During this time, I treasured the opportunity of being the first Puerto Rican American and second-youngest ALA president in the organization’s 143-year history. I have loved representing ALA nationally and internationally and collaborating with a talented Executive Board. Over the past year, ALA has helped secure funding for libraries to keep them open, equipped, and … Continue reading Moving the Needle
In the most basic terms, an association is simply a voluntary organization of persons with common interests and ends, joining formally to achieve things they could not achieve—or could not achieve as well—alone. It’s an observation made in the early 1800s in Democracy in America by French historian Alexis de Tocqueville as he witnessed Americans … Continue reading At the Core of Our Work
Threats to libraries include budget cuts and legislation that would directly impact people from our communities, including women, children, first-generation college students, job seekers, new US residents, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and all the other people who visit our libraries every day. Our strategy needs to be twofold: library advocacy and community engagement. We … Continue reading Supporting Our Agenda
As a first step, a three-member ALA Workplace Wellness Advisory Committee and I collaborated with the American Library Association–Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) to renew the wellness website started by former ALA President Loriene Roy (2007–2008). Thanks to graduate students in Roy’s School of Information class at University of Texas at Austin, the site has been … Continue reading Immerse Yourself in Wellness
While these successes are worth celebrating, there are still many challenges ahead as we focus on achieving our mission in a forward-looking, financially sustainable manner. The General Fund posted an operating deficit, albeit a much smaller one than in the past two years. Midwinter Meeting results missed expectations as our very talented and committed Conference … Continue reading A Year of Progress
What’s the first thing someone should think about when negotiating salary? Research. If there is one aspect of job negotiation that is tailor-made for someone with an LIS background, it’s this. Exhaust every available resource to come into any negotiation armed with evidence to support the worth of your expertise and services in a position. … Continue reading The Salary Question
Applying for a job “I know we’re all guilty of this in the HR profession: We sometimes create a very lengthy list of qualifications in our job postings. I have heard that that can be daunting to early-career people. I would suggest they go ahead and apply but try to amplify in their cover letter … Continue reading HR Confidential
Focus on the job seeker, not just staffing needs. Many job announcements have become no more than a dry HR position description pasted into an email. Remember that this is an advertisement, and your goal is to attract the interest of terrific candidates. Save the laundry list of infrequent duties for later in the process, … Continue reading Help Wanted
Take, for example, Los Angeles Public Library, which partners with the city to provide patrons access to free classes to obtain a high school diploma. Or librarians in Alaska, who have partnered with the state to use devices to identify bats in danger of extinction and help preserve the biodiversity of the region. As many … Continue reading From Local to Global
Change takes commitment, courage, and effort. By collaborating, we can take action to ensure that libraries receive the support needed to continue serving communities at academic, public, school, special, and all other types of libraries. The voices of our big ALA team of more than 58,000 members and advocates from across the globe make us … Continue reading Libraries = Strong Communities
Perhaps the most pressing arena has been federal funding for libraries and a wide range of legislative and legal battles in areas like intellectual freedom, privacy, net neutrality, copyright, and government information. We implemented the ALA Policy Corps: individuals who will develop deep and sustained knowledge of key policy sectors and will receive training in … Continue reading Value and Impact
In the November/December issue of American Libraries, ALA President Jim Neal issued a call to ALA members to consider the 21st-century effectiveness and agility of an organization with governance documents dating back more than 140 years. He called for a review of ALA’s organizational effectiveness with the aim of revitalizing the Association. At the 2018 … Continue reading Modernizing Our Association
