Call for Officers: CALA Southeast Chapter, 2026-2027 Term

Dear CALA colleagues,

The CALA Southeast (SE) Chapter invites applications for officer positions for the 2026-2027 term. This is a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the Chapter’s growth, support professional engagement across the Southeast region, and collaborate with CALA colleagues at both the regional and national levels.

We are seeking candidates for the following positions:

  • Vice President, 2026-2027: To assist the Chapter President in the overall management of the Chapter activities. The Vice President will assume the role of Chapter President for the 2027-2028 term.
  • Secretary/Treasurer, 2026-2027: Serving as information and communication manager for the Chapter President, taking meeting minutes, organizing and maintaining the Chapter’s Google Drive, and communicating with the CALA Treasurer.
  • Membership Officer, 2026-2027: Keeping up-to-date membership records for the Chapter and recruiting new members in the region. 

Eligibility: 

  • A current CALA member who works/studies, or will work/study, in the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
  • No prior leadership experience is required. 
  • MLIS or PhD students are welcome to apply.

Application process:

  • Please submit your application by July 13th to Wanheng Li, the current SE Chapter President (wanheng.li@vanderbilt.edu)
  • What to include in your application: Your name, affiliation, CALA membership status, position or interest, and a brief statement of interest (100-150 words)
  • A Chapter election may be conducted if we have multiple candidates for a position

Your service is important to our Chapter’s thriving, as we have many ongoing initiatives and are working to better serve our Chapter members. Officers are expected to actively contribute to Chapter activities, including the annual CALA Southeast & Southwest Chapters Joint Conference. In addition, the SE Chapter is currently collaborating with the Southwest Chapter on a CALASYS Grant Project, rebuilding our Chapter website, and exploring more opportunities for online and in-person events and cross-chapter/association collaboration.

Serving as a Chapter officer provides valuable opportunities, especially for earlier career professionals and library school students, to engage in event planning, expand your professional network, and contribute to a healthy and sustainable community for Chinese American librarians. The Chapter President and Vice President are also eligible for a $1,000 travel grant to attend the ALA Annual Conference.

We look forward to welcoming new officers and working together to strengthen the CALA SE Chapter. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 

Best,
Yi Wan

On behalf of CALA Southeast Chapter Officers

Wanheng Li, President, 2026-2027
Evie Wang, Webmaster, 2026-2027
Yi Wan, Immediate Past President, 2026-2027

2021 CALA Southeast and Southwest Chapters Joint Online Conference

Dear CALA Southeast Chapter Members,

Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Southeast (SE) and Southwest (SW) Chapters Joint Online Conference will be held on Friday, May 7, 2021, 1:00 PM- 3:30 PM EST. You are welcome to join our conference.

No registration is required. The conference agenda is attached.
Theme: Library 2021: Stories and Projects Sharing
Date: Friday, May 7
Time: 1:00-3:30 pm Eastern Time
Location: https://riceuniversity.zoom.us/j/92388482358?pwd=T0c1UE9peTk4aytZckpjeUhmQXFEZz09

We have four presentations.

Usability Study for TDR
Zhihong Xu, Associate Professor/Data Management Librarian at Texas A&M University

Just Keep Trying: Experiments in Outreach and Engagement During a Pandemic
Zackary Chance Medlin, Learning & Student Engagement Librarian at Texas A&M University Libraries
Sandy Avila, Science Librarian; Richard Harrison, Subject Librarian;
Sarah Norris, Scholarly Communication Librarian; Min Tong, Business Librarian, University of Central Florida Libraries

Civic Engagement during the Pandemic
Jian Anna Xiong, Government Information Coordinator; Amanda Thomas, User Experience/Public Services Librarian, Rice University.

We look forward to meeting you at our conference!

Best wishes,

Jianying Shou, President of CALA Southeast Chapter
Anna Xiong, President of CALA Southwest Chapter

CALA Southeast Chapter 2020-2021 Vice President Election Result

Dear CALA Southeast Chapter members,

On behalf of the 2020-2021 CALA Southeast Chapter, I am here to announce that the Southeast Chapter has finished its election process for 2020-2021 CALA Southeast Chapter Vice President/President-Elect. We sent out the election ballot email to all currently-registered Southeast Chapter members. The result shows we received 17 votes in total, and 16 of them are positive and one is incomplete.

We therefore announce that Xiying Mi is the 2020-2021 Vice President/President-Elect. Xiying will serve as vice president/president-elect for one year before stepping into her role as president in the summer of 2021. In addition to being the vice president/president-elect, Xiying will continue serving as Treasurer of the Southeast Chapter 2020-2022. Congratulations, Xiying. Thank you for your commitment.

Xiying Mi is working at the University of South Florida Tampa Library as a Digital Initiatives Metadata Librarian, Assistant Librarian. She received her MLIS from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She focuses on digital collections metadata creation and curation. Her research interests lie primarily in linked open data, metadata, and data management.

Again, the Chapter Committee wants to extend our wholehearted appreciation to each member for your participation in the election process and for your continuous support of the CALA Southeast Chapter.

Enjoy your holidays and stay safe!

Sincerely,

CALA Southeast Chapter President
Jianying Shou, jianyingshou@gmail.com

CALA Southeast Chapter Past President
Jia He, jiahe@southalabama.edu

CALA Southeast Chapter Webmaster
Yingqi Tang, tang@jsu.edu