Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Notes from the Spring 2011 Meeting

Many thanks to Richard, Jenny, James, Vandy, Sue A, Susan, Heather and Jerianne for joining me for dinner at Mimi's in Murfreesboro last week! We had a wide-ranging conversation, and I enjoyed it very much.

There aren't any official notes from the meeting, since it was a pretty informal setting. There were a couple ideas presented for the fall meeting - including a visit TTU's Learning Commons that is currently under construction. I also mentioned that I'd like to see the MSLA sponsoring some smaller get-togethers in various places around the Mid-State to make it a little easier for people who are located further from Nashville to benefit from the MSLA. If anyone has an interest in helping put one of these smaller events together, please let me know! It doesn't have to be anything fancy - dinner at a local restaurant, an afternoon out at a museum, or something else entirely!

Please be sure to join the MSLA list (using the box to the right) and hopefully, we'll have a vibrant email community as well. I'll continue to send news and announcements to the TLA-L so we can build our community that way too.

Respectfully submitted,
Courtney Fuson

Monday, March 21, 2011

MSLA Spring Meeting

The Mid-State Library Association will be holding their spring meeting in Murfreesboro, TN at Mimi's Cafe. We'll be meeting on Wednesday, March 23 at 7pm, so everyone in town for the TLA Conference can head on over! If you haven't already RSVP's please go to http://bit.ly/hJJ7Ta and let us know you're coming!

Again, that's Wednesday, March 23 at 7pm at Mimi's Cafe, near the convention center. Hope to see you there!

Even if you're not a member of MSLA, please feel free to join us!
Membership is only $5, and we're always happy to have more friendly
faces!

For more information about the MSLA, email midstatelib@gmail.com

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

MSLA Spring Meeting at TLA

The Mid-State Library Association would like to invite all librarians from the Middle Tennessee area to join us for dinner on Wednesday, March 23 at 7pm. The location is TBA, and if you would like to come, please be sure to RSVP by filling out this form: http://bit.ly/hJJ7Ta

This will be the Spring meeting of the Mid-State Library Association. Even if you're not a member of MSLA, please feel free to join us! Membership is only $5, and we're always happy to have more friendly faces!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Revised Minutes of October 16 meeting

Below are the minutes that will be up for approval at our next meeting in March.


Mid-State Library Association
Minutes from October 16, 2010
at University of the South, Sewanee


Present were Sara Copeland, Pat Thompson, Ann Manginelli, Regina Lee, Nancy Mielke, Jenny Stout, Susan Earl, Kevin Reynolds, Sue Alexander, Gayla Hall and Courtney Fuson.

Special guest: Jason Griffey

Courtney called the meeting to order and thanked Jason for coming to talk about technology and gadgets.  It was a very interesting discussion, with very engaging comments and questions from all present.  We learned about lots of interesting gadgets that have all kinds of uses.

There was no financial report because Susan LaFever was ill.

Regina Lee announced that TTU has graciously agreed to host the archive.  She is still working on making a list of things that might be missing.  If you have any items pertaining to the history of the MSLA, please let her know.  Regina will also look into the possibility of digitizing the archive.

The MSLA has a website at http://midstatelib.blogspot.com.  Courtney created it so that it would be easier to maintain and to pass maintenance from one person to the next.  There was some confusion about who the editor would be, so she will continue to update the site until the confusion can be cleared up.

Susan Earl moved to create a Google Group to function as a mailing list for the group.  Kevin seconded the motion.  The motion carried.  To sign up for the mailing list, visit http://groups.google.com/group/mid-state-library-association and follow the instructions found there.  Courtney will also try to email everyone who has paid dues with instructions.

Jenny Stout moved that the spring MSLA meeting will be held in conjunction with the TLA Annual Conference in Murfreesboro on March 24-25.  The motion was seconded by Kevin Reynolds and passed.  Courtney will work with the TLA Conference Committee to help ensure that the MSLA meeting is not in conflict with any major TLA events.  Possibilities for the meeting include breakfast, lunch or a gathering after the All-Conference Reception.  Any further suggestions are welcome.

Susan Earl suggested that the MSLA should have a presence at the TLA registration booth so that we can better publicize who we are and hopefully gain more members.  Susan and others also suggested that the MSLA advertise in Tennessee Libraries, the TLA newsletter and at the Tenn-Share DataFest and Fall Conference.  It was also recommended that the minutes be sent out the TLA list so that others can see that the MSLA is active and vibrant again.

There was discussion of what the MSLA is, and what we do.  It was suggested that the MSLA could also arrange weekday tours and discussions at the various mid-state libraries to talk about the services and features of those libraries.  The discussion of possible lunches or other post-meeting activities was also suggested by Sara Copeland.  Sara pointed out that it would be a good idea to have some kind of informal lunch plans arranged for after meetings, particularly if the attendees had traveled for an hour to attend the meeting.  This will be considered for the meetings following the spring meeting.

