If you haven’t heard yet, ALA Council has been looking at ways to reorganize and reimagine how Council works and really, how the greater organization of ALA works. Last year, a Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) formed a 19 member team alongside Tecker International consulting firm, to complete a comprehensive look at what ALA in review form and also thinking about what we want ALA to look like now and in the future. This restructuring is pretty huge and will very much change how big decisions are made in ALA. There were lots of focus group meeting this past conference to discuss what members want from ALA. We know that there are many challenges, roadblocks, and burdens (financial and otherwise) that hinder participation in ALA and at conferences, and while the plans and designs of SCOE are still in the formulation phase, it feels exciting to re-imagine an ALA…
Tag: SCOE
All Are Welcome Here: Celebrating Global Diversity and Getting Involved with ALSC
All are welcome here! I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase before. We seem to be using it more and more in an attempt to indicate that our library spaces are inclusive. Some recent children’s books proclaim “all are welcome here,” and feature a mosaic of diverse children and families. There is a song that goes one step further stating, “all are welcome here, as we are.” Lofty goals for any children’s librarian; but do we put those words into action in our services and programs? Do we REALLY mean that everyone is welcome as they are? Do we embrace one type of diversity in the library but overtly (or covertly) shun other types of diversity by using the excuse that X type of diversity cannot be understood by children or Y type of diversity is only in the name of being politically correct? In addition to thinking about welcoming all…