COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR
JOB DESCRIPTION AND GUIDELINES

DATE: August 6, 2000

NAME: Bruce Newell, Editor

TITLE:  

VISION: MLA members know what they need to know about the Association and Association related topics, before they need to know it. Yet for all this efficiency, members feel included and not inundated with information; they characterize MLA related information flow as "non-intrusive", "accurate", "timely", and "appropriate to their needs".

MISSION STATEMENT: The Montana Library Association is a chapter of the American Library Association and is represented by the ALA Chapter Councilor. Montana's place in the major national library organization depends on its ability to have a vote on the ALA Council, the governing body of the ALA.

GOALS:

1. Advise the Board of Directors and those responsible for Montana Library Association-related communications on Association-related communications policies and procedures. 
2. Help sustain, coordinate, and improve the Association's several communications methods. 
3. Assist in communicating communications-related policies to the membership.

OBJECTIVES: 

1. By the early-winter 2001 Board meeting, draft succinct MLA Communications Guidelines narrative describing:
   • MLA members and how they receive information about Association related topics 
   • The current means by which the Association communicates with its members, and others (including a table of the roles of each method of communication vis a vis each other and user's needs)
   • Gaps between member's (and others') needs for Association-related communications, and the actual delivery of these communications 
   • Recommendations regarding guidelines for meeting Association communications-related needs
2. Work with the Conference Planning Committee as needed to publicize conference events. After the conference, the CPC characterizes conference-related communications as "successful", "timely", "accurate and complete", and "responsive to member needs".
3. Contact, by October of each year, each of the other committees, divisions, and interest groups, and offering to assist them getting their messages out.
4. Formalize guidelines for meeting these needs with existing or new Association Communications methods, particularly enumerating the means by which material gets included on MLA's web site, to be included in the Association's Manual of Procedures by the 2001 Annual Conference.
5. Develop and add to Manual of Procedures any guidelines for Focus, such as publication and deadline dates, book review criteria, making FOCUS available online, and whatever else would be pertinent for members and/or board to know about.
6. Develop and add to Manual of Procedures any guidelines which members might need to know about the wired-mt listserv.
7. Add a member of the State Library to this committee by December, 2000.

2000/2001 TIMELINE:  

• Ensure web master has appropriate editing software by September 15, 2000. 
• Add a member of the State Library to this committee by December, 2000.
• Complete Objective 1 by January 30, 2001, or by the early-winter Board meeting, whichever comes first.
• Meet with conference planning committee to begin lining-out conference-related communications needs by Halloween, 2000.
• Prepare report for MLA membership regarding communications guidelines, to be presented or available at the 2001 Annual Conference in Kalispell. Publish report in the FOCUS immediately preceding conference.

JOB DESCRIPTION:  

It is the job of the Communications Committee to oversee the processes that ensure that MLA members know everything they need to know about the Association, when they need to know it, and receive this information in a format that is useful.

COMMITTEE ROSTER: 

The Communications Committee is comprised of the current chairs of MLA's public library, academic and special library, and school library media divisions. Also serving are editors of MLA's FOCUS newsletter, www.mtlib.org web site, the Association's Executive Assistant, and the wired-mt listserv list owner. A representative of the Montana State Library should serve as an ex officio member of the committee to facilitate communication about, and coordination with, the publications of the State Library. The immediate Past President shall serve as chair of the committee. Members of the committee shall represent the membership at large and their respective divisions.

3-9 members, staggered 3 year terms, no more than 2 consecutive terms.

BUDGET:  

Web mastering software, $200 
FOCUS production costs, $0 
FOCUS publication costs, (in MLA budget elsewhere) 
Web site host fee, $0 
Listserv host site fee, $0 
Web Master and FOCUS editor compensation, $0 
Wired-mt listserv list master compensation, $0

HISTORY: 

This was called the "Publications Committee" until sometime in the late 1990s. Sue Nissen was responsible for either creating or reinvigorating this committee. Under Sue's leadership discussion begin regarding electronic vs. online means of publishing FOCUS. The Publications Committee was relatively inactive, largely because FOCUS was doing so well and needed no oversight.

The advent of the world wide web and the MLA wired-mt listserv has expanded the number of means by which the Association communicates. The new title, "Communications Committee", reflects this new charge.

PROBLEM AREAS: