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ALA Election 2023

Special Issue

This special issue of the SustainRT Newsletter is to introduce the candidates running for SustainRT's Member-at-Large and Coordinator-Elect positions.

ALA Elections open on Sunday, March 13th and will close on Wednesday, April 5th. Check your email for your ballot during this period!

Coordinator-Elect: The Coordinator-elect will be elected for a three-year term and serves one year of that term as Coordinator-elect, one year as Coordinator, and one year as Immediate Past Coordinator. The Coordinator-elect shall appoint the chair of each standing committee and members to fill vacancies in such committees for terms beginning their year as Coordinator, except the Nominating Committee. The Coordinator-elect is expected to attend the ALA Annual Conference, and LibLearnX if a membership meeting is planned for the roundtable.

Coordinator Elect Position

Pixie Rose

Resources Sharing Assistant at MIT Libraries

As an avid believer in the power of collective action, I believe that the libraries can be a place that helps the community at large address the looming dangers of climate change.

From creating a wealth of knowledge, to helping people take action, libraries can and should be doing all within their power to address this important issue, and I think the work that is done in the Sustainability Roundtable has the ability to empower libraries and library workers at every level to take the necessary steps to move this vital agenda forward as much as possible.

As coordinator elect, I would seek to perform outreach to other ALA groups, libraries, and MLIS degree programs, as well as to advocate for early career library professionals to incorporate sustainability into their career goals and provide them with the resources to move the mission of sustainability in libraries forward.

Member-at-Large: The Member-at-Large position is a two-year commitment, including attending monthly SustainRT Steering Committee Meetings. The Member-at-Large will serve as liaison between the Steering Committee and a SustainRT committee, and work on special projects as assigned by the Steering Committee or the Coordinator. Members at Large are expected to attend either the LibLearnX conference or the ALA Annual Conference.

Member-at-Large Position

Colleen Wood

Reader Advisory Services at Darien Library

I am an ALA Sustainability Round Table member and chair of a new Sustainability Committee at Darien Library in CT. As a committee, we have adopted two UN Sustainable Development Goals at the library and hosted programs to support these goals, as well as sought out quotes and grant funds to install EV Charging stations in the library’s parking lot. We are currently planning an Earth Day event at the library that will focus on recycling and the reduction of waste in the community.

My interests and commitment to sustainability extend beyond my role as a librarian and into the wider community. As the outreach coordinator for Stamford CT’s Food Scrap Task Force, I will be training volunteers to promote food scrap recycling at farmer’s markets throughout the summer. I am an active community gardener and whilst trying to learn as much as possible, I am excited to be taking the ALA Sustainable Librarianship: Core Competencies and Practices course led by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich.

I am dedicated to promoting sustainable practices and resources in the library and in sharing successful initiatives that serve the global community and earth. Having served as co-chair to the IRRT Sister Libraries committee for 2 years and being a regular member for a year before that, I would be honored to serve ALA’s SustainRT committee as a Member-at-Large.

Carrie Hill

Digital Scholarship Librarian at Auburn University Libraries

Hello, Members of SustainRT! My name is Carrie Hill, and I’m running to be Member-at-Large of our roundtable. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021, and I’m currently in my first library role as Digital Scholarship Librarian at Auburn University.

I’ve been interested in sustainability topics for a long time and completed a Sustainability Studies minor as an undergraduate student. I think of sustainability through the model of a triple bottom line, meaning that systems must be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable to work. I am particularly interested in the intersection of social sustainability in digital scholarship and in libraries as a whole.

I would love the chance to serve as your Member-at-Large to learn more about library sustainability and contribute to ongoing discussions and scholarship through our roundtable.

Michelle Mussuto

Agriculture, Natural Sciences, and Sustainability Librarian at Meriam Library

My professional concerns are related to what has up until now been a narrow view of sustainability. It is not only reduce/recycle/reuse. Sustainability includes the economics of climate change—a core value of ALA citing the Triple Bottom Line. As a Member-at-Large candidate, I’d like to see more of this incorporated into what SustainRT promotes. My aspirations for SustainRT include expanding its outreach and through it broaden the definition of libraries and sustainability.

A number of initiatives I’d like to see brought to the table for consideration include: more sustainability-specific webinars to the group (perhaps one per quarter), form and host a peer-reviewed article club on libraries and sustainability, form and host a monthly Twitter chat on topics related to economics and sustainability—how do libraries fit in?, take on one SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) for the year and compile data on what libraries are doing in relation to it (this could be combined with a webinar, article, Twitter chat).

Leaving my established career in media relations to enter graduate school to pursue my Masters in Information Studies was the start of a number of major accomplishments. During graduate school I was on the planning committee for the ASIS&T’s annual information science student research symposium. This was at the start of the pandemic and we had to plan everything virtually. The symposium was very successful with 23 presentations and for the first-time prize money was awarded to those who were judged best in their presentation category.

Last October I was chosen as the new assistant librarian for sustainability and the liaison for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems for California State University, Chico. I was a participating member of the SustainRT Libraries & Sustainability Book Club Member and I am currently enrolled in the Sustainable Librarianship: Core Competencies and Practices offered through ALA’s eLearning platform. In addition, I am a member of the Chico State’s Earth Day (week really) committee.

Other ALA and/or ALA-APA Activities I’ve been involved with include:

ALA Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research, Juror, 2022

I have held office in graduate school for both SLA and ASIS&T, including:

California Academic Reference Librarians Discussion Interest Group (CARL-DIG), Publicity Officer, 2023
McGill University Special Libraries Association Student Chapter (SLA), President, 2020
McGill University Association for Information Science & Technology Student Chapter (ASIS&T), Secretary and Graduate Student Liaison, 2019-2021
McGill University Association for Information Science & Technology Student Chapter (ASIS&T), 13th Annual Information Science Symposium (Virtual), Symposium Planning Committee Member, 2021

I look forward to representing SustainRT and to working with the Round Table and (I anticipate) many members of ALA. Thank you for considering me as your candidate.

SustainRT Outreach Request Form

Have a program you’d like to spread the word about to your fellow SustainRT colleagues? Let us know by filling in our SustainRT Outreach Form, and we’ll share the details on our outreach channels!

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