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SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

  • 1.  SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 07, 2019 05:48 PM
      |   view attached

    Dear Members,


    The long awaited preliminary recommendations from the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) are here for your analysis, comments, and input! These focus on building upon the strengths of ALA to embrace our mission and core values, to create alignment within our association, and to bring value to our members. Ultimately, we are looking towards our future as an association together, for the future of libraries and the future of information access. We hope these recommendations look at ways our association can cultivate and support member and staff leadership, engagement, and trust, as the SCOE considered options based on the urgency from member input, data trends and financial realities. This is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a more efficient organization for future members and to address issues that have been decades in the making. (For a history on the work of SCOE, please visit and join our ALA Connect community.)


    The attached slide deck goes into the details of the preliminary recommendations and is what will be discussed at Annual in DC as well as virtually during our SCOE input webinar on July 8th at 11am.


    Briefly, SCOE's preliminary recommendations include:

    • Responding to the urgency of member input, data trends and financial realities for a thriving future.
    • Redesigning the ALA Executive Board and Council for effective and efficient prioritization and broad member input.
    • Modernizing ways that members engage in the work of the association and with each other in the library community.
    • Channeling the function of Council through a new committee structure with less barriers where members will engage in the work of the Association through Committees, Task Forces and Advisory Communities that make direct recommendations to the Board and are accountable directly to the board.
    • Members engaging with each other through Divisions, Roundtables and Interest Groups.

    Per the timeline as outlined on slide 5, we will be taking input and feedback and integrating comments from members into the next phase of our recommendations, which we hope will be final recommendations, but may become a round two of recommendations depending on the feedback we receive over the next few months.


    We invite you to our virtual and in person presentations and have multiple avenues for providing feedback:

    • Virtually
      • Input Webinar on July 8th at 1pm Central: Jim Meffert and SCOE Chair, Lessa Pelayo-Lozada will present on the preliminary recommendations and solicit feedback via the webinar chat box. Register here
      • Reply to this thread in the SCOE ALA Connect community or the ALA Members community.
      • Email lessalozada@gmail.com
    • In Person at ALA Annual in Washington, D.C.
      • All sessions will be held in Washington Convent Center, Room 103B

    Our committee has tried its best to integrate as much of the feedback as we could in to these preliminary recommendations thoughtfully and intentionally. We look forward to hearing your input over the next few months.


    Sincerely,

    Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada

    SCOE Chair



    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------

    Attachment(s)



  • 2.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 11, 2019 12:44 PM

    Clearly there has been lot of thought and effort put into these recommendations - Thank you and kudos to the entire group for developing and organizing the recommendations. I agree with many of the suggestions and have questions (because I almost always have questions :)

    Again, I like many of the ideas. However, my perspective on governance structures is guided by my enjoyment of board games. When one is playing a board game, whether collaborative or competitive, there are always players who attempt to maximise their individual power or directly influence situations to their benefit in the course of a game. In my opinion, the goal of ALA governance structure and rules should be to minimize opportunities for power consolidation and maximise representation of a wide variety of perspectives and priorities.

    1. I am interested by the Executive Board design, is it normal (i.e. is it a best practice) for appointed members to be voting members? 
    2. I see a good amount of streamlining, but I am concerned by the removal of a large body of elected representatives that would be tasked with discussion and recommendations for (and oversight of) association policy. 
    3. I was surprised to see this quotation in the Leadership Assemblies (slide 16) description of current practice -- "This structure will reduce the current barriers for communication to the Executive Board where members must communicate first through council who then may communicate to the Executive Board"
      • This is not my impression of how things actually work. Exec Board liaises directly with many constituent groups (committees, divisions, roundtables) 
      • There was formerly a Division Leadership assembly session at Midwinter (iirc) until 3-5 years ago at which time that session stopped happening (or maybe division councilors stopped getting invited? or maybe I missed the invitations in the email deluge) 
    4. My first-glance impresion is that the structure for the various assemblies feels more hierarchical than the current model
    5. Streamlining divisions should be a Division-driven effort & process - not a top-down directive. ALCTS, LITA, & LLAMA are well along in their process, for example
    6.  My last general impression is that there seems to be no officially constituted body that brings together a wide range of interests for formal discussion and consideration of interests, concerns, information sharing, policy making/setting/changing, and in-general discussion of association governance
      • I find this problematic because the current body constituted for these purposes, ALA Council, has been an effective place for moving ALA forward (perhaps not fast enough for some) while also strategically assessing and guiding the use of ALA political capital in DC and nationally
    Thank you again for developing and organizing this discussion and the recommendations!

