Chapter News: Midcontinental Chapter Connects Virtually
Submitted by Heather L. Brown, AHIP, Cochair, 2015 Annual Meeting, Midcontinental Chapter; edited by Jennifer K. Lloyd, AHIP
Editor’s Note: You may have seen in the August MLA News calendar of upcoming chapter meetings a notice about the Midcontinental Chapter’s virtual only meeting for 2015. Here is the full story!
On October 8 and 9, 2015, the Midcontinental Chapter of MLA (MCMLA) will embark on a trail not traveled by another chapter. It will host its annual meeting on the virtual plane, as opposed to somewhere in the Great Plains. The meeting will be completely virtual, with no hotel to secure, menus to choose, or hospitality to plan. The theme is “Virtual Connections: Wherever You Are—You’ll Be There!”
Discussions of a virtual meeting began in 2010 with a forum at the chapter’s annual meeting and a member survey conducted by a task force. The survey gauged the readiness of the membership for a virtual conference, as well as the potential for attendance. The meetings have traditionally rotated through the states in the region, but some states no longer had enough members to make planning a meeting feasible. Rotating locations often made attendance fluctuate to a level that would not support an annual meeting. These factors, as well as shrinking library travel budgets, prompted the discussion of alternative methods of meeting. The task force made the recommendation to the executive committee to go forward with planning a virtual meeting, and 2015 was later chosen as the year. Interested members formed a planning committee, with cochairs appointed in 2013. Traditional planning of selecting a date, establishing a schedule, and finding a keynote speaker then followed.
The meeting schedule mirrors the familiar, in-person meeting, with the exception of networking events. The keynote presentation will be given by Ivan Oransky, founder of Retraction Watch. Member-contributed content will include paper presentations, which are conducive to the online experience, and a lightning round, which replaces the traditional poster session. Updates consist of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region; the National Library of Medicine; and MLA, featuring MLA President Michelle Kraft, AHIP, and Executive Director Kevin Baliozian. What’s a meeting without vendors? Exhibits will be virtual, with vendors having five minutes to address the audience. Additionally, vendor slideshows will be viewable during breaks and will be available before and after the meeting. The business meeting will also take place, with voting occurring in the online platform. Lastly, all attendees will have the opportunity to receive continuing education credit.
Registration is open to both members and nonmembers of MCMLA. Early-bird registration is $125 for MCMLA members, $100 for emeritus and students, and $150 for nonmembers. Early-bird registration ends September 8. A group rate of $500 with unlimited attendees is also available. Registration rates were chosen based on the cost of the online hosted platform. The goal of the meeting is to break even. Potential attendees are reminded that the cost of registration is much lower than in-person meetings and that traditional expenses of travel, hotel, and food are not needed.
As for the social aspect of the meeting, groups are encouraged to gather and participate together. The virtual meeting will not fulfill the social and networking needs for everyone, but it will deliver similar content and fulfill the requirement of holding an annual meeting.
A task force has been established to evaluate the virtual meeting, the meeting rotation and locations, and meetings in general, as the chapter moves into this new age of annual meetings.
For more information about the meeting and its planning, visit mcmla.org/2015meeting.