Transcript Providing, Promoting, Producing— Welcome to the American Library Association 1. What is ALA all about? Founded in 1876, ALA is the oldest, largest, and.

Providing, Promoting, Producing—
Welcome to the
American Library Association
1. What is ALA all about?
Founded in 1876, ALA is
the oldest, largest, and most
influential library association
in the world.

The association represents all types of
libraries and all types of members.
Types of libraries:
Academic
Public
School
Special
State
Types of members:
Librarians
Library Staff
Institutions
Trustees
Authors
Publishers
Supporters
2. What does ALA do?
The goal of the association is to make
sure that everyone has access to the
best library services possible.
Which is why we asked you to
become an employee of the ALA!
3. Staff
Members and membership activities are
supported by a staff of approximately 280
employees. The work of ALA focuses on three
key areas:
Providing a national forum to advance library
services,
Promoting libraries to the public,
Producing tools librarians need to do their
jobs.
4. What’s ahead...
As we continue we’ll
take a closer look at
ALA and some of the
activities that put the
goals of ALA into
action.
Divisions and Organizational
Structure
Annual Conference and
Midwinter Meeting
ALA Key Action Areas
A Voice for Libraries in the
Nation’s Capital
Promoting Libraries
Tools of the Trade: Publishing,
Products, and Services
Special Projects and National
Initiative
5. Divisions, Offices
ALA includes a number of
divisions that concentrate on
particular types of libraries or
library services. All ALA members
are eligible to join one or more of
these divisions of ALA.
Divisions, Offices
There are 11 divisions, each with its own
officers, member committees, and staff,
each division sponsors a variety of
programs, publications, and projects. Also,
there are 15 offices, each with its own staff,
and several of the offices sponsor a variety
of programs and projects.
ALA’s Divisions
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
American Library Trustees & Advocates (ALTA)
Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS)
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)
Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)
Library Administration & Management Association (LAMA)
Library and Information Technology Association (LITA)
Public Library Association (PLA)
Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
ALA’s Offices
Chapter Relations (CRO)
Development Office
International Relations (IRO)
Office for Accreditation
Office for Diversity (OFD)
Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR)
Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP)
Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF)
Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS)
Office for Research and Statistics (ORS)
Office of ALA Governance
Office of Government Relations (OGR)
Public Information Office (PIO)
Public Programs Office (PPO)
Washington Office
6. Key Action Areas
ALA is committed to five Key Action Areas as guiding
principles for investment of energies and resources:
Diversity
• Diversity is a fundamental value of the Association and its members, and is
reflected in its commitment to recruiting people of color and people with
disabilities to the profession and to the promotion and development of
library collections and services for all people.
Education and Continuous Learning
• The Association provides opportunities for the professional development
and education of all library staff members and trustees; it promotes
continuous, lifelong learning for all people through library and information
services of every type.
Equity of Access
• The Association advocates funding and policies that support libraries as
great democratic institutions, serving people of every age, income level,
location, ethnicity, or physical ability, and providing the full range of
information resources needed to live, learn, govern, and work.
Key Action Areas
Intellectual Freedom
• Intellectual freedom is a basic right in a democratic society and a core value
of the library profession. The American Library Association actively defends
the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as
guaranteed by the First Amendment.
21st Century Literacy
• The American Library Association assists and promotes libraries in helping
children and adults develop the skills they need—the ability to read and use
computers—understanding that the ability to seek and effectively utilize
information resources is essential in a global information society.
7. Annual Conference Activities
Inauguration of ALA’s president and officers for the
year.
Committee and council meetings to transact the
business of the association.
Feature programs to honor famous authors and other
well-known speakers.
An opportunity for publishers to promote authors and
their latest books and exhibitors who specialize in
services and equipment specifically designed for
libraries.
8. Midwinter Meeting
In January, ALA holds a Midwinter Meeting
that focuses on association business.
Programs include:
Meetings of affiliate organizations, such as the
Black Caucus of the American Library Association
(BCALA) or REFORMA (National Association to
Promote Library and Information Services to
Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking)
Meetings of the Executive Board and special
committees charged with carrying out particular
items on the association's agenda
9. Our Washington Office
Works with Congress and government officials to:
Secure funding for libraries,
Protect everyone’s right to access information and
provide affordable Internet access at libraries,
Demonstrate to Congress that libraries are important
to everyone by organizing grass-roots library
supporters throughout the year, especially on Library
Legislative Day, held each year in May.
Keep the Institute of Museum and Library Services—a
separate federal agency that promotes and supports
libraries—informed on library issues.
Our Washington Office
The main membership groups that work with the
Washington Office are the Legislation Committee and
the Public Awareness Committee.
