ALA Election Time! (VOTE NOW!!)

As an ALA member, I am grateful for those on ALA staff that work for me. That sounds pretty egotistical of me to say but they're also working for you too. Mary Ghikas, John Chrastka, Jenifer Grady, Jenny Levine, Lois Ann Gregory Wood...the list goes on and on.

Mary Ghikas has been emailing the ALA Council email list daily with information regarding the election which is currently underway! (VOTE NOW!!)


"As of 3/30/2010, 3:04pm:

Of 55,325 eligible -- 5,167 have voted (9.34%)

  

This compares to 3/30/2009:

Of 56,067 eligible -- 6,286 had voted (11.21%)

On April 5, we (ALA) will begin sending email reminders to eligible voters who have not yet voted.  Polls close on April 23."

Let's get out the vote!! (VOTE NOW!!)

Here are my endorsements for ALA election.

ALA President: Molly Raphael

I had the opportunity to meet both candidates at ALA Midwinter and most recently at the Public Library Association Conference this past week. (More blog entries to come re: my PLA experience.)

My first encounter with Molly was when she spoke at the NMRT All Committee Meeting at ALA Midwinter. Both candidates had the opportunity to stump for herself to those that attended our Candidates Forum at this meeting. One of the things that struck me was Ms. Raphael's experience with pioneering library services to at-risk and underserved populations in the District of Columbia. Upon further reflection into both candidates' experience, I am casting my vote for Molly Raphael.

Intellectual freedom is an issue that strikes at the heart of our profession. Ms. Raphael's experience in this realm in addition to ALA BARC (Budget Analysis and Review Committee) and her commitment to strong relationships between school libraries and other outreach programs really sealed my vote.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for both of the candidates. Campaigning for office at the national level can be very difficult for even the stalwart of candidates. I am always impressed with the candidates the ALA Nominating Committee have chosen. Sara Kelly Johns would definitely bring an experienced voice to the plight of school libraries across the country, most recently in Los Angeles, California. The issue affects not only school libraries but public libraries as well. Public libraries are faced with rising use but dwindling budgets. Public libraries will be stepping further into the role of replacement school librarian as well.  I wish both candidates the best of luck and most importantly: VOTE NOW!!!

Do you want to change the face of ALA Council? Shakeup the lineup and add players into the mix that typically may not have a shot? Let's do this! (VOTE NOW!!)
---
Have you ever read the candidate bios? There are quite a few remarkable leaders in our profession that are on the ballot for ALA Councilor at Large. 

1. Matthew Ciszek - I value his willingness to meet the challenges of a profession that has radically changed over the past 15 years. I have had the opportunity to meet with Matthew and feel he would bring a significant spark to ALA Council.
2. Kelly Czarnecki - I was impressed by her work with developing technology literacy for incarcerated teens. Outreach to the youth, especially in the area of technology literacy is key to the advancement and progress of our communities!
3. Loida A. Garcia-Febo - Loida's concerns encompass things that I am extremely passionate about: Intellectual freedom and international librarianship within a diverse/global landscape. I am duly impressed by Ms. Garcia-Febo's active commitment to the American Library Association in her various roles.
4. Larry Grieco - Another concern within the library profession that I think about is library services to rural communities. Larry will come to ALA Council with over five years of experience with rural/small libraries. 
5. Julius Jefferson - I am a "fanatic for fairness"as well. His recent presentation in 2008, entitled: "An Endangered Species: The Black Male Librarian," addressed the concerns of a dwindling diversity within our profession. We need more voices such as Mr. Jefferson.
6. Xudong Jin - Mr. Jin's work on projects such as the IMLS funded project entitled: Think Globally, Act Globally along with his work serving as President of the Chinese American Librarians Association should definitely considered as you place your vote.
7. Melissa Johnston - Often there are not too many candidates from the school library media specialist arena. Ms. Johnston's varied experience ranges from national programming events such as School Library Media Month to regional and state level leadership opportunities.
8. Mike Marlin - As more and more ability and access issues arise within the field of librarianship, I value Mike's role in addressing the concerns of library services to people with disabilities, especially serving our internal customers (our esteemed staff).
9. Jessica Moyer - I had the pleasure of working with Jessica on a co-sponsored program between RUSA RSS Marketing Reference Services to Users entitled "Marketing to Generation X" for ALA Annual 2007.  She is an intensely bright person that I feel has a lot to offer our profession not only through her publications and research but her passion for embracing shifts within libraries.
10. Cecilia Poon - Did you know that Cecilia established the APALA’s Mentoring Program with Sherise Kimura? Did you know that mentoring minority librarians is an issue that is near and dear to her? Two reasons why I'm voting for Cecilia Poon for ALA Councilor at Large.
11. Michael Porter - Many people know Michael through his work with David Lee King on addressing the concerns of an ever-changing landscape and evolving services of libraries. C'mon, let's vote for someone who can and will shake things up significantly on ALA Council!! VOTE NOW!!
12. Jacquie Samples - Two key points stuck out for me on Ms. Samples' biographical information: Her work with the American Indian Library Association and Association for Library 
    
