Council III Tackles Privacy Issues, Vaccines for Library Workers

By Amy Carlton | January 26, 2021

American Library Association (ALA) President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. called the third Council meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. on January 26 as part of the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits Virtual.

Memorials were read for Susan S. Lazinger (M#1), Vicki J. Terbovich (M#2), Yvonne J. Chandler (M#3), Luisa Vigo-Cepeda (M#4), Marjorie Lewis (M#5), Judy Yung (M#6), Susana Liu (M#7), and Violette Y. Brooks (M#8). Tributes were read to recognize former Public Library Association Director Barb Macikas (T#1), Patricia Ann Tumulty (T#2), Ona Šimaitė (T#3), Barbara Johns (T#4), and Judith M. Nixon (T#5).

Jessica Jupitus, chair of the ALA Council Tellers Committee, presented the ALA Executive Board election results (CD#11.2). Christina Rodriques, Ana Elisa de Campos Salles, and Sam Helmick were elected to three-year terms (2021–2024).

International Relations Committee (IRC) Chair Ismail Abdullahi reported on IRC’s activities (CD#18), including updates on a virtual dialogue with Russian librarians in September and new resources from the ALA Task Force on the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Martin Garnar, chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC), provided an update on IFC’s activities (CD#19), including a revised Q&A on digital resources and services, library privacy guidelines for students in K–12 schools, and a library privacy checklist for vendors. The tenth edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual was recently published by ALA Editions. A resolution in opposition to facial recognition software in libraries (CD#19.2) passed as amended. A resolution on the misuse of behavioral data surveillance in libraries (CD#19.3) also passed.

Garnar and Abdullahi presented a joint report from IRC and IFC on the committees’ working group. A further update will follow at ALA’s Annual Conference in June.

ALA Treasurer Maggie Farrell presented the Association’s FY2022 budget objectives (CD#13.1). A motion to approve the objectives passed. Farrell then provided an update on the Operating Agreement Work Group (CD#40).

A resolution on replacing the Library of Congress subject heading “illegal aliens” with “undocumented immigrants” (CD#44) was removed from consideration and will be re-evaluated for Annual in June with feedback from the Core Subject Analysis Committee Working Group. (Council passed a similar resolution in 2016.)

Councilor Jennifer Boettcher introduced a resolution to classify library workers as a priority workforce in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine (CD#45); it passed as amended.

ALA Honorary Membership was granted to former ALA Executive Director Robert Wedgeworth.

ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall reported that ALA Midwinter Virtual had 7,121 total attendees, including 2,016 student members. This compares with 8,099 registrants in Philadelphia in 2020 and 9,211 in Seattle in 2019.

AMY CARLTON is senior editor of American Libraries.

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Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13
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ALSC Blog, Nov. 15
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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. A committee of ALA member leaders will oversee the search. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14
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American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.