Roberta Stevens Podcast

I'm voting for Roberta Stevens for ALA President. I want to try to get the word out about her candidacy as much as I can. This post came through on NMRT-L and I hope that you submit questions to Michelle.

She not only has a plan and a promise not to go with the status quo, she has a lot of author connections that can generate more advocacy for libraries. Additionally, I feel that she has the experience to handle the duties of ALA President. She has even committed to taking a year absence from work should she be elected. That speaks to me that she will be a very dedicated ALA president.

I was really surprised that she came to the NMRT Meet and Greet which was tucked away in one of the Convention Center rooms. She talked to everyone. She was vivacious and had a lot to say about the benefits that NMRT provides to ALA as an organization.

We are a graying profession and I value that Roberta Stevens is making the commitment to extend leadership opportunities to younger members and not maintain the status quo.

Join the effort to see Roberta Stevens elected as the next ALA president!

Hello,

As a volunteer for Roberta's campaign, I want to let you know that Roberta is committed to getting students and new members involved in ALA. She has said in an email to me, "I am making the commitment that if I am elected, I will ensure they [younger members] are placed on committees, task forces, etc. and given the opportunity to contribute and 'make their mark' on the association. I want to move the association forward. You have my word on this."

With this in mind, Roberta is planning to record a podcast that addresses the concerns of students and new members. If anyone has questions they would like Roberta to answer, please email them to me at michelle.chronister@gmail.com by February 20.

More information about Roberta, including links to her blog and Facebook fan page can be found at http://www.robertastevens.com.

Thanks,
Michelle

We serve all...

I still have a Midwinter post to create but I wanted to share the thoughts that I posted to the ALA Council list-serv (which you can have read-only access to by going here: ALA Council List-serv)

/start msg/
As Councilors, we represent various divisions, round tables, associations, etc. One thing I've noticed is within the group of Councilor at Large, we are tasked with representing the outliers, those that do not necessarily have a formalized group. As such, individual opinions blend with the multitude.Yet, all of these diverse opinions serve a noble end. We are all members of the American Library Association.

I am proud to serve as a Councilor at Large. It gives me the opportunity to point out other perspectives that may be missed and allows me to walk a mile in each member's shoes, all 60,000 of them.

Indeed, the comments the anonymous member stated were disrespectful. Nonetheless, it is important to not dismiss those views.
At the heart, the perceptions that these members have should be spurring us to consider why these members do not feel welcome within ALA while considering what we can do to assist the members that are uncomfortable with the changes relating to electronic participation. We do not want to alienate future members or the members that have a wealth of knowledge and experience.

I do not feel as if we are making mistakes with regards to electronic participation. It was unfortunate that Councilors felt so rushed.
As much as I hate the phrase, it seems we are experiencing a paradigm shift within ALA. I do not want to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" either and I applaud the efforts of the Task Force that presented recommendations that are now being considered by the Executive Board.

It is my fear that we sometimes take our membership for granted. Yes, we are doing many things right. However, we still need to remain vigilant and serve those that think we are not.
/end message/