In a statement at the National Academy of Sciences meeting on public access to federally supported research and development publications, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, the MLA’s director of scholarly communication, discussed the changing role of professional societies in the Internet era. Citing the ability to disseminate one’s work through a platform like MLA Commons, Fitzpatrick posited that “the value of joining a scholarly society in the age of open, public Web-based communication may be in participation.” Read the full text of her statement on the office of scholarly communication blog.