[Libs-Or] ALA Executive Director Education Requirements

Tue Dec 5 12:01:10 PST 2017

In response to Deidre's post about the recent change for the educational requirements for the ALA Executive Director, I'd like to remind everyone that the language was changed only to add the word "preferred" -- the preference is still very much to have the successful candidate with an MLS degree. The ALA Executive Board and the Search Committee did not ask for the vote lightly, and 77% of the Councilors agreed. Ten of the eleven divisions of ALA wrote in support of adding "preferred," including the Public Library Association. This is significant support. As many pointed out in the discussion, we are not asking the successful Executive Director candidate to lead a library -- we are asking for them to lead a complex membership organization that serves more than 50,000 people. We must consider that there may be a candidate out there without an MLS that is the most uniquely suited to help lead this organization through a period of significant change, and we all surely recognize that some of our best advocates in our own local work are people with a deep passion for and understanding of libraries, but who do not have the degree.

This vote was by no means rushed, as it followed member-approved bylaws and processes, and the way the petition and the discussion around it portrays our work is insulting to those of us who invest our time in Council and in ALA. The Council deliberated this question with all of the gravity we should expect from our representative body, and as Karen Schneider points out in her Connect post (http://connect.ala.org/comment/89844#comment-89844), "Council had over a month before the formal discussion period opened; then had a week of discussion... then had a week to vote." 

I encourage all of us in Oregon who would like more information about this issue to look at the original threads on ALA Connect (http://connect.ala.org/node/261265, http://connect.ala.org/node/270833, and http://connect.ala.org/node/270831, to start) where the discussion and voting process was held far more openly and transparently than any in-person Council vote can possibly be, by virtue that anyone could follow the process without having to attend in person. If we feel the ALA Executive Director position is this important, we should also recognize the need to continue to move forward with the recruitment and selection process, and to ensure the most qualified candidate is chosen.

Stephanie Chase | Director, Hillsboro Public Library 
Public Library Association Board of Directors, ALA Council representative

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Today's Topics:

   1. Fwd: ALA Executive Director Education Requirements
      (Diedre Conkling)
   2. Re: ALA Executive Director Education Requirements
      (Diedre Conkling)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2017 21:12:57 -0800
From: Diedre Conkling <diedre08 at gmail.com>
To: PUBLIB <PUBLIB at oclclists.org>, libs-or
	<libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Subject: [Libs-Or] Fwd: ALA Executive Director Education Requirements
Message-ID:
	<CAF-idW6xaUqKP+RvhUeraBWPvdunOwWBJh4PGC7HPz_rPBVr4A at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

ALA MEMBER ALERT

Do you agree that a library degree is essential for the Executive Director of ALA?  Please sign the petition to reinstate this requirement.  The degree required includes an ALA-accredited Master's Degree or a CAEP-accredited Master's Degree with a specialty in school library media.

Click on the link below to sign. Please re-post widely.

The great thing about this is that having this question on the ballot all ALA Members will have the opportunity to officially express their opinion on this subject.

After you login the page may seem a little odd. Go ahead and click on that you want to sign the petition. When you do this the full petition appears.
You will then need to write out your full name and hit another button to finish signing the petition.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__idp.ala.org_idp_Authn_UserPassword&d=DwICAg&c=jVj56eFZMBdw2XTy1WmujjlEfwGR4yGcPx8hs15Otm8&r=XRDhgrTtXNSXhzu8-7nLtEo8DhxR_UhM4WamC8W1_OCU1AlNnzzT2jpxVeuqHQ-g&m=2cHjuipUJH1EpnVZrqTR9qj5aPQev1wWmQ_WRcdbd9o&s=l5LPI55ZcwtkwlHrx_L762vGlELgs4G8jZJNXLmZjNs&e= 

=========================

A little background:

Last month, in a rushed, unprecedented online vote, ALA Council voted in favor of removing the requirement for the ALA Executive Director to hold the MLS degree.  ALA Council had just reaffirmed the 2000 Council decision that the ALA Executive Director must have an MLS at the 2017 Annual Conference.  Just months later they changed this position to preferred instead of required.

