ALA Student Chapters Organize to Effect Change

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It should be no surprise that a majority of the events I chose to attend at ALA were student focused. As a recent graduate of Florida State University’s School of Library and Information Studies, my primary connection to the profession is through my associations as a student. Finding avenues for student involvement in reshaping the future of librarianship, and encouraging that, is quickly becoming a professional goal of mine. Thus, I made a distinct point to attend the session aptly titled “Leadership of ALA’s Student Chapters” yesterday.

The session was led by Jamie Renton of San Jose State University and opened with her explanation of the background and purpose for convening this group. Basically, she is proposing that there should be some formal-ish structure or organization whereby leaders of ALA’s student chapters can communicate to share best practices for being an engaging and valuable resource for library school students. The session was well attended, and had representatives from 12 different schools across the country. I felt quite out of place when, during introductions, it turned out that I was the only person in the room who was not an officer in my student organization. (I ran, and lost. Then started a blog about it. Hacklibschool. You might have heard of it? We’re interested in reform too.)

The discussion moved from how to establish a formal group structure and what tools we could use to stay in communication to challenges and suggestions for running a successful student organization. The foundational decisions to come out of the meeting were that a representative of the Student Chapter of the Year would lead the group, and that the group will attempt to meet quarterly (virtually) and at ALA Annual. I wasn’t expecting the meeting to be so administrative, but actually enjoyed it very much, particularly the challenges and suggestions portion. Sitting around a table with my peers and colleagues, who are already invested and active in thinking about how and why librarianship matters, was incredibly encouraging.

I’ve always said that the only way to effect change is to be involved, and the establishment of this group, which will manage and represent ALA student chapters and provide continuity across our groups, has the potential to be a catalyst for a revived and relevant professional organization. Look for great things from the ALA student chapters as a result of this initiative, and students, if your student org sucks, fix it. We’ve got work to do.