The slides from VMM14 are attached for your reference. In about 10 days, a full transcript will be attached.
BACKGROUND:
The ALA Virtual Membership Meeting (VMM14) is being held this Thursday, June 5th, at 2 p.m. Central Daylight Time. We’re looking forward to updating you on the Association, and to hearing from you. As part of our meeting, we have set time aside for you to share your thoughts about two important topics: 1). Advocacy and 2). Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in our communities and our profession. There is still time to register.
In preparation for this discussion, we’d like to share with you some of the questions we have been asking as we consider these two important topics and plan for the Association’s future. We’re very interested in your thoughts on these questions, and hope you feel free to comment prior to VMM14 using the ALA Connect group (http://connect.ala.org/node/221931), during the live VMM14 discussion, or following the meeting. Here are the questions:
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion:
- What can ALA do to strengthen the recruitment, leadership development, and retention of diverse librarians and library workers in our profession?
- How can ALA help break down discriminatory barriers based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation for members of our profession and our communities?
Advocacy:
In almost every discussion with ALA members, there is widespread agreement that the association needs to advocate for the value of libraries and librarians. Within that broad statement,
- What do you see as our specific advocacy goals? What would success look like?
- What specific strategies do you believe will best help us achieve these goals?
I look forward to meeting with you virtually on Thursday, June 5 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (CDT).
Barbara Stripling, ALA President 2013-2014