New England Chapter Annual Report 2018

submitted by Jared Rex, Chair

Current Roster

2017–2018 Officers

  • Jared Rex, Chair
  • Marci Cohen, Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
  • Laura Stokes, Past Chair
  • Alan Karass, Secretary-Treasurer
  • Jonathan Manton, Member-at-Large
  • Memory Apata, Newsletter Editor
  • Sarah Hunter, Web Editor
  • Sofía Becerra-Licha, Archivist

2018–2019 Officers

  • Marci Cohen, Chair
  • Sarah Funke Donovan, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect
  • Jared Rex, Past Chair
  • Alan Karass, Secretary-Treasurer
  • Patricia Brennan, Member-at-Large
  • Memory Apata, Newsletter Editor
  • Lisa Wollenberg, Web Editor
  • Sofía Becerra-Licha, Archivist

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • The chapter held two meetings: in the fall at Yale (attendance: 51), and in the spring at NEC (attendance: 64). We also held a successful annual chapter dinner at the MLA meeting in Portland (attendance: 25).
  • In the spring of 2018, the NEMLA membership voted on two newly-open positions. The results of the election were:
    • Vice-Chair/Chair Elect: Sarah Funke Donovan

    • Member-at-Large: Patricia Brennan

  • The board is pursuing moving our chapter membership system to the integrated membership system run by MLA’s central offices. We plan to alter our dues structure and have drafted an amendment to our by laws to align our fiscal year with MLA’s for dues collection. If the amendment is approved at our business meeting in the Spring of 2019, we will make the switch for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2019. We have a communications plan in place, and we are investigating how to make the transition run smoothly.
  • NEMLA received a grant of $500 from the Music Library Association to help offset expenses associated with a library school student, recent graduate, or new professional residing in New England attending the 2018 MLA national annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. As announced at our fall 2017 meeting, the award went to Leo Martin, a new employee at New England Conservatory.
  • NEMLA received two chapter grants from the Music Library Association in 2018, both related to our joint fall meeting with NYSO and SQACBM. $350 will be used to offset our fixed costs for the meeting. $400 will be offered as travel grants for up to three recipients to attend the meeting. The deadline to apply is August 15, and we already have one applicant. The chapter has also committed to covering the registration costs for three attendees regardless of whether they also are awarded travel support.
  • The board voted to offer free meeting registration to NEMLA members who bring a first-time attendee to our meeting this fall to encourage outreach to interested parties unaware of our organization from current members. No one took advantage of this at the fall or spring meetings, and we are unlikely to continue this offer.
  • To make first-time attendees at our chapter meetings feel more welcome, all first-time attendees were assigned hosts among the chapter members to introduce them to people during the morning coffee/welcome period and include them in lunch plans. This has been very well received and will continue at next spring’s meeting.
  • The board sent a letter to Simmons College in Boston encouraging them to continue to offer a course in music librarianship. In response to the MLA Education Committee questionnaire for the library school directory, Simmons indicated they should not be included because they were unsure whether they would continue to offer the class on a regular basis. They have offered the course since 1986, and they are the only library school in New England that has offered a music librarianship course in recent memory.
  • The oral history committee conducted interviews with four members and ran an abridged transcript of the interview with Ned Quist in our newsletter upon his retirement from Brown University.
  • The board has been pursuing finding a new home for our archives, which are currently split between the Boston Public Library and the MLA archives.

List of Future Goals

  • The board will better document current and past chapter committee membership. To encourage greater involvement, we will offer a service similar to resume review for conference proposals for both our spring chapter meeting and for the MLA annual meeting. The board will find a new home for all our archives.
    • Goal Area: Organizational Excellence
  • The Oral History committee will focus on transcribing and disseminating interviews.
    • Goal Area: Value of the Profession
  • The board will send personalized welcome emails to new and returning lapsed members, not just automated receipts for payment of dues.
    • Goal area: Membership
  • Our joint fall meeting is planned for McGill University in November 2018. The MLA board will join us for their meeting. Our spring meeting is planned for Boston University in May or June 2019. The board will pursue educational outreach opportunities, particularly through state library organizations, to teach basic music librarianship skills to non-specialists. The board will pursue outreach opportunities with current library students at Simmons College. To facilitate establishing communities of interest to foster greater chapter involvement, we will launch a pilot task force on how can existing professionals help current students.
    • Goal area: Education
  • Pending a vote on a necessary by-law change, the chapter will transition to integrating our dues collection with MLA. The secretary/treasurer will investigate cheaper alternatives to Eventbrite for meeting registration.
    • Goal area: Technology