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May 28, 2008
ALA Emerging Leaders Program: non-librarians and non-conference-attendees need not apply
Lori Reed talks about the ALA Emerging Leaders Program, which requires that one be a MLS-holding librarian to participate. She laments the fact that ALA is shunning its "support staff" and not allowing them to be part of this, and sending the message that they can't be leaders too. I agree with Lori wholeheartedly. All of ALA's divisions, chapters, and committees need to rethink the way they ask for member participation. If it's an organization for all, its activities should be for all. I would like to see all library organizations encourage more support of the library world's non-librarian staff. Libraries only run because they're here - let's pay them the respect they deserve.
Side note: Interestingly enough, I wanted to apply for the Emerging Leaders Program too but did not do so because of a different reason than Lori's: the program requires in-person attendance at both ALA conferences. I do not have institutional support to attend those conferences, so it would be my dollars and possibly my vacation time. It would also be my poor body that would be traveling in an airplane - something I avoid because of a health condition. Can we not communicate and participate and network virtually?
I participate in LITA's Top Tech Trends Committee, and have to asynchronously virtually participate each year via LITA's blog because I do not attend the conference (which should mean I can't even be on the committee, but I have continued to participate this way for a few years now). Why do we place such high value on in-person attendance at conferences for something like this when there are so many technology tools to help us communicate (VOIP, chat, video conferencing, etc.)? I'm pretty sure I can become an "Emerging Leader" without going to a two-hour elbow-rubbing party at ALA. I'm willing to bet there are others who didn't apply for that reason as well - not enough time, money, or ability to travel far from home.
How many new leaders are we losing because of the librarian requirement? And how many because of the traveling requirement? I wonder. I really do.
May 28, 2008 | Permalink
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Comments
Lose leaders? Because they don't get to participate in this program? I sure hope not, or they weren't leaders to begin with.
Sure, it would be nice if ALA would pay more heed to support staff, and finally do something progressive about virtual conference attendance, but as other comments have said, being or not being in the EL program does not mean you are or are not a leader.
At the base of it, it's a networking and development opportunity for people who either want to get more involved in ALA itself or just want a shiny star next to their name for awhile.
Support staff should be recognized at the institutional level; I'm sure that's more important to them than what someone at ALA thinks.
Posted by: Ahniwa | October 9, 2008
Hi Sarah,
1. You do not NEED this program. You have already emerged!!
2. A lot of us are financially sponsored. I have to attend both ALA conferences anyhow (to serve on a couple ALSC committees.) Because of my Emerging Leaders sponsorship, most of my trip fees will be covered in 2009. ALSC also allows for a certain amount of virtual membership on its committees. I'm not sure if the same is true in all ALA divisions.
3. I agree that library staff at all levels should be considered for ALA leadership positions and special opportunities like Emerging Leaders.
4. I'll let you know how meaningful the in-person presentations are post-Conference!
-Maddy
Posted by: Maddy | October 7, 2008
I was annoyed at the Emerging Leaders when I saw their age requirement. I felt the same way that I did when I realized that I would never be a Rhodes Scholar (their age limit was 24 at the time that I looked).
The thing is, people bloom at different ages. I didn't get serious about school until I turned 30. However, I don't regret a thing. If I would have gotten my B.A. at 22 instead of 43, I would have been less educated than I am now.
Posted by: Debra | June18, 2008
RE: in person aspect.
The idea for the program is great, but there is some major work that needs to be done to make the F2F time worth it. The F2F program that we did have at Midwinter in large groups was listening to people tell talk at us about how to have social skills! I personally found it a little demeaning to sit in a room and be talked at and could have used my day in a more constructive learning environment. I look forward seeing what changes they will make to the program from this year's Emerging Leaders' input.
Posted by: Emily | June 6, 2008
I second the need for communicating & networking virtually. I personally believe that this should be a most important concern in light of the rising fuel costs. What better group to push travelling less (and in turn consuming less fuel!) & networking and collaborating virtually (differently than what we're used to) than librarians?
I cancelled the rest of my workshops for this year, myself. If I can't find the info online, then it's going to have to wait. I'm trying not to drive more than I absolutely have to.
Posted by: Kim | June 3, 2008
I got behind on my feeds so it took a while to find this post.
I was thrilled to see you commenting here on one of my coworkers blog, Lori is a good friend as well.
Posted by: Mary | June 3, 2008
I was an EL last year and it ended up be a lot more money than I wanted it to be. I do have to say that attending the conferences was very valuable experience and an investment in my career and profession. My issue is that ELs are suppose to commit to another 2 years in a committee who wants you to attend their future conferences. I wish we could break from the requirement of MLIS for this program. Our profession would be much richer if we pulled individuals from varied backgrounds.
Posted by: Sarah | May31, 2008
How about the age requirement? I guess I don't matter in the field because I'm now 36 even though I'm new. Can't be an Emerging Leader if you're heading towards middle-age. That certainly smacks of ageism.
Posted by: J | May30, 2008
Thanks Jenny for the information. I guess for me it's not about the percentage of required F2F time, versus virtual time. But rather the requirement that in one year I have to travel across country twice to be a part of this program, and most other ALA programs and committees. I just feel that this requirement is just too much for some of us. I understand the desire to create camaraderie, or even the argument as an ALA members I should be going to all ALA conferences anyway, but again...for some of us, it is just too much. I guess I just have to live with that limitation.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) | May29, 2008
I'm a EL participant this year, and thus far (one out of two meetings accomplished) I didn't find the in-person aspect all that helpful. I was expecting more opportunities to talk and interact with my fellow participants but we ended up spending most of the time in our project groups.
