But as we hear often, many members find the path to engagement too confusing, too insular, and too expensive. How do we address these concerns while also modernizing the way our Association functions? This is where we start. For the past 18 months, as a member of the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE), I’ve … Continue reading Forward Together
Memorials were read for Donald B. Cleveland (M#6), Nicolette Warisse Sosulski (M#7), Anne J. Hoffman (M#8), Patricia Meyer Battin (M#9), Catherine Patricia Riesenman (M#10), and Lucille Cole Thomas (M#11). Tributes were offered to honor Ann Carlson Weeks (T#2), Christine Lind Hage (T#2), and Prue Adler (T#4). ALA Treasurer Susan H. Hildreth presented the FY20 annual … Continue reading Council III: Memorial, Tributes, and Resolutions
Shali Zhang, chair of the Committee on Organization, proposed an action item (CD#27.1) to add representatives from the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries to the Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds Committee. The motion passed. Zhang also reported that the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and … Continue reading Council II: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations
American Library Association (ALA) President Loida Garcia-Febo called the first Council meeting to order at 8:00 on June 23. This Council session began with a facilitated discussion on equity, diversity, and inclusion through a social justice lens, facilitated by DeEtta Jones, founder and principal of DeEtta Jones and Associates. Upon reconvening, the minutes from the … Continue reading Council I Approves Renaming Dewey Medal
Reyes has previously held roles in the American Health Information Management Association in Chicago and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists in Park Ridge, Illinois. She studied health information management as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Chicago and has a dual master’s in public health and management information systems from Benedictine University. … Continue reading 11 Questions: Sheryl Reyes
Memorials were read for Amber Clark, Wanda V. Dole, Leroy Hommerding, James Ray Jarrell, Merlyn Miller, and Carlton C. Rochell. A tribute resolution was read for ALA Round Tables Program Manager Danielle M. Ponton (Alderson), and a standing ovation was given in honor of JoAnne Kempf, director of the Office of ALA Governance, who is … Continue reading Council III: Resolutions, Tributes, and Memorials
Policy Monitoring Committee (PMC) Chair Gladys Smiley Bell presented the PMC report (CD#17) with three action items. Motions to insert a new interpretation of Library-Initiated Programs as a Resource into B.2.1.11 of Library Bill of Rights, a new interpretation on Services to People with Disabilities into B.2.1.21 of the Library Bill of Rights, and the … Continue reading Council II: Resolutions and Organizational Effectiveness
The minutes from the 2018 ALA Annual Conference (CD#2) were adopted. ALA Past President Courtney L. Young gave the report of the ALA Executive Director Search Committee (CD#34), which will begin its work in February. Candidates for Chapter Councilor to the committee are Susan Jennings, Samantha C. Helmick, Matt Beckstrom, and David Dahl. Councilor-at-large Round … Continue reading Council I Votes on Sustainability
Michelle Obama at Annual At the Annual Conference of the American Library Association (ALA) in New Orleans, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden conversed before an overflow crowd of 8,000. Obama spoke about her family, her career, and writing her memoir—and about getting her first library card at age 4. … Continue reading 2018 Year in Review
Another core value is intellectual freedom, and we have a long and proud history of supporting it in the face of censorship. Because we attempt to represent a diversity of perspectives in our collections, displays, and programming, most libraries contain material that some patrons might find offensive. But what if a perspective repudiates the dignity … Continue reading When Values Collide
The motion to rescind the 2018 version was approved. Ninety of the 179 councilors were required to vote. Seventy-five percent of those voting were needed to approve the measure. A total of 146 voted on this question, representing 82% of eligible voters. The final tally: 140 voted to rescind, four voted not to rescind, and … Continue reading ALA Council Rescinds “Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of The Library Bill of Rights”
Among the many big-name speakers in the Big Easy was former First Lady Michelle Obama, who opened the conference with an inspiring talk about work ethic, raising children, being a woman, striving for work/life balance, and the importance of remembering one another’s humanity. “I know that there are so many people in this country, in … Continue reading 2018 Annual Wrap-Up
