ALA Elections - Part 2 - President

I am enthusiastically supporting Courtney Young for ALA President in this election. I am excited about her candidacy. If elected she would become ALA's youngest President. Yet at the same time, she has built an incredible track record in the Association already.

Let me pause for a moment to talk about my history of public endorsements. For my first seven years of service on ALA Council I was the Connecticut Chapter Library Association. In that role, I worked to connect the state association with the national one, and worked to help the chapter members to become more active in their national association. In that role, I did not think it was appropriate to campaign for any candidate for ALA office (well, except when I was running). I then served three years on the ALA Executive Board. As one of those chosen from ALA Council to help govern the Association, it was not appropriate for me to choose one candidate over the other since I would be working with the winner, no matter who it was. Since then, I have actively worked for some ALA candidates.

As in many past years, there are two very good candidates for ALA President. My endorsement of Courtney does not diminish my respect (personal and professional) for her opponent.

Here are some of the reasons why I am supporting Courtney:

1. Courtney has vision and an understanding of where the Association needs to go.
2. Courtney has had leadership experience, particularly through the New Members Round Table which is an important source of engaging new librarians.
3. She has a great deal of background in the financial issues which will continue to be important in setting ALA's direction. (She has served on many of the same committees on which I have served.)
4. She is very articulate. As ALA President you never know what external event will shape your ALA President, and I am sure that Courtney will handle whatever comes her way with complete confidence and aplomb.

Here is a link to the debate held at ALA Midwinter. (Fair warning that it automatically plays...) Courtney is the first of the two ALA Presidential candidates to speak.

Finally, for Facebook fans (yes, I am powerless over Facebook, and my life there has become unmanageable), Courtney's campaign has a Facebook page. That is in addition to the traditional web page.

I have one final observation about ALA Presidential candidates. Usually the candidates are chosen to give some choice. Rarely is it male versus female (although that does happen). More often it is an ALA insider versus an outsider. In this case the insider is Courtney. I am supporting her because of this. An ALA President realistically has only a little more than 2 years to accomplish any specific goals. The winner of the election has the two months (or so) between the results being announced and Conference to get up and running. There is one year as President-Elect to set the stage, and one year as President to get something done. I have seen enough to realize that once the spotlight is off (as immediate Past President), not much new is accomplished on any specific goals. Some ALA leaders have effectively worked with their predecessors and successors to accomplish more than would be expected. And Courtney is one of those who will be able to do this because she understands both how important it is, and how to actually do it. With a short window, the insider has a much better chance of achieving results.

Please vote for Courtney.

On Gorman

First about my relationship with Michael Gorman. I first met him when I started Library School at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in June 1975. He was teaching the introductory class for the library school at the end of his first stint in the US. Later, our paths crossed occasionally at ALA, including on ALA Council. At the Midwinter Meeting in 2003, I was nominated for election to the ALA Executive Board. Michael Gorman was nominated from the floor. When we gave our speeches to Council (the extent of our "campaigns"), I was assigned to sit at the end of the table on the podium, with Michael Gorman next to me. Thank goodness I got to speak first!

Along with Jim Rettig, we were both elected to the ALA Executive Board. The three of us began our service at the end of the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of fun. It was during our three year terms that Michael ran for, and won election to serve as the ALA President in 2005/06. So, at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans (2006), he ended his term as ALA President as Jim Rettig and I ended our terms on the ALA Executive Board. (And for those who don't know Jim, he ran for, and won election, as ALA President in 2007, serving as President in 2007/8.)

So, why am I blathering on about Gorman? I just finished reading Broken Pieces: A Library Life, 1941-1978. It is his autobiography. I found it fascinating, partly because I know him. It is also very personal and revealing about some of the mental health issues which he faced as he began his library career.

Cataloguers (especially those of a "certain age") will find the discussion on the production of AACR2 (Ango-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition) most enlightening.

As is his style, he is very forthright about his opinions. In this book, most of those opinions related to cataloging issues, from his evaluation of the older rules (pre-AACR) used in both the US and UK, as well as the proposal for a whole new scheme for cataloging methods.

