Statement of Appropriate Conduct

Community of Care at ALA Conferences

In support of the Code of Conduct, ALA will implement a Community of Care at LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience and the Annual Conference & Exhibition.

Our goal is to enhance a sense of community and safety by providing resources that offer conference attendees tangible support through the following measures:

• Communicating/Reinforcing the ALA Code of Conduct: ALA will post and emphasize its Code of Conduct at conferences and in conference communications. ALA will also expect abidance to the Code of Conduct protocols at offsite programs hosted by vendors and exhibitors.
  
• Conference Ombudsperson and Community of Care Team: An ALA staff member will serve as a conference ombudsperson who will coordinate and support the Community of Care Team. This team will be a corps of ALA members stationed across the conference venue(s) and easily identified by a Community of Care ribbon on their badge, in the event that triage is needed.
  
• Mental Health and Counseling support: ALA will engage a mental health professional who will be available throughout the conference. A communal and tranquil Quiet Room will be available for attendees looking for a calm space during the conference.

Statement of Appropriate Code of Conduct

The American Library Association (ALA) holds professional conferences and meetings to enable its members to receive continuing education, build professional networks, and discover new products and services for professional use. ALA is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all meeting participants and ALA staff. All participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, ALA staff members, service providers, and all others are expected to abide by this Code of Conduct. This Policy applies to all ALA meeting-related events, including those sponsored by organizations other than ALA but held in conjunction with ALA events, on public or private platforms.

As an association, ALA is strongly committed to diversity, equity, and the free expression of ideas. These values have been repeatedly delineated in ALA policy (for instance: Policy A.1.4 – Core Organizational Values; Policy B.1.1 – Core Values of Librarianship; Policy B.1.2 – Code of Professional Ethics). Taken cumulatively, the values and beliefs delineated within ALA policy describe conduct based on a firm belief in the value of civil discourse and the free exploration of competing ideas and concepts – with a fundamental respect for the rights, dignity, and value of all persons.

ALA has zero-tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment by participants or our staff at our meetings. If you experience harassment or hear of any incidents of unacceptable behavior, ALA asks that you inform ALA Conferences Services at confs@ala.org, so that we can take the appropriate action.

Unacceptable Behavior is defined as:

• Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form.
• Verbal abuse of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ALA staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
• Examples of verbal abuse include, but are not limited to, verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ALA staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
• Disruption of presentations during sessions, in the LLX Marketplace, or at other events organized by ALA throughout the meeting. All participants must comply with the instructions of the moderator and any ALA event staff.
• Presentations, postings, and messages should not contain promotional materials, special offers, job offers, product announcements, or solicitation for services. ALA reserves the right to remove such messages and potentially ban sources of those solicitations.
• Participants should not copy or take screen shots of Q&A or any chat room activity that takes place in the virtual space.
• Participants should refrain from posting content online and via social media that might defame, negatively affect, or otherwise cause harm to individuals or institutions.

ALA reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, and ALA reserves the right to prohibit attendance at any future meeting, virtually or in person.

ALA Virtual Meeting Code of Conduct

The American Library Association (ALA) holds professional conferences and meetings to enable its members to receive continuing education, build professional networks, and discover new products and services for professional use. ALA is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all meeting participants and ALA staff. All participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, ALA staff members, service providers, and all others are expected to abide by this Virtual Code of Conduct. This Policy applies to all ALA meeting-related events, including those sponsored by organizations other than ALA but held in conjunction with ALA events, on public or private platforms.

As an association, ALA is strongly committed to diversity, equity, and the free expression of ideas. These values have been repeatedly delineated in ALA policy (for instance: Policy A.1.4 – Core Organizational Values; Policy B.1.1 – Core Values of Librarianship; Policy B.1.2 – Code of Professional Ethics). Taken cumulatively, the values and beliefs delineated within ALA policy describe conduct based on a firm belief in the value of civil discourse and the free exploration of competing ideas and concepts – with a fundamental respect for the rights, dignity, and value of all persons.

ALA has zero-tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment by participants or our staff at our meetings. If you experience harassment or hear of any incidents of unacceptable behavior, ALA asks that you inform ALA Conferences Services at confs@ala.org, so that we can take the appropriate action.

Unacceptable Behavior is defined as:

• Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form.
• Verbal abuse of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ALA staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
• Examples of verbal abuse include, but are not limited to, verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ALA staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
• Disruption of presentations during sessions, in the LLX Marketplace, or at other events organized by ALA throughout the virtual meeting. All participants must comply with the instructions of the moderator and any ALA virtual event staff.
• Presentations, postings, and messages should not contain promotional materials, special offers, job offers, product announcements, or solicitation for services. ALA reserves the right to remove such messages and potentially ban sources of those solicitations.
• Participants should not copy or take screen shots of Q&A or any chat room activity that takes place in the virtual space.

ALA reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, and ALA reserves the right to prohibit attendance at any future meeting, virtually or in person.