    ------------------------------
    Aaron Dobbs
    LITA Councilor
    (speaking only for myself)
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 12, 2019 08:32 AM
    I agree with Aaron's comments. In particular, I too was taken aback by the absence of a representative assembly (such as the current Council) taking the crucial role in the oversight of policy, strategic planning and governance for the organization.  While not necessarily wedded to the current proliferation of council representation (at large, chapters, divisions, round tables), I do believe that having a wide and inclusive representation on the body that makes these important decisions and sets the direction of the association is essential to ensuring that ALA remains a member-driven organization. As someone who has tried hard to implement an inclusive team approach in my own library, I also noticed what appeared to be a "top-down" hierarchy in some of these recommended new structures. 

    Pam Klipsch MLS
    Director
    Jefferson County Library
    5678 State Road PP
    High Ridge MO 63049
    (636) 677-8689







  • 4.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 12, 2019 06:38 PM
    Aaron and Pam (and those who have sent me emails!),

    Thank you for your careful and thought provoking comments and questions. While I could probably write a novel length reply adding further clarification and explanation at this point, I think your questions and discussion points need to be mulled over for a bit before our in person conversations in DC and our virtual conversation so that we can create a dialogue around these themes and bring in more folks. I want to make sure, though, that I and the committee acknowledge folks' comments as they come in so that you all know that we have received them and are considering them!

    I want to also add that I'll answer as much as I can in writing and if anything gets missed or you feel like your question or comment never gets addressed, please let me know! Right now we are collecting questions and themes to incorporate into our presentations and into further written communications for those who are unable to attend anything in person or virtually.

    I encourage folks to please continue posting thoughtful feedback, questions, and needs for clarification to this thread -- this will help strengthen our conversations in DC and virtually!

    Thanks again to those who have already sent feedback. We have lots of questions and considerations to mull over together over the next few months.

    Lessa

    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 14, 2019 04:17 PM
    I agree with Aaron and Pam. I am particularly concerned with the dissolution of Council and the proposed Executive Board appointing half its members. The potential for cronyism is just too great. Many of us worked hard to democratize ALA. When I first became active ( in the 70's- prehistoric times) ALA committees had closed meetings, Council was mainly library directors and Past- presidents were on Council for life.  Committee Appointments were tightly controlled. No one understood ALA finances.  Yes, democracy is messy - perhaps we were too successful. But please-lets  not "streamline" democracy and membership participation ( ALA's strength) out of existence.

    Pat Schuman
    ALA past - President
    ALA past- Treasurer
    Honorary Member
    pgs@rt2know.com

    ------------------------------
    Patricia Schuman
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 17, 2019 12:11 PM

    Yes, I also have concerns. I see that Chapters, Divisions, and Roundtables are encouraged to have their own Leadership Academies, which does encourage participation from members already interested enough to be involved in ALA. However, I also see that the Nomination Committee is supposed to be responsible for all nominations for ALA officers, and I'm not so sure 1) it is a good idea and 2) how will it work, exactly?

     

    Pat Dunn

    Collections Librarian

    Red Rocks Community College Library

    Box 16

    13300 West 6th Ave.,

    Lakewood, CO. 80228

    (303)-914-6744

    pat.dunn@rrcc.edu

    Pronouns: "She" "Her" "Hers"

     






  • 7.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 17, 2019 08:50 PM
    Thanks, Pat, for sharing your thoughts and questions. While I can't answer #1 (I look forward to the discussion!) I can start to answer #2 at least: How will the nominations process work for the Nominations Committee?

    Briefly: We envision it to work similarly to what we have now, where the appointed committee will solicit nominations from across the association to fill elected positions. Folks may self-nominate or be nominated by another individual and may be asked to submit information on why they are interested. I was asked whether there would be a petition process to be added to the ballot -- while I do not have an answer for that at this time, I plan on discussing with SCOE at our meeting and seeing what other folks (you all) think -- has the petition process been successful? Does it help to decrease barriers to leadership and participation? Does it create opportunity? Even if it has in our current system, is there may be a way to improve upon this?

