SDLA Councilor's Comments

ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans, LA

2011-07-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

ALA New Orleans was hot, hot, hot! It is too much to try and condense here but take my word for it, the conference was great. Annual next year is in Anaheim, so make plans now to attend.

The following links take you to Council documents and actions, and will provide you with an idea of the topics of discussion on Council floor. Please contact me directly if you have any questions.

ALA Council Documents 2011 (Annual and Midwinter)
ALA Actions 2011 Annual

Thank you, SDLA, for allowing me this opportunity to give back to the Association. It has been an educational, enlightening and entertaining six years.

Lea Briggs
Chapter Councilor
Lea.Briggs@presentation.edu

ALA Annual 2011 Wrap-up

2011-06-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Links to documents containing actions of Council will follow when processed by the Council Secretariat.

Three documents of particular note are “think pieces” requested by ALA President Roberta Stevens. They are the report of the Future Perfect Presidential Task Force: Envisioning ALA’s Governance in the 21st Century, the Report of the Presidential Task Force on Equitable Access to Electronic Content (EQUACC), and the Report of the Presidential Task Force for Improving the Effectiveness of ALA’s Council.

I would like to thank the SD Library Association for its support of my attendance at the ALA conferences for the past 6 years.

URGENT: Contact your U.S. Senators - ask them to sign on to library funding letter

2011-06-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Contact your U.S. Senators - ask them to sign on to library funding letter
Take Action!

Please call both of your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to sign onto this letter by COB Wednesday, June 8. Also ask library supporters to contact your senators as well.
Senators Jack Reed and Olympia Snowe are leading an effort to increase support for FY2012 federal funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries. Tell your senators’ staffers to contact Elyse Wasch in Reed’s office or Matthew Hussey in Snowe’s office. We need other senators to sign the Reed-Snowe letter as soon as possible. Please call immediately.

It may help if you describe at least one valuable service that your library provides the community or a success story about a library patron. Examples include access to computers and data services to aid job searchers, support for small businesses with marketing data and other resources as well as teaching digital literacy to people of all ages including K-12 students.

ALA & E-books

2011-03-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Mike Mullin asked about discussion at the ALA level on the recent decision by an e-book publisher to limit usage. Here is a message on the topic from ALA President Roberta Stevens.

Lea Briggs
Chapter Councilor
---------------------------------------------------------
From: Roberta Stevens [mailto:rstevens@ala.org]
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 11:57 AM
To: alacoun@ala.org
Subject: [alacoun] Message re E-Books

Message to the ALA Executive Board, Council, Division and Round Table Leadership, Equitable Access to Electronic Content Task Force and OITP’s E-Book Subcommittee:

Recent developments in the e-book marketplace have underscored the importance of a model for e-book purchasing and lending that reflects the interests of all of the stakeholders: authors, publishers, booksellers, libraries and, ultimately, the public.

At the recent Midwinter Meeting, my president’s report identified the names of the members of the Equitable Access to Electronic Content task force, which was created in response to a Council resolution. The task force, chaired by Linda Crowe and Michael Porter, will be meeting in Washington next week for a working retreat that is being financially supported by ALA. Among other groups, they will get assistance from OITP’s E-Book subcommittee.

I do not take your concerns about changes in the e-book pricing approach lightly. However, due to the far-reaching and long-term effects, the task force deserves time to gather information and examine the complex issues involved in equitable access to electronic content, including e-books. We will receive their report at the Annual Conference and I look forward to our using it, as an association, to formulate actions that will ensure we have 21st century libraries to meet the needs of our users.

Meanwhile, please feel free to continue communicating your viewpoints to publishers and e-book distributors.

Thank you for speaking up.

Roberta Stevens
ALA President

2011 ALA Midwinter Actions, Documents and Audio Recordings

2011-01-31T09:09:00.000-08:00

The actions, documents, and audio recordings of the Council meetings are available at:
Actions: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/council_actions/index.cfm

Documents: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/council_documents/docu_inventory_mw2011.cfm
Audio Recordings: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/councilaudio/index.cfm

Lois Ann Gregory-Wood
ALA Council Secretariat

Council III

2011-01-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2011

Highlights:

Elected to Executive Board are: Dora Ho, Sylvia K. Norton, and Michael Porter.

