March 2026 Meeting Minutes

Monday, March 23, 2026

2–3 PM, open meeting

Present: Catherine Johnson (President), Jennifer Martin (Secretary), Gaby Messinger (VP), Gary Marks (Chair of the ACRL Chapters Council), and 12-18 attendees

  1. Welcome Gary Marks, Chair, ACRL Chapters Council
    1. ACRL Chapters Council is a group of representatives from each of the 41 ACRL Chapters; Gary, as chair, is doing a listening tour of all the chapters. He met with us to discuss our challenges, organizational structure, and things we’re doing that we’re proud of, as well as answer our questions related to ACRL chapters.
  2. President’s updates
    1. Program planning update & save the date – June 3, 9pm-1pm (or later if you want to do the dine-around lunch), at the public library branch in the mall in Annapolis – Beyond Colleagues and Coworkers: Creating Sustainable Communities for Library Workers
      1. Description: No matter where we are in our career we still need guidance, support, and belonging. What better organization to facilitate that than ACRL-MD?! This half-day workshop will provide you with the space and tools to foster community that is sustainable, equitable, and inclusive for library workers in their early, mid, or late career. This program aims to energize and foster community and relationships among academic library workers in Maryland. If you’re interested in building a supportive, professional community, or reconnecting with other academic library workers, this workshop is for you.

        The program will begin with an engaging ‘worknote’ with Jen Lara, the inaugural Tig H. Krekel director of The Center for Coaching and Mentoring at the United States Naval Academy, and will provide structured activities to build community. Participants will leave with a community roadmap to continue connections beyond the event.
    2. CALD program – April 23
  3. Conference updates
    1. Great ACRL-MD programs planned – we are sponsoring five, plus the poster session and the academic social Wednesday night
      1. If anyone would like to volunteer to be session moderator (doing the introduction and handing out CEUs) for any of our five sponsored sessions, please let one of the ACRL-MD officers know by April 3
    2. Early Bird Registration ends today, March 23!
  4. Upcoming meeting reminders: April 27, May 6 social at MLA/DLA, no May regular meeting, June 3 program, June 22
  5. Article discussion: Interventions for Reducing, Preventing, or Overcoming Librarian Burnout: A Scoping Review (open access from C&RL)

    (no notes are taken during the discussion portion)

March 2026 ACRL-MD Meeting

Please join us for the next ACRL-MD meeting, 2-3pm on Monday, March 23! The meeting will be held on Zoom, details below. You do not need to be an ACRL-MD or MLA member to join, nor do you have to have read the article. We hope to see you there!

An open officers’ meeting will be held immediately after the member meeting.

Agenda:

  • Welcome Gary Marks, Chair, ACRL Chapters Council
  • President’s updates
    • Program planning update & save the date – June 3
    • CALD program – April 23
  • Conference updates
    • Great ACRL-MD programs planned
    • Early Bird Registration ends today!
  • Upcoming meetings reminder: April 27, no May meeting, June 22
  • Updates/information from members
  • Article discussion: Interventions for Reducing, Preventing, or Overcoming Librarian Burnout: A Scoping Review (open access from C&RL)

Join ACRL-MD Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 826 7291 7294
Passcode: 471660
Call in option: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Add the meetings to your calendar (iCalendar file)
Full Zoom join information

February 2026 Meeting Minutes

Monday, March 2, 2026 (the meeting was postponed from February 23 due to inclement weather)

2–3 PM, open meeting

Present: Catherine Johnson (President), Jennifer Martin (Secretary), and 7-12 attendees

  1. President’s updates
    1. Gary Marks, president of the ACRL Chapters Council, could not make this rescheduled meeting but will try to attend a future meeting
    2. Program planning update:
      1. On June 3, a morning half day (probably 9-1, with lunch at 1)
      2. Focus will be on community-building and it will be in-person at Anne Arundel County Public Library branch in the mall in Annapolis
      3. Keynote from Jen Lara (sp?), built the coaching program at Anne Arundel Community College and now runs the coaching program at the Naval Academy (coaching as in mentoring)
      4. Will include snacks since lunch will be so late
    3. Pratt Library Higher Education Meetup Update: Pratt is trying to build connections with higher ed institutions and making sure that people know what they can offer; we will probably have someone from Pratt talk at one of the ACRL-MD meetings and as part of our program. Pratt is the state library resource center, so their resources are available across the state
    4. Updates from MLA Library Legislative Day:
      1. This is a day where librarians visit their representatives in Annapolis to advocate for libraries; encourage academic librarians to attend in future years
      2. Morgan Miller, state librarian, is interested in having Catherine visit the state library board to chat about what is going on in academic libraries–hence today’s discussion topic
  2. Conference updates
    1. General updates about the conference – none, Gaby could not make this meeting
    2. Conference social – planning
      1. Needs to be planned–we have a space and a time, but nothing else planned, and some leads on maybe sponsorship for a bar
      2. Could have conversation starter questions available if desired
      3. General consensus that it doesn’t need to be too structured
      4. Could also make simple, party-type games available
  3. Discussion: Academic Library Trends – hot or not?: If you look at the trends across academic libraries in 2026, which traditional service is becoming a legacy burden for us, and which emerging trend are we currently under-investing in?

