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Dear ARLIS/NA Community,

As our transition to the ARLIS/NA Commons hits a big milestone—nearly a third of our members are already active participants in the site—I want to thank everyone who has helped build the community and encourage those who have not yet made the leap to come on over and check it out.

What is the ARLIS/NA Commons?

The ARLIS/NA Commons enables scholarly and professional collaborations, and is part of an open source network to support scholars and academic organizations. The benefits of joining the ARLIS/NA Commons are many. In addition to housing ARLIS/NA research and writing in the CORE repository, we are offering ARLIS/NA constituent groups (chapters, committees, sections, divisions, and SIGs) space to interact and manage their work. The Commons has several useful tools for groups including discussion groups similar to listservs and WordPress sites so groups can build their own websites.

While ARLIS/NA has managed dozens of listservs and websites for constituent groups within the society for some time, the Executive Board (in consultation with our management firm) has decided to move much of our society communication tools to the ARLIS/NA Commons. The change in format and platform is a strategic decision, as well as an operational decision with significant financial impact. 

Some chapters and other constituent groups have historically maintained their own listservs and websites, and they may choose to continue doing so. ARLIS/NA members will have access to the ARLIS/NA Commons discussion groups and will be able to directly contribute to blogs and documents. The Commons is a significant benefit of membership! But if it doesn’t work for your group, please feel free to continue managing tools that work for you. 

For our community members who are not ARLIS/NA members, please take another look at our membership categories. We’ve made concerted efforts to provide several affordable membership options. Full access to ARLIS/NA Commons is just one of the benefits of membership.

Thanks to Implementation Team and Adopters

A hearty thank you to all of the members of the ARLIS/NA Commons Implementation Task Force, especially Roger Lawson, Meredith Hale, Meredith Kahn, and Alexandra Provo. Their thoughtful troubleshooting and dogged determination has brought us this great tool. Cambria Happ and staff at the Humanities Commons have also made essential contributions that have made the Commons a reality for the Society. Thank you also to all of the constituent group leaders who have created a space for your group in the Commons and to the individuals who have created logins and joined groups. The more we use the Commons, the better a resource it will become. Most constituent listservs and sites that had been hosted by our previous management firm have now been migrated. In the coming weeks, any remaining listservs and sites will complete their migration. If you have not yet heard from a member of the Implementation Team about your listserv or site, you will soon.

Join the ARLIS/NA Commons now

Step 1:  You can join the ARLIS/NA Commons using the same email address you use for your ARLIS/NA membership. If you already have an established account on any Humanities Commons site, contact [log in to unmask] and ask that your existing HC account be linked to the ARLIS/NA Commons.

Step 2: While logged in, go to the Groups section of ARLIS/NA Commons. From here click on the blue button next to the group(s) you’d like to join. 

If you’re the leader of a constituent group and would like help setting up a space for your group, please be in touch. Guidelines on creating, joining, and managing a group can be found here.

More soon!

The ARLIS/NA Commons Implementation Task Force will be sponsoring a town hall meeting in the fall to highlight some of the Commons features and to answer questions. In the meantime, if you have questions about how the ARLIS/NA Commons can meet your needs, contact Meredith Hale, ARLIS/NA Commons Manager, at [log in to unmask]. Troubleshooting issues with logging into the Commons, technical problems with using Wordpress sites, Commons groups, or other functionality can be sent to [log in to unmask].

Best,