2019 Annual Conference

Katy Mathuews, President

I am excited to share planning updates for our 2019 Annual Conference, Libraries Speak Up! Advocate. Collaborate. Educate. The conference will take place on October 18, 2019 at Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio with a pre-conference at the same location on October 17, 2019. Be sure to get registered and check out the program!

• Join facilitators Ione Damasco, Mérida Allen, and Chanel P. Wright for the preconference workshop Integrating Intergroup Dialogue Principles & Skills into Academic Libraries. Lunch and registration will be held noon- 1 p.m. and the workshop will be held 1 pm – 4:30 p.m. on October 17, 2019. Register here: https://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/2019/preconference
• Join facilitators Petey Peterson and Dr. Nicole Carter for Acting Allyship: An Exploration of Systematic Racism and Allyship in U.S. Libraries. This workshop is FREE and will be held from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. on October 17, 2019. Register here: https://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/2019/ally
• Char Booth will kick off this year’s conference with a talk entitled Leading for Change: Justice-Based Advocacy in Libraries. More information can be found here: https://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/2019/speaker
• Register for the conference here: https://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/2019/speaker
• Session abstracts are available here: https://www.alaoweb.org/conferences/2019/program
• A quick-reference schedule is available here: https://www.alaoweb.org/resources/Documents/2019ProgramGrid.pdf

 2019 Executive Board Retreat

The 2019 Executive Board held its annual retreat on Friday, July 19, 2019 at Ohionet in Columbus, OH. The Executive Board Retreat is an opportunity for the Board to conduct strategic planning for the year and to provide training to incoming board members. This year’s Board Retreat saw the culmination of a year-long exercise to establish our strategic plan for 2019-2024. Strategic Plan will be reviewed each year to ensure mindful progress toward our goals. The board-approved plan is featured below.

ALAO Strategic Focus Areas and Objectives 2019-2024

Focus 1: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Goal: ALAO will exemplify equity, diversity, and inclusion in daily practices, foster those practices in its membership, and position members to become effective advocates on important issues facing the profession.

Focus 2: Expanding our Horizons

Goal: ALAO will position itself as a regional leader for an array of professional development activities, expanding and innovating upon its well-revered suite of programming.

Focus 3: Efficient and Purposeful

Goal: ALAO will build upon partnerships, management best practices, and sound organizational strategy to refine practices that position ALAO as current, efficient, and valuable.