Dear ALA Members,
I am pleased to announce the future of Forward Together and a call for volunteers to continue the work of the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness. As I noted in my January 2020 American Libraries column, "as a member of the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE), I've been on the front lines of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a more vibrant and effective Association that supports libraries and library workers in a society and culture that was almost unimaginable when our current structure was developed. To help realign our Association with the world we live in today, we have collected recommendations called Forward Together". As we move forward during this time of uncertainty and change for our association, the urgency for change and the hope that comes with change creates the foundation for the next 150 years of our association. Now is the time for change. Now is the time to ensure our association represents all of its members in strengthening libraries, in uplifting library workers, and in centering our core values in all of the work that we do.
To move our association forward, the Executive Board will present a process to ALA Council at its June meeting to continue the two years of work SCOE and ALA members have been engaged in around organizational excellence and ALA governance. The process for consideration by ALA Council and implementation by ALA members and staff falls into a multi-step process which ends in an all-member vote (outlined below). This process will be led by the Forward Together Working Group, an appointed working group who will also focus on testing and assessing components of Forward Together. The Forward Together Fiscal Analysis Working Group will also be a part of this process.
All ALA members are invited to apply to be appointed to these two new working groups. The volunteer application is available online through May 8, 2020, and appointments will be made in May. Volunteer at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WK65CDV
Finally, as one of their final contributions as a group, SCOE will be blogging about Forward Together, their experiences in the association, and more, and invite ALA members who wish to contribute a blog to visit forwardtogether.ala.org to designate their interest.
It has been a pleasure working with SCOE and ALA members as we improve and strengthen our association for future generations. I look forward to continuing that work with all of you.
Attached: Moving ALA Forward Together Timeline
Sincerely,
Wanda K. Brown
ALA President
------------------------------
Wanda Brown
Director of Library Services
Winston-Salem State UniversityO'Kelly Library
------------------------------