Rosanne and I attended three ALLN (Archives and Library Leadership Network of New York City) events:
1. The ALLN Fall Meeting was held on 9/30/2014
Two speakers were featured at the meeting. Bill Noorlander of BST America and SLA NY President Nick Collison:
Mr. Noorlander discussed successful vendor relationships. He stated that organizations must think like a vendor in order to understand how to offer them an attractive sponsorship opportunity. He stressed the importance of partnering with vendors on a variety of sponsorship venues (e.g. websites, social events, programs), establishing the correct vendor contact, crafting the right story to vendors, and a well thought-out sponsorship proposal.
Mr. Collison asked the group to consider greater collaboration through joint event hosting. He highlighted several advantages which included: strengthening our collective voice, greater clout with vendors, potential easing up financial burdens and partnering with another organization with more resources or experience.
2. PRATT SILSSA Student Mixer on 10/6/14
METRO and the Pratt SILS Student Association (SILSSA) co-hosted an open house that was held at Pratt Manhattan on Monday, October 6, 2014. The event brought together students and representatives from local library and archives organizations. Approximately thirty students attended. Rosanne and I networked with students. We distributed SUNYLA membership flyers, encouraged students to join and offered an assortment of career advice.
3. The ALLN Fall Event on 11/10/14
The event “Exploring New Territory for Collective Impact” was held on November 10, 2014 at the Metropolitan Library Council of New York (METRO). Jeremy Johannesen, Executive Director of NYLA, gave a keynote address on library advocacy. In his address, he highlighted the differences between advocacy and lobbying. He stated that organizations should remember the acronym M.O.P. (Message, Opportunity and Persistence) when advocating for libraries. Additional topics covered included: advocacy tools on the NYLA website, getting “key players” into the library (e.g. President, Board of Trustees members, etc.), NYLA’s 2015 legislative agenda and Library Advocacy Day on 2/25/15.
SUNYLA’s own Carol Ann Germain (University of Albany) and Marcy Winkler (SLA) gave an excellent presentation on their experiences with collaboration and the ins-and-outs of organizing a big event. Finally, Kerri Willette, Empire State Digital Network Manager at METRO, gave an overview and update of the Empire State Digital Network service hub of the Digital Public Library of America of America (DPLA). This project has only been in existence for one year and it pulls together digital collections on cultural heritage.
Respectfully submitted,
Katrina Frazier
