Standing for Election 2025-26 ALSC Board of Directors

In an effort to help ALSC members make an informed decision before they vote, today’s blog post consists of statements from the two candidates standing for election to the 2025-26 ALSC Board of Directors; one candidate will be elected. Both candidates submitted a written statement.

Alia Rachel Jones is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate

Hello. I’m excited to be on the ballot for the ALSC Board of Directors. I’ve had a winding path to libraries—I’ve been an elementary school teacher in Daegu, South Korea, a children’s bookseller, and a library assistant at Cincinnati’s Public Library & the University of Cincinnati. This May, I will earn my MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool.

I first got involved with ALSC through service on the ALSC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force (2017-2020). I also participated in the 2018 Bill Morris Seminar and served on the 2020 Caldecott Committee, the 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Jury, and most recently, the 2025 Batchelder Committee. I am very grateful for these opportunities.

“We do this for the children.” One of my favorite people is a brilliant, compassionate & community-focused children’s librarian in Boston named Sujei Lugo. We’ve said this to each other many times over the years, usually when the world feels heavy and the library field is stressful. It’s a reminder of why we do this work. I’m ready to do some work as a member of the ALSC Board. Thank you.

Alia Rachel Jones

Ana-Elba Pavon is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate.

A public librarian for over 30 years, I am thrilled to stand for election to the ALSC Board of Directors. I am known for being a Spanish-Services Children’s Librarian but have worked in very diverse communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area serving people of all ages in Spanish and English. I have served on various ALSC Committees that include the Newbery, Arbuthnot Honor Lecture, Nominating & Leadership
Development, Belpre Expansion Task Force, Public Awareness & Advocacy more than once, and the (ALSC/REFORMA) Belpre Award Selection Committee once as a member and once as Chair.

Now that I am semi-retired and work on-call at the library where I worked my way through college, I would like to give back to ALSC. I came to ALSC through REFORMA, serving as its National President when we celebrated the Belpre Award’s 10th Anniversary. I am proud to say that during that time, we worked hard to unite ALSC and REFORMA in our common initiatives that serve all children regardless of ethnicity, language, economic status, and background. I hope to bring their perspectives to the decision-making table and encourage others from, or who work with, underserved communities to join us in making ALSC stronger.

Ana-Elba Pavon

The 2025 ALA Election opens Monday, March 10th and closes Wednesday, April 2nd. One candidate will be elected to the 2025-26 ALSC Board of Directors Don’t forget to vote!

The post Standing for Election 2025-26 ALSC Board of Directors appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 In an effort to help ALSC members make an informed decision before they vote, today’s blog post consists of statements from the two candidates standing for election to the 2025-26 ALSC Board of Directors; one candidate will be elected. Both candidates submitted a written statement. Alia Rachel Jones is standing for election as an ALSC Board of Directors candidate Hello. I’m excited to be on the ballot for the ALSC Board of Directors. I’ve had a winding path to libraries—I’ve been an elementary school teacher in Daegu, South Korea, a children’s bookseller, and a library assistant at Cincinnati’s Public Library & the University of Cincinnati. This May, I will earn my MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool. I first got involved with ALSC through service on the ALSC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force (2017-2020). I also participated in the 2018 Bill Morris Seminar and served on the 2020…
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