How to Earn Academy Points
Individual Accomplishments I
Listed below are various professional teaching and publishing activities and the academy points that can be earned. For information about points earned for activities such as annual meeting and professional association participation, please see Individual Accomplishments II.
The number of points awarded for individual accomplishments is determined according to established standards. In each case, the documentation required to support the request for points is specified.
♦= counts toward the 5-point MLA activity requirement at the Distinguished Member level.
Teaching
Activity | Points per contact hour | Documentation required |
MLA CE course developer/codeveloper | 2 points | Copy of contract or letter of agreement or copy of title page listing individual's name and date of publication. |
MLA CE course instructor/co-instructor | 1 point | Copy of contract or letter of agreement, or copy of program or syllabus page listing individual's name and date the course was taught. |
Non-MLA course developer/codeveloper | 1 point | Copy of contract or letter of agreement or copy of title page listing individual's name and date of publication. |
Non-MLA CE course instructor/co-instructor | 1 point | Copy of contract or letter of agreement, or copy of program or syllabus page listing individual's name and date the course was taught. |
Academic Course Instructor/Co-instructor
Note: Please see below for the category on guest lecturing.
Activity |
Points |
semester course | 15 points |
trimester course | 14 points |
quarter course | 10 points |
Documentation required: Copy of institutional verification or copy of syllabus listing individual's name or letter from institution.
Clarification: Credit is awarded for credit courses in health information science.
MLA Discussion Group Convener ♦
Points Awarded: points per discussion group series as convener, in addition to the 8 points for participating in the series, (max. 26 points per five year period)
Documentation required: Copy of MLA notification of Discussion Group approval form with applicant's name as convener.
Internship/Practicum Supervisor
Points Awarded:4 points per person supervised
Documentation required:copy of letter of confirmation, letter of appreciation, or other verification.
Guest Lecturer
Points Awarded:2 points per class hour
Documentation required: Copy of letter of confirmation, letter of appreciation, or other verification.
MLA Teleconference Site Coordinator ♦
Points Awarded:1 point for coordinating the teleconference, plus 1 point for leading a wrap-around session
Documentation required: Copy of letter of confirmation and a copy of the attendee certificate.
Mentoring
MLA Self-Directed Learning Contract Program Mentor ♦
Points Awarded: 1 point per 3 points awarded to mentee
Documentation required: Copy of self-directed learning contract, indicating the number of points the mentee earned.
Academy Mentor ♦
Points Awarded: 1 point per year per mentee
Documentation required: Copy of letter of assignment.
Clarifications:
- A mentor can only claim points after he or she has been assigned a mentee. Points cannot be claimed for only volunteering to be a mentor.
- See Mentoring a Provisional Member for more information.
Mentor: Other Category ♦
(Includes serving as a mentor to medical librarians, students, new MLA members, mentoring opportunities, and career fair presentations).
Points Awarded:1 point per mentee (Maximum five points per five year academy membership)
Documentation required: Copy of Mentor Agreement.
Clarification for other mentor category: A mentor can only claim points after he or she has established a mentor/mentee relationship (i.e., speaker at a career fair presentation, mentoring a librarian or a student would each count as one point). Points cannot be claimed for volunteering to be a mentor.
Publishing
Clarification for all publications: Works in press may not be counted for points. The work must be completed (i.e., published) before points can be awarded.
Authoring
Clarification for all journal articles: Letters to the editor do not count as publications.
Peer-Reviewed Journal
Activity | Points |
Original research (single author) | 30 points |
Original research (2 or more) | 20 points |
Review article (single author) | 25 points |
Review article (2 or more) | 15 points |
Brief article, column, review author(s) | 10 points |
Book or media review author(s) | 3 points |
Brief column; less than 1,000 words | 3 points |
Documentation required: Copy of pages indicating that journal is peer-reviewed (this is not required for library science journals), copy of title page of journal, and a copy of the title page of the article/where the author's name appears.
Clarifications:
- Articles published in the research communications section of the JMLA are brief articles. Articles in similar sections of other peer-reviewed journals would also be considered brief articles.
- Must include word count with the copy of the brief column.
Non-Peer-Reviewed Journal
Activity | Points |
Original research (single author) | 9 points |
Original research (2 or more) | 6 points |
Review article (single author) | 7 points |
Review article (2 or more) | 5 points |
Brief article, column, review author(s) | 3 points |
Book or media review author(s) | 2 points |
Documentation required: Copy of title page of journal and a copy of title page of article.
