Thanks for this message, Diedre. This is a response to your communication as well as the others that have funneled in in light of recent goings-on across SRRT and AC.
I will defer prolonged discourse on the relevance of resolutions and institutional/organizational statements at this time but note broad agreement among many comrades and colleagues that direct action and coalition-building across sectors is more important than ever to meet the urgent, escalating moment we are in and fortify protections for our most vulnerable community members and our fraying social safety net.
Regarding SRRT: Over the past five years, we have stepped up our programming, which is always free, virtual, and open to the public. With an array of diverse speakers with both lived experience and subject matter expertise, we have addressed increasingly critical issues in librarianship and the contexts within which it is practiced and we are all situated.
You can see the roster of our programming, including slide decks, recordings, and other shared materials and resources,
on our webpage. We have explored the major issues of our time, ones that informed SRRT's origins and continue to define its relevance. This expanded programming has achieved increased attendance and abundant positive feedback across all programs - a testament to their impact and level of engagement. Many of these programs have covered some of your proposed items, like:
2. Suggest ways libraries can support and protect staff
3. Suggest ways libraries can support and protect patrons
4. Suggest organizations libraries can support, with as much contact information as possible.
Above all, our programs have fostered and facilitated shared learning and inclusive discussion. They have led to scholarly collaborations, cross-sector partnerships, and 1:1 connections that have improved services for patrons across the country and helped libraries become more welcoming and relevant spaces for *all* community members, particularly those who have often been marginalized from library services, programming, and access. At Annual this year, our Chair's Program will focus on health equity and medical diversity, a theme we will also explore in our summit this April (more details to come). Our programming committee is devoted to continuing this work: As Grace Lee Boggs said, "Community is not something we have. It's something we do."
Through our recent 2024 survey and 2025 listening session last February, we know that SRRT members want to engage but are increasingly frustrated by the tone and tenor of Connect conversations. This work is deeply relational - unless we can cease the personal attacks, SRRT will combust of its own discord, which would be a travesty for ALA and the profession as a whole.
Solidarity is not about agreeing on all things, nor is it about collapsing our differences; it is about generative conflict that we can navigate with care and compassion in alignment with shared values and commitments.
We all have work to do and roles to play in this moment - no one's more important than any other's. Onward....