{"id":22919,"date":"2020-03-06T12:01:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T17:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=22919"},"modified":"2020-03-06T12:07:28","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T17:07:28","slug":"lucia-gonzalez-2020-21-alsc-vice-president-president-elect-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/lucia-gonzalez-2020-21-alsc-vice-president-president-elect-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucia Gonzalez: 2020-21 ALSC Vice President\/President Elect Candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an effort to help ALSC members make an informed decision before they vote, the blog posts today consist of interviews with the candidates for ALSC 2019-20 Vice President\/President-Elect, Carol K. Phillips and Lucia Gonzalez.\u00a0Each candidate was given eleven questions and submitted written answers. This afternoon\u2019s interview is with Lucia Gonzalez<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot
Photo courtesy of Lucia Gonzalez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1.\u00a0 What do you consider the most important role of the ALSC President?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The most important role\u00a0of the ALSC President is to lead, serve, and\u00a0represent the organization and\u00a0its\u00a0membership with innovative vision and\u00a0arduous dedication in support of ALSC work to provide excellent and\u00a0inclusive library services and programs to all the children in all\u00a0our\u00a0communities.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 What skills & strengths would you bring to the office?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As a children\u2019s librarian at heart, I am a skillful communicator; I am\u00a0 a storyteller.\u202f As a library Director, I am an administrator,\u00a0community leader, planner, and team builder.\u202f As an active member of\u00a0ALSC, Past President of REFORMA:\u00a0the\u00a0National Association to Promote\u00a0Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking,\u00a0longstanding Chair of its Children and Young Adult Services Committee, and founder of REFORMA\u2019s\u00a0Noche\u00a0de\u00a0Cuentos\u00a0initiative, I am\u00a0well-versed in\u00a0national leadership.\u202f As\u00a0a\u00a0bilingual children\u2019s author and storyteller,\u00a0and as recipient of the Pura\u00a0Belpr\u00e9\u00a0Honor Medal, the Americas Award\u00a0Honor, and the Jane Addams Children\u2019s Book Award Honor, I have\u00a0traveled the country to meet and work with children, families,\u00a0teachers, and librarians\u00a0of all backgrounds.\u202f The past 30\u00a0years\u00a0have\u00a0offered me tremendous opportunities to grow in the profession at all\u00a0levels, and\u00a0provided me with the\u00a0expertise\u00a0and\u00a0experience to serve ALSC in the\u00a0capacity of its highest elected officer.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 What areas of personal\/professional strength or weakness do you feel could be enhanced or improved through this ALSC leadership position?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

