Committees, Task Forces, and Interest Groups, 1926-2013 and undated

The operation of the committees and task forces of the Maryland Library Association produces such materials as correspondence; reports; rosters of members; program flyers; work plans; annual and mid-year reports; meeting agendas and minutes; and memos. The contribution of committee files has been sporadic over the years, thereby resulting in a random assortment in which some committees and task forces are thoroughly documented while other files contain relatively little information. Concerning long-standing committees, there are often gaps of years where very little, if any, information is available.

Committees that are well-represented include the Marketing Committee, Membership Committee, and Author Award Committee. These long-standing committees continue to serve the functions for which they were initially created. The Marketing Committee promotes awareness of the MLA, its goals and objectives throughout the state of Maryland. The Membership Committee tracks members and promotes membership within the MLA. The Awards Committee accepts and reviews nominations for annual MLA awards presented to deserving members. Committee files with limited information include the Binding Committee, Fundraising Committee, and Grievance Committee.

It should be noted that several files maintained by the Scholarship Committee on scholarship applicants are closed for a period of seventy-five years or until the death of the individual concerned. Applicants are members of the MLA who request funding for conferences or continuing education programs. In addition, materials of the Nominations and Elections Committee continue those of the Nominating Committee and cover the annual elections of MLA office holders. The materials in these files are arranged first chronologically by year and within years, intellectually following the election process. Related materials may be found in Series IV, Election of Officers of MLA. Files of the Conference Committee are found with the Conference materials in Series X.

Arrangement of the series is alphabetical by name of the committee or task force. Arrangement within folders is chronological. Some committees contain topical files representing an especially important event or function of the group.