Approved resolutions:
· To make several cosmetic updates to bylaws to standardize wording related to Council elections
· To support the National Portrait Gallery exhibits and to resist censorship of such exhibits

Check http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/index.cfm later for full details of official actions.

Many thanks to SDLA for its support of my travels as Chapter Councilor.

Executive Board Candidates Forum

2011-01-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2011

Candidates for Executive Board; three will be elected later today.

Jose Aponte
Director
San Diego County Library
San Diego, CA

Karen E. Downing
University Learning Communities Liaison and Foundations & Grants Librarian
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Loida Garcia-Febo
Coordinator, Special Services
Queens Library
Jamaica, NY

Dora T. Ho, Young Adult Librarian/Program Specialist
Los Angeles Public Library
Youth Services
Los Angeles, CA

Sylvia K. Norton
School Library/Technology Planning Coordinator; Doctoral Student, PALM Research Center Fellow
Florida State University

Gina A. Persichini
Networking Consultant
Idaho Commission for Libraries
Boise, ID

Michael Porter
Communication Manager, WebJunction; President Library Renewal
Seattle, WA

Tom Wilding
Professor of Practice
School of Information Resources and Library Science
University of Arizona
Tuscon, AZ

Council II

2011-01-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2011

At this session of Council, many of the general reports from committees and groups were received, including Policy Monitoring Committee, Committee on Organization, Freedom to Read Foundation, Presidential Task Force on Traditional Cultural Expression, Presidential Task Force on Equitable Access to Electronic Content, ALA Treasurer’s Report, and FY2012 Programmatic Priorities.

Honorary Membership is considered to be ALA’s highest honor. Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contributions to librarianship or a closely related field is so outstanding that it is of lasting importance to the advancement of the whole field of library service. It is intended to reflect honor upon the ALA as well as upon the individual. Approved ALA Honorary Membership of Yohannes Gebregeorgis, librarian and author, in recognition of his founding of Ethiopia Reads, a nonprofit organization that is establishing children’s libraries in Ethiopia and publishing bilingual and trilingual children’s books, thereby providing the children an opportunity to learn the love of reading, and increasing literacy in an entire nation.

Many resolutions were tabled to Council III for various reasons.

ALA-APA Council

2011-01-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2011

See this site for complete information: http://ala-apa.org/

ALA Council I

2011-01-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2011

This report is of meeting highlights only. Full Council information such as agenda, documents and reports can be found at the ALA Council Web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/index.cfm

Reports of ALA/Council Committees
· 2011 ALA Nominating Committee Report – Robert R. Newlen, Chair, CD #26; CD #26.1
o Wide recruiting effort given to all facets of the organization. The current economy has a significant effect on limiting willingness to run for office. Candidates are listed in CD #26.1. Election results will be published April 29, 2011.
· Committee on Membership Meetings, Councilor Loida Garcia-Febo, Chair
o Members are not attending Membership meetings at Annual Conference so a survey will be sent to all members shortly after Midwinter to obtain information on what can be done to increase interest and attendance at Membership meetings.

Reports of Officers

· Review of Executive Board Actions since the 2010 Annual Conference, Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director, ALA CD #15
· Implementation of the 2010 ALA Annual Conference Council Actions, Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director, ALA CD #9

ALA Midwinter Council/Exec Bd/Membership Info Session

2011-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

ALA Council / Executive Board / Membership Information SessionJanuary 9, 2011

Information session only; no business will take place at this meeting.

For details on documents and meeting minutes, please see the ALA Council website: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/index.cfm

Budget Analysis and Review Committee (BARC), Mario Gonzales, Chair
CD #33; CD #32Rev; CD #43Rev
Revenue is down but so are expenses. See Council documents for further breakdown.

ALA Endowment Trustees Report, Daniel J. Bradbury, Chair
CD #16.0; ET #6.1; EBD #13.1
2010 was a year of slow recovery.

ALA President’s Report, Roberta A. Stevens
CD #21
Updates on Task Forces.

Presidential initiatives:
Our Authors, Our Advocates
Video & audio PSAs. Virtual postcard to libraries on Jan. 11th.
www.OurAuthorsOurAdvocates.org

I Love Libraries website has over 400 quotations about libraries. Use these in your advocacy efforts. Cultivating your local notables toolkit also available.

Frontline Fundraising toolkit will launch online in February.

I Love My Libraries contest – public and school libraries video contest. See website for details.

