Maine Library Association

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.

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.

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.

The ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom is partnering with the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) to present three one-hour webinars in February for library trustees on the topic of controversial materials in library collections.

The webinars, entitled “Controversial Materials in the Library: Supporting Intellectual Freedom in Your Community,” are intended to help trustees understand the basics of intellectual freedom in libraries.  They will cover information on collection development policies, procedures for handling challenges to library materials, and tips on responding to controversies that may arise.  Angela Maycock, OIF Assistant Director, will lead the webinars.

The webinars will be offered February 17, 2010, 4–5:00 p.m. EST; February 23, 2010, 2:00–3:00 p.m. EST; and February 26, 2010, noon–1:00 p.m. EST.

Each session will include the same content.  Registration is limited to 60 participants per session.  The cost is $49 for individuals, $39 for ALTAFF members, and $95 for a group of two or more attendees at the same location.

To register for “Controversial Materials in the Library: Supporting Intellectual Freedom in Your Community,” visit http://www.ala.org/oif/onlinetrainings or call ALA Customer Service at (800) 545-2433 x5

The LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund was established in 1970 as a special trust in memory of Dr. LeRoy C. Merritt. It is devoted to the support, maintenance, medical care, and welfare of librarians who, in the Trustees’ opinion, are:

• Denied employment rights or discriminated against on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, age, disability, or place of national origin; or
• Denied employment rights because of defense of intellectual freedom; that is, threatened with loss of employment or discharged because of their stand for the cause of intellectual freedom, including promotion of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the freedom of librarians to select items for their collections from all the world’s written and recorded information, and defense of privacy rights.

If you have any questions, please contact the Merritt Fund at (800) 545-2433 x4226 or at merrittfund@ala.org.

This year, there will be no National Library Legislative Day. Instead, since the ALA Annual Conference will be held in Washington DC this year and 25,000 plus librarians will be in town, there will be a rally followed by visits to congressional offices. It is not necessary to be attending the ALA conference to participate in the rally. Here’s the info:

Library supporters from around the country will join together on Tuesday, June 29, to express their support for library-friendly funding and policies to the U.S. Congress. Our rally will take place on Capitol Hill and will serve as a visual reminder to members of the U.S. Congress that libraries still matter.

The rally will be at Upper Senate Park, on Capitol Hill, on Tuesday, June 29, at 11 a.m.  We have a permit beginning at 9 a.m.  We expect participants will start gathering after 10 AM and will have some entertaining distractions until 11 a.m.

For full information and to register to attend (there is no charge to participate), go to http://www.ala.org/lad

A new report entitled “A Perfect Storm Brewing: Budget cuts threaten public library services at time of increased demand” is now available. The title tells the story, the document has the facts. The report is published by The Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study, a multi-year project that builds on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries. The study assesses public access to computers, the Internet and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, as well as the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment and sustainability in FY2007-2009.

The full report is available at  A new report entitled “A Perfect Storm Brewing: Budget cuts threaten public library services at time of increased demand” is now available. The title tells the story, the document has the facts. The report is published by The Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study, a multi-year project that builds on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries. The study assesses public access to computers, the Internet and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, as well as the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment and sustainability in FY2007-2009.

The full report is available at http://ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/plftas/issuesbriefs/issuesbrief-perfectstorm.pdf

The American Library Association (ALA) Washington Office is calling for nominations for two awards to honor individuals or groups who have championed, protected and promoted public access to government information and the public’s right to know.

The James Madison Award, named in honor of President James Madison, was established in 1986 to celebrate an individual or group who has brought awareness to these issues at the national level.  Madison is widely regarded as the Father of the Constitution and as the foremost advocate for openness in government.

The Eileen Cooke State & Local Madison Award honors an extraordinary leader who has built local grassroots awareness of the importance of access to information. Cooke, former director of the ALA Washington Office, was a tireless advocate for the public’s right to know and a mentor to many librarians and trustees.

Both awards are presented during Freedom of Information (FOI) Day, an annual event on or near March 16, Madison’s birthday.

Nominations should be submitted to the ALA Washington Office no later than February 6, 2010.  Submissions should include a statement (maximum one page) about the nominee’s contribution to public access to government information and why it merits the award and one seconding letter. Please include a brief biography and contact information for the nominee.

Send e-mail nominations to Jessica McGilvray, Assistant Director for the ALA Office of Government Relations, at jmcgilvray@alawash.org. Submissions can also be mailed to:
James Madison Award / Eileen Cooke Award
American Library Association
Washington Office
 1615 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009-2520

The Google Books Settlement is a big deal for libraries. In fact, it may have more long-term impact on the future of libraries, especially here in the United States, than any other policy issue now before the courts, Congress, or even local or state funding agencies. That’s a big claim – what is behind it?
Briefly put, the Google Books Settlement, even as currently modified, could significantly alter the landscape for gaining access to books. It could also change the landscape for patron privacy in a way that libraries would have no control over. And it could provide control over access to millions of works in the hands of a single body of unelected and unaccountable people. Here are some sites that can provide useful information on both the general intellectual freedom issues and on potential effects on libraries and our patrons.

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/november2009/revisedgoogle111809.cfm

http://wo.ala.org/gbs/

http://www.openbookalliance.org/2009/11/is-the-google-settlement-worth-the-wait/

This may be of particular interest to libraries in Maine since we have an active population of Native Americans, as well as an increasing population of new arrivals from other parts of the world.

Draft of ALA Traditional Cultural Expressions Document

Over the last ten months, an OITP-lead workgroup has been collaborating with librarians, archivists and members of various indigenous communities within the United States in order to draft a statement of guiding principles concerning the management and protection of traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). TCEs are defined as, but not limited to, narratives, poetry, music, art, designs, names, signs, symbols, performances, architectural forms, and handicrafts created by indigenous and/or traditional communities.
The purpose of this document is to help librarians appreciate the unique nature of indigenous culture and to highlight ways that librarians can better manage traditional cultural expressions in their collections and share expertise with cultures that choose to self manage their own cultural heritage. In the next few months, the workgroup will continue to share the document with ALA divisions, roundtables, executive board, Council, and other interested units and organizations. The group aims for the principles to be considered for adoption as ALA policy at the 2010 Midwinter Conference in Boston. As always, feedback is welcome in this process–email crussell [AT] alawash [DOT] org.
For more information about traditional cultural expressions, visit the TCE website and Janice Pilch’s excellent issue brief.
Librarianship and Traditional Cultural Expressions: Nurturing Understanding and Respect – Draft 5 (PDF)