Maine Library Association

Another potential resolution.

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF DISCLOSING LABOR DISPUTES AT HOTELS CONTRACTED BY THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

WHEREAS,  In 2009, approximately 24.9% of librarians were union members, approximately 23.7% of library technicians were union members, and approximately 19% of other education, training, and library workers were union members (Bureau of National Affairs, op. cit., Table 8a);

WHEREAS,  The American Library Association (ALA), in principal, recognizes the right of library employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers (ALA Policy 54.11, “Collective Bargaining”);

WHEREAS,  The ALA’s essential set of core values for its librarian members include working for “The Public Good” and “Social Responsibility” (ALA Policy 40.1, “Core Values of Librarianship”);

WHEREAS,   There is considerable public good and social responsibility in the fair treatment of workers and their families.

WHEREAS, Workers at union establishments, including union hotels, are far more likely than their non-union counterparts to be paid a living wage, to receive employer-paid family medical benefits, and to enjoy freedom from work-related illness and injuries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, Union Members Summary, 2009; National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2009, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2009. Bulletin 2731);

WHEREAS,  The sites of labor disputes and picket lines are likely to be disruptive for many ALA members, which could prevent those members from participating in conventions and exhibitions, major meetings, and other organizational activities;

WHEREAS,  The First Amendment protects the right of an association and its members to support a union’s request for a boycott;

WHEREAS, Many library employees believe very strongly in the right of workers to organize, picket, and strike and consequently need advance notice of labor disputes so that they do not plan to attend ALA events at a hotel that is on a “Do Not Patronize” list; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED,  That the ALA, to the extent known, will inform attendees of conferences and exhibitions if a hotel is on the “Do Not Patronize” list of the local labor body during an ALA event, or is the object of a boycott because of the unfair labor practices of the hotel.

As we start gearing up for the ALA Midwinter Meeting, councilors from all over the country are starting to submit resolutions to be considered at the ALA leadership council in January.  Over the coming days I’ll be sharing some of these resolutions on the blog to give you a sense of what we will be discussing.

A brief preface. These are rough drafts of proposed resolutions that are being submitted for unofficial discussion on the Council list serv. I am cutting and pasting them as I have received them leaving out only the name of the author. They will undoubtedly go through many revisions, drafts, debates and in some cases rejections before they are even seen by the ALA Council in San Diego.

To start things off:

Resolution on the Removal and Censorship of Artwork from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery

Whereas, some elected federal officials pressured the Smithsonian Institution to remove artwork from the National Portrait Gallery in an act of censorship relating to themes of sexual orientation and religious viewpoint;

Whereas, some elected federal officials threatened to restrict funding of materials related to sexual orientation and religious viewpoint within their publicly funded institutes;

Whereas, “We celebrate and preserve our democratic society by making available the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions and ideas” (Policy 53.9, “Libraries: An American Value”);

Whereas, “fair and equal representation of all the diverse expressions of life of the citizens of these United States is protected by the First Amendment and by state constitutions, and attempts to proscribe such representation in publicly funded libraries violates freedom of speech” (ALA “Resolution on Threats to Library Materials Related to Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation”);

Whereas, “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval” (Policy 53.1, “Library Bill of Rights”);

Whereas, “The American Library Association stringently and unequivocally maintains that libraries and librarians have an obligation to resist efforts that systematically exclude materials dealing with any subject matter, including sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation” (Policy 53.1.15, ” Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation”);

Whereas, “libraries should challenge censorship” and “cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas” (Policy 53.3-4, “Library Bill of Rights”); and

Whereas, the American Library Association recognizes that any abridgement to the freedom of speech in publicly funded galleries or museums also threatens libraries; now, therefore, be it

Resolved that the American Library Association (ALA)

1. commends the National Portrait Gallery for its inclusion of materials that reflect the diversity of our society, including those related to religious viewpoint, specifically as presented in the Hide/Seek Exhibition;

2. commends the National Portrait Gallery for its inclusion of materials that reflect the diversity of our society, including those related to sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, specifically as presented in the Hide/Seek Exhibition; (ALA Resolution on Threats to Library Materials Related to Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation);

3. condemns the censorship of the Hide/Seek Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery;

4. urges the Smithsonian Institution to immediately reinstate the video artwork by David Wojnarowicz to the Hide/Seek Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery;

5. urges the Smithsonian Institution to refuse to remove or censor other works of art from any exhibition or collection; and

6. urges the Smithsonian Institution to fight censorship of works of art or collections dealing with any subject matter, including sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religious viewpoint in its national galleries, museums, archives and libraries.

