We asked candidates for Core President-Elect to answer some questions before the spring election opens on March 9, 2026. Voting will close April 1. The Core President is elected to a three-year term that begins at the conclusion of the 2026 ALA Annual Conference, serving one year each as President-Elect (2026-2027), President (2027-2028), and Immediate Past-President (2028-2029).
Cara is Head, Acquisitions at Indiana University – Bloomington.
1. What has Core brought to your career, and what would you bring to Core if you are elected to this position?
Core has given me a homebase. Whether work has been overwhelming or pursuing tenure has gotten stressful, Core has been that place I can come back to and be supported. Core has brought me and many others so many professional development opportunities from participating in a web course to meeting colleagues with similar values and interests through IGs or committees to connecting with great mentors and mentees as duties grow and your job changes to presenting at Core Forum or during a Core program at ALA Annual. Core has been there to celebrate my wins and aid me in developing into the librarian I am today.
I’m proud of what Core has achieved so far and grateful I could be part of its story and celebrate its fifth anniversary. Core was an idea that many worked fiercely to make a reality. It has become a place where many different kinds of library workers can mesh ideas and create new connections. I want to continue that legacy by forging new partnerships within ALA and deepening current ones. Core has shown itself to be a leader in many spaces and is willing to explore new paths to grow. As ALA navigates its next steps, I want to ensure Core’s and our members’ voices are part of those conversations and that the board continues to bring information back to our members. Core has become a home to many and I want to ensure we continue to be a welcoming place where new, current, and former members can see themselves, increase their skills, and celebrate their wins.
2. Member engagement is critical for the life and health of the Core Division. How do you plan to sustain and grow Core’s membership?
I want to expand on what I have said previously when running for Director at Large. I still feel that our members are our best marketing tool. I know that is how I first became involved with ALCTS. A member introduced me to Budget & Finance and then I found more groups that spoke to my interests and then Core brought my Tech Services side and Leadership & Management sides together. Seeing my colleagues be recognized via “I am Core” and hearing from other members about their work professionally and within Core, I believe are strong signals to others that Core is the place to be! I saw this firsthand when as NMRT President I planned the ALA New Member Orientation. I reached out to Core to have a representative attend and speak about Core events to first time attendees. Angie Ohler was the right person for the job. She brought energy and kept driving the point home that Core had space for everyone. We even saw attendees from that session attend Core 101 the next day! I think we should continue to pursue a connection with NMRT. That way we can show new ALA members who we are as members of Core and how Core can help them get to where they want to be as their careers move ahead. NMRT’s ALA Annual social has traditionally been on Sunday evening, but ALA may be blocking off that time for conference events. We could invite NMRT to partner with Core for a future social and then share both groups’ awards so NMRT members and ALA Student chapters (since winners of the NMRT Student Chapter of the Year Award attend) can see what opportunities Core has, as well as how fun Core is! Being able to communicate Core’s value to new members can have them checking the join Core box come renewal time.
The NMRT Social has been a good tool to encourage partnership. When I chaired it the last couple of years, I used it as a way to bring together groups and encourage connection among members, the same goals Core’s social has. We partnered with SustainRT and Retired Members RT on different occasions with success. We were able to pool funds to provide some additional refreshments and incorporate new thinking into our planning process, like asking for reusable cups to decrease trash and incorporating games to break the ice. I believe this year NMRT is reprising our partnership with RMRT because of the positive feedback we received. I’d love to explore this as an option for Core. We can increase the visibility of Core (while maybe decreasing competing events). We can also give our members chances to directly interact with other groups and we potentially get people interested in seeing what else Core has to offer.
3. How will you pursue collaboration between sections of Core and across ALA?
To support collaboration, I would like to model this through Core level events. Core creates valuable preconferences. This could be an easy way to approach a Roundtable for a partnership, like perhaps Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) and our Metadata and Collections Section have a shared topic and between these two groups we could have a unique batch of experts while both parties can reach additional audiences. By modeling at board, section, and division committee levels and having Directors at Large communicate that collaboration is something we are striving for, I would hope to see section committees and IGs reach out to counterparts in other divisions across ALA and Core. I know our Diversity and Inclusion Committee has been in conversations with PCC EDIBA about partnering and even brought a proposal to the Executive Board for consideration. I would love to foster ideas like this.
