Please make sure your membership and e-mail address are current

Contact: Steve Zalusky


Communications Manager, ALA Public Information Office


312-280-1546


szalusky@ala.org




For Immediate Release,


December 4, 2007

American Library Association holds fifth online election

CHICAGO - For the fifth year, the American Library Association (ALA) will hold its election online. All paid ALA members as of Jan. 31, 2008, are eligible to vote in the 2008 election. Polls will open March 17, 2008.

To ensure that member e-mail records are accurate, ALA conducted an e-mail test in October. Members who change their e-mail addresses prior to Jan. 31, 2008, can update their information by:

Paper ballots will be sent to ALA members who do not have a valid e-mail address, or request a paper ballot prior to March 3, 2008. To request a paper ballot, please call 800-545-2433 (press 5) or send an e-mail to
membership@ala.org (please state on the subject line "paper ballot request"). Paper ballot packages will be mailed between March 17 and March 24, 2008.




As in previous elections, there will be an extended period between the last date for requesting a paper ballot (March 3, 2008) and the last date for returning the ballots (April 24, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. CST).



For the 2008 elections, all Web voters will receive electronic ballot information between March 17 and 19.



"Participating in the election offers ALA members a great opportunity to shape the future of their association," said Keith Michael Fiels, ALA executive director, who encouraged members to continue to take advantage of the opportunity to vote online. "We are pleased with the results of online voting, and members are participating in the election in record numbers."



The 2008 ballot meets all applicable W3C accessibility standards and can be read by common screen readers for the disabled. This allows ALA's visually impaired members to navigate Web sites by converting text and other visual symbols to audible speech.



For more information about the ALA election and candidates, visit
https://www.alavote.org.