By Charles Kratz, SRRT Coordinator & Dean, The University of Scranton Weinberg Library, Scranton, PA
My name is Charles Kratz, and it is my pleasure to serve as the SRRT Coordinator for 2019-20. For other information on the round table, please click on http://www.ala.org/rt/srrt
I am pleased to announce the SRRT Officers, Coordinators and Representatives for 2019-2020:
- Coordinator - Charles Kratz
- Coordinator elect - April Sheppard
- Treasurer - Lisa Eichholtz
- Secretary - Jane Cothron
- Nominating Committee Chair - Stavroula Harissis
- Feminist Task Force (FTF) Coordinator – Sherre Harrington
- Hunger, Homelessness, & Poverty Task Force (HHPTF) – Julie Winkelstein
- International Responsibilities Task Force (IRTF) Coordinator – Tom Twiss & Al Kagan
- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Task Force Coordinator – LaJuan Pringle
- SRRT Representative on ALA Program Jury - Sherre Harrington
- SRRT Liaison to Planning & Budget Assembly - Lisa Eichholtz
- SRRT Liaison to Intellectual Freedom Committee - Mark Hudson
- SRRT Liaison to ODLOS Advisory Committee – Jane Cothron
- SRRT Liaison to ALA Literacy Assembly - Marna Clowney-Robinson
- SRRT Website Coordinator – April Sheppard
- SRRT Social Media Coordinator – Stavroula Harissis
- SRRT Newsletter Co-Editor – Julie Winkelstein
- SRRT Newsletter Ad Hoc Co-Editor– Melissa Cardinas-Dow
- Herb Biblo Conference Travel Grants Selection Committee - Charles Kratz (chair) , Marna Clowney-Robinson, April Sheppard, Mark Hudson
1. SRRT Membership
SRRT will share news and information with members once a month through the SRRT Membership (SRRTAC-L) listserv.
According to the July 2019 ALA Membership Report, SRRT has seen a 4.48% increase in membership since last year. We continue to be the largest round table in ALA. Congratulations to the other round tables who saw an increase. Thank you, Al Kagan and the SRRT Membership Committee for all of your hard work!
- Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) 1865, +4.48%
- Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) 1785, +0.56%
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) 1446, +3.51%
- Sustainability Round Table (SUSTRT) 1135, +31.82%
- Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) 952, +1.71%
ALA has 56,089, -2.79%
As a reminder, international members of ALA can now join SRRT for $8.00 per year.
2. SRRT Newsletter
The SRRT Newsletter is always looking to add pieces on social issues, especially how these intersect with librarianship. Perhaps you read something in previous issues of the newsletter that you are interested in responding to or adding your voice? We welcome and want your submissions. The submission deadline for the next SRRT Newsletter is August 30th. The minutes for the Action Council meetings held during ALA Annual will be published in the newsletter.
3. The Herb Biblo Conference Travel Grants
I am excited to announce the Herb Biblo Conference Travel Grants sponsored by the Social Responsibilities Round Table that will help finance attendance at the ALA Annual Conference. The $1000 award covers limited fees related to airfare, lodging, and conference registration. This award is given out on an annual basis. Deadline to apply is December 15 of each year. All applicants will be notified of the Ad Hoc Selection Committee's decision by January 15 each year. Look for a press release with application information mid-September 2019.
Eligibility
Applicants must be personal ALA/SRRT members.
Applicant Responsibility
All recipients will be asked to agree to the following:
- Recipient will confirm in writing with the SRRT Conference Travel Grants Ad Hoc Selection Committee that they will be attend the ALA Annual Conference.
- Recipient will agree to attend certain conference-related functions as requested in advance by the SRRT Conference Travel Grants Ad Hoc Selection Committee.
- Recipient will attend the two SRRT Action Council Meetings during ALA Annual Conference and the SRRT Membership Meeting.
- Recipient will agree to write a SRRT newsletter article about their ALA Conference experience.
