Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) Project: Discussion Forum

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This space is for all those interested in updates and discussion regarding Transforming ALA Governance. This space was originally created to share the work of the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) who was charged in June 2018 to carry out a comprehensive review and study of ALA’s governance, member participation and legal structures and systems, with the goal of proposing changes that will vitalize its success, strength and agility as a 21st century association. The results of this committee are the Forward Together recommendations.
  • 1.  Open Letter to SCOE Opposing the Elimination of ALA Council

    Posted Sep 15, 2019 08:55 PM

    Open Letter to SCOE Opposing the Elimination of ALA Council

    September 10, 2019

     

    The Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) recently released its initial recommendations for changes to the structure and policies of the American Library Association (ALA). One of the most dramatic changes being proposed by SCOE is the elimination of Council, ALA's legislative body. We are writing this letter as members of ALA to urge SCOE to remove this proposal from their recommendations.


    Currently, ALA Council comprises 100 councilors-at-large elected by the general membership. In addition, the divisions, chapters, and large round tables (with membership of 1% or more of ALA personal membership) send one councilor each to the Council. Smaller round tables share representation through a single Small Round Table Councilor. This democratic structure is one of our greatest strengths, assuring a seat at the table for all groups represented by the organization. We note that ALA stands out in this respect in comparison to many other library associations around the world that do not have such institutionalized legislative bodies, and we lament the idea of taking a step backward in this regard.

     

    The initial recommendation from SCOE proposes to do away with Council and instead places all decision-making authority into the hands of a 17-person Executive Board, of which only 12 members would be elected by the general membership. There would no longer be guaranteed representation from divisions, chapters, or round tables in the governance of the organization. Instead, input from these bodies would be relegated to "advisory" assemblies. And while we certainly hope the elected and appointed members of the Executive Board would take advisory recommendations seriously and have the best interests of the organization at heart, we also know that providing "advice" is no substitute for true democratic representation. 

     

    We believe it is simply not possible for a 17-person board to adequately represent the array of diverse needs and perspectives within a national organization of over 58,000 members containing dozens of unique divisions, chapters, and round tables. We believe that the elimination of Council would be a devastating blow to democracy within our organization and to the values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion that we espouse. We therefore strongly encourage SCOE to remove the elimination of Council from its recommendations and encourage the current Council and membership to vote down any such proposals. It is up to us to preserve the democratic strength of the oldest and largest library association in the world.

     

    Signed:


    Film and Media Round Table

    Government Documents Round Table

    New Members Round Table

    Retired Members Round Table 

    Social Responsibilities Round Table

    Sustainability Round Table



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    Charles Kratz
    Dean of Libraries
    University of Scranton Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Memorial
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  • 2.  RE: Open Letter to SCOE Opposing the Elimination of ALA Council

    Posted Sep 26, 2019 12:07 PM
    Dear Charles and the leadership of FMRT, GODORT, IFRT, NMRT, RMRT, SRRT, and SustainRT,

    I privately acknowledged receipt of the letter on behalf of SCOE through email but wanted to make sure that I also publicly acknowledged and thanked your leadership for engaging in this iterative process with SCOE. The committee was able to review and discuss your concerns at our meeting last week in Chicago and hope that our new iteration will address the points in your open letter.

    As we continue our conversations about how to continue to improve our association and increase member participation, member influence, and member engagement, I do want to acknowledge the role that equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as democracy have played in the foundational conversations of not only SCOE but of the questions we've asked members over the years. How can we get our association to a place where these principles are at our core and not just add ons? How do we become a truly inclusive association that welcomes and listens to all voices? These are questions I think we as an association are working on together, and the input we've received from members shows the wide variety of opinions and ways we can achieve that future by moving forward together.

    At this point, as we all wait in a bit of limbo while the committee works in the background, we hope that our process of receiving input and engaging members from as broad a group as we can and altering our recommendations based on that input will set an example for the type of participatory and engaged process we hope to see from all facets of our association -- with or without our recommendations.

    Looking forward to sharing more and getting more feedback from everyone over the next six months.

    All the best,
    Lessa

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    Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada
    ALA Executive Board Member
    Chair, ALA Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness
    Adult Services Assistant Manager, Palos Verdes Library District
    she/her/hers
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