    (no notes are taken during the discussion portion)

February 2026 ACRL-MD Meeting

Please join us for the next ACRL-MD meeting, 2-3pm on Monday, February 23! The meeting will be held on Zoom, details below. You do not need to be an ACRL-MD or MLA member to join. We hope to see you there!

An open officers’ meeting will be held immediately after the member meeting.

Agenda:

  • Welcome Gary Marks, Chair, ACRL Chapters Council
  • President’s updates
    • Program planning update
    • Pratt Library Higher Education Meetup Update
    • Updates from MLA Library Legislative Day
  • Conference updates
    • General updates about the conference
    • Conference social – planning
  • Discussion: Academic Library Trends – hot or not?: If you look at the trends across academic libraries in 2026, which traditional service is becoming a legacy burden for us, and which emerging trend are we currently under-investing in?

Join ACRL-MD Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 826 7291 7294
Passcode: 471660
Call in option: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Add the meetings to your calendar (iCalendar file)
Full Zoom join information

January 2026 ACRL-MD Meeting

Please join us for the next ACRL-MD meeting, 2-3pm on Monday, January 26! The meeting will be held on Zoom, details below. You do not need to be an ACRL-MD or MLA member to join. We hope to see you there!

An open officers’ meeting will be held immediately after the member meeting.

Agenda:

  • President’s updates
    • Program planning update
    • Pratt Library Higher Education Meetup Update
    • Updates from CALD Board
    • Updates from MLA Exec
  • Conference updates
    • General updates about the conference
    • Call for poster session reviewers
    • Conference reception
  • Discussion: New Year, New You?: If you could ‘stop’ doing/offering one task/service this year to make room for a new priority, what would it be? What new priorities would you like to make room for?

Join ACRL-MD Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 826 7291 7294
Passcode: 471660
Call in option: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Add the meetings to your calendar (iCalendar file)
Full Zoom join information

November 2025 Meeting Minutes

Monday, November 24, 2025

2–3 PM, open meeting

Present: Catherine Johnson (President), Gaby Messinger (VP), Jennifer Martin (Secretary), and 18-23 attendees

  1. President’s updates (Catherine)
    1. Updates from CALD meeting: It was a board meeting, working on planning their program for April, which will probably be virtual, with presenter Kate Langan on a framework for flourishing with information
    2. Updates from MLA Executive Board meeting
      1. MLA/DLA conference: Sam Helmick and Lisa Gotauco are the keynotes; more than 100 proposals, need to whittle down to about 70
      2. Nearly full slate of people for upcoming elections
      3. Working on revisions for MLA Manual
      4. Discontinued Maryland Adult Programming Interest Group, on request of its hosting division because it was inactive
      5. Reviewed draft code of conduct; MLA doesn’t currently have one
    3. ACRL 2029 ACRL-MD request
      1. ACRL wants to hold ACRL 2029 in Baltimore, and are asking for our endorsement
      2. General support from ACRL-MD members for having ACRL 2029 in Baltimore
    4. Call for program planning volunteers
      1. Putting on a paid program is a responsibility of each MLA division
      2. Looking for a small group of folks to help plan the program in terms of both idea generation and logistics
      3. Currently thinking that the program should be themed around mentoring/coaching, and probably in person. Goal of fostering community-building
      4. If you have thoughts on the program being in person or on places to host it, please contact Catherine
    5. Update on bylaws update timing
      1. Final updates are unlikely to happen this year because of required processes within MLA. While we might start working on it this year, it probably won’t be finished till next year
  2. MLA/DLA conference updates (Gaby)
    1. We have finished our peer review process–thanks to those who participated! We had a good number of academic submissions, and there were a number of proposals submitted to other divisions which overlap with academic interests, so there will likely be a lot of interest to the academic library community at MLA/DLA this year
    2. Poster and Ignite talk submissions are due January 23; please consider submitting
    3. Poster peer review will be in January; please let us know if you are interested in serving as a peer reviewer for that
    4. Feel free to send any comments or questions about the conference to Gaby
  3. Updates/information from members (all)
    1. Reminder that there is no ACRL-MD meeting in December; our next meeting will be in January
    2. Related links for the article discussion:
      1. UCLA’s “Choosing the Correct Statistical Test” chart
      2. ARL’s Research Library Impact Framework
      3. ARL’s Research and Assessment Cycle Toolkit
  4. Article discussion, facilitated by Martha Kyrillidou (QualityMetrics, LLC): “Impact of Library Collections on Faculty Teaching, Research, and Retention: A Mixed-Methods Study”

    Article citation: LeMire, S., & Bodenhamer, S. (2025). Impact of Library Collections on Faculty Teaching, Research, and Retention: A Mixed-Methods Study. College & Research Libraries, 86(6), 880. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.86.6.880

    (no notes are taken during the discussion portion)

November 2025 ACRL-MD Meeting

Please join us for the next ACRL-MD meeting, 2-3pm on Monday, November 24! The meeting will be held on Zoom, details below. You do not need to be an ACRL-MD or MLA member to join, nor do you have to have read the article. We hope to see you there!

