NMRT Notes

From the First day to Everyday – finding and keeping your first library job and beyond

Not attending the ALA Annual Conference and/or need something fun to do? Create and submit a short 1-3 minute video for new librarians who cannot attend the 2011 ALA Conference at New Orleans!  Watch and vote for your fellow NMRTers’ videos! Spread the word to all librarians you know.

• Submission period: Sunday, May 1, 2011 – Monday May 30, 2011
• Submission instructions: 2011 NMRT Video Contest Website
  (You must be a current ALA-NMRT member to submit a video.)
• Voting period: Tuesday June 7, 2011 – Wednesday June 15, 2011
• Voting instructions: Give stars to the submissions
• Winner announcement: Saturday June 25th at the ALA Conference NMRT Student Reception and online at ALA Connect NMRT page
• Prize: Amazon gift card (1st place – $50, 2nd – $30, 3rd – $20)  for the 3 videos with the most votes.
• Video Topics:
  • Helpful information for the new librarians who are unable to attend the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.  Topic examples are:
    • Job searching tips for new librarians
    • How to survive your first year at your first professional job
    • Tips for professional development of the conference
    • How to use NMRT to get help with any of these above (ex. resume review service, mentoring program, conference scholarships, networking, and committees etc.).
  • Or other similar topics.

The NMRT video contest is organized by the 2010-2011 NMRT Annual Program Committee.  E-mail your questions regarding the video contest to nmrtvideo at gmail dot com.

NMRT Vice President/President-Elect Linda Crook announces the 2011 Election results for NMRT.

Congratulations to the candidates elected to the ALA New Member Round Table Board!

Janel White, VICE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT

Rebecca Kate Miller, SECRETARY

Susan L. Jennings, COUNCILOR

Megan Hodge, LEADERSHIP DIRECTOR

Coral Sheldon-Hess, MEMBER SERVICES DIRECTOR

Thank you to everyone who ran.  We appreciate your dedication and contributions to NMRT!

Thank you also to all the NMRT members for voting!

Complete ALA election results

The newly elected board members will join continuing board members serving two and three year terms. The complete NMRT Executive Board for 2011/2012, taking office at the end of the 2011 Annual Conference, is:

Linda Crook, President

Janel White, Vice-President/President-Elect

Deana Groves, Past President

Veronica L. C. Stevenson-Moudamane, Treasurer

Rebecca Kate Miller, Secretary

Julie Kane, Networking Director

Cory Lambert, Outreach Director

Megan Hodge, Leadership Director

Coral Sheldon-Hess, Member Services Director

Susan Jennings, Councilor

The incoming Fundraising Coordinator will be appointed shortly.

You can find out more about the duties and functions of the board members in the NMRT handbook.

Outgoing Board members, who will complete their term of service at the end of the 2011 Annual Conference, include:

Courtney Young, Past President

Jenny Emanuel, Councilor

Amy Harmon, Leadership Director

Emily Love, Member Services Director

Amanda Roberts, Fundraising Coordinator

Thank you so much for your service to NMRT!  The combined years you have contributed to NMRT is staggering. Thank you for all you have done.

Many of the outgoing Board members are continuing their service to ALA or NMRT in other capacities. Congratulations to Jenny Emanuel, newly elected Councilor-at-Large.

NMRT and the ALA’s Membership Committee wish to congratulate the American Library Association Student Chapter at Indiana University as the winner of the 2011 ALA Student Chapter of the Year Award. The runner-up of this year’s award is the ALA Student Chapter at San Jose State University.

The Student Chapter of the Year Award is presented in recognition of a chapter’s outstanding contributions to ALA, its school, and the profession. The purpose of the award is to increase student involvement in ALA through student chapters and to recognize its leaders. Official ALA Student Chapters are organizations formed by students at schools offering accredited programs of library and information studies. The winning student chapter receives a $1,000 travel grant to help with the cost of ALA conference attendance.

This year’s Student Chapter of the Year Award Committee praises Indiana ALA SC’s accomplishments in each of the seven categories related to the Student Chapter of the Year Award. The committee was impressed with the great turnouts to the chapter’s events, the impressive number of Emerging Leaders in the chapter, and a good mix of technologies used in communication, especially posting meeting videos to the Facebook page. The chapter leadership has also demonstrated strong continuing involvement with state and national organizations.

