Stacy Torian

Reflections on the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting

Above is a shot from Friday night’s opening session. Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” was playing in the background. The night’s speaker was comedian W. Kamau Bell. His words to librarians: “You put books in the hands of kids. You have the power to expand the idea of what an American is.”

The opening day of the ALA Midwinter Meeting coincided with the inauguration of Donald Trump. One of my admissions colleagues assumed I was going to D.C. for the weekend, until I told him otherwise. If he thought I would be missing out on the political action, he need not have worried. Librarians (at least in my observation) are about as political as they come. Those politics were on full display in Atlanta this past weekend.

The first event I attended on Friday was a breakout-group discussion on equity, diversity, and inclusion. I arrived about 20 minutes after the session had started, at which time the discussions were already in full swing. I stumbled upon a table that included a representative from ALA’s Chicago office and several members of ALA’s GLBT Roundtable. I was glad to have the chance to listen to and take part in the table conversation. One librarian suggested that guidelines be provided for staff on how to engage in difficult (i.e. politically-charged) conversations at work. Another related her frustration with her library board for vetoing her attempt to bring a controversial feminist activist to the library. Two people at the table expressed disbelief that Trump’s administration had already replaced the White House’s civil rights page with one about law enforcement.

After the individual table discussions ended, representatives from each table in the room shared their thoughts. A recurring point of tension had to do with ALA’s initial post-election press release to the Trump administration, a communication seen by some as pragmatic and by others as pandering. (The press release, which was met by widespread criticism from many ALA members, was later retracted by ALA.) The controversy surrounding the press release was related to a broader concern about a “disconnect” between ALA’s stated core values and the actions of its members and lobbyists. One person noted that some staff at the local level are not even aware of what the core values are. Another suggested that ALA be more effective at crafting “responses that reflect our feelings about issues.”

The remarks of opening session speaker W. Kamau Bell underscored the concerns that many ALA members were and are feeling. The comedian’s jabs at Trump and criticisms of the politically disengaged were met with abundant cheering and applause. Playing off the energy of the crowd he joked, “We need to have this meeting every Friday.” His comedic rants were punctuated by moments of no-joking-matter seriousness. During one such moment, he spoke of the danger of people “normalizing each other” simply because they travel in the same circles.

Later that evening, I took part in a Social Responsibilities Roundtable meeting. There I met Al Kagan, a retired African Studies bibliographer whose political activism is well known within ALA. He gave me a little history of the roundtable and invited me to join their efforts, which I plan to do.

Kagan was one of many experienced library practitioners with whom I had the pleasure of speaking and connecting. I met several more the next morning when I crashed the membership committee meeting of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). I say “crashed” because I am not officially a member of the committee, but they welcomed me with open arms. (Update: I became a member of the committee shortly after posting this.) Librarian Rudolph Clay explained BCALA’s mission to me and told me that you do not have to be African American to join the group. In fact, you do not even have to be a librarian. Anyone who is committed to improving library services for African Americans and who supports the professional development of African Americans in the library field is welcome to join. I plan to be an active member of BCALA and look forward to attending their future meetings.

Protesters at the Women’s March in Atlanta.

Between Saturday afternoon meetings, I caught glimpses of the Atlanta Women’s March, one of hundreds of marches inspired by the Women’s March on Washington, D.C.  Many ALA Midwinter meeting participants took part in the march. I snapped pictures of the protesters for several minutes before finally joining them in the street. I marched for a short while before heading back to the main meeting venue.

Later that evening I crashed the ALA Council’s social gathering. (The Council is the governing body of the ALA.) I was welcomed warmly by each person I met. The highlight of the evening for me was shaking hands and speaking with Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, an experience I still cannot quite believe I had. She was very down to earth, asking me how far along I was in my library studies, and sharing that she too had once worked a job while going to school. I left the room on cloud nine and with a belly full of tasty tea and sweets.

One of my goals in attending the Midwinter Meeting was to get some professional counseling. Unfortunately, all the counseling slots were booked up before I had a chance to sign up for one. I was fortunate enough, though, to have my resume critiqued by a professional librarian on Sunday morning. The insights and suggestions she provided were just what I needed. I have already incorporated several of them into my resume and LinkedIn profile.

I learned too late that the best social events would be taking place on Sunday night, including BCALA’s all-members meeting. I had already made plans to leave by Sunday afternoon. Next year I’ll plan better. For now, I am just enjoying my memories.

Robot man making love to the camera in the ALA exhibit hall.

Side of a building in Atlanta.

Blog post and photos: Copyright 2017 Stacy Torian. All rights reserved.

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