List of Contributions

Ms. Melora Norman

Contact Details

Melora Norman

My Content

1 to 14 of 14 total
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 29, 2017 07:50 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Pat's and Dierdre's observations illustrate some important developments. Until relatively recently, it was possible for an ALA member who was interested in ALA policy decisions to attend a meeting, hear everything that transpired, and know what had been decided. Electronic Council voting--while ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 07, 2017 02:31 PM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Technically speaking, the Executive Director search can continue regardless of the petition. Asserting that it cannot is inaccurate. Many members spent significant time advocating for the requirement to be kept before the first 2017 vote; many members thought the matter was settled and did not have ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 05, 2017 11:28 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Thanks for your always-engaging commentary, Karen. As a member who isn't on Council now, it was only by coincidence that I happened on something that informed me Council was re-considering its vote. I'm sure it seems to councilors that you've been discussing this forever, but as Association actions ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 05, 2017 10:43 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
With all due respect, the word "preferred" has only one function: to permit the consideration of candidates who do not have the degree. It is a major, not a minor change, and one that many members oppose. Giving members a voice is a good thing--it is every bit as reasonable as Council's decision to ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 05, 2017 10:38 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
I have heard from members who were unaware of the new discussion (which began on one message board and seemed to be moved elsewhere, or at least split, and was by no means as robust as the original thread). Presumably the search committee can--if it wishes--continue to search for and interview candidates ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 05, 2017 09:53 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
This conversation began in December 2016 and was followed by a Council vote defeating efforts to remove the degree requirement for the ALA Executive Director After a relatively brief period and one quick review of a small number of candidates, the search committee asked for a new, electronic vote ...
Posted By Melora Norman Nov 03, 2017 02:18 PM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Thank you for letting us know that the committee reviewed 17 applications. Can someone share whether there is something specific about the pool of 200 potential applicants leading the EB to believe the MLS requirement is limiting the pool so substantially that removing the requirement is vital to ...
Posted By Melora Norman Nov 03, 2017 10:17 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Thank you, Christine, for your candor; most of the other posts I read assert a "why not" sort of argument. Yours reveals the implicit critique of the degree as a potential mis-qualification for an association leadership position. According to an Oxford UP blog post, the decline in ALA membership ...
Posted By Melora Norman Nov 03, 2017 08:36 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Mr. Corrigan's comments are very clarifying; they help answer my question regarding why it is that the American Bar Association has a longtime lawyer with a law degree leading the helm, the American Medical Association has a longtime physician and MD as their executive director, yet a fair number of ...
Posted By Melora Norman Nov 02, 2017 11:19 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Dear Colleagues, I have been following this conversation for some time now. Since it seems that there is much determination to seek an executive director who is not a librarian to lead us, I hope that we in the membership will obtain some more explanatory details from our leaders. Until then, I ...
Posted By Melora Norman Jan 03, 2017 02:35 PM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
Peter has encouraged me to share my view that the existence of other (non-degreed) points of view built into the system actually provides excellent support for why we should continue to ensure that our ED does have one, bringing the experience and vision that only a person who has worked through the ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 20, 2016 11:00 AM
Found In Egroup: ALA Council
\ view thread
The only people who can thoroughly understand and support this profession are those who have acquired the appropriate professional qualifications. There are a great many highly-qualified, intelligent and capable people who have this requirement and who could perform the job admirably; arguments asserting ...
Posted By Melora Norman Apr 13, 2015 12:50 PM
Found In Egroup: LHRT (Library History Round Table)
\ view thread
Information about LHRT annual conference happenings now on the LHRT web site! 2015 LHRT Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture Ezra Greenspan, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Chair in Humanities, Southern Methodist University, will be the 2015 Holley Lecture speaker at the upcoming American Library ...
Posted By Melora Norman Dec 07, 2014 04:39 PM
Found In Egroup: LHRT (Library History Round Table)
\ view thread
The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) seeks papers for its Research Forum at the 2015 ALA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, June 25-30, 2015 "Libraries and Frontiers: Historical Perspectives" Library History Round Table Research Forum, June 2015 ...