ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 86/C& RL News ■ M arch 1998 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s Meet the candidates for ALA president Cast your vote in the election this spring by M artin G om ez and Sarah A n n Long T h e ACRL B o ard o f D irectors p o s ed the follow ing qu estion s to th e cand id ates for ALA p resid en t an d C&RL News is p le a se d to pu b lish their resp o n ses. E ach can d id ate w as given 1 ,2 0 0 w ord s in w h ich to o ffe r a b rie f o p e n in g statem en t and to resp o n d to the q u e s tio n s ; th e ir r e s p o n s e s a re id e n tifie d u n d er e a c h o f the six qu estion s. M artin G om ez I w ant to b e the n ex t p resid en t o f th e A m eri­ c a n Library A ssociation . W hat I o ffe r you is vision, e x p e r ie n c e , an d a com m itm en t to all libraries. O v er th e p ast 21 years, I ’ve earn ed m y e x p e r ie n c e an d fou n d m y vision o n the jo b an d in m y w o rk in ALA. As ALA en ters th e 2 1st cen tury, I b e lie v e w e shou ld s e e k n e w ex tern a l partn ersh ips and cultivate n e w library lead ers fo r th e as­ sociatio n . I w ant to jo in you, the m em b ers o f ACRL, in prom otin g in form ation literacy in th e a g e o f te c h n o lo g y . Y o u r v o ic e is n e e d e d in ALA. It w ill c o n trib u te to the a s so c ia tio n ’s in flu en ce in nation al an d in­ tern atio n al a ren as, w h e re it is playing an ev er larger role. S a ra h A n n Lo n g I a p p rec ia te th e o p p o rtu n ity to sh a re my view s w ith th e m em b ersh ip o f ACRL. As a fo rm er a ca d em ic librarian, I kn o w th e im portan t role o f the c o lle g e an d un i­ versity library. I am aw are o f the issues and Martin Gomez Sarah Ann Long con cern s con fronting acad em ic librarianship, inclu d ing th e e ffectiv e u se o f n e w te c h n o l­ og y in tea ch in g and learning, preservation, c o lle c tio n d ev elo p m en t, cop yrigh t revision and intellectu al property, a cad em ic freedom , cu ltu ral diversity , an d a d e q u a te fin a n c ia l support. As p resid en t o f ALA, I w ou ld w ork c lo s e ly w ith th e o fficers and B o ard o f ACRL to fu rther th e d iv ision ’s g o als an d its o u t­ standing p rogram s and m e m b e r services. Q u e stio n s f o r A L A ca n d id a te s 1. What is your position on the accept ability of ALA divisions, such as ACRL to establish and publicly promulgate their own positions on issues important to the profession and germane to their own in­ terests? Should divisions be encouraged to establish relationships, independent of ALA, with oth er relevant organizations, such as AAHE, for example? ­ A b o u t the authors Martin Gom ez is head o f the Brooklyn Public Library; e-mail: mgomez@panix.com; and Sarah A nn Long is director o f the North Suburban Library System; e-mail: slong@nslsilus.org mailto:mgomez@panix.com mailto:slong@nslsilus.org C&RL News ■ March 1998/ 187 Gomez: T h e ALA has a very un iqu e o p ­ eratin g structure. ALA d iv ision s are g o v ­ e rn ed b y the provisions o f the Constitution and Bylaws o f the Association. Divisions also have the authority to ad opt a constitution and/or bylaw s w h ich “shall not b e in c o n ­ flict with th ose o f th e A ssociation” (Art. VI, Sec. 9a). We also have an adopted set o f p o lic ie s th at d ic ta te o u r p ra c tic e s an d a u niqu e operating agreem en t that spells out roles and resp on sibilities b e tw e e n the 11 ALA divisions and the larger association. T h e ALA Policy Manual is very specific a b o u t this relatio n sh ip . T h e p rea m b le o f S ectio n 6 .4 (d ealin g with d ivisions) states that ALA “is o n e association w ith indivisible assets and a single set o f uniform adm inis­ trative, financial and p erson n el p o licies and proced u res. It is g overned b y o n e C ouncil, from w h ich its E xecu tive B oard is elected , and is m anaged b y and Execu tive D irector w ho serves at the pleasu re o f that B o ard .” In effect, w e are o n e association with 11 voices. Yet, elsew h ere in th e constitution, it is clea r that divisions do have significant lati­ tude in establish ing relationships with e x ­ ternal organizations, su b ject to the approval o f the B oard o f D irectors o f the