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- Service Spotlight
- Oral History Insights
- Did You Know...
- Chapter Update
- Annual Conference
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Service Spotlight
In this issue, we hear from MLA’s Vice President/President-Elect Paula Hickner.
MLA’s Administrative Handbook (AH) succinctly describes the Vice-President/President-Elect; Past President position as follows: “The duties of the Vice-President and Past President are the same. […] and, in general, works closely with the President.” Yet the details that make up this deceptively simple description are numerous!
Since my term as Vice President began in March, I’ve been in contact with our President, Liza Vick, on an almost daily basis. She has been welcoming and has included me in conversations and projects that make up much of the work of the MLA Board and our organization. The Past President position may be more of a supporting and guiding role, but as Vice President I am learning or reacquainting myself with the current committee structure, finances and investments, advocacy and accessibility issues, changes in our online presence, conventions, and the not-so-user-friendly Robert’s Rules of Order.
In addition to our three extended board meetings — at the annual conference, fall, and spring (when the budget is set) — we meet virtually every month. Meeting monthly keeps us on track, so when we do gather for the extended meetings, we’re not catching up on unfinished business. That first Board meeting can be overwhelming, though—so many threads and you’re jumping into the middle of everything while trying to understand how it all fits together. Fortunately, that deer-in-the-headlights moment soon fades, and you begin to feel more confident and less lost!
As you can see, much of this first year is spent getting one’s sea legs. However, the Vice-President/Past President also serves as the liaison with our regional chapters. This role ensures communication between chapters and the Board, meets with the chapter chairs at the annual meeting, attends at least one chapter meeting per year (thanks to the Mountain-Plains Chapter for a great meeting this past spring!), and makes a call for, collects, and presents chapter grant applications to the Board.
Although we are only required to meet once a year, I would like to explore the possibility of one or two meetings between MLA’s annual conference to discuss business issues that tie the chapters and MLA together such as dues collection and chapter grants while sharing ideas for membership, advocacy, and, increased participation at the regional and national level.
I’m looking forward to the rest of my term and am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve MLA—thank you!
Reflections from a First-Time Attendee
My name is Sarah Carter and I am a rising senior at Baldwin Wallace University. I’m wrapping up my dual degree in Music Composition and Arts Management with a minor in Public History, and am just starting the process of applying to MLIS programs. While I was introduced to MLA through Paul Cary, BW’s conservatory librarian, this is the first year I’ve really had a chance to start getting involved and attend an MLA Conference.
Truthfully, I hadn’t initially planned to attend the 2022 MLA Conference. When Salt Lake City was announced as the conference location, I had taken a look at flights before ultimately realizing that, due to cost and logistics, attending was not an option. And to be completely honest, I wasn’t even sure if I — an anxious undergraduate who decided to pursue music librarianship — would be welcomed. While I’d certainly been to conferences in the past, they’d all been oriented specifically towards undergraduate students. Even though I’d grown to love library science while working at BW’s Riemenschneider Bach Institute, I didn’t want to make a fool of myself at a conference full of career professionals. But two things changed my mind. The conference was announced as a virtual meeting, which removed all logistical challenges. Then, Paul suggested I should give it a try. Despite lingering concerns, I figured Professor Cary knew a lot more about the conference than I did, and if he thought it was a good idea, I could trust him.
When registering for the conference, I discovered the option to participate as a mentor or mentee. I felt really relieved to see a structure in place to welcome newcomers, so I eagerly filled out the form. Then, a week or so before the conference, I was connected with my mentor, Holling Smith-Borne. We held a Zoom chat before the conference, which gave me the opportunity to ask questions and gain insights into upcoming sessions. It was so wonderful to go into the conference knowing a friendly face!
