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)