There was no other new business.

There was a motion to adjourn and the motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Courtney Fuson

Monday, October 25, 2010

Minutes from the October 16, 2010 meeting


Present were Sara Copeland, Pat Thompson, Ann M, Regina Lee, Nancy Mielke, Jenny Stout, Susan Earl, Kevin Reynolds, Sue Alexander, Gayla Hall and Courtney Fuson.

Special guest: Jason Griffey

Courtney called the meeting to order and thanked Jason for coming to talk about technology and gadgets.  It was a very interesting discussion, with very engaging comments and questions from all present.  We learned about lots of interesting gadgets that have all kinds of uses.

There was no financial report because Susan LaFever was ill.
Regina Lee announced that TTU has graciously agreed to host the archive.  She is still working on making a list of things that might be missing.  If you have any items pertaining to the history of the MSLA, please let her know.  Regina will also look into the possibility of digitizing the archive.

The MSLA has a website at http://midstatelib.blogspot.com.  Courtney created it so that it would be easier to maintain and to pass maintenance from one person to the next.  There was some confusion about who the editor would be, so she will continue to update the site until the confusion can be cleared up.

Susan Earl moved to create a Google Group to function as a mailing list for the group.  Kevin seconded the motion.  The motion carried.  To sign up for the mailing list, visit http://groups.google.com/group/mid-state-library-association and follow the instructions found there.  Courtney will also try to email everyone who has paid dues with instructions.

Jenny Stout moved that the spring MSLA meeting will be held in conjunction with the TLA Annual Conference in Murfreesboro on March 24-25.  The motion was seconded by Kevin Reynolds and passed.  Courtney will work with the TLA Conference Committee to help ensure that the MSLA meeting is not in conflict with any major TLA events.  Possibilities for the meeting include breakfast, lunch or a gathering after the All-Conference Reception.  Any further suggestions are welcome.

Susan Earl suggested that the MSLA should have a presence at the TLA registration booth so that we can better publicize who we are and hopefully gain more members.  Susan and others also suggested that the MSLA advertise in Tennessee Libraries, the TLA newsletter and at the Tenn-Share DataFest and Fall Conference.  It was also recommended that the minutes be sent out the the TLA list so that others can see that the MSLA is active and vibrant again.

There was discussion of what the MSLA is, and what we do.  It was suggested that the MSLA could also arrange weekday tours and discussions at the various mid-state libraries to talk about the services and features of those libraries.  The discussion of possible lunches or other post-meeting activities was also suggested by Sara Copeland.  Sara pointed out that it would be a good idea to have some kind of informal lunch plans arranged for after meetings, particularly if the attendees had traveled for an hour to attend the meeting.  This will be considered for the meetings following the spring meeting.

There was no other new business.

There was a motion to adjourn and the motion carried.

Monday, October 11, 2010

October 16 Meeting Details

The Mid-State Library Association will be meeting on Saturday, October 16 in the Torian Room of the Jessie Ball duPont Library on the beautiful Sewanee campus. Our guest speaker will be Jason Griffey (http://jasongriffey.net/)! We'll start at 10am CST, and I hope to see you there!

For driving directions, visit http://visit.sewanee.edu/here/drivin and click on "directions" on the map. Insert your starting point for driving directions to Sewanee.

Once on campus (on University Avenue), turn left onto Georgia Avenue (the only intersection in Sewanee with a true stop light). The library is on the right on Georgia Avenue with the parking lot just behind the building. There should be plenty of parking on a Saturday morning. If, for some reason, there is no parking, you can park in the cemetery, which is on the right on Georgia Avenue just past the library parking lot.
For further directions on finding the library, an online map of campus can be found here: http://www.sewanee.edu/map/ . The library is building #23 on the map.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Fall Meeting Details Announced!

The Mid-State Library Association will hold their Fall 2010 Meeting at 10am CST on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at the Jessie Ball duPont Library on the Sewanee campus.  (Click here for a Google map).  The speaker will be Jason Griffey, who will be talking about his latest book, an issue of Library Technology Reviews entitled Gadgets & Gizmos: Personal Electronics and the Library.


Please make plans to join us for a business meeting immediately following Jason's talk.  Light refreshments will be provided.


For more information about the MSLA and how to join, please see the Mission and Facts page of this site.


Many thanks to Kevin Reynolds and the Jessie Ball duPont Library for graciously agreeing to host us this time.  If your library would like to host a meeting, please contact the chair at midstatelib@gmail.com