Diane, thank you for your message to the list -- you raise some really important points about engagement.  And thanks to AASL and all those who worked on these resolutions.  I've been reading up on the history of ALA a lot lately and one thing has become clear to me -- what we say on the record matters. As does how we say it.  I think both statements can be an important part of supporting front line librarians and adding to the record of where we stand during this time of almost constant attacks.

The resolutions are part of my report to the NJLA Board at our meeting this morning with my recommendation that NJLA endorse them both. 

I did wonder if Resolve 1a in the IF resolution, which says:  "Pledging to reaffirm that the freedom to read supports active citizens of the future and to speak against censorship of youth library books and resources"  would be stronger if it said "Reaffirming that the freedom to read supports active citizens of the future and to speak against censorship of youth library books and resources."  I also wondered if you might consider adding chapters and others in Resolve 3.  In NJ both NJLA and NJASL have made strong statements in support of intellectual freedom and the front line librarians currently putting so much on the line to protect their students right to read. 

With or without these changes these are important statements and I look forward to presenting them to my Board later this morning. 

Thank you,

Eileen

--  Eileen M. Palmer Executive Director Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium NJLA Chapter Councilor to the ALA  27 Mayfield Ave. Edison, NJ 08837 (732) 750-2525 ext. 103 (732) 225-0910 (fax) empalmer@lmxac.org

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One of the reasons the SCOE, FTWG, FTRWG, and TAG groups worked so hard was to increase member engagement as requested by member surveys.  It... -posted to the "ALA Council" community

ALA Council Post New Message Re: Resolution to Promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Efforts in AASL While Addressing Historical Effects of Racism Email a reply to the discussion Send a private message via email Jan 17, 2022 9:43 PM Diane Chen One of the reasons the SCOE, FTWG, FTRWG, and TAG groups worked so hard was to increase member engagement as requested by member surveys.  It seems that many councilors are waiting to participate until the virtual sessions or perhaps council forum. During the Youth Council Caucus meeting today, we discussed our disappointment not hearing from any other councilors about the vital issues in our resolutions to council: EDI and Intellectual Freedom attacks on school librarians. Should we just assume all councilors are in agreement and are just waiting until Council 3 to vote on the resolutions we brought forward? Perhaps the difficulty arises because councilors were more comfortable commenting via email instead of on Connect? We have changed our paths of communication and discussion. Not all councilors attend the council forums and council meetings occurring during the day are difficult to focus on when we are teaching, so asynchronous communication would be deeply appreciated.  Many school and youth librarians are under attack.  The inequities of service to the youth of our nation are increasing. There was a decrease of 20% of school library positions that greatly impacted BIPOC youth. Book deserts are increasing - leaving students without access to school libraries. Many school librarians believe the current and TAG proposals do not guarantee representation of all types of libraries on the executive board. Let's look back through the years and track how many years the EB has NOT had a school librarian represented. I am not content to have someone say they will represent school librarians when they do not research our needs or respond to the censorship and personal attacks we are experiencing.  These issues deserve engagement.  I encourage all councilors to read the resolutions and to respond.  Ask questions. Seek how you can support the school and youth librarians in our association and our profession.  If you are running for executive board or any offices, make sure you are researching the issues and are prepared to represent us. This is a time for engagement and speaking out. Perhaps we need to discuss what we really mean when we say we want to increase member engagement and how we are serving on council currently. Thank you, Mike, for pointing out the punctuation and grammar errors because it showed someone was reading the resolutions.  See you all online at the meetings this week. Sincerely, Diane Chen, AASL Division Councilor ------------------------------ Diane R. Chen School Librarian @ Stratford STEM Magnet School AASL Division Councilor ------------------------------   Forward   Original Message Original Message: Sent: Jan 16, 2022 07:36 PM You are subscribed to "ALA Council" as empalmer@lmxac.org. To change your subscriptions, go to My Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to Unsubscribe.

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