ALA Council I — Sunday am

Waaaaaayyyy too early to be up on a Sunday morning! WOW! As I said on Facebook… Sometimes the hardest thing I do is put on a coffee lid in the morning. Today was one of those days.

Sorry… didn’t mean to publish… I TOLD you it was too early in the morning…

President Maureen Sullivan led council in the recognition of special attendees (includes Presidents and President elects of State Chapters — and special attendees).

After logistics (approval of rules and information and minutes), we begin the agenda.

More logistics… slates of candidates for the Committee on Committees (those that recommend committee members for ALA committees) and the Planning and Budget Assembly (PBA) were approved. No candidates were nominated from the floor.

Keith Michael Fiels is reporting on the actions of the Executive Board since ALA Midwinter. Mostly … they discussed budget issues and the resolution on the divestment of ALA Holdings in Fossil Fuel.

Next: Report of the Digital Content and Libraries Working Group. They are doing tremendous work… and remember… this is even BEYOND the ebook issue! (posting items later). All big 6 publishers are engaged with librarians across the country. There was lots of hard work that went into this to develop a closer working relationship. American Libraries has a special edition regarding Digital Content.

Now… Resolutions begin: The first on tap is the “Edward Snowden” resolution:
“Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA): Recognizes Edward Snowden as a whistleblower who, in releasing information that documents government attacks on privacy, free speech, and freedom of association, has performed a valuable service in launching a national dialogue about transparency, domestic surveillance, and overclassification.” Debate begins… Surprisingly … not much debate. The Resolution passed.

Next… Resolution Reaffirming ALA’s Commitment to Basic Literacy (posted later):
“Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of its members:
— reaffirms and supports the principle that lifelong literacy is a basic right for all individuals in our society and is essential to the welfare of the nation;
–reaffirms the core value of basic literacy as foundational for people of all ages and is the building block for developing other literacies;
–encourages appropriate ALA units and Divisions to actively participate in the Association’s Literacy Assembly; and
–urges appropriate ALA units and libraries of all types to make basic literacy a high priority by incorporating literacy initiatives into programs and services for all users. Now speaking to the resolution… The resolution passes.

Next… “Declaration for the Right to Libraries Resolution: Resolves, that the American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of its members:
–Endorses the Declaration for the Right to Libraries
–Urges that the American Library Association work to support and engage libraries and communities across the country in supporting the Declaration for the Right to Libraries. Debate begins… Resolution passes.

Next… Resolution on Library Service to the Community in a Natural Disaster (resolved clauses too long to type… I will post) Basically it is to recognize the contributions of libraries and library staff during natural disasters (NY, CT, VT, NJ)…. and directs a letter of acknowledgment for the contributions. Discussion begins…. Great point made: … so many of us have dealt with natural disasters elsewhere… we should commend all of the libraries and library staff for their work all over the United States for their contributions to the community effected by natural disasters. This has been postponed until Council 2.

Next…. The resolution of the Divestment of Holdings in Fossil Fuel Companies and Libraries’ Role in a Peaceful Transition to a Fossil-Free Economy has been postponed until Council 2.

We are taking a break… I’ll go ahead and publish this and edit this when we come back to the action!

More later…
Ok… I’m back…

We have postponed the Resolution on Prayer at ALA Meetings…

Next…. Resolution Commending the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) for Defending Videogames. Discussion begins… a vote to strike the 4th resolve clause failed… so the resolution stands as submitted. More discussion to continue… Resolution passes.

Next… Resolution on Digitization of US Government Documents: This has been referred to the Committee on Legislation and specifically the FDLP (Federal Depository LIbrary Program)…

Registration: 14341 registrants 5815 exhibitors… 20156 total

We will meet tonight at Council Forum (8:30 pm) at Hilton Chicago Astoria Room.

We are adjourned! We are ahead of schedule!! Unheard of! 😉

More later peeps!

Susan J

ALA Membership Meeting

After a 10 minute break… we are BAAAAACCCCKKK!!

Maureen Sullivan went over the rules. We also have a revised agenda.

We have a quorum (We have to have at least 75 members in order to conduct business at this meeting)

We are standing in tribute to those colleagues and supporters who have died. I will list them later.

We also have 2 tributes to CALA (Chinese American Librarians Association) and Abba Alahdi.

