The ALIA election candidates for the 2008 - 2010 term have now been announced for both the Vice President and the Director roles and its a very impressive cross section of skills and experience from which the ALIA membership can choose.

A a new initiative this year in the election process is to ask candidates to respond to a series of questions so that the membership knows a little bit more about whom they are voting onto the Board as well as making sure the candidates are more accessible to the membership. Its a trial so it will be interesting to see what the Board candidates think.

My own view is that its a good idea as the Board has huge responsibilities and as such the ALIA membership has to take their voting right very seriously. Through the questions and direct access to candidates, the membership can make sure they have as much information as possible so they can make an informed vote. This can be particularly important to overseas members who might not know many of the candidates that well.

Anyway, here are my responses. You are very welcome to contact me directly or on this blog if you want to know more.

http://www.alia.org.au/governance/elections/2008/board/MB.responses.questions.html

Some people might be wondering why I am renominating for a second term. The answer is that I believe that I have good skills to offer to the Board, that I have a lot more I want to do on the Board and that the learning and understanding that I have gained by being on the Board for the past two years will ensure I make a meaningful and hopefully substantial contibution for another two years.

Best of luck to everyone nominating for the Board.

Michelle