ALA President-Elect, Molly Raphael
CD #29

Initiatives:
Advocacy – to help libraries across the country mobilize their constituents.

Diversity – Spectrum Presidential Initiative; Work on how we link our diversity work with our leadership development work

ALA Executive Director, Keith Michael Fiels
CD #23; CD #23.1 Midwinter Whitepaper

Attendance as of Saturday 7,194; slightly lower than Boston to-date: Total 9,600.

Membership: For the first time since recession, we have seen slight dip in membership. Currently down about 2% at 61,500. Organizational membership slowly decreasing.

Diversity Recruitment IMLS grants – funding 35 recruiters

Connect with your Kids campaign – formal partnership with Lifetime television network and a variety of parent-oriented magazines published by Scholastic to encourage parent-child library use

I Love My Libraries – Carnegie organization is still interested in funding another 5 year grant

Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards – first year; great addition to other awards given at Midwinter

Midwinter Whitepaper – send us suggestions on how Midwinter can be more effectively deployed to meet the needs of attendees, libraries and the Association.

New Strategic Plan - actively working on new plan; focusing now on Transforming Libraries Goal and Member Engagement Goal

INFORMATION TO HELP AMERICA'S RURAL LIBRARIES

2010-10-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

From: Don Wood [mailto:dwood@ala.org]
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 3:56 PM
To: alacro-l@ala.org
Subject: [alacro-l] INFORMATION TO HELP AMERICA'S RURAL LIBRARIES

The ALA Washington Office will host a webinar to assist rural libraries with pursuing funding opportunities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) at 2 p.m., EST, October 29.

Cheryl Cook, the Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture, Carla Anderson, the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of e-Copernicus, a Washington consulting firm expert in broadband, and Kevin Cherry, Senior Program Officer for the Institute of Museum and Library Service’s Office of Library Service will participate.

The presenters will discuss the three USDA programs with funds available for rural libraries – the Distance Learning and Telemedicine program, the Communities Facility program and the Community Connect program.

Click here register for the webinar.

Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study

2010-09-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Forwarded from ALA Chicago Office
-------------------------------------
Libraries urged to participate in national study of Internet use in libraries http://ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pr.cfm?id=4940

(CHICAGO) The American Library Association (ALA) is encouraging public libraries to participate in the 2010-2011 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study online survey. The survey provides an important opportunity for libraries to share information on computer and Internet resources and infrastructure, as well as funding, technology training and other uses of public libraries, such as providing public access technology centers in their communities. The current year's online survey, available at http://www.plinternetsurvey.org , will be available through Nov. 5, 2010.

Webinar from ALA Washington Office

2010-09-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

ALA Washington Office Webinar: Libraries and the Elections, How You Can be Involved and Make a Difference Wednesday, September 15, 2010 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/843991994

ALA 2010 Final Council Documents

2010-07-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

From Lois Ann Gregory-Wood, ALA Council Secretariat:

Actions of ALA Council taken during the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC, are found here:

Actions: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/council_actions/index.cfm

Related Documents: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/council_documents/docu_inventory_mw_ac2010.cfm

Library Copyright Alliance: Costco v. Omega may threaten libraries

2010-07-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

From the ALA Council list.

FULL POST: http://bit.ly/awEufK
--
District Dispatch has posted a new item, ‘Library Copyright Alliance: Costco v. Omega may threaten libraries’ lending rights’

The American Library Association as a member of the Library Copyright Alliance
(LCA) today filed an amicus curiae brief
(http://www.librarycopyrightalliance.org/bm~doc/lca-costco-amicus.pdf ) with the Supreme Court of the United States in support of petitioner Costco Wholesale Corporation in Costco v. Omega.

Omega, a luxury watch manufacturer, claims Costco infringed its copyrights by importing authentic Omega watches from abroad rather than buying them from the U.S. distributor at a higher price. The LCA believes this case could diminish the legal provision that allows libraries to lend books.

Read the LCA’s announcement at
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/LCA-release-Costco-v-Omega.pdf .

You may view the latest post at
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=5123

ALA Council III

2010-06-29T05:51:00.000-07:00

COUNCIL III

Highlights:

Two Chapter Councilors elected to the Planning and Budget Assembly: Rodney Lippard and Gina Persichini.

The newly revised and updated eighth edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual is now available for purchase.

