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
Showing posts with label professional associations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label professional associations. Show all posts
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Friday, February 08, 2013
ALA's Core Values
Rick Anderson has a column/post on the Library Journal web site about the American Library Association's statement of Core Values. I thought about making a comment, but, especially after some comments from Facebook friends (well, those who commented are all IRL [In Real Life] friends), I decided to write a longer piece.
What happened as part of the process for adopting Core Values for the association happened before the days of blogging. Therefore, I can't link back to contemporaneous posts about the whole process. The officially adopted statement of Core Values appears in the ALA Policy Manual as Section 40.1. Here is the full text:
In his analysis, Rick posits some interesting characterizations and groupings of the values. In the first Core Values Task Force, there had been discussion about making the core values statement short enough to fit on a poker chip. Rick groups Access, Intellectual Freedom, and Service as part of a group he calls "Fundamental Principals."
Let me digress for a moment to share some history (well, from my perspective) and thoughts on the process.
I first joined ALA Council, as the Connecticut Chapter Councilor with the adjournment of the Conference in 1996 (in New York). In the fall of that year, the state library in Hawaii, which runs the public library system for the state/islands, planned to outsource all collection development for the public libraries. There was much discussion. I (with much trepidation and hubris) drafted a resolution condemning the action, and asking ALA to take a stand. How naive I was! As part of the discussion of my resolution, I made the statement that this kind of action violated the core values of the profession. I was quickly corrected. In my memory it was Bernie Margolis who came to a microphone and pointedly noted that ALA did not have core values. After my motion was disposed of -- my recollection is hazy, and I think it was referred to ALCTS (the ALA Division dealing with technical services issues), a motion was made to appoint a task force to work on core values for the Association.
Minutes and actions of Council are not on the ALA web site that far back, so I have to rely on memory. I found one item which reminded me that Don Sager chaired the Task Force (CVTF) and I know that its membership included my friends Karen Schneider, GraceAnne deCandido, and Janet Swan Hill.
When CVTF reported to ALA Council, there was much debate. While the debate and conversation was spirited and focused on content, it was not a shining hour for Council. The Task Force recommended wording was hashed and re-hashed, had several amendments made, and even a motion to amend by substitution (from Bernie Margolis). The final report was "received" by Council, and the President was asked to appoint a new task force with part of its charge to solicit input on values statements from across the Association.
Former ALA President Pat Schumann chaired the new task force (CVRF2). I was offered and accepted the opportunity to serve on the task force. From my perspective, one of the other propitious choices was to ask Maureen Sullivan to serve. Among her other skills, Maureen has had experience in managing discussions in large groups. I do remember working with her, and ALA Council to have a facilitated discussion at the conference before submitting the final report.
Let me also observe that the final report was the result of a wide-ranging consultative process. Many folks involved in the Association were "invested" in the statement as developed. As the result, the statement has a little something that bothers everyone. (But what bothers me, may not bother you, as well as the reverse.) It is kind of like a library collection -- with something to represent every viewpoint.
One of the recurring conversations I have had over the years with my friend Janet Swan Hill has been about her statement (which she reiterated recently on my Facebook wall) "I thought we only had one overarching core value ......equity of access. and the first core values committee thought it had a brief set that could fit on a poker chip. I wish we could have stuck to the briefer more pithy fundamentals."
Which goes to my observation that getting anything adopted requires proceeding through the political process. In this case, many were involved and had sometimes competing opinions and values. Part of why some of the values are there have to do with that process. There is no way that a statement of values for the profession or association would have been passed without including some of the "subordinate principles" as identified by Rick. Among those are diversity, privacy, and preservation. I would make the argument that all three of those can be included under the concept of ACCESS.
As to the "Questionable" ones, I can absolutely guarantee that no statement would pass ALA Council without some reference to Social Responsibility. Now, you can argue about the rightness or wrongness of that value, but the political process of ALA means that social responsibility will be included. Council includes a large number of members (and leaders - past and present) for whom social responsibility is critical. Education, democracy, and the public good are important to other parts of the association, and were therefore included as a part of the whole political process.
Would I support a re-examination of the statement? Absolutely. My hope would be that such an examination would result in a more succinct statement. We are getting to be close to a decade from its original adoption. That is not a bad time for such a reconsideration. Perhaps we can meet the goal of fitting the statement on a poker chip (i.e., a short, pithy, memorable statement). It would be my argument that the statement could be as simple as:
Something to ponder.