    (Full disclosure, I have run for Council as a petition candidate for my second term and was successful. My first term I was nominated).

    Hope that helps and I look forward to more conversation here on Connect and in DC!​​

    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 18, 2019 09:30 PM
    Pat is SO right! Democracy is not as bad as many people contend. Recently, I was disappointed by the American Association of University Professors changing its election procedure to reduce costs (and, effectively, member input). I am a life member of that organization, and I have been an ACTIVE member for nearly a half century (as of some time in August 2019), but I AM
    disappointed. Do not let the ALA go that path. Ben Beede

    ------------------------------
    Benjamin Beede
    Librarian Emeritus
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 17, 2019 07:21 PM
    A Seat at the Table.
    The second paragraph of The Freedom to Read Statement begins "Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad." That was important to the ALA in 1953. I am a fairly ordinary individual. I've had the opportunity to work in academic, public, religious and special libraries, archives, a jail library and volunteered in a school library. Up until 2002 I read voraciously and writing was my dream deferred. Then I lost language processing among other things I experienced with symptoms of bi-polar disorder I was unaware that I had. These subsequent years I have had to relearn to remember language, how to read, what words meant and other skills. Mostly I have learned to compensate so I could continue to help people. I didn't have to know things, I just needed to know how to find them. When I first started to attend ALA, I attended every Intellectual Freedom meeting I could, so that I could learn. I wanted the phrasing, the terms, the processes in my head. There was only so much I could learn from clicking on websites. My first IFC meeting I sat in the corner to just listen. Pam Klipsch said "If you are in my meeting, you are welcome at the table. Everyone has a seat at the table". Except for my name, which they made me say, I don't think I said a word for a couple of years. But I went. And I was welcome. The first time I said anything was when the Interpretation for People with Disabilities came up for discussion and I gathered every ounce of courage to say something. Words don't come easy, as sometimes I forget a word, but I said something. I have volunteered for IFRT. Last year, I was the IFRT liaison to the IFC and not only did I have a seat at the table, I had a name card. ALA belongs to all of us as members. I bring my perspectives, from all those parts that make me unique, as does every other ALA member. We all deserve a seat at the table.

    ------------------------------
    Wanda Huffaker
    Librarian
    Salt Lake County Library
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 17, 2019 08:58 PM
    Thank you for sharing your story, Wanda. These journeys that we have taken in ALA and finding those places that include us where we're at are so important. We hope that SCOE and our recommendations can create an inclusive experience for everyone where they need it, both in person and virtually, since, as you so poignantly shared, our different perspectives are unique and important to our profession and our association.

    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 18, 2019 04:26 PM
    Edited by Lessa Pelayo-Lozada Jun 18, 2019 05:17 PM
    Hello! Me again!
    Thanks again to those participating already in this conversation! I wanted to address some general concerns that I've been hearing and seeing posted elsewhere and hopefully provide some clarification. 
    The ALA Executive Board will have 17 total members, 12 elected, and 5 appointed positions. The intent behind these 5 appointments is to ensure that there is a strong diversity of perspectives, skills sets, and experience on the board. Sometimes democracy and voting can be imperfect and our Executive Board may become unbalanced and/or homogenous in one way or another, and we intend for these 5 appointed slots to help bring balance to the board. 
    In terms of the replacement of council, I would also like to encourage folks to explore the 3 committees of the board in depth. These three focused, accountable, elected bodies will take on the important functions and discussions of Council. 
     
    I've addressed the nominating committee a bit in a previous post so this time would like to focus a bit on the Finance and Audit Committee and the Policy Development Committee. These two committees will take some of the biggest functions of Council and, with direct election by the membership, create an avenue for ALL members to participate in and inform the conversation, not just those who are able to sit on the council floor. Any individual or group of individuals may bring something like a resolution, concern, or request for investigation or change in to matters concerning our membership and will directly help the Executive Board prioritize strategic issues -- whether because they impact the profession or the association. This elected body of folks who will hear and digest the information of our members opens the conversation up to an assembly of anyone who wishes to join. We forsee in person and virtual assemblies where participants will have a direct voice and seat at the table and not be limited by their ability to afford travel and/or their ability to be elected.

