LibGuides: Chapter Topics ~ Spring 2021: Message from the Chair

Message from the Chapters Council Chair

Hello Chapters Council,

Happy Spring! After a chilly start to May in upstate New York, I think it’s finally safe to say the warmer weather has arrived to stay. On that note, how is it the end of another semester already? Time sure flies when you’re in a pandemic and still trying to provide as much “normal” for users as possible! At Chapters Council, we were also trying to complete our normal tasks in any way possible. We had a great turnout at our last meeting and I know some of that was because of the convenience and accessibility of a virtual meeting. Previous to the pandemic, we discussed the idea of a virtual meeting taking place around ALA Midwinter (in whatever new form that takes) and an in-person meeting at ALA Annual. This is something that we will revisit to take the current temperature of the Council as we move forward.

Vice Chair Dawn Behrend and Secretary Eric Edwards have been working diligently getting current council members into our ALA Connect group (called ACRL Chapters Council).You may have or will see an individual email regarding this matter. Please pay attention to any email sent to make sure you’re in Connect and connected to our group as our current listserv will sunset on June 20th. After that we will use Connect to communicate with each other. We don’t want to lose contact with anyone after June 20 so please be mindful of this process. Also, if your chapter leadership has recently changed or will be changing soon, please make sure to send those updates to Lauren Carlton (lcarlton@ala.org) so that the online roster is updated and we make sure we reach all appropriate contacts. Thank you to Dawn and Eric for doing the legwork necessary to check on accounts and communicate needed actions to members. Please reach out with any questions.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 7th from 3:00-4:30 EST. A meeting registration link was sent to the list and is also available here. Our colleagues from the Ohio Chapter will be giving a presentation on work the Academic Library Association of Ohio undertook to develop an event code of conduct and reporting workflow. We hope to have a discussion surrounding other chapters' thoughts and/or work on this topic. ACRL leadership will also present updates. We hope you can join us. At the meeting elections will also take place for Vice Chair and Secretary. Thank you to those who have expressed interest in running for these positions! After our meeting (technically July 1,2020) Dawn will take over as Chair and new leadership will join her. Like the listserv, I will also sunset to the position of Past Chair. Thanks to all of the great people who have volunteered their time in administrative positions to help make Chapters Council function and for all the membership participation. It’s been a great experience but I am excited to pass along the reins to Dawn as I know she will make an excellent Chair.

I wish you all a wonderful and relaxing summer,

Ali Larsen

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