Reference and Access Services Subcommittee Annual Report 2020

submitted by Kate Lambaria

Current Roster

  • Kate Lambaria, Chair (2023)

  • Matthew Vest (2021)

  • Taylor J. Greene (2022)

  • Kristina L. Shanton (2022)

  • Joe C. Clark (2023)

  • Donna Maher (2023)

  • Carol I. Lubkowski (2024)

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • Continue to offer responses to queries from the “Ask MLA” feature on the MLA website: Ongoing.
  • Complete work on the music reference services survey and disseminate findings at the MLA 2020 meeting and through other venues: Completed.
    • Early findings were presented during the session “The State of Music Reference” at MLA 2020 and a full report will appear in Notes in 2021.
  • Participate in the interactive session “Toward Mutual Enlightenment: An Information-Sharing Forum for Catalogers and Public Services Librarians” at the MLA 2020 meeting to identify new directions and projects for the subcommittee: Completed.

List of Future Goals

  • Continue to offer responses to queries from the “Ask MLA” feature on the MLA website: Goal Area: Organizational Excellence; Objective 2: Improve access to information by and about the Association to meet the needs of members and other interested parties.
  • Discuss, prioritize, and start new projects relating to updated subcommittee charge: Goal Area: Value of the Profession; Objective 1: Increase the visibility of MLA among library and music organizations, individual scholars, musicians and librarians.
    • Updated charge (changes in italics): “To investigate aspects of public services interactions, including the examination of past and present trends, and projection of future trends in public services. To explore the various divisions of music library public services, including reference, circulation, reserves, outreach, programs, special collections access, and interlibrary loan, and the intersections of these areas with other library activities and values, such as equity, diversity and inclusion.
    • Initial discussions began in 2020 but are on hold because of the pandemic’s impact on subcommittee members’ work and personal lives.
  • Propose or sponsor session/workshop for MLA 2022 that relates to changes in subcommittee charge: Goal Area: Value of the Profession; Objective 1: Increase the visibility of MLA among library and music organizations, individual scholars, musicians and librarians.