ALA Annual Conference Report

The American Library Association Annual Conference was held June 27-July 2, 2013 in Chicago, IL. Attendance was very strong, as is usually expected when the conference is held in Chicago. ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels reported There were 15,918 paid entrants, 4,319 complimentary passes and 6,125 exhibitor passes for a total of 26,362 total attendees. Attendance surpassed that of 2012 in Anaheim, CA by 6,200. This was very good news for the organization as one of the biggest challenges this year is revenue. Chief sources of revenue are conference, publishing, and membership. The Association is facing significant budget shortfalls due to decline in membership and decline in publishing revenues. Retiring Treasurer, Jim Neal proposed a budget ceiling of $63,944,617, two million dollars less than last year. In order to meet the budget ceiling, 33 positions at ALA will remain unfilled. Additional cost savings measures will have to be implemented to deal with the fiscal reality.

Controversy abounded around resolutions in support of Edward Snowden as a whistleblower. Initially passed in Council I, the resolution was overturned and replaced with a resolution introduced by the Committee on Legislation in Council III: Resolution on the need for reforms for the intelligence community to support privacy, open government, government transparency and accountability. There are those who still debate the original. Another controversial resolution would have ALA divest investments from fossil fuel industries. Although hotly debated, the resolution failed. Another "green"resolution introduced, directs ALA to decrease printing costs for Council meetings. This resolution overwhelmingly, if not unanimously passed. Now let's hope internet access is adequate in future meetings so that documents are accessible.

Other Resolutions that passed:

• Resolution Reaffirming ALA’s Commitment to Basic Literacy 
• Declaration for the Right to Libraries Resolution 
• Resolution Commending the Freedom to Read Foundation
• Resolution on Library Service to the Community in a Natural Disaster
• Resolution on Government Printing Office as official repository for government information
• Resolution on supporting librarians in libel suits

President  Barbara Stripling introduced her initiative for libraries with the Declaration for the Right to Libraries  resolution. She and ALA will develop a national campaign to gather signatures on the declaration in support of libraries. The goal is to collect one million or more signatures. Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, find out more at www.ala.org/advocacy-right-libraries.

Loved Chicago!

Respectfully,

Vickie Mix, ALA Chapter Councilor

South Dakota Library Association

  

ALA President Elect Presidential Initiative: Libraries Change Lives

My presidential initiative, entitled Libraries Change Lives, will focus on increasing public understanding of the value of libraries, especially in the realms of literacy, innovation, and community engagement.   Now is the time for us to build the public will for libraries of all types.

As part of this effort, we have planned a campaign called America’s Right to Libraries and developed a Declaration for the Right to Libraries (attached-in original e-mail) to serve as a strong public statement of the value of libraries for individuals, communities, and our nation.  Through this initiative, libraries of all types will have the opportunity in the next year to hold signing ceremonies where community members, organizations, and officials can visibly sign and stand up for their right to have vibrant school, public, academic, and special libraries in their community. 

Beginning with our Annual Conference in Chicago, we will be inviting ALA members, ALA member groups, Chapter leaders and our affiliates to join us in the effort to secure hundreds of thousands of signatures from community members across the country.  Our plan right now is for the signed scrolls to be presented at a national summit and ceremony to be held in the spring of 2014. 

We hope that you will consider inviting people in your local community and in your state to join us in proclaiming the value of libraries. For those interested in holding local signing ceremonies, we will be providing a “toolkit” to help you plan your signing ceremony, garner public support and attract media attention.

I will be talking more about the campaign when we get together in Chicago in three weeks, but wanted to provide you with some advance information prior to our upcoming Annual Conference.  In the meantime, please share this message and the Declaration with colleagues and friends, and please feel free to contact me with any ideas you may have about how we can use the Declaration to increase public awareness of the incredible value that libraries represent.

Sincerely,

Barbara Stripling

ALA President Elect  

315 443-1069

bstripli@syr.edu

@barbstripling