MEMBERSHIP
Over the past year PALA welcomed 45 new members and overall membership has
increased by about thirty percent. As of today we have 101 active members from
16 states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kansas, California, Colorado,
North Dakota, and Washington, D.C.). We also have one member from Canada.
ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOPMENTS
PALA’s activities and developments over the past year included:
On February 24, 2013 PALA held its third Annual Meeting and Open House at
the Polish Museum of America. The event was attended by 85 participants and
included a general business meeting, scholarship presentation, lunch buffet, and
informal networking opportunities. Stuart Dybek delivered the keynote speech
and two campaigns, the Jan Karski campaign and All Polonia Reads to Kids, were
presented during the event. The Annual Meeting and Open House concluded with
a tour of the museum and library.
Prompted by one of your members, PALA Board supported the campaign for
PNCC Studies inclusion in JSTOR by writing a letter of support to the Prime
Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church.
In May, PALA, as represented by Aldona Salska, appeared on a Polish radio
station to speak about libraries and answered library service related questions
from radio listeners.
In June, PALA made an appearance at the American Library Association Annual
Conference (Chicago, Il). PALA board members staffed an exhibit booth that not
only promoted PALA but also Polish writers, publishers, and film makers. During
the conference, PALA partnered with ALA’s Ethnic and Multicultural Exchange
Round Table for a Taste of Town Tour visiting the Polish Museum of America and
a Polish restaurant, twenty-one individuals attended this event. PALA also hosted
an informal networking dinner for conference participants at Szalas Restaurant.
In October, three PALA board members, Aldona Salska, Elizabeth Marszalik, and
Joanna Klos presented a program at the Illinois Library Association Conference.
The program entitled “Serving Immigrant Communities: The Potential for Ethnic
Librarians” explored steps libraries can take to better served their immigrant
communities and promoted the work of ethnic librarians and their networks. The
program was very well received.
In November PALA became a co-sponsor of the 25 th Polish Film Festival in
America which provided an opportunity for PALA to promote Polish history and
culture, as well as increase PALA’s visibility. As part of co-sponsorship PALA
hosted the screening of the film Baczynski.
In December, revisions to the bylaws were proposed by the Executive Board and
approved by the majority of the membership. The major changes included an
addition of the Executive Director position and shortening the president and
vice-president position term from two years to one year.
PALA’s website, developed by Marcin Terlik, was updated with additional content
such as updated bylaws and additional programing resources.
In partnership with the School of Library and Information Science at Dominican
University, the scholarship committee received a winning essay and will present
the third and final Vera May Barnes Zubrzycki scholarship during the 4 th Annual
Meeting.
A strategic plan 2013-2014 was developed to provide a focus for PALA’s future
goals and objectives.
A new program has been planned out and will launch this year. The Polish Book
Club, in partnership with Loyola University, will meet throughout the Chicago
area libraries and at Loyola University to encourage readership of Polish
literature and works highlighting Polish history and culture.
COOPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
PALA’s cooperation with other library and education organizations continued this past
year.
Two PALA Board Members, Malgorzata Kot and Elizabeth Marszalik visited with
the Polish Librarians Association, June 6, 2013. The visit reinforced PALA’s
cooperation with the Polish Librarians Association and resulted in continued
mutual support. The visit also included a tour of the National Library of Poland
and was followed with the publication of an article about PALA in PLA’s
Bibliotekarz professional publication.
In August PALA’s board member, Leonard Kniffel, attended the IFLA conference
in Singapore. Leonard Kniffel met with fellow PALA members and Polish IFLA
delegates and discussed the need for Polish organizations to be present on the
international level. The meeting concluded with plans to organize a more formal
meeting at the next IFLA conference to be held in France in 2014.
CAMPAIGNS SUPPORTED BY PALA
During this past year PALA has continued to support the two campaigns that we joined
the previous year.
Aldona Salska represented PALA at the Jan Karski book launch reception and
panel discussion in Washington D.C. on March 18, 2013. PALA distributed
information about the Karski Campaign while exhibiting at the American Library
Association Conference and My Report to the World: Story of a Secret State by
Jan Karski will be the first title launching PALA’s Polish Book Club. Leonard
Kniffel, a supporter of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation, represented PALA
November 22, 2013, at the first anniversary celebration of the Foundation at the
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, where U.S Permanent
Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power received the Spirit of Jan
Karski Award for her exemplary work in advancing the issue of genocide
prevention.
As part of PALA support of the campaign All of Polonia Reads to Kids, Elizabeth
Marszalik has completed the online training course and applied her knowledge to
host a highly successful event in October at the Indian Trails Public Library,
thought which Polish parents and children learned the benefits of reading out
loud twenty minutes a day, every day.
Thank you very much for your attention and support. This concludes the Annual
Report.
Submitted by PALA Board
Presented by Joanna Klos at the 4 rd Annual Meeting on February 23, 2014