Call for 2021 VLA Officer Nominations

The Virginia Library Association Nominating Committee is seeking nominations from academic libraries for the following VLA Executive Committee offices for 2021:

• President (3 year commitment as President-Elect, President, and Past-President)
• Secretary (2 year commitment)

The terms for each position will begin at the conclusion of the VLA Annual Conference in October, 2020.  For more details on each position, please read their descriptions in the VLA Manual

Anyone with an active membership in the Virginia Library Association (VLA) is eligible for nomination; self-nominations are encouraged.  The deadline for submitting your nominations is February 14, 2020.

Please submit your nominations/self-nominations here

Those elected will join the members of the 2021 VLA Executive Committee:

• Joslyn Bowling Dixon, Prince William County Public Library (2021 VLA President)
• Jennifer Resor-Whicker, Radford University (2020 VLA President)
• Regina Carter, US Army, 2^nd Vice President
• Bill Edwards-Bodmer, Suffolk Public Library, Treasurer
• Lucinda Rush Wittkower, Old Dominion University, ALA Councilor
• Lisa R. Varga, VLA Executive Director

For more information, please contact Jessica Scalph, VLA Past-President

2020 VLA Scholarships: Applications Now Available

Deadline for application packets to be received by VLA: March 6, 2020

2020 VLA Scholarship Application
2020 VLA Recommendation Form

Submit completed application by e-mail to Lisa Varga at [email protected]

The Virginia Library Association will award three $2500 scholarships for students pursuing a Master’s degree in Library Science at ALA- accredited schools.  The Clara Stanley Scholarship is awarded by the VLA Professional Associates Forum (VLAPAF); the CDR Alexander C. Varga Memorial Scholarship and the VLA Scholarship are provided by the Virginia Library Association.

The eligibility requirements for VLA Scholarships are:

• Residence in the state of Virginia or currently employed in a Virginia Library.
• Undergraduate degree.
• Acceptance by, or currently enrolled in, an American Library Association accredited library school.  MUST be earning a Master of Library Science Degree. Membership in the Virginia Library Association. Click here to become a student member. Annual fee is $15.00
• For the Clara Stanley VLAPAF Scholarship: current employment at a Virginia library is required.

The major factors considered in making the awards are:

• Evidence of commitment to a career in librarianship in Virginia.
• Financial need.
• Potential for outstanding achievement in the library profession.
• Academic excellence.
• Membership in the Virginia Library Association.

In order to be considered, your application including two (2) references is to be submitted by March 6, 2020.  You must have two (2) references, one of which must be a librarian.  A link to the Recommendation Form is above.  This form must be submitted by the reference persons themselves.

The Scholarship committee will review applications during the spring and you will be notified of the Committee’s decisions in late March.  If you have any questions about any aspect of the application process, please contact: Kerri Copus, Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library: [email protected] or PH (540) 552-8246.

VLACRL Nominations

Dear Virginia Library ACRL Colleagues-

It is that time of year to ask for your nominations for our upcoming VLACRL election at VLA Conference in Norfolk on Thursday October 24, 2019 . As  Chair, I’m reaching out to you, our members, to nominate the best candidates for two Executive Committee positions:

• Co- Chair ( 3-year commitment: Co- Chair, Chair, Past Chair)
• Secretary/Treasurer (1-year commitment)

You may self-nominate or nominate another VLACRL member. Nominees are asked to submit a brief bio/position statement as part of the nomination. Anyone with an active membership in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) or the Virginia Library Association (VLA) can be considered a member of VLACRL.

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS/ SELF NOMINATIONS here.

To read more about VLACRL in a nutshell, as well as duties of the positions, please see the attachments VLACRL in a nutshell and  VLACRL Timeline and procedures.

Thank you.

Lisa Nickel and Sophie Rondeau

Chair and Co-chair, Virginia Association of College & Research Libraries (VLACRL)

P. S.-  Please ask lots of questions about positions! I’ll try to answer them as best I can and current co-chair Sophie Rondeau is also available.

VLA 2020 Election of Officers Results

Please join us in congratulating the newly-elected members of the Virginia Library Association Executive Committee for 2020!

Joslyn Bowling Dixon has been elected to a 3-year term as Vice President/President Elect. Joslyn is the Assistant Director for the Prince William Library System, serving Prince William County, Virginia, Manassas, and Manassas Park, VA. She is also the Chair of the newly-established Librarians of Color Forum for VLA, representing librarians and library staff of color in the Commonwealth.

Regina Sierra Carter has been elected to a 2-year term as 2nd Vice President. Regina is a 2019 American Library Association Emerging Leader and a librarian for the U.S. Army. She is a former Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Indonesia and her research interests include the following: diversity, inclusion and accessibility, multicultural children's literature, and storytelling.

Bill Edwards-Bodmer has been elected to a 2-year term as Treasurer. holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Old Dominion University; a Master of Arts in History from Old Dominion University; and a Master of Science in Information from Florida State University. He currently works at Suffolk Public Library as Collection Strategy Senior Librarian. He has served on the Annual Conference Committee, Jefferson Cup Committee, and is currently Chair of the New Members Round Table Forum.

Lucy Rush Wittkower will represent Virginia on the Council of the American Library Association for a 3 year term. Lucy Wittkower is currently the Head of Teaching & Learning Initiatives at the Old Dominion University Libraries. Lucy is a current member of VLA and ALA/ACRL. She has served in VLA as a member of the Scholarship Committee, Scholarship Committee chair and co-chair, and most recently as chair and past-chair of VLACRL. She was also a member of the conference planning committee in 2017.

Joslyn, Regina, Bill and Lucy will begin their roles at the conclusion of the VLA Annual Conference Business Meeting, Friday, October 25 in Norfolk, VA. They will join the other members of the 2020 VLA Executive Committee:

VLA Officer Elections are held annually in August and September. Elections closed on September 9, with 13% of VLA members participating. VLA membership has grown from 900 members to 4,300+ members in 2019.