LibGuides: Chapter Topics ~ Fall 2024: Message from the Chair

Message from the Chapters Council Chair

I hope that your semester has been going well. I can’t believe that it is November! As we look to the end of the semester, I wanted to give a few updates so that we can look ahead together.

Thanks to all of our officers who are serving this year. They are listed in this guide.

I anticipate a busy year! I would like to highlight two new initiatives which can be found in our Work Plan which was distributed via Connect in September.

Please look out for information (via Connect) about an upcoming workshop that we are planning in collaboration with the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy (COLA) Ecosystem Subcommittee. The focus is on how we can leverage our own ecosystems to advocate for academic libraries (title TBD). This aligns with one of our goals for this year to promote the impact and value of academic and research libraries to relevant constituents.

The other initiative that I would like to highlight is an endeavor to seek out the challenges and interests of our membership to increase engagement. We want to ensure that our organization is meeting your needs. As with many organizations, participation has declined. More information to come!

We will also be meeting in early 2025. We invite your participation. We will be seeking topics of interest for 2 one-hour webinars. Those with expertise in the areas highlighted will then be invited to share their knowledge via the webinars.

Also, look out for the next call for content for the Spring edition of Chapter Topics. Librarians have been applying EDI principles in various contexts and you will be invited to showcase your activities which can spark ideas and spur new practices in others.

Looking forward to another productive year ahead!

Leslin H. Charles