The conference itself felt like a bit of a whirlwind. I attended the First Time Attendees reception, which provided a wonderful introduction to all things MLA. I found it really comforting to know that there was a space committed to welcoming new members to the conference and, as with the mentorship program, it truly helped make the entire event feel more accessible. Even though my class schedule prevented me from attending the Get Involved session, I’d already learned about opportunities to continue expanding my involvement with MLA over the course of the rest of my career. During the rest of the conference, I hopped in and out of all sessions I could manage between–or sometimes, even during–shh!–my classes.
One session I particularly enjoyed was the Community Choice session, which included two presentations: “Maybe You Should Talk to a Music Librarian: Insights for Music Librarians Supporting Music Therapy Programs” and “The Frontlog Quandary: A Case Study of DEI in the Cataloging Community.” Both of these sessions improved my professional knowledge. While I’ve gotten to know several music therapy students at Baldwin Wallace, their research needs have been a bit of a mystery. During “Maybe You Should Talk to a Music Librarian”, it was fascinating to hear the presenters describe special considerations when serving music therapy students. I really appreciated how Brendan Higgins, Jessica Abbazio, and Karen Berry took time to thoroughly introduce the Music Therapy field, its certification requirements, and the programs at each of their universities. Not only did this provide base knowledge for the entire audience, but it also revealed varying perspectives based on different institutional structures. I also thoroughly enjoyed Jeremiah Kamtman’s “The Frontlog Quandry” presentation. Holling had already introduced me to Jeremiah when I mentioned I’d be visiting Indiana University Bloomington over spring break — which coincided with the conference — to learn more about their MLS program. It was fascinating to learn how IU’s Frontlog operates and the issues that can present when trying to make newly-published works, especially those by BIPOC composers, more accessible. While the technical nature of the session meant some things went over my head, it was wonderful to dive in and be exposed to a lot of new cataloging terminology and concepts!
Another conference highlight was attending the MLStEP (Music Library Students & Emerging Professionals) Interest Group meeting. I actually tuned into the meeting from a hotel lobby in Bloomington, and it was wonderful to meet everyone. I even met a few folks from IU, whom I planned to meet in person later that week, and I look forward to staying involved in MLStEP as I enter into my graduate studies.
Ultimately, I loved attending my first MLA Conference! While there are definitely shortcomings to virtual conferences, it did make things a lot more accessible for me. Participating in the mentorship program and joining the First-Time Attendees session made conference attendance a lot less intimidating. It was wonderful to learn about so many different aspects of music librarianship, meet new faces, and discover new ways to get involved in MLA. I suspect this was the first of many more conferences to come!
Chapter Grant: Mountain-Plains
The Mountain-Plains chapter is pleased to share its recent award of an MLA chapter grant in the amount of $959.00. The grant will support the chapter’s goal to increase outreach and boost membership through activity of its recently reinstated membership committee. The Chapter currently represents thirteen states–Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming–and the Canadian province of Alberta.
In 2020, chapter chair Woody Colahan noted the lapse of MPMLA’s membership committee after reviewing the chapter constitution and bylaws. When he raised awareness during a virtual chapter gathering in May 2021, members enthusiastically agreed to re-start this committee. Chair-Elect Thomas Bell sent out a call and the response was quick. Laura Jacyna, Maria Souliotis, and Woody Colahan volunteered to serve, and the group began meeting and working together shortly thereafter.
The committee generated a list of over 200 colleges and universities in Mountain-Plains states that have music programs but are not part of MLA/MPMLA, or are lapsed members. Shortly after that we began researching contacts for each organization. Woody brought to our attention the possibility of applying for a grant to provide incentives for non-members or lapsed members to join our chapter. With support from the grant, we plan to offer a raffle. Each new member will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of A Basic Music Library. Each re-joining member will be entered to receive a gift card to the A-R (MLA) publications store. The raffle is scheduled to be held at the MPMLA 2023 meeting at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. Winners will be announced live at the meeting.
We are grateful and pleased to receive the chapter grant and the opportunity it presents. From our earliest conversations we were and remain determined to identify and discover ways we may be of service to institutions who may not have staff with specialized music knowledge or experience. Of course, we also relish the chance to add more voices, perspectives, and library communities to our chapter and sphere of influence.
