[Michlib-l] MI-ALA discussion

Fri Jun 27 08:25:32 EDT 2014

Well said Larry!  

I think it would be cost prohibitive and counter-productive to start a
parallel organization for a splinter group of Michigan libraries,
especially considering the damage it would wreak on the finances of the
existing group.  This action will definitely hamper legislative advocacy
just in the fact of showing that we Michigan libraries are not speaking
with one voice.  Far better to work within an existing group than to
re-create the wheel, so to speak.  

Glad to hear your level headed response.
Dave

David L. Ewick

City Librarian
Southfield Public Library
26300 Evergreen
Southfield, Michigan 48076
248 796-4300
dewick at sfldlib.org

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. 
>>> Larry Neal <lneal at cmpl.org> 6/26/2014 11:03 AM >>>

Hi Stacy,

It’s nice to hear from someone from the academic community regarding
MI-ALA. Frankly I've been extremely disappointed by what I’m reading
about MI-ALA on several levels:

Process 
·		 MI-ALA indicates this issue has been around for the
past 5+ years. An issue of this seriousness should have been brought
forth at one of the association’s annual meetings; it was not. A special
meeting of the membership is another option; I’m not aware of any
attempts to call such a meeting.
·		 As a former member of the Restructuring Task Force that
was formed after MLA nearly went bankrupt, as a past MLA president
(2008-elect; 2009-president; 2010-past-president) who was heavily
involved in the revision of the dues structure to ensure MLA’s long-term
financial stability, I can assure you that there was good representation
from the academic community during all of the discussions and
decision-making. Ultimately our members voted to implement both of these
major changes. 
·		 I can also attest to the fact that the issues
referenced by MI-ALA were never brought to my attention as MLA
president. 

Collaboration
·		 The absence of many academic colleagues involved in MLA
in the future could be a serious detriment to the Michigan library
community. One simple example is MLA’s Leadership Academies, which over
the years have created long-term networking and friendships between
academic and public library professionals.
·		 I have personally found more opportunities to come to
know and collaborate with my academic colleagues at the state level
through MLA over the national level.

Advocacy
·		 Advocacy is every library professional’s job, from page
to director to dean, whether it’s legislative, administrative or in a
social setting.
·		 Every library in Michigan has MLA to thank for MeL
funding at the very least. Just 5 years ago the legislature went on a
library funding cutting spree and we fought back (publics and academics)
and have succeeded far beyond most people’s expectations.
·		 The current legislative power in Lansing is not based
in East Lansing or Detroit. In many instances it comes from small
communities in towns many of us have never heard of. While most of those
communities don’t have an academic library, they most likely have a
public library and a natural advocate that MLA can work with to
influence a potentially powerful legislator.
·		 MI-ALA makes a brief reference to donating to MLA’s
advocacy efforts. Advocacy is a full-time job, important in a crisis and
even more important when there’s not a crisis and can’t be funded on a
whim.
·		 If MI-ALA forms as a 501(C)(3) there could be serious
limitations on how much may be contributed to advocacy.

MLA Operations
·		 As the chair and a member of MLA’s Legislative
Committee I’ve worked closely with Gail Madziar and found her to be
extremely organized, professional and receptive of constructive
feedback. We are lucky to have her as our Executive Director.
·		 I’m not familiar with the details surrounding the move
of MLA’s offices, but this was an item that had been under discussion
even when I worked with Gretchen Couraud as president back in 2009. This
isn’t the first time the office has moved and I find the spinoff of
MI-ALA to be a far more serious challenge to communication than
separating the offices from MCLS.

Last, I am very disappointed about the example MI-ALA leaders are
setting to newer professionals about how to constructively resolve
conflict. I encourage my academic colleagues to continue their support,
membership and active involvement in MLA and to build on our success
together.

Thanks.

--Larry

-----------------------------------------------
Larry P. Neal, Library Director
Clinton-Macomb Public Library
40900 Romeo Plank Road
Clinton Township,  MI 48038-2955  USA
(586) 226-5011    |   (586) 226-5008 – fax  |  lneal at cmpl.org

Library millage proposal – please vote August 5 -
http://www.cmpl.org/millage/

President-Elect, Public Library Association

-----Original Message-----
From: michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org [mailto:michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org] On
Behalf Of Stacy Nowicki
Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 3:37 PM
To: mi-acad-dirs at mcls.org; michlib-l at mail.mcls.org
Subject: [Michlib-l] MI-ALA discussion

I haven't seen much discussion on these listservs about MI-ALA, which I
find curious.  Since it wasn't widely disseminated, I would just like to
point out Veronica Bielat's open letter to the steering committee here:

http://www.miala.org/updates/minkinr/mi-ala-purposes-organization-are-now-open-your-review-and-input/

I remain concerned about starting a new organization without the
infrastructure MLA can provide. If we want more opportunities for
academics within MLA, then we have to participate -- not withdraw. 
Further, MLA's efforts to support public libraries also support
academics -- the kids who use public libraries become our students,
after all.

Stacy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Stacy Nowicki, Ph.D., J.D.
Library Director and Title IX Coordinator Information Services
Kalamazoo College
1200 Academy Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
voice: 269.337.5750
fax: 269.337.7143
email: Stacy.Nowicki at kzoo.edu

green dot: a single choice in one moment that makes our college safer
http://www.livethegreendot.com/

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