    Aaron, I also got confirmation from our consultants on your first question: voting is encouraged for "all board members with the exception of the exec director ... no matter if appointed or elected. If you have a vote and the fiduciary responsibility attached you are more likely to support and take ownership for the decisions of the board."
    I hope that helps clarify a bit. We've got a great discussion going so far and please encourage folks to post here in Connect or in our SCOE group so that we can keep track of everyone's comments for the long term. Looking forward to more engagement across our membership!


    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 18, 2019 04:37 PM
    Thank you Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada and all SCOE members for putting together these preliminary recommendations and for sharing them with all ALA members for discussion. In addition to the other comments I would like to suggest that there is very serious consideration given for how this new organization can do business outside of ALA conferences beyond using ALA Connect. As someone who is dependent on my workplace funding conference attendance I think that conference attendance should not be mandated to participate in this new governance structure. Such a requirement also limits who may self-nominate to participate and ultimately who is elected.

    I know some of my council colleagues pay out of pocket to attend conferences and may have a lot of tips on how to do so. While I appreciate that I would urge you to consider that not everyone may share your abilities to save money and take time away from work before you add those types of responses here.

    Thanks you,

    Erica

    Erica Findley
    Cataloging | Metadata Librarian
    Multnomah County Library 
    Isom Operations Center
    My schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm
    My pronouns are she/her/hers










  • 13.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 18, 2019 09:29 PM
    There are several elements of the proposal that I like, but just want to raise a concern that is not intended as a criticism of the current Board. I find the notion of an ALA without a broadly representative Council to be a frightening prospect. Just as a single example of what could go wrong: during the civil rights movement, the ALA board was consistently a foot-dragging, status quo-loving obstacle to real progressive change. It was only through the outrage of Council that any Association-wide standard of civil rights (and decency) for library users AND librarians began to be enforced. The Board was (and is) small in comparison to Council and is necessarily less diverse in its interests and sympathies. Certainly less diverse in the socioeconomic/professional/political status of its members. I can't see how the strengthening of the Board and weakening of Council will have any benefit on the representative effectiveness of ALA.

    ------------------------------
    Steven Harris
    Assistant Dean of Libraries
    University of Nevada, Reno
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 23, 2019 08:46 PM
    The Social Responsibilities Round Table Action Council voted on a response to the SCOE Preliminary Recommendations. The statement reads, "SRRT opposes elimination of elected ALA Council and opposes any governing structure that denies round table representation and decision making powers, as well as the imposed standardization of round table governance."

    ------------------------------
    Jane Cothron
    Cataloger
    Lincoln County Library District

    SRRT Action Council and Secretary, 2018-2020
    posting for the Social Responsibilities Round Table
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 23, 2019 09:25 PM
    Jane,

    Thank you for sharing SRRT's Action Council response and statement. I would be happy to have a discussion with SRRT and find out more about how we can strengthen the recommendations to try and address your concerns. We've had some really great conversations with many Round Tables and other units this conference and look forward to engaging in a conversation about ways we can better our association together and build trust around a new structure. In discussion with other Round Tables who have engaged with SCOE directly, I think it would be great if we could hold a Round Table leadership conversation with as many Round Tables as we can get together sometime during July. I will try to work with all of the staff liaisons to Round Tables, especially Danielle to set this up.

    Looking forward to more conversation!

    Best,
    Lessa

    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: SCOE Preliminary Recommendations

    Posted Jun 23, 2019 09:32 PM
    Thank you, Steven. The checks and balances of the board has definitely been a topic of discussion in our feedback sessions and trying to determine the best mechanism for this -- whether it is Council or another, more direct way to hold the Executive Board more accountable directly with all members. Our history is definitely something we want to honor and while our association has quite a ways since the civil rights movement, we acknowledge we still have a lot of work to do and of course we want to make sure we are continuing to progress and ultimately hope to be an example for other associations. We still have a lot of discussion to go, and this is an important aspect that we want to make sure to address.

    Best,
    Lessa

    ------------------------------
    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
    ------------------------------