ALA Council III: Not how I wanted to spend my birthday

So a week late (and then some) we're here recapping the final day of ALA Council. Now I know that since this is a hybrid format I could have Zoomed in from the comfort of my hotel room, but I had already been there in-person for the last two and who knows what would happen if my name gets called. Why would that be a possibility, because someone thought it was wise to nominate me for a position on ALA's Committee on Committees, which upon reading the description seems like a glorified nominating committee. I have no clue who would think of me and especially now, when campaigning is the last thing I have time for. Though it looks like I didn't get selected, and I'm not too broken up about it.

Talkin' About That Money: Treasurer's Report

The 2023 fiscal year budget was approved in the start of our meeting after one last report from Maggie Ferrell. Maggie, who had the unenviable task of handling the Association's complicated budget during a pandemic, received a standing ovation from all in attendance. I'm sure it's not just because of her hard work and dedication, but because the rest of us were relieved that we didn't have to deal with all that job. At this point the new budget has a slight increase and ALA staff no longer need to furlough days, so it seems that things are headed in the right direction. Yet, it's being received with cautious optimism because as Executive Director Tracie Hall put it, "You cannot predict, but you can prepare."

Bylaws and Changes to ALA's Constitution? Yeah, like that's going to go well

One of those last minute resolutions prompted by the "historic vote" on TAG's recommendations in Council I, this action item seems to start a new, single ALA bylaws document and effectively rescind the current ALA constitution. It's stuff like this which is why there are 4 different microphones (and why there used to be more). I agreed with the first person who asked "why do this before a replacement has been drafted?" I mean, I get that this has been slow going, but it's like people are trying to rush to the finish line. First with the Council Forums, now this? Don't force this to happen faster than it needs to.

Also, another tidbit that I never thought about, but this would also be an unprecedented move. Now obviously there have been amendments because there was no electronic voting in the 19th century, but it appears that the foundation is more or less the same as the original. Knowing that prompted me to see that yes, there does need to be a change, but there's a difference between getting the ball rolling and sending it soaring on a catapult. This is a multi-faceted process with several steps and multiple votes required. Once it was clarified that this is just taking that first step towards changing things, it seemed a little less extreme. The motion did end up passing, which now leads to amending the ALA Bylaws with revisions by Fall 2022 at a yet to be scheduled virtual Council meeting, then finalized by LibLearnX in 2023.

Another Farewell and a New Resource

The Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair Martin Gardner also gave his report. With the rise on extreme censorship, the committee is working on building out their "fight online censorship" resource page. This is one of Gardner's last things as committee chair. After 20 years of continuous service, he has decided to "take a pause" and took a moment to ask some of the more seasoned members to do the same. As a newer ALA Councilor, I truly appreciate this. From my experience, it feels like sometimes we are shut down by those who have been doing governance for multiple terms and use their years (or decades) of experience almost as a way to control the narrative. So thank you Martin, for your work and for asking others to give us newer librarians space to serve and make our mark on ALA.

ODLOS Advisory Committee Looking out for the Immigrant Population

The Committee put forth a resolution for the acknowledgment and protection of immigrants and to this I'm so ecstatic to see that it passed. The only discussion was an amendment to include and mention school libraries and youth services specifically. I have always been adamant about libraries being a safe place, so knowing that my fellow Councilors felt the same was a good feeling.

Finally, saving the most controversial for last, the Body Autonomy Resolution!

We were literally a short drive away from the Supreme Court. This was in many people minds and hearts, but I still didn't expect to hear the details of this resolution. The Resolution on Body Autonomy, Equity & ALA Conferences called for moving conferences to only states and cities that recognize the right to abortion and that have no undue restriction on reproductive rights, healthcare decisions or bodily autonomy. The argument for this was if someone who is pregnant or might be pregnant has a medical emergency, they are at risk of not having necessary access to care. Those currently living in "trigger states" immediately came up to the mic, arguing that such an action will hurt those libraries by seemingly showing a lack of support and also take away the conference experience from those who don't have the means to attend an out-of-state conference. Then someone had to go make a less neutral point, which I will choose not to get into. I'll just say that personal political views, whether it's pro-life/pro-choice, didn't need to be brought into the mix.

While I do believe that we all still support the equitable treatment of all ALA members anywhere we are, the motion was defeated. So New Orleans, we'll see you for LibLearnX.

As that wraps up our first in-person conference, the final count in attendance was 13, 829 and 834 digitally. How many actually ended up getting COVID at the end still remains to be seen (but considering the ongoing thread on ALA Connect titled "if you went to ALAAC22, get tested for COVID," I'm going to say it's a lot.