Clarification: Contact MLA headquarters for help with clarification/definition.
Bylined Contribution in Newsletter
Points Awarded: 1 point
Documentation required: Copy of title page of newsletter and a copy of page where author's name appears.
Clarifications:
- The MLA News is considered a newsletter.
- Newsletter articles written as part of committee responsibilities are not awarded points. Points can be claimed, however, for committee work.
- Aricles in any publication of the employing institution are not awarded points.
Commercially Published Books and Materials
This category includes directories, indexes and bibliographies.
Activity |
Points |
Single author/editor | 50 points |
Author/editor (two or three) | 25 points |
Author/editor (four or more) | 20 points |
Author of chapter (three or fewer) | 15 points |
Author of chapter (four or more) | 8 points |
Librarian selector (i.e. Doody's) | 3 points per year |
Documentation Required: Copy of letter of agreement or letter of acknowledgment for librarian selector.
Guest Lecturer Noncommercially Published Materials
This category includes union lists, directories, bibliographies, indexes, and DocKits.
Activity |
Points |
Compiler (three or fewer) | 15 points |
Compiler (four or more) | 8 points |
Serials holdings coordinator | 3 points |
Documentation required: Copy of title page, verso, and table of contents.
Clarifications:
- Union lists compiled as part of committee responsibilities will not be awarded credit as a publication. Points can be claimed, however, for committee work.
- Coordination of serials holdings will not be awarded points if it is part of one's job responsibilities.
Software Development and Media Preparation
Points Awarded: 10 points
Documentation required: OCLC control number or copy of opening credits showing author's or developer's name if possible. Do not send a copy of the program itself.
Editing
Journal
Activity |
Points |
Editor/coeditor/associate editor | 50 points per year |
Guest editor of one issue/editor of conference proceedings | 25 points per issue/proceedings |
Guest coeditor of one issue/coeditor of conference proceedings | 20 points per issue/proceedings |
Column editor/coeditor | 15 points per year |
Referee/editorial board member | 15 points per year |
Invited article reviewer | 1 point per article |
Guest Lecturer National or International Newsletter
Activity |
Points |
Editor/coeditor/associate editor | 40 points per year |
Guest editor/coeditor of one issue | 20 points per issue |
Column editor/coeditor | 15 points per year |
Guest Lecturer Regional, State, Section and Chapter Newsletter
Activity |
Points |
Editor/coeditor/associate editor | 20 points per year |
Guest editor/coeditor of one issue | 10 points per issue |
Column editor | 8 points per year |
Referee/editorial board member | 5 points per year |
Documentation required for journal/newsletter editing: Copy of first page and copy of page on which editor's name appears.
For invited article reviewer, letter of request to serve as a reviewer.
Guest Contributor Websites, Mailing Lists, and Email Discussion Lists
Activity |
Points |
Discussion group or email discussion list owner Announcement list owner Less than 500 subscribers More than 500 subscribers |
5 points per year 10 points per year |
List moderator (read, approve, post) Less than 500 subscribers More than 500 subscribers |
10 points |
MLANET area editor | 15 points per year |
Website, blog or wiki manager/administrator, developer (responsible for management, administration, design, development, programming, and technical aspects of a website) | 20 points per year |
Website, blog, or wiki content provider/creator/editor/reviewer/writer (i.e., GoLocal, NC Health Info, MLANET page editor). (Responsible for researching, evaluating, reviewing, writing, and editing Web site content) | 5 points per year |
Documentation required: Job description and list description. Copy of letter or certificate of acknowledgment.
Clarification: Applies to work on web sites, mailing lists, list servs, blogs & wikis as part of library related national, international, regional, state, section or chapter sites/lists. Purpose of the site should be relevant to the profession. Work done as part of an officer or committee assignment or done as a part of one's job is not awarded points.
MLA External Book Reviewer
Points Awarded |
1 point per chapter |
10 points per book |
Documentation required: Copy of letter of agreement or letter of acknowledgment.
(revised 10/13)
Return to How to Earn Academy Points: Continuing Education
Continue to How to Earn Academy Points: Individual Accomplishments, Part II
Get AHIP Points Tally Form now (download Word).