This just in from Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
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The Young Adult Library Services Association has launched the inaugural issue of its open-access, peer-reviewed electronic research journal, the Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults at http://yalsa.ala.org/jrlya. Visit the web site to read the articles &/or subscribe to the RSS feed. The journal will be published quarterly beginning in November 2010, with issues following each February, May and August.

The first issue highlights paper presentations from YALSA’s Young Adult Literature Symposium, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Nov. 5-7 with a theme of Diversity, Literature and Teens: Beyond Good Intentions. The papers in the issue are:

· Cultural Inquiry: A Framework for Engaging Youth of Color in the Library, by Dr. Kafi Kumasi
· “Teens Today Don’t Read Books Anymore”: A Study of Differences in Interest and Comprehension Based on Reading Modalities: Part 1, Introduction and Methodology, by Jessica E. Moyer
· Pushing the Envelope: Exploring Sexuality in Teen Literature, by Eleanor Wood

The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults disseminates research of interest to librarians, library workers and academics who focus on library service to young adults, ages 12 through 18. It will also serve as the official research publication of the association, publishing annotated lists of recent research from YALSA’s Research Committee, Henne Award–winning research, papers from YALSA’s biennial Young Adult Literature Symposium and papers presented at YALSA’s annual Past Presidents’ Lecture (held each January at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting).

Those interested in submitting a paper to JRLYA for future issues are encouraged to contact the editor at yalsaresearch@gmail.com. Author guidelines and more information can be found at http://yalsa.ala.org/jrlya. Individuals interested in serving on the journal’s advisory board, which facilitates the peer review process, should fill out a volunteer form at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/joinus/committeevolunteer.cfm. Appointments to the 2010 – 2011 advisory board will be made in February and March by Sarah Flowers, YALSA’s President-Elect, and the group’s work begins in July. The group’s work is 100% virtual—attendance at ALA conferences is not required.

This came in today from the ALA Office for Library Advocacy and I thought it was particularly timely since one of the underlying themes of last weeks MLA Conference was Advocacy Advocacy Advocacy. Hope to see some of you there.

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Free Frontline Advocacy webinar to teach library staff how to promote the value of libraries everyday

CHICAGO – Learn how to empower all levels of library staff to become better advocates for their libraries and themselves by joining American Library Association (ALA) 2009-2010 President Camila Alire for a free “Frontline Advocacy” webinar from 1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. CST on Friday, Oct. 29, 2010.

Presented by Dr. Alire, dean emeritus at the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University; Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin Community College in Austin; Patty Wong, librarian/chief archivist of the Yolo County Library in California; and Marci Merola, director, ALA Office for Library Advocacy, this webinar will focus on techniques frontline advocates can use to promote the diverse professionals, resources and services of public, school, academic and special libraries every day.

Attendees will learn about the importance of this new level of library advocacy and how it differs from legislative advocacy; best practices on how to get frontline staff empowered and engaged to integrate frontline advocacy into patron and constituent interactions; and receive teaching and training guides for presenting content on a local level.

This webinar is targeted to educate and train librarians, administrators/managers, library educators, library school students, trainers/staff development personnel and public servicing library support staff from all types of libraries.

Registration is mandatory. Visit https://ala.ilinc.com/register/mpmxxbv to sign up today.

Jaclyn Finneke, Communications Specialist
Office for Library Advocacy
American Library Association
50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
312.280.2428; 800.545.2433, x2428
jfinneke@ala.org

As many of you know there was a recent article in the New York Times on the Library Systems & Services take over of the Santa Clarita, CA public library and the privatization of Public Libraries in general. Below is a link to the article (in case you missed it) and a copy of the response by Roberta Stevens the president of ALA
“Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries” NYT September 26, 2010  http://is.gd/fAlwn

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Dear Editor,

The American Library Association opposes shifting policy making and management oversight of library services from the public to the private sector, not because of its impact on job security, as implied in the article entitled “Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries,” but rather because communities may lose access to trained information professionals – librarians.

