Student Chapter Answers: What Can the ALA Student Chapters Do for Themselves and Others?

| What Can the ALA Student Chapters Do for Themselves and Others? | Promote the ALA Joint Student Membership Program | Raise Money to Support Your Chapter | Brainstorm | Arrange for Visits | Arrange Tours and Other Get-togethers | Participate | Social Network | Help Others/Transform Your Communities | Establish a Relationship with Your State Library Association | Do I have to be an ALA member to belong to an ALA Student Chapter? | Membership Drives for Your Student Chapter | Membership and Elections | Other Student Groups |

What Can the ALA Student Chapters Do for Themselves and Others?

Promote the ALA Joint Student Membership Program

Students, join ALA and Your State Library Association for one low price. If your state association is interested in participating in a joint membership program, please contact the Chapter Relations Office.

See also ALA Student Membership: Frequently Asked Questions Answered.

Here are reasons why you should promote joining your state library association, not just because you can through the ALA Joint Student Membership program, but also because it's a good way to advocate for libraries! See Today Is a Good Day to Join Your State Library Association! Need more!: Many library school students are more oriented towards their state than they are to the national scene and plan to remain in the state after graduation. Student chapter connection with the state association allows students to learn the workings of a smaller association, to make contacts with professionals in their area, and to attend local conferences and workshops. Many individuals begin their association "careers" in state associations. Interested? Contact the president of the state library association or the executive director if there is one. Ask to be put on their mailing list to receive publicity for their programs. A list of state associations and their presidents and/or executive directors will be found on the online directory maintained by the Chapter Relations Office.

Raise Money to Support Your Chapter

Your chapter may support its programs through fundraising activities, dues paid to the student chapter group, or contributions from the school administration.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm ideas with other student chapters (an online directory is found on the ALA website). In other words, the business e-list and the ALA Connect Community Student Chapter Leadership are two additional ways you can communicate with and share ideas and questions with your colleagues.

Arrange for Visits

Arrange campus visits from ALA Officers, ALA Councilors, or ALA committee chairs. Visitors may be invited to visit classes or give a formal presentation, with informal gatherings either preceding or following the presentation. In order to keep costs to the student chapter to a minimum, such a campus visit might be added to a previously planned trip or draw on ALA members in your area. The Staff Liaison can help you to determine which ALA staff or members would be available to visit your school on a certain date.

Arrange Tours and Other Get-togethers

Arrange student tours of local libraries might be arranged with active ALA members, giving students an opportunity to investigate current library practice from a professional perspective. Host brown-bag lunches on campus to which local ALA members are invited to share experiences and career development ideas with students in an informal atmosphere.

Participate

Attend local events, such as your state library association’s annual conferences and ALA national and division conferences when you can.

Social Network

Start a website, e-list, blog, Facebook page, or other social networking tools for student chapter members, with news from conferences, a calendar of campus events, and interviews (see "Social Networking" below). Include articles on curriculum changes, new faculty members, and fellowships available to students from off-campus sources. Use chapter communication tools for humorous articles and to publicize student chapter programs. See also Social Media.

Help Others/Transform Your Communities

Libraries transform communities. So can your Student Chapter. Your chapter can raise funds for library relief, get involved in volunteer work for your community, become active in library advocacy, book drives, any project . . . . “Imagination is stronger than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.”—Albert Einstein

Establish a Relationship with Your State Library Association

Whenever possible, make a connection with the state library association in addition to ALA. In fact, it would be good to join your state association as well as ALA. Many library school students are more oriented towards their state than they are to the national scene and plan to remain in the state after graduation. Student chapter connection with the state association allows students to learn the workings of a smaller association, to make contacts with professionals in their area, and to attend local conferences and workshops. Many individuals begin their association "careers" in state associations.

Contact the president of the state library association or the executive director if there is one. Ask to be put on their mailing list to receive publicity for their programs. A list of state associations and their presidents and/or executive directors will be found on the online directory maintained by the Chapter Relations Office.

