We are pleased to announce the slate of candidates for the 2023-2024 ALA Core election. The Core election will open on Monday, March 13, 2023 and will continue through Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Learn more about the ALA election and ALA candidates.
All Core members in good standing as of January 31, 2023, are eligible to participate and vote in this election. Members will receive an email from ALA with information about how to vote online. The election results will be announced on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
The Core ballot will include candidates for three Board positions: President-Elect and two Directors-at-Large.
The Core President is elected to a three-year term that begins at the conclusion of the 2023 ALA Annual Conference and ends at the conclusion of the 2026 ALA Annual Conference, serving one year each as President-Elect (2023–2024), President (2024–2025), and Immediate Past-President (2025–2026). The Directors-at-Large are elected to three-year terms, 2023–2026.
Candidates for Core President-Elect
Amber Billey
Systems & Metadata Librarian
Bard College
Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
I believe that patrons should not experience oppression by simply using the library. We must work to correct systemic oppression within our library standards. Our profession has worked hard to address these issues, but there is more work to be done. I will focus of my time in leadership to address and fix these problems. I believe in metadata rights of libraries and open systems. As libraries face fewer choices in services and providers, we must advocate for open platforms, standards, and metadata that facilitates innovation and interoperability to provide the best services for patrons. In leadership, I will advocate for the metadata rights of libraries, and the development of open platforms and services. I believe in compassionate leadership and collaborative approaches to understanding shared goals to affect change. I will work across the Association, Division, and with related organizations to provide better services for our profession, membership, and patrons.
View Amber's answers to our candidate questionnaire.
Candidates for Core Director-at-Large
Kellie Barbato
Director of Library Services
Roberts Wesleyan University
Rochester, NY
I self-identify as a "Core fangirl!" I would love to be part of the continued development of this newly-formed division through serving as a Director-at-large on the Core Board of Directors; there is much work to be done in establishing Core both as a division within ALA and within librarianship in the United States. I greatly benefitted from LLAMA before the merge with LITA and ALCTS and I would greatly value the opportunity to learn more about the technology and technical services aspects of library work. I am inspired by our colleagues who have laid the groundwork for the creation of Core and would be honored to carry the torch forward by bringing my gifts of leadership, empathy, developing others, and advocating to the table. I want to work with like-minded colleagues to make Core known and loved within ALA!
View Kellie's answers to our candidate questionnaire.
Miranda Bennett
Director of Shared Collections
California Digital Library
Oakland, CA
As a Core Director-at-Large, I would focus my attention on two areas: member engagement and financial sustainability. As ALA's newest division, Core is well positioned to invest in the needs and interests of its members, providing opportunities for them to learn, collaborate, and serve, as their careers and the profession evolve. As a member of the Core Board, I would be eager to learn about what Core members want from their association and how Core leaders, members, and staff can work together to respond to those interests. At the same time, my many years of professional service as a member and leader of finance-focused committees and working groups have made me keenly aware of the importance of structures and systems that ensure adequate resources and strategically allocate them to support Core's mission. I believe I am well qualified to help Core balance its ambitious aspirations and its fiscal realities.
View Miranda's answers to our candidate questionnaire.
Kevin A. R. King
Head of Community Engagement
Kalamazoo Public Library
Kalamazoo, MI
Early in my leadership journey, I discovered that without establishing a rock-solid foundation of trust with my team, the path to an innovative and happy workplace would be fraught with disappointment, trouble, and hurt feelings. When I talk to fellow library workers about leadership and leaders, it has become apparent that a lack of trust has caused many critical projects to fail. Until leaders embrace the messy work of fostering trust at all levels, initiatives aimed at providing patrons with what they need to succeed, will at best require an inordinate amount of work or at worst destroy teams. I have made it a personal goal of mine to approach all teams with an open heart and a rock-solid effort to build trust. As a CORE Director-At-Large, I will commit myself to the issues that not only move the division mission forward but also foundational values that create future leaders.
View Kevin's answers to our candidate questionnaire.
Angie Ohler
Associate University Librarian for Collections and Content Strategy
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
As the past Chair of the ALA Core Metadata and Collections Section Leadership Team, I was honored to work with my fellow Core section leaders to help our new division reengage and build its membership. Over the past couple of years, I’ve heard from many Core members about what they hope our new division will represent, how we might work together to create a new shared community, and what it means to advocate for ourselves and the value of what we do as a profession. We share a passion for libraries and the good work our libraries do for our communities. If elected, I will work to ensure that Core remains an organization that offers everyone an opportunity to connect that passion to continued learning, advocacy, and professional growth.
View Angie's answers to our candidate questionnaire.
ALA Election
Core Members Running for ALA President-Elect
- Cindy Hohl
- Eric D. Suess (pdf)
The ALA Presidential Candidates Virtual Forum was held on Wednesday, February 15, at 2:30pm CT. Each candidate had the opportunity to share a statement and answer questions from members.
Core Members Running for ALA Council
- Steve Borrelli
- Jennifer Brown
- Nick Buron
- Carrie Herrmann
- Mihoko Hosoi
- Aubrey Iglesias
- Nadia Orozco-Sahi
- Andrew Pace
- Alexandra Rivera
- James Teliha
- Janice Welburn
- Harriet Wintermute