An open officers’ meeting will be held immediately after the member meeting.

Agenda:

  1. President’s updates (Catherine)
    1. Updates from CALD meeting
    2. Updates from MLA Executive Board meeting
    3. ACRL 2029 ACRL-MD request
    4. Call for program planning volunteers
    5. Update on bylaws update timing
  2. MLA/DLA conference updates (Gaby)
  3. Updates/information from members (all)
  4. Article discussion, facilitated by Martha Kyrillidou (QualityMetrics, LLC): “Impact of Library Collections on Faculty Teaching, Research, and Retention: A Mixed-Methods Study”

    Article citation: LeMire, S., & Bodenhamer, S. (2025). Impact of Library Collections on Faculty Teaching, Research, and Retention: A Mixed-Methods Study. College & Research Libraries, 86(6), 880. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.86.6.880

Join ACRL-MD Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 826 7291 7294
Passcode: 471660
Call in option: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Add the meetings to your calendar (iCalendar file)
Full Zoom join information

October 2025 Meeting Minutes

Monday, October 27, 2025

2–3 PM, open meeting

Present: Catherine Johnson (President), Gaby Messinger (VP), Jennifer Martin (Secretary), and 8-11 attendees

  1. Welcome and introductions: Introducing our new acting President, Catherine Johnson
  2. President’s updates
    1. Highest priority: making sure we successfully complete our probation action plan so we get off probation; this includes communication with MLA, CALD, etc., and having at least one program. Another thing she’d like to work on that’s not in the action plan is finishing the updates to the Bylaws
    2. If you are interested in helping plan programs, or have ideas about topics or people who could present, please share with Catherine
    3. If you’ve considered being more involved with ACRL-MD in the past but haven’t, or if you are aware of barriers to participation for colleagues, please also share that with Catherine so that we can get a better idea of what the barriers might be
    4. Officer nominations due today: seeking volunteers for Secretary and VP/President-Elect
  3. MLA/DLA conference updates
    1. Proposals are in; deadline is past for full program proposals. The form is closed for now but will reopen for posters and Ignite sessions only; there’s not a specific deadline for those yet but it will likely be in January
    2. We should be receiving the sessions marked for academic libraries later this week, for peer review and approval or rejection
  4. Volunteer opportunities
    1. Discussed the available opportunities, which are summarized on our Volunteer Opportunities page 
    2. (We also fixed our contact form so that we actually receive submissions–thanks to TaChalla for letting us know that was an issue!)
    3. In particular, if you are interested in being a peer reviewer, please let us know as soon as possible because we are actively putting together that committee and expect its work to start next week or the week after
  5. Opportunities from ACRL-MD members
    1. There is a CoP for critical pedagogy that Shaune Pyle is in with some other academic librarians. Let her know if you’re interested! They are librarians from around the US. Next meeting is at 3pm on November 17th.
    2. For all of you who may be available and interested, please join the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade (library participation is organized through the Library Advisory Committee of the Brigadier General Charles E. McGhee (Silver Spring) Library Branch of the Montgomery County Public Libraries) – you are all welcome to join in
    3. The Southeastern Library Assessment virtual conference is coming up
  6. Discussion: What, if anything, does your library do to celebrate Halloween? (no notes are taken during the discussion portion)

October 2025 Meeting

Please join us for the next ACRL-MD meeting, 2-3pm on Monday, October 27! The meeting will be held on Zoom, details below. You do not need to be an ACRL-MD or MLA member to join. We hope to see you there!

An open officers’ meeting will be held immediately after the member meeting.

Agenda:

  • President’s updates
    • Reminder about officer nominations
  • Conference updates
  • Volunteer opportunities
  • Discussion: What, if anything, does your library do to celebrate Halloween?

Join ACRL-MD Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 826 7291 7294
Passcode: 471660
Call in option: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Add the meetings to your calendar (iCalendar file)
Full Zoom join information

Program Proposals for the 2026 MLA/DLA Conference

The MLA/DLA Conference Planning Committee is now accepting program proposals for the 2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference. Join us May 6-8, 2026, back at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Maryland, as we explore this year’s theme: “Our Stories, Our Shelves.”

ACRL-MD members are encouraged to submit their ideas, especially if they are relevant to academic libraries. We are hoping to have a broad slate of academic-library-related programs this year.

Submission Guidelines

All proposals must be submitted through the Planning Committee’s online form. Proposals should clearly demonstrate relevance to library professionals across all sectors. Review the program proposal submission guide for a preview and descriptions of the form’s questions. 

Proposal Submission Period: August 25 – October 17, 2025
Notification of Acceptance: December 2025

Proposals can be for: 

  • Pre-Conference Sessions
  • General Sessions 
  • Ignite Sessions 
  • Poster Sessions