Candidates Running for Office 2023

From November 10-17, 2022, ILA/ACRL will hold its 2022 election via electronic ballot sent to each member’s email address. Please read about our candidates for next year’s executive board below and the proposed bylaws changes. Thank you to our candidates who are running for office: Marissa Krein for Member at Large, Debra Lowman for Secretary/Treasurer, and Lisa Martincik for Vice President/President-Elect.

If you have any questions about the proposed bylaws changes, please contact ILA/ACRL President Amandajean Nolte (amandajean.nolte@uni.edu).

After the election has ended, the results will be announced through our ILA/ACRL mailing list and posted to our website.

Vice President/President-Elect 2023

Lisa Martincik

Biography:

Lisa M

Lisa Martincik earned a BA in English with a minor in Women’s Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and an MSL at the University of Iowa — whose gravitational pull captured and kept her. She’s held many jobs at the University of Iowa Libraries but for the past 13 years has served as an Electronic Resource Librarian in the Acquisitions department.

Statement:

Thank you for considering me for the position of Vice President/President-Elect of ILA/ACRL. This organization has moved forward admirably in adapting to the new normal of a world increasingly divided yet operationally hybridized, especially in finding ways to provide support to membership. Sharing our knowledge and even our daily experiences has become more important than ever in allowing us to provide continuity of service in a continually changing (often challenging) environment. I’ve benefitted from this support and noted people from all sizes and locations of libraries reaching out by serving in various committees and positions. I look forward to working alongside colleagues to sustainably continue and increase this engagement on all levels, whether what’s most needed is brainstorming on a new crisis, sharing concerns, or even just goofing around.

 

Secretary/Treasurer 2023

Debra Lowman

Biography:Debra Lowman headshot

Debra Lowman is the Associate Dean of Libraries and Learning Resources for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, Scott Community College. She is a US Army Veteran and served a tour of duty overseas as a translator/interrogator. Upon returning home, Debra attended Denver Technical College and worked in the nursing field as a Registered Medical Assistant for an OB/GYN practice for six years. Returning to College, Debra received a BA in Ethics and Public Policy/Minor in Economics from the University of Iowa. For 17 years she worked in the public library field filling such roles as Youth Services Librarian, IT/Digital Services, and Library Director. Returning to College once more, Debra received her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She did her practicum in the University of Iowa Special Collections. Debra most recently completed an Open Educational Resources (OER) Librarian Certificate with the Open Educational Network /University of Minnesota.

Debra currently serves on the Iowa Library Association ACRL Executive Board as an at-large Representative. She is also part of an American Association of Colleges and Universities cohort for OER for 2022-2023. This year Debra is also participating in Iowa State Iowa Community College Leadership Institute (ICCLI).

Statement:

I am excited to expand my participation in the ILA/ACRL. I believe that my personal experience and the experience I have gained as both a public and academic librarian will be valuable to the organization across the state. I believe in the library profession wholeheartedly and, if elected, will put my 20+ years of library experience into ensuring the transparency and access to meeting minutes, committee reports, and financial statements in order to improve communication and foster community among the board, membership, the Iowa Library Association, and librarians statewide.

 

Member at Large 2023

Marissa Krein

Biography:Marissa Krein portrait

Marissa Krein is an Arkansas-born Iowan-raised Midwestern. She received her BA in History and MA in Public History from the University of Northern Iowa and MSLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At Hawkeye Community College, she is the Reference, Instruction, and Electronic Services Librarian; in this role, she teaches all of the Library’s instruction sessions, manages the electronic resources, and assists in overseeing the reference services. She has worked in academic libraries for the past five years and is especially passionate about information literacy. In South Carolina, she served as the Information Literacy Round Table treasurer for the South Carolina Library Association. She also has served on two of the ALA New Members Round Table committees and the Conference Committee for ALA Government Documents Round Table.

Statement:

It was my pleasure to serve in SCLA and ALA, but I would like to turn my attention to ILA/ACRL and continue to grow my librarian connections in my home state. It was a pleasure to meet many of you at the virtual 2021 ILA/ACRL-IPAL Spring Virtual Conference and the 2022 ILA/ACRL-IPAL Spring Conference at the University of Northern Iowa’s Rod Library. I would like to get to know you better as the Member-at-Large. This organization is vitally important to me because it helps foster community and the sharing of ideas and provides growth opportunities. It has helped me become a better reference and instruction librarian. I would like to reciprocate the good this organization and its members have done for me and serve as a Member-at-Large. I hope you will consider my candidacy for Member-at-Large.

Proposed Bylaws Changes 2022

From November 10-17, 2022, ILA/ACRL will hold its 2022 election via electronic ballot sent to each member’s email address. Please read about our candidates for next year’s executive board and proposed bylaws changes (below). Thank you to our candidates who are running for office: Marissa Krein for Member at Large, Debra Lowman for Secretary/Treasurer, and Lisa Martincik for Vice President/President-Elect.

If you have any questions about the proposed bylaws changes, please contact ILA/ACRL President Amandajean Nolte (amandajean.nolte@uni.edu).

After the election has ended, the results will be announced through our ILA/ACRL mailing list and posted to our website.

CCR Dissolution Proposal

From its inception in 2016, the College and Career Readiness (CCR) joint committee has worked tirelessly to support K-12 library programs, ensure collaboration to provide strong K-16 information literacy efforts throughout the state, and conduct assessment and advocacy. We offer thanks to past leaders and volunteers who championed this shared vision.

Despite the value seen in continued support of each other’s work and willingness to continue advocacy reinforcing the importance of teacher librarians, the CCR joint committee no longer seems the best avenue for this work. Therefore, the ILA/ACRL Executive Board proposes dissolving the CCR joint committee (listed in Article VIII).

Rationale:

  • A joint committee is unsustainable due to the shrinking nature of our organizations to continue leadership and membership in this committee.
  • Additional service responsibilities are unsustainable due to librarians in both organizations experiencing expanding job responsibilities and shrinking resources (time and labor).
  • Without clearly defined and ongoing projects, there is no clear focus for our joint work.

This proposal in no way diminishes the work the committee completed in its time and the value of such work.

Proposed Bylaws Changes 2022

Proposed Bylaws Changes 2022\

2022 Fall ILA Conference Session Suggestions

The 2022 Fall ILA Conference is just over one week away! The conference committee has been busy planning sessions and speakers. Here are some suggested session that may have particular appeal for individuals working in academic libraries:

Thursday

Concurrent Session 1

  • Common Ink: The Connection and Process of Art in Libraries
  • Encouraging patron adoption of privacy-protection technologies
  • Auditing Diversity in Library Collections
  • Lesser-Known New Children’s Literature: Window-Shop the UNI Youth Collection!
  • New Innovations and Experimentations with a Public Photo Archive: Igniting Community Engagement and Radiating the Fortepan Iowa Project Outward

Concurrent Session 2

  • Book Challenges affect us all – best practices for supporting our SL colleagues

Concurrent Session 3

  • Libraries, Labs, & Laws: The Vital Relationship of Info Lit, Science, & Democracy
  • Refugees and Immigrants in Iowa: Sharing Stories, Welcoming New Neighbors

Friday

Concurrent Session 4

  • “We’re Not in Kansas Anymore”: Sustainable liaison work at the crossroad between opportunity and crisis
  • Diversity and Inclusion Unconference

Friday Concurrent Session 5

  • Life after Library School

*Reminder that there’s Llamas sponsored by LLAMA at the North Liberty Public Library on Thursday evening!