The group met 2-3 times this reporting period.
After reviewing the current PLA Strategic Plan, please tell us:
Describe the current work of this committee and how it supports our strategic goals. Include work accomplished, decisions made, and any recommended follow-up actions.
The membership advisory group continues to welcome new members with personal emails that highlight the upcoming professional development opportunities available through PLA. This spring we also piloted the Membership Monday series to improve member engagement opportunities in the off conference year. Topics included: mapping your PLA journey, presenting at conferences, volunteering, contributing to PLA content in print and online, becoming a PLA leader and more. To date these virtual engagements have seen 210 members in attendance which is definitely a success to build upon for the future. We were very pleased to hear that the Membership Mondays structure will be going forward with other groups within the PLA.
Do you see opportunities to better align committee work with those goals?
The Membership Advisory Group’s work is very much in line with PLA’s strategic goals.
What recommendations do you have for in-coming committee members? Are there particular streams of
work in progress to be carried over into the new committee year? (January–June reporting period only)
We have been successful at the past conferences with facilitating a variety of both informational and recreational member engagements in the Member Lounge so we think that is definitely worth continuing. Button making continues to be a hit along with informal meetups for connecting first timers with mentors and helping people find lunch buddies.
As stated above, the Membership Mondays virtual engagement pilot series showed that the members are interested in this type of content so I would encourage the group to plan another series when possible.
What specific activities will this committee undertake over the next six months to support that alignment? (July–December reporting period only)
Are there other PLA or ALA committees whose partnership and collaboration would accelerate meeting PLA strategic goals?
None that come to mind.
Is there anything else about your committee experience you’d like to share?
It’s been a pleasure serving on this committee for the past four years. I cannot speak highly enough of our staff liaison Samantha Lopez. She is incredibly easy to work with and always willing to do whatever is needed to further the goals of the group. I commend PLA for making this standing committee as a commitment to providing a voice / personal contact for new and existing members. – Meredith McCarthy
Submitted by Meredith McCarthy, Jennifer Baxter on 06/02/2025