Dear APALA Members,
I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your President. I am especially grateful for all your support and trust in leading our great organization. Since we started our new fiscal year in July 2018, our group and most importantly, you, our members, have been heavily involved in making tremendous impact to librarianship, to our community, and to our organization. We have so many things to be thankful for and to look forward to in years to come. So, I want to take this time to say my gratitude and plans for my presidential year.
First, my gratitude our members, Sandy Wee and Lessa Pelayo-Lozada for representing APALA
and organizing a successful and meaningful 3 rd Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our thanks also extends to our members, Ken Yamashita and Dora
Ho, for their leadership in JCLC. Also, my sincerest thank you and congratulations to all
members who volunteered, presented, and attended the conference.
Second, as your President, I plan to continue the wonderful work of our former leaders and
members. I have been a member of APALA and served at various capacities in the last 7 years
and in that short amount of time, we have grown as an organization and making substantial
contributions throughout our communities. With that said, this year, I want to focus our
organization towards a sustainable future by:
- Increasing fundraising activities and funding to fully support our programs and
initiatives. - Providing opportunities for recognition of our members.
- Extending our reach beyond traditional outlets.
- Promoting brand consistency.
- Establishing operational efficiency.
Finally, my hope this year, is that our work will set the foundation to our 40th Anniversary
celebration in 2020. Yes, APALA will be 40 in less than two years. I hope that we will gather to
learn, educate, and lead purposeful thoughts and ideas in our communities.
So, I call on you, APALA members, to make our organization sustainable. I call on you to be
leaders to advocate for all of us. I call on you to be learners as well as educators to make an
impact for all of us.
Thank you and I look forward to working with you all!
Sincerely,
Paolo P. Gujilde