ALA Annual 2024 - Where is Michael?

Updated 6/26:  Calendar synch completed ... But still very much a work in progress.

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Annual in San Diego. Note that it is still tentative! There is only one Thursday event. Astute readers (do I even have any?) will note that there is a dramatically smaller number of events and conflicts. It was a decade ago that my friend Aaron Dobbs and I found that you can only have 46 calendar events in a day.
If you have previously viewed this, you may want to refresh to be sure that you have the latest version of my calendar.
(Note: I have figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view.) Clicking on any event will show details. I think have also mastered having the time zone correct, but I could be wrong! I will need to test upon arrival in San Diego.

ALA Midwinter 2020 - Philadelphia

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Midwinter. Note that it is still tentative!


I am flying in on Thursday (1/23) and leaving on the 28th. (Note: I have not figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view.") Clicking on any event will show details. And do note the time zone note on the bottom. Here, I am seeing things in the Central Time zone, not sure how true that is for others.

ALA Elections 2019 [edited]

ALA ballots are coming out. I received mine, and have started working through the list.

There is a great guide to the election with candidate statements on the ALA web site. It is a great looking booklet, with a great description of Council including some of the pertinent actions taken over the past few years.

http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/content/governance/alaelection/2019/elections-booklet-2019.pdf

There is a link on page 16 to the Council bio statements (PDF, 194 pages!):

http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/content/governance/alaelection/2017/All%20Councilor%20bios%202017..pdf

And there is an Excel workbook on the main election page:

http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/alaelection

Here is a link to Andromeda Yelton's wonderful Council Candidate Sorter. (She has been doing this for several years now ... maybe 5 years?) The code behind it on GitHub (which I only very moderately understand...)

http://thatandromeda.github.io/ala_candidate_filter/2019_ala_council.html

The results will be posted April 10, 2019 on that last link above.

ALA Annual 2018

Right now, this matches the version of the calendar in the ALA Scheduler, and lives both on Google Calendar and in my personal Outlook calendar.

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Annual. Note that it is still tentative!

I will be arriving on Canal Street on Thursday afternoon - it should take me a whole 90 minutes from work!

Clicking on any event will show details. Also clicking on "ALA" opens the calendar for that day. For some reason, not all events are currently showing up, and I will work on that!

And do note the time zone note on the bottom. Here, I am seeing things in the Central Time zone, not sure how true that is for others, but this time, again, I don't change time zones!

ALA Elections - 2018 Edition

It is that time of year again!ALA Elections.

I am asked about choosing candidates for ALA Council. Well, have I got good news for you ... one of my friends (and current LITA President) Andromeda Yelton has put together a tool to sort through the ALA Council candidate list. She has been doing it for a few years now, and it could be that this is the first time I have blogged about it, although I am pretty sure I have posted it on Facebook. Here is what she said:

Hi ALA people! Are you gearing up to vote in the ALA election. (<- answer="" be="" br="" here="" should="" the="" yes="">
This is my yearly candidate sorter. It lets you limit to people in particular divisions, round tables, ethnic caucuses, etc. (in addition to Cmd-F/Ctrl-F keyword search goodness). Hopefully it will make the job of finding people who represent you more manageable.

She also noted that there is a small issue:

(there's a javascript bug whereby if you have checked, then unchecked, a filter you end up with an empty page. you can reload the page to reset it. hopefully I will have time to figure it out and fix it, but if you know how, pull requests welcome)

 Here is the link: https://thatandromeda.github.io/ala_candidate_filter/2018_ala_council.html

More on the election when ballots are released in about 10 days. (I am on the ballot again this year, but not the ballot which Andromeda parsed!)

Governance, Process

One of the things I get to do at ALA Conferences is to chat (at least briefly) with ALA's Parliamentarian. Eli Mina became the official, paid parliamentarian for ALA a number of years ago.

Among the important changes in the culture of governance at ALA which is a direct result of his actions is the level of civility, and spirit of cooperation on Council. (I still monitor the list, and usually attend at least one session of ALA Council each meeting.)

Among the key concepts he has taught me is one that applies to a lot of life: Suffering is optional.

