The Bylaws, & Policies Committee work seemingly never ends, but it’s gratifying to assist in supporting the great work of our NDLA leadership and members. As a result of discussions at the October Executive Board meeting, we are preparing some Bylaws change proposals to be put before the membership vote.
Please make sure you keep your Active membership (defined in the Bylaws Article III, Section 1A) up-to-date and participate when the voting opens. There is a 30-day review period before voting occurs.
It’s important to hear from as many voices as possible for these important changes
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EDI (Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Committee has put together a list of openly or easily available resources to help the NDLA community develop understanding and empathy around equity, diversity, inclusion, and related topics. It is our hope that this list of resources can be a starting point in our collective journey toward equitable, diverse, and inclusive libraries. The list is available in our committee’s section of the NDLA website: https://ndla.info/EDI-Resource-List.
We intend this list to be updated regularly. To that end… Do you have personal or institutional lists of resources, or can you recommend individual resources? We’d love your input! Send resources to Amanda Walch, amanda.walch@uj.edu, or Karlene Clark, karlene.clark@und.edu. Resources can be in any format—books, articles, videos, websites, podcasts, webinars, etc.—but should be freely available or easily obtainable through library collections. We welcome resources about any aspect of EDI work or any expression of identity, and resources don’t have to be library-focused.
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The Good Stuff Editorial Committee has a committee chair stepping down. Interested in the position? Fill some not-so-big shoes and help an org out! Contact Kerriane Boetcher for more information.
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The Legislative Committee are still looking for more members for the Legislative Committee. "We especially need people that are interested in helping keep track of legislation during the ND legislative session, which starts in January." If you are interested, please contact Tressa Graves at tgraves@undeerc.org.
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The Membership Committeemet in October to discuss the plans for the coming year. "We plan to review the membership webpages on the NDLA website and the policy handbook. We have a couple of other ideas as well that we will develop over this year. Our next meeting will take place in February, so if you have a suggestion for our committee, please reach out to us."
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The New Members’ Committee will have a short virtual meeting on Monday, January 9, 2023, at 4pm to start planning our work for the year—watch the usual listservs for reminders and a Zoom link. Join us to meet new members and learn about the work of the committee! All are welcome to attend.
In the meantime… we'd love to hear from you!
- If you're new to NDLA, what questions do you have about the association? What kinds of programming or information would be most useful to you?
- If you're not so new to NDLA, what do you hope new members know about or get involved in? What do you wish you had known when you joined NDLA?
Send your thoughts to Amanda Walch, NMC Chair, at amanda.walch@uj.edu.
Be sure to check out the updated New Member Information Packet available on our section of the website. Even if you've been part of NDLA for a while, feel free to give it a read-through and remind yourself about the work of the association and all of its committees and sections.
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The Professional Development Committee is rounding out the year with the opening of our grant application period as well as several events (both past and upcoming!) focused on empowering library workers.
Past sessions:
- For October’s meeting we welcomed Gail Betz as our first speaker. Gail spoke about her research, which focuses on the experiences of people with disabilities navigating library hiring processes. We recorded Gail’s portion of the meeting, and this recording is available to view.
Next session: December 15, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. Central. Register for this session now! In the upcoming December meeting, we will really dig into Gail’s research. In order to fully participate in this meeting’s guided discussion, attendees are asked to read one or both of Gail’s articles prior to the meeting:
This meeting will not be recorded.
February Session
This session is still under development.
If you have any ideas for future session speakers, themes or topics, please reach out to the Professional Development Committee at professional.development@ndla.info
Grant applications now open! Apply now for a Professional Development grant! Applications are now open for several of the PD Committee’s grants:
NDLA Professional Development Grant: Apply here!
NDLA believes that furthering an individual's skills is beneficial to the North Dakota Library environment. Each year NDLA sets aside
general fund dollars for this purpose. The Professional Development grant may be used for college or university classroom work, independent study, workshops, conferences, or participation in any committee that may benefit the library community of North Dakota.
Mike Jaugstetter Memorial Leadership Grant:Apply here!
The Mike Jaugstetter Leadership Memorial Grant honors the superb leadership skills in librarianship which Mike Jaugstetter demonstrated while he was employed as the State Librarian of North Dakota. The grant money may be used for library leadership institutes or programs.
Rod Rudser Memorial Continuing Education Grant:Apply here!
Ron Rudser was a librarian and library science instructor at Minot State University at the time of his death in 1986. This memorial grant fund was initiated by his wife, Kaye. The Ron Rudser Memorial Continuing Education Grant may be used for credit courses, workshops, seminars or pre-conference programs that enhance the education of a practicing librarian in any type of library. Regular conference programs or conventions do not qualify.
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The Web Editor's Committee keeps busy with post-Annual Conference updates. Did you know that the annual reports of the outgoing Section and Committee chairs can now be found on their respective pages? It’s a way to see the work they are doing and hopefully an inspiration for you to see involved (you can even see our website committee annual report). This year we will work with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee on Website accessibility improvements