Providing, Promoting, Producing—

Welcome to the American Library

Association

1. What is ALA all about?

Founded in 1876, ALA is the oldest, largest, and

most influential library association in the world.

The association represents all types of libraries and all types of members.

Types of libraries:AcademicPublicSchoolSpecialState

Types of members:LibrariansLibrary StaffInstitutionsTrusteesAuthorsPublishersSupporters

2. What does ALA do?

Which is why we asked you to become an employee of the ALA!

The goal of the association is to make sure that everyone has

access to the best library services possible.

3. Staff

Providing a national forum to advance library services,Promoting libraries to the public,Producing tools librarians need to do their jobs.

Members and membership activities are supported by a staff of approximately 280 employees. The work of ALA focuses on three key areas:

4. What’s ahead...Divisions and Organizational Structure

Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting

ALA Key Action Areas

A Voice for Libraries in the Nation’s Capital

Promoting Libraries

Tools of the Trade: Publishing, Products, and Services

Special Projects and National Initiative

As we continue we’ll take a closer look at ALA and some of the activities that put the goals of ALA into action.

5. Divisions, Offices

ALA includes a number of divisions that concentrate on particular types of libraries or

library services. All ALA members are eligible to join one or more of

these divisions of ALA.

Divisions, Offices

There are 11 divisions, each with its own officers, member committees, and staff, each division sponsors a variety

of programs, publications, and projects. Also, there are 15 offices,

each with its own staff, and several of the offices sponsor a variety of

programs and projects.

ALA’s DivisionsAmerican Association of School Librarians (AASL)

American Library Trustees & Advocates (ALTA)

Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS)

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)

Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)

Library Administration & Management Association (LAMA)

Library and Information Technology Association (LITA)

Public Library Association (PLA)

Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

ALA’s OfficesChapter Relations (CRO)Development Office International Relations (IRO)Office for Accreditation Office for Diversity (OFD)Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR)Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP)Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF)Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS)Office for Research and Statistics (ORS)Office of ALA GovernanceOffice of Government Relations (OGR)Public Information Office (PIO)Public Programs Office (PPO)Washington Office

6. Key Action AreasALA is committed to five Key Action Areas as guiding principles for investment of energies and resources:Diversity• Diversity is a fundamental value of the Association and its members,

and is reflected in its commitment to recruiting people of color and people with disabilities to the profession and to the promotion and development of library collections and services for all people.

Education and Continuous Learning• The Association provides opportunities for the professional

development and education of all library staff members and trustees; it promotes continuous, lifelong learning for all people through library and information services of every type.

Equity of Access• The Association advocates funding and policies that support libraries

as great democratic institutions, serving people of every age, income level, location, ethnicity, or physical ability, and providing the full range of information resources needed to live, learn, govern, and work.

Key Action AreasIntellectual Freedom• Intellectual freedom is a basic right in a democratic society and a

core value of the library profession. The American Library Association actively defends the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

21st Century Literacy• The American Library Association assists and promotes libraries in

helping children and adults develop the skills they need—the ability to read and use computers—understanding that the ability to seek and effectively utilize information resources is essential in a global information society.

7. Annual Conference Activities

Inauguration of ALA’s president and officers for the year.Committee and council meetings to transact the business of the association.Feature programs to honor famous authors and other well-known speakers.An opportunity for publishers to promote authors and their latest books and exhibitors who specialize in services and equipment specifically designed for libraries.

8. Midwinter MeetingIn January, ALA holds a Midwinter Meeting that focuses on association business. Programs include:

Meetings of affiliate organizations, such as the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) or REFORMA (National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking)Meetings of the Executive Board and special committees charged with carrying out particular items on the association's agenda

9. Our Washington Office

Secure funding for libraries,Protect everyone’s right to access information and provide affordable Internet access at libraries,Demonstrate to Congress that libraries are important to everyone by organizing grass-roots library supporters throughout the year, especially on Library Legislative Day, held each year in May.Keep the Institute of Museum and Library Services—a separate federal agency that promotes and supports libraries—informed on library issues.

Works with Congress and government officials to:

Our Washington OfficeThe main membership groups that work with the Washington Office are the Legislation Committee and the Public Awareness Committee.

The Public Information Office at ALA, works closely with the Washington Office because they often deal with issues that make headlines.