First Resolution: (I’ll post) “Resolution on Divestment of Holdings in Fossil Fuel Companies and Libraries’ Role in a Peaceful Transition to a Fossil-Free Economy” … now the discussion begins (for and against)… It’s a very heated issue…. Members spoke for and against and made cogent arguments on both sides. The motion failed and will not move on to Council. 46-44.

Now… on to a resolution in support of Whistleblower Edward Snowden….. (posting later): Members are standing to speak for and against… motion carries and will be sent to council for consideration…

We are now adjourned until tomorrow morning!

Until then….
Susan J

ALA Council/Executive Board/Membership Information Session

We are beginning the action of the ALA. This is the first session… I will try to attach reports to my blog once I get home. Please excuse grammar or spelling! Writing in the moment but will look back to clarify and correct as needed…. 😉

Today’s session will be reports for the membership. No action will be taken at this session.

It’s really a shame that more members don’t attend. You hear about the association and it helps dispel the mysteries of ALA. I’ll try to pass on as much as I can and hope to post the reports.

Maureen Sullivan, ALA President gave her report. is giving her report. The first Leadership Development program. 40 participants were selected.

Barbara Stripling, Incoming ALA President is giving her report outlining her agenda for the upcoming year. One initiative is the Declaration for the Right to Libraries… signings will go on around the country to support the local libraries. Second Initiative: Libraries Change Lives which will highlight Literacy…. highlighting what’s going on around ALA with literacy… Third… Community Engagement… To spread the news about our great public work. Continuing the work of the Digital Content Working Group to help us with our Digital Initiatives. Also there will be an Advocacy campaign for school libraries.

Keith Michael Feils, Executive Director, reiterated appreciation for the work of the Digital Content Working Group. Virtual Membership meeting attendance 400+ members from around the world attended. Looks like the Chicago conference is successful…. there are 439 programs, 984 meetings… the total is: 2792 programs meetings, etc… WOW! Attendance Figures: (as of Friday) 13950 registrants, 5700 vendor = 19,677 total.

Endowment & Trustees Report — Kate Nevins, reporting: Kate thinks we will really hold our own with our investments. (report to be posted later). The Endowment funds provide support for the divisions, scholarships, etc of ALA. The most controversial finding by the Endowment & Trustees report is it’s recommendation that we will not divest in Fossil Fuels (they reported about this in response to a question from the BARC committee — Budget Analysis and Review Committee). This is a heated topic and has been the topic of heated discussion in ALA Council before. Several members have risen in order to implore ALA Council to advise the Endowment funds investments. ALA Council is an Advisory Body… BARC advises the ALA Executive Board on fiduciary issues.

BARC Report: (report to be posted) — Looks like things are in a deficit (due to the economic downturn) — Adjustments had to be made (reductions) in order to have a balanced budget. 10% reduction in staffing (through attrition). Staff Development funds have been eliminated. Senior management took a 10% salary cut. BARC believed if revenue projections were positive, staff compensation need to be funded. Layoffs have been avoided… for now. BARC did not endorse the Fossil Fuel divestment. Neither did the Endowment Trustees.

Treasurer’s Report: Jim Neal reported on Strategic Issues that have impacted our FY2014 budget. Many changes/challenges have impacted us. We need to look at diversity in investment… membership numbers have reduced, we have had a downturn in publishing, etc. This has impacted us quite a big. ALA is looking at continuing education on line, electronic publishings, international community, our users and mergers and acquisitions. We must look at new technologies and systems (hardware and software) (Jim is outlining the ALA Budgeted expenses… I’ll post later). We are a reduced but still doing a great thing for the profession and our members!

We will now transition to the Membership Meeting… more in a bit…

Susan J

Quick Note… Follow the conference on Twitter…

Hi all…. You can also follow the conference on Twitter as well… Hashtag ala2013

Hello from Chicago!

No room in the inn!

Hi all:

This is a pic from Conference 101 put on by NMRT! Standing room only (and more)! Good to see such a good turn out! Shows the need for conference orientation! ALA Can be very daunting… especially for the first timer or those that would like to get good tips and tricks. I think we should have more than one session … maybe a wiki to develop more tips leading up to conference… Chicago is always a huge draw so… hang on to your hats….

Just a note to say that once again I will be blogging as your NMRT Councilor. Follow along whether you are here in Chicago or at home! Please email me at Suzyjenn620@gmail.com or comment if you have any requests along the way! Sit back and enjoy the conference! Thank you for supporting me as your ALA Councilor.

Susan J