He notes that AACR2 probably should not have been called the second edition, but been given a whole new name. Based on what I read in his work, I think I agree. I also agree with his comments about "tagging" versus the controlled vocabulary offered by Library of Congress Subject Headings (even with the shortcomings of LCSH).

It will be interesting to see what happens in the cataloging world. I feel better prepared to think about it and talk about it.

I think the book is well worth the time to read, even if you do not personally know Michael Gorman.

Post #501 - ALA Elections 2011

Wow....I have done 500 posts since July 2005.

ALA Ballots are out. In past years, some colleagues would ask my advice on voting choices. Here are mine for this year.

First, for ALA President, I am voting for Maureen Sullivan.

For ALA Council this is the year we will elect 34 Councilors. There is one vacancy, so the person who is 35th highest in votes will fill out a 2 year term. I commend:

• Diedre (Dee) Conkling
• Martin L. Garnar
• Charles E. Kratz*
• Diane R. Chen*
• Linda Mielke
• Matthew P. Ciszek
• John Carl Sandstrom
• Jenny Emanuel
• JP Porcaro
• J.Douglas (Doug) Archer
• Kate Kosturski
• Shirley Ann Bruursema
• Roberto Carlos Delgadillo
• Pamela C. Sieving
• Andrew K. Pace
• Margaret L. Kirkpatrick
• Em Claire Knowles*
• John DeSantis
• Bobbi L. Newman
• Bill Turner
• Patricia A. Wand
• Eric David Suess
• Mike L. Marlin
• Barbara K. Stripling*
• James K. Teliha
• Toni Negro
• Ed Garcia

*These folks are all former members of the ALA Executive Board, and bring a great deal of experience to the association.

Others on the list are folks who have served on Council, and whose work and opinions I respect. There are yet others who are newer to the profession, have started working their way up, and deserve the opportunity to participate in the governance of ALA. [This latter group includes: Bobbi L. Newman, Jenny Emanuel, Andrew K. Pace, JP Porcaro, and Kate Kosturski.]

I want to specifically note that Shirley Ann Bruursema is a Trustee, a group under-represented on Council, and she has served well as the ALTA/ALTAFF Division Councilor. I also want to note that Mike L. Marlin is a well-spoken advocate for special users of libraries, especially those with vision issues.

So...those are my recommendations.

ALA Candidates - President, Treasurer, Council

ALA election ballots are about to go out. I have had a couple of requests to list the folks I would endorse for office.

I know and respect both of the ALA Presidential candidates. I have had the opportunity to work, and socialize with both of them over the years. I will be voting for Sara Kelly Johns. Sara's web site is here. Sara is a school librarian from upstate New York. She has been president of AASL, and is a very dynamic speaker. (I was also flattered that Sara called me very early on for advice.) Sara has been reaching out to other parts of the profession, and has served as a trustee for a public library in New York. Here is her response to the questions from the Public Library Association about the biggest challenges facing public libraries today.

For Treasurer, I am endorsing Jim Neal. Jim has been very involved with ALA finances over the years. I think he has vision and can articulate the important financial issues which ALA inevitably faces. He has a very simple web page which states his credentials.

The Council list is longer. Here are the folks I will be supporting:

1. Larry Romans (current Executive Board member and articulate member of Council)
2. Pam Sieving (Pam has been at-large and the RUSA Division Councilor)
3. Nann Blaine Hilyard (friend from PUBLIB, also served on Exec Board with me, been on Council several times)
4. Thaddeus Bejnar (former New Mexico Chapter Councilor, and former chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee)
5. Gladys Smiley Bell (former president of BCALA)
6. Matthew P. Ciszek (a friend on Facebook and Twitter)
7. Karen E. Downing (just finished her PhD)
8. Loida A. Garcia-Febo (president of REFORMA)
9. Sarah Smith (library school student at Simmons, who was persuaded to run at Midwinter in Boston - we need the voice of students in Council)
10. Janice Greenberg (Facebook friend)
    
11. Jason Griffey (blogger-extraordinaire)
    
12. Erlene Bishop Killeen (school librarian from Wisconsin, has a good level head)
    
13. Charles Kratz (current Exec Board member who also has a good perspective)
    
14. Mary Mallory (ASCLA colleague and advocate)
    
15. Bernard A. Margolis (New York State Librarian, even though he is not well at the moment, Bernie is an important voice)
    