ALA members and others keep up with library legislative issues by subscribing to ALAWON, the Washington Office’s electronic news alert system.

10. Promoting LibrariesOne of ALA’s jobs is to keep libraries in the public eye, highlighting the variety of services and programs that are available and this is done by:

Each year in April, National Library Week is an opportunity for libraries throughout the country to hold events that promote reading and librariesProducing hundreds of press releases each year about programs and events at libraries; these are available online and in print from the Public Information Office (PIO).

Promoting LibrariesThe Allied Professional Association of the American Library Association (ALA-APA) sponsors the National Library Workers Day to recognize all library workers, including librarians, support staff and others who make library service possible every day. National Library Workers Day was established by a resolution passed by the ALA-APA Council during the ALA Conference in Toronto in June 2003. The message of National Library Workers Day is "Libraries Work Because We Do" and libraries are also invited to use the slogan "We work @ your library®" to tie into ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries. Libraries may customize the first slogan by adding the library’s name to the beginning, e.g., Freedom Public Library Works Because We Do.

Promoting LibrariesALA has made a multi-year commitment to speak loudly and clearly about the value of libraries and librarians to our communities, schools, academic institutions, and businesses, as well as to our society, democracy, and the new digital age.

Czech out Prague @ your library®

Untangle The Web @ your library®

Everything You Can Imagine @ your library®

American Libraries magazine - is the official journal of the association.Three magazines are sold by subscription:

Booklist: reviews new adult and children’s books (and other media) twice monthly.Book Links: aimed at using trade books across the school curriculum.Choice: reviews scholarly books of academic interest.

Books published by ALA Editions on subjects of interest to professional librarians.Division publications such as College & Research Libraries (ACRL) and Public Libraries (PLA), are usually offered with membership in the division.

11. ALA Publishing

12. Special Projects

Literacy programs involving local libraries as demonstration sites

KidsConnect an online Q&A service in which school librarians volunteer to answer kids’ questions about the Internet, (more)

The Spectrum Initiative, established in 1997, is the American Library Association’s national diversity and recruitment effort. The Initiative is designed to address the specific issue of underrepresentation of critically needed ethnic librarians while serving as a model for ways to bring attention to larger diversity issues within the profession.

ALA helps librarians get the resources, training, and support they need to develop new programs. We help spread the word about local programs nationwide. These include:

Special ProjectsAmong the projects developed by the Public Programs Office (PPO) are traveling exhibitions, book and media discussion programs, continuing education opportunities, live author and artist events, and a variety of professional resources for librarians. These projects include:

Traveling exhibitions - Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature, Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation, and Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend.Discussion series, such as Let’s Talk About It-Jewish Literature, Becoming an American Writer: The Life and Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer, and The Sixties: America’s Decade of Crisis and Change.StoryLines America, a radio/library series exploring regional literature.Mixed collection development/programming efforts such as the We The People Bookshelf project and the Human Rights Video Project. Library Networks for Literature, a “LIVE! @ your library®” project to create regional networks to support literature and literary programming and dialogue through libraries.

13. How To Keep Up1. All-staff meetings are held about once a month; Unit

Manager meetings are twice a month (minutes are posted for all to read); and weekly Senior Management Group meetings are held.

2. The Headquarters library on the third floor, 40 East, has many great resources to help you.

3. Monthly you’ll receive a copy of ALA’s journal, American Libraries.

4. The staff newsletter, HR Connections, is published bimonthly.

5. Visit ALA’s website (www.ala.org) and the intranet (alainet) often. These are some of the most up-to-date sources of information.

6. Finally, join the ALA Staff Association (membership is open to all employees) and join the all-staff year-round events! The ALA Staff Association News is published monthly and sent to all employees.

14. Key ALA StaffSenior Management Team

Greg Calloway, AED, Financial Services

Don Chatham, AED, Publishing Services

Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director

Mary Ghikas, Senior AED, Member Programs and Services

Gerald Hodges, AED, Communications

Dorothy Ragsdale, Director, Human Resources

Susan Roman, Director, Development Office

Emily Sheketoff, AED, Washington Office

Sherri Vanyek, Director, Information Technology & Telecommunication Services

Julie Walker, Executive Director, AASL/YALSA

In Conclusion...Welcome to American Library Association, we are glad to have you as a new member of the team. Please remember if you have questions, ideas, or concerns we want to hear from you.