California Chapter Annual Report 2023

submitted by Casey Burgess

Current Roster

  • Rachel Smiley, Past Chair (2024)
  • Casey Burgess, Chair (2026)
  • Blair Whittington (2024)

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • 1. Membership: Increase outreach efforts to members from under represented groups. 
    • In preparation for our annual meetings, we have routinely reached out to student organizations from related fields in regional colleges and universities to make students aware of our organization and to let them know that membership for students is free for the California Chapter. Additionally, we’ve created a LinkedIn page to reach more students or potential members so they can have easier access to the organization.
    • We have held mentor/mentee sessions at our conference depending on the desire for such sessions.
  • 2. Organizational Excellence: Develop and sustain the necessary resources to ensure the vitality of the Association, its programs and services.
    • We have added wellness into our annual meetings and continue to have meet-ups virtually for the annual national conference. Additionally, we have discussed reintroducing social meet-ups to retain membership. Finally, we have saved money by continuing to host virtual meetings so the resources for the organization can be retained.
  • 3. Organizational Excellence. Objective 3: Pursue joint ventures with other organizations that offer financial as well as professional opportunities and advantages.
    • Conversations for joint meetings are ongoing with Pacific-Northwest Chapter
    • We’ve reached out to non-library individuals to participate in our annual conference and will continue to outreach to non-music librarianship organizations to offer presentation spots in our conferences.

List of Future Goals

  • 1. Improve regular communication with the membership (Goal 4)
    • The board intends on editing our bylaws to create an elected position for a social media and website manager whose job will be to communicate with the membership on a regular basis and post on our LinkedIn page to increase visibility for the organization. This will help us “Refine and improve intraorganizational and external communications.”
  • 2. Provide DEIA training, webinars, and workshops led by local groups virtually (Goal 3.2)
    • The board and programming committee will investigate local groups run by underprivileged peoples to provide training and awareness to antiracism, DEIA, and anti-bias training virtually, possibly as part of our annual meeting. This will help our Chapter contribute to a more equitable and inclusive environment for all members.
  • 3. Provide more networking opportunities for current and potential members (Goal 2.2 and 2.3)
    • In the Spring, the board will work to host 1-2 in-person social events for members to meet and network. Additionally, the board will reach out to local student organizations to encourage attendance from potential members. This will not only provide more opportunities for members to network, but also to retain contact with one another beyond the annual meeting.