The Emerging Leaders have revised the Libraries & the Internet Toolkit: Tips and Guidance for Managing and Communication about the Internet. The final version of the document can be seen online at www.ifmanual.org/litoolkit .

Choose Privacy Week was very successful and will be held again May 1-7, 2011.

Banned Books Week will be held September 25 – October 2, 2010. The 2010 edition of the Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Ready, by Robert P. Doyle. The book has been revamped significantly and provides a framework for understanding censorship and the protections guaranteed to us through the First Amendment. The slogan for the week will be “Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same.”

Approved CD #19.5, the Prisoners’ Right to Read.

ALA was invited by the U.S. State Department to again be a member of U.S. National Commission of UNSECO.

ALA was delighted that 450 librarians from 88 countries were able to attend the conference this year.

Committee on Organizations – Established a Retired Members Round Table.

Approved resolutions:
· To increase funding for the improving literacy through school libraries program to $100 million
· To include school librarians in the reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act
· On a proposed joint LC and GPO digital pilot project
· On equal access to 21st Century Communications
· To ensure equitable access to library services for all people regardless of immigration status

ALA Council II

2010-06-29T05:50:00.001-07:00

June 28, 2010

At this session of Council, many of the general reports from committees were received and basic annual budget ceilings were approved.

ALA Council I

2010-06-27T08:59:00.001-07:00

Noteable actions from Council I. Check the website mentioned earlier for final wording.

ALA CD #36.2 Adoption of the 2015 ALA Strategic Plan – Passed, as amended
ALA CD # 43 A Resolution Reaffirming Equal Employment Opportunity for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Librarians and Library Workers – Passed
ALA CD #44 Revised A Resolution in Insure Equitable Access to all Formats of Electronic Content Through Libraries – Referred to Council II
ALA CD #45 – A Resolution on Non-Discrimination in Conference Contracts – Referred to BARC

ALA 2010 Meetings

2010-06-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

This posting is meant only as a summary of highlights of the various meetings. Full Council information such as agenda, documents and reports can be found at the ALA Council Web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/council/index.cfm

Washington, DC is hot, hot, hot! Excitement in the air and meetings have begun.

CHAPTER RELATIONS COMMITTEE I
June 26, 2010

Joseph Eagan, Executive Board Liaison
· ALA Personal Memberships holding steady
· Exec. Board will adopt 2015 Strategic Plan at this conference
· IMLS Grants received
o Office of Diversity received $430,000 for Spectrum Scholarship Program
o Received $590,000 for Library Support Staff Certification Program
· Capwiz – now reaching 100,000 individuals
· Annual Conference attendance by Thursday is 12,500
· ALA Virtual Conference will be July 7-8, 2010 (http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/annual/registration/index.cfm)
· President Roberta Stevens has appointed a Task Force to look at the relationship between ALA & Chapters - more details to follow

Chapter Relations Office Conference Report – Michael Dowling, Don Wood
· Chapter Leaders Orientation – Probably change name to Forum
· Libraries Build Communities – Helped Habitat for Humanity, Washington, DC Food Bank, 11 schools and 3 public libraries
· Student to Staff - 40 spots for library school students to work with ALA staff behind the scenes and in exchange get free registration, lodging per diem

Keith Michael Fiels, ALA Executive Director
· Good to see efforts to do more formal needs assessments of members
· Kudos to Michael Dowling for such strong promotion and use of Capwiz
· Exciting developments coming in Advocacy programming - announcement later

CRC Strategic Plan Discussion
· ALA Strategic Plan Goals (http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/missionhistory/plan/index.cfm )
o Advocacy, Funding and Public Policy
o Building the Profession
o Transforming Libraries
o Member Engagement
o Organizational Excellence
§ Responsibility falls to various appropriate committees and sections
§ Executive Board and senior management team responsible overall coordination
· CRC Strategic Plan Goals
o Communication
o Leadership

