[Publib] Member Representation RE: COSWL on Alito--Reality Check

[Diedre Conkling]

I think of ALA Council as any elected legislative body.  I try to vote for people who think for themselves, who have creative ideas and, yes, have some of the same goals and thoughts that I do.  I don't vote just from the statements given on the ballot (I think the ALA ballot comes out in March so this is an excellent discussion to have now).  I don't use every vote that I could on the ALA Council ballot but only vote for the people I know some about and feel can really contribute to ALA Council.  Frequently I only vote for 7 or so people.  This is how I affect the representation on ALA Council.

If someone running for ALA Council says they are neutral I would certainly question that.  I don't think any of us are.  By us I mean you and me.  

Some of us are non-partisan and certainly people elected to ALA Council are not elected by political party.  I personally do not support partisan politics, do not belong to a political party, do not campaign for individuals running for political offices, etc. for many reasons.  However, my views on life are fairly liberal, unless we enter the area of library funding and then I probably become more conservative.

I don't know of people who run for ALA positions that hide their views.  Most that I know are quite open.  Read what they post to discussion lists, read what they write for the library press, listen to what they say at state association meetings, etc.  You will probably have a fairly good idea what they think and how they might vote on many things.

Oh, you can also check peoples voting records on ALA Council, though it is not totally easy.  If you go to http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governanceb/council/councilagendas/councilagendas.htm you will find the agendas for past ALA Council meetings (it will probably be a few weeks before this Midwinters agendas are posted).  Through the agenda you will find the documents brought to Council and see the range of issues voted on.  Then to see how ALA Council members voted on the resolutions in the Council Documents go to http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governanceb/council/councilattendanceandvoting/councilattendance.htm and look for the Document number and see how the Council members voted.  You will find that, as with most groups, there is seldom total agreement on any subject.  You will also see that often there were amendments made to the resolutions before the final vote was taken.

On the resolution that started this discussion it was a resolution passed by the majority but not the vast majority, which you will see when the Midwinter voting records are posted.  This is the way it works with any elected body in any organization.

It is not really possible to bring every issue back to the membership of ALA.  One of the big complaints about ALA is that it moves too slowly.  This would slow things down even more.  So, we vote for people that we think will support our views and then trust them to do that.  Most of the time they probably will.  However, it is always easy to concentrate on one or two issues where we don't agree with the outcome and forget the other 20 issues voted on with which we did agree.

And as I said before, I obviously can go on and on when talking on these subjects.


--
Diedre Conkling
     
  Lincoln County Library District
  P.O. Box 2027, Newport, OR  97365
  Phone & Fax:  541-265-3066
  http://lcld.library-blogs.net/
  Work:  diedre at beachbooks.org
  Home:  diedrec at charter.net
   

---- "Palmer wrote: 

=============
I wonder if the ALA would consider actually polling members about what they think before they issued such blanket statements?  Then they could say that they truly represent us.  I suspect that most members would have agreed with thier stance, but it would be nice if they electronically asked people first, and would lend weight to such statments.
Officers are elected to perform roles in the organization.  I wonder if they would consider revealing personal stances on issues like members of Congress (when you can pin them down) when they run for office in ALA?  If their response is, "We are nonpartisan and that is not relevant to our role as officer," then I wonder how they reconcile that statement with thier public representations of the organization in the public arena.  
My Mom resigned from NEA membership for just such reasons as not asking member teachers before using the weight of combined membership for political causes.
But then again, that is the reason I did not renew with ALA too.  My state library organization fights for Libraries in this state very well, but so far I have not seen any activity outside thier purview. Yea!
Of course, the very questioning of authority makes me a bad librarian . . . . : )
John Palmer

________________________________

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org on behalf of Mary Rennie
Sent: Thu 1/26/2006 6:01 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] RE: COSWL on Alito--Reality Check



You know, I agree with alot of what Nan said.  But it's not the fact that a group of people said they didn't support the confirmation of Alito.  Heck, debate it all you want on this list.  I'm sure, as with any issue, there are librarians on both sides.

It's the fact that this particular bunch of people did so in the name of libraries and librarians everywhere.  This isn't an isolated incident and for me it's much larger that whether you support or oppose Alito's confirmation.   Professional organizations ought to be promoting and representing that profession.  They should NOT be taking public stands on issues that are not directly related to that profession, period. There are plenty of us out here who roll our eyes and gnash our teeth everytime ALA makes a statement, because often it has NOTHING to do with libraries.  Every time it happens, in my opinion, it further weakens the credibility of ALA with the public at large.

I keep waiting for the ALA statement, "We're supporting this measure (or whatever) because, by golly, this affects people.  And people work at libraries.  And people use libraries.  So there!"

They're getting closer and closer to it every year.

Mary Rennie
Erie County Public Library


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