ALA Council/EB/Membership & Information Meeting

The Membership meeting provided some interesting bits of information regarding our association.  I enjoy these meetings because they help people to understand how ALA works, how it all effects them, and how the things that ALA does sets the stage for national and local legislation which affects libraries as well as professional development opportunities.  If you want to see any of the reports, they are available to ALA Members with an ALA Connect account at:  http://connect.ala.org/council.  I also have them downloaded and can send them to you if you would like to see any.

One particularly exciting piece of information was the news that ALA was in the black at the end of the Fiscal Year (Sept 1, 2013-Aug 15, 2014), primarily due to good market conditions and responses to investments.  ALA has been struggling a bit due to declining membership, recession-based market loss, and we are seeking alternate streams of revenues.

ALA Executive Director  Keith Michael Fiels asked to make everyone aware of an upcoming bill affecting School Library & Media programs which will be coming through Congress fairly quickly.  For more information on the bill, see: http://www.ed.gov/esea

Another interesting issue that was discussed at the membership meeting was the proposal to allow programs at ALA MW meetings and make it more like ALA Annual meetings.  BARC (Budget Analysis Review Committee) took a look at the fiscal impact of the proposal on the association, consulted with the Conference Planning Committee, and found they were unable to support the proposal and recommended to the EB that MW maintain its current footprint because:

• Cost of meeting space & audiovisual support are significant 
• Costs associated with program development by members, committees, divisions, round tables, and staff were seen as very considerable in both staff and volunteer time 
• Would have an increase in size, etc. so would have to renegotiate hotel contracts, convention center contracts, etc. to accommodate 
• Conference committee has other models to propose that will be coming forward soon.

One last resource I learned about at the meeting as the ALA Financial Learning Series -- a series of free webinars to help individuals and libraries with their own fiscal responsibility as well as understanding how ALA's fiscal processes work.  Check them out at:  http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/financialdata/treasurerspage

Next up... Presidential Candidates Forum!