Communities of Interest (COIs) are groups of Arkansas Library Association (ArLA) members who choose to organize around a type of library, type of activity, a special interest, or geographic area in order to further the mission of the ArLA. These groups are subject to ArLA rules. COIs are a benefit of membership and all voting ArLA members may join and participate in as many COIs as they choose. All internal workings of the COI are at the discretion of the members. They decide how to select chair(s), govern themselves, etc. The only ongoing requirement of an ArLA Community of Interest is to submit an annual report and a current contact person. A group must have at least fifteen (15) ArLA members to form a COI. Bylaws are optional at the discretion of the group (a sample bylaws template will be provided on the ArLA website to assist COIs should they want to govern with bylaws). The contact person from each COI will attend board meetings as liaisons between the governing body and interest groups. The interactive petition to form will be automatically sent to the ArLA Executive Board. If using the PDF form, email it to president@arlib.org.

Who do I contact to join a Communities of Interest?

Arkansas Library Paraprofessionals (ALPS)
Contact: Amy DeVooght, Chair
devooght@hendrix.edu

Arkansas Queer Alliance for Libraries (AQuALib)
Contact: Allie Stevens, Chair
allie@calcolibrary.com

College and University Librarians of Arkansas (CULAR)
Contact: Taylor Vanlandingham, Chair
tvanlandingham@jbu.edu

Community of School Librarians And Library Educators (COSLLE)
Contact: Dr. Kevin Powell, Chair
kpowell@uca.edu

Library Advocacy Community of Interest (LACI)
Contact: Gwen Dobbs
gdobbs@nwacc.edu

Making Arkansas Libraries Accessible (MArLA)
Contact: Jessica Riedmueller, Chair
jriedmueller@uca.edu

Member Involvement
Contact: Becky Fischer
becky.fisher@ade.arkansas.gov

Mental and Emotional Lives of Library Workers (MELLW)
Tammie Evans, Chair
tammie.evans@lamanlibrary.org

Public Libraries & Trustees
Contact: Joe Hudak
jhudak@cals.org

Reference & Instruction Services (RISci)
Contact: Shawna Thorup, Chair
sthorup@nwacc.edu

Social Media & Marketing
Contact: Mandy Bashaw, Chair
abashaw@libraryinjonesboro.org

Two Year Colleges Community of Interest (TYCci)
Tina Bradley, Chair
tbradley@asumh.edu

Youth Services
Ruth Hyatt, Chair
ruth.hyatt@ade.arkansas.gov

Communities of Interest Forms

Petition to Form (interactive)

Petition to Form (.pdf)

Annual Report Form

Bylaws Template (example only)

Funding Request