- If the recipient is unable to complete the terms of this grant, they must notify the SRRT Conference Travel Grants Ad Hoc Selection Committee and return any funds received under the grant.
Selection Criteria
The selection of grant recipients will rest solely with the SRRT Conference Travel Grants Ad Hoc Selection Committee which will be composed of three SRRT members. The SRRT Coordinator will appoint such committee.
The committee will consider the following in its deliberations:
- Current and potential contributions the applicant will/can make to ALA and SRRT.
- How the applicant intends to use the ALA conference experience in their career, at their home institution and/or in local, state and regional associations.
- The applicant's current involvement at local, state, regional and/or national associations.
- The committee will also consider the applicant's overall proposal.
- Please do not hesitate to apply for the grant because you feel you have not done enough as a member of SRRT. We are interested in your potential, ability and willingness to make future contributions.
Questions regarding the application for the SRRT Conference Travel Grants Ad Hoc Selection Committee may be directed to Chair, SRRT Conference Travel Grants Ad Hoc Selection Committee
Notification
All applicants will be notified of the committee's decision by January 15 each year. The Ad Hoc Selection Committee will consider advance funding for air travel and conference registration after notification of the successful grant.
4. Website Update Task Force
I am pleased to announce that we have a task force led by April Sheppard, SRRT Coordinator-elect to update the SRRT web site. That group is also working on a redesign of the SRRT logo.
5. Get Involved in SRRT and ALA
If you would like to become more involved in SRRT and/or its task forces, please let me know so I can direct you to a task force coordinator. The SRRT Task Forces are: the Feminist Task Force (FTF); the Hunger, Homelessness, & Poverty Task Force (HHPTF); the International Responsibilities Task Force (IRTF); and the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Task Force (MLKHTF). For more information on our task forces, please click on http://www.ala.org/rt/srrt/advocacy-and-task-forces
In addition, SRRT Action Council is also always looking for SRRT members to run for open positions. If you plan on attending the Midwinter and Annual Conferences, please join us at our Action Council meeting or attend the all task force meeting. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas on how to better support member engagement, please let us know – Charles.Kratz@scranton.edu. We hope to hear from you!
6. How to Run for a SRRT or ALA Position
The more official involvement is easier than you may think. You just need to do it and not wait for someone else to nominate you or encourage you.
- SRRT Action Council: All ALA members may attend SRRT Action Council meetings but only Action Council members may vote. Do you want a vote? Then run to be a member of SRRT Action Council. The terms are 3-year terms. Those elected this spring will have terms starting at the end of the 2020 Annual Conference through the end of the 2023 Annual Conference. There are 4 Action Council terms expiring in 2020. To run for a position, you need to fill out the form at https://www.directvote.net/alanomination/2020users.html. Go to the Divisions/Roundtables ballots for SRRT Action Council ballot. The more complete the information you provide the better it is for all of us when we are voting.
- ALA Council: SRRT has one official ALA Council member but it helps to promote our issues if there are even more SRRT members on ALA Council Believe it or not, it is almost as easy to run for ALA Council as it is to run for SRRT Action Council. You just need to fill out an E-Petition and then let us know you are running so that we can sign your petition. Beginning with the ALA 2017 elections, the period for filing petitions runs from the first Wednesday in October through the first Wednesday in December. The petition form for the 2020 election will become available on October 2, 2019. For more information click on the link below:
7. Finally let us know what you are doing in your communities
Post something about what you are doing in your library or in your state association that you think would be of interest to others in SRRT. Give us some inspiration about things that we can be doing in our own communities or within ALA. Start a discussion about a topic. There are three good places to do these things. Subscribe to srrtac-l, our official discussion list, at http://lists.ala.org/sympa/info/srrtac-l and then post to the list. Post to our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/2408144515/. Start a discussion in ALA Connect at http://connect.ala.org/srrt.
On behalf of the SRRT Action Council, we look forward to working with you.
Charles Kratz
SRRT Action Council Coordinator, 2019-2020