OPEN DISCUSSION
· Use of CRC list and ALA Connect isn’t very high – why? What should be done differently? No good answers…
· Emerging Leader program successful and is continuing – is there a project CRC would like to put forward for this program?
· Past EL group reported environmental scan data from new members last year. John Chraska, Membership, is using this information to inform practice – particularly to use more social media for contact and to create more opportunities to engage in conferences. Don Wood will send wiki link of the Chapter results.
· Multiple places to get information makes things confusing. Now encouraging shift to use of ALA Connect as that one spot.
· Mark Humphrey, Committee on Literacy, (North Carolina has Literacy Committee on state library association). How can Committee encourage state associations to begin Literacy Committees? One association’s committee does webinars for education; work with state library. Literacy is on ALA plan as a priority so states should participate. Want each state to participate in Literacy training at ALA conferences. Want more efforts from Chapters in literacy efforts. National Literacy Day is September 9th. That may be an opportunity to promote events and participation.
· How do we reach more chapter leaders who cannot attend conference? Did webinar on officer orientation last spring. What other topics would be useful? Finance? How do local conferences reach vendors? Vendors are beginning to bring in programs. Association evaluates prior so remains local connection (not business-building; architect / library partnerships, stories). Literacy efforts? 21st Century Skills? Membership retention? Restructuring local associations and organizations?
· Look at Camila Alire’s website for detailed plans.
· Chapter councilors need to promote newly developed products to local chapters.
· Ala.org/frontlineliteracy – use information here for state conference programs
· Mobile giving has been established by ALA so Chapters can take advantage of text donations – scholarships, etc. – contact Michael Dowling / John Chraska.

Membership I
June 26, 2010

A quorum was not met so no action was taken at the meeting. Reports on forming strong alliances were given by Judith Russell, ASERL (Assoc. of SE Regional Libraries) and Barbara Jones, Office for Intellectual Freedom.

ALA Washington Office Webinar: Virtual Library Advocacy Day

2010-06-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

ALA Washington Office Webinar: Virtual Library Advocacy Day

Can't come to DC for ALA's Library Advocacy Day? Have no fear! You can participate via the web. Join us for this webinar outlining the various actions you can take from the comfort of your couch or office to support the library community's outreach in our nation's Capitol. Together, we can make a difference!

Date: Monday, June 21, 2010Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Register now: http://bit.ly/aMWDFS

Support Library Funding

2010-03-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

From Kristin Murphy - ALA
Please take action on these very important funding requests. It only takes a moment and remember – we need the public’s support as well, so please ask your friends to call their representatives as well!

Call now to support library funding!
Please call your representative in Washington today and ask him/her to sign onto two letters circulating around Congress. The deadline has been extended to March 17, and it is critically import that they sign-on to this letter in the next forty-eight hours.

LSTACongress is currently busy drafting up the federal budget for fiscal year 2011. It has never been more important than now that Congress fully funds the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the only annual source for federal funding to libraries. As Congress writes next year's budget they need to understand that dollars from the state and local levels are at an all time low and libraries can not continue to do their important work with out this funding.There is a letter circulating around the House of Representatives urging the Appropriations Committee to include $300 million in funding through LSTA in the FY2011 budget. Please contact your representative's office and tell them about work your library does in the community. It is always a good idea to stress what programs and resources your library provide to help build the local economy, help kids with their homework, and so much more. After you have explained how libraries are an incredibly valuable investment, please ask your representative to sign onto the "Dear Colleague" letter supporting LSTA. School Libraries
In his FY2011 budget, President Obama consolidated Improving Literacy Through School Libraries with five other literacy programs. This would mean that school libraries will have to directly compete with other programs to receive federal dollars under the President's plan. However, Congress is busy drafting up their own budget for FY2011 right now, and there is no word yet if they will go along with President Obama's recommendation of consolidation. Congress needs to hear from their constituents NOW about the important role that school libraries play in today's schools.Right now there is a letter circulating around the House of Representatives urging the Appropriations Committee to specifically appropriate $100 million for Improving Literacy Through School Libraries. This amount means that this program will be available to every state, rather than the current competitive grant program. Please contact your representative's office explaining to them how important having a school library can be in a child's education. Please ask them to sign on to the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries "Dear Colleague" by customizing the letter below.
It is of the utmost importance that you contact your Representative today and urge them to sign on to these letters! We need to keep the pressure on our elected officials until the deadline for signatures on these critical letters expires. Grijalva and Ehlers plan to send the letter on Wednesday, March 17, so time is of the essence.

