NMRT Executive Board Meeting @ Annual


by Stacy Brown

The New Members Round Table (NMRT) Executive Board Meeting began with heavy eyelids as people were still reveling in the fun from the 3M/NMRT Social from the previous evening.  With coffee in hand, the board members hit the ground running with many important topics to discuss.  Highlights from the meeting reflect a busy year ahead for NMRT.

NMRT President, Nanette Donohue, opened the meeting with a motion to continue sponsoring an emerging leader.  Board Members agreed that the continued sponsorship of an emerging leader would be beneficial to NMRT and that the chosen individual could be given an emerging leader project through NMRT.

NMRT’s Executive Board Liaison, Terri Kirk, provided an informative update on the different facets of the American Library Association.  A hot topic throughout ALA is virtual conference participation to allow more individuals to participate in annual conferences.  NMRT will further discuss this topic to formulate a position and take a formal stance on e-participation within the organization.  Terri Kirk announced that she will continue to be the liaison for NMRT, which is good news for NMRT.

Board members engaged in a lively discussion about the future format of the Footnotes publication.  It was agreed that the Scholarship, Research, and Writing Committee would be appointed the task of clarifying the intent of the publication, which will then help determine its future direction and focus.  They will review whether the publication should take on a more scholarly tone or if a separate one should be created for this purpose.  In addition, the publication’s distribution format will be taken into consideration.

Board members discussed the importance of having more revenue building activities in order for NMRT to continue thriving as such a strong group within ALA.  It was noted that membership renewals and reinstatements were up but that overall new membership is down.  Several ideas, such as offering NMRT t-shirts and a membership rate scale were discussed.  It was agreed that NMRT would consider a new position, Fundraising Coordinator, to explore various revenue-building options. 

Jim Rettig, ALA President-Elect, and John Chrastka, ALA Manager for Membership Development, joined the meeting to discuss the future of NMRT’s Resume Review Service.  Career development and continuing education are big issues for ALA members and they hope that the success achieved by the Resume Review Service can continue to grow in order to support the increased need for this service.  Exciting ideas and opportunities for the future of the Resume Review Service committee were discussed, as well as ways that NMRT can benefit from the Resume Review Service’s increasing popularity.  The committee will be looking to expand the number of resume reviewers, who must be highly qualified to fill this role, in order to support the growing demand.  More specific guidelines will be developed for further discussion at Mid-winter.  John Chrastka also noted that the Membership Pavilion looked great and thanked the board members for their assistance in making this booth a success. 

Board members expressed gratitude to those who entered the NMRT Logo Design competition.  In addition, a warm thank you was extended to Nanette Donohue for serving as President, and she thanked the board members for their continued service.  The board welcomed Laurel Bliss as the new President and Courtney Young as the Vice President/President-Elect.  Under their leadership, NMRT will continue to thrive in 2008-2009.