ALA Seeking Feedback on Organizational Effectiveness and Governance Review (Two Sessions at ALA Annual on June 25)

(via Kim Copenhaver, Eckerd College and Past President of Florida ACRL)

Dear colleagues,

If you will be in New Orleans on Monday,  I urge you to attend one of the remaining small group discussions taking place during ALA Annual regarding the future structure of ALA. It is critical for ACRL members to participate in these conversations! Please add one or more of the following meetings to your conference schedule.

Open small-group discussions are scheduled as follows:

• Monday, June 25, MCC 352, 1:00-2:00 PM CST

• • Facilitator: Nancy Kranich

• Monday, June 25, MCC 352, 2:30-3:30 PM CST

• • Facilitator: Nancy Kranich

Best regards,

Kim Copenhaver

Past President, Florida Chapter of ACRL

ALA Organizational Effectiveness/Governance Review:  Steering Committee

Announcement from 2017-2018 ALA President Jim Neal — 6/19/2018

At its 2018 Midwinter Meeting in Denver, the ALA Executive Board called upon ALA stakeholders to “consider what it would take to align ALA’s organizational structure, policies, and rules with the Association’s 21^st century values, key action areas, and strategic directions.” The Midwinter 2018 Discussion Document quoted the mission of the American Library Association — “To provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all” – and asked us to consider how we might fulfill that mission in the 21^st century. It also proposed a set of “Guiding Principles” for the work ahead. 2017-2018 ALA CD #35.1 summarizes the Midwinter Meeting discussion and lays out an 18-month timeline for the Organizational Effectiveness/Governance Review process.

The Steering Committee will work collaboratively with an Executive Team including 2017-2018 ALA President Jim Neal, ALA Executive Director Mary Ghikas, Steering Committee Chair Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada and an external consultant.  The selection of the external consultant is still in process.

As we proceed together through this process of discovery and reimagination, there will be many choices to make.  We will be presented with alternative paths, organizational values that are sometimes in conflict, competing visions of an ideal ALA.  Helping us navigate that decision landscape is the essential work of the Steering Committee.

During the 2018 ALA Annual Conference, there will be several opportunities to explore our vision for tomorrow’s ALA through discussion of four questions:

• What do you think is the most important thing to do to improve ALA’s effectiveness?
• What are your thoughts about a possible shift from a structure based on standing committees to one that would largely be based upon as-needed groups, with a core of standing committees?
• What if ALA had a much stronger relationship with State Chapters/State Associations – one that would be supported by an effective structure?
• What do you think about the possibility of a different governance structure, one in which there might be a different Executive Board/Council composition/structure/relationship?

Open small-group discussions are scheduled as follows:

• Monday, June 25, MCC 352, 1:00-2:00 PM CST

• • Facilitator: Nancy Kranich

• Monday, June 25, MCC 352, 2:30-3:30 PM CST

• • Facilitator: Nancy Kranich

Thank you to members of the newly-appointed Steering Committee for committing their time, attention and varied perspectives to this important work on behalf of their Association.  Thank you also to members of the working group of the ALA Executive Board — Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, Patty Wong and Andrew Page – for bringing us to this point, and to Maureen Sullivan and Nancy Kranich for bringing their facilitation expertise and experience to advance the discussion.