ALA Council Farewell

Here I am at ALA's Annual conference and to my last (for now) Council meetings.  A couple months ago, I announced my likely resignation from Council and promised a post with my final answer and reasons for that answer.  When I posted my likely departure, I was frustrated about the outcome of the Council elections.  People who had made significant contributions were not reelected and at least two people who have voluntarily sat through several seasons of Council meetings and know more about ALA governance than most Councilors, were not elected.  At that time, I just plain wasn't sure I wanted to be a representative for an organization whose low number of voting members clearly didn't do their homework.  To a large extent, I still feel that way.  I've been on enough committees the past few years to know that a good number of people are elected to Council who have no idea what they've gotten into.  "Do you mean I have to come to both Midwinter and ALA?"  I've been a member of an APA committee where appointees had to admit that they really didn't understand what APA was.  That's ...discouraging...to say the least.

A lot of folks have lobbied hard and encouraged me to stick it out.  They have been just as loud and attentive as the "ALA sucks" devil on my other shoulder.  The attention has been flattering and most of the arguments compelling, but the bottom line is this:  My service to Council is simply not a good fit with where I am in my career.  What I do on Council is too far removed from what I am and should be doing as a new manager, so much so that I don't think it's an appropriate use of my time.  No one in my building wants to hear about what I did at Council. Most of my colleagues outside of my building don't much care what I do on Council.  And, ultimately, I don't have the energy, heart, fire, to work to fix what I find problematic. 

What do I find problematic?  Despite my personal political feelings, I don't want to spend my professional development time listening to arguments about what is and isn't a library issue.  It doesn't make me swell with pride to know that ALA sends out "statement" and feel-good resolutions on torture, impeachment and troop withdrawal.   I find it problematic that Council does not have alternative means of participation and requires significant financial resources (please, no stories of sacrifice about sleeping 12 to a room, walking to ALA in a foot of snow, or how you lived on cheese cubes and cheap wine at vendor receptions).  If I'm not willing to duke it out on the Council list or on the Council floor,  I need to give my seat up to someone who hopefully has a clue and wants to do the work.  I am telling you right now: vote for Aaron Dobbs next time around.  In fact, if we could do a Cyrano thing and let me be Aaron by proxy, I'd do it.

Part of the reason it's taken me so long to write this is that: a) I've had enough doubt that I knew it wasn't time to write something I might regret; b) when I was talking to my Library Society of the World compadres about it, I got a lot of negative feedback on ALA as a whole.  While ALA is huge, lumbering, inefficient, and certainly not relevant to all librarians,  I still find value in it.  My intention has never been to ditch ALA, but rather, to find a more satisfying, meaningful way to serve and be served by the organization.

This is not a call for anyone to ditch ALA or follow my lead by leaving Council.  There are folks who have no use for ALA, and I respect that. There are folks who want ALA to work better and to be more relevant. Please, work to make this happen. If you are actively involved in ALA or considering governance, please make sure you know what you are signing on for.  Don't be a seat warmer, don't feel cowed or bullied by other Councilors.  You need to roll up your sleeves and duke it out sometimes.  If you are on Council and have not participated in discussions on the list or floor, take a hard look at why you are on Council (aside from being able to get first crack at hotels).  It's politics, folks, and you if you are dissatisfied with ALA in general, do pay attention to Council and to who gets elected. Council is the governing body for the entire organization.  Most significant change to ALA comes from and through Council. Karen Schneider and Aaron Dobbs are plotting the revolution.  I'm not sure at what level I'll be participating at this point, but I certainly will be cheering them on.  Become an Agiterati and have a look at the Improve ALA wiki, put together by Aaron.

None of this means that I am absolutely and finally done with ALA governance.  And it doesn't mean that it's been a waste of my time. I've made terrific friends and gotten a practical education in politics and governance.  I only hope that I've made an equivalent contribution to the organization.

Comments

[Locke Morrisey]

Now that Annual conference is over, I start my term as ACRL Councilor where I serve on the ACRL Board as well as on ALA Council.

I've made a point of reading some of the recent postings on blogs regarding frustration with ALA and ALA Council. I've always wondered why there hasn't been an ALA session titled something like "ALA Council: What have you done for me lately?" just to let people know what ALA Council does or doesn't do depending on who your talking to.

I look forward to learning and serving in the next 3 years.

--Locke Morrisey, ACRL Councilor

[Loriene Roy]

Boozhoo, hi, Rochelle,

I'll miss you on Council--just when I need you!

Cheers,

Loriene Roy
ALA Prez

[Cindi]

I am newly involved in ALA and have heard a lot of people agitating about it and am wondering what the critical mass is. How many people have to be on the "ALA Sucks" bandwagon before it gets seriously moving? I'm not quite on that bandwagon, but it's rumbled by me a few times.

BTW, my reasons for getting out of SLA sound very similar to the ones you list for leaving Council. Great post.

[Dorothea Salo]

Well said.

[Aaron the Librarian]

When Rochelle says Karen & I plot revolution, I demur and say we're plotting to Improve ALA the way *you* (the readers) say it needs improved.

To that effect, I created the Improve ALA wiki at http://improveala.pbwiki.com

Please, if you see something about ALA that needs improved, post your observation and post what you think would improve the situation. If you're interested in joining me in my quest to become an ALA Councilor, please add yourself to the Slate of Candidates

Check out the wiki, I transcribed some of what I read in the biblioblogosphere as a starting point; I make no assertion that these are the only things needing fixed.

(I'm speaking in Central PA colloquial now, if I were still in TN I would have said "needs fixin'") :)

-Aaron (the Librarian) Dobbs
:-)'