American Library Association (ALA) President Emily Drabinski called to order the second ALA Council meeting of the 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego at 9:06 a.m. on June 30. The agenda for Council II (CD#8.5) was adopted as amended.
Committee on Organization Chair Andrew Pace gave a report on the committee’s activities (CD#27.1) and presented several action items. Council voted to table discussion of a proposal to establish a new Makerspace Round Table until LibLearnX. A proposal to change the name and charge of the Training, Orientation, and Leadership Development Committee to the ALA Leadership Development Committee passed, as did proposals to establish a new Affiliates Committee and dissolve the Committee on Research and Statistics.
Brian E. C. Schottlaender, chair of the Bylaws Committee, reported on the committee’s activities (CD#25.1) and put forth a proposal to amend Article XIII, Section 1 of the ALA Bylaws to exclude annual estimates of income as part of the budget process. The proposal passed.
Policy Monitoring Committee chair Elena Carrillo put forth the committee’s recommendation to strike outdated material from the ALA Policy Manual (CD#17.1); it was accepted. The deletions touch on topics ranging from national security in the nuclear age to AIDS screening for library employees.
Heather Campbell, chair of the Publishing Committee, reported on recent accomplishments (CD#32.1) and proposed the creation of an ALA journal publication ethics policy (CD#32.2) based on guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics. The proposal passed.
LGBTQIA+ Library Workers Taskforce Chair Kate Alderete presented the group’s plan (CD#49) to address the increasing threat of discrimination against queer library workers by providing resources and gathering data to better understand the nuances of such incidents.
After the committee reports, there was wide-ranging discussion about the future of the Association. Dozens of councilors approached the microphone with ideas about member engagement, fiscal responsibility, public perception, AI, the needs of rural and tribal libraries, support for school libraries and the freedom to read, and ongoing work on ALA’s operating agreement.
In closing announcements, Interim ALA Executive Director Leslie Burger announced that as of June 30, Annual registration reached 7,901 paid registrants (13,445 total). Drabinski adjourned the meeting at 11:22 a.m.
