ALA Council I: Reports and Resolutions

New prison library standards passed, new Executive Board appointments discussed

By Megan Bennett | June 25, 2023

American Library Association (ALA) President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada called the first ALA Council meeting of the 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago to order at 2:41 p.m. on June 24.

The Rules and Guidelines for ALA Hybrid Council Meetings (CD #5.1) and the agenda for Council I (CD #8.6) were adopted, and the minutes from the LibLearnX Council meeting in January (CD #2.1) were amended and approved.

ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall reviewed Executive Board actions taken since the January meetings at LibLearnX (CD #15.1) and the implementation of Council actions since then (CD #9.1).

Resolutions Committee chair Rodney Lippard gave the committee’s report and introduced a resolution to no longer require pre-registration for members to vote in person at the hybrid Membership meeting starting at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition, creating a same-day registration voting option (CD #10.2). The motion passed.

Incoming ALA President Emily Drabinski, chair of the Committee on Committees (COC), presented the nominations for the 2023-2024 COC and the 2022 Planning and Budget Assembly (PBA) Election (CD #12). The tellers for the COC and PBA Election were also announced (CD #12.1).

Carla Davis-Castro, chair of the Committee on Diversity, presented an action item to review and approve the 2023 edition of the ALA Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated and Detained (CD #14.1). The motion passed nearly unanimously with a vote of 144-0-1.

Brian Schottlaender, chair of the Bylaws Committee, presented an action item to amend Article VIII, Section 1(A) of the ALA Bylaws, removing the listing of each current standing committee (CD #25.1). The motion passed.

Aliqae Geraci, chair of Nominating Committee (NC), presented the committee’s report (CD #26.1). Geraci explained that the recent changes to the ALA Bylaws will gradually bring the number of Councilors-At-Large down to 36 by 2026. This means NC is searching for 18 candidates for 12 spots, rather than the usual 50 candidates. The official call for nominations will come after Annual.

In light of this month’s announcement of the appointment of two ALA members to the Executive Board, filling new seats that were created under the new ALA Bylaws, Pelayo-Lozada presented an Executive Board Appointments FAQs to explain the process and precedent (CD #35).

A resolution on actions by the Executive Board then passed (CD #60), which called on the Policy Manual Revision Working Group to review the process for vacancy appointments to the Executive Board and the Bylaws Committee to develop recommendations regarding a process in which Executive Board actions “may be reviewed, amended or overturned by Council or Membership.” Updates will be presented at the 2024 LibLearnX.

Executive Board member Sara Dallas presented a successful resolution to reaffirm ALA’s position on the freedom to read (CD #55). Hall also reported Annual registration numbers, which by end of day June 23 was a total of 15,486 (9,289 paid), exceeding the number of expected registrants and exhibitors.

Pelayo-Lozada adjourned the meeting at 4:03 p.m.

MEGAN BENNETT is an associate editor at American Libraries.

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