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[alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

  • 1.  [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 07:47 AM

    I second Eileen to thank Susan Jennings and Aaron Dobbs for their swift actions to take care of the zoom's interruption during Council Forum II yesterday.

    Much appreciated,

    Joy~

     

    Anchalee (Joy) Panigabutra-Roberts

    Councilor At-Large

     



  • 2.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 12:46 PM

    Thank you, Marsha!

     

    I was heartbroken that our Council Forum was invaded by a hateful, vile miscreant last night.   We are taking steps to assure that we will not be subject to this again.  I apologize to all that were exposed to this vile person.  Thank you so much for Aaron Dobb’s help in maintaining order of the rest of our meeting.  Thank you also for the professionalism and dedication of our councilors to carry on.

     

    For tonight’s Council Forum 3, we will be instituting a waiting room.  Our “bouncers” (Aaron Dobbs and Emily Clasper) will only allow folks in that provide their full name and affiliation to ALA.  i.e. Susan Jennings, TNLA Councilor.  Please do not share our link on social media as this makes us a target.

     

    We will be meeting again tonight from 6 pm – 7:30 EST https://ala-events.zoom.us/j/91937060219?pwd=cXhleGFRbEdmRDdHUElnaTEyM2JiUT09

     

    As always, if you have any agenda items, please add directly here  Council Forum III Draft Agenda.docx

     

    Please feel to reach out to me or Dora if you have any questions or concerns.

     

    Susan Jennings, Dean of Library Services (Pronouns: She, Her, Hers)
    Kolwyck Library & Information Commons
    Chattanooga State Community College
    4501 Amnicola Hwy
    Chattanooga, TN   37406

    P: 423-744-4129

    Webex Room: https://chattstate.webex.com/meet/susan.jennings

     






  • 3.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 01:26 PM

    M N <minazarova@gmail.com>

    2:21 PM (1 minute ago)
    Greetings, Fellow Councilors,

    Since Forums are  more or less close discussion among us, the Councilors to work and talk  through the issues that would be brought on the Council floor, I think it would be more or less appropriate to keep the Forums private and limited to Council members. Even though the feedback from non-Councilors might be in some instances helpful, they still can attend the Council meetings and express their opinions in a more appropriate and civil way. This is just a suggestion ... I personally feel myself much more comfortable at Forum meetings, it feels like a very cozy and homie environment, and helps to connect with my fellow councilors.  I did not like to see outsiders at some of our forums in the past .... My apologies I missed the first two forums at this conference but I will attend tonight.

    Sincerely,

    Muzhgan Nazarova
    Councilor-at-Large





  • 4.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 01:42 PM
    Edited by Megan Hodge Jan 25, 2021 01:42 PM
    Hi, Muzghan,

    The ALA Policy Manual (http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section1/7conferences#A.7.4.4) states that all meetings of the association must be open to members unless "the privacy of individuals or institutions" will be discussed. Even without this policy, I'd argue that the more transparent we can make the governance process to our members, the better. ALA--and, by extension, Council as ALA's governing body--are already suffering from a lack of trust among our members (not to mention library workers who decline to join/renew ALA membership), and we are directly elected by our members, whether at the chapter, division, round table, or at-large level, to faithfully represent and advance their interests.

    Having Council and Forum meetings be open to members is the minimum step we can take to be transparent and encourage engagement in ALA governance, I think.  I urge us to also consider making clear at the beginning of Forum that non-Councilors are welcome and making explicit what their participation during Forum might look like. This would also be helpful to new councilors (of which we get a not-insignificant number each year)-even 5 years in, I still remember how intimidating my first Forum was!

    Megan Hodge, Councilor-at-Large

    ------------------------------
    Megan Hodge
    Head, Teaching & Learning
    Virginia Commonwealth University
    She/Her/Hers
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 01:48 PM

    I agree with Megan,

     

    I think the meetings need to remain open to all. I was present during the interruptions and I think perhaps requiring registration, while still allowing all members to join as well as making using of waiting rooms, and not sharing these links in social media channels will better protect us in the future.

     






  • 6.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 02:30 PM

    Thank you for these thoughts!  We are looking for ways to protect the integrity of Council Fora.  Fora is under the auspices of the Orientation Committee so I'm sure that we will be discussing as a committee and come up with steps to ensure that we have an open yet safe space.

     

    Thank you!