division and in a cco rd an ce with the p o licies o f th e asso ­ ciation, (s ee Art. VI, Sec. 2). Ultimately, how ­ ever, the corp o rate and legal entity for any activities o f any division is the ALA. B ec a u se divisions are “en tities” o f the association, I b eliev e that it is im possible for a division to have a relationship with any organization, ind ep en d en t o f ALA. N onetheless, w orking within this fram e­ w ork, it is possible for divisions to establish rela tio n sh ip s w ith o th e r relev an t ou tsid e organizations, su bject to the p o licies o f ALA. In my opinion, this only b e co m e s an issue if and w h en that relationship b e co m e s a fi­ duciary and/or legal liability for the asso ­ ciation. D ivisions should b e en co u rag ed to actively pursue extern al relation ships that help further the goals o f the association. Long: As the adm inistrator o f a co o p era ­ tive library system con sistin g o f ov er 60 0 m em ber libraries o f all types and sizes, I am very sensitive to the n eed for auton om y and g o o d com m u nication in the d evelop m en t o f policy. Also, my e x p e rie n c e as an academ ic, public, and school librarian provides m e with We need a n a tio n a l, if not in te rn a tio n a l, " su m m it" on the fu tu re o f lib ra ria n sh ip . No o rg a n iz a tio n o th e r th a n A L A has th e c lo u t and ve ste d in te rest to h e lp us d e fin e o u r roles in sh a p in g th e fu tu re o f the p ro fe ssio n . —M artin G om ez an aw aren ess o f the d ifferent p erspectives that exist in an organization as c o m p lex as the ALA. ALA’s strength is in the diversity and e x ­ pertise o f its m em bersh ip, and I b eliev e it is im portant that its divisions and units have the opportunity to take p ositions o n issues p ertinent to their m em bers. It is also im por­ tant that ALA’s divisions and units have the flexibility to establish liaison and com m u ni­ c a tio n w ith o rg a n iz a tio n s h av in g sim ilar goals and interests. T h e s e partnerships are o f increasing im portan ce in advancing stan­ dards and coop erativ e program s at the na­ tion al and international level. T h ere is also a n eed to coord in ate p o si­ tion statem ents to ensure they are con sis­ tent with ALA’s p olicies, as w ell as the poli­ cies o f o th er d ivisions and units. In th e sam e fashion, rep resentation n eed s to b e coo rd i­ nated to avoid duplication. T h ese are m at­ ters that can b e effectively ad dressed by the divisions and ALA, and resolved in the best interest o f the m em bership. It would b e on e o f my goals to ensure that ALA’s divisions and units have the flexibility to take the initiative on matters o f concern to their mem bers, and that representatives from the divisions and units also contribute to the formulation o f ALA’s policies and the selec­ tion o f representatives to organizations relevant to the divisions and units. 2. A strong ALA with a centralized fo cus provides great strength to the p ro ­ fession. However, ALA is made up of 11 divisions. What should be the ap p rop ri­ ate input from the divisions to ALA in influencing policy and procedure? How should this input be formalized and ob­ tained? ­ 188/C&RL News ■ March 1998 Gomez: T h e form al process for divisions to have input on ALA policy is sp elled out in the policy m anual, Section 6 .4 .III.C. In theory, through this p rocess, the n u ances o f the o p eratin g ag reem en t c a n b e fin e- tuned. O th er m eth od s e x ist inclu d ing form al com m u n icatio n b e tw e e n d ivision lead ers and ALA staff, the Execu tive B oard, and the Council via their division councilor. Recently, the E xecu tive B oard issued a w orking d ocu m ent entitled “New Visions: B ey on d ALA G oal 2 0 0 0 ” to m em bership for review and com m ent. T h e pu rpose o f this docu m ent is to provide a new vision b e ­ yond G oal 2000, the form al five-year initia­ tive o f the association. This process, although in its early stages, should provide an addi­ tional opportunity for d irect-m em ber input into the future d irection o f the association. My e x p erien c e o n the E xecu tive Board has dem onstrated to m e that it is n o easy task to assim ilate the desires, w ishes, and requ ests o f the 11 divisions, cou