***APOLOGIES FOR RECEIPT OF DUPLICATE POSTINGS*** Colleagues/ As many may be aware, there are several changes being considered in the Public Library Association (PLA) Bylaws. A major proposed change is the creation of various Communities of Practice to replace PLA committees:

Communities of Practice will replace many of the PLA Committees. Communities of Practice will be virtual groups that are interest- focused and member-driven. Members will have the power to create groups, as well as morph and/or disband them at their discretion. This will allow all 11,000+ members, many who are not able to travel to in-person committee meetings, to get involved with the organization and the public library issues they care about most. Communities of Practice, should the members choose, will still be able to meet in-person at ALA Annual Conference and Midwinter.

[ http://www.pla.org/ala/pla/bylawsannouncement.cfm ] For a forthcoming presentation, I am greatly interest in learning of Any and All Past, Present and/Future Association/Organizational Virtual Communities of Practice, particularly those of the Online Social Networking Kind. Note: At this time, I am only interested in *Virtual* >>Association / Organizational<< Communities of Practice. I am also interested in Any and All relevant literature, Web sites, blogs, wikis, etc. Please respond to this list and ** if at all possible, also submit as a comment on my _Friends_ blog posting*** Association/Organizational Virtual Communities of Practice? [ http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/2008/02/associationorganizational-v... ] I will post a summary to the e-List(s) of Any and All submissions to The Blog. Thanks!

From a Snowing Central Iowa ...

/Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu There is Nothing More Powerful Than An Idea Whose Time Has Come Victor Hugo [ http://www.blogger.com/profile/09093368136660604490 ] Iowa: Where the Tall Corn Flows and the (North)West Wind Blows ... [ http://www.alternativeenergyblogs.blogspot.com/ ]