MLA Board Election Results Are In!
Congratulations to Lance Werner, Director of Kent District Library, who has has been voted MLA's President-Elect!
Congratulations to the newly elected MLA at-large board members Trish Burns, Julie Garrison, and Roger Mendel. Their three year terms will begin July 2011.
Congratulations also to ALA Chapter Councilor, Mary Rzepczynski. Her special one year term begins July 2011.
Many thanks to all the candidates for agreeing to run for the open board positions, and many thanks to all the MLA members who voted.
President-Elect Candidates
LANCE WERNER, Director, Kent District Library
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: 
The era of the loud librarian is upon us. We must let everyone know we are indispensible by telling them and showing them what libraries have to offer and what libraries are all about. Libraries cannot survive by being passive and merely hoping that people will notice how valuable our services are. If more people realize how indispensible libraries are, we will have an easier time securing funding.
I believe that many types of libraries are at a tipping point and are at risk of becoming more marginalized if we elect to maintain the status quo. I had a discussion with a colleague recently who decided to not recommend librarianship as a career to her son because she felt that the future of the profession was uncertain. I disagreed with her. I think the future of libraries and librarianship can be as exciting and relevant as we decide to make it.
For example, I think it is important to recognize the importance of convenience. Libraries must endeavor to meet our patrons on their own terms. We must take an active role in our future and be proactive in meeting our patrons. Water, electricity and people seem to flow along the path of least resistance. Generally speaking people are going to do what is easiest. In a lot of cases it is easier to visit online than in person. In 2010, the Capital Area District Library had more visitors in our branches than online. I am sure that the day is coming when our electronic visitors will outnumber our physical visitors. We must be in a position to offer these visitors what they want.
I also think libraries need to embrace all formats for sharing information, from paperbacks to eBooks and everything in between. We need to recognize that we are knowledge brokers in a knowledge economy.
I have been asked to discuss my leadership style and attributes that would make me a strong candidate to become MLA’s new president-elect. I rely on a semi-collegial management style and am a great believer in working within groups to try to reach consensus. As an attorney and the erstwhile Library Law Specialist for the Library of Michigan, I think that I also have an acute awareness of the legal issues that face Michigan’s public libraries. I have served on the State Bar of Michigan’s Law Libraries, Legal Research and Legal Publication Board for over 10 years.
Member-At-Large Candidates
TRISH BURNS, Director, Public Libraries of Saginaw
EXPERTISE/INTERESTS/SKILLS:
I have been involved with MLA in an active role for the past five years. I am knowledgeable about where MLA has been and where it needs to go to continue to be a strong organization. As co-chair of the Professional Development and Networking Committee, I have helped lead change that has resulted in measurably greater satisfaction of members as evidenced by the grades received for professional development over the past two years.
JULIE GARRISON, Associate Dean for Research and Instruction, Grand Valley State University
EXPERTISE/INTERESTS/SKILLS: Experienced in management, strategic planning, assessment, leadership development, policy development and scholarly publishing
BRIEF SUMMARY OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Associate Dean for Research and Instruction, GVSU, 2007 to date; Director, Off-Campus Library Services, Central Michigan University, 2003-2007; Adjunct Faculty, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science, 2000-2004; Various director level positions, Duke University Medical Center Library, 1995-2002
ROGER MENDEL, Director, Northland Library Cooperative
EXPERTISE/INTERESTS: 44 plus years as a librarian; 40 years as a director of public library/cooperative; MLA Librarian of the year 2000; Rural Libraries Librarian of the year, 2009; successful fiscally; successful in providing innovative programming; successful in grant writing; worked on legislation, PA 89, county library est. and township/city est. laws; represented the state at two White House Conferences; participated five years at ALA Legislative Day in Washington D.C.; participated in all the legislative days sponsored by MLA since 1970.
ALA Chapter Councilor Candidates
MARY RZEPCZYNSKI, Assistant Library Director, Delta Township District Library
EXPERTISE/INTERESTS/SKILLS: Mary has been with the Delta Township District Library for over ten years and has had many opportunities to lead and initiate change within the library. The library underwent a drastic transformation in 2008 moving from a 4,800 sf building to a brand new 30,000 sf facility which presented unique challenges to both patrons and staff. Mary was an active participant throughout the strategic planning, architectural renderings, millage campaign, construction, interiors and project meetings. Mary was actively involved in scheduling, workflow, and planning which helped to make the transition easier for staff and ensured the highest quality of patron service.
