Author, Activist Rick Steves to Present Auditorium Speaker Session

Rick Steves is an American travel author, television host, and activist. As a child, he took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, Steves joked, “I realized I didn’t need my parents to travel!” He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves’ Europe, which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a staff of 100 full-time, well-traveled employees at his headquarters in Washington state. The session will take place on Sunday, January 27, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. at the 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle.

In 2009, Steves tackled a new genre of travel writing with Travel as a Political Act: How to Leave Your Baggage Behind, available now. The book reflects on how a life of travel broadened his own perspectives and how travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world. With lessons in tolerance, cultural diversity, and new outlooks, the book shares what it means to be both an American, and a citizen of the world. He will discuss his belief that the most effective way for individual Americans to contribute to our “Homeland Security” is to travel frequently, learn about the world and bring that knowledge back home. He stresses that America’s current stand on world trade and environmental issues is in the minority – and that the world’s well-being depends on travel – which is the only way to know how other countries’ live and think.

Steves spends about a third of every year in Europe researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and making new discoveries for travelers. His popular, PBS travel series, Rick Steves’ Europe is carried by over 300 stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. market. He also hosts a weekly, national public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, where he interviews travel experts and hosts listener call-ins. With more than 50 guidebooks, a popular podcast, audio walking-tours, a weekly syndicated column with Tribune Media Services, a travel center, website, an active social media presence, and frequent guest-spot appearances on television and radio, Steves has become the leading authority on European travel.

When not on the road, Steves is active with advocacy groups focused on economic justice, drug policy reform, and ending hunger.

Steves’ appearance at the conference is sponsored by Hachette Book Group. Add to your schedule now.

Symposium

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Several sessions, including “Algorithms, Implicit Bias, and Search Literacy” (Saturday, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.), “Machine Learning: How Does It Work?!” (Sunday, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.), and “XR (Augmented, Virtual and Mixer Reality) Programming in Libraries” (Monday, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.), place new technologies in the context of libraries.

As libraries contend with larger societal trends and changes, our approaches adapt, with sessions including “Return to the Real: The Library as Social Connector” (Saturday, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.), “Libraries in the Subscription Economy” (Sunday, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.), and “Intentionally Intersectional: Feminist Programming in a Public Library” (Monday 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.) exploring libraries’ new paths to connection with their communities.

Libraries contend with perennial concerns – leadership and staffing, equity and diversity in communities – and this year’s schedule explores many of those issues with sessions like “Racial Equity: Libraries Organizing to Transform Institutions” (Saturday 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.), “Pushing on the Frontier: Disability Access and the Future of Libraries” (Saturday 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.), and “Designing Future Library Leaders: Incorporating Design Thinking, Methods and Principles into Master’s Level Library Education” (Sunday 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.).

This year’s schedule also features several sessions of interest to librarians serving children and youth in public or school libraries – “Breaking Down the Barriers to Advocacy for School Libraries” (Saturday 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.), “Making the Connection: Early Literacy and Computational Thinking for Young Children” (Saturday 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.), “Community, Equity, and Storytimes” (Sunday 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.), and “Learning from Each Other: Intergenerational Learning with Storytelling and STEM” (Monday 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.).

More about the Symposium

The Symposium on the Future of Libraries explores the near-term trends already inspiring innovation in libraries and the longer-term trends that will help us adapt to the needs of our communities.

Participation in the Symposium is included with 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits full registration and includes sessions across three days – Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of the Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits.

The Symposium is sponsored by ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries and integrates and builds on the Midwinter Meeting’s popular ALA Masters Series and News You Can Use updates, highlighting new research, innovations, and advances in libraries. Add to your schedule now.

Resolutions 101: Getting Things Done

Did you know that the Library Bill of Rights exists because of an ALA Council Resolution? If you read this document closely, you will see “Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996” included at the bottom. These dates indicate the instances that this document has been reviewed, revised, and re-approved by the ALA Council, our organization’s governing body.

Resolutions and Committee action items are what direct many of ALA’s policy, legislation, and advocacy activities. They are the mechanism by which we create, endorse, and codify ideals like the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, or the Resolution on the USA Patriot Act and Related Measures That Infringe on the Rights of Library Users. Although a resolution is typically originated by ALA Council members and committees, any ALA member can initiate one.

The ALA Policy Manual (section A.4.2.3) defines a resolution as: “a main motion, phrased formally, with (a) whereas clauses, stating the background and reasons for a proposed policy, advocacy position, or action), followed by (b) Resolved clauses in numbered order (stating the proposed policy, advocacy position, or action).”

In practice, this means that a succinct, structured document is created following the guidelines available on the ALA website. In the resolution, you may include a few short background statements (whereas clauses) followed by what outcomes you hope to accomplish (resolved clauses). If you are not a council member, you can bring your resolution to the next virtual or face-to-face membership meeting by filling out an e-form. If the resolution is passed at a membership meeting, it then goes to ALA Council for deliberation.

The Resolutions Committee has created a short video to help you navigate the writing process and has compiled examples and resources to help you draft your resolution. These tools can be found under Resolution guidelines. If you are interested in writing a resolution, we also encourage you to collaborate with relevant ALA units, including committees such as the Committee on Diversity (CoD) or divisions like the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). You can find information about committees, divisions, offices, and roundtables on the About ALA section of the ALA website.

Whether you are a seasoned councilor or new to ALA, the Resolutions Committee is here to help you navigate the Resolutions process. Feel free to email us with questions, drafts, or feedback at alaresolutions@ala.org.