ntless units, roundtables, and thousands o f mem bers. T he E xecu tive Board has establish ed form al “li­ a iso n ” relationships with many o f our inter­ nal units, offices, and divisions, as w ell as chapters and affiliates. This is o n e way for the Execu tive Board to b e better inform ed about the con cern s o f our m em bers. O ne solu tion might b e to lo o k at the m ake up o f the E xecu tive Board. W hat w ould happ en if w e rep laced the current structure with a “parliam entary-like” structure with represen­ tation from divisions, chapters, and other key constituents? A m ore direct ch an n el to facilitate c o m ­ m u nication across division lines may very likely result. Long: I som etim es think ALA designed itself as a matrix organization b efo re m an­ agem ent theorists thought o f the con cep t. Policy c o n cern s can em erge from any part o f ALA— m em b ersh ip , c o u n c il, E xecu tiv e Board, division, roundtable, ad h oc group X, and w h en they do they deserve the at­ tention o f all approp riate ch an n els, e sp e ­ cially Council, the policy-m aking arm o f ALA. During my service as the president o f an ALA division, and my service on the ALA Council, I gained insight into the im portant role o f the divisional representatives on the ALA C ou ncil. T h e s e divisional cou n cilo rs have the opportunity to com m u nicate ALA’s p ro p o sed p o lic ies and initiatives to divi­ sional officers and boards and the ability to v o ice support o r op p osition on issues per­ tinent to divisional m em bership to the Coun­ cil. In addition, I think it is very important that the division presidents and the presi­ dent o f the ALA regularly com m u nicate their g o a ls an d in itia tiv es. A sy n erg y c a n b e ach ieved that will b e mutually b en eficial to the m em bers. It w ould b e my intent to fur­ ther strengthen these links through personal m eetings at co n fe re n c es and through o n ­ going com m unication via the Internet. A bal­ an ced representation from the divisions on ALA’s com m ittees and task fo rc es is also im portant to ensure that p o licies and pro­ grams are drafted that strengthen ALA and divisional m em bership. It w ould b e my goal to appoint com m ittee and task fo rce m em ­ bers w ho reflect this b alan ce. Furtherm ore, I b eliev e that ALA and divisional execu tive staff are w orking effectively in con cert with o n e another to im prove com m unication and avoid potential conflict. 3. As we m ove inevitably into th electronic information age w here infor­ m ation ca n be obtained increasin gly without a librarian intermediary, what a r e y o u r v iew s o n th e fu tu re o f librarianship o r roles future libraries will play in the inform ation society? Gomez: This is a d iscu ssion that is long overdue. We n eed a national, if not interna­ t i o n a l , “s u m m i t ” o n t h e f u t u r e o f librarianship. No org anization o th er than ALA has the clout and vested interest to help us d efine our roles in shaping the future o f the profession. This will require leadership from ALA. Librarians must con tin u e to fun ction as the hum an bridge betw een print and e le c ­ tronic form ats. This is the primary role for all librarians in the inform ation age— sch o o l librarians, pu blic, academ ic, and special. I b eliev e the p rofession must con tin ue to influence public policy that prom otes and protects a c ce s s to inform ation. This debate n eed s to take p lace in lo cal com m u nities as w ell as in the global arena. Even though t h e r e a r e u n m e d ia t e d r e s o u r c e s in cy b ersp a ce, I b eliev e that librarians must e C&RL News ■ March 1 9 9 8 /1 8 9 also b e re sp o n sib le for d ev elo p in g instru­ m en ts and gu id es for the p u blic to find in­ form ation in this n ew environm en t. Long: T h e ex p o n en tia l grow th o f infor­ m ation and the diversity o f sou rces increases th e im p o rtan ce o f librarian sh ip in the fu­ ture. W hile the n u m b er o f com p u ters and the vo lu m e o f digital inform ation are dra­ m atically in creasin g in our society , a m ajor­ ity o f the United States and the w orld’s p o p u ­ lation still d o n o t have c o n v en ie n t a c c e s s to th ese reso u rces, o r the k n o w led g e to u se them . W