First WLA Board Retreat (well, at least that we know of)

On January 11, the newly seated 2018 WLA board (Jean Anderson, Scott Vrieze, Jen Gerber, Desiree Bongers, Sherry Machones, Sue Abrahamson, Josh Hickman, Teresa Schmidt, Nyama Reed, Skip Mosshamer, Kris Turner, Jennifer Cook [in spirit] and me) met to spend time learning about board responsibilities from WLA Exec. Director Plumer Lovelace, brainstorming the real benefits of WLA membership and planning our work for the year around a major membership drive.

I wanted to share with you our first work so you could get as excited as we are about WLA, why we are passionate about it and why we think every library staffer and library advocate should be part of our vital association.

When we talked about the benefits of WLA membership, we felt that WLA helps you stay passionate about libraries in five active ways: Connect, Belong, Learn, Lead, Advocate. Here are our first rough notes to share with you.

CONNECT

You are

• connected to a profession, not just a job
• immersed in learning best practices from a diverse group
• at a nexis where issues, actions and ideas are shared by institutions and people

BELONG

You become

• part of a bigger community representing libraries of all types and sizes and library staff and supporters at all levels
• a member of a strong network of people passionate about libraries
• opportunity to contribute to the work of the association through volunteering and leadership and build your CV/resume

LEARN

You have access to

• annual spring and fall conferences, webinars and WLA-member led learning opportunities
• mentorship opportunities 
• information exchange and alerts through newsletters, blogs, social media
• opportunities to hone presentation skills and share expertise

LEAD

You can

• be a change agent on behalf of libraries in Wisconsin
• hone your leadership skills on committees, boards, as unit leaders and on state-wide library projects
• be part of formal leadership training at the annual Leadership Development Institute

ADVOCACY

You develop into

• a knowledgeable advocate in your community
• a strong advocate within your institution
• a skilled political advocate for libraries with elected officials
• a benefactor of the strong legislative agenda and efforts of WLA legislative efforts

Stay tuned for more info as our work goes on (with you helping!)

Marge Loch-Wouters, your WLA prez