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I’m back, both literally and figuratively. I just attended ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas and with a great group of hard working YALSA members we taped interviews with the YALSA candidates. They have been posted for you to listen to. This is just one more way to give you the information you need to make an informed decision about our potential officers and award committee members.

I followed up Midwinter with a visit to my mom in Washington DC. Now, going to Washington always makes me think about our system of government and the fact that it requires individuals to take action. In fact I think about what Winston Churchill said about our form of government. He said “It is said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.”

And how does this apply to YALSA you are asking? Well, in my last post I shared with you that only about 18% of YALSA members actually vote in our annual elections. Democracy requires that individuals vote, yet we don’t. Now, I personally love to vote and I think I can confidently say over the past many years since I became a eligible to vote, I probably haven’t missed an opportunity to vote whether it be locally, nationally, or in our division. I also recognize that because so many of you don’t vote my vote is really valuable, I really count.

So here I was in Washington DC and as I looked at all those monuments to democracy I kept asking myself why questions?

• Why do so few of us take that small amount of time and vote?
• Is it too hard?
• Are there barriers YALSA hasn’t considered to voting?
• Do our members just not care about what YALSA does for them and who does it?

Well I don’t have those answers, so I’m writing this post to everyone who will not be voting. Please tell me why. Help me understand why you choose not to vote. If you don’t want to comment on the blog, send me an email. My address is [email protected].

I would like to understand and if there is something YALSA can do to make it even easier, then I’ll share the information, not the names.

Help me understand why.

And don’t forget, polls for ALA and YALSA elections open March 19 and close April 27.

For the second year during Midwinter YALSA sponsored a Coffee with the Candidates. This event gives members of the association the chance to meet with those running for governance positions (on the 2012 slate) to ask questions about why each candidate is interested in running, what they think they bring to YALSA, and so on. Last year and this year I was impressed both with the questions being asked and with the thoughtfulness of the candidates in answering member questions. The small group speed networking format of the Coffee is perfect for getting to know each other.

At the beginning of the program all of the candidates agreed to be interviewed by members of YALSA’s 2012 Nominating Committee. You can listen to these informal interviews by selecting the links below. (You will also get a sense of the atmosphere of the Coffee via the background noise – including shouts of excitement and laughter.)

Vicki Emery and Steve Matthews running for ALA Councillor interviewed by Franklin Escobedo
Vicki Emery and Steve Matthews running for ALA Councillor interviewed by Franklin Escobedo

Priscille Dando, Sarah Soggigian, Matthew Moffett, and Candice Mack running for YALSA Board – interviewed by Judy Nelson
Priscille Dando, Sarah Soggigian, Matthew Moffett, and Candice Mack running for YALSA Board – interviewed by Judy Nelson

Mary Hastler and Shannon Peterson running for YALSA President-Elect/President – interviewed by Franklin Escobedo
Mary Hastler and Shannon Peterson running for YALSA President-Elect/President – interviewed by Franklin Escobedo

Over the next several weeks there will be more posts on the YALSA Blog about the election and voting. Don’t forget that the polls open March 19 and close April 27. All YALSA members want to take the opportunity to vote when the polls are open. It’s your opportunity to make sure YALSA is the association that you want it to be.