    Susan

     

    Susan Jennings, Dean of Library Services (Pronouns: She, Her, Hers)
    Kolwyck Library & Information Commons
    Chattanooga State Community College
    4501 Amnicola Hwy
    Chattanooga, TN   37406

    P: 423-744-4129

    Webex Room: https://chattstate.webex.com/meet/susan.jennings

     






  • 7.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 03:58 PM
    Hello,

    Council meetings and Fora have always been open to all member/guest to attend. Despite moving to a virtual environment that access and transparency to all must remain as an integral part of membership participation in ALA's governance. 

    Side note: what was the hateful, vile thing they did? I saw some dumb dumb type of interruptions (speaking out of turn with hoodie covering their face) yesterday, but I did not see anything I would classify as hateful or vile. I'm trying to understand what happened. Did I miss something? 

    Thank you, 

    Johana Orellana Cabrera
    Adult Services Librarian
    North Richland Hills Library
    2011 ALA Spectrum Scholar
    2015 ALA Emerging Leader
    ALA, Councilor-at-Large (2015-2021)
    TLA, Vice-Chair, Tejas Star Reading List (2019-2022)
    REFORMA, Member, Translations Committee (2020-2021)





  • 8.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 04:03 PM
    My understanding is that there were some really inappropriate things posted in the chat before the meeting started and I also heard a comment that included the f word in addition to the hoodie guy.

    Mary M. Woodard | Director Library Services | Mesquite ISD
    612 E. Davis | Mesquite, TX
    972-882-7450 (office) | 214-641-2754 (cell)
    @marywoodard
    [signature_993761490]




  • 9.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 04:06 PM
    I missed the first invasion but the second person who joined after the meeting had already started, the one with the hoodie, was running a bright multicolored strobe light possibly (knowing the types of people who do this stuff) intended to trigger photosensitive illnesses. Judging from the reactions that were still going on as I entered there was some pretty nasty stuff put into chat by the first one but I don't know what else was done or said. 

    I think this really only happened because the link was posted to social media. We probably don't need to get too strict to avoid it happening again. Links you can find by searching for recent social media posts with 'zoom.us' in them are the low hanging fruit. All our zoom links have been going up on the ALA website and we haven't had trouble with any of the others. We just need to educate members that in the future it's better to post 'this is happening, DM me for the link!' to social media rather than the link.  






  • 10.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 04:32 PM
    I didn't want to post but in the spirit of transparency...  we had someone come in at the very beginning of the meeting who was a white supremacist -- his profile picture morphed into a nazi flag.  He then proceeded to mutter hateful rants and racial slurs and filled up the chat with hate speech and racial slurs.  Luckily, most folks weren't there yet but it was appaling and frightening for all that were there.   Aaron Dobbs was helping me and quickly changed us to a waiting system.  was able to close down the free and open access to a waiting room to only allow folks we knew in.  We still had a few aggravating bombers but nothing like the first bomber.   I want to express my concern for all the members that were there at Council Forum that had to experience this!  This is why we are asking that anyone wanting to attend should include their name and affiliation (if a member or a visitor, state that). 

    Despite this, we carried on and did good work! 

    So that's the scoop!  The orientation committee will be debriefing next week and will take steps to ensure that this doesn't happen again!

    Thank you
    Susan

    ------------------------------
    Susan Jennings
    Dean of Library Services
    Chattanooga State Community College
    Tennessee Chapter Councilor
    Chapter Relations Committee, Chair
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 04:35 PM
    Susan,

    Would have the council fora listed in the daily schedule be a solution? That would limit access to attendees but would allow the link to be posted in the schedule so it would still be easy to find.

    Natalie





  • 12.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 04:39 PM

    That is a great suggestion as well.  I'll cc Rodney Lippard, Orientation Committee chair.

     

    Susan Jennings, Dean of Library Services (Pronouns: She, Her, Hers)
    Kolwyck Library & Information Commons
    Chattanooga State Community College
    4501 Amnicola Hwy
    Chattanooga, TN   37406

    P: 423-744-4129

    Webex Room: https://chattstate.webex.com/meet/susan.jennings

     






  • 13.  RE: [alacoun] IMPORTANT COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR SHARING MEETING INFORMATION

    Posted Jan 25, 2021 04:57 PM
    Thank you very much for you thoughts and feedback. I appreciate that. Sincerely. Muzhgan.

    Sent from my iPhone