August 21, 2018

Dear NILRC Members,

Hello from the NILRC Board, and here’s to the start of another exciting academic year.
As Chair, I’m thrilled to share some of the exciting initiatives our board, committees, and working groups are tackling this year.

In the second year of our Strategic Plan, we’ll be continuing our work on professional development as well as benchmarks, best practices, and metrics, with a special focus on networking and collaboration.

To that end, we’ll be hosting a virtual Town Hall for all members on Thursday, November 8 at 11 am. We’ll share a full agenda soon, but I’m most looking forward to a discussion on staff programming and engagement.

Until then, please encourage all employees at your institution to engage with NILRC in whatever ways they can, whether it’s joining the NILRC listserv or NILRC Facebook Group, attending a webinar or in-person workshop, or volunteering on committees or working groups (send a note to Lisa Sikora if interested).

We are developing webinar topics applicable to staff at all levels. Please share your topic ideas on this listserv or on our Facebook Group.

Another great opportunity for staff to get involved in a leadership capacity is to serve as the Delegate for their institution. NILRC Delegates do not have to be the head of their library or learning resource center. Any employee from a member institution can (and does) serve. If you are interested, or know someone who would embrace this opportunity, contact Lisa for more information.

Finally, as we all continue to work with ever-tightening collection budgets, please reach out to Lisa if you are interested in subscribing to a new eresource or want to see if NILRC can negotiate a better deal on your behalf. There is no minimum institution involvement—Lisa will reach out to vendors on behalf of a single institution.

I hope to see many of you at NILRC’s Allerton Conference on Thursday, September 27 and Friday, September 28. Look for the registration link soon.

You’ll be hearing from me periodically throughout the year as we have news to report and share, but NILRC is only as good as its members—so let’s keep the conversation going. What are you struggling with? What are you proud of? We can’t wait to hear from you.

Thank you on behalf of the entire NILRC Board.

Regards,

Hilary Meyer
NILRC Chair