Web Committee Annual Report 2019

submitted by Kerry Masteller

Current Roster

  • Paul Cary (2020)
  • Vaughan Hennen (2021)
  • Stephen P. Henry (2021)
  • Jason Imbesi (2021)
  • Amy Jackson (2021)
  • Abbey E. Thompson (2021)
  • Raymond G. Heigemeir (2023)
  • Katie Buehner (ex-officio)
  • Janelle L. West (ex-officio)
  • A-R Editions (ex-officio)
  • Michelle K. Hahn (ex-officio, 2020)
  • Joshua A. Henry (ex-officio, 2022)
  • Tracey E. Rudnick (2022)

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  1. Maintain Website Content
    • The Committee continues to update basic content on the site at the request of board members and committee chairs.
    • Jason Imbesi continues to serve as liaison to Notes and E-Notes.
    • Ray Heigemeir will work with Joy Doan to ensure she has legacy MLA/ARL Diversity initiative content to enhance the Diversity Committee’s web
      presence.
    • As the MLA LibGuides subscription had only one user, we have cancelled the subscription
    • Sched replaced GuideBook as the platform for the St. Louis annual meeting schedule
  2. Subtitling of conference presentations: In progress
    • Collaborative subtitling of conference videos using Amara was not the success we had hoped; only a few Portland videos were captioned. As we continue to pursue greater accessibility for organization and conference content, we will need to task a committee member to guide volunteers working on St. Louis meeting videos.
  3. Social Media Outreach
    • After several years of maintaining MLA’s Twitter account, the committee passed responsibility for all social media channels to the Publicity and Outreach Officer. This change allows the organization to create a more unified social media presence in pursuit of its advocacy initiatives.
  4. Migration of MLA Website: In progress
    • Under the direction of the Web Manager, work in Basecamp is underway to prepare for and track the migration of MLA’s website from YourMembership to Wordpress. After test migrations of the CMC and MLSTEP websites and the Library School Directory, we are satisfied that Wordpress will be easier to use and to maintain.

List of Future Goals

  1. Complete Migration of MLA website to Wordpress: Technology; Organizational Excellence; Value of the Profession
    • Work on transfer of MLA’s site to Wordpress, directed by the Web Manager, began in early summer 2019. When completed, MLA’s website will be easier to maintain and more useful for organization members and others interested in the profession. The migration gives us an opportunity to think about how MLA highlights content of interest to the profession, such as Notes and other publications, and to further increase the visibility of MLA.
  2. Subtitling of Conference Presentations: Organizational Excellence; Technology
    • Making our conference presentations accessible furthers our core organizational values of access and inclusivity. After a semi-successful pilot of video captioning in 2018/19, we will need to refocus efforts on this project in 2019/20.