Several members of the New York Library Association have expressed an interest in establishing a Rural Libraries Roundtable. In order for the Roundtable to be established, 25 members must agree to pay the extra $5 to join. Outlined below is the statement of purpose. Please respond to NYLA Executive Director Michael Borges by January 25th if you are interested in joining this proposed Roundtable.

Rural Libraries Roundtable
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of the NYLA Rural Libraries Roundtable is to enable librarians, library managers, friends and trustees of rural libraries to keep in touch with each other as well as assist NYLA in its mission and goals. This roundtable could potentially be of interest to libraries of all types including public, school, small urban branches, special and corporate, and small academic.

The roundtable would serve these functions:
1. Create a network of people interested in development of rural and small libraries.
2. Provide a forum for the smallest of NY state libraries to exchange ideas and experiences.
3. Provide an opportunity for continuing education relevant to small, rural and one-person libraries.

Roundtable Structure:
The Rural Libraries Roundtable would be managed by a committee to be elected every two years. The committee structure would be as follows: President/ Vice-President / Treasurer / Secretary – two year terms for each position. The committee would organize events for rural librarians at the NYLA Conference and oversee other activities of the roundtable. These activities might include a newsletter, regional gatherings with speakers, creation of a speaker database for topics of interest to small libraries and other functions requested by the members.