In Boston, at the 2013 Medical Library Association’s Annual Meeting I blogged as the Unofficial MLA Insider. In the past I noticed that both MLA new members as well as long time members aren’t always sure as to how things work. My posts were meant to shed some light on what happens at the meeting as well as within MLA.
MLA is a great group full of interesting and helpful librarians, and even though we aren’t the size of ALA, it is sometimes hard to know the structure, how things work, who does what, etc. within the organization. So I have decided to continue my unofficial MLA insider posts with an attempt at pulling back the curtain of the organization.
One note, much of the stuff I will be blogging about is available on the organization’s website, MLANet.org, and available to current members, but I think the best way to really understand is to also get involved. It is one thing to read and another to do.
I will still continue writing about other things on the blog, but I will throw in an unofficial insider post every once and a while.
If you didn’t read the MLA 2013 blog, here are links to my posts which will give you an idea of what I intend to write about.
- 2015 NPC Ideas Starts Now -What all happens when planning the annual meeting. Timelines, speakers, programs, selecting a theme, etc.
- What is the Leaders Tea and Who is a Leader? -It isn’t the medical version of Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers, it is a meeting on what you need to do now that you are chair of a Section, Committee, Task Force, etc.
- How Things Get Done in MLA – Basic background of how things happen within the MLA structure.
In the following weeks I plan to write a post about Sections, SIGs, Chapters and other entities within the larger MLA. My intention is to shed light on what is sometimes a very confusing area for members. I will be answering the often asked question, “What is a Section and how is it different than a SIG?”
What are some of the things you always wondered about MLA? Let me know and I will try and shed some light on it. I need your imput and questions to help make this unofficial insider series work
Something that I am always explaining to people is the process to get on the Nominating Committee. Once I explain, they understand, but there is a lot of confusion on this.