Look, I know many of you are not members of ALA and can't vote, but I am and I want to encourage all of you who are members to please vote in the elections happening right now.
Personally, I have two reasons why I am still an ALA member. First, I believe strongly that when there needs to be change you must put yourself in the position to make change. I have been working within the structure of ALA and behind the scenes to do that. Voting is one of those ways you can make that change. And second, and this one is practical and deals with the expense, I pay for all of my memberships (ALA, PLA, RUSA, and United for Libraries) for myself, but I also make more than I pay from ALA every year-- between my book royalties and my reviews for Booklist, and a few other paid things I do for ALA. So I feel like it is a financial beneficial payoff. That being said, I also understand that for many library workers, the cost-benefit analysis does not favor membership.
But since I am a member and I take my vote seriously, I always appreciate Circulating Ideas' annual conversations with the candidates for President of ALA. There is no better resource for hearing from the candidates that Steve's podcast.
Please click here or use the links below to listen and if you are a member, vote! You have until April 5th.
237: ALA Presidential Candidates (2023)
Cindy Hohl is past president of the American Indian Library Association and is an active member of other ALA affiliates, including the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, Black Caucus of ALA, Chinese American Librarians Association and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. As a member of the Public Library Association, a division of ALA, she currently co-chairs the Membership Advisory Group, and was a member of the PLA Strategic Plan Review Team. Hohl is also a member of several round tables: Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT), Library Research Round Table (LRRT), and Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT). Hohl holds a Bachelor of Science in Organization Management and Leadership from Friends University, a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Baker University.
Eric D. Suess is the Director of the Marshall Public Library in Pocatello, Idaho. He has been active in ALA for thirty-five years, including twelve years as a Councilor At-Large, where he was involved in several council committees, including the Policy Monitoring Committee, Committee on Legislation and the Committee on Organization. He is currently a member of the following ALA divisions: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Core, PLA and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). He also belongs to several round tables, including International Relations Round Table (IRRT), IFRT, Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) and Games and Gaming Round Table (GAMERT). He is an active member of the Idaho Library Association, a chapter of ALA, where he previously chaired its Intellectual Freedom Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Michigan. His wife Karen works with special needs students at Pocatello High School. When not at work, Eric is usually acting in or directing community theater productions. He is currently playing George in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”.
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