The group met 4-6 times this reporting period.
Recent Activities
First Activity
Monthly emails to new members. Initially these emails were sent bi-monthly or quarterly. We decided as a group to
send monthly emails to a smaller list. We also separated the list to match the committee members to people who lived
in on near their state. The thought was that new members would be more likely to contact those who live in their
region.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Leadership, Organizational Excellence
Second Activity
Planned a virtual Happy Hour during ALA Annual. We used the new member survey to determine what break out
sessions to coordinate for the new members, what types of PLA trivia we should ask and professional development
discussions.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Leadership, Organizational Excellence
Third Activity
Advised PLA staff on the drip campaign for new members. We used the new member survey to determine if a
campaign giving small amounts of information over a period of time would build excitement in new members and
garner more participation/volunteerism.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Organizational Excellence
Fourth Activity
Advised PLA staff on the New Members' Survey. The survey helped the committee decide to have the virtual happy
hour and assisted with drip campaign ideas.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Organizational Excellence
Fifth Activity
Committee member represented PLA at the Small Oklahoma Libraries Round Table. She marketed the benefits of
joining PLA and being a member.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Advocacy and Awareness, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice
What will your group be working on for the next six months?
Continued monthly emails to new members.
In person events for PLA in March 2022 and ALA in June 2022.
Does the group have any policy recommendations, ideas with financial impact, or other items to bring to the PLA Board for discussion or action
Commit to regular new member events at conferences such as breakfasts, happy hours, gatherings at entertainment
venues. New and old members should be invited in order to facilitate networking.
Do you have any suggestions for future products or resources (excluding conference programs) to be developed based on your group’s work?
PLA logoed pens, pencils, bags, note pads to be used as giveaways or prizes.
Are there other PLA/ALA committees your group might collaborate with to benefit the work of all?
ALA New Members' Round Table
ALA New Member Committee
Have there been any issues related to meeting participation/attendance for any of the group’s members?
No
Is there anything PLA could have provided during this time that would have helped your group with its work?
We suggested being able to give out prizes, but were told that there wasn't a budget for that. It would be helpful if we had a budget to do this.
Submitted by Amiya Hutson & Kim DeNero-Ackroyd on 09/14/2021