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Dear Diane and all, I absolutely agree with Diane in all of her points. When I posted about the salary survey, (which was not ALA but APA, a long story in itself) I was expressing the disappointment of feeling left out of a community effort. I understand the enormous amount of work it is just to collect the data that was presented. Data that I found extremely helpful. I just would like APA to consider collecting data for our concerns. The why we are part of ALA and do they do enough for this part of their membership was not a question for me. I do hope more school librarians feel empowered to be part of the process of big ALA. We are stronger as we work together not apart. Sara Kelly Johns wrote that comparable salary statistics were available for teachers. Yes they are and those are some of the ones I used for comps in our negotiations. Librarians have written to me personally to report out additional compensation for work before and after the school year as well as for administrative duties. Or not being compensated for after-school and pre- and post semester work. I also appreciate ALA's quick response to the previous issue. Lisa Lisa Von Drasek Children's Librarian Bank Street College of Education School for Children Pre-K- 8 610 West 112th St NY NY 10025 lisav@bnkst.edu 212 875 4452 >>> "Diane R. Chen" <dianerchen@COMCAST.NET> 04/07/07 3:59 PM >>> 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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