I hope you have marked May 7th from 9a - 12p on your calendar for the 2021 NILRC Annual Meeting. All staff at NILRC member institutions are welcome to attend this free opportunity to engage with colleagues from across Illinois and Missouri. The agenda with the meeting link can be viewed here.

We regret that we won't be able to meet in person for a second year. Hopefully, this online format will allow many of you to carve out a few hours to touch base with your community college colleagues. Here's a bit about what we have planned.

After a business meeting where we will elect our new Board and learn about some improvements to our listserv, there will be three presentations. We'll take some time to share how we think NILRC can best support member institutions with OER in a conversation facilitated by Frances Whaley and Ashtin Trimble who have been representing NILRC in an Illinois stakeholders working group. We'll also learn about interesting solutions to challenges we have had to face head-on during the pandemic. Laura Burt-Nicholas from College of DuPage will share her experience successfully transforming a planned in-person event to a virtual format. And finally, a panel of colleagues from four NILRC libraries (College of Lake County, Oakton, Moraine Valley, and Lincoln Land) will discuss technology solutions they have adopted to better serve and engage with students before and during the pandemic.

I for one am really looking forward to seeing all of you. I hope you'll set aside a little time on a Friday to catch up with us and learn about the great things NILRC members are doing!

Delegates and Alternates, don't forget to respond to the survey Lois sent asking for the contact information for the Delegate or Alternate voting on behalf of your institution!

Regards,

Jennifer McIntosh
NILRC Chair 2020-21
chair@nilrc.org