Rolfe Gjellstad, Divinity Library
Rebecca Hamilton, SML Acquisitions
Emily Horning, Research Services & Collections, Co-Chair
Marianna McKim, Research Services & Collections, Alternate
Anthony Riccio, SML Circulation
Andy Shimp, Engineering Library
Diana Smith, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Chair
Kalee Sprague, Library Systems Office, Secretary

M&PSA sought an active role in the Yale Library community this year by organizing both social and cultural events that promoted staff knowledge and development, morale and staff relations. We accomplished this goal by reviving the Nooks and Crannies Tours; organizing the new staff reception, canned food drive, holiday party, and raffle; revising the Council’s statement of goals and organization; creating a web page to promote awareness of the committee, and share information; sponsoring two speakers from the community and a concert during Black History month; and organizing the library staff art expo.

 
Nooks and Crannies Tours

M&PSA revived the old series of Nooks and Crannies Tours, designed to give all library staff an opportunity to see sights not often seen, hear stories not often told. We found that librarians were enthusiastic about offering tours of their libraries or departments. Tours given, and tour guides who gave generously of their time:

• Newly renovated (and newly created) areas in Sterling Memorial Library, given by Carolyn Claflin, Director of Library Development, on November 12, 1997
• Arts of the Book Collection, given by Bridget Burke, Curator, on December 18, 1997
• Elizabethan Club Library, given by Stephen Parks, Elizabethan Club Librarian, on February 11 and 13, and April 23, 1998
• Babylonian Collection, given by W. W. Hallo, Curator, on March 6, 1998
• Yale Center for British Art -- Reference Library, Department of Prints & Drawings, and the Department of Rare Books and Archives, given by Lori Misura, Public Services Assistant; Elisabeth Fairman, Curator of Rare Books and Archives, and Scott Wilcox, Curator of Print & Drawings, on April 3, 1998.
• Elizabethan Club Tour, on May 14, 1998, given by the other Elizabethan Club Librarian, Marjorie Wynne.
• Map Collection Tour, given by Fred Musto, Curator, on June 3 and 10, 1998.

New Staff Reception

M&PSA worked with Library Administrative Services to plan the new staff reception, which was held Wednesday, October 29, 1997 at the Beinecke Library from 4:00 to 5:30. The reception honored 40 new staff, and this number resulted in a long session of introductions in the midst of the reception. The length of time that the introductions took sparked some discussion in M&PSA meetings about the possibility of having new staff receptions twice a year, to make the numbers more manageable. We decided that a reception would work if we had at least twenty new staff to welcome in May. This number was not achieved, however, and so the proposed second reception was not scheduled.
 

Canned Food Drive

The canned food drive was sponsored by M&PSA this year, and took place December 8-17, 1997 for the benefit of the Connecticut Food Bank. There were drop off locations in eight locations throughout the library system, and cans were collected at the holiday party as well. Over 230 pounds of food items were donated as a result of this drive.
 

Holiday Party and Raffle

M&PSA worked with Library Administrative Services to plan the Holiday Party, which was held December 9, 1997 from 4:30 to 6:00 at the Beinecke Library. The party featured desserts brought in by staff members, entertainment by singer and staff member John D’Amato and his wife, and polaroid photographs of Santa taken by library staff members. Council member Rolfe Gjellstad served as Santa for the second year in a row. The party was well attended by staff members and their families.

M&PSA also organized a raffle to benefit Columbus House, a homeless shelter in New Haven. This year we added more staff involvement in the raffle prizes by soliciting donations of arts and crafts items made by staff to accompany the prizes from local businesses. Six staff members contributed items for the raffle, which raised interest considerably in the raffle. Twelve local businesses participated, including Yale Travel Services, which donated a night’s stay at the Yale Club in New York. M&PSA Council members, in addition to soliciting donations, also sold raffle tickets (for $1), and six other staff members were asked to sell tickets in their libraries in order to obtain coverage throughout the library system.

Our goal was to raise $1000.00, and we exceeded that goal by raising $1175.00. The arts and crafts items made by staff were on display at the holiday party before the drawing, and this helped sell quite a few tickets during the party.
 

Revision of Statement of Organization & Goals

At the beginning of the calendar year, with the mammoth planning projects of the holiday party and raffle behind us, M&PSA Council turned to the revision of the Statement of Organization & Goals. The Statement was last updated in 1980, and in revising we sought to better reflect the aims of the present organization, and to spark discussion of what our objectives ought to be. After discussing in committee, Emily Horning, Kalee Sprague and I worked out the phrasing of the Statement, and presented our changes to the Council, which were accepted. We made several changes throughout the document, amending the purpose significantly, to:

The purpose of the Association shall be to promote staff knowledge and development, morale, and staff relations by providing opportunities for greater interchange of information between Library staff members on topics of common interest. The Association shall also promote social relationships among staff members by welcoming new staff and organizing social and other cultural events. The Association shall promote goodwill in New Haven by sponsoring raffles and other events to benefit local charities and promoting activities, which enhance interaction with the local community.

Hand-in-hand with the revision of the statement of organization and goals was the development of the M&PSA web page, which may be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/mpsa. The web page includes the newly revised Statement of Organization & Goals, lists of Council members, meetings and minutes for the year, annual reports for the two previous years, a calendar of events, lists of nooks and crannies tours, a page of YUL staff resources, and another of New Haven links. The web site was announced on yulib in April. Emily Horning and Kalee Sprague and I all worked on various sections of this website, and Council members provided feedback during development. These pages have been updated throughout the year.

 
Speakers and Groups

M&PSA sponsored three events in the SML lecture hall this year. On February 18^th, Salt & Pepper Gospel Singers gave a concert for library staff from 4:30 to 5:30 as part of the Yale Library’s celebration of Black History Month. Two speakers were co-sponsored with SCOPA: Michael J. Morand, from the Office of New Haven Affairs, who spoke on May 7 at 9:30 about initiatives underway between Yale and the city of New Haven, and Edward Harris, Dean of the Southern Connecticut State University’s School of Library Science on July 9 at 10:30, who spoke on the library program at SCSU. These lectures afforded library staff an opportunity to hear about community events that impact their work and personal lives, and were well attended.

 
Art Expo

The library staff art expo, "Who Knew?" took place in the exhibit corridor adjoining the Wall Street exit from July 29 to August 5, the opening coinciding with the ice cream social. Sixteen staff members participated, exhibiting thirty-one items. Art was not limited to merely works of art on paper but also to such works as crochet, needlepoint, and pottery. Anthony Riccio and Sue Preneta were primarily responsible for the design of the layout of the cases, and exhibition labels were made with the help of Christa Sammons. Digital camera photos were made of the exhibit by Danuta Nitecki and Jeong Min Park and were mounted on the M&PSA web page. The art expo was a success; everyone was impressed with the high level of skill displayed as well as the diversity of interests, and library staff members learned a few things about their colleagues. People are eager already to participate next year, and I hope that this will become a yearly event.
 

Elections
 
Alexis Hagadorn resigned her position on M&PSA Council in October, when she left the library, and was replaced by alternate Anthony Riccio. Elections were held in May, and the following individuals were elected:

Kim Raseman, Library Shelving Facility Manager
Judy Spak, Medical Library

Alternates:
Calvin Hsu, East Asian Collection
Rich Richie, Southeast Asia Collection