16. Michael L. Marlin (ASCLA colleague and vocal advocate for people who are blind)
    
17. Melora Norman (public/academic librarian from Maine, former chair of COO)
    
18. M. A. (Peg) Oettinger (retired school librarian, now from Pennsylvania)
    
19. Michael Porter (Libraryman ... need I say more?)
    
20. Susan Roman (Dean at Dominican's library school, and former development staff at ALA)
    
21. Patrick Sweeney (up and coming California librarian)
    
22. Bill Turner (former DC Chapter Councilor, current chair of Resolutions Committee)
    
23. Patricia Wand (academic librarian who I got to know while working on the beginnings of ALA-APA, Pat is also a good thinker)
    
24. Larry Nash White (Library Educator and statistics guy)
    
25. Tom Wilding (at the U of Arizona library school, another good thinker from the origins of ALA-APA, Tom has also chaired committees)
    

That's my list!

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.

ALA Elections are HERE

This is the first of two posts on the topic.

First, don't forget to vote on the By-Laws amendment, and please vote yes! The language is more general, and more accurately reflects reality.

Second, vote for Camila Alire! I noted earlier some of the reasons I am supporting Camila. (And if you click on the Camila Alire label, you can see all of the posts!)

Later today, or tomorrow, I will be posting about ALA Council Candidates.

ALA Elections are coming!

I received the email last week which said:

In preparation for the 2008 election, ALA is testing all email addresses for assurance that web balloting material will be properly received. All Web voters will receive ballots between March 17 and March 19, 2008, in a 48-hour e-mail blast.

I guess that means that it is time to look at the Council list.

At the end of the month, the Public Library Association will have its biennial national conference in Minneapolis. I expect to see both ALA Presidential Candidates there. Remember I am supporting Camila Alire!

Camila Alire for ALA President

Here is why I am supporting Camila for ALA President, her most recent post called UPS and ALA. Given that the current President-Elect, Jim Rettig, has expressed similar thoughts about the need to change the profession.

Now, this is not to say anything bad about J. Linda Williams (the other candidate) with whom I have worked in ALA.

In any case, if you are an ALA member, please vote.

ALA Elections - Nominating Committee Candidates Announced

The ALA web site has announced that my friends Camila Alire and Linda Williams are running against each other for ALA President.

They have also announced the list of ALA Council candidates.

My list of endorsements will follow the close of petition nominations. It only takes 25 signatures to get on the ballot, and that is pretty easy to do at the Midwinter Meeting. More to follow!

Rettig for ALA President

I have previously noted my endorsement of Jim Rettig for ALA President. I received the test email from the ALA election company, so you know that the ballot blast will be soon. The email said over a 48 hour period beginning on March 15.

I was reading through my aggregated blog feeds and was pleased to find that Michael Stephens has endorsed Jim. He says some great things, including transcribing some of Jim's answer on Library 2.0 and ALA. He has also noted that Jim has been blogging since last summer at The Twilight Librarian.

More will follow.

Our next ALA President? [Post 200!]

I haven't mentioned much about the ALA Presidential Campaign this year. It is the first time I have been in a position where I felt I could actively campaign for a candidate. For my first seven years on ALA Council I was the Connecticut Chapter Councilor, and I felt that an important part of my role was to promote ALA, and get information from all the candidates to my constituents, the librarians of Connecticut. For the past three years I was on the ALA Executive Board. Since the winner of the election would join me on that body, if I actively campaigned for the person who did not win, I was concerned that might affect the working relationship needed to get the best results for ALA.

This year is different, and I am actively supporting Jim Rettig for President. I will do a later post with more reasons to support Jim, but his post about pending state legislation on Twilight Librarian (his personal blog) demonstrates his thoughtful and articulate nature as well as his willingness to speak up. I believe he will be a truly GREAT ALA President.

In a final personal note, this is the 200th post on this blog. Who would have thought that I would have gotten this far. Thanks to Rochelle and Jessamyn who both helped me get started.