ALSC provides the largest and most inclusive platform for the exchange\u00a0of\u00a0innovative ideas\u00a0as well as for inspiring and unifying\u00a0children\u2019s library workers everywhere.\u202f Yet, there\u00a0remains\u00a0great\u00a0untapped\u00a0potential\u00a0for growing this platform.\u202f There are vast disparities among\u00a0libraries, and within children\u2019s services, across the nation.\u202f There\u00a0are municipal libraries in urban areas, rural libraries, library\u00a0cooperatives, etc. that are continuously fighting to get\u00a0the\u00a0meager\u00a0funding from their local governments that would allow them to just\u00a0stay \u201calive.\u201d\u202f As a result, there is a great nationwide gap in access\u00a0to professional development and networking in youth services.\u00a0Children\u2019s library workers don\u2019t always get the support needed to have\u00a0access to ALSC wealth of knowledge and resources,\u00a0because they\u00a0lack funding\u00a0to attend conferences and trainings.\u202f This is also true\u00a0of larger and wealthier systems where the children and\u00a0families\u00a0in\u00a0communities of color are served by paraprofessional staff without\u00a0access to the greater resources.\u202f\u00a0It my goal that ALSC reaches all\u00a0children\u2019s library workers in the process of empowering them with the\u00a0skills needed to lead the services in their diverse communities from\u00a0their diverse voices.\u202f\u00a0Technology is our greatest ally to enhancing\u00a0our platform and our reach.\u202f This is an exciting time, a time of\u00a0re-envisioning and re-igniting our organization.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Why should someone choose to join ALSC? What services do you feel ALSC provides that are valuable to new members? To long-term members?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All library workers serving families and children should be members of\u00a0ALSC.\u202f It is our \u201cmother\u201d organization\u00a0and is only as strong as its membership.\u202f Through our membership we\u00a0learn from each other, we gain perspective and vision through\u00a0networking and through sharing expertise and experiences.\u202f We benefit\u00a0locally from ALSC national initiatives and advocacy efforts.\u202f We can\u00a0advocate locally,\u00a0because ALSC advocates nationally.\u202f New members\u00a0benefit from all the available online resources, from learning about\u00a0the best practices, joining the national conversation, and from\u00a0volunteering opportunities to serve on\u00a0committees and groups,\u00a0many of them now working online.\u202f\u00a0With libraries and the role of librarians continuously evolving, long-time members remain informed\u00a0and up-to-date with best\u00a0practices, new technologies, opportunities\u00a0for leadership work, as well as opportunities to mentor\u00a0the next generation of library leaders.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 What are your ideas for reaching and involving members? What are your ideas to recruit new members?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go on an ALSC advocacy campaign!\u202f\u00a0As I have done throughout my career,\u00a0I will work to find ways to\u00a0reach out to new populations, and to engage them as part of the ALSC\u00a0family.\u202f This \u201coutreach\u201d effort would involve working together with\u00a0the Ethnic Affiliates to reach their membership with the ALSC message\u00a0as well as to promote the Affiliates\u2019 work and message within the ALSC\u00a0membership.\u202f Many library children\u2019s workers that are active members\u00a0of the Affiliates and\/or their local chapters in their local\u00a0communities might not consider joining ALSC due to a number of factors\u00a0such as access to funding for joining ALA\/ALSC, lack of support from\u00a0their administrators, or due to other existing organizational or even\u00a0cultural reasons that hinder our ability to engage their members.\u00a0Now is the\u00a0time to consider shifting our communication\u00a0model to\u00a0one\u00a0that resembles the work of ground\u00a0roots organizations and movements.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Advances in technology and changes in the political climate are dramatically impacting libraries. What are your thoughts on how ALSC can best continue to be a positive force for librarians, for libraries, and for children?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This organization that is now ALSC, has a long history of reemerging\u00a0with greater force and momentum after periods of trials and\u00a0tribulations, both in the political or professional arenas, as well as within ALA.\u202f The source of ALSC\u2019s\u00a0organizational strength and its\u00a0ability to transform while thriving in times of change is intrinsic to\u00a0the unyielding commitment of its leaders and members to its core\u00a0values, to \u201cengage communities to build healthy, successful futures for\u00a0all children.\u201d\u202f \u202fALSC resembles the trees of the tropics that are trimmed in\u00a0preparation for the hurricane season and come back greener and\u00a0stronger than before. It is by applying advances in technology that we will\u00a0be able to survive the current climate while re-inventing the way we\u00a0communicate and conduct the business of the organization.\u202f These times\u00a0offer an opportunity to streamline and modernize internal processesso that ALSC can continue to fulfill its mission for years to come.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 ALSC has a commitment to conversations on diversity and inclusion <\/strong>and the essential roles that children\u2019s librarians have in ensuring <\/strong>rich and diverse collections and programming. How will you work to <\/strong>enhance this commitment?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Our mutual collaboration with the Joint Council for Librarians of\u00a0Color, BCLA, and the Ethnic Affiliates (AILA, APALA, CALA, NALA,\u00a0REFORMA) is key to achieving an effective, long-lasting commitment to\u00a0diverse services to communities of color and the inclusion of\u00a0librarians of color in leadership roles in the process.\u202f Also, I would\u00a0like to see greater collaboration and focus on outreach to Schools of\u00a0Library and Information Science programs across the country.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 If elected, what topic would you like to highlight for either a preconference or the Charlemae Rollins President\u2019s Program?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Storytelling has been at the heart of our practice and\u00a0has provided the foundation for children\u2019s librarianship, and\u00a0I am a strong believer in the power of storytelling to unite\u00a0communities. This is one\u00a0topic that I would like to highlight: preserving and transmitting the\u00a0cultural and literary inheritance of children in modern society\u00a0through the application of new technologies in the art of\u00a0storytelling.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 What is your motivation in running for this position?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

ALSC\u00a0\u00a0has nurtured me from the early years of my career, and it is a great professional and personal honor to stand as candidate\u00a0for\u00a0Vice President\/President Elect\u00a0of this organization.\u202f I am motivated by\u00a0my love and passion for children\u2019s librarianship, by the work of those\u00a0who came before me, and most significantly by the teachings and\u00a0example of my mentor in the profession, Dr. Henrietta Smith.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0<\/strong> <\/span>ALSC is a fiscally responsible division. What steps do you think it should take to remain\u00a0so in order to fulfill the objectives of the Strategic Plan?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After giving much thought to this question and examining the ALSC Strategic Plan, I feel that this is a topic that I will need to analyze thoroughly in order to gain the insightful knowledge of ALSC financial processes, sources of revenues and expenses, etc. that would allow me to make sound recommendations.\u00a0 ALSC\u2019s portfolio is very diversified and the possibilities and opportunities are great.\u00a0 I am prepared to first listen and learn.<\/p>\n

11. What else would you like the voting ALSC membership to know about you before they vote? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I will be a tireless worker and leader.\u202f I look\u00a0forward to working<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>with everyone as we move ALSC forward together!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The polls will open at 9 a.m. Central time on Monday, March 9 and will close on Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 p.m. To be eligible to vote, individuals must be members in good standing as of January 31, 2020.<\/p>\n

\n

This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: Professionalism and Professional Development; Administrative and Management Skills.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an effort to help ALSC members make an informed decision before they vote, the blog posts today consist of interviews with the candidates for ALSC 2019-20 Vice President\/President-Elect, Carol K. Phillips and Lucia Gonzalez.\u00a0Each candidate was given eleven questions and submitted written answers. This afternoon\u2019s interview is with Lucia Gonzalez.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1612,52,144,1604,1613],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-administrative-and-management-skills","category-alsc-board","category-blogger-mary-r-voors","category-competencies-for-librarians-serving-children-in-public-libraries","category-professionalism-and-professional-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22919\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}