Posted by: DerikB | May29, 2008
I'm glad to hear they're going to reconsider the requirements, but I also wanted to note that the majority of the project takes place virtually.
The first meeting at Midwinter is a kickoff to create a cohort and teach participants about leadership. The groups then spend January through June working together virtually on their projects so that they are ready for Annual where they present them as poster sessions. Each team usually draws from institutions around the country, so it pretty much has to be done virtually, which means they're learning those types of collaborative and leadership skills, too.
I'll bet more virtual elements could be added to the physical meetings, but as a percentage of project time, the f2f requirement is actually fairly low. In fact, the EL program is actually a pretty good model that proves ALA *can* make virtual collaboration work on a small scale. Now we just have to make it work on a big one.
Posted by: Jenny Levine | May29, 2008
Lori's update can be found here - in this post there is a small paragraph saying that she was told that ALA would reconsider their requirements for the program. Yay!
Posted by: Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) | May29, 2008
I was a paraprofessional library assistant for 14 years before I got my MLIS, and I did a lot of things that were completely underappreciated, but I did not begrudge my employers. Oddly, I've never had a boss that has their MLIS/MLS degree. Isn't that weird? Even now as a librarian... still... I'm the first librarian here and the first one with the degree in the agency. In this case, and there are hundreds like us across the country, we need all the support we can get to make changes. I think that there are opportunities for paraprofessionals, and I didn't take advantage of those enough when I was one. I don't regret it, but I wish there were more. I think that there should be different opportunities, but I do think that the degree is really necessary in a lot of cases, and not necessary in others.
The travel part doesn't really bother me so much, and I definitely make the very, very low end of the salary range... You'd be surprised, and I'm not gonna say...
Posted by: amy | May29, 2008
I agree with the person above who said there are many ways to be a leader without being a leader within ALA. The ALA Emerging Leaders program is specifically about getting people involved in leadership positions within ALA. I'm sure you develop leadership skills useful outside of the organization as well, but this is, of course, not the only way to develop those skills.
And I wish I could say I agree about the travel requirement. I'm one of those younger, digital age librarian types who should be all gung-ho about virtual participation. But I think there is something to be said still for working together face-to-face that the digital just can't 100% account for yet. Or maybe ever.
Posted by: laura k | May29, 2008
If we were looking for a way to become more engaged in supporting a positive change for prospetive library leaders, it appears that we're well on our way. Lori has just posted a somewhat hopeful update on her site, and I've added to the discussion with a new posting on the ALA CLENE blog at http://cebuzz.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/on-leadership-training-and-the-opening-of-doors/.
Posted by: Paul Signorelli | May28, 2008
Our Boss is a Library Technician (due to a whole complicated process where our old Librarian boss left and they wanted someone they knew to fill the role) and she does a great job. She is learning all the stuff we were taught in our library degrees really quickly, and is actually leading the way in a number of areas in ways that other qualified librarians are not. We are currently organising an unconference about libraries and web 2.0 tools and she is right behind us, whilst some librarians invited to the unconference can't see how computers relate to libraries at all. Clearly you don't have to be qualified to do a good job as a manager and be a good leader in the field.
Posted by: Merriwyn | May28, 2008
Meeting virtually for the program would probably exclude as many people as requiring in-person attendance at a conference-- some library folk may lack the technology or tech savvy, and some (unenlightened) bosses may not virtual meetings are as important in-person meetings, so they might not allow staff to attend on work time. Maybe there needs to be a middle ground, with options to attend either way.
Posted by: jill | May28, 2008
I attend ALA when I can, and if I was selected as an Emerging Leader, I'd go, even though it would mostly be on my own dime.
That said, there is so little transparency as to why people are selected - is it all about whether the essay they write hit the notes that whoever selects the participants is thinking about that year. And who makes the selection anyway? There's another non-transparent point. I'm not saying that they need to say "you didn't get selected because we think you suck", but it really seems arbitrary when you look at the names of those who got selected.
Posted by: Laura | May28, 2008
You can certainly be a leader without the emerging leader stamp of approval from ALA. I am more curious about what the end product is for this program. It is great to have this, but with the in-person filter, and the actual assignment not implemented anywhere, is this just a dog and pony show?
Posted by: Jeff | May28, 2008
Chalk me up for the travel requirement. While I could probably get some institutional support, at least in time off to attend, I don't see schlepping to two general conferences a year as particularly useful uses of my time. Especially when there are so many other division and smaller independent conferences that are doing such cool things. Sure I'd love to go and see what's going on but every six months? Plus--and I will probably harp on this until the end of time--having an annual conference in the middle of summer means most children's librarians are automatically unable to go.
Posted by: Abigail | May28, 2008
I strongly agree with you on this issue. I actuall heard about that program and just overlooked once I saw that you had to have an MLIS to participate. Non-librarians like myself do not get the respect they deserve. Libraries would cease to run if not for support staff and I do think we are an underappreciated bunch. So thank you for posting this opinion.
Posted by: Theresa | May28, 2008
Sarah,
I say that you and I can be and are leaders, despite being sanctioned by the ALA. I am a working reference librarian and I do not have an MLS, but that is not going to stop me from leading or challenging the library world and providing the best possible service to my patrons. The ALA can be as snooty as it wants and I will continue to keep my membership money.
Argh!
Posted by: Tim K | May28, 2008
I absolutely agree with your statement. How can you be an "emerging leader" without already being established enough to afford thousands of dollars of requirement money. It smacks of elitism to me.
Posted by: Melissa Jeffrey | May28, 2008
