{"id":24847,"date":"2021-03-04T00:01:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T05:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=24847"},"modified":"2021-03-04T10:37:44","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T15:37:44","slug":"standing-for-election-in-the-2021-22-alsc-board-of-directors-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/standing-for-election-in-the-2021-22-alsc-board-of-directors-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing for Election in the 2021-22 ALSC Board of Directors Election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an effort to help ALSC members make an informed decision before they vote, this afternoon\u2019s blog post consists of statements from the six candidates standing for election to the ALSC Board of Directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

ALSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS CANDIDATES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgina Rivas-Martinez<\/strong> is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m honored and humbled to be asked to stand for election to the ALSC Board. As a librarian serving families for whom English is not their first language, I\u2019ve been working to create equitable programming like bilingual storytimes among other programming to help families feel welcomed and empowered in using their library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an ALSC Emerging Leader I had an opportunity to work on leadership projects with a team of committed library folks from across the country.  In addition, serving as part of the Pura Belpr\u00e9 Expansion Tasks Force has helped me see how much our work overlaps and coordinates with other divisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSC has supported my work and helped me gain skills and confidence that I bring back to the communities that I serve. My hope is that if elected to the ALSC Board I can advocate for librarians who want to learn how to serve in communities like mine, to learn more about our organization, and to help ALSC be a more equitable and responsive community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year’s slate is fantastic, and no matter the outcome, our organization will be in great hands!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Kath Gieraltowski at South Huntington Public Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Melanie Lyttle<\/strong> is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My name is Melanie Lyttle and I am standing for the ALSC board. I just celebrated my 15th anniversary with Madison Public Library where I have been both the head of the children\u2019s department and currently the head of public services. I work in a rural community of about 21,000 people on the eastern shore of Lake Erie in Ohio. I am privileged to know and work with many librarians from similar-sized libraries throughout the state of Ohio, and through my various committee work for ALSC, I have met many librarians from all over the country. What I will bring to the ALSC board is both the perspective of small libraries from the mid-section of the US, but also libraries that are servicing communities that have neither the civic infrastructure of cities nor the wealth of the suburbs. In recent years, I have become very interested in what equity looks like in libraries. I am passionate about sharing my experiences with the broader ALSC community, but also because my library and I have benefited greatly from all that ALSC has to offer over the years, I want to give back to them as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: DeeAnna Culbertson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Naphtali Faris<\/strong> is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I was 12 years old, I snuck into the Newbery Caldecott banquet to sit beside my mother, a librarian, to hear the speeches and began to think about becoming a children\u2019s librarian. When I was 22 years old, I sat with my mother in an ALA exhibit hall and talked seriously with her about how her involvement with ALA and ALSC shaped her career. I have always known that if I became a librarian, participating in ALSC would be a vital and necessary piece of my work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been fortunate to experience a great deal of ALSC and ALA. I have served on the Intellectual Freedom Committee, the Newbery Selection Committee, and the Caldecott Selection Committee. I was an Emerging Leader, an ALA Councilor, and a Morris Seminar participant. I am currently a co-chair of the Organizational Effectiveness Committee, having been a part of the committee\u2019s transition from Organization and Bylaws. I have served on organization and community boards.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSC has supported me throughout my career. I would like to repay that by working to ensure the organization\u2019s longevity and, by extension, the new professionals who will help generations of families and children grow and learn and read.    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Lacey Meier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Sada Mozer<\/strong> is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is my honor to stand for election as a candidate for the ALSC Board of Directors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serving in BIPOC neighborhoods of Los Angeles, I have championed issues that affect library users such as limited access to wifi, diverse representation in library collections, and staffing that represents the communities we serve.  Yet this year has been like no other.  The unrivaled demand for alternative ways to offer library services to communities affected by the pandemic and the focus on addressing racial inequity has highlighted the vulnerabilities in how we serve our communities.  Through my work on ALSC committees and as a Senior Librarian with the Los Angeles Public Library , I have had to listen, be flexible and adapt.  We all have. I look forward to using these skills to support ALSC in implementing positive change to meet the evolving needs of our community and profession.  It must be the mission of  ALSC to emerge from these challenging times as an organization in which librarians can work together to meet every moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Sada Mozer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Susan Kusel<\/strong> is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I joined ALSC in my first year of library school and have become an increasingly active member ever since. I have served on many ALSC committees and nurtured a thorough understanding of the division. Professionally, I have held numerous positions in the children\u2019s book field including librarian, bookseller, consultant and author. I am a strong advocate of mentorship, having mentored dozens of new and mid-career librarians, and believe it is a valuable opportunity to lead and empower the next generation of librarians. I intend to bring my skills and perspective to the board during this challenging time. I am excited by ALSC\u2019s work on diversity, equity and inclusion and look forward to continuing the process forward. I am deeply dedicated to the long-term success of ALSC. I hope to continue to serve the profession and ALSC as a member the Board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Susan Kusel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Tori Ann Ogawa<\/strong> is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A few years ago, when I became a public children\u2019s librarian, I honestly didn\u2019t know a lot about the equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility work we do. I felt overwhelmed and needed to learn more than what library school taught me. ALSC opened my professional world with support and a vast network, helping me be a better librarian and advocate for the youth we serve and our profession. I want to pay it forward by helping our organization grow and reach those in our work who want and need that support and knowledge. We all have a unique voice, whether we are a student, 5 or 50 years into our careers, or even retired. I am committed to amplifying the voices of those with underrepresented experiences, sharing their ideas, stories, and knowledge to move ALSC forward in our advocacy, learning, and EDI initiatives to reflect our professional community\u2019s diverse identities and needs. I hope to offer a safe, welcoming experience for you in ALSC. I am honored to stand for election to the ALSC board of directors, but we have an incredibly talented slate of candidates, so whoever is elected, I know we will have excellent new board members. Thank you for your consideration and for taking the time to read this!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Kitsap Regional Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Three ALSC Board of Directors candidates will be selected in this election. Ballot emailing for the 2021 ALA election will begin on March 8, 2021. The election will close April 7, 2021. To be eligible to vote, individuals must be members in good standing as of January 31, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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, this afternoon\u2019s blog post consists of statements from the six candidates standing for election to the ALSC Board of Directors.<\/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":[1612,52,144,1613],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-administrative-and-management-skills","category-alsc-board","category-blogger-mary-r-voors","category-professionalism-and-professional-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24847","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=24847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}