Posted by Amy Alessio
Thank you YALSA Members! From the 15% of membership who voted in last year’s election, you have increased participation to 25%!
Thank you also for passing the dues increase! While that makes me especially happy as your Fiscal Officer, you all will be enjoying the new and regional opportunities we will now be able to support.
YALSA membership also voted to increase the nominating committee from 3 to 5 members and to establish Interest Groups. A few are already getting started, but if you have a group who want to form officially on a teen topic, check out the handbook for the procedure. (YALSA page, under About YALSA, then Handbook)
Speaking of the nominating committee – they strive to offer a slate each year of truly excellent people, which can make voting hard! Thank you to everyone who took a risk in front of their peers and agreed to run for positions which require large time commitments. Many of those people wrote all about themselves on this blog and in other ways for the past 7 months since they were approached before this election. From someone who went through this last year, the process can be nerve racking.
Both the winners and the others who were not chosen represent some of the hardest working and enthusiastic of our members. It is not uncommon in our organization for people who are not elected one year to be chosen in future years. It is certain that YALSA will continue to need their valuable contributions.
This is great.
I’m really excited by the possibilities the dues increase brings to YALSA. I also think the increase in voters is a clear sign of the good work YALSA has been doing. Members know they have a voice through their vote and they are taking the time to be heard.
Go membership! And Amy, thanks for your hard work organizing the election blog. It was a perfect forum for getting to know the candidates.
I am impressed by the YALSA response. 1104 members weighed in on all
of the issues from Law changes, to committee members, to
administration. We had the second highest number of voters for the
specialized sections focused on different areas within the library.
Our members should also be congratulated, because the numbers show
none of the voters skipped a question on their Yalsa ballot.
Thank you to everyone who voted. Next year I hope to see more.
As the newly elected (and deeply humbled and honored) YALSA Vice President/President, I echo my appreciation for the increase in voting and also all the hard work associated with the election – from the blog (special thanks to Amy for such great questions), to the very effective communication and education about the necessity of the dues increase, to all the candidates who had the courage and dedication to throw their hats in the ring, regardless of outcome. I look forward to the opportunity to work for YALSA and with all the amazing members of this great division!