To take action, please take the following steps:
1. Please go to http://capwiz.com/ala/ or click on the "Take Action!" button in the upper right hand corner of this e-mail.
2. Customize the sample letter as you see fit - remember, a personal story on how your library uses LSTA and ILTSL funding to benefit their constituents is VERY effective.
3. Enter your contact information.
4. Press Send.
5. If you would prefer to telephone your representative, please call the Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask for your representative. The switchboard will transfer you to their office. If you need to locate your members of Congress, go to http://capwiz.com/ala/.

Kristin Murphy
Government Relations Specialist
American Library Association - Washington Office
1615 New Hampshire Ave. NW, First Floor
Washington, D.C., 20009-2520
Phone Number: 202.628.8410
kmurphy@alawash.org

Questions about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act? Go to www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus

BTOP & BIP: How to Connect Webinar

2010-02-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

ALA makes this free webinar possible for libraries

BTOP & BIP: How to Connect
Join us for a Webinar on February 5

Space is limited.Reserve your Webinar seat now at:https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/531394042
John Windhausen, consultant to ALA’s Washington Office and president of Telepoly, and Christopher Mclean, Principal of e-Copernicus and former Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), will provide more in depth information about Round II of BTOP and BIP — the federal broadband stimulus programs at the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. Included will be a brief discussion of key suggestions for making your application successful made at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Denver workshop.
Title:

BTOP & BIP: How to Connect
Date:
Friday, February 5, 2010
Time:
1:30 PM - 2:30 AM EST
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System RequirementsPC-based attendeesRequired: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendeesRequired: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Rural Library Funding Available!!

2010-02-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

From Michael Dowling:

Jan 27th
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Secretary of Agriculture has allocated $100 million in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Community Facilities funding for public libraries to provide educational opportunities and improve public services in rural communities. The funding will be provided primarily through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“In 78 percent of rural communities, the library is the sole provider of no-fee Internet access,” Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the ALA Washington Office, said.
“This funding specifically set aside for rural libraries is a lifeline for communities across the country who depend on their local libraries for basic needs such as Internet access as well as assistance with e-government services, literacy and homework programs, and much more. We thank the USDA for its recognition of the vital role libraries play in rural communities and their need for funding.”
Funds may be used to construct, enlarge or improve public libraries. This can include costs to acquire land needed for a facility, pay necessary professional fees and purchase equipment required for operation. Funds can be used to purchase shelving, furniture, computers, audio-visual equipment, distance learning equipment and bookmobiles.
Depending on funding availability, USDA Rural Development will provide up to $500,000 in additional Recovery Act dedicated grant funds to each of the State Offices for library projects.
For more information on the program and how to apply, see the USDA Rural Development fact sheet.
Or, to reach the USDA Rural Development contact for a specific state, visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/ – adding the two-letter initial of the state to the end of the URL.
Contact: Jenni TerryPress Officer, ALA Washington Office

Michael Dowling
Director
International and Chapter Relations Offices
American Library Association
50 E Huron St
Chicago, IL, USA
p +1 800-545-2433 ext 3200
f +1 312-280-4392
www.ala.org

The South Dakota State Library may also be a good resource for help with the application process.

Workshop Materials

2010-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

The following information from Don Wood at the ALA Chicago office, while aimed at Chapter leaders, would be appropriate for anyone in a leadership role in libraries.
_______________________
Good afternoon!
Many of the past and current handouts from Orientation for Chapter Leaders Workshops are mounted on the ALA Chapter Relations Office's website: http://tinyurl.com/q9qt4e : In addition, there are links to related websites, as well. For example, you'll find these documents and links under the heading Advocacy:
Advocacy
Keeping Legislators on Your Side Advocacy (MS Word)
Save Ohio Libraries Campaign (MS Word)
Library Advocacy Day
Save Libraries in Your State
Capwiz 101 (MS Word)
Using Capwiz for Advocacy (PDF)
Capwiz Best Practices (MS Word)
CRO Legislation and Advocacy page
Library Snapshot Day Primer (MS Word)
Office for Library Advocacy
Advocacy & Legislation
Advocacy University
The next Chapter Leaders Workshop will be held on Friday, June 25, 9:30-4:00, during the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Don Wood
Program Officer
Chapter Relations Office
American Library Association
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
dwood@ala.org

ALA Council III

2010-01-19T07:08:00.000-08:00

Summary and highlights - Council III is generally quite full of business and often goes over time, however, today we were able to release nearly 2 hours early.