Submitted by Thomas Bell (Kansas State University)
A conversation with Suzanne Moulton-Gertig
Adapted from an August 4, 2016, conversation between Ellwood ‘Woody’ Pitman Colahan (University of Denver) and Suzanne Moulton-Gertig (University of Denver, retired).
EPC: Thank you for taking the time today for this interview and for sharing your recollections of your lengthy career in music librarianship, and your involvement with the Mountain-Plains Chapter of the Music Library Association. I thought, to start, I would ask you to tell us where and when you were born, and details about your education.
SMG: I was born in the middle of the last century in 1950 in Exeter, New Hampshire. Through circumstances including the Vietnam War, an early marriage, and the necessity of moving around with my first husband for his graduate education and teaching positions, I claim three schools contributing to my undergraduate education: the University of New Hampshire, East Carolina University, and James Madison University. Later on, I received two master’s degrees from Kent State University in Library Science and Musicology. My PhD in musicology from [University of Colorado] Boulder was finished much later while working and teaching full time here at [Denver University].
EPC: So, I was going to ask you to describe the trajectory of your career as a librarian, starting out with, what was your inspiration for choosing librarianship as a career?
SMG: I wanted to eat.
EPC: I’ve heard there are better ways to eat.
SMG: Yes, there were, but this was very dependable and legal. When my first marriage ended, upon my acceptance to the musicology program at Kent State, the organ professor at JMU bet me ten dollars to enroll additionally in library school and graduate. I accepted his bet. I’m not a lucky person; I lost. I actually graduated from the library program with a 4.0. Shocking! Lucky me; I got to write two master’s theses – in musicology and library science – on a MANUAL TYPEWRITER.
EPC: Did you pay him the ten dollars?
SMG: Yes! Of course, I did! Actually, I gave him a piano, too.
EPC: Can you describe for us the professional training that you underwent in your library training?
SMG: I was truly fortunate at Kent State — for, along with the regular library courses one always has to take — Kent brought in specialists from the field to teach area concentration courses. The first course I took was music reference. Unfortunately, it was on Saturday morning, 9 to 12. The fortunate part was the instructor: the head of the Oberlin Music Library, John Druesedow, who authored a great early book, the Library Research Guide to Music. In the summers, Kent hired Ben Ludden from Juilliard to teach a course in music librarianship. The course was less philosophical and more practical: how to survive with administration, how to run a music library, and how to answer dumb questions gracefully without hurting patrons’ or colleagues’ feelings, and basically how to keep house. It is critical to note that at this time we [were] without computers; we [were] still typing everything. We truly [were] still typing, and keeping card files, and all sorts of manual endeavors. This course addressed the everyday – in the trenches – how to make it happen – experience. Ben Ludden had quite a sense of humor; he was an older man and bore the silly, stupid, immature things that we did with grace, even accompanying us at the end of the course to a bar, having drinks, and playing Space Invaders with us.
EPC: So, after you finished those two master’s degrees, what are some of the milestones of your professional career?
SMG: In 1982, after I finished both degrees, I got a job in Fitchburg, Massachusetts for one year where I became the music librarian and grant writer for a performing arts series at Fitchburg Public Library. While I enjoyed working on the series, I was an abysmal general reference librarian. I had no patience with the patron who brought in four frozen deer feet and wanted a book on taxidermy, or the woman who demanded that I tell her how many miles Jesus walked. The head of the music department at [the University of Connecticut] walked into that library one day and talked me into his doctoral musicology program, although I suspect that he was more interested in my harp playing for their performing ensembles. After two years at UCONN, two of my three PhD committee members left, and I saw the advertised position at Denver University in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Marie (d. 2021) and Karl Kroeger, who had been asked by DU to screen the applications, picked my application out of the pile. The rest is history.
EPC: And your PhD?