An equally important concept is that the goal of Parliamentary Procedure is to allow business to be accomplished while protecting the rights of the minority. This latter is highlighted in one of the articles he has posted on his web site. He talks about it as "community engagement" while I think that there are bigger implications for decision-making at all levels.
     http://www.elimina.com/insights/shared-oct12.html

In another part of my life, I am serving on a nominating committee. That is always an interesting process, and the person running this one is doing a spectacular job. He is doing what Eli suggests in his article about nominations and elections.

      http://www.elimina.com/insights/rule-sep13.html

In my list of saved links, I have one more word of wisdom from him, and I really don't need to say much more than quote the title and give you the link: "Pause before pushing send"
     http://www.elimina.com/insights/shared-Oct07.htm

ALA Annual 2017

Monday 6/19 revision - more items added! There is still tweaking to be done. But right now, this matches the version of the calendar in the ALA Scheduler, and lives both on Google Calendar and in my personal Outlook calendar.

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Annual. Note that it is still tentative!

I will be arriving in Chicago on Thursday, and get some wandering around time! (Yay!) I have nwt figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view. (Again ... Yay!) Clicking on any event will show details. And do note the time zone note on the bottom. Here, I am seeing things in the Central Time zone, not sure how true that is for others, but this time, the I don't change time zones!
I am posting on Friday (6/16) and have noticed that there is a lot missing. So by Monday or Tuesday, there will be more. I promise!

ALA Midwinter 2017

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Midwinter. Note that it is still tentative!

I'm driving to Atlanta and will be driving on Wednesday the 18th, and again on the 24th. (I have not figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view.") Clicking on any event will show details. And do note the time zone note on the bottom. Here, I am seeing things in the Central Time zone, not sure how true that is for others.

ALA Annual Conference - 2016

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Annual in Orlando. Note that it is still tentative!

This year Annual is back in Orlando. I'll be driving down (with a day at the beach before and after, I hope). I will get to Orlando on Thursday (June 23). I'll be staying through the Inauguration on Tuesday, June 28.

If you are looking at this in May, you will have to page forward to June to see the schedule.

I have finally figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view! Clicking on any event will show details.

And do note the time zone note, I think I have fixed it to show the time zone that the conference is in (at last).

ALA Elections - 2016 version

It is getting to be that time again. ALA Election time.

The good news could be that I am not running for anything this year. I have enough to do already. In June/July I become the President of a division (ASCLA).

Every year I have a couple of colleagues who ask for advice on making selections from the very long list of candidates for ALA Council. It is a long list! One of my friends has taken the list of ALA candidates and created a searching tool so you can create your own list of parameters as you decide for whom to vote.

Here is the link to what Andromeda Yelton has created: https://thatandromeda.github.io/ala_candidate_filter/2016_ala_council.html

Play around with it. See how it works for you. I might create a list this year, but then again I might not. Back in 2009 (that was after I left), the ALA Executive Board  set some campaign guidelines. As an "officer" within ALA, I received an email with the following noted:

Appointed committee chairs, or members of committees may endorse candidates and may use ALA electronic discussion lists to express their support for an individual candidate or candidates for ALA offices, as long as they do not use their official titles or create the impression that they are speaking on behalf of an ALA committee or unit of ALA. Candidates can list endorsers by name, but not by ALA title or office. Executive Board members shall not endorse any candidate in any American Library Association election.

I need to ponder more.

ALA Midwinter 2016

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Midwinter. Note that it is still tentative!

This year Midwinter is VERY early. I'll be in Boston starting the night of January 6, and leaving on the 12th. (If you are looking in December, you will have to page forward to January to see anything in the calendar view. I have not figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view.") Clicking on any event will show details. And do note the time zone note on the bottom. Here, I am seeing things in the Central Time zone, not sure how true that is for others.

Here is my tentative schedule for ALA Midwinter. Note that it is still tentative!

This year Midwinter is VERY early. I'll be in Boston starting the night of January 6, and leaving on the 12th. (If you are looking in December, you will have to page forward to January to see anything in the calendar view. I have not figured out how to make "Agenda" the default view.") Clicking on any event will show details. And do note the time zone note on the bottom. Here, I am seeing things in the Central Time zone, not sure how true that is for others.

ALA Annual Conference - Where will I be?

Since I have gone back into the pattern of posting this kind of info, here is my tentative, proposed schedule for ALA Annual. Note that it will change dramatically as I import events over the next day or so.

ALA Elections 2015 - Some Reflections

First of all, wow. It was an interesting election.

All of the results are posted on the ALA web site, here.

One of the documents that I particularly looked at was 2015 Election Response Rate by Ballot. With all the sections of divisions and all the round tables, there are 81 different ballots. (Yes, you read that right, 81!) Most people only get some of them. How many, depends on how much you pay in dues and how the particular division or round table is structured. What I was interested in was the participation rate.