Memorials:
John Clifford Mortimer, M-#1
Mary Alice Hunt, M-#2
J. Michael Rothacker, M-#3
Ken Davenport, M-#4
Sallie Farrell, M-#5
Eliza Atkins Gleason, M-#6
Effie Lee Morris, M-#7
James “Jim” Raymond Przepasniak, M-#8
Walter Reandeau, M-#9
Judith Serebnick, M-#10
John Charles Fox, M#11

Tributes:
Jeanne Sugg, T-#1
Sonia Sotomayer, T-#2

Intellectual Freedom Committee, Martin Garnar
First-ever Choose Privacy Week will be held May 2–8, 2010. All Choose Privacy Week materials (posters, bookmarks, buttons, and resource guide) are complete and for sale in the ALA Store at http://www.blogger.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.alastore.ala.org/.
New Intellectual Freedom Manual should be available this summer.
Banned Books Week is September 25 – October 2, 2010.
The webinars for trustees, entitled “Controversial Materials in the Library: Supporting Intellectual Freedom in Your Community,” visit http://www.ala.org/oif/onlinetrainings for more information.
LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year.

Committee on Legislation, Councilor Mario A. Ascencio
National Legislative Day Rally will be Tuesday, June 29 11AM See www.ala.org/nlld.

Broadband and Telecommunications
Late on Friday two additional “Notices of Funds Available” (NOFA) were published by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Commerce regarding the Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) and the Broadband Telecommunications Opportunity Program (BTOP). Further information is available through the ALA Washington Office, which will again be providing information on how libraries may apply and benefit from this second round of stimulus funds. The Washington Office will be starting this Friday, January 22, with a webinar providing an overview of the NOFA process and requirements for library applications.

New Business
· Resolution Concerning the Dratted ALA Event Planner
Action plan by the Exec. Director, Keith Michael Fiels
o Improvement a priority
o Survey councilors & members for specific problems and broad analysis
o ALA Librarian will work on standardization of item entry
o Review of annual database with appropriate editing
o Other issues as a result of survey will be implemented as feasible before Annual
o Put process in place for continuous improvement
o Progress & steps taken communicated to Council on an ongoing basis
o Next generation planner created through ALA Connect, Jenny Levine – beta tested at Annual conference
o Work on downloadable format for hand-held devices
o Reporting to Exec Bd at spring meeting and results will be shared with Council

Registration 11, 095 as of Monday compared to 10,220 in Denver.

ALA Council II

2010-01-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Summary highlights from Council II - more complete report available when final Council documents are processed.

Freedom to Read Foundation, Kenton Oliver, FTRF President

Barbara Jones appointed as new director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom
Newly created Krug Foundation will focus on creating an Intellectual Freedom textbook for school children and creating Intellectual Freedom webinars for library schools.

Treasurer's Report, Rodney Hersberger, ALA Treasurer

It's been a tough year for ALA financially, and it will be a tougher year next year. ALA Office is taking large measures to contain and reduce costs.

ALA Executive Director, Keith Michael Fiels

Sunday registration stands at 10,807

ALA President and Treasurer Candidates Forum

2010-01-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

President Candidates

Molly Raphael http://mollyraphael.org/
Focus on Advocacy, Diversity, Defending Core Values

Sara Kelly Johns http://fromtheinsideout.squarespace.com/
Focus on Advocacy, Diversity, Intellectual Freedom, Transparency and Inclusion

Treasurer Candidates

Alan Kornblau http://akorn2010.webs.com/

Jim Neal

ALA Council I summary

2010-01-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

ALA Council I is mainly an informational session, though some business does occur.

Candidates for ALA Executive Board will be:

Kevin Reynolds
J. Linda Williams
Annemarie Roscello
Patricia A. Wand
Ling Hwey Jeng

Report by Camila Alire, ALA President
Summary: Focus on Advocacy Toolkits, see http://www.camliaalire.com/ for more details.

Report by Roberta A. Stevens, ALA President-Elect
Summary: Focus on fundraising and planned giving

Report by Keith Michael Fiels, ALA Executive Director
Summary: Library Staff Certification Program about to roll out. Watch for email updates and check ALA website for more details.
Midwinter Conference attendance: 10,013 through Saturday, which is slightly higher than Midwinter attendance in Denver 2009
Audio proceedings of Council sessions will soon be available on the web for access of all members. Ethics Education program is progressing.