SMG: I gave a paper at a regional [American Musicological Society] meeting my first year and was approached afterward by Bill Kearns from the musicology department at UC Boulder about finishing my PhD with them. It was a lengthy process: I worked full time, married again and inherited a twelve-year-old, picked up the university harp studio along with a couple musicology classes and graduate studies, and played in regional orchestras. Things just got in the way. Nevertheless, I did finally finish it. At DU, along with forging a professional career, I had the opportunity to open two new music libraries. Lamont School of Music moved twice: first in 1985 across town to a separate campus which also housed the law school, then back to a 72-million-dollar new building on main campus in 2002. I believe I learned more than I ever wanted about being patient collaborating with architects, music colleagues, the Provost’s Office, and library and music administrations doing those two projects. During that first year, I spent my initial two months just moving the entire music collection across the city to that first new Lamont School of Music library for a September 1985 opening. Actually, it really took me four months to get the collection in order after the move, the CARL library system terminals up and functioning, and staff hired and trained.
EPC: What do you remember about earlier days of MPMLA?
SMG: Frankly, what I was told over the years. Karl Kroeger at UC Boulder told me that his predecessor Arne Arneson and Jim Wright from University of New Mexico were early organizers back in 1978, but Karl would have the last word on that. The chapter was very established by the time I came to DU in July of 1985. It wasn’t until 1987 that I became even minimally involved in MPMLA.
EPC: So, were Karl Kroeger and Marie Kroeger instrumental in that?
SMG: Yes, they attempted to get me involved right away. In fact, Marie, who actually preceded me in the music library position (but elected to remain at the main library in the reference department), impressed upon me that professional involvement was critical for my academic promotion at DU. The librarians had recently been granted faculty status with all the responsibilities that went with that change in status. Regardless of my involvement with the American Musicological Society (AMS) and the American Harp Society (AHS), I needed the MLA/MPMLA component in my profile more prominently for promotion. MPMLA entered my life when I was talked into hosting the 1987 AMS Rocky Mountain Chapter meeting at DU in a last-minute change of venue. The Kroegers said, “While you’re at it, why don’t you host the MPMLA meeting, too?” I’d been a little hesitant to get into MPMLA. I’d gone to a couple of the national MLA meetings with Dorothy Bognar (UCONN), but I hadn’t really connected with the Mountain Plains Chapter. Marie was adamant: “Oh good. You’re going to be on the Local Arrangements Committee for this meeting because you’re doing the AMS meeting by yourself. I know so-and-so’s name is also on it, but I know you’re doing AMS by yourself. All we need you to do for MPMLA is get the equipment, get the room in Lamont, make food arrangements, and get the hotels, just as you have for AMS-RMC. We will take care of the program itself.” That was my actual introduction to MPMLA. The one early MPMLA experience I regret missing, however, was what became known as the Minneapolis Death March in February of 1988.
EPC: I’ve never heard of the Minneapolis Death March.
SMG: MPMLA has always had this tradition of going to dinner during the national MLA meetings. In fact, I think the other chapters adopted this activity from us. We actually had people from other chapters ask to join us back then.
EPC: But this is something that MPMLA does every year, so it was happening even back then?
SMG: Yes. It was about twenty-seven below-zero that evening in Minneapolis. Since I really didn’t know them very well, I didn’t go. I saw them all gathering, and I thought, “Have I made a mistake here? Should I be joining them?” Too late; they all marched out. In MPMLA practice, one member is tasked to find the restaurant every year. Dorman Smith (d. 2004), who was head of the music library at University of Arizona, was in charge. I heard from Janet Bradford, Laurie Eagleson, and Charles Smith at the next chapter meeting in Albuquerque that Dorman claimed, “I’ve found this great place, the Rheinhaus, and it’s only a couple of blocks away.” Well, a half an hour later, they still hadn’t found the place and they were freezing at twenty-seven below. We also refer to it now as Dorman’s Death March. Save the hosting at DU in 1987, my first real MPMLA meeting was Albuquerque 1989 with Jim Wright hosting and the performance of our first MPMLA musical commission.
