A Resolution Is a Voice
M Rosenzweig
When we talk about "resolutions" in ALA, especially those brought forward by SRRT, we are talking about voice.
We are talking about speech that enters the official record of our profession.
The format may follow parliamentary convention, with
its "whereases" and "be it resolveds," yet the structure does not define the substance. Within that formal cadence lives a declaration, a judgment, a commitment.
A resolution is a public act of naming what is happening in the world and stating where librarians stand in relation to it.
Librarianship is a profession built on the conviction that words matter. We preserve them, describe them, circulate them, defend access to them. We teach students and communities how to evaluate them. We fight censorship because language shapes public life. If we take that mission seriously, then we understand that a resolution is not a procedural exercise. It is an intervention in the documentary life of the profession. It places librarianship on record.
The record matters. Future members look back at what was said and what was left unsaid. Researchers study institutional positions to understand how a profession understood its responsibilities in moments of crisis. Communities look to see whether libraries spoke when civil liberties were threatened, when war loomed, when communities were targeted, when information was suppressed. A resolution becomes part of that archive. It says: at this moment, we were present; we assessed; we declared.
SRRT has historically understood this function. Its resolutions have given language to concerns that were already circulating among members, among library workers, among communities. The resolution becomes a crystallization of those concerns. It gathers scattered sentiment and frames it in a way that can be voted on, affirmed, and entered into the institutional memory of ALA. That act of framing is itself a form of leadership.
Some treat resolutions as paperwork. Yet every major social advance has depended on statements that clarified principles and demanded accountability. Declarations, manifestos, policy statements, charters of rights-these are all documentary forms that carry moral and political weight. A resolution within ALA participates in that lineage. It articulates how professional values-intellectual freedom, equity of access, democratic participation-apply in concrete historical circumstances.
In librarianship, we know that documentation confers visibility and legitimacy. When something is cataloged, it can be found. When it is indexed, it can be retrieved. When it is cited, it enters discourse.
A resolution performs a parallel function in governance. It renders a position findable within the institutional framework. It signals to members, to other organizations, to the public, that librarians are attentive and engaged.
Voice also requires risk. To speak is to accept that disagreement will follow. SRRT's willingness to draft and sponsor resolutions has often meant entering contested terrain. That willingness reflects an understanding that neutrality in moments of injustice is itself a stance. A resolution offers clarity. It invites members to deliberate and to vote. Through that process, the profession practices democracy in real time.
The formal language of resolutions carries a certain gravity. The repetition of "whereas" accumulates evidence and context. The "be it resolved" clauses convert that analysis into commitment. The rhythm reinforces the seriousness of the act. What may appear bureaucratic is in fact a disciplined way of reasoning together and declaring collective intent.
For a profession that safeguards the cultural and political memory of society, silence in the face of major public issues would also be recorded. Absence too leaves a trace. A resolution ensures that the profession's conscience is documented. It affirms that librarianship extends beyond technical service into civic responsibility.
SRRT's resolutions, then, should be understood as exercises of professional speech. They are calls to awareness, to solidarity, to policy alignment, to ethical clarity. They are mechanisms through which librarians say, in their own institutional voice, that the values embedded in our codes and mission statements have real-world implications. They transform principle into position.
In the end, a resolution is a written act of standing up. It enters the minutes, the archives, the history of the Association. It tells our colleagues and our communities that librarians recognize the stakes of the moment and are prepared to speak. In a profession devoted to the stewardship of words and documents, that act of speaking together remains one of the most meaningful things we can do.
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Mark Rosenzweig
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