Name: Kate Kosturski
Job Title: Outreach Coordinator, Southern United States
Institution: JSTOR
NMRT Board Position/Title: President
What role does your Board Position serve in NMRT? I think that’s an easy one based on the title – I’m the woman in charge of NMRT! If you want to break it down further, I am the public face of NMRT to the rest of ALA and the library community. Within NMRT, I oversee the great work that our committees and board members do to ensure that it meets our four NMRT goals:
- to structure formal opportunities for involvement and/or training for professional association committee experiences on the national, state and local levels;
- to provide a wide variety of programs to assist, encourage, and educate those new to the association and the profession;
- to offer a variety of leadership training and opportunities to help those approaching the end of their NMRT eligibility make the transition to future positions in the association and the profession;
- to develop and implement ongoing programs for library school students which encourage professional involvement and networking.
How long have you been an NMRT member? I joined ALA and NMRT in 2007, so it’s been almost 10 years! It was actually one of the first things I did after my first semester of library school was done (when I was sure I was sticking with this career path).
What’s your favorite thing about NMRT? I love our guarantee of committee placement. I’ve had many occasions of involvement with divisions where I filled out a committee form and then it went…nowhere. It took a lot of work and personal connections to get involved in some divisions, but some people may not have that temperament. NMRT provides a low-barrier to ALA involvement – we ensure you are on a committee in some form, regardless of your ALA and library experience.
What advice would you give to someone just joining NMRT this year? Get involved. And I am not just talking about joining committees when I say that (though that is very important as well). Your professional association is not just the people who are in the highest levels of leadership, or the paid staff – it is also the dues paying members. If you see/hear something you do not like that your association is doing, work to change it!
Also, don’t have qualms about contacting your leadership with questions or concerns – whether that is me as your roundtable president, ALA Council members, or the ALA President! We have our email addresses on the ALA website for a reason – to hear from you!
Favorite Genre: That’s like asking a parent to pick a favorite child! J Thanks to my boyfriend, I’ve had a greater appreciation of fantasy and science fiction over the past few years. Jo Walton (My Real Children, Among Others) is one of my favorite authors, and I just finished Nisi Shawl’s Everfair, a great take on alternative history from the turn of the century/World War I. I’m also a BIG fan of the Outlander series thanks to the TV show, working on keeping pace with the TV show with my book reading (just finished the third book in the series, Voyager, which will be the focus of the third season due to debut next year). I also love comics and graphic novels – if you’re not reading Ms. Marvel, you should be!
Meet Your NMRT Board Member is a 2016-2017 series to help NMRT members get to know their board. If you have any questions about this series, please contact the NMRT Communications Committee Chair, Melanie Kowalski (melanie.t.kowalski@gmail.com).