Leadership Opportunity: ASCLA Nominating Committee seeks candidates, gives you the inside scoop on serving ASCLA

The ASCLA Nominating Committee, chaired by ASCLA member Ray James, seeks applicants for vacant board positions to be elected early in 2014. Read on to learn more about the available positions and what each of them entails. To express interest in a position or ask questions about serving on the ASCLA board,  contact Ray at erayjames@gmail.com.

With apologies to the memory of JFK, “Ask not only what ASCLA can do for you, but also what can you do for ASCLA.”

Each spring, the American Library Association holds elections for various leadership positions throughout the association. ASCLA has five leadership positions available in the next election cycle with service to start after the end of the 2014 Las Vegas Annual Conference. If you are a current member of ASCLA and active with any of the interest groups with open board seats, then you are eligible for leadership roles in one ALA’s fastest growing divisions!

The positions to be filled are:

  • President-Elect 2014-2015 (a 3 year commitment–2014 through 2017–that includes the president-elect year, presidential year, and past president year);
  • Director-at-Large 2014-2016 (2 year term);
  • Designated Director, Cooperatives and Networks 2014-2016 (2 year term);
  • Designated Director, Special Populations 2014-2016 (2 year term);
  • and Designated Director, State Library Agencies 2014-2016 (2 year term).

As a potential candidate, the first two questions that may come to mind are “What do I have to do?” and “Do I have to go to conferences?”

The basic answer to the first question comes from a statement of responsibilities that goes to everyone who expresses an interest in serving of the ASCLA Board of Directors. In a nutshell for the Designated Directors:

  • Serves  on the ASCLA board as a representative of one of the following typesof library organizations, constituencies or agencies: state library agencies, library agencies and individuals which provide library materials and service to populations with special needs, library cooperatives, and library consultants or independent librarians.
  • Serves on the ASCLA Interest Group Coordinating Committee (IGCC)
  • Assumes other responsibilities as assigned by the president.

Directors-at-Large represent ASCLA as a whole rather than a particular interest group and do not serve on the IGCC. Service is for two years which begins at the close of the Annual conference in the year of election and ends at the close of Annual conference two years later. The Vice-President/President-Elect role is more expansive.

What does this all mean? At a bare minimum it means going to board meetings and staying awake. No one ever does just the bare minimum. Until ASCLA implements a virtual meeting standard, directors and other association officers need to attend the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference during their term of service, though there may be virtual board meetings that take place outside of these twice annual face-to-face meetings.

The prestige of serving on ASCLA board is often impetus from a librarian’s workplace to provide financial support for attending these conferences. Some directors choose to fund the experience themselves. In my opinion, the real pleasure from serving as a director is interacting with other professionals from such diverse areas as correctional librarianship to those who provide service to people with physical or intellectual limitations to consultants to those who work in state libraries. By learning about the issues and solutions in librarianship from this multiplicity of backgrounds, every director expands his or her horizons. Think of it as networking on steroids.

For those in the profession for many years working on the ASCLA Board can be a reward for years of service and a chance to mentor younger members of the profession. For the younger members of the profession taking a leadership role is not just a resume builder but also an opportunity to learn, network, and influence the future of the profession.

For me personally, serving on the ASCLA board meant some of all of above plus travels to Chicago, Anaheim, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, New Orleans, and Seattle. It meant expanding my perceptions far beyond my job. It meant a sense of accomplishment from helping to guide changes in ASCLA, helping introduce new faces and ideas to ASCLA leadership, and taking part in expanding not only the membership numbers but also the perceptions of ALA members and non-ALA folks about ASCLA and its mission “to enhance the effectiveness of library service by advocating for and providing high quality networking, enrichment and educational opportunities for its diverse members, who represent state library agencies, libraries serving special populations, library cooperatives, and library consultants.”

Interested in throwing your hat in the ring, or at least exploring your options? Contact the Nominating Committee via Committee Chair Ray James at erayjames@gmail.com to get the ball rolling!

 

ASCLA Interest Groups: New groups for tribal librarians and the future of libraries

Two new ASCLA interest groups are now welcoming members: the Future of Libraries Interest Group and the Tribal Librarians Interest Group!