    Collections & Technical Services. It also really rocked my socks that she mentions evolving and "leveraging ALA’s computing power in this digital age."
13. Kevin Scanlon - Youth recruitment efforts to promote librarianship! Addressing transparency concerns within the American Library Association and ALA Council! Youth access to materials & services! Kevin's experience with YALSA also sold me on a vote.
14. Sarah Smith - I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Federal Libraries Workshop. Sarah served as one of the organizers for this all-day pre-conference at this most recent ALA Midwinter in Boston. Sarah is serving as the president of her library school student organization at Simmons. I was especially taken by her passion to become more involved in the American Library Association.
15. James Teliha - I had the opportunity to talk with him at ALA Midwinter and I was taken by his enthusiasm to serve as an ALA Councilor at Large. His experience within the realm of Intellectual Freedom and his statement of Professional Concerns won my vote.

Casting an "Emerging Leaders" slate would also shake things up as well. - VOTE NOW!!

- Great job to NMRT Councilor Jenny Emanuel for creating a list of Emerging Leaders running for ALA office. So many awesome people on that slate too! Just remember to vote!!! - 

People that have experience on Council that I respect and think deserve your vote:

1. Doug Archer - Intellectual Freedom Fighter!
2. Gladys Smiley Bell - Ms. Bell has over ten years of experience on ALA Council working on issues such as ethnic librarianship.
3. Roberto C. Delgadillo -- Has significant experience with the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table and REFORMA. In addition, a background in public and academic libraries. The balanced outlook that Mr. Delgadillo has on generational shifts in libraries is something that I value as a fellow Councilor.
4. Karen Downing - Karen has past experience on ALA Council and has been off for a while. During this time, she completed a PhD that investigated: "The Relationship Between Social Identity and Role Performance Among Academic Librarians." Additionally, her activities surrounding minority recruitment and the Spectrum Scholarship program swung me. 
5. Bernard Margolis - His cunning use of Sturgis Parliamentary Procedure leaves me smiling along with his wealth of experience as a gadfly and respected member of our profession. It is so unfortunate that he is going through a major health battle at the moment.
6. Melora Norman - Melora has been a strong supporter of issues such as electronic participation. I have appreciated her well-thought out contributions to various debates of the day.
7. Cristina Ramirez - I have had the pleasure of serving on Council with Ms. Ramirez. Like myself, she is a newish librarian. I have admired her outreach efforts within ALA and would like to see her shine a little more on Council.
8. Elizabeth Ridler - While I often find myself on the opposite end of the voting spectrum with her, I respect the balance that her outspoken opinion provides. Some of the issues she consistently rises in discussion relate to concerns regarding library services to people with disabilities.
9. Susan Roman - She has over 30 years in our profession but has only been on Council since 2007.
10. Bill Turner - Current chair of the Resolutions Committee. Extremely approachable and willing to assist those that want to propose resolutions - especially MEMBER RESOLUTIONS (Yes, VOTE NOW but also learn more on how YOU can write resolutions to present at an ALA Membership Meeting. Action/Participation + You = OMG Engaged Membership!!!) The ALA Governance page should have more information for you but it currently has a number of dead links. - Will report that ASAP. Still, email Bill or any member of ALA Council regarding Action Items YOU would like to bring forth to the membership. Anytime. We're here to serve YOU!

I realize that I did not list many of my esteemed colleagues that have a wealth of years of experience on Council. I respect their years of service and I truly desire to have an overall balanced Council. The unfortunate predicament we are facing within our profession is finding that balance between experience and giving other ALA members a chance to shine. It is my hope that my experienced picks do not offend and provide a balance to the "shake-up" list I provided above. 
For more information on the ALA Election, check out the ALA Election info page!