Michigan Academic Library Association Five Year Strategic Plan 2025 - 2030
MiALA Mission Statement
MiALA empowers Michigan academic library professionals through collaborative programming, professional development, leadership opportunities, and advocacy that strengthens the impact of academic libraries across the state.
MiALA Vision Statement:
We envision a future where Michigan academic library professionals are recognized as vital, innovative leaders in transforming information discovery, advancing knowledge creation, and cultivating vibrant communities that shape the evolving landscape of higher education.
1. Strengthen Advocacy and External Partnerships Description: MiALA aims to educate members about issues of importance to academic libraries and empower library workers to take action, especially in the context of higher education within the state of Michigan. MiALA provides professional development opportunities and curates and leverages existing tools and resources to support academic library workers in their advocacy efforts at their own institutions. MiALA advocates on issues impacting academic libraries by supporting efforts of other organizations.
Tactic 1: Increase capacity of academic libraries and library workers in Michigan to communicate their stories and values. Suggested actions include:
Review Advocacy Committee charge and focus to ensure responsiveness to issues facing academic libraries and higher education.
Curate toolkits of existing resources addressing specific issues (e.g., funding challenges, academic and intellectual freedom, privacy etc.) to aid advocacy efforts on individual campuses.
Develop educational programming and workshops to raise awareness and understanding of issues of interest.
Develop a promotional campaign that describes the benefits of academic librarianship as a career choice.
Tactic 2: Support state and national level advocacy efforts by developing and leveraging partnerships with allied library and higher education-related associations (e.g. local, state and national library associations, consortia, education unions). Suggested actions include:
Collaborate with allied library and higher education organizations to endorse, cross-promote, and amplify existing advocacy efforts and programming.
Promote academic library involvement in Michigan Library Association (MLA) Advocacy Day.
MiALA President and Board will proactively engage with related associations and executive leaders within the Michigan library ecosystem, and keep membership abreast of emerging issues.
Develop formal partnership or reciprocal agreements with other library associations (MLA, MASL, MHSLA), Library and Information Science programs in the state, and higher education institutions.
2. Communicate Clearly and Transparently
Description:
MiALA communicates clearly and transparently with both internal and external stakeholders. This involves effectively articulating the comprehensive value of MiALA membership to current and potential members, conveying the core philosophical principles that guide the association, and providing timely and accurate information about relevant activities, events, and opportunities.
Tactic 1: Review and improve accessibility, ease of use, visual design, and opportunities for member engagement and interactions on all MiALA platforms. Suggested actions include:
Evaluate the MiALA website and improve accessibility, navigation, ease of use, and visual design guided by web content accessibility Level AA guidelines.
Explore avenues for increased online member engagement and interaction.
Tactic 2: Develop effective marketing and communications strategies for reaching both internal and external members and stakeholders. Suggested actions include:
Create a marketing plan to determine communication channels, strategic messaging, and consistent style and tone.
Update marketing documentation to reflect current practices.
Create brand guidelines for visual materials.
Create customized messaging and outreach modalities to reach and engage diverse audiences, including external stakeholders, graduate students, non-members, and the full range of academic library workers throughout the state of Michigan.
Create a workflow for regular review and updating all documentation about marketing and communication strategies.
Tactic 3: Identify opportunities for greater transparency and communication about the association, including how it functions, how decisions are made, and how the Board sets budgeting and spending priorities.
Inventory major functions of MiALA Board work and prioritize documentation.
Create documentation of processes in collaboration with other invested parties in MiALA.
Create a landing page and organization strategy for documentation on the
member website and begin populating as documentation is created.
Create a workflow for regular review and updating all documentation related to decision-making and transparency.
3. Empower Engagement, Leadership, and Career Growth Description:
Building on a strong foundation of membership engagement, MiALA continually develops strategies to increase clarity around avenues for involvement, eases barriers to participation, and equips academic library workers with the confidence and skills to take on leadership at every level. The association serves as a major source of professional development for librarians and library staff in Michigan, offering formal and informal programs and providing resources that meet the needs of its diverse membership. Members engage with each other in a myriad of ways, assuming leadership and service roles within the association and developing learning communities around shared interests.
Tactic 1: Develop and maintain a holistic, inclusive suite of relevant career development resources. Suggested actions include:
Strengthening leadership development and mentorship programs.
Leveraging partnerships (ACRL, MCLs, etc.) to expand professional development and educational opportunities.
Developing content and programming attractive to the broad range of staff working, or aspiring to work, in academic libraries.
Tactic 2: Clearly articulate and communicate opportunities for member involvement and development of member-driven events and learning communities. Suggested actions include:
Establishing programming to provide members with a path toward leadership, equipping them with relevant skills and knowledge.
Strengthening support for interest group leadership.
Audit modalities, topics, and audiences who attend programs to identify gaps and areas where the association can broaden its reach.
Clearly articulate opportunities for varying levels of engagement within the association, from attendance at programs to volunteer service and leadership.
Providing multiple orientation modalities for new members.
Developing opportunities to ease financial and geographic barriers to participation to help diversify MiALA’s membership.
4. Strengthen Our Core Infrastructure Description MiALA’s organizational infrastructure serves as a framework for its internal functions and outlines the processes and procedures which allow it to operate efficiently and effectively. MiALA ensures consistency and minimizes redundancy by following standardized practices and procedures within a framework that allows the association to be flexible in responding to evolving and future needs. This framework defines roles and responsibilities; outlines clear procedures and timelines for tasks and projects; provides tools or platforms needed to support operations; and invests in financial and human resources required to successfully achieve the association’s goals. Tactic 1: Evolve the yearly transition process for Board, Interest Group, and Committee members creating an accessible pathway for all members (but especially new members) interested in participating in service opportunities. Suggested actions include:
Create succession planning guidelines for leadership.
Develop, implement, and maintain an accessible document depository, and establish a process for transfer of document ownership to relevant teams, regular review, and updates of primary documents.
Strengthen training and onboarding/offboarding procedures by shoring up current practices and creating new ones as needed. This could include giving more guidance or having more administrative help with Board position transition meetings, the yearly leadership retreat etc.
Create a more streamlined process for signing up for committees that better distributes the work of recruiting volunteers and onboarding new members.
Tactic 2: Create a long term spending, saving and revenue generating strategy to sustain the association’s future fiscal health and maintain affordability. Suggested actions include:
Consider the funding model to contract for appropriate staffing levels to sustain MiALA business and member-driven activities and develop a system for monitoring and adapting as association needs change.
Clarify the purpose of the annual conference in sustaining and supporting MiALA’s fiscal health.
Approved and adopted by the MiALA Board on May 1, 2025