LibGuides: Chapter Topics ~ Spring 2022: Message from the Chair

Message from the Chapters Council Chair

Hello Chapters Council Members,

It is hard to believe that yet another academic year is behind us. As I am sure many of you will agree, spring 2022 has definitely felt like the most “normal” semester we have experienced since COVID-19. I have very much enjoyed seeing the smiling faces of our students and other campus community members, and finding ways to reconnect. Spring is always a time of renewal, but this feels especially true this year.

Over the past semester, work has continued to complete the ACRL Chapters Council directory project. We have had a wonderful response rate and are currently missing information from only five chapters. Particularly, I would like to thank Secretary Eric Edwards who has diligently reached out to the remaining chapters to request their contributions to the project. Thank you to all of the chapters who have added their information to the directory, and please be sure to update the directory regularly to ensure that it will be a useful tool for years to come. The directory is accessible here. Past Chair Ali Larsen has been active in her efforts to update the descriptions of Chapters Council positions and Vice Chair Kelly McCallister has taken the leadership in coordinating the election of new council officers for the coming year.

In addition to being a fantastic forum for ACRL chapters across the country to share information and ideas, there are a number of benefits for those who complete the annual ACRL Plan of Excellence for their chapter. Chapters have access to two ACRL e-Learning webcast group registrations per year (between October and August) which can be requested from Margot Conahan (mconahan@ala.org). These webcasts are a great way to offer professional development programming to your membership. Chapters also have the opportunity to have someone from the ACRL Speakers Bureau to speak at their conference at no charge. Finally, funding available for conference expenses is also available based on your state’s ACRL membership. This information can be obtained from Staff Liaison, Lauren Carlton (lcarlton@ala.org).

The ACRL Chapters Council meeting at ALA Annual will be held in-person with a virtual option on Friday 6/24/22 at 8:00 to 10:30 AM EST in Meeting Rooms 08 and 09 of the Renaissance. Those who wish to attend virtually can do so by registering here. In addition to updates from leadership, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe will be our invited speaker with the presentation, The Libraries Our Institutions Need: Assessment, Impact, and Organizational Resilience. Ms. Hinchliffe is a past ACRL president and Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction in the University Library and Affiliate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

We will be holding elections for Vice Chair and Secretary at ALA Annual. Nominations will be accepted until June 3rd. The nomination form can be accessed here. Beginning July 1st, Kelly McCallister will move into the role of Chair and I will continue to serve in the role of Past Chair. In addition to these elected positions, there are a number of officer roles that keep Chapters Council running including Editor, List Administrator, and LibGuides Administrators. Let’s all give them a virtual round of applause for their service! As always, be sure to share updates to your chapter’s leadership roster with Lauren Carlton.

I wish you all a happy and refreshing summer and hope to see many of you at ALA Annual.

Best,

Dawn Behrend

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