MiALA Board Meeting
02/05/2026

HEIS IG Meeting
02/05/2026

IGCC Meeting
02/10/2026

Cataloging and Metadata IG Coffee Hour
02/16/2026

E-resources IG Meeting
02/19/2026

Oakland Community College
Bethany Kennedy
Haley Laurila

University of Michigan-Dearborn
Erin Frye

Ross Kresge Library
Anne Else

Westshore Community College
Angela Barr

Grand Valley State University
Melanie Shell-Weiss

Unaffiliated
Tyler Dancer

Schoolcraft College
Elizabeth Kenney

Washtenaw Community College, Bailey Library
Liz Stauch

Springer Nature
Sony Joseph

Elsevier
Melissa Crowley

This month’s featured resource from the MiALA IDEA Resources for Education and Training list is:

Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). https://www.bcala.org/
Description: Established in 1970, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), was formed to serve as an advocate for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation’s African American community; and to provide leadership  for the recruitment and professional development of African American librarians. They're currently celebrating their 55th Anniversary.

As part of the IDEA Committee's continued effort to build a concise, streamlined list of recent articles, books, reports, training resources and toolkits, websites, videos, terminology resources, and online communities related to IDEA, MiALA members are invited to suggest resources. Make your suggestion using our suggestion form.

I hope you are all staying warm and safe during this unusually cold and snowy winter! As I write this, we are only a weekend away from Groundhog’s Day, and though I don’t believe in superstitions, I am hopeful the groundhog will not see its shadow on Monday! I’ll take any sign for an early spring.

On the MiALA front, we are still forming the taskforce to undertake a review of the association’s website. This work will begin in February and the charge includes:

• reviewing the current web platform, content, organization, and accessibility,

• reviewing current administrative practices and posting protocols and making recommendations for improvement,

• evaluating whether the current web platform is meeting the association’s needs.

If you’ve ever had thoughts on how our website could function better, now is your chance to make your voice heard by completing the Committee Volunteer Interest Form  and indicating “I want to serve on the website taskforce” in the open text field below the committee choices.

As I mentioned last month, we are also looking for volunteers to support the 2026-2027 advocacy, communications, 2027 conference planning, IDEA, and membership committees in the spring, for appointments that begin July 1.

The Nominations Committee will be gearing up to recruit and prepare a slate of MiALA Board and IGCC candidates for our spring elections cycle, and they need your help! Be on the lookout for the Nominations Form in February and consider nominating yourself and/or colleagues for these important leadership roles! 

Best regards,

Julie Garrison
President, MiALA
 

The Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA) invites you and your colleagues to submit poster proposals for the annual conference to be held May 6-8, 2026, at the Park Place Hotel & Conference Center in Traverse City, MI. Participation from librarians, library staff, LIS students, and administrators from all types of academic libraries is encouraged, so please share this announcement. We welcome posters on any topic related to work in academic libraries, particularly if they have a connection to the conference theme Finding Our True North: Creating Connections to Light Our Way.

Poster proposals should include a description of no more than 300 words. They will be evaluated on impact on academic libraries and higher education, originality and creativity, and clarity. If you submit a presentation proposal that is not accepted, we encourage you to reframe your topic for consideration as a poster. Prior to submitting your proposal, please review the Poster Session Guidelines page.

Please submit your poster proposal using the online form by the end of the day on February 16, 2026.

The primary contact listed on each proposal will receive a message indicating receipt of the proposal when it is submitted, and a decision on proposals by the end of February.

Questions about poster proposals can be sent to Lauren Vogt, LaurenVogt@ferris.edu.
Questions about the conference in general can be sent to conference@miala.org.

Davenport University
Academic Services Librarian

The University is seeking a dynamic, multi-faceted Academic Services Librarian to lead and assess our library and tutoring services. This role is central to our mission of academic success, focusing on instructional programming, research assistance, and digital content creation.The successful candidate will serve as a vital academic liaison to various university units, with a dedicated focus on the Casa Latina program possessing a professional proficiency in both English and Spanish. This position blends traditional library science with emerging technologies, administrative oversight of tutoring services, and inter-library loan management.

For more information, or to see other jobs listed on the Job Board, please visit the MiALA Job Board website.