¾«¶«´«Ã½

---

Open Letter about the IRRT ¾«¶«´«Ã½Student Chapter Affiliate Initiative

March 25, 2009

Dear ¾«¶«´«Ã½Student Chapters:

I am writing to notify you about an exciting opportunity now offered by the International Relations Round Table (IRRT) of ALA. The IRRT promotes interest in library issues and librarianship worldwide by developing programs and activities which further the international objectives of ¾«¶«´«Ã½and by providing hospitality and information to visitors from abroad at the Annual Conference. Examples of IRRT activities include advocating sister library partnerships, providing a forum for international speakers at the ¾«¶«´«Ã½Annual Conference, and sharing information about international opportunities for librarians.

In 2004 a group of ¾«¶«´«Ã½student chapter members at Simmons College requested to form an IRRT affiliated student group. The IRRT is pleased to honor this request and offer the same opportunity to all ¾«¶«´«Ã½Student Chapters. To take advantage of this opportunity, your student chapter must be an official affiliate of the ¾«¶«´«Ã½. A member must contact the IRRT and make a formal request that the IRRT recognize a sub-group of your ¾«¶«´«Ã½student chapter as an official affiliate. Correspondence may be sent via e-mail to intl@ala.org or by regular mail to:

International Relations Office
Attn: International Relations Round Table
¾«¶«´«Ã½
50 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2795

There is no charge for this privilege. Individual members of your sub-group are not required to become individual members of the IRRT, though we encourage student membership by offering a reduced membership rate of $5.00 per year.

Benefits of affiliating with the IRRT include:

*¾«¶«´«Ã½Student Chapter subscription to International Leads.
*Notification about IRRT activities at the Midwinter and Annual Conferences.
*Share information about your sub-group's activities on the IRRT web site and in International Leads.
*Network at conferences with librarians in the U.S. and around the world who are interested in creating international connections and partnerships.
*Propose programs or discussion groups to be hosted under the auspices of the IRRT at ¾«¶«´«Ã½conferences.
*Work with IRRT to find speakers for local chapter events.
*Individuals who become members of the IRRT may apply to serve on IRRT committees.

As this is a new opportunity, the IRRT is interested in exploring further benefits with student chapter affiliates once they are formed. If you have a group of members who would like to be affiliated with the IRRT, please contact me at huntjl@mail.montclair.edu. I will be pleased to answer any questions.

Sincerely,


Judith Lin Hunt
Chair, International Relations Round Table
http://www.ala.org/irrt/