management or just better advocate for their ideas at their jobs. Not everyone wants to be a manager, but even frontline employees may be tasked with leading a team or project at work or just want to make sure our voices are heard when changes and decisions are afoot.
We've got a number of exciting changes afoot that will make NMRT even better and more useful to you:
- The Annual Program Committee, which traditionally organizes a (free!) virtual program each June, is expanding its focus, and will coordinate 4 virtual programs this year. These are great for continuing your professional education without having to leave your office!
- The Annual Conference Local Information Committee will now coordinate a roommate-finding service for ALA Annual in addition to producing a local's guide to the conference city. We hope this will help you save money and time, as well as be a socializing and networking opportunity!
- Mango Languages, developers of the popular language-learning software, will sponsor NMRT's Professional Development Grant, which is a $1000 scholarship to attend the ALA Annual Conference. In honor of this sponsorship, the award has been renamed the Mango Languages/NMRT Professional Development Grant. We are very excited about this partnership and the opportunity to grow the relationship between Mango Languages and new members!
We've got even more great developments in the pipeline! Stay tuned to this column, NMRT-L, and our blog for details!
Along these same lines, I'd love to know: what would you like to see happen this year? Have a great idea for a virtual program or webinar? Just have a question or want to get involved? Contact me! NMRT is your organization. It works best when it reflects your interests and answers your needs. I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas and meeting many of you over the coming year!
Megan Hodge
NMRT President, 2014-2015