Happy Year of the Dragon! I hope you all had a great time this past MidWinter conference despite your busy schedule. With social media, through photos and posts, we were all able to vicariously enjoy and capture one’s conference experience. It was great to see many new faces at our APALA events as well as reconnect with many APALA friends.
Thus far, my year as president has been busy yet extremely rewarding. Thanks to the leadership of our Executive Board and Committee Chairs, we have accomplished much during these past six months:
- Three successful socials at ALA MidWinter: A tour of the Crow Collection of Asian Art, social dinner at Zenna Thai and Japanese Restaurant and APALA/AILA participation of the 5K.
- Endorsement of Resolution Opposing Restriction of Access to Materials and Open Inquiry in Ethnic and Cultural Studies Programs in Arizona.
- Tina Chan was named APALA’s Emerging Leader.
- Announcement of Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APAAL) at MidWinter.
- Family Literacy Focus Task Force, a collaboration between APALA and American Indian Library Association (AILA) received a $2500 from Toyota for their ongoing project.
- Approval to award four $500 Joint Conference for Librarians of Color (JCLC) Scholarships to APALA members.
- Kick off of t-shirt campaign.
- Networking and soliciting ongoing donations.
- Continual succession planning within committees.
- Constitution and Bylaws update.
- Promotion of APALA through ALA.
- APALA representation at ALA national level: Working Group on Diversity and LIS Education, Equitable Access to Electronic Content (EQIACC).
- Ongoing support of JCLC with printing donation of publicity postcards and raffle baskets.
- Increase in membership by 24%.
- Matched 9 protégé with mentors.
- Transition between incoming (Buenaventura “Ven” Basco) and outgoing (Gary Colmenar) Executive Director.
- Continual collaboration and partnerships with our ethnic caucuses: AILA, BCALA, CALA, REFORMA..
None of the above would have been accomplished without the dedication of our Board and Committee Chairs.
Finally, I would like to thank Gary Colmenar, our outgoing Executive Director (2006-2012) for his years of service with APALA. Gary’s knowledge of APALA and ALA have been invaluable for those of us who serve on the board during these years. During these past six months, Gary has been working with our incoming Executive Director Buenaventura “Ven” Basco on transitioning roles. Gary is not only a colleague but a great friend and support to us all. Thank you Gary!
Have a great year!
Best,
-Sandy
2011-2012 APALA President