Dear Peter and all LM_NET friends,
I appreciate our having this conversation in the open and discussing
our feelings. I, too, protested ALA's neglecting school librarians
from the blogging article and wrote a letter to the editor which I
also placed on my blog. They responded and asked me questions with
Beverly listening to my suggestions for how we can open the
conversation using newer means (Second Life, online communities,
online conferences). I do believe they are sorry and are working
quickly to atone for this particular error.
ALA does have much more to offer us beyond our divisional
organization (AASL). The joint youth group meetings for general
members and for special committees (like the legislation committee)
help all of the members of AASL, ALSC, and YALSA. The Legislative
Assembly comprises members from committees and the divisions
(including AASL) They listen actively to our particular needs and ask
us how AASL feels about all general library issues, so the entire
organization of ALA can represent the full gamut of our library needs.
The Washington Office is part of ALA and works daily on behalf of
school librarians. Their only problem is that school librarians DON'T
contact legislators as often as they need to. I appreciate how hard
Emily, Melanie, and Erin in particular have worked on our behalf.
They continue to make changes to the ALAWO website to include the new
technologies that WE tell them about (podcasting, second life, blogs,
flickr). Communication is a two-way street and we are working on a
simplified guide to enabling everyone to easily advocate and stay in
touch with federal issues. AASL alone could not do this.
Sara Kelly Johns mentioned Intellectual Freedom. If we were to divide
up our dues into the different pieces that ALA fulfills, our members
are not paying anywhere near the "real" percentage of services we
receive. The rest of ALA helps make up the cost of that issue.
Conferences and Meetings. Yes, AASL offers a fantastic conference
every two years with a smaller Fall Forum on the alternate years. We
are able to attend a focused conference on our issues with our own
vendors and people that understand us. In many ways this is like
being in a bubble. The ALA Annual Conference doesn't have as many
programs, but they are well attended by school librarians AND other
types of librarians who seek to understand our issues and programs.
The AASL president's program is well-attended by many other types of
librarians; many of whom return to their real worlds and blog about
us. The yearly Midwinter meetings are the workhorses of the
organization where you can see how ALA functions. If you volunteer
for a committee, you can get involved quickly and other types of
librarians are very welcoming to us when we give them a chance.
I appreciate the non-scheduled, casual times of conferences when you
can chat with other people from a wide variety of backgrounds. If I
hadn't participated, I would not have realized how important the EPA
closings of their libraries could become to all types of government
libraries as it signals a disregard for the librarians and their
expertise and potential conflicts of interest in availabilities of
services to those who need them while digitalization is occurring.
(Talk about a thoughtful!)
There are so many other ways that we benefit - ALA publications,
roundtables, SHOOT! I don't even know how we benefit entirely, but I
do recognize that so much of our professional integration relies upon
us and OUR involvement. If we sit on the sidelines, don't volunteer
for committees, and don't continue to complain when the larger
organization forgets us, then we won't be able to change things for
the better. We have a large division in ALA, but on non-AASL
conference years, the numbers diminish and that HURTS our cause.
Also, we don't have a large enough percentage of members who VOTE. If
we were to compare divisions, I believe you would see that AASL has a
lower percentage of members voting that other divisions like ACRL and PLA.
If you want to fix something, sometimes you have to be willing to
step up to the plate. This past January while I was waiting for a
take-out order in a hotel, I was approached by someone in ALA's
involved leadership asking for their help in getting more school
librarians on the ballot for ALA council so our voices would be
heard. He told me that the nominating group had approached many
school librarians who said "NO" because they were too busy and it was
too expensive. I understand that. Still, during the AASL Affiliate
Assembly meeting Linda Williams and I decided to send around a
petition ballot to gather signatures and we are running for council.
There are many good youth candidates on the list and they need
members of ALA and AASL to vote for them. If you want to effect
change, you have to change what you have been doing.
Thanks for tolerating my long-winded commentary. I really believe we
will be a better-represented organization within ALA, but only if we
continue to reach out, reach up, reach around, and sometimes JUMP UP
AND DOWN so they pay better attention to us.
Diane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diane R. Chen, Library Information Specialist
Hickman Elementary, 112 Stewart's Ferry Pike
Nashville, TN 37214 TEL: 615 884-4026
Personal Email: DianeRChen@comcast.net
Work Email: diane.chen@mnps.org
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