Hostile Workplace - Avis employé Employé (anonyme) American Library Assoc.

Management in the Publishing department on the other hand was something very different. I found it to be a hostile workplace due to certain individuals. One person in particular used a "kiss up/kick down" management style which has apparently worked well, as this person is still there in a senior role. I came to believe that my boss was scared of him and always sided with him as a means of self-preservation. As other reviewers have noted there are bitter rivalries between various senior managers, and their underlings can sometimes end up as collateral damage. I know of about a half dozen people who have left the Publishing division to work in other departments within the ALA. This may be evidence that I was not alone in having a bad experience there. Membership at ALA has been falling for years and is now at a 20 year low. Some librarians feel that they get a better deal with their state and local library associations and others just don't like the ALA's positions on social and political issues. For these reasons I do not have an optimistic outlook for the ALA..