Councilor-at-Large Orientation

I was elected as an ALA Councilor-at-Large in the May election, and today I had my orientation session. It was exciting, albeit a bit intimidating. When I attended ALA in Washington, D.C. last year, I picked-up a bright pink sheet of paper at Affiliate Assembly that was seeking AASL members to run for a position as Councilor-at-Large; the idea was to provide AASL with a larger voice in the Council. I had recently been appointed to several AASL committees and task forces and thought that running for this position made sense. I received encouragement from my colleagues on the MSLA executive board, filled-out the online application with detailed information, and then wrote a brief statement. I eventually received an e-mail from the nomination committee chair informing me that I was approved to run in the election. This is one of the ways I am giving back to my chosen profession, and my time is my own, as I am retired and my children are grown.

I am sure that some of you might be unsure what the Council does, and I will attempt to explain. I have to admit that the Council's role in ALA was a bit fuzzy before I attended this orientation session. The ALA Council is ALA's governing body. There are approximately 185 members of the Council; a hundred of those members are Councilors-at-Large who are elected by ALA members. The 11 divisions of ALA each have one Councilor who is elected by that division's membership. There are also 53 Chapter Councilors, 12 Executive Board members, and 10 Round Table Councilors.

The Council meets four times during Mid-Winter and four times during the Annual Conference. Its duties revolve around determining policies for ALA, although the Council does delegate some of its authority to the Executive Board, the divisions, and other ALA units. There are also numerous other Council duties that I will highlight in future posts. I will be officially seated during Mid-Winter, 2009, and I am looking forward to an interesting and challenging learning experience. Stay tuned, as there is more to follow.