What happened as part of the process for adopting Core Values for the association happened before the days of blogging. Therefore, I can't link back to contemporaneous posts about the whole process. The officially adopted statement of Core Values appears in the ALA Policy Manual as Section 40.1. Here is the full text:
Core Values of LibrarianshipNote the link at the end. That will take you to the final report of the task force with excerpts from then current ALA policy and documents on each of the core values. (Note that there are 11 -- not 10 like the commandments nor 12 like for the Scout Law or recovery programs.)
The foundation of modern librarianship rests on an essential set of core values, which define, inform, and guide all professional practice. These values reflect the history and ongoing development of the profession and have been advanced, expanded, and refined by numerous policy statements of the American Library Association. Among these are:
It would be difficult, if not impossible, to express our values more eloquently than ALA already has in the Freedom to Read statement, the Library Bill of Rights, the ALA Mission Statement, Libraries: an American Value and other documents. These policies have been carefully thought out, articulated, debated, and approved by the ALA Council. They are interpreted, revised, or expanded when necessary. Over time, the values embodied in these statements have been embraced by the majority of librarians as the foundations of their practice. Adopted, 2004. ( See “Policy Reference File”: Core Values Task Force II Report: 2003-04, CD #7.2 - PDF, 5 pgs)
- Access
- Confidentiality/Privacy
- Democracy
- Diversity
- Education and Lifelong Learning
- Intellectual Freedom
- Preservation
- The Public Good
- Professionalism
- Service
- Social Responsibility
In his analysis, Rick posits some interesting characterizations and groupings of the values. In the first Core Values Task Force, there had been discussion about making the core values statement short enough to fit on a poker chip. Rick groups Access, Intellectual Freedom, and Service as part of a group he calls "Fundamental Principals."
Let me digress for a moment to share some history (well, from my perspective) and thoughts on the process.
I first joined ALA Council, as the Connecticut Chapter Councilor with the adjournment of the Conference in 1996 (in New York). In the fall of that year, the state library in Hawaii, which runs the public library system for the state/islands, planned to outsource all collection development for the public libraries. There was much discussion. I (with much trepidation and hubris) drafted a resolution condemning the action, and asking ALA to take a stand. How naive I was! As part of the discussion of my resolution, I made the statement that this kind of action violated the core values of the profession. I was quickly corrected. In my memory it was Bernie Margolis who came to a microphone and pointedly noted that ALA did not have core values. After my motion was disposed of -- my recollection is hazy, and I think it was referred to ALCTS (the ALA Division dealing with technical services issues), a motion was made to appoint a task force to work on core values for the Association.
Minutes and actions of Council are not on the ALA web site that far back, so I have to rely on memory. I found one item which reminded me that Don Sager chaired the Task Force (CVTF) and I know that its membership included my friends Karen Schneider, GraceAnne deCandido, and Janet Swan Hill.
When CVTF reported to ALA Council, there was much debate. While the debate and conversation was spirited and focused on content, it was not a shining hour for Council. The Task Force recommended wording was hashed and re-hashed, had several amendments made, and even a motion to amend by substitution (from Bernie Margolis). The final report was "received" by Council, and the President was asked to appoint a new task force with part of its charge to solicit input on values statements from across the Association.
Former ALA President Pat Schumann chaired the new task force (CVRF2). I was offered and accepted the opportunity to serve on the task force. From my perspective, one of the other propitious choices was to ask Maureen Sullivan to serve. Among her other skills, Maureen has had experience in managing discussions in large groups. I do remember working with her, and ALA Council to have a facilitated discussion at the conference before submitting the final report.
Let me also observe that the final report was the result of a wide-ranging consultative process. Many folks involved in the Association were "invested" in the statement as developed. As the result, the statement has a little something that bothers everyone. (But what bothers me, may not bother you, as well as the reverse.) It is kind of like a library collection -- with something to represent every viewpoint.
One of the recurring conversations I have had over the years with my friend Janet Swan Hill has been about her statement (which she reiterated recently on my Facebook wall) "I thought we only had one overarching core value ......equity of access. and the first core values committee thought it had a brief set that could fit on a poker chip. I wish we could have stuck to the briefer more pithy fundamentals."
