Councilors, you are aware that ALA has been holding "community conversations" -- small, informal, "kitchen-table" conversations involving members, staff and other conference attendees. Those conversations began by focusing on member aspirations for their ALA community (2013 -- at the Annual Conference in Chicago). Subsequent conversations have looked at aspirations for conferences, advocacy, professional and leadership development and, most recently, easier and simpler engagement with the ALA community.
We are again holding these conversations at the Midwinter Meeting in Boston. They are scheduled in the Westin - Adams room. There will be 3 sessions each on Saturday and Sunday (10:30-noon, 1:00-2:30 and 3:00-4:30) and 4 sessions on Monday (8:30-10:00, 10:30-noon, 1:00-2:30 and 3:00-4:30). Sessions are small -- a maximum of 15 participants/session -- to enable open conversation. A number of members and staff have volunteered to facilitate and take notes.
The understanding gained from these sessions has been valuable in both strategic and operational planning over the past several years. While I know you are all busy, I hope you will consider participating if you have time and will encourage others to participate. The current "community narrative" and information about signing up to participate are at: http://connect.ala.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?MessageKey=1b35c87f-19c5-456b-b9bf-55f7d65e592c
Thank you. See you all soon.
mg