Katy Kelly, President

On February 23, the ALAO board met at OhioNET. At this meeting, board members discussed the following items:

• Determining that the budget is in good shape even though annual conference attendance and exhibitor support was down.
• Approving a new interest group (IG) proposed by ALAO members Sara Klink (Stark State College) and Julie McDaniel (Sinclair Community College). The Community & Two-Year College Libraries Interest Group will enable librarians working with students pursuing two-year degrees or technical certificates to share experiences, expertise, and solutions. This interest group was approved, becoming ALAO’s 12th IG.
• Making appointments to the ALAO Board, effective in July. Meghan Frazer (OhioLINK) and Tina Beis (University of Dayton) will begin terms as webmasters. Anita Slack (Ashland University) and Katie Blocksidge (Ohio State University at Newark) will be reappointed to their current board positions of communications editor and ACRL liaison, respectively.
• Beginning discussions about the possibility of a joint conference with Michigan’s academic library organization, MiALA. A task force was formed.
• Limiting board roles to one per member in order to generate more involvement from the membership and avoid work overload. Verbiage is being drafted for the Procedures Manual.
• Planning for the next ALAO strategic plan. We will begin this process at the July board retreat and carry it forward over a 10-month period. The board will solicit membership involvement in strategic planning at the annual conference.
• Looking at how ALAO can best be represented at ACRL 2019 in Cleveland. Board members will be drafting a proposal for ACRL 2019 travel grants. We are also looking into planning an ALAO networking reception.
• Hosting a half-day workshop on “Speaking Up for Libraries,” covering how to effectively communicate the value of libraries to a variety of stakeholders. This aligns with ALAO’s strategic plan and ACRL’s objectives. Workshop and budget were approved. More information forthcoming.
• Selecting the National Legislative Day travel grant winner. Congratulations to Ginny Boehme at Miami University!
• Reviewing and updating the Diversity Scholarship funding process. Instead of scholarship funds going to the institution, they will go directly to the recipient. Verbiage is being drafted for the Procedures Manual.
• Removing the full-time student status as a requirement for free ALAO membership, making part-time MLIS/MSLIS students eligible. This motion passed. Another issue to consider at a later time is opening it to all degree-seeking students.
• The next ALAO board meeting is April 27, 2018, at OhioNET.

-Katy Kelly, President, University of Dayton