Submitted by Jacey Kepich (Case Western Reserve University) and Emma Clarkson (New York Public Library) During the 2024 MLA conference in Cincinnati, I had the delight of connecting with first-time attendee Emma Clarkson from the New York Public Library, thanks to the conference mentoring program organized by Joel Roberts (University of Memphis) and Nick Brown (Library of Congress). Emma and I wanted to share our perspectives and encourage others to consider participating at future meetings, particularly mentors. You – yes, you! – can be a conference mentor! The mentoring program is a great way to make connections and help first-time

One of MLA’s traditions is to share remembrances during annual conferences. During the 2024 business meeting, President Paula Hickner and MLA member Raymond White read remembrances for two members MLA lost in the past year: Gordon Theil and Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Auman. Their tributes appear below. Betty Auman (submitted by Raymond White)The Music Division of the Library of Congress regrets to report the passing of Elizabeth H. “Betty” Auman on August 6, 2023, at an assisted living facility in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, after a lengthy period of declining health. She was 80 years old. Betty Auman was born on January 28,

MLA Diversity ScholarshipThe MLA Diversity Scholarship Award, funded by the membership of MLA, offers candidates from under-represented groups the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in library and information science with financial support. This year two scholarships were awarded to Blair Black and Joseph Sioui. Lenore F. Coral IAML Travel GrantThe Lenore F. Coral IAML Travel Grant is intended to help support travel and conference fees to attend an annual meeting of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres. This year’s award goes to Dr. Andrea L. Beckendorf to support her attendance at the IAML 2024 Conference in

What do you like about being a member of the Music Library Association and/or a member of an MLA chapter? Let the world know by sending in a short video to the Membership Committee!  All current MLA members are welcome to send a video to us, regardless of affiliation or how long you’ve been a member. We will be accepting videos throughout 2024! Here’s how to do it: 1. Record a video of yourself, stating in 2 minutes or less what you like most about being an MLA member/MLA chapter member. You don’t need a fancy camera – your smartphone

Submitted by Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, Loyola University New Orleans Editor’s note: The following story was inspired by a collaboration to serve an under-resourced population, as shared to MLA-L earlier this year. When I arrived as a music and media cataloger at Loyola University New Orleans in the summer of 1990, one of my duties was to help catalog the library at the Work Training Facility South at Jackson Barracks, a nearby minimum security prison. Loyola had begun offering non-credit classes at Jackson on such topics as creative writing and street law through a program initiated by

The MLA Web Team is pleased to announce that the embargo period has ended for the session/presentation recordings from the March 2023 conference!  These videos are now accessible from MLA’s Vimeo account, in a separate showcase available here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/9945572 MLA has contracted with 3Play Media so that all conference session videos have professionally edited closed captions. Please note that Committee and Interest Group meetings are still only available for conference attendees and those who have received the link, and do not have professional captions.  For conference attendees, all videos are still accessible through Sched.

The Membership Committee has been hard at work this year. Their main project has been to create, administer, and analyze surveys of former and current members of MLA. We were able to gain insight into what members found valuable about their membership and what they would like MLA to provide. Based on information received from the survey results, we relayed pertinent suggestions to committee chairs and special officers, gave a presentation at the 2023 annual conference in St. Louis, and wrote up detailed board reports. Here are some of our recommendations: Also based on member input, the Membership Committee created

Jade Kastel was selected as the 2023 Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year by the Illinois Library Association (ILA). She is currently the Music Librarian, Assistant Professor, and Libraries Diversity Officer at Western Illinois University. Kastel is a member of the MLA Big Band, and is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in jazz performance with a minor in Queer Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Kastel has worked at academic libraries in Indiana and Florida, and prior to librarianship, she was a director of music, organist, and jazz saxophonist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kastel is an active commentator in the

Submitted by Michelle Hahn on behalf of the Music OCLC Users Group (MOUG) board MOUG has always been a part of the fabric of MLA. And Jay Weitz has been a part of MOUG for 90% of its existence. Joining OCLC in 1982, he has been responsible for an immeasurable improvement to the descriptions of music materials in WorldCat and, by the transitive property, all of our catalogs. Preceded as the official OCLC representative to MOUG in its first 10 years by Ron Gardner, Joan Schuitema, Glenn Patton, and Sharon Walbridge, Jay was named as our permanent liaison in 1989

As announced on March 4, 2023 during the business meeting of MLA’s annual conference, here are the recipients of travel, research, and publication awards given by the Music Library Association. MLA Diversity ScholarshipThe MLA Diversity Scholarship Award offers financial support to candidates from underrepresented groups who are pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science (MLIS). The recipients are Yee Wing Chan and Thi Lettner. https://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/page/DiversityScholarship Kevin Freeman Travel GrantThe Kevin Freeman Travel Grant supports travel and hotel expenses to attend the Music Library Association annual meeting. Recipients must be either a student, recent graduate, or a colleague new to