Meet the 2018 Executive Board Candidates: Marsha Taichman, Secretary

The VRA annual election of officers will take place November 1-30, 2018.  Members will receive an email on November 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot.  Please vote and show your support to the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.About the CandidateMarsha Taichman is the Visual Resources & Public Services Librarian at Cornell University. She works primarily with the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, but also provides research and instruction to many disciplines in the Arts & Sciences. She has a Master’s degree in Art History from Concordia University, and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, both in Montreal, Quebec. Her undergraduate degree is from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and she studied English Literature and Literary Nonfiction there.Marsha has co-chaired the VRA Education Committee with Beth Haas since 2015, and has been an Education Committee member since 2012. Between 2015-2017, she chaired the VRA Online Learning Task Force, and, with a team comprised of VRA members Jasmine Burns, Marie Elia, Stephen Patton, Chris Strasbaugh and Betha Whitlow, she reviewed the online learning initiatives of other professional organizations, piloted webinars for the VRA membership, and wrote a report that will inform how the VRA Board will proceed with promoting online learning. Marsha is currently a member of the VRA Awards Committee and has been a member of the Development Committee.

Goals

My membership with VRA has truly enriched my experience as a visual resources librarian. The VRA community has provided an educated and supportive professional network that has been incredibly useful to me work-wise and personally, and the relationships that I’ve formed within this group are very meaningful.As the VRA Secretary, my intention would be to give back to the membership by supporting the Board with administrative and organizational tasks. I have worked with ARLIS and VRA on regional conference planning, and in my dedication to the Education Committee, where it is our collective responsibility to build and support programming for the national conference. My previous and current involvement chairing committees would allow me to join the Board with a good sense of how to support these entities, and would prepare me to be an even more productive member of these and other groups in the future.