Descriptions for these new groups, as well as all of ASCLA’s existing interest groups, are below! Click on the group name to be taken to their group page in ALA Connect. You can join the group by logging into ALA Connect, accessing the group page, then clicking “join” on the right side of the page. You do not need to be a member of ASCLA for the first year of your interest group membership, however we encourage you to join this amazing community of members at your earliest convenience!

Learn more about how to start a new interest group here.

New Interest Groups:

ASCLA Future of Libraries Interest Group

This group is open to anyone with an interest in the future of libraries.  Changes in the world around us, different service models, new technologies, determining what our customers value and what our non-customers are finding elsewhere will be examined.  This group will submit an annual recommendation to the ASCLA President for two areas that we think libraries should focus on to increase their value and insure their viability in the future.

ASCLA Tribal Librarians Interest Group

The purpose of this new interest group is to increase knowledge and networking among library leaders with tribal libraries. The goal is to foster new relations and begin lifelong partnerships with community library leaders and Tribal Librarians. This interest group is not just for “Tribal.” Tribal librarians and employees of tribal libraries as well as librarians and library leaders interested in knowing more about tribal libraries are welcome.

Other ASCLA Interest Groups:

ASCLA Library Consultants Interest Group The ASCLA Library Consultant Interest Group supports professional development by providing programs, information exchange and networking opportunities of interest to independent librarians, library consultants, state library and regional library consultants, and anyone who wants to push the boundaries of librarianship.

ASCLA LSSP Universal Access Interest Group Interest group purpose is to promote inclusive library services – sharing information and resources.

ASCLA ICAN Consortium Management Discussion Interest Group This interest group is focused on consortial funding, advocacy, services, etc., plus discussion group on topics of interest to library cooperatives statewide, multi-state, national cooperatives, and multitype library systems.

ASCLA ICAN (InterLibrary Cooperation & Networking) Collaborative Digitization Interest Group Interest group for library cooperatives which are combinations, mergers, or contractual associations of one or more types of libraries (academic, public, special, or school) crossing jurisdictional, institutional, or political boundaries, working together to achieve maximum effective use of funds to provide library and information services to all citizens above and beyond those which can be provided through one institution. Such cooperative organizations or agencies may be designated to serve a community, a metropolitan area, a region within a region, or may serve a statewide or multi-state area.

ASCLA ICAN (InterLibrary Cooperation & Networking) Interlibrary Cooperation Interest Group Provides a forum for discussion of interests in interlibrary cooperation and the statewide development of library service, emphasizing the interdependence of all types of libraries.

ASCLA ICAN (InterLibrary Cooperation & Networking) Physical Delivery Interest Group The focus of this interest group covers the physical delivery of library materials for resource sharing and related issues.

ASCLA Library Services for Youth in Custody (LSSP) The purpose of this Interest Group is to advocate, promote, and improve library services for youth who have been detained in correctional facilities of various kinds.

ASCLA LSSP Bridging Deaf Cultures @ your library Interest Group Primary focus is building support for the nation’s libraries to work with organizations serving the deaf (OSD) in forming a Deaf Cultural Digital Library.

ASCLA LSSP (Libraries Serving Special Populations) LSSP Library Services to People with Visual or Physical Disabilities that Prevent Them from Reading Standard Print Interest Group This interest group focuses on assistive technology and accessibility services for people with visual or physical disabilities.

ASCLA LSSP Library Services to the Incarcerated and Detained Supports ALA members who serve patrons of any age who are held in jail, prison, detention or immigration facility.

ASCLA SLA State Library Agencies – Library Development Interest Group An interest group for State Library Agencies staff to network and discussion matters relating to library development services, activities, and needs.

ASCLA SLA (State Library Agencies)/LSTA Coordinators Interest Group For staff responsible for procuring and administering LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) funds and programs. LSTA is a federally funded state based program generally administered by the state library of each state.

ASCLA SLA (State Library Agencies) Youth Services Consultants Interest Group The group’s purpose is to allow each state’s Youth Services Consultant or staff member responsible for working with youth services to keep abreast of topics of interest to the group and the constituents they serve in their states through listservs, and in-person networking meetings at ALA Midwinter and Annual Conferences.