To foster collaboration more specifically across Core, I would want to continue to encourage chairs to attend section level and leadership meetings. These meetings can highlight topics that are being pursued by groups within Core and leaders can bring back ideas for potential partners. Also, board liaisons can suggest potential connections. Some of the introspection ALA asked Core to do around our committees can be dug more into, I believe the current Vice President is actively looking at this, but I hope that some natural partnerships may float to the top or we could pair some groups that we identified as areas to increase support in. This way they have more volunteers to support plans while hopefully not putting a larger burden on staff.
4. What does equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) mean in your professional life, and how should these be implemented within Core and in larger advocacy efforts?
My past work has shown me that the Equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA), you can also add a B for Belonging too, needs to be incorporated at every level. It doesn’t thrive if it’s pushed from the top or only looked at by one named committee. My time on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee showed me that Core was thinking about this at multiple levels whether that was building programs that have applications for different library types, highlighting work that makes our metadata less harmful and more inclusive of those using it, or bringing speakers from underrepresented identities or areas beyond libraries to increase perspectives. EDIA are central to librarianship and I see them play out in my work every day. I continue to learn, grow, and explore ways I can center EDIA and unique voices and perspectives within my work.
I also recently came across an article while doing research by a former Core Director at Large, Lauren Corbett, the Value of Technical Services. It was from 2018, but some of the notes, especially about IMLS, mirrored what has been going on this past year. Corbett highlighted ALA’s, ACRL’s, and ALCTS’ advocacy efforts. She noted ALA has easily doable actions like template emails to congress people, ACRL developed a “Road Show” related to assessments was ramping up their efforts. Two years later ALCTS was rolled into Core and we have been seeing interest from members on learning how to communicate value and advocate for their libraries or departments, but also looking to Core to lead. We can be hindered by budget, as Core continues to improve our end of year earnings and ALA right sizes we can advocate for new opportunities. IMLS was in danger, Core was quick to evaluate and respond. Core did what good librarians do; we connected to reputable sources, supported our stance, and provided a clear way to do something. Our members look to Core to advocate on their behalf to ALA, but also to help them find the best ways to advocate at smaller levels. With Core restructuring some committees, I think we have some work to do in finding the right balance. Smaller level advocacy may be best served through Continuing Education to give members confidence and the skills to put into action. Diversity and Inclusion reviews reports to discern trends and needs that Core can meet. Larger advocacy is a good place to collaborate with ALA. The Public Policy and Advocacy office has been around since 1945 and perhaps in a similar fashion to Core partnering with ALA’s Marketing that has been beneficial, Core can look into utilizing this internal ALA resource.
5. What’s one thing you think Core is doing particularly well and that you intend to support or enhance? What should the division change?
I’m sure this is not news to anyone, but I think Core has consistently been strong with Continuing Education and our conference programming. Core has developed and maintained a group of fundamental web courses. Plus, Core and our members did not stop at the main set, but built out new topics as well. The “Best of” webinars that bring highly rated programs to larger audiences was a smart idea. With local budget cuts, in-person conferencing can be out of reach for many, but being able to bring those programs to larger audiences allows us to be multifaceted and disseminate information further. I’m always proud to hear that Core affiliated programming fills many slots at ALA Annual and that Core Forum has seen consistent growth. I would continue to support committees developing webinars and other programming to fulfill member needs, but ensure we strike a balance between need, ideas, and capacity so we promote sustainable expectations for committees, members, and Core staff.
As to change, I would like to see Core be able to implement suggestions from Emerging leaders about developing leaders from within and explore additional pathways to leadership. The Leadership and Management section has asked mentor pairs about their interest in pursuing or developing leadership qualities. I would like to see Core utilizing its internal strength and data to identify potential leaders and foster them and those skills so Core can be full of great leaders at every level for many years to come.