hile a c c e s s and k n o w led g e will c er­ tainly in crea se, th e n eed for p rofession ally trained librarians and inform ation s p e cia l­ ists to c rea te, org anize, ev alu ate, acqu ire, interpret, and m an age the new inform ation te ch n o lo g y will also exp an d . J u s t as the printing p ress c rea ted a n eed for a p ro fessio n to build and org anize b o o k c o lle ctio n s resp o n siv e to th e n eed s o f g e n ­ eral an d s p e c ia liz e d u sers, th e e x p lo s iv e grow th o f the c om p u ter and digital infor­ m ation industry un derlin es the n ecessity for o u r p ro fessio n to fu rther ev olv e to b etter evalu ate, org anize, and a c c e s s the floo d o f inform ation b ein g g en erated . T h e future o f o u r p ro fessio n rests o n o u r ability and c o m ­ m itm ent to in v est in th e tim e to p rep are o u rselv es and the n e x t g e n era tio n to u se this tech n o log y . A cadem ic librarians play a critical role in this throu gh their role in the e d u catio n o f u n dergrad uate students. 4. It is som etim es argued that in t legal, medical, and engineering fields, professional certification has led to co n ­ sistent standards o f p ractice and raised the esteem (an d pay) o f the p ractitio ­ ners in those professions. Should ALA su p p o rt ce r tifica tio n o f lib ra ria n s as having a defined set o f skills and body o f knowledge? Should ALA be the certi­ fying agency? Why o r w hy not? Gomez: I su pport certificatio n . It is the con sisten t way to m aintain p rofessional c o m ­ p eten cies and standards. Should ALA d o this? U nder its current corp o rate structure w e c a n ­ n o t grant c ertificatio n w ithout e x p o sin g our a sso c ia tio n to liability. B e c a u s e w e are a ch aritab le n o n p ro fit ed u catio n al org an iza­ tion, w e n e e d to c rea te a sep arate org an iza­ tio n th at has th e leg al auth ority an d th e o b je ctiv e criteria to certify. he Long: I agree that so c ie ty is d em and in g greater a ssu ran ces o f th e c o m p e te n c y o f the service p ro fessio n s, and I b e lie v e it is inevi­ tab le that th ere will b e certificatio n o f li­ brarians. In fact, several states already re ­ quire c ertificatio n o f se le c te d typ es o f librar­ ians. I d o n o t b e lie v e th ere is c o n se n su s as to w h eth er certificatio n sh ou ld b e adm inis­ tered at the state o r nation al level, and w ho sh ou ld estab lish the standards. H ow ever, ALA and its divisions should h av e a role, for they have b e e n very e ffe c ­ tive in setting nation al standards, and they have a lo n g history in th e d ev elo p m en t o f c on tin u in g e d u catio n program s fo r the pro- A LA 's s tre n g th is in th e d iv e r s ity an d e x p e rtise o f its m e m b e rsh ip , a n d I b e lie v e it is im p o rta n t t h a t its d iv is io n s an d u n its h a v e th e o p p o r tu n ity to ta k e p o s itio n s on issu e s p e rtin e n t to t h e ir m e m b e rs .—Sarah A n n Lo n g fession . R esearch and d iscu ssion o n this is­ su e will b e essen tial for ALA, its divisions, and the p ro fessio n . I w ould h o p e to build o n the w o rk that has previously b e e n initi­ ated an d tak e th e o p p o rtu n ity to fu rther clarify and d efin e o u r g o als an d strategies through existing units o r a sp ecial task force. 5. ALA m em b ersh ip m eetings hav been unsuccessful as a m eans fo r ob­ tain in g g e n e ra l m em b ersh ip op in io n fo r several years. There is som e feeling that ALA policy, e.g., on filtering, is in opposition to the views o f the general m em bership. As ALA increases in size and com p lexity, how do you envision that the association will continue to re ­ flect the views o f its m em bership rath er than only the views o f its m em ber lead­ ers? How can ALA’s role in the develop­ m ent o f public policy in areas o f co n ­ ce r n to its m em bers be strengthened? Gomez: V iew s o f th e m em b ersh ip are currently rep resen ted throu gh C ou ncil, the p o lic y -s e ttin g b o d y o f th e o rg a n iz a tio n . (Meet the candidates continued on p. 195) e C&RL News March 1998/195■ published materials from the nineteenth cen ­ tury. T hese scholarly materials— often not found within the current purview o