Hayden, Strauch Seek ALA Presidency

Carla Hayden, executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, and Katina Strauch, head of collection development at the College of Charleston (SC) Libraries, are candidates seeking the 2003–2004 presidency of the American Library Association (ALA).

Former chair of ALA's Committee on Accreditation and its Spectrum Initiative, Hayden is a member of the Black Caucus of ALA and the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of ALA. She has served as first deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library and has taught in the University of Pittsburgh's School of Library and Information Science. In addition to running Enoch Pratt, Hayden teaches at the College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland at College Park.

Strauch has been active within ALA and the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS). She recently co-chaired the ALCTS Acquisitions Librarians/Vendors of Library Materials discussion group. Strauch founded the Charleston Conference on library acquisition issues, and chairs the board of the Charleston Report and the Charleston Advisor . She is also the founder and editor of Against the Grain, a library news journal. In 1996, Strauch received the South Carolina Outstanding Librarian Award.

ALA members will vote on the spring ballot. The successful candidate will serve as ALA vice president/president-elect for 2002–2003. More on the candidates, including their views on children's services, will appear in our March issue.