YALSA leadership hosted a candidates forum on Friday, March 6 to hear from ALA President-Elect candidates Patty Wong and Steven Yates, along with candidates for YALSA offices, including President-Elect, Fiscal Officer, and Directors at Large.
ALA President-Elect Candidates
Steven Yates www.voteyatesala.com
Steven is Assistant Director of the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. He previously was a school and public librarian. Steven shared his vision for the library community to harness the power of positive passion and ACTT (Advocacy, Cultural competency, Training, and Transparency).
Patty Wong www.votepattywong.com
Patty is city librarian at Santa Monica Public Library. She began her career as a youth librarian and has served 30+ years at public libraries in California. Patty highlighted the need for transparency during this time of change at ALA, changing demographics and equitable access and services, as well as the library community coming together to leverage our influence.
Following the candidates’ brief statements, Steven and Patty answered questions posed by forum attendees. Discussion touched upon resilience of the organization and ability to attract younger membership, SCOE and the proposal to combine youth divisions, as well as advocating for longterm federal funding for libraries.
Next, candidates for YALSA offices introduced themselves and fielded attendee questions.
YALSA President-Elect Candidates
- Franklin Escobedo
- Kelly Czarnecki
Fiscal Officer
Kate Denier
Directors at Large
- Susannah Goldstein
- Dawn McMillan
- Joel Shoemaker (not in attendance)
Click here for a video recording of the forum. View the sample ballot.
The polls for the 2020 ALA election will open at 9:00 a.m. CT on Monday, March 9. Polls will remain open through Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Check your email for voting URL and information.