EPC: I’ve heard about a tradition that used to take place at annual meetings of commissions. In fact, I found a few of those commissions listed in WorldCat, one by you.
SMG: Well, it is reported to have started with drinking. Karl Kroeger composed the first one, Prosit!: For Eight Wineglasses, Fantasy on a Theme of P.D.Q. Bach.
EPC: That was the one that ended with wineglasses.
SMG: Karl is a composer as well as a music librarian. At the concluding dinner the previous year, people were playing with their wine glass rims, so Karl was asked to write a piece with that feature. Everyone took up a collection, that was really the change after the dinner bill and tip was paid: about 79 cents. Karl composed one cent per measure, and we gave the première in the lounge of the Hotel Posada in Albuquerque. At the conclusion, the wine glasses were to be thrown into the fireplace. Unbelievably, we were granted permission to do this. Unfortunately, there was some wine left in a few of the glasses and it spoiled the new paint job on the inside of the fireplace. As a result, we were banned for life from the hotel. On the last day, Jim Wright took us up in the Sandia Peak Tramway that goes up the mountain near Albuquerque. There’s a bar at the top and we toasted the successful meeting by drinking margaritas at 10,378 feet.
EPC: Every year, the MPMLA members give almost two days’ worth of papers at their annual meetings. That sounds like AMS meetings.
SMG: By the time I hosted that meeting at DU in 1987, it was already an established practice. When I think of those earlier years I was in the chapter, members like Mark Faw (University of Oklahoma) come to mind. Mark used to present great long exposés about food, poetry, or some unexpected topic he developed from operatic literature like “Food and Wine in Verdi Operas” or “Japanese Musical Sources in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly”. The program committee finally scheduled him last, because then we could honestly say, “You know, Mark, we all have to catch a plane.” Of course, there were many music library-related topics, but we never limited our papers solely to music librarianship. At some juncture, we thought it would be interesting if the national MLA meeting had a session where multiple chapter papers would be presented. Thus, the MLA Best of Chapter “competition,” if you will, was started.
EPC: Do you remember any names that stand out as people you worked with in the course of your involvement in MPMLA?
SMG: Well, I’ve talked about some of these early people and, by the time I became very active, I worked with Bob Follet who was at [Arizona State University]; Steve Luttmann at Greeley [Colorado], Cheryl Taranto at [University of Nevada-Las Vegas], and Laurie Eagleson [University of Arizona], who was our faithful Chapter Historian. I hasten to mention the music librarians and staff at [Brigham Young University]. You could not find people who are more driven to make things work, who give up their time and resources to the chapter. Janet Bradford, David Day, Irene Halliday, Myrna Layton, and others there at BYU. Just before I retired, Myrna took over the chapter newsletter, Conventional Title, from me. We had music librarians from large public libraries, as well, like Carolyn Dow at [Lincoln City Libraries] whom everyone in MLA knows and Carol Neighbor at Wichita Public. In the early years, of course, were my mentors and friends, Karl and Marie Kroeger, who kicked me along down the academic road. Karl was even on my PhD written and orals committee.
EPC: Thinking back on your years of involvement in MPMLA, have you held positions in the organization?
SMG: I have: Chair, Vice Chair, Member-at-Large, Newsletter Editor, and Program/Meeting Chair. I believe the only positions I never filled were Secretary, Treasurer, and Chapter Historian.
EPC: So, you’ve been Chair.
