Shared notes for this session:
https://goo.gl/7H2Mda MLA has a proven history of querying its membership and reporting on the Association’s makeup (e.g., age, race, gender). Membership surveys in 1997, 2009, and 2016 gathered data on demographics and personnel characteristics of individuals who work in music libraries. While each of these studies and the analyses that followed offered valuable insights on the makeup of MLA, they do not account for the membership’s awareness and/or perceptions of the Association's environment. Given MLA’s rapidly changing demographic and social makeup, it is vital that we take the pulse on the collective experiences of the Association’s current and lapsed membership.
In 2018, MLA's Board charged the Climate Survey Task Force (CSTC) to design and administer a climate assessment of MLA in order to determine the membership’s current baseline behavioral sentiments. This town-hall session will provide the CSTC with the opportunity to share preliminary findings of the survey and facilitate further conversations with the membership about what the survey findings reveal about MLA's climate. The results of these conversations, in concert with survey feedback, will help the Association better understand how its community members relate to one another and allow MLA to determine what is working and what is not. The town-hall format will generate an open dialogue and allow for community-driven feedback that will enable new efforts by the Board to create and sustain a diverse, respectful, inclusive community.