Onward/upward–one co-coordinator leaves, another steps up

As the time of the ARLIS/NA 2012 Conference in Toronto nears, that means (of course) that the time for a change of leadership in ArLiSNAP has arrived. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to help with this group over the past two years. I’m excited to remain a member, contribute my voice, and help ArLiSNAP work even harder for the people it represents.

The past year has seen ArLiSNAP made some important progress, though not all of it might have been immediately visible. At this time, we are currently waiting final approval from the president of ARLIS/NA to complete ArLiSNAP’s transition from Special Interest Group to official Section. This status will afford our membership a greater voice within the ARLIS/NA organization and further legitimize the importance of issues pertinent to students and young professionals within the community. 2009-2011 Co-Coordinator Bryan Loar was invaluable throughout this process, acting as liaison with ARLIS and shepherding our petition through lots of red tape. Our thanks to him for his continued dedication. In a similar vein, the ArLiSNAP website will soon be a part of the official ARLIS website. TEI and Chris Roper are currently working on this transfer of information now. Both of these measures will help magnify our group’s purpose a great deal.

Many discussions about how members can become more actively involved with ArLiSNAP also took place in the past year. A number of volunteer positions are in development. The coordinators of this group feel the most direct path to continued and increased success of ArLiSNAP lies in finding ways to reach out to more student organizations and regional ARLIS chapters, presenting more educational information and opportunities for students and young professionals, and connecting our members to the greater infrastructure of ARLIS. Opportunities for different liaison positions will be discussed at the ArLiSNAP meeting on Friday, March 30th at 4 p.m. Please make sure to be there so your voice can be heard.

With any transition, there are logistics to be minded. Statements of interest for the new co-moderator position are now being accepted. Submissions should be brief (a few sentences) and state some personal background info (school, work, passions) along with a bit of what you would bring to ArLiSNAP as a leader (ideas!). All those interested can simply post a comment on this blog entry! Comments on that entry will be open until midnight on Friday, April 6th. A poll will be created on April 7th and voting will be open for one week. The candidate with the most votes on April 13th will be named co-moderator for 2012-2014.

I very much wish that I could attend the conference this year but I know that Suzanne will do an excellent job leading the meeting. I really ask that you all be vocal, be creative, and don’t be afraid to take on new responsibilities (even though I know we’re all overworked and underpaid). The fuel of this group is volunteerism and foresight. I think that individually, we can all make a big difference for the entire group. Though I will no longer be coordinator, I will still contribute to this blog and to the development of ArLiSNAP’s future.

I hope to keep learning from all of you.

My thanks to everyone.

Rosemary K. J. Davis, MSLIS
ArLiSNAP Co-Coordinator, 2010-2012
Member-at-Large, ARLIS Communications and Publications Committee, 2012-2014