f rare b ook repositories, archives, and special col­ lections— present a significant and growing intellectual, financial, physical, and admin­ istrative challenge to librarians, archivists, and scholars. The program includes a diverse array of plenary addresses, seminar sessions, paper presentations, and workshops designed to foster the investigation o f collection devel­ opment, preservation, public service, tech­ nical service, and administrative issues cen ­ tral to the work o f rare book and special- collection librarians and information profes­ sionals. Speakers: Plenary session speakers— in­ cluding Jo h n Cole, Center for the B ook, Li­ b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s ; N a n c y G w in n , Sm ith so n ia n In stitu tio n L ib raries; A lice S c h re y e r, U n iv e rs ity o f C h ic a g o ; P aul Conway, Yale University Library; Sandria Freitag, American Historical Association, and others— will address key issues relating to the development, research use, and preser­ vation o f nineteenth-century materials. Registration is $175 for ACRL members; $210 for nonm em bers. There is a $50 late fee for registrations received after May 15. Questions: Contact William E. Brown, Jr., University o f Miami, (305) 284-3247; e- mail:wbrown@umiami.kmiami.edu. ( C&RLNews‚ November 1997, p. 690.) ■ (Meet the candidates continued from p. 189) Council represents membership. If the coun­ cil is not representing the “will” o f the mem­ bership, then those w ho are in opposition to current policy should run for Council, or not reelect those w ho do not represent their viewpoint. Membership meetings should be held. T h ey are the only forum in w hich m em bers can com m unicate with each other and association leaders on issues o f con ­ cern. The Council’s recent action at Midwin­ ter to schedule m em bership meetings im­ mediately before Executive Board and Coun- cil-information sessions will improve atten­ dance at mem bership meetings. W e’ve entered the national debate on many fronts. Overall, this is good for the association. The issues that ALA is concerned with are becom ing more com plex. T he are­ nas in which ALA is participating are wider. Yet ALA’s structure is adapting well to the increasing demands from the growing influ­ ence o f information technology in society. Focusing on the cogent initiatives in Goal 2000 is the best way for us to strengthen our role in the development o f public policy. To remain focused w e have to increase the w ays in w hich m em bers co m m u n ica te. There is no doubt that electronic com muni­ cation tools will assist us to create strong ties within the library community and among association m em bers. An aggressive out­ reach, bringing in leaders and participants through our members meetings, conferences and programs, will strengthen our voice in the public policy arena. Long: ALA’s growth and com plexity call for creative new initiatives to increase m em­ b er awareness o f the important issues con ­ fronting our profession and to grant them greater input and involvement in the for­ mulation o f policies and programs reflec­ tive o f their priorities and views. In that re­ gard, I believe there are several exam ples that illustrate what good leadership can ac­ complish. President Barbara Ford has pro­ posed greater use o f the Internet to permit more m em bers who are unable to attend ALA con ferences to participate in commit­ tee work, and the ALA Council has waived existing restrictive policies to permit this to be tested. President-Elect Ann Symons has adopted as her goal the developm ent o f a new intellectual freedom statement for the electronic age. To gain broad input from all sectors o f the mem bership, she has initiated an innovative drafting and revision process. There are many other exam ples o f cre­ ative leadership in the ALA, ACRL, and the other ALA divisions. It would be my intent to draw upon these successful programs, as well as my own experience as a multitype library system administrator in gaining in­ put from a diverse and talented constitu­ ency. Large and com plex organizations are cap able o f achieving m ajor goals, if they have creative, energetic leadership commit­ ted to effective com m u nication with the membership. ■ mailto:wbrown@umiami.kmiami.edu