Pnina Shachaf, Associate Professor, Director MLS program and Co-Advisor to the Indiana University ALA student chapter, stated: “First, the membership increased this year because the ALA SC Officers invested efforts in recruiting new members at orientation, meet & greet activities and at each of their professional and social events. Second, the group provided on-going support for new members through a successful mentorship program; veteran students mentor incoming students. […] Third, the financial growth of the ALA SC this year is, in my opinion, indicative of a healthy and active student organization. Fourth, the use of Facebook, listservs, podcasts, and other media to share information and mobilize resources was phenomenal. Finally, the most impressive accomplishment of the group this year was an increase in number and range of professional and social activities; some involved students from our programs on Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. Student participation in these events reach record numbers!”

The runner-up of this year’s award, the ALA Student Chapter of San Jose State University, is recognized for the increase in attendance at their events, their outreach to students, especially as they are automatic members and it’s an online program. We also applaud the excellent use of the numerous communication methods.

The members of the SCOTYA Committee, NMRT and the ALA Membership Committee appreciate all the time and effort put in by all of the nominated ALA student chapters this year, and encourage all to keep up the great work!

Three library professionals —Natalie Traylor Clewell, West Georgia Technical College, Jessica Nadine Hernandez, U.S. FDA Biosciences Library and Julie N. Kane, Sweet Briar College Library in Virginia — have been named to receive the 2011 3M/NMRT Professional Development Grant at ALA Annual Conference to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The grant, sponsored by 3M Library Systems for 40 years, is awarded to librarians who have been working in the field for less than 10 years. The 3M/NMRT grant sponsors each recipient’s trip to the ALA Annual Conference by providing transportation, hotel accommodations, conference registration fees and daily expenses.

All national NMRT members are eligible to apply for the grant; the NMRT selection committee chooses the winners based on academic achievement, previous work experience, honors earned, library association activities and financial need.

Congratulations to the winners!

Eamon Tewell is the 2011 recipient of the New Members Round Table (NMRT) Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. This award, named in honor of the late NMRT President Shirley Olofson, is given annually to help defray the cost of attending the ALA Annual Conference.  Criteria for the award includes membership in ALA and NMRT, promise or activity in the area of professional development, and financial need.

Eamon Tewell is Senior Library Assistant at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA, where he provides reference, instruction, and outreach services.  He earned his MLIS from Drexel University and his BA from the University of Colorado at Denver.  Eamon has published and presented on the topics of emerging technologies and popular media, and is an active member of ALA, serving on committees in ACRL, RUSA, and NMRT. He is also active within the Art Libraries Society of North America and the Pennsylvania Library Association.

The committee would like to thank everyone who applied for this year’s Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. Further information about this award, including past recipients, is available at the NMRT awards page.

The Shirley Olofson Memorial Award Committee 2010-2011:

Marissa Ball, Chair
Sue Anderson
Natalie Clewell
Nicholas Pavlik
Maura Seale

The ALA New Members Round Table (NMRT) and the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund are pleased to announce that we will be collaborating to present a joint reception at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans!

We’ll be combining the NMRT Awards Reception and the Merritt Fund “Reception for a Cause” into one great event. This event will take place on Sunday, June 26, 7:30-10:00 p.m. at L’Entrepot Gallery, 527 Julia (in the Gallery District). Everyone is welcome to attend; refreshments will be provided.

NMRT will be honoring the NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award recipient, Eamon Tewell, and the 3M/NMRT Professional Development Grant recipients, Natalie Traylor Clewell, Jessica Nadine Hernandez, and Julie N. Kane. These awards provide financial assistance for ALA/NMRT members to attend the annual conference in order to encourage and support professional development and participation in ALA and NMRT activities.

The LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund was established in 1970 and is devoted to the support, maintenance, medical care, and welfare of librarians who, in the Trustees opinion, are denied employment rights or discriminated against or denied employment rights because of defense of intellectual freedom.

Marshall Cavendish has again generously donated tickets for NMRT members to attend the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Banquet. The dinner, to honor the winners of this year’s Newbery, Caldecott, and Wilder awards, will be held in New Orleans, LA. The evening’s program is sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children.

Any NMRT member who is not currently serving on the Marshall Cavendish Award Committee may enter. Just write a short essay (around 250 words) telling us why you want to attend the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Banquet and how you feel you would benefit.  Information about Newbery, Caldecott and Wilder honorees

Submit your information and essay on the NMRT Award page at  by Friday, May 21st. For more information, contact the award committee chair, Alexandra Tyle-Annen at atyle at homerlibrary dot org.

Please note: only NMRT members are eligible.

Applications due April 22.

Winners will be notified by May 12.