PHILADELPHIA REGIONAL CHAPTER
Mid-Year Report
The Philadelphia Chapter Board has met three times since the MLA Annual Meeting held in Philadelphia, PA, in May 2007. We had a Transitional Meeting of the incoming and outgoing boards on July 12, 2007. The following meetings took place on September 18th, and November 20th. Chapter assets as of November 20th, were $15,847.69.
The following represents the activities of the Chapter relative to the strategic plan and goals of MLA.
Goal 1: Recruitment, Membership and Leadership in the Profession
• The Chapter will initiate a membership drive in 2008, led by Membership Chair, Laura Koepfler. The plan is to implore each chapter member to recruit one new member in response to the decline in membership.
• Membership Chair, Laura Koepfler, has created an online membership renewal form using Acteva, the Chapter’s new online payment and registration system.
• In an effort to recruit future Chapter leaders, the Chapter Chair has posted messages on our website asking members to contact either myself or the Past-Chair, to volunteer to serve on the 2008-2009 Board of Directors. Our chapter has been challenged in finding leaders to fill the Chair-Elect position in particular. We hope that the posts on the website and the membership drive will have a positive result.
• The 2007-2008, Chair-Elect, PJ Grier resigned due to an unexpected increase in job responsibilities. He has been replaced by Etheldra Templeton, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Executive Director of Library and Educational Information Systems.
• The Chapter is participating in a joint project of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Mayor’s Office entitled “One Book, One Philadelphia”. The purpose of the program is to promote reading and literacy in the city of Philadelphia. The program is in its 6th year. This year’s selection is “What is the What, by David Eggers. The story chronicles the life of Valentino Achak Deng, of Sudan, who is one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”. The program runs from January-March.
• Chapter members, Anita Chiodo, and Katherine Fischer (student member) participated in Drexel University’s Dash for Democracy. The Dash for Democracy was held on November 3rd, and was a 5K run/walk, to support a charity selected by the team members. Drexel’s team, ‘Bookin’ It, supported Books Through Bars, a non-profit organization that provides reading materials to prison libraries across the country.
• In an effort to reach out to student members, the Chapter is working with the iSchool at Drexel University, to provide MLA literature in the Placement Office. Membership in MLA Phil is free to students. Additionally, we will again participate in the “Rush @Rush” event sponsored by the iSchool at Drexel University in conjunction with the Philadelphia Chapter of SLA. The “Rush @Rush” is a networking and recruitment opportunity for local library organizations.
Goal 2: Life-Long Learning
• The Chapter participated in the MLA Webcast, Scholarly Publishing and Open Access: Straight Talk, on November 20th. The On Demand broadcast will be made available for members who were not able to attend. The Chapter’s own Karen Albert, of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, was a panelist.
• Government Relations Chair, Maura Sostack, authored an article in the November 2007 issue of Information Today, on her experiences as a baby boomer learning the intricacies of the Web 2.0 software used by the Chapter for its new blog. The article features the Chapter Webmaster, Gary Kaplan, and Chapter member Anita Chiodo.
• Chapter member, Rebecca Landau, reviewed a workshop she attended on “Finding the Evidence: Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing” hosted by Health Sciences Library Association of New Jersey, and held at the New Jersey Hospital Association in Princeton, New Jersey. MLA members, Dolores Judkins and Patrice A. O’Donovan were the presenters.
• Continuing Education Chair, Lynne Joshi, will host the next MLA Webcast in March. Lynne and her team are also working on a spring CE program for the chapter.
Goal 3: Advocacy
• Government Relations Chair, Maura Sostack, regularly shares information related to government and library advocacy issues on both the chapter website and the listserv.
Goal 4: Creating and Communicating our Knowledge
• The Chapter’s new blog (http://www.mlaphil.org/wp) debuted in the fall using Web 2.0 technology. All Chapter information has been posted on the website including the chapter newsletter, the Chronicle.
• The blog is now used for program registrations, and membership renewals.
• The Chapter has nominated its new website for the MLA Chapter Project of the Year Award.
Goal 5: Building a Network of Partners
• As mentioned above, the Chapter collaborates with the iSchool @Drexel University, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Special Libraries Association for the recruitment of students to our respective organizations. Our focus is on students who are interested in Medical Librarianship. This annual event takes place at Drexel University.
• The Board has voted to participate in a joint chapters meeting with the NY/NJ MLA Chapter in 2009. We felt that this would be a good time to present a regional meeting because many of members will not be able to attend the 2009 Annual Meeting in Hawaii.
• Development Chair, Cynthia McClellan, has successfully secured donations from several vendors who do business in the Philadelphia Area. The sponsors are acknowledged on the chapter blog.
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