ALA Presidential Candidates

It is that time of year again! The ALA Nominating Committee has chosen Kent Oliver and Roberta Stevens to run for ALA President.

I am strongly endorsing Kent for President.

Kent was the Kansas Chapter Councilor when I first joined Council. He was an incredible mentor to me in my early years. He also co-convened what was then called the Council Caucus. In that role he was also a role model for organizing the group, and an excellent example of fairness and listening. He encouraged/cajoled me into following in his footsteps in that group as well.

While Kent is no longer in Kansas (he got a great job in Ohio), I know that one of the things he brings to his ALA roles is the importance of the Chapters (state associations) and the critical relationship between ALA and the Chapters. Sometimes this relationship is strained when ALA leaders forget about or do not understand the local situations.

Kent ably served as the chair of ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee for four years. It is a tremendous vote of confidence to have four successive ALA Presidents appoint you to chair this very important committee.

Please support Kent. I expect that he will have events at ALA Midwinter, or you can visit his web site. There is also Kent's personal page on FaceBook (feel free to be his friend) and the Campaign's page on Facebook.