SMG: Yes, I was. In fact, I was Chair more than my intended term. I followed Bob Follet in that position. Bob was chair, and a wonderful fellow whom we lost, Gary Mayhood (d. 2010), was Vice Chair/Chair Elect. Gary developed kidney disease and needed a transplant. Actually, some of us tried to find if our blood types were compatible, for we loved Gary and knew we had healthy kidneys to spare. Gary’s blood type was rare and none of us were a match. He did get a donor, but then succumbed to a heart attack and couple years later. During the time Gary Mayhood was supposed to be Chair, Bob Follet ended up doing Gary’s two years. After that, being Vice Chair/Chair Elect, I did my two-year term, and was to be followed by Janet Bradford. Suddenly, Janet Bradford became extremely ill, and I stayed on and did one-and-a-half years of her term until she was well again.
EPC: How about your involvement with MLA on the national level?
SMG: In 2002, MPMLA was responsible for Local Arrangements for the national meeting in Las Vegas. Cheryl Tarranto, Bob Follet, and I shared the chairing responsibility. Being so spread out geographically, Bob and I had to fly to Vegas twice for on-site planning. With very few exceptions, the MPMLA members dug in and really helped the three of us with this challenge. Carolyn Dow managed all the registration for the meeting offsite at Lincoln on her own. I will always be thankful to the librarians and their staff members from the BYU music library, particularly, for they showed up FIVE days before the start of the meeting to help assemble packets, move equipment, and do anything that was needed. With regard to the national MLA, I was on various committees for publication awards. I was head of Best of Chapter Award for a couple years. Afterward, I served on the Epstein Committee as both a member and chair. Following that, I went to the MLA Publications Award for three years, being on that committee and becoming chair. In 2007, I was approached to serve on the program committee for the 2008 national meeting in Newport and became program chair for the 2009 national meeting in Chicago. This was before AR-Editions took over the lion’s share of responsibility, so all the logistical nightmares of rooms, equipment, committee and session meetings, personnel conflicts, MLA Jazz Band rehearsal space, and pulling together the program itself became my special obsession for a year, much to the consternation of my library dean. Looking back on my experience, even though I didn’t do a lot on the national level while I was there, I was proud to be a part of the organization. Nonetheless, I value my time on the chapter level the most. It’s similar to my philosophy on life; everything is local. Despite MPMLA’s being the most “geographically gifted” chapter of MLA, it will always be local and family-like to me.
Suzanne retired from the University of Denver in 2014. Along with her work in MLA and MPMLA, she held chapter chair positions in AMS, served on the board of the American Harp Society, edited The American Harp Journal, edited other publications in musicology and Egyptology, and authored numerous articles, encyclopedia entries, and reviews.
Readers may enjoy perusing the January 1983 edition of MPMLA’s ‘conventional title‘ newsletter, which references names and places described in Suzanne’s interview.
Did You Know?…
… “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” was Nat King Cole’s last top-10 hit?
While not reaching the same prominence as perennial favorite “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”, the song rose to #6 on the charts when released in summer 1963 on an album of the same name, which included other breezy favorites such as “In the Good Old Summertime” and “On a Bicycle Built for Two”. Yet, it was “That Sunday, That Summer” that’s been called the highlight of the album, and a highlight of Cole’s career. In the words of James Ritz, this was the kind of song he’d been born to sing and was ‘worth the price of the whole album.’
Source: Ritz, James. Liner notes for Nat King Cole, Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer. Recorded 1963. Reissue of Capitol ST-1932, 2007.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
Service Spotlight
Dear MLA readers,
I’m long overdue for a column from the President, and so I write to share news about the board’s recent activities. Before I launch into that let me express what an honor it is to serve as MLA President. Our board and membership continually impress me with your talent, wisdom, and service.
Conference planning:
At the May/June board of directors budget meetings the finance committee recommended (and the board agreed) to keep membership dues stable for FY23 and to increase streaming rates for the convention budget (the convention is in hybrid mode for 2023, Saint Louis). As you’ll read in the minutes (see rates, page 13: ), the hybrid convention model is significantly more expensive than either solely in person or fully virtual, particularly due to streaming technology costs. The Finance Committee and board agreed that keeping the in-person registration rates stable and increasing the virtual registration rates will help offset the costs of the conference. Tables reflecting precise changes are published in the minutes, and you’ll find links to those above and here: https://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/page/Boardminutes.
