On April 27, the ALAO board met at OhioNET. At this meeting, board members discussed

Katy Kelly, President

the following items:

• Meeting ALA Chapter Councilor Meg Delaney (Lucas County Public Library). Interest in a statewide ecosystem movement to share objectives across all libraries. Meg will be sharing ALA-related items to the ALAO listserv and newsletter.
• Approving a new interest group (IG) proposed by ALAO members Matt Benzing (Miami University) and Ian McCullough (University of Akron). The STEM Interest Group will provide a statewide forum for discussing topics of interest to librarians and library staff who support the STEM field – science, technology, engineering, and medicine/mathematics. This interest group was approved, becoming ALAO’s 11th IG.
• Appointing Kayla Harris (University of Dayton) to a term as procedures manual coordinator, effective in July.
• Celebrating incoming elected board members: Katy Mathuews (Ohio University) – Vice President/President-Elect; Angel Mootispaw (Southern State Community College) – Secretary; Melissa Bauer (Kent State University at Stark), Heidi Beke-Harrigan (OhioNET), and Ann Marie Smeraldi (Cleveland State University) – Board Members at Large.
• Reviewing a website task force report about improving the ALAO website and supporting the ongoing work required to sustain it. A motion to change the webmaster term from two years to three years was voted on and passed.
• Selecting a board member to host an informational ALAO table at MiALA’s conference. Conversations continue about a joint conference with MiALA, Michigan’s academic library organization.
• Limiting board roles to one per member in order to generate more involvement from the membership and avoid work overload. Verbiage was voted on and approved for the procedures manual.
• Changing the Support Staff Presenter Grant to a Support Staff Conference Grant, opening up the grant to more applicants. An online vote took place, and the changes were approved.
• Planning a free ALAO networking reception at ACRL 2019 in Cleveland for ALAO members. The reception will be 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at Zocalo Tequileria and will feature appetizers, a taco bar, and desserts. An online vote for a budget took place, and this event was approved.
• Approving funds to support scholarships for ACRL 2019 registration costs. ALAO will award up to five grants to ALAO members and up to two grants to ALAO student members. Grant applications will be accepted beginning in the fall and reviewed by the Professional Development Committee.
• Hosting a joint professional development event with Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA).
• Selecting Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center for the 2020 annual conference.

The next ALAO board meeting will take place at the board retreat on July 20, 2018, at OhioNET. At the board retreat, we transition from the 2017-18 board to the 2018-19 board.

-Katy Kelly, President, University of Dayton