Which goes to my observation that getting anything adopted requires proceeding through the political process. In this case, many were involved and had sometimes competing opinions and values. Part of why some of the values are there have to do with that process. There is no way that a statement of values for the profession or association would have been passed without including some of the "subordinate principles" as identified by Rick. Among those are diversity, privacy, and preservation. I would make the argument that all three of those can be included under the concept of ACCESS.
As to the "Questionable" ones, I can absolutely guarantee that no statement would pass ALA Council without some reference to Social Responsibility. Now, you can argue about the rightness or wrongness of that value, but the political process of ALA means that social responsibility will be included. Council includes a large number of members (and leaders - past and present) for whom social responsibility is critical. Education, democracy, and the public good are important to other parts of the association, and were therefore included as a part of the whole political process.
Would I support a re-examination of the statement? Absolutely. My hope would be that such an examination would result in a more succinct statement. We are getting to be close to a decade from its original adoption. That is not a bad time for such a reconsideration. Perhaps we can meet the goal of fitting the statement on a poker chip (i.e., a short, pithy, memorable statement). It would be my argument that the statement could be as simple as:
Equity of Access
Something to ponder.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Parliamentary Procedure - Redux
Friday, December 07, 2012
Parliamentary Procedure
I have not written about this topic for a bit, but a recent incident has prompted me.
I am a little bit of a "process junkie" and have been from way back. Maybe it was growing up in a large family (I have seven younger brothers and sisters). It definitely comes from my father. He was active in local "affairs." At various times he was on the Board of Health, served on state associations related to that, and had been elected to the Town Meeting. [Aside: in New England, some of the larger towns, rather than having a Town Meeting where everyone gets to speak and vote, there is a Representative Town Meeting, where people run, and are elected to represent a district. The town I grew up in is one such town. There were about 20 (or more) people from each of the 6 precincts who served on the Town Meeting. My father was one.]
Next to his chair, there was a book case (of course), and among the things in the book case were a couple of editions of Roberts Rules of Order, as well as Cushing's Manual.(Here is the Roberts web site, as well as the Wikipedia article. here is the Amazon link to the latest edition of Cushing, mine is older!) He would take me to the Town Meeting, and I got to sit in the audience. Before and after, he would explain some of the intricacies of what was going on. (Well, also at the "smoking break.") I have to believe, that learning about this at my father's knee, is part of what has given me my love of process.
Well, on to my most recent experience. A library user came up to the desk looking for Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure. I had never hear of it, but sure enough, the library owns it -- two copies, actually, one in Reference, and one in our circulating collection. She wanted to make some copies, so I directed her to the machines. In a little bit, she was back.
She could not find what she wanted. I took a look in the index, for a moment or two I was stymied. But then I remembered some of my lessons from ALA's wonderful Parliamentarian, Eli Mina. I thought, "how would Eli express this question as a parliamentary one." That was just what I needed. I looked in a different part of the index, flipped to the page, and there was exactly what she was looking for.
After she left, I took a closer look at the book. Now, everyone knows, well at least refers, to Roberts Rules of Order, but there are others. Actually the American Library Association uses the Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure edited by Alice Stugis (4th edition). Over my years of service, I became familiar with the 3rd and 4th editions under the tutelage of two different parliamentarians.
When I opened Mason's, there is an introduction which includes a list of ten "principles that govern procedure in group decision making." What a revelation! One of the headers after the listing of principles is "Principles are easier than rules to remember and apply." I guess that if I had been paying closer attention to Eli Mina, I would have realized that. It is how he operates. That and there is a principle of fairness to avoid the tyranny of the majority.
The next time I chat (in person or electronically) with Eli Mina, one of the things we will talk about is the principles and why Mason's does not have as much "traction" as a parliamentary guide. Hey, I will admit it. This is the kind of geeky stuff that I find fun. One of the joys of my service on ALA Council was in finding a number of other kindred spirits.
This post was written over a couple days. I scheduled it to post on December 7. That is an important day to me. The "date that will live in infamy" was my father's 15th birthday. If he had lived, he would have been 86. This can be a little bit of a tribute who someone who died way too young for my liking. He was 48 when he died in 1975. I was 21.
I am a little bit of a "process junkie" and have been from way back. Maybe it was growing up in a large family (I have seven younger brothers and sisters). It definitely comes from my father. He was active in local "affairs." At various times he was on the Board of Health, served on state associations related to that, and had been elected to the Town Meeting. [Aside: in New England, some of the larger towns, rather than having a Town Meeting where everyone gets to speak and vote, there is a Representative Town Meeting, where people run, and are elected to represent a district. The town I grew up in is one such town. There were about 20 (or more) people from each of the 6 precincts who served on the Town Meeting. My father was one.]