The Public Information Office at ALA, works closely
with the Washington Office because they often deal
with issues that make headlines.
ALA members and others keep up with library
legislative issues by subscribing to ALAWON, the
Washington Office’s electronic news alert system.
10. Promoting Libraries
One of ALA’s jobs is to keep libraries in the
public eye, highlighting the variety of services
and programs that are available and this is
done by:
Each year in April, National Library Week is an
opportunity for libraries throughout the country to
hold events that promote reading and libraries
Producing hundreds of press releases each year
about programs and events at libraries; these are
available online and in print from the Public
Information Office (PIO).
Promoting Libraries
The Allied Professional Association of the American
Library Association (ALA-APA) sponsors the National
Library Workers Day to recognize all library workers,
including librarians, support staff and others who
make library service possible every day. National
Library Workers Day was established by a resolution
passed by the ALA-APA Council during the ALA
Conference in Toronto in June 2003. The message
of National Library Workers Day is "Libraries Work
Because We Do" and libraries are also invited to use
the slogan "We work @ your library®" to tie into
ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries. Libraries
may customize the first slogan by adding the
library’s name to the beginning, e.g., Freedom Public
Library Works Because We Do.
Promoting Libraries
ALA has made a multi-year commitment to speak
loudly and clearly about the value of libraries and
librarians to our communities, schools, academic
institutions, and businesses, as well as to our society,
democracy, and the new digital age.
11. ALA Publishing
American Libraries magazine - is the official journal of the
association.
Three magazines are sold by subscription:
Booklist: reviews new adult and children’s books (and
other media) twice monthly.
Book Links: aimed at using trade books across the school
curriculum.
Choice: reviews scholarly books of academic interest.
Books published by ALA Editions on subjects of interest to
professional librarians.
Division publications such as College & Research Libraries
(ACRL) and Public Libraries (PLA), are usually offered with
membership in the division.
12. Special Projects
ALA helps librarians get the resources, training, and
support they need to develop new programs. We help
spread the word about local programs nationwide.
These include:
Literacy programs involving local libraries as demonstration sites
KidsConnect an online Q&A service in which school librarians
volunteer to answer kids’ questions about the Internet, (more)
The Spectrum Initiative, established in 1997, is the American
Library Association’s national diversity and recruitment effort.
The Initiative is designed to address the specific issue of
underrepresentation of critically needed ethnic librarians while
serving as a model for ways to bring attention to larger diversity
issues within the profession.
Special Projects
Among the projects developed by the Public Programs Office
(PPO) are traveling exhibitions, book and media discussion
programs, continuing education opportunities, live author and
artist events, and a variety of professional resources for
librarians. These projects include:
Traveling exhibitions - Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of
Nature, Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation,
and Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend.
Discussion series, such as Let’s Talk About It-Jewish Literature,
Becoming an American Writer: The Life and Stories of Isaac Bashevis
Singer, and The Sixties: America’s Decade of Crisis and Change.
StoryLines America, a radio/library series exploring regional
literature.
Mixed collection development/programming efforts such as the We
The People Bookshelf project and the Human Rights Video Project.
Library Networks for Literature, a “LIVE! @ your library®” project to
create regional networks to support literature and literary
programming and dialogue through libraries.
13. How To Keep Up
1.
All-staff meetings are held about once a month; Unit Manager
meetings are twice a month (minutes are posted for all to read);
and weekly Senior Management Group meetings are held.
2.
The Headquarters library on the third floor, 40 East, has many
great resources to help you.
3.
Monthly you’ll receive a copy of ALA’s journal, American Libraries.
4.
The staff newsletter, HR Connections, is published bimonthly.
5.
Visit ALA’s website (www.ala.org) and the intranet (alainet) often.
These are some of the most up-to-date sources of information.
6.
Finally, join the ALA Staff Association (membership is open to all
employees) and join the all-staff year-round events! The ALA Staff
Association News is published monthly and sent to all employees.
14. Key ALA Staff
Senior Management Team
Greg Calloway, AED, Financial Services
Don Chatham, AED, Publishing Services
Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director
Mary Ghikas, Senior AED, Member Programs and Services
Gerald Hodges, AED, Communications
Dorothy Ragsdale, Director, Human Resources
Susan Roman, Director, Development Office
Emily Sheketoff, AED, Washington Office
Sherri Vanyek, Director, Information Technology &
Telecommunication Services
Julie Walker, Executive Director, AASL/YALSA
In Conclusion...
Welcome to American Library
Association, we are glad to have you as
a new member of the team.
Please remember if you have questions,
ideas, or concerns we want to hear
from you.