ALA Council Report from Paul Mills, ILA's ALA Councilor
July 6, 2023
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ALA Council I
Saturday, June 25, 2023
The Committee on Committees shared the candidate lists for the Committee on Committees and the Planning and Budget Assembly. The former develops candidate lists for the Executive Board while the latter assists in the budget preparation and analysis process
Council approved a new edition of ALA Library Standards for the Incarcerated or Detained. It has been over 30 years since these standards were last revised.
The Bylaws Committee proposed an editorial change to Bylaws to remove named standing committees and make it general that committees exist until and if dissolved by Council. Not all standing committees were listed in the newly approved Bylaws and this led to an incorrect belief that committees not named were not standing committees. The list of committees was a point of contention back in January. This was approved by Council.
Discussion ensued on the appointment of two additional members to the Executive Board. These appointments reflected the new expanded size of the Executive Board as required by the newly passed Bylaws. The appointments were made for two-year terms in order to provide a proper staggering of terms.
A Resolution to make recommendations for a process by which decisions of the Executive Board may be reviewed, amended, or overturned by Council or by the Membership and make recommendations by January 2024 was approved by Council subsequent to the discussion about the Executive Board appointments.
The last action of Council I was a vote to reaffirm ALA’s position on the Freedom to Read. Council passed this resolution.
ALA Council II
The Committee on Organization proffered two changes designed to streamline association operations. The first change was to the Conference Committee – this added a responsibility to assist in identifying and reviewing potential major speakers and programs for all conference events. The second change modified the name, charge and composition of the committee responsible for Council orientation for new members. Both were approved by Council.
The Policy Monitoring Committee put forth two modifications to the Policy Manual based on past actions of Council. The first modification moved to amend the core competences of librarianship and the second modification move to state that the Association will provide virtual access to all membership meetings for Association members. Both were approved by Council.
The Core Values Task Forced provided an update on their work and asked for extension until January 2024 to complete it. The core values they have chosen and will submit for approval in January 2024 are Access, Equity, Intellectual Freedom, Public Good, and Sustainability. The Council approved their request for an extension.
A resolution to mandate all ALA Governance meetings be held virtually was referred to the Bylaws Committee was made. This referral was approved by Council.
The last action of Council II was a resolution that the Association would release a public statement condemning the wrongful terminations of library workers and all efforts to discriminate against library workers on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, including the intersectionality with other state and federally protected classes.
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Create a taskforce to determine a strategy for addressing and tracking retaliatory employment cases against LGBTQIA+ library workers and develop a communications plan that highlights ALA's available resources specific to the LGBTQIA+ library worker community. The taskforce will have representation from but not limited to the Rainbow Round Table, Committee on Diversity, Committee on Library Advocacy, and Committee on Legislation. The taskforce shall report their findings and recommendations to the ALA Council at the Annual Conference in 2024.
Council passed this resolution.
ALA Council III
Monday, June 26, 2023
Council heard a report on proposed revisions to the ALA Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library & Information Studies, which were last updated in 2015. This process started in 2021 and is continuing.
Council heard a resolution to object to the choice of Dubai as the location for the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) 2024 World Library and Information Conference (WLIC). Dubai criminalizes homosexuality. Council approved the resolution.
The last action of Council III was a resolution that urged the Conference Committee to investigate the possibility of changing the dates for future Annual Conferences that have not already been planned, so as to prevent scheduling conflicts with the second and fourth week of June, which coincide with the majority of pride festivals. Council approved the resolution.
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