Next to his chair, there was a book case (of course), and among the things in the book case were a couple of editions of Roberts Rules of Order, as well as Cushing's Manual.(Here is the Roberts web site, as well as the Wikipedia article. here is the Amazon link to the latest edition of Cushing, mine is older!) He would take me to the Town Meeting, and I got to sit in the audience. Before and after, he would explain some of the intricacies of what was going on. (Well, also at the "smoking break.") I have to believe, that learning about this at my father's knee, is part of what has given me my love of process.
Well, on to my most recent experience. A library user came up to the desk looking for Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure. I had never hear of it, but sure enough, the library owns it -- two copies, actually, one in Reference, and one in our circulating collection. She wanted to make some copies, so I directed her to the machines. In a little bit, she was back.
She could not find what she wanted. I took a look in the index, for a moment or two I was stymied. But then I remembered some of my lessons from ALA's wonderful Parliamentarian, Eli Mina. I thought, "how would Eli express this question as a parliamentary one." That was just what I needed. I looked in a different part of the index, flipped to the page, and there was exactly what she was looking for.
After she left, I took a closer look at the book. Now, everyone knows, well at least refers, to Roberts Rules of Order, but there are others. Actually the American Library Association uses the Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure edited by Alice Stugis (4th edition). Over my years of service, I became familiar with the 3rd and 4th editions under the tutelage of two different parliamentarians.
When I opened Mason's, there is an introduction which includes a list of ten "principles that govern procedure in group decision making." What a revelation! One of the headers after the listing of principles is "Principles are easier than rules to remember and apply." I guess that if I had been paying closer attention to Eli Mina, I would have realized that. It is how he operates. That and there is a principle of fairness to avoid the tyranny of the majority.
The next time I chat (in person or electronically) with Eli Mina, one of the things we will talk about is the principles and why Mason's does not have as much "traction" as a parliamentary guide. Hey, I will admit it. This is the kind of geeky stuff that I find fun. One of the joys of my service on ALA Council was in finding a number of other kindred spirits.
This post was written over a couple days. I scheduled it to post on December 7. That is an important day to me. The "date that will live in infamy" was my father's 15th birthday. If he had lived, he would have been 86. This can be a little bit of a tribute who someone who died way too young for my liking. He was 48 when he died in 1975. I was 21.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Guest Post -- Paying your dues and collecting acronyms
I have not met Josh Hanagarne personally. Our contact has all been on the web, and probably pretty one sided, viz., I read his blog pretty regularly. He blogs as The World's Strongest Librarian. He is doing a "guest post marathon" and I invited him to post here.
He raises some interesting questions in his post, to which I will respond in a separate post (later in the week). Here's Josh!
Paying your dues and collecting acronyms
“Hi sir, how are you today?”
“Fine.” I was an hour into my 12-9 shift at work. I made the mistake of answering my phone on a break.
“I am calling to inform you that your ALA membership has expired and would like to offer you the exciting—”
I thanked him, said I wasn’t interested in renewing, said good-bye, waited for him to reciprocate, and hung up. I wondered if I had told him the truth? Was I really not interested? ALA certainly wasn’t on my mind, and I didn’t renew, so I guess that tells you where my priorities were. Out on the desk, where I then commenced a hectic, lengthy, shift.
None of the patrons seemed to know that they were dealing with a newly-minted apostate.
I appreciate ALA. I think. But exciting is really not the word I’m going to apply to what has mainly amounted to the expired membership card that is still in my wallet for some reason.
Can you really need something that you never use or had never heard of?
My early career as an Acronym Gatherer
When I became a circulation assistant about 5 years ago I quickly signed up for every professional organization in existence (I’m rounding up). ALA, ULA, and MPLA.
I did this because mentors told me it was a good idea to have acronyms on a resume. Not because it was valuable, or an opportunity to network, or because of the brotherly/sisterly kinship that I could feel with my libraryland siblings.
I got on the mailing lists. I was soon unsubscribing from everything because my inbox was full enough as it was and I never saw anything very interesting to me in those emails.