Do I have to be an ALA member to belong to an ALA Student Chapter?

No, not as far as participating in Student Chapter events and activities. Anyone and everyone should be allowed to participate. Indeed, participation should be encouraged and ALA membership should be encouraged, as well.

That said, if you want to run for a Student Chapter office, successful candidates should be ALA members. As for being an ALA member during election, in theory, all candidates should be current ALA members. If not, it seems to suggest that unless elected, candidates don’t want to join the organization they want to lead. However, in practice, flexibility can rule. If your Chapter decides to allow nonmembers to run, however, it must require them to join immediately upon election (and I stress immediately). Who in your Chapter will be assigned the task to oversee that they do join? Perhaps this should be a Bylaws change to make it official? Again, in theory, officers should be elected only by other ALA members. In practice, however, again, flexibility must rule. Indeed, most Chapters’ bylaws indicate ALA membership is only encouraged and not mandatory. This being so, then, anyone should be allowed to vote.

Like Student Chapters, Chapters (state library associations) are affiliated with ALA. Article V. Chapters, Section 2, of the ALA Bylaws states, “A chapter may admit members who are not members of the American Library Association.” Similarly, Student Chapters may also admit members who are not ALA members. However, unlike Chapters, Student Chapters are granted Charter Memberships as Student Chapter Groups of the American Library Association. Therefore, ALA can and does require Student Chapter officers to be ALA members. Both Chapter and Student Chapter officers encourage their members to join ALA. In addition, Student Chapter members appointed to ALA committees or selected to participate in ALA-related activities, such as the Student-to-Staff program, are required to be ALA members.

ALA doesn’t require Student Chapter events and activities to be strictly for Student Chapter members to encourage participation as learning experiences and opportunities to provide assistance to local communities. That is, ALA encourages volunteerism. Events and activities organized by Student Chapters include book drives and reading to children and seniors, as well as social get-togethers, which can include Student Chapter membership drives.

See also How to Start an ALA Student Chapter and Participate in Your Student Chapter! If Your Campus Doesn't Have One, Start One!

Membership Drives for Your Student Chapter

Arrange an informational and organizational meeting at the school for all interested students. The officers of existing groups can serve as a steering committee and can be of great assistance in helping to promote the chapter group. Students who have already joined ALA as student members should be identified and included in the chapter group. At the informational meeting, distribute ALA student membership forms and sign up students. (See Joint Student Membership Program.) Once a nucleus of members is established, a constitution should be drafted. Sample constitutions are available online from the ALA Chapter Relations Office. A nominating committee should be appointed and a meeting held to elect officers and approve the constitution. A chapter group program committee should be appointed to work with the officers to develop program ideas. A faculty advisor should be designated to work with the organizers on chapter formation.

Membership and Elections

Successful candidates for Student Chapter leadership positions (named in your constitution and bylaws) should be ALA members. As for being an ALA member during election, in theory, all candidates should be current ALA members. If not, it seems to suggest that unless elected, candidates don’t want to join the organization they want to lead. However, in practice, flexibility can rule. If your Chapter decides to allow nonmembers to run, however, it must require them to join immediately upon election (and I stress immediately). Who in your Chapter will be assigned the task to oversee that they do join? Perhaps this should be a Bylaws change to make it official? Again, in theory, officers should be elected only by other ALA members. In practice, however, again, flexibility must rule. Indeed, most Chapters’ bylaws indicate ALA membership is only encouraged and not mandatory. This being so, then, anyone should be allowed to vote. As far as participating in events and activities of the Student Chapter, anyone and everyone should be allowed to participate. Indeed, participation should be encouraged and ALA membership should be encouraged, as well. (All leaders, election rules, and governance procedures should be spelled out in your constitution and bylaws.)

Other Student Groups

There are often several student groups on the library school campus to handle student problems and concerns. The student chapter is concerned with external relations with ALA as a professional organization. All groups can exist side-by-side without any role conflict. In fact, if time constraints or other considerations seem to dictate it, groups can be combined, sharing officers and activities.