Greater New York Chapter Annual Report 2020

submitted by Gregory Sigman

Current Roster

  • Gregory Sigman, chair, 2022
  • Dustin Ludeman, vice-chair, 2021
  • Ethan D’Ver, secretary-treasurer, 2023
  • Barulich, Frances
  • Bristah, Pamela
  • Czeisel, Marianna
  • Flesch, Dylan Russell
  • Frank, Catherine
  • Heiba, Catherine
  • Henderson, Ruth
  • Iskenderian, Marguerite
  • Johnson, Bruce
  • Kosovsky, Robert
  • Lazar, Janet
  • Lehrman, Leonard J.
  • Littman, Rebecca
  • Lourdou, Dorothy
  • MacIntyre, Bruce C.
  • McGorray, Ian
  • Snyder, Matt
  • Stephens, Alicia
  • Stewart-Robertson, Owen
  • Sutherland, Robert
  • Underwood, Kent D.
  • Waterman, Alexander
  • White, Sara
  • Winner, Seth
  • Zwierski, Michele

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • Award $1000 travel for MLA Norfolk, 50/50 chapter and national funds
  • Fall chapter meeting in November, at the New School
  • Schedule a Spring meeting somewhere cool
  • Outreach to library schools in NYC, 
  • Elect a new secretary-treasurer
  • Travel Grants – goal area, membership
    • The chapter voted to fund an additional $1000 grant out of the chapter treasury, on top of the originally planned 50/50 grant of the chapter matching MLA’s $500 grant.
    • The grants were awarded to Alica Stephens, a 2019 graduate of Indiana University and first year music cataloger at the New York Public Library, and Alicia Hyman, then a Library and Information Science student at the Pratt Institute who had attended our fall chapter meeting as a result of our outreach efforts to area library schools.
  • The Fall 2019 chapter meeting was held at the Dorothy Hirshon Suite on the campus of The New School in Manhattan. Goal area, organizational excellence. In addition to the business meeting and open floor discussions:
    • Abby Sumner, a library science student at Queens College, presented her work with the archival collection of composer Leo Kraft.
    • Silvia Rocciolo, The New School’s art curator, led the membership on a tour of some of the school’s site specific art works, most notably the Orozco Room.
  • The Spring Chapter Meeting was held virtually, on May 1, 2020. Goal area, organizational excellence.
    • Ethan D’Ver was installed as the chapter’s new Secretary/Treasurer
    • Presentation by composer, performer, and Oyster Bay (Nassau County) Librarian Leonard Lehrman  on the “Victory Jive,” an early song by Leonard Bernstein
    • Ruthann McTyre led an MLA strategic planning focus group discussion
  • Outreach to library schools in NYC. Goal areas, value of the profession & membership
    • Information was distributed to area library schools, inviting students to attend the chapter meeting, and advertising the $1000 travel grant
    • …showed some dividends, see notes above re: Abby Sumner and Alicia Hyman.

List of Future Goals

  • Elect a new vice-chair
    • Dustin Ludeman’s term is up in 2021.
    • Nominations will be solicited, and an election held, with the winner to be installed at the spring 2021 chapter meeting.
  • Fall chapter meeting, virtual, via Zoom, presentations and times still need to be established for this Fund a number of grants for MLA membership and national conference attendance. Aimed at library school students, paraprofessionals, and early career professionals, we will again fund membership in MLA and conference registration for two persons.
  • Outreach to NYC area library schools, advertising the chapter meeting and the grants.
  • Conduct an assessment and inventory of chapter documents, develop a standard procedure for storing and preserving new chapter documents as they are produced.