I take issue with the statements made by L.S.S.I. CEO Frank Pezzanite. Implying that library staffs are just waiting around to cash in on retirement, when in fact there are thousands of librarians serving 1.5 billion visitors annually with dedication, assumes that people will fall for the “demonization” of the public sector.

Libraries and their employees, who are often paid salaries far below the demands placed on them and the education required for their positions, serve as a lifeline for millions of Americans. From free access to books and online resources to library business centers that help support entrepreneurship and retraining, libraries with top-notch staff are needed now more than ever in our increasingly competitive global economy.

Publicly funded libraries should remain directly accountable to the publics they serve.

Roberta Stevens
President, American Library Association

Just got this from the ALA Office for Research & Statistic.
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Good morning. The ALA Office for Research & Statistics is pleased to announce new resources for using data from the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, new ways to connect with the data and is encouraging public libraries to help us continue telling the public library technology story by participating in the 2010-2011 survey.

1) Data in Action. According to a survey of state library agencies, obtaining media placements and creating templates and tools for communicating findings at the state and local level are two of the best ways the study team can leverage the study and the information provided by public and state libraries. The new Data in Action section on the study website is the beginning of an effort to share tools and examples of how study data is being used to inform and educate stakeholders about the value of libraries and issues related to sustaining public library technology services.

As always, the study provides state-level summary data that can be used for statewide advocacy efforts, and the Center for Library & Information Innovation (which manages the public library survey for the ALA) has created new one-page flyers highlighting data by state showing how libraries support employment and e-government. If you don’t see your state listed, it means that we didn’t receive enough survey responses last year to do state-level analysis (see below).

2) Libraries Connect Communities blog. In addition to the new Data in Action Web pages, we’ve launched a new blog that features updates on new tools that provide state and local libraries with data they can easily use for advocacy and media relations; greater detail on study data points in the news; effective practices gleaned from study focus groups, site visits and interviews; frequently asked questions and more. We also hope to integrate study data within wider conversations around library technology and funding. We invite readers to comment, question, challenge, confirm or simply share successes and obstacles.

3) 2010-11 public library survey. Thanks to libraries of all sizes, we are able to produce an annual report (using several data elements that stretch back to 1994) describing the technology and funding landscape for our public libraries. We can’t do it without you – but we can (and did!) make it easier to respond. If you participated in the survey last year, you can now import that data if it hasn’t changed. If you have more than branch, you can now select “same for all branches” where that’s the case instead of inputting new data each time… States that begin with O (Oregon and Ohio) currently have the highest percentage of responding libraries at 14% (Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado also are in double digits). Thanks!

Do you have an example of how you’ve used the study data… or something you’d like us to share on the blog… or a request for how we can put the data to use for your libraries? If so, send an email to Larra Clark (lclark@ala.org) or Caroline Jewell (cjewell@ala.org), and we’ll see what we can do!

Thanks, as always, for helping us get the word out among your members about the study.

Warm regards, Larra

Want to go to the ALA Annual Meeting in New Orleans next year but can’t afford it? Well this may be an opportunity for you.

From the ALA Chapter Relations List Thu, September 2, 2010 4:47:25 PM

Are you looking for funds to help pay for your trip to ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans?
Apply by Tuesday, December 14, 2010 for the NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award and you may receive a $1000 check to help defray the cost of attendance!

Applicants must:
1. Be a member of ALA and NMRT
2. Be active in the library profession
3. Show promise for activity in the area of professional development
4. Have valid financial need
5. Have attended no more than five ALA annual conferences

To apply, please visit:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/nmrt/oversightgroups/comm/awolofson/Shirley_Olofson_Award.cfm

Banned Books Week is coming up September 25 to October 2 and here’s something from ALA’s Organization for Intellectual Freedom on promoting any events you might have planned.
http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=1332

Here are some highlights of the ALA 2010 Annual Conference held in Washington, DC from June 26-29.

