The ALA elections are getting closer, and the Intellectual Freedom Round Table has a great slate of candidates! From March 13 to April 5, IFRT members will vote for two directors-at-large, one vice-chair/chair-elect and one treasurer, as well as proposed bylaw revisions (see the below attachment). Find out more about the elections on the ALA website.
Here are excerpts from the IFRT candidates’ profiles:
Director-at-Large
Kristin Joy Anderson
Youth Services Librarian, Bloomingdale Public Library, Bloomingdale, IL
I recently joined a group called Operation 451. Named in part for the Ray Bradbury book, but the numbers also stand for the 4th and 5th sections of the Library Bill of Rights, and the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. I may only be "just" a children's librarian, but I have a FIRM belief that libraries are the bastion of freedom in this country. I want to make sure that that freedom extends to EVERYONE, and that everyone regardless of political stance, religion, or the color of their skin has access to any materials that they wish to view. Freedom is very important to me.
Larissa Gordon
Instruction and Scholarly Communications Librarian, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA
Recent offices held in library associations include being the chair (2015) and the vice chair/chair elect (2014) of the Pennsylvania Library Association’s College and Research Division.
Sarah Houghton
Library Director, San Rafael Public Library, San Rafael, CA
First as a technology librarian and then as a leader, manager, and now a director, I come back to the core ethics and values of the library world with every professional decision I make, every project I pursue or reject, and every idea I support. In my own small way as the director for a public library, I think about how the values I promote to our team will affect the future of library services to our community. Likewise, when I decide what to publish, what to raise awareness about, and what to say publicly about our field-- I come back to those same core ethics and values. Libraries serve our communities. The moment we forget that we forget ourselves. I wish to serve IFRT to continue my service to ALA as a whole, and to do so in a way that can help strengthen our shared ethics and values.
Eldon Ray James
Researcher, Institutional Survey, Austin, TX
As someone nearing the end of a career (at least full-time) my professional concerns and aspirations center on assisting younger librarians advance their careers as well as their interest in the professional organizations that sustain us. I want to leave a legacy of accomplishment that shows it is possible to overcome obstacles and succeed. I left prison in 2002, an impoverished 53-year-old with a minimal support system, a felony drug conviction, and a dream of becoming a librarian. That I have succeeded should be proof to any struggling young librarian that success is possible with hard work.
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
John "Mack" Freeman
Marketing and Programming Coordinator, West Georgia Regional Library, Carrollton, GA
The role of librarians in the ongoing struggle for intellectual freedom has never been more important. However, for many younger library workers, intellectual freedom is less of an active priority than it once was. If I were to become the IFRT Chair, I would use my year to engage library workers that are newer to professional service to get them involved with IF issues and related volunteer efforts. I believe a chunk of newer library workers is being left behind because they haven't attended library school and so do not have a basis in the vital importance of intellectual freedom in library work. I would also lead an effort to evaluate how IFRT can best be the grassroots of IF inside of ALA during this time of organizational evolution. Thank you in advance for your consideration, your support, and your ongoing support for intellectual freedom in libraries.
Wanda Mae Huffaker
Public Service Librarian, Salt Lake County Library Services, Salt Lake City, UT
I am concerned there is a trend of speaking out more and listening less. From the reference interview, to our social issues, it is important to listen to the other side, to all other sides and hear other points of view. Only then can we figure out how to bring our best resources together to solve our problems.
Ian Hughes
Reference Coordinator, Purdue University NorthWest, Westville, IN
We must stay focused on opposing government censorship and the attempts of big business to monetize information and ideas that should belong to a free and evolving society. IFRT should be apart of that opposition and I would look forward to the opportunity to build on the commitment and hard work of our previous chairs.
Jim Teliha
Director of the Library & Learning Commons, Utica College, Utica, NY
Fighting for, defending, preserving, and promoting Intellectual Freedom is the main reason I've worked in libraries for over 30 years as both a paraprofessional and professional. It is the main reason I became a librarian. I believe that Intellectual Freedom is THE core value of our profession, the prime directive, if you will. As a Vice-Chair of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table, I will work tirelessly to promote our profession's ideals, and make sure that both the world and our Association understand the vital importance of Intellectual Freedom for everyone.
Treasurer
Steve Norman
Director, Belfast Free Library, Belfast, ME
Intellectual freedom is a core value of our profession. Protecting free speech, free thought, and free inquiry is our responsibility as librarians. As IFRT Treasurer, I would be glad to work with the IFRT Board and membership to sustain and advance our critical work defending this constantly threatened human right.