Elections!

Yes, it's a US presidential election year, but it's also time to get involved with two other elections as well!

It's time to think about finding new ALASC leadership for the 2015-2016 school year. A student leadership position will allow you to strengthen your leadership and event planning skills, get involved in the program, and network with LIS professionals. We have two formal positions open. We hope you'll consider applying! Here's what you need to know:

Positions

Chair: You run the ALASC meetings and act as the representative and liaison with ALA headquarters. You oversee ALASC and executive committee, shaping the group for the year and moving it forward.

Secretary: You would take notes during meetings and send follow up emails to the ALASC making list after meetings take place. You would also help the Co-chair with updating the ALASC social media. 

You can find full position descriptions in the ALASC Constitution: Section 3. 

Nominations Process

We are now accepting nominations for both Chair and Secretary. To nominate yourself for a position, please email Tasha McLachlan with your name, whether you are running for Chair or Secretary, and 2-3 sentences on what you hope to accomplish in the position. If you'd like to nominate someone else, please send their name, email address, and which position, and then we will email them to accept or deny the nomination. Please send the nominations by Sunday, April 30th.

New Leadership and Election Schedule

Nominations due: 4/30

Voting opens: 5/2

Voting ends: 5/9

New leaders announced via email: 5/11

If you have any questions about the positions or the election process, please contact Tasha McLachlan or Katherine Ward.

----------------------------------------

 National ALA elections are also happening right now!  Take a look at the ALA election webpage for more information on the positions, candidates and how to vote.  Voting is open to all ALA members.  Not a member of ALA yet?  Check out the joint membership program for students wanting to join at a local and national level.  

Voting is open until April 22, 2106.  

Are you planning to come to ALA Annual?

Here's a public Facebook Event for St. Kate's affiliated folks who are going to ALA in Anaheim. Please check in, and let's see how big a crew we're bringing to CA. You should also feel free to use the wall for questions, tips, travel info, etc.

Call for Applications: American Library Association Student to Staff Scholarship Program for St. Kate's

What is Student to Staff?
The Student to Staff program is an opportunity for 40 ALA student chapter members from across the country to attend the ALA annual conference for free. St. Kate's ALA student chapter, via our faculty advisor, can nominate one person for the program. In exchange for working four hours a day (or a total of 20 hours), students in the program receive free conference registration, housing, and a per diem for meal expenses (students are responsible for transportation to/from the conference). During free time, they may attend programs and participate in other conference activities. The focus of the program is networking and mentorship for students who are up and coming leaders in the profession.

 

Who is eligible?

Any student who applies for the nomination from St. Kate's should be:

• An active member of the St. Kate's ALA student chapter;
• A student member of ALA nationally (you can sign up online);
• Available to secure transportation to and attend the full conference, June 21-26, 2012 in Anaheim, CA; and
• Willing to write up your experience on the ALA student chapter blog and make a presentation to the St. Kate's LIS program after your return (at a Monday night event or similar).

How do I apply?

Application is made by short essay, emailed to the ALA student chapter faculty advisor, Sarah Park (spark@stkate.edu). The essay should be approximately 250 words (one page) and address the following:

• Your active participation in the ALA student chapter at St. Kate's;
• Your demonstrated leadership skills;
• A clear picture of what you hope to achieve by attending the conference, particularly in the volunteer activities; and
• How you will use your participation to promote and improve St. Kate's MLIS program.

Deadline to apply: midnight on Sunday, November 20, 2011. The nominee will be announced in early December.

Election results

Since we only had one nominee for each position, this year's elections have been very easy. Here are the results:

Chair: Sara Zettervall
Co-Chair: Helena Kilbride

These positions will last through the end of the winter term in 2012, with our next elections also taking place in winter 2012 for the following academic year.

Now that elections are complete and the constitution has been ratified, we can become an official ALA student chapter. I (Sara) will send these off to the ALA and await our goodies from them!

ALA email lists

Even if you're not a member of the ALA, you can subscribe for free to their email lists.

I especially encourage your subscription to the new ALA JobLIST newsletter, which is full of good info for us at this point in our careers:
http://ala.informz.net/ala/profile.asp?fid=1494

Here's information on the ALA wiki about subscribing--there are more lists than you would care to see here:
http://wikis.ala.org/readwriteconnect/index.php/ALA_mailing_lists

There's probably a lot more to be said about this--please feel free to use the comments to add.