ALA’s Annual Conference was held on June 23-27 in Chicago, IL.  ALA’s Council meets three times at each conference.  The full list of documents and actions taken are available via the links below.

Council Documents – http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/council-documents

Council Actions – http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/council_actions

Actions taken at ALA Annual this year include the adoption of CD#41, An American Library Association Statement of Global Climate Change and a Call for Support for Libraries and Librarians and the adoption of CD#44.2, Resolution on Libraries as Responsible Spaces.

In addition to the resolutions above, Council also voted to add the definitions of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion developed by the Task Force (2015-2016 ALA CD#38_61316_INF, Recommendation #4.2) to the ALA Policy Manual; audit all definitions of equity, diversity, and inclusion across the association to ensure the broadest possible understanding; and explore core values and roles and responsibilities statements to assess equity, diversity, and inclusion. (ALA CD#44.1_62517_ACT)  Council also voted to adopt the Interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights dealing with Politics in American Libraries and with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CD#19.12-13).

Memorial resolutions were passed honoring Eric Moon, Marija C. Sanderling, Robert Henry ‘Bob’ Rohlf, Dorothy Evans, Joy L. Lowe, Pauline Manaka, and Amanda Rudd.  Tribute resolutions were passed honoring Keith Michael Fiels and the 20^th Anniversary of Victory in the Communications Decency Act (CDA) Case.

I will continue to forward emails to the TLA list and will keep the Board updated on information from ALA Council and ALA as I receive it. If there are questions about the information here, any of the emails that I have sent to the listserv, or about ALA and Council in general, please let me know! I can be reached via email at tla.alacouncilor@gmail.com

June, 2016

ALA’s Annual Conference was held on June 24-28 in Orlando, FL.  ALA’s Council meets three times at each conference.  I have included below a list of links to the various documents and information that are involved in Council. There’s even an audio recording of each Council meeting if anyone is interested in hearing the actual discussions.

Council Agendas – http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/council_agendas

Council Documents – http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/council-documents

Council Recordings – http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/councilaudio

Council Actions – http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/council_actions

A number of resolutions were discussed by Council in these sessions.  This included ALA CD# 44, Resolution Calling Upon Libraries to Build More Inclusive Communities; ALA CD# 45, Resolution on Gun Violence Affecting Libraries, Library Workers, and Library Patrons; ALA CD# 39, Resolution in Support of the Professional Cataloging Processes and Determinations of the Library of Congress; ALA CD# 40, Resolution Concerning the Role of Chapters in the American Library Association; ALA CD#20.4, Resolution Urging Immediate Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Bind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled; ALA CD# 20.6, Resolution on Equity for School Libraries for the Department of Education Making Rules for ESSA; and ALA CD# 20.7, Resolution on Equity for All in School Libraries.

As you can see, this conference had a very wide variety of topics to cover and there were many good discussions held by Councilors.  The resolution on gun violence was deferred to the MidWinter Meeting in January, 2017.  The text of the resolution as it stands now is available in the report on the Actions of the ALA Council at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference.  If you have any feedback, please send it to me so that I can pass that along to the appropriate ALA bodies before the MidWinter Meeting.  The resolution on the role of chapters was sent to a working group on chapter engagement and communication.  The full text of that resolution is also available in the report on the Actions of the ALA Council at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference.  Any feedback would be welcomed and I will pass it along to the working group.  All of the other resolutions mentioned above were adopted and are available in the Council Actions document listed at the top of the report.

Memorial resolutions were passed honoring Shereen Marx, Kuang-Hwei (Janet) Lee-Smeltzer, Richard C. Fyffe, Billy Charles Beal, Allene Farmer Hayes, Linda Waddle, Ned Vizzini, John Ganly, Naomi Kietzke Young, Orvin Lee Shiflet, Richard Sweeney, Dolores Bullock Owen, Trudy Seidel Jaques, Larry Romans, Charles Weld Robinson, and Victims of the Pulse Nightclub Shootings.  The full text of the memorial resolution for Larry is available on the ALA website.

Tribute resolutions were passed honoring Barbara Blosveren; James H. Billington; the 25^th Anniversary of the Video Round Table; the 25^th Anniversary of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs; Thanking Mary Alice Baish for her service as the 30^th GPO Superintendent of Documents; and Appreciation to Congressional Champions for Support of School Libraries and School Librarians in the Every Student Succeeds Act.

I have also passed along information received through the various ALA listservs to the TLA listserv.

If there are questions about the information here, any of the emails that I have sent to the listserv, or about ALA and Council in general, please let me know! I can be reached via email at tla.alacouncilor@gmail.com.