The board, in consultation with our program chair for MLA/TLA 2023 (Rachel Smiley) and our convention managers (Andrew Justice and Sylvia Yang) voted to approve the following conference lineup through 2026 (alternating virtual and hybrid):
2023: Saint Louis, MO – Hybrid (MLA/TLA)
2024: Cincinnati, OH – Hybrid
2025: Fully Virtual
2026: Salt Lake City, UT – Hybrid
In summary, we made a deliberate move toward alternating hybrid and virtual in response to both the need to control costs (virtual years allow us to recoup expenses from hosting hybrid, which is more expensive) and to the post-conference survey results, wherein members endorsed our shared values of inclusivity and equity. Virtual components allow us to include our members who can’t travel for a variety of reasons including lack of institutional support. Finally, the board also voted to support a pilot institutional group registration (details in progress), in response to feedback from members. Other initiatives are in the works, in response to focus group feedback during the strategic planning process (but too early yet to report – watch this space).
Student member rights and privileges:
The May/June board meetings were eventful. Many of you may recall that in March at the conference business meeting, we discussed the desire many members have for students to have voting privileges in MLA (new business). At the spring meeting the board voted in support of student members being able to vote and hold elected office. Because this required a constitution/bylaws amendment, a ballot was sent to the entire membership in September. MLA members voted IN FAVOR of the proposal to grant voting benefits to student members, IN FAVOR of the proposal to grant eligibility to student members to run for and hold office, and IN FAVOR of the proposal to establish the Student/Early-Career Representative position as an elected, voting board member with a two-year term in the MLA Constitution and Bylaws.
The Committee Recruitment Task Force, chaired by Erin Conor, has recommended a new appointments procedure that (in accordance with our strategic goals) increases transparency, equity, and inclusivity. A new committee management team shall be formed via open call and will feature a common application, and measures to improve equity of representation. Timelines and details are yet to be worked out if we are to implement this effectively and so I ask for your patience as we roll this out. Committee chairs should rest assured that you’ll still have ample input into the recruitment process. A charge will likely be approved in the fall, and membership call to follow. Thank you to Erin and her team: Mary Huismann, Kristine Nelsen, Mallory Sajewski, Zachary Tumlin, and Kristin Wolski.
Publicity and Outreach Officer: After extended recruitment challenges, the board came to the decision to redistribute the work of this position between the newsletter editor (the social media posts), the Membership Committee, and the board (for handling conference exhibits and music librarianship presentations to library school programs).
Strategic Planning: MLA now has an inspiring 2022-2030 strategic plan thanks to Holling Smith-Borne and his fearless task force: https://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/page/Stratplanlanding. All of our work seeks to foster the overarching goals in support of our mission and values: organize strategically, develop and maintain membership, foster inclusivity, and strengthen communications. The board planning officers (Scott Stone and Sonia Archer-Capuzzo) are working to coordinate regular action plans for implementation throughout the association (with regular reporting on a bi-annual basis).
Coming soon:
In closing, a teaser or few: look for forthcoming news about our second climate survey cycle soon. In late July an MLA cohort attended IAML in beautiful Prague and I do hope you’ll contribute a newsletter report if you attended. IAML-US is actively working with the IAML board on the best way to support colleagues in Ukrainian libraries. Many thanks to those of you who are working on your own initiatives (and do get in touch with the board if we can be of service).
And speaking of IAML, please consider joining us for a ‘meet the board’ event October 18. The event will have two focal points (with room for additional topics): the vitality of IAML’s
national branches, and the structure of IAML’s future congresses. The meeting will be scheduled twice during the day to facilitate for members from different time zones to participate.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArcOurrzMjE9MDUvJhXp0qn0q_cGytPgBB
Thank you all for everything you do to make MLA a wonderful community of music library stewards.
Sincerely,
Liza Vick, President