On the Question of Virtual Members of ALA and Council Committees


Thank you for responding to my call for volunteers to serve on ALA and Council committes! Almost 70 people have completed the online appointment form.

I noticed a recent post to the ALA Members list asking about virtual membership and calling on more virtual membership slots for committee appointments. Here's my interpretation of how this is handled.

I reviewed the ALA Policy Manual and located the Section on "Organization and Operational Policies--Units, Committees, Etc." 6.16.

The process for establishing virtual members is as follows: Someone needs to make a request to establish virtual members on an ALA or Council Committee in writing to the ALA Committee on Organization (COO). This written request likely comes in the form of a resolution from a particular Standing Committee in its report to Council. When the recommendation is approved by COO then COO takes it back to ALA Council for consideration.