Report of Special Committees
Spectrum Presidential Issues: National Initiative for Inclusivity in America's Libraries
Betty J. Turock and Family have made a generous $100,000 donation to the Spectrum Scholarhip program. Participation by all ALA members is encouraged. Contact the ALA Office to make larger personal donations or donations on behalf of Chapters or Units.

Contact SD Legislators!

2009-12-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

This information is forwarded from Kristin Murphy, ALA Washington Office.

Call NOW to Include Libraries in the Jobs Bill!

As you know, libraries are helping unemployed Americans get back to work not only by helping them acquire needed job skills, but also by offering no-fee access to the Internet for online job searching, computers for working on resumes, resources for building small business plans, and much more. Unfortunately, these very services are threatened by budget shortfalls in state and local funding; due to these budget cuts, many libraries may be forced to cut services that are so incredibly necessary during these tough economic times.

Take Action!

Right now, the House of Representatives is debating the Jobs for Main Street Act, and this bill would provide funding to a variety of programs aimed at creating jobs. No other organization is as dynamic or as well-equipped to build jobs as libraries, yet neither the House nor the Senate version of this legislation mentions libraries. By including specific bill language that includes librarians, we can continue to help people look for jobs, help people obtain their GED, build valuable job skills, and much more. To read the full proposal, please click here.

The House is expected to vote on this legislation TODAY. Please call your representatives TODAY and your senators tomorrow; tell them you would like to see librarians included in the Jobs for Main Street Act and explain to them that those funds are critical in putting librarians back to work so they can help people get back to work.

SPECIFIC STORIES MAKE AN IMPRESSION! Please tell them how your local library is using its resources to help people get back to the workforce. If you have had to furlough any library workers or had to reduce hours of operation, tell them that. If you see an increase in people using the free Internet access more for job applications than ever before, please tell them. If you see people attending your classes on word processing now more than ever before, please tell them. Please tell them how giving YOU the additional resources will help empower their constituents to get back into the workforce. To find out who your members of Congress are, please click on the "Take Action!" link in the upper left-hand corner of this message. Every phone call is critical ... We MUST reach every member of Congress within the next 48 hours!

BACKGROUND FOR JOBS FOR MAIN STREET ACT
1. Libraries play a key role in getting America back to work again. Nationwide, the library is the only source of no-fee Internet access for 71 percent of Americans. With more and more job applications only being accepted online, the public library is becoming the center of most American's job searches.

2. State Library Agencies reported in November 2009 that 77 percent of states cut funds that support local public libraries, which has meant layoffs, staff furloughs, and forced retirements. This has caused a 75 percent cut in services to the public including canceled statewide databases used for job searching, homework help, and cuts in 24/7 reference, which are used by small businesses and students.

3. Our proposal for saving libraries and helping America get back to work would be to provide a one-time $650 million to be distributed on a need basis through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

4. This proposal would create up to 13,000 library jobs in a few short months meaning this is a shovel-ready project.

5. The money would be used for library jobs that are focused on assisting patrons with getting back to work - thereby having the impact of assisting literally millions of Americans find employment. None of these funds would be used for facilities or equipment.

6. These funds would be distributed in a clear, concise, affirmative manner. Funds would be distributed to states using a formula through IMLS based 50 percent on population, and 50 percent on relative unemployment (similar to the Department of Labor's Dislocated Worker Program).

7. The Chief State Library Officer in each state would be responsible for distributing funds to local public libraries based on their local needs.

8. A minimum amount of funding per library could offer one library staff job per building based upon need and a maximum of five full-time staff.

9. Funds would be limited to hiring back staff released due to budget cuts, recruiting new staff and/or expanding staff services around job searching and employment skills training.

SDLA Conference Forum

2009-10-11T08:37:00.001-07:00

Thank you to all who attended the ALA Forum at the SDLA conference in Aberdeen last week. The session was held to gather information to help shape ALA's next strategic plan. Member involvement gives voice to the needs of librarians, libraries and the communities we each serve. A summary will be posted here once it has been compiled.

Please contact me if you have any concerns or issues to be raised or questions about Council itself.

Lea Briggs
Chapter Councilor

And so it begins..

2009-09-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

This will be a trial method of communicating ALA Council happenings to the SDLA membership. I plan to blog from the floor of Council in order to: notify membership of actions promptly, keep myself better organized, and be able to prepare reports more quickly.