Rettig wins close ALA race.(lj news)(James Rettig, American Library Association)(Brief article)

James Rettig, university librarian at the University of Richmond, VA, and an expert on reference, has been elected 2008-09 president of the American Library Association (ALA), defeating Nancy Davenport, a longtime Library of Congress executive and president, Nancy Davenport and Associates, in a close 7,033 to 6,908 vote. It was the fourth election in which ALA members voted electronically, and the number of voters continued to edge up, to 15,031. In 2006, there were a total of 13,600 ballots cast. ALA has more than 64,000 members.

Rettig, who will become president-elect in June 2007, will assume the presidency a year later, following the annual …