Posting on behalf of Jim Neal --
Council Colleagues:
In November, Council voted, in accordance with the ALA Bylaws, to change the educational requirement for the ALA Executive Director position from requiring to preferring an ALA-accredited Master’s degree or CAEP-accredited Master’s degree with a specialty in School Library Media.
Following the announcement of the vote, a petition was posted to put a measure on ALA’s spring 2018 ballot to overturn the Council action. In order to place the measure on the spring 2018 ballot, 1% of ALA’s voting membership must sign the petition. The petition closes on February 13 and requires 479 signatures based on the August 31, 2017 membership count. As of December 19, 2017, the required number of signatures had been received.
To overturn a Council action, 25% (approximately 11,975) of ALA’s voting membership must vote; a simple majority of those voting then determines the outcome. For purposes of determining the 25%, paid membership as of January 31, 2018 will be used. Note that ALA’s “voting membership” includes those who are members in good standing, i.e., have paid their dues by January 31, 2018. The ballot opens on Monday, March 12 and closes Wednesday, April 4. Results will be announced on Wednesday, April 11.
At this time, the ALA Executive Board has made a decision to place the search on hold pending the outcome of the spring 2018 vote process. Because of this, the job ad has been removed from the ALA and the Isaacson Miller (search firm) web sites. The Board’s concern, given the somewhat uncharted territory, was to ensure due process. The earliest the search would begin again would be May 2018. Mary Ghikas continues to serve as Interim Executive Director.
A full report on the work of the search committee, on the search process, and on the member process to determine the educational requirements for the executive director position will be provided at the Council/Membership Information Session at Midwinter in Denver.
With best wishes for the new year, Jim Neal.