Meet the candidates Vote in the election this spring Loida Garcia-Febo Terri Grief Scott Walter he ACRL Board of Directors posed the • ALA will have a place and a voice at Tfollowing questions to the candidates the decision-makers’ table, particularly for (Grief and Walter are ACRL members) for those in our communities with no voice. ALA president, and C&RL News is pleased to We will amplify their concerns to Congress, publish their responses. Each candidate was at the state house, in city councils, and to given 1,200 words in which he or she could school boards. respond to six questions and contribute an • ALA will build coalitions with like- optional opening statement; the responses are minded partners sharing our values. identified under each question. • ALA will facilitate joint work among its units to promote diversity and equity in our Opening statement profession and association. Loida Garcia-Febo: I am a librarian, an • ALA will train our members to flourish advocate, and an activist. Libraries change throughout their careers to lead, serve, and lives for Americans in every community in empower our libraries, patrons, and com- our nation. Our strong value system propels munities. us to create new ways to help children read, • ALA will advance our concerns through assist job seekers, support first-generation actions conveyed by pillars of ALA’s Strategic college students, and connect battered Plan—advocacy, information policies, diversity women and children with shelters. and inclusion, and professional and leadership Thanks to our work, libraries remain the development. true bastion of intellectual freedom, democracy, These are challenging times, and I am diversity, and social responsibility in our com- confident that together, we can bring change. munities. Given the threats we face to these core values, we cannot afford to stay on the sidelines. Strong experience • I have been a librarian in academic, My vision for the association school, and special libraries in Puerto Rico, • ALA will be the leading voice advocating and public library in Queens; for libraries and library users while maintaining • consultant, educator, and mentor of new our core values. librarians; C&RL News March 2017 146 • advocate for libraries at United Nations was, this election takes place in the shadow with civil society partners, private and public of one of the most unexpected turns ever organizations; and in American politics, and one that has al- • advocate at grassroots and national ready shown us how hard we must work levels to impact policy. in defense of free speech, copyright, an independent press, net neutrality, a diverse Strong leadership student body, etc. Many of us in ACRL built • I am currently a member of the ALA our lives in libraries around the idea of col- Executive Board, Finance and Audit Com- laboration, and the need for a collaborative, mittee, IFLA Governing Board, and chair of action-oriented mindset has never been Action for Development Through Libraries; clearer. We have a renewed mandate to • chaired the Intellectual Freedom Round work with campus colleagues to promote Table, International Relations Committee, information literacy, media literacy, and and the Committee on Membership Meetings engaged citizenship, and alongside faculty, to establish ALA’s Annual Virtual Meeting; students, and community groups to advocate • served on ALA’s round tables, divisions, for our core values in support of institutional and not-for-profits like the Gates Foundation mission, especially as these align with our Global Libraries; and was commitments to intellectual freedom, social • REFORMA President (2009–10). justice, and the public good. We have not faced challenges like these in my lifetime, As ALA president, I will build on the and ACRL members have much to contribute Libraries Transform communities partner- to the work ahead. ship launched by Molly Raphael, Maureen I bring to ALA leadership over 20 years of Sullivan, and Barbara Stripling; the career experience working in higher education and development initiatives of Courtney Young; collaborating with campus and community the Libraries Transform campaign of Past partners to design and deliver programs that President Sari Feldman; the Expert in the make a difference for our librarians, faculty, Library focus of ALA President Julie B. staff, and students. I bring a passion and Todaro; and the Libraries Lead theme of commitment to our field shared with many ALA President-Elect Jim Neal. I will work of you during a career that has allowed with ALA divisions, members, chapters, the me to teach, write, and speak to local, Librarian of Congress, and international state, national, and international audiences colleagues to advance our profession. I am about the value of libraries. I bring a “bias eager to work with you as ALA president. toward action” that has allowed me to work Thank you for your vote. alongside many of you to bring changes to academic libraries, move discussions of the Scott Walter: Thank you for the opportu- future of libraries forward, and make certain nity to share some ideas with fellow ACRL that libraries are seen as valued partners in members. all endeavors where we should have a role. Let’s begin by acknowledging that higher Now is not a time to be timid in defense of education has been under pressure for higher education, libraries, or the fundamen- years, and that my home state of Illinois is tal liberties that both have worked to ensure. on the leading edge of this trend. Economic You have never known me to be timid. changes, demographics, and partisan politics ACRL members must be leaders on cam- have come together to present an unprec- pus, in our communities, and in ALA, as we edented challenge to financial support for work to defend the values that brought us higher education, individual students, and into this field. I know you are, and I invite our state library consortium. As challenging you to learn more about my candidacy at as our situation in higher education already www.walter4ala.org/. March 2017 147 C&RL News 1. What do you see as the greatest fall and rise, division-wise, according to the challenges facing ALA in the coming conference year, but we have to do some few years? very harsh self reflection if we find a common Garcia-Febo: Libraries are pillars of public reason. Attracting new members should be a education. Libraries are changing lives in our priority, not so much because we need the communities every day. We will face chal- numbers, but we should be evangelical about lenges to keep libraries open, provide services our message and our importance to their daily to all—immigrants, first-generation college lives. I know that many school libraries are students, persons with disabilities, and LGBT isolated and they do not see the connection populations. Access to information, which as to ALA. However, when we can talk about per the United Nations is a human right, will the Every Student Succeeds Act and the role be challenged by modifications to NSA, net that ALA played in the passage of that, this neutrality, filters, censorship, privacy, broad- should resonate as a reason to join. I want to band access, copyright matters, and access to add members to help them, not just to add e-resources. members to our rosters. Grief: There are several things that I see Walter: As ALA president, I will work with as challenges. The first one is the retirement all members and ACRL to support our mem- of ALA staff that have been instrumental in bers’ developing knowledge, initiatives for the success of ALA. Don Chatham, publish- student success, retention, and information ing; Keith Fiels, executive director; and Emily literacy. Additionally, I believe that libraries Sheketoff, Washington Office, have years of building capacity through education will relationships and contacts with both members strengthen resilience long after the threats and other associations that will be hard to rep- over our core values have been destroyed. licate. I have faith that the search committee Together, we can bring change to impact for executive director and the ALA Executive policies, and benefit our profession and our Board will find a great person to take over as communities. executive director and he or she will lead our The greatest challenges seem to stem from association through staff changes. the unprecedented assault on free speech, Another challenge is the current threats freedom of inquiry, independent media, ac- to our core values. We have to remain strong cess to information, and the idea of the public together as an association, and we have to good that have become part of mainstream develop strong relationships with others who politics. This represents not only a threat to are being threatened with this. We’ve had close the core values on which our professions are ties to the ACLU, but we must become even founded, and to information policies crucial tighter aligned with them. There are many, to our ability to provide library services, but many others, including First Amendment Co- also to our ability to recruit, retain, and en- alition, Planned Parenthood, National Science gage our membership. An ACRL member was Foundation, NAACP, American Bar Associa- one of the co-organizers of Atlanta’s March tion, Mexican American Legal Defense, and for Social Justice and Women, and all ALA Education Fund, that will be standing up for members will face personal choices in the our democrat values. coming years about where to devote their Attracting new members and retaining cur- time, energy, and passion to make a differ- rent members is a constant challenge. If we ence for the issues and people who matter are meeting the needs of members, retaining most to them.