And for you bureaucracy junkies membership petitions are allowed according to the ALA Constitution, Article VI, Section 4 c ( https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ala.org_aboutala_governance_constitution_constitution&d=DwICAg&c=jVj56eFZMBdw2XTy1WmujjlEfwGR4yGcPx8hs15Otm8&r=XRDhgrTtXNSXhzu8-7nLtEo8DhxR_UhM4WamC8W1_OCU1AlNnzzT2jpxVeuqHQ-g&m=2cHjuipUJH1EpnVZrqTR9qj5aPQev1wWmQ_WRcdbd9o&s=U6C9u6vqc5MoRLkslFPumAerjSjV0CthdPW7dELaLZk&e= ).  Yes, because this is a membership organization we can overturn Council decisions.

--
*Diedre Conkling*

*Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365Phone & Fax:
541-265-3066Work email**: **diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*
<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

?If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude.??Maya Angelou
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2017 16:07:43 +0000
From: Diedre Conkling <diedre08 at gmail.com>
To: PUBLIB <PUBLIB at oclclists.org>, libs-or
	<libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] ALA Executive Director Education Requirements
Message-ID:
	<CAF-idW4H5sr=CFLAvE1ufj=T8G=Yu1a7d0CZRc6aukhvb-0Urg at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

If the link below doesn?t work please try https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__tinyurl.com_ybyqpyw7&d=DwICAg&c=jVj56eFZMBdw2XTy1WmujjlEfwGR4yGcPx8hs15Otm8&r=XRDhgrTtXNSXhzu8-7nLtEo8DhxR_UhM4WamC8W1_OCU1AlNnzzT2jpxVeuqHQ-g&m=2cHjuipUJH1EpnVZrqTR9qj5aPQev1wWmQ_WRcdbd9o&s=cL9G8rMBumYuMcQ9S2f4_0_SsijW6tdQ3XFVyG2V5xY&e= 

On Sat, Dec 2, 2017 at 9:12 PM Diedre Conkling <diedre08 at gmail.com> wrote:

> ALA MEMBER ALERT
>
> Do you agree that a library degree is essential for the Executive Director
> of ALA?  Please sign the petition to reinstate this requirement.  The
> degree required includes an ALA-accredited Master's Degree or a
> CAEP-accredited Master's Degree with a specialty in school library media.
>
> Click on the link below to sign. Please re-post widely.
>
> The great thing about this is that having this question on the ballot all
> ALA Members will have the opportunity to officially express their opinion
> on this subject.
>
> After you login the page may seem a little odd. Go ahead and click on that
> you want to sign the petition. When you do this the full petition appears.
> You will then need to write out your full name and hit another button to
> finish signing the petition.
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__idp.ala.org_idp_Authn_UserPassword&d=DwICAg&c=jVj56eFZMBdw2XTy1WmujjlEfwGR4yGcPx8hs15Otm8&r=XRDhgrTtXNSXhzu8-7nLtEo8DhxR_UhM4WamC8W1_OCU1AlNnzzT2jpxVeuqHQ-g&m=2cHjuipUJH1EpnVZrqTR9qj5aPQev1wWmQ_WRcdbd9o&s=l5LPI55ZcwtkwlHrx_L762vGlELgs4G8jZJNXLmZjNs&e= 
>
>
>
> =========================
>
> A little background:
>
> Last month, in a rushed, unprecedented online vote, ALA Council voted in
> favor of removing the requirement for the ALA Executive Director to hold
> the MLS degree.  ALA Council had just reaffirmed the 2000 Council decision
> that the ALA Executive Director must have an MLS at the 2017 Annual
> Conference.  Just months later they changed this position to preferred
> instead of required.
>
> And for you bureaucracy junkies membership petitions are allowed according
> to the ALA Constitution, Article VI, Section 4 c (
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ala.org_aboutala_governance_constitution_constitution&d=DwICAg&c=jVj56eFZMBdw2XTy1WmujjlEfwGR4yGcPx8hs15Otm8&r=XRDhgrTtXNSXhzu8-7nLtEo8DhxR_UhM4WamC8W1_OCU1AlNnzzT2jpxVeuqHQ-g&m=2cHjuipUJH1EpnVZrqTR9qj5aPQev1wWmQ_WRcdbd9o&s=U6C9u6vqc5MoRLkslFPumAerjSjV0CthdPW7dELaLZk&e= ).  Yes,
> because this is a membership organization we can overturn Council decisions.
>
>
>
>
> --
> *Diedre Conkling*
>
>
>
>
> *Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365Phone & Fax:
> 541-265-3066Work email**: **diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*
> <diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
> *Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>
>
> ?If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
> your attitude.??Maya Angelou
>
-- 
*Diedre Conkling*

*Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365Phone & Fax:
541-265-3066Work email**: **diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*
<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

?If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude.??Maya Angelou
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