President's Message - October

Welcome to the fall semester!  Every fall, I find myself reflecting on the nature of change.  The trees change colors, the temperature drops (well, maybe not so much this year) and our campuses fill with new and returning students.  For all of us in the academic world, this is a very exciting and busy time!

Many of us experience personal changes as well.  New duties, new roles, and in my case, a new job and home!  (I’m now the Associate Dean for Resources and Digital Strategies at Western Michigan University Libraries – Go Broncos!).  For those of you also undergoing professional and personal changes, I wish you the best during your journey– and hope that MiALA can be a place to find support and build new collaborations.

When I look at what is happening in MiALA, I am also excited to see the organization grow.  I look at the upcoming vote to change our bylaws and restructure our sections and interest groups, and see new ways to work together.  I see many new collaborations - and know of several more in the works - all of which will bring new opportunities to learn, grow, and collaborate.

The most important part of these changes is YOU.  During this time of change, it is a great time to get engaged! Let me relay three ways where YOU can help make a difference:

The “heart” of MiALA is our interest groups.  Our fifteen interest groups represent a broad array of academic library activities and provide a community for you to learn with a group of others who share your enthusiasm and interest. Are YOU a member of an interest group?  If so, do you see new opportunities where this group can help advance library practice, or are you willing to champion those efforts?  Do you have an idea for a new interest group?  MiALA can help! With everything from web conferencing software to well, money – I welcome you to join up and help MiALA grow.

In August MiALA’s elected leadership held its third annual Leadership Retreat – and there are many great initiatives in the works.  However, we need your help!  Not only for new projects, but also for committees, and other roles.  If you’re interested, send me an email at president@miala.org.

Finally, it’s membership renewal time!  The MiALA board has purposefully kept our membership at a very low individual rate of $40 a year, with discounted rates for students and retirees.  The last day to renew is September 30th – so now is great time to sign up for this year – and thank you for your continued support!