Both for ALA as a whole (Ballot 0 - Officers), like in the local, state, and national elections, the turnout of voters is not always what we would like. It is usually lower. But, I am proud to say that the election in which I was a candidate had one of the highest participation rates.

My visual inspection (I could not quickly grab it an put it in Excel for sorting, but may try again) shows these as the top participation rate groups:

RMRT	56.06%
GLBTRT	38.67%
LearnRT	38.34%
ASCLA	33.66%
IFRT	33.62%
EMIERT	32.68%
SRRT	31.14%

This means that ASCLA was the only division with more than 30% participation. It is the smallest division (615 members eligible to vote). But it clearly reinforces my contention that it is the easiest to get involved in - I believe that the voting participation rate shows that.

ALA Elections 2015 - about me

Edited 5/11 - no part 2 or part 3!


If you have not received your ALA ballot, they are distributed over several days.

Some of you may have noticed my name out there. This went out to a discussion list a little bit ago:

ASCLA 2015 Elections are Approaching!
Please click on this link to view the following ASCLA members who will be running for election for ASCLA offices in the 2015 Elections. Please join me in thanking these members for agreeing to stand for election for an ASCLA office and be sure to vote in the Spring elections! Voting begins on March 24, 2015 through May 1, 2015 @ 11:59 PM CDT.

Because of my standing for election as Vice President/President-Elect of ASCLA. For those who do not know, ASCLA  is the Association for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, one of the divisions of the American Library Association.

It is the smallest of the ALA divisions. For more about ALA and ASCLA, visit the tab ALA 101 (on this blog).

So, here is what I said in my statement of professional concerns:

I have often recommended to new members of ALA to find a home in ALA with others whose work is like theirs. ASCLA has been ALA's smallest division and because of the small size, it is possible to get to know people and to become involved.

I did some simple analysis of recent membership trends, and plotting ASCLA's membership against ALA's membership shows that ASCLA has retained members better than ALA. That does not mean that we do not have to continue to work to recruit members, but it does show that ASCLA has value for ALA members. I have many contacts across the association, and want to leverage the knowledge those people have, to make ASCLA even more successful. Part of the perspective which I bring is from having been active in the larger organization. I believe that my experience, and contacts, will help position ASCLA for the future.

I ask for the vote for those of you who are ASCLA members.

I did stand for this office once before, in 2000. In that election, I was not successful. The difference was four (4) votes. In a way I was relieved. I changed jobs after agreeing to run, and it would not have been as good a fit as it is now. I also had a great deal less experience with ALA.

ALA Midwinter 2015 - Monday/Tuesday Notes

Monday Notes

Mondays at Midwinter always begin early. The 15th Annual MLK Celebration took place at 6:30 am. There was a larger turnout than in prior years – even with the bad weather. After a hymn, there was a selection of readings from the works of Marin Luther King, Jr. by representatives of the organizing groups. This was followed by the keynote speech by Cornel West and a call to action by my friend Satia Orange. The singing of “We Shall Overcome” was very poignant.

A friend invited me to sit in for the LITA breakfast, which precedes the “LITA Town Hall Forum” which is part of LITA’s planning process. I had the opportunity catch up with some friends with whom I had not yet connected.

 PLA is in the process of developing some tools to use as measures of outcomes of library services. It is being developed by the Performance Measurement Task Force. Their meeting was scheduled for 6 hours (!). I attended the beginning.

 I attended the beginning of the second session of the ASCLA Board of Directors and had the opportunity to hear ALA Presidential candidate Julie Todaro. I left to attend the ALA Executive Board Candidates Forum because several of those candidates had asked me for advice. However, the session was moved up in time because the business at ALA Council II did not last as long as budgeted. I did attend the APA [American Psychological Association] Lunch & Learn @ ALA Midwinter 2015 where some new features of their products were presented. It is interesting that vendors/exhibitors are the ones who provide most of the “content” or learning opportunities at Midwinter. Midwinter is technically a “meeting” not a conference, but a time and place for the Association’s committees to meet and do business. In the evening, I attended a social/networking event which I have been attending for over a decade.

Tuesday Notes

I packed and headed to the Convention Center. I wanted to get there early to be sure that I was there for the Memorials and Tributes. (I helped write, and seconded one of the Memorials.) I also wanted to get set up to be part of the LSSC course webinar this morning. I am pleased to report that the webinar went well – without a hitch. I purposely did not have a microphone, but I did try out my laptop web cam, and at the end of the session was able to show the room.

