#team ala

[americanlibraryassoc]

ALA HQ had a blast at our annual Halloween party. Congrats to our costume winners: Mrs. Doubtfire (1st place), A1 Steak Sauce (2nd place) and JSTOR (3rd place).

Happy Halloween!

[americanlibraryassoc]

Meet our #TeamALA

Keri Cascio

Executive Director, Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS)

What do I do at ALA:

I'm the Executive Director of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). ALCTS members work in collections and technical services, specializing in acquisitions, cataloging, metadata, collection management, preservation, digitization, continuing and electronic resources, and more! As Executive Director, I support the governance of ALCTS by assisting the board, committees, and members in doing the work of the Association. Some days I feel like I get to talk to everyone about everything!

Favorite library memory:

Being old enough to check out books out from the adult section was a pretty big deal. I was lucky enough to grow up at the Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, NY, a finalist for the 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

What do I love about my job:

My members generally appreciate a good cataloging pun.

What do I do outside of ALA:

You'll usually find me at the dog park (or dog beach) with Violet, my chocolate lab mix. Her photo makes it into most of my presentations and Twitter posts. 

ALA pro tip:

ALCTS sponsors Preservation Week in April each year, but we have a year-round advice column for the public called Dear Donia. There's lots of great answers in the archive, and if you submit a question you'll be entered in our monthly drawing for a document preservation kit.

What I’m Reading:

The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time 3) by Robert Jordan

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

What I’m listening to:

The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell

[americanlibraryassoc]

#TeamALA Staff Profiles

Meet Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director, ALA

What do you do at ALA?

I have been ALA’s Executive Director for 15 years now. Before coming to ALA, I was the Director of Massachusetts’ state library agency. I’ve moved around a lot and been a librarian since I was 20.

What is your favorite library memory?

As the director of the state library agency in Massachusetts, I had the opportunity to tour the nuclear-bomb proof vault deep  beneath the Massachusetts state house in Boston. There, I got to hold the Bradford Diaries in my cotton-glove-clad hands. This is the journal kept by William Bradford on the Mayflower, where 41 passengers signed what was the first document that would govern the colony they were about to establish in Plymouth. Very cool!

Why do you think libraries / librarians are important?

I grew up very poor, and libraries and the books they offered made an enormous difference in my life and opened up worlds I would never have known nor imagined. I see libraries making this opportunity available to all.

 What do you love about your job?

I feel that the work we do at ALA makes a difference in lives all around the world. Everywhere I go around the world, people hold our American libraries in awe.

What is something cool you’ve accomplished lately at ALA?

We’ve gotten involved with Sara Jessica Parker, who turns out to be a library lover, and will be working with us on a new Book Club Central resource for libraries and the public.

What do you like to do outside of ALA?

Travel, archeology, writing, painting, antiquing, gardening, being off the grid in the wild or foreign lands.

ALA Pro Tip?

Get involved with ALA. You need to make an investment in your future as you would in any endeavor. The time you spend in ALA will repay you hundredfold in terms of new ideas, opportunities to stretch your limitations and grow as a professional. It’s the difference between punching a clock and a satisfying and fulfilling career.

What are you reading?

Often read a couple of things at once. Read a lot in archeology and history, now digging into the Mayan and Anasazi cultures. On the fictional side, I tend to alternate between “literature” and murder mysteries.

What are you watching?

Have discovered the Midsomer Murders, a BBC detective series set in small village England. Great central character – a seasoned chief inspector with a lovable but bumbling younger side kick – and a mixture of whimsy and bloody murders that only the English can carry off. So many murders – at least 2 or 3 an episode – that one wonders why the countryside has not been depopulated. Ran for something like 17 seasons, so I have months of rather pleasant viewing ahead…

What are you listening to?

Baroque and early music, tribal music from Africa, Asian and South American traditional music, alternative country, any and all new alternative music, Chicago’s own Wilco. My favorite live venue is the Hideout, one of the world’s great dive bars.

[americanlibraryassoc]

#TeamALA Staff Profiles

Meet Tina Coleman, Membership Specialist, ALA Membership

What do you do at ALA?

My official title is Membership Specialist and I most of my work is with membership engagement projects. If ALA has a booth at a conference, it’s likely I helped to put it together. I also am the co-lead on ALA’s social media team, I organize the ALA Lounge and the Networking Uncommons at ALA Annual and Midwinter, and I’m the staff liaison to the Gaming Round Table, the Graphic Novels & Comics in Libraries Member Interest Group, and the Virtual Communities and Libraries Member Interest Group.

Why do you think libraries / librarians are important?

I think libraries are important because they offer a space for everyone with no questions asked. Libraries provide materials for study, entertainment, and enrichment no matter what your interest is. Librarians are important because it’s hard to navigate the vast landscape of available information on your own. Having a guide that is trained in how to evaluate information is vital in the modern world.

What do you love about your job?

I absolutely love the librarians I get to work with every day. To see and hear about the passion and creativity they bring to their work is humbling. I feel very lucky to be able to learn so much from our community.

What is something cool you’ve accomplished lately at ALA?

I have a couple of things I’m pretty proud of lately. One is these staff profiles. J Having the chance to highlight the wide range of smart and creative people that I work with is pretty amazing.

