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President's Column
As I write this month's column, on a windy, storm-tossed morning in mid-January 2010 from my window above the Monterey Public Library's front door, I see glimpses of blue skies amid the advancing gray clouds. I watch rain on a distant hilltop, flying brown leaves and vibrant green new ones, bundled-up parents with small children, students and senior citizens pausing on the sidewalk as a fire engine blares away from the station, red lights flashing. For a moment, it feels as though we are in the eye of the great economic storm that surrounds us - the calm place after great upheaval and before the great unknown.
Make no mistake, these are discouraging and threatening times for California libraries and the communities we serve. Statewide budget turmoil affects every one of us - academic, law, public, school, special libraries and librarians - and our populations of users. National crises and international tragedies spill over into our neighborhoods, agencies and counties. "Everything is connected to everything else: as I learned in high school Ecology class - and I see expressed every day around me. And, while sobering, that simple fact also gives me great hope.
My feelings of optimism in the midst of such crisis and change may be partially due to the California Library Association's energetic and enthusiastic new Executive Director, Holly Macriss, who has accepted the position effective February 1, and the rest of CLA's hard-working association team. Holly has the experience and skill set to move CLA forward in these challenging times. I am very pleased that she has already begun working to bring herself up to speed on libraries; Holly attended the American Library Association Midwinter meeting in Boston this past weekend, has jumped into 2010 Conference planning and is rapidly getting acquainted with California's school, academic and special library organizations and communities. Holly will be introducing herself to all of you very soon - stay tuned!
Also brightening the horizon - the possibility of improved collaboration with California library schools and students, more chances to partner with other library associations, agencies and organizations on events and activities, expanded communication with CLA Interest Groups and all of you. Yesterday I was on a conference call with California Library Association leaders and California School Library Association leaders, preliminary to more specific conversations with CLA and CSLA leadership on ways we can better work together to advance our members' interests in these difficult times.
Those participants who traveled met in wet-and-windy Sacramento and the others called-in from storm-tossed southern and central California. Despite the statewide storm raging outside our meeting, inside we exchanged ideas, excitement and a shared sense of purpose for working together to improve educational opportunities for our memberships, increase communication and understanding between our respective groups and focus on commonalities, instead of differences. At CLA, we look forward to many more such conversations with all the library-serving agencies and organizations throughout California - and all of you. We will survive difficult times and Navigate the New - together!
Submitted to California Libraries by:
Kim Bui-Burton
Director, Monterey Public Library
CLA 2009-2010 President
Posted on January 21, 2010 9:52 AM | Permalink