It certainly didn’t hurt to join. About 18 months after starting I was offered the job to manage a branch. It took a year as a manager to realize that I’m not a manager and I happily bolted back down the ladder to librarian when the chance arose.
What professional library organizations do
They advocate for library employees, principles, and funding. They offer professional conferences; they promote freedom of access, curiosity, and knowledge. Banned Books Week is a lot of fun at our library and for that alone I hope ALA keeps on truckin’.
These are all wonderful things, although I will admit to being bored out of, although I will admit to being bored out of my skull at the two ALA conferences I have attended (as part of the Emerging Leaders program). But I know plenty of librarians who live for those conferences and “exciting professional development opportunities.”
Local or regional organizations have managed to feel even less relevant to me. I’m mildly glad to know they’re out there, but don’t really know what else to say about it.
I just don’t feel like I have needed any of them to help me do my job better, find new opportunities, or as an advocate for me as a librarian.
I have committed my life to libraries and I work here because I am part of something that matters to me. I don’t feel like my commitment is diluted in any way because I don’t care to pay for a new membership card.
So a couple if questions to start a discussion:
Do libraries suffer when I/you/we don’t pay my/your/our ALA dues?
How much bargaining power do they have?
Are you a member? If so, will you renew?
In your opinion, what is the greatest benefit of joining a professional library organization?
About the author:
Josh Hanagarne is the founder of World’s Strongest Librarian and runs a dandy online book club. This is, to his knowledge, the first time he has ever typed the word dandy.
He raises some interesting questions in his post, to which I will respond in a separate post (later in the week). Here's Josh!
Paying your dues and collecting acronyms
“Hi sir, how are you today?”
“Fine.” I was an hour into my 12-9 shift at work. I made the mistake of answering my phone on a break.
“I am calling to inform you that your ALA membership has expired and would like to offer you the exciting—”
I thanked him, said I wasn’t interested in renewing, said good-bye, waited for him to reciprocate, and hung up. I wondered if I had told him the truth? Was I really not interested? ALA certainly wasn’t on my mind, and I didn’t renew, so I guess that tells you where my priorities were. Out on the desk, where I then commenced a hectic, lengthy, shift.
None of the patrons seemed to know that they were dealing with a newly-minted apostate.
I appreciate ALA. I think. But exciting is really not the word I’m going to apply to what has mainly amounted to the expired membership card that is still in my wallet for some reason.
Can you really need something that you never use or had never heard of?
My early career as an Acronym Gatherer
When I became a circulation assistant about 5 years ago I quickly signed up for every professional organization in existence (I’m rounding up). ALA, ULA, and MPLA.
I did this because mentors told me it was a good idea to have acronyms on a resume. Not because it was valuable, or an opportunity to network, or because of the brotherly/sisterly kinship that I could feel with my libraryland siblings.
I got on the mailing lists. I was soon unsubscribing from everything because my inbox was full enough as it was and I never saw anything very interesting to me in those emails.
It certainly didn’t hurt to join. About 18 months after starting I was offered the job to manage a branch. It took a year as a manager to realize that I’m not a manager and I happily bolted back down the ladder to librarian when the chance arose.
What professional library organizations do
They advocate for library employees, principles, and funding. They offer professional conferences; they promote freedom of access, curiosity, and knowledge. Banned Books Week is a lot of fun at our library and for that alone I hope ALA keeps on truckin’.
These are all wonderful things, although I will admit to being bored out of, although I will admit to being bored out of my skull at the two ALA conferences I have attended (as part of the Emerging Leaders program). But I know plenty of librarians who live for those conferences and “exciting professional development opportunities.”
Local or regional organizations have managed to feel even less relevant to me. I’m mildly glad to know they’re out there, but don’t really know what else to say about it.
I just don’t feel like I have needed any of them to help me do my job better, find new opportunities, or as an advocate for me as a librarian.
I have committed my life to libraries and I work here because I am part of something that matters to me. I don’t feel like my commitment is diluted in any way because I don’t care to pay for a new membership card.
So a couple if questions to start a discussion:
Do libraries suffer when I/you/we don’t pay my/your/our ALA dues?
How much bargaining power do they have?
Are you a member? If so, will you renew?
In your opinion, what is the greatest benefit of joining a professional library organization?
About the author:
Josh Hanagarne is the founder of World’s Strongest Librarian and runs a dandy online book club. This is, to his knowledge, the first time he has ever typed the word dandy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)