Working with the Graphic Novel MIG I’ve also helped to build a presence for libraries and librarians at some of the biggest comic conventions in the country. We’ve had programs and booths and events at New York Comic Con, C2E2, Denver Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con, and this year we’re working on some things for Emerald City Comic Con. This is something I’ve worked on for more than five years, so to see it grow and take off has been a lot of fun.

What do you like to do outside of ALA?

I’m pretty crafty, so I like to make things. I sew, and embroider, and I love photography. I really like to make art.

ALA Pro Tip?

If you want to get involved in the Association, find your niche and dig in. It’s not always so easy you might need to try out a few things before deciding what you want to work on. Ultimately, though, it your voice – YES YOU – that makes the wheels move.

What are you reading?

I usually do audiobooks, so I can absorb books on the go. I’m re-listening to the Harry Potter books and I’m about a quarter of the way through Order of the Phoenix. It’s so good!

What are you watching?

At the moment I’m re-watching Smallville. It was easy to do during the holiday season while I was too busy to focus fully on something new. I’m just over halfway through the run already. It’s still one of the best retellings of Superboy ever done!

I did go see a lot of movies recently, though so shout out to Hidden Figures and Rogue One and Moana!

What are you listening to?

At this very minute it’s Los Lobos “I Got Loaded” but I’ve also been jamming to the Hamilton cast album, Frank Tuner, and a bunch of francophone bands from Quebec – karkwa, Malajube, Les Trois Accords.

During the work week I try to post a song of the day outside my office :-P

[americanlibraryassoc]

Friday, ALA celebrated staff members’ anniversaries with ALA (ranging from 5 years of service to 35!). Please join us in congratulating them!

Pictured (left to right): [back row] Dan Kaplan, Tim Clifford, John McGovern, Michael Dowling, [middle row] Deb Robertson, Ron Bruzen, Denise Moritz, Donna Seaman, Kim Thornton, Kathy Rosa, Julianna Kloeppel, Beatrice Calvin, Lorelle Swader, [front row] Melissa Carr, Mary Jane Petrowski, Leighann Wood, Lian Drago and Rachel Chance

Not pictured: Pam Akins, Phil Morehart, Ron Jankowski, Alan Inouye, David Free, Kerri Price, Letitia Smith, Mary Hirsh, Mary Jo Bolduc, Stephanie Gregory, Steve Zalusky, Beth Nawalinski, Keith Michael Fiels, Sally Reed, Yolanda Washington, Ann-Christie Galloway, Barb Macikas, Mary Pullen, Marsha Burgess, Steven Hofmann, Kathleen Hughes, Karen Muller, Valeria Newman, Yvonne McLean

[americanlibraryassoc]

#TeamALA Staff Profiles

Meet Alicia “Alee” Navarro, Content & Technology Coordinator, Conference Services

What do you do at ALA?

I am the Content & Technology Coordinator in Conference Services.  My main responsibilities are working with technology for the Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting, including the submission site, conference scheduler and mobile app.  I am also the staff liaison/contact for the Poster Session Committee, Conversation Starters and Ignite Sessions, just to name a few.

What is your favorite library memory?

In grade school I always went to the library with my mom to do research for homework assignments. She always made the experience fun.  Many years later, we would still be going to the library to do research while we were both in graduate school.

Why do you think libraries / librarians are important?

Libraries are necessity in any community in that they are a hub for resources beyond just books—they offer after-school programs, provide internet service and much more. 

What do you love about your job?

I have the extraordinary privilege to have a job where I can combine two of my great loves: technology and creativity.

What is something cool you’ve accomplished lately at ALA?

I was instrumental in the development and release of the new version of the conference scheduler and mobile app, as well as the various phases of improvement.

What do you like to do outside of ALA?

Baking, paper crafts, anything I can do with my family and sleeping.

ALA Pro Tip?

If you are going to conference, plan ahead and wear comfortable shoes.

What are you reading?

Fables by Bill Willingham, then there is a sizable stack of comics and graphic novels to read next.

What are you watching?

Gotham, Agents of Shields, and many others.

What are you listening to?

Hamilton: An American Musical Soundtrack. I might be a little obsessed.

[americanlibraryassoc]

Congrats to our staff members who are celebrating their anniversaries with ALA!

We’ll post more photos [with names] of our 2017 Service Awards Ceremony throughout the weekend.

(Please note some staffers are missing - but they’re there in spirit!)

[americanlibraryassoc]

Today ALA had our annual Service Awards Ceremony, which includes our Staff Achievement Awards. We had two award winners, Cheryl Malden, Program Officer of the Executive/Governance Office, and Allison Cline, Deputy Executive Director of AASL. Give them a virtual round of applause!

Below are some words on why these two are this year's Achievement Awards winners. "Cheryl is instrumental in negotiating hotel contracts for the Executive Board meetings in Chicago as well as any other group meetings affiliated with the Office of ALA Governance and this past year she worked wonders both in planning and organizing events as well as saving the Association money. She's a whiz and she does it all with a positive attitude, a sense of humor, and an infectious smile!"

"Allison Cline, AASL Deputy Director, is more than deserving of recognition for her work in AASL/ALA. She works closely with other AASL staff and ALA units - specifically the Office of Library Advocacy and the ALA Washington Office - and AASL leadership and state school library association affiliates to develop and coordinate a series of workshops that were customized for each state visit. She is being recognized for her 2016 work towards ensuring members were aware of the opportunities for school libraries and school librarians in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary School Act signed into law by President Obama in December 2015."