These highlights are necessarily selective. They are also, of course, somewhat idiosyncratic. This is a huge conference with over 26,000 attendees of all sorts, and no single person can be everywhere. For more information on what transpired at the conference, go to www.ala.org. Electronic versions of Cognotes, the daily “newspaper” of the conference will be posted shortly (just search for Cognotes). The full minutes of the three Council Meetings (Council is the legislative body of ALA) will be posted within a few weeks.

With that said, here are some notes that might be of interest to our MLA members and other library lovers in Maine.

Congress is, as anyone who reads the newspapers knows, not in a very bipartisan mood these days. With anti-incumbent sentiment at supposedly an all time high and elections coming in November, the likelihood of pressing forward with library-related legislation is not extremely high. Nonetheless, ALA is doing its best to keep the interests of libraries in front of Congress. Council passed several resolutions to support the ALA legislative agenda during this conference. For a summary of the key issues that ALA is pursuing on behalf of libraries in this session of Congress, and particular steps you can take to support those efforts, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ogr/issuebriefs/2010_key.pdf.

One of the things Congress is likely to get to before fall elections is trying to protect the cyberinfrastucture of the country. “Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010” (S. 3480) would make the Department of Homeland Security responsible for protecting not only military and government information facilities but also civilian telecommunication networks if the President declares a national emergency. ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee and the ALA Washington Office feel that changes to the bill are needed to protect free speech and privacy rights. People in Maine may have a significant role to play in monitoring the progress of this legislation since Senator Collins is a key co-sponsor of the bill.

Continuing in the Intellectual Freedom vein, the Freedom to Read Foundation (you are a member, right? – 35 bucks a year, see www.ftrf.org) announced the availability in 2010 of local Banned Books Week Read-Out Grants. The idea is to have local events during Banned Books Week in which authors read from books which have been banned or challenged. Application details will be announced in July. There will be a quick turn-around so keep an eye peeled for application details. Whether your library gets a grant or not, be sure to plan some events at your library during Banned Books Week, to be held this year from September 25-October 2.

There were a huge number of vendors at the conference. Here are a few products or services that may be of particular interest to libraries in Maine.

Many Maine libraries have rich local history and genealogy collections, and not all of them are available electronically. The ResCarta Foundation would like to help change that situation. The Foundation has created a set of free, open source tools that libraries can use to create digital archives of their special collections of all types and make them available either locally or on the web. They even offer tech support! For more information or to download the free tool set, check www.rescarta.org.

Genealogy is a passion for many Mainers, and our libraries are great sources for information and help. Most of those interested in the subject know of www.familysearch.org as a rich source of genealogical information. But what not everyone knows is that the Family Search site depends heavily on 300,000 volunteers to input genealogy information from old records so that the information can be searched. This is an activity that may appeal to those who have some free time and interest in the subject. Check the web site to see how your patrons, friends groups, local senior centers, or other local folks can help expand the records available to genealogy researchers.

We’ve all heard a lot about how the Obama administration asserts it is committed to making government information more available to the public. For those looking for science information, there is now a single entry point for science information generated by the federal government across 15 different government entities covering over 200 million pages. Point your patrons to (and take a look yourself) www.science.gov. We’ve paid for it – now we can get at it!

That’s it for one person’s version of a very few selected highlights from the ALA 2010 Annual Conference, and it will be my final posting on these pages. My term as the Maine Library Association’s Chapter Councilor to the American Library Association is over today. I’ve enjoyed the job and now move over to let Jim Riordan take on that work for the next three years.

As a final word, having seen the difference on both the state and national levels that library associations make for libraries and librarians, I encourage you to become a member of both the Maine Library Association and the American Library Association. Times are, of course, tough but the dues of both together add up to the equivalent a Starbucks coffee once a week. It is money well invested if you love libraries.

Be well (and thanks for the fish),

Jim Campbell

MLA Chapter Councilor (Retired)

At ALA Midwinter meetings, LITA (the ALA Library Information and Technology Association) conducts a panel on Top Technology Trends that are already, or soon soon will be, affecting libraries. The panel from the 2010 Midwinter meeting in Boston is online and available for viewing. You can get up to date at: http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2010/03/archive-techtrends-midwinter-2010-webinar.html.