CLAWS History

CLAWS History

In early 2019, CLAMS (College Librarians and Media Specialists of Washington) voted to dissolve and join WLA. They formed the following WLA Section: College Libraries Across Washington State (CLAWS). CLAWS now serves as a hub for library professionals in the Community and Technical Colleges (CTC) system of Washington State. During 2019, the first (partial) year of CLAWS, a steering committee led the transition. 2020 saw the first voted-in officers lead CLAWS, Greg Bem (Chair) and Katie Hart (Secretary/Communications).

In early 2020, the CLAWS logo was voted on and selected. Many thanks to Corinna Whitehurst of Walla Walla Community College for this contribution.

The original goals of CLAWS, identified by the founding steering committee, included:

Advocating for equity in higher education and the workforce while emphasizing the diverse and ever-evolving needs of our campus communities;
Amplifying system-wide concerns to Library Leadership Council (LLC) and promoting integration and cooperation of library services into college programs;
Increasing quality of library services, as well as information literacy development and practices in instruction;
Promoting inter-library cooperation, idea sharing, professional development opportunities, and best practices directly benefiting student success;
Seeking out innovative and sustainable initiatives that are open and equitable in developing quality library services, collection development, and user experience.