As we get ready for the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC, we want to update you on the potential merging of our three ALA divisions into a single, new division dedicated to supporting members working in service areas across all types of libraries.
When we began this discussion early last year, we had hoped to bring the proposed merger to a member vote during the spring 2019 election. However, that timeline proved too ambitious. We wanted to make sure the new division could provide far more robust service to members than the three divisions can provide separately. We also needed more time to work through key operational details and to sufficiently involve our members in the discussion.
In recognition of this, the three Boards agreed at Midwinter to pause the project. Since then, the Steering Committee has had discussions about how best to meet our goals, communicate with members, and finalize the process.
We are happy to report that the leadership of all three divisions will continue to work together, so that we can present the best possible proposal for consideration on the spring 2020 ballot.
In the coming months, you'll begin to see more examples of our collaboration:
- A new project Steering Committee led by the 2019-20 Presidents-elect of each division: Christopher Cronin, ALCTS; Evviva Weinraub, LITA; and Tyler Dzuba, LLAMA.
- A joint Board meeting open to anyone at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
- A joint spring 2020 online conference, delivering education from each of our divisions.
- A joint President's Program at the 2020 Annual Conference.
- A joint fall 2020 in-person conference to formally launch our new division.
Throughout this period, you will also see more project updates and have more opportunities to share your thoughts with us.
We've talked with many members, and we know some were disappointed the merge didn't move forward this spring. We also know some thought the project was moving too fast and were relieved we slowed down. We hope in the end, all members will be as excited as we are about creating a new organization, and we look forward to the journey ahead together.
Sincerely,
Kristin Martin
President, Association for Library Collections and Technical Services
Bohyun Kim
President, Library and Information Technology Association
Lynn Hoffman
President, Library Leadership and Management Association
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Jenny Levine
LITA Executive Director
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