May Meeting Agenda and Materials Now Available

The agenda for the Joint Merger Exploration Committee May Meeting (May 2, 1:30-3:30 PM) has been posted to the Google Drive folder. DIRECT LINK HERE

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85233349509?pwd=T0hlWmRHMnNlTFo4bnJrQ24ySzhxdz09
Meeting ID: 852 3334 9509
Passcode: 231380
Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Please email the committee at als-llsjointcommittee@wils.org your questions, comments, and input. It is always welcome. You can also keep an eye on this blog and emails from each system for updates on the exploration committee and its work.

Websites You May Wish to Bookmark

• Merger Exploration Committee Homepage/Blog
• Merger Exploration Google Drive

The deadline for Program Submission is Monday, May 9, 2022.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Rising to the Challenge” and we would like you to share your stories of how you’ve overcome obstacles, collaborated with your communities and how you’ve not just survived but thrived despite the challenges of the past few years and how you’re preparing for future challenges. We’d also like to continue the important conversations around diversity and inclusivity, staffing, fundraising, advocacy and cultivating connections. We’d like you to consider the big picture but also encourage you to share your practical and effective strategies and inspiring projects from your corner of the library world.

Proposals for presentations, panels, and workshops are welcome. Sessions will run 45 minutes in length (with a limited number of 90 minutes sessions available) and with a maximum of four presenters.

Submit your proposal via this link by May 9, 2022.

In 2021, libraries of all types stepped up to meet the needs of their communities as they responded to the impacts of a second year of the global pandemic. Library staff in every state faced an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Most targeted books were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons. Read more about the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2021 and libraries’ response to the pandemic in the State of America’s Libraries Special Report: Pandemic Year Two.

Click here to read the report.

On Monday, April 4, 2022, the American Library Association launched Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.

Why? Simply put, book bans harm communities.

Students cannot access critical information to help them understand themselves and the world around them. Parents lose the opportunity to engage in teachable moments with their kids. And communities lose the opportunity to learn and build mutual understanding.

Recent polling confirms that large majorities of voters and parents oppose book bans in public and school libraries, and they have overwhelmingly favorable opinions of public and school libraries. We must join with others and raise our voices together to convey these messages.

Please join us by visiting Unite Against Book Bans and spreading the word to your networks.