|
|
|
In this issue
|
President's Letter A key component of marketing is communication. This past year, the board worked very hard to improve communication channels. Thanks to our Web Manager, Andrew White, the chapter will soon have a new Web site with our own domain name: www.acrlnec.org. The site now includes links to interest group Web pages; the newsletter; the calendar; conference proceedings; and ACRL National news. I’d like to thank Andrew for all his efforts and Connecticut College for having been our host for the past two years. Thanks to publicity Co-Chairs Sarah Wenzel and Marilyn Steinberg, the chapter now has its own listserv. The list is designed to be a moderated forum for announcements and information of interest to academic librarians in the New England area. Instructions for subscribing are included in this issue of the newsletter. A second key component of marketing is the ability to help people understand the value of what you do. The chapter is approaching this mission from two angles—promoting the merits of both our profession and our professional organization. Membership Chair Laurie Sabol has increased membership by working with library school deans and library school student groups to promote the chapter’s services. She and other board members have also attended career days at the University of Rhode Island and Southern Connecticut State University library schools. At the ACRL National chapter meeting in New Orleans, chapter chairs from around the country discussed how they promote their chapters and the profession. National is particularly interested in how chapters can encourage undergraduates to consider academic librarianship as a profession. One suggestion was to hook up with local library school deans when they attend recruitment days at regional colleges and universities. Another was for individual librarians to work with their school’s career planning office by serving as an advisor to those students interested in librarianship as a career. The board would be interested in knowing what members think about these options. Does anyone currently work with their career planing office in this way? Would you be willing to? Would you consider going to a recruitment fair with a library school representative? As academic librarians, we know how critical our work is to the life of our institutions and the success of our students. Let’s share that knowledge with undergraduates and encourage bright young people to join us in our important mission. Please share your ideas and comments with me at lwalters@tufts.edu. |