Greetings all,
Exciting things are happening in MiALA! I want to use December’s newsletter as an opportunity to highlight some of the excellent MiALA hosted events I have participated in this past month.
It is inspiring to see the ways in which MiALA committees and IGS have been engaging members in IDEA initiatives. On Nov. 11, I was able to attend the pop-up conference co-hosted by MiALA and MHSLA on “Creating Equitable Library Spaces” On Nov. 18, the Mid-Level Leadership IG hosted a thoughtful discussion on trauma informed management and services structured around the book, “Trauma-Informed Approach to Library Service” by Rebecca Tolley, 2020. I want to thank Liz Svoboda, chair of the MLL IG and the other IG officers for leading a compelling event.
I also want to call everyone’s attention to the stellar work that is happening in MiALA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Committee. Co-chaired by
Sheila Garcia
and Denise Leyton, the IDEA committee hosted a member meet on Nov. 18. The meet up focused on “Cultivating Active Engagement with IDEA.” In this short hour, we discussed some very large ideas such as bring anti-racism training to the MiALA membership, ways to support engagement more equitably, and finally how to review MiALA’s mission and policies through the lens of equity and justice. These items were all brought to the Nov. 19th Board meeting. I am happy to report that the
Board of Directors has formally recognized these priorities.
“The Board formally recognizes and supports the IDEA Committee's project to initiate an Internal review of MiALA web, policy, and other documents through an anti-racist lens in order to improve the inclusivity and equity of the organization during 2022.”
We are still in an information gathering stage and hope to take action in the coming months. We will be updating the everyone as the process moves forward. Our next Board of Directors meeting is Dec.17th.
I encourage you to join one of the many events hosted by our committees and IGs.
MiALA Event Calendar Don’t see an interest group that meets your needs? You can create a new one!
Submit an online application which will be forwarded to the Interest Group Coordination Council (IGCC). The application will certify that at least five MiALA members (in good standing) are interested in the topic. The application will have a key contact person (who, if approved, will serve as IG chair until the next regularly scheduled election), a statement of purpose, and list of initial membership.
I also want to give a shout out to everyone involved in helping Kalyn build her knowledge and expertise in all things MiALA. Thank you to
Michelle Strasz (Communications and Marketing Comm.),
Rachel Minkin (all things financial), Jessica Hronchek (Conference Comm.), and
Katrina Rouan (Membership Comm.), and anyone I forgot to list. The collegiality and effort put forth this past month by so many has made the transition go as smoothly as possible. Thank you!
Want to be a member spotlight? Fill out the
member spotlight questionnaire. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
president@miala.org
Hoping you all have a safe and happy December,
Kate