ALA Midwinter 2015 - Sunday Notes

My morning began with breakfast with a state librarian from another state (whom I consider a friend as well as colleague) and a vendor which let us talk about our vision of the future for delivering e-books to state populations.

On Sunday, I had the opportunity, at two different times, to visit the exhibits. It is always interesting and a way to find out about new technology and trends. E-book platforms (delivering materials from various vendors/sources) seems to be a growing field. Maybe this falls under the topic of “user experience.”

My lunch was at the OCLC Update which is always a well-attended event. I had the opportunity to spend a little bit of social time with someone with whom I had spent some time in service on ALA Council.

The Washington Office program “Tell the IRS” was disappointing and encouraging at the same time. The IRS representative did not make it to the conference due to the weather. However, it was Emily Sheketoff, Director of ALA’s Washington Office who ran the program and committed to getting libraries/librarians at the table in discussions with the IRS.

2015 Chicago Blizzard from the
Conrad Hilton Suite

I was pleased to see the attendance at the BARC/Division Leadership Meeting. There were many more people who attending this year that I remember from when I was on the Planning and Budget Assembly or on the ALA EB Finance and Audit Committee.

The PLDS Statistical Report Advisory Committee Meeting was very focused on that particular survey.

My official day ended with a gathering to remember Don Sager. Don was long active in ALA and was someone who had quietly helped me in my days on Council. Don also was the husband of former ALA President Sarah Ann Long.

I watched the Super Bowl with mostly Seahawks fans in the Conrad Hilton Suite. The suite sits very high, at the top of the Hilton on Michigan Ave. The snow was swirling and I could hear the wind constantly whistling (in the fireplace of the suite).

ALA Midwinter 2015 - Saturday Notes

First thing on Saturday, I attended the ASCLA Board Meeting. Since I am standing for election as President, I figured that it would be good to show up, and see who is currently on the Board, and meet those whom I do not already know. As a bonus, I got to hear two of the ALA Presidential candidates. After the business part of the meeting, the Board began a discussion related to the developing new ALA Strategic Plan. I had to leave to go to other events.

I briefly attended the beginning of the Digital Inclusion Survey: Update. Since I serve on the Advisory Committee, I did not stay because I

• Had heard some of the info before and
• Knew I would hear more at the committee meeting.

I briefly attended the discussion which was preparation for the RUSA President’s program at Annual. That will be a presentation by dana boyd and discussion of her new book It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens (available for free download at http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated). I have now downloaded it to my phone (my first iBook), and have started reading it.

Lunch turned out to be an interesting vendor presentation. It was billed as “The Big ‘B’ - What branding can do for your library” presented by Springer. There was some “content” followed by presentations on how they are working with libraries in trying to apply some of the concepts. Their campaign is called “Where do you library?”

The Digital Inclusion Survey Committee Meeting may have been the last, and certainly was one of the last. We reviewed a number of issues about the data collection and about the reports.

The ALA Presidential Candidates Forum was an opportunity to hear all four of the candidates. I even had the opportunity to ask a question!

Various receptions offered an opportunity to meet with friends and make new ones. My evening ended at ALA-APA Networking Reception. The Library Support Staff Certification Program is near and dear to my heart. This was a chance to chat with some others who share this passion and the staff who are the ones who actually make it all work.

ALA - Midwinter 2015 - Friday Notes

I attended the meeting of Managing With Data: PLAmetrics. That meeting focused more on the practical issues of running the survey.

Later I was at the beginning of the RMG Annual Presidents’ Seminar. This program has been going on for 25 years, and traditionally occurs on the Friday afternoon of Midwinter. This year, I was only able to stay for the beginning of the introductions (in part because the Scheduler listed it as starting at 1:30, and RMG listing it as starting at 2 pm). I left to go to the informal (i.e., not in the ALA Scheduler) ASCLA E-Books Interest Group which was held in the Executive Director’s Suite. There is a separate blog post about that.)

The evening ended with the Retired Members Round Table Dinner which was a wonderful event where I was able to meet up with a number of colleagues, some of them recently retired. This one was organized by Michael Gorman (former ALA President).

ALA Midwinter Schedule - 2015

This is tentative, and, as always subject to change. Unlike my friend Aaron Dobbs, I did not break the scheduler this year.