Bulletin of the Office for Diversity American Library Association ISSN 1554-494X

MAY - JUNE 2006
SPECIAL ANNUAL 2006 ISSUE

EDITORIAL

Being Here Matters
Tracie D. Hall

We are nowhere by accident. That you are at this moment reading these words is no mere coincidence, but part of a small chain of actions and events that have conspired to push you closer and closer towards your purpose on this planet: to live a life of usefulness. Albanian-born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, known to the world as Mother Teresa, lived in full recognition of the power of "being here". Her work among India's poor touched the world. Yet when she first committed herself to opening a school for Calcutta's street children, she came not armed with money—but with intention. She wanted to touch those who had been forgotten. "Show up and things will happen," she is reported to have said. By the time of her death in 1997, Mother Teresa's mission had grown to over 4,000 individuals overseeing orphanages, hospices, and charity centers on almost every continent. By simply showing up and being attentive to her surroundings one woman, who had decades earlier taken a vow of poverty, single-handedly enriched the lives of thousands.

What does it mean to be in New Orleans? That ALA is here means that the association recognizes the import of its conference to the city's economic recovery. More than just a financial presence, ALA members are taking the rebuilding of New Orleans into their own hands. Whether copy-cataloging boxes of donated books, or taking up hammer and wrench in some of the city's libraries and schools, ALA and its members will actively play a part in the rebuilding process.

That you are here, as an individual, matters deeply. By being here you assert and reiterate your connection to people and places outside of yourself. As the voices within these pages testify, those of us who work in libraries have a distinct calling. We are required to bear witness to human need (economic, educational, social) and to respond with the information resources necessary to lead to transformation. There is no issue--not cyclical poverty, not racism in the guise of economic segregation, not immigration or workers' rights--that should be off limits to us. As librarian Anwar Ahmad says in these pages "we can be everywhere the people are.”  So New Orleans—we are here!

Tracie D. Hall is Director, ALA Office for Diversity.

 ©The American Library Association, 2006.  All material in Versed subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement. 

Versed, the official publication of the American Library Association’s Office for Diversity, is published 5 times per year online with paper printings available twice yearly at ALA midwinter meetings and annual conferences.

True to its meaning: practiced, skilled, or knowledgeable; Versed will bring together the most progressive practitioners and the best practices in current library-based diversity work.

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