Dear Friends and Colleagues, Earlier this month, Sally Stieglitz quoted from a letter, where Hannah Handler Hostyk, Co-President of the Stirling Library Friends, Broward County Library in Florida, wrote a glowing endorsement for Kelvin Watson, a candidate for the presidency of the American Library Association. The election takes place from March 14ᵗʰ through April 6ᵗʰ and is to determine who will be president-elect beginning in June of this year and ALA president for 2023-2024.
Within the last several weeks, AJL held Zoom interviews with the two candidates running for this very important, highly visible office. I listened and watched carefully. I can say unhesitatingly that Kelvin Watson is extremely well qualified and has all the experience and qualities that one could possibly look for in the leader of the world's oldest and largest professional library association. He is a thoughtful, considerate librarian and administrator with a wealth of experience and is very sensitive to Jewish concerns. He has worked in virtually every aspect of librarianship from vendor to ALA Spectrum Scholar to librarian to library director, beginning with Ingram Library Services, Borders, and The Library Corporation (TLC) to the USDA National Agricultural Library to COO/senior vice president for Queens Library to director of the Broward County Libraries to name just a few. Currently, Kelvin serves as executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. He is responsible for 25 branches with over 600 employees, a collection of 3.2 million items in a district that covers 8,000 square miles and oversees a budget of $77 million. >From my interactions with Kelvin, I have to say, he listens carefully to people, doesn't just talk about doing things, but takes action, collaborates really well with very diverse communities, including the Jewish users of the library systems he has supervised. Just yesterday, he helped arrange it so that AJL will be invited to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance at ALA conferences. I just mentioned to him once that AJL was the only ALA ethnic affiliate that has been excluded from this annual event, and he immediately took action by contacting the relevant people to make sure that AJL will be included in the future. But don't just take my word for it. Hannah Handler Hostyk said, “He’s the first director to truly understand how key a library is to a specific community in our county and has gone out of his way to include the Jewish community as a community with specific needs...” Here's what Sari Feldman, ALA President, 2015-2016, and a keynote speaker at AJL's 5oᵗʰ anniversary Annual Conference said: “Kelvin is the ALA Presidential candidate who looks toward and speaks for the future of the Association...His organizational and entrepreneurial leadership extends beyond the library and into the community, garnering him awards and accolades for his contribution to the profession and community well-being...Kelvin is a mentor to many, an effective spokesperson on library issues, and the best candidate to lead ALA into the future. He has my highest endorsement for ALA President, and I encourage you to vote for Kelvin Watson, ALA President, 2023-2024.” But besides all his great qualities, Kelvin Watson is truly a *mentsh!* More at Kelvin Watson for Libraries <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://kelvinwatsonorg.squarespace.com/__;!!KGKeukY!h4e-Y2e6h3QveWuHblUkEkTZO2k_achzWyR2PoJHFlQybZj3B9T15ZjZwd4t185yx6dAzNW0uTdWDtI$ > and Endorsements — Kelvin Watson for Libraries <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://kelvinwatsonorg.squarespace.com/endorsements__;!!KGKeukY!h4e-Y2e6h3QveWuHblUkEkTZO2k_achzWyR2PoJHFlQybZj3B9T15ZjZwd4t185yx6dAzNW0m9Vgp78$ > If you missed the AJL interview with Kelvin, here's the link: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/CYy9PCzGYO0__;!!KGKeukY!h4e-Y2e6h3QveWuHblUkEkTZO2k_achzWyR2PoJHFlQybZj3B9T15ZjZwd4t185yx6dAzNW01UNpI3o$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/CYy9PCzGYO0?fbclid=IwAR1otRugIemUX_kC1vL7Epph5H2FQpOUj_9hROVjeF-cX0rpj7lTSNaZ__4__;!!KGKeukY!h4e-Y2e6h3QveWuHblUkEkTZO2k_achzWyR2PoJHFlQybZj3B9T15ZjZwd4t185yx6dAzNW0oMsR2K0$ > If you are an ALA member and/or know people who are, please vote for Kelvin Watson for ALA president and/or ask your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to do the same. Ballots will be sent out in mid-March, and voting ends April 6ᵗʰ. If you're not yet an ALA member and have been thinking of joining, you have just until January 31ˢᵗ, only a few days away, to join if you want to be eligible to vote in the upcoming ALA election. Elliot *Elliot H. Gertel* *עלע־הערש גערטל / אליהו־צבי גרטל* *Irving M. Hermelin Curator Emeritus of Judaica* *Member, ALA EMIERT Jewish Information Committee (2020-2022)* *The University of Michigan* *Ann Arbor, Michigan* *[email protected]* <[email protected]>
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