February 2000 issue
VLA Executive
Committee Retreat
Each new Executive Committee meets in a retreat setting for two days in order to review the accomplishments of the previous year and to draft the elements of a planning agenda for the coming year. It is both a time for contemplation and for camaraderie: contemplation of the work supporting the growth of the organization, and camaraderie to develop the working relationships of the members of the Committee. The setting for the 1999 Retreat was a wonderful house on the ocean at Sandbridge in Virginia Beach. The ability to eat, sleep and meet in such wonderful surroundings enabled a group of people, many new to the Executive Committee or to Council, to come together as a group that had fun together and worked effectively together. To top off the event, a gourmet dinner prepared by Terry Sumey and Linda Hahne rewarded all in attendance for their hard work and planning.
Past President Sandy Heinemann’s review of the 1999 Designated Agenda noted accomplishments under the goals of Advocacy and Access, Continuing Education, Finances, and Membership. Highlights included the legislative initiatives in support of full funding for state aid, initial funding for Infopowering the Commonwealth, and recognition for legislators who supported library legislation; the Administration and Management Forum’s initial work on salaries and comparable worth; the continued financial growth and stability of the organization; and the development and initial implementation of a membership recruitment and retention strategic plan.
The Committee members then considered and approved a proposed operating and a preliminary draft conference budget for 2000. The operating budget will be presented to Council at its February meeting and the conference budget will be presented at the April Council meeting.
The designated agenda took shape through a consideration of the “Report on the Retreat of the Ad Hoc Committee on VLA Purpose, Goals and Structure,” the VLA Strategic Plan, ideas from members of the Committee, and recommendations submitted in unit annual reports. An outline was developed that included continued work on the salary survey, a study of the role of region chairs and the role of the New Members Forum, the development of an Endowment or Planned Giving Program, a study of the committee appointment process, a review of the awards and recognition process, the creation of a photo archive for the organization, and a clarification of the scope of archives of the organization and their deposit in the Library of Virginia. The designated agenda will be presented to Council at the February meeting for its approval.
Call for Nominations
The membership of VLA will elect two new officers later this year during the regular fall election. The offices are Vice-President/President-Elect and Secretary. The Nominating Committee is responsible for preparing a slate consisting of two nominees for each office. The selections will be announced in the April issue of the VLA Newsletter. Nominations by petition may be submitted through May 15.
Now is the time to send the Nominating Committee the names of individuals you would like to recommend for nomination to the respective offices. Self-nomination is both acceptable and encouraged. To submit recommendations for nomination or to receive a nomination form, please contact: Sandy Heinemann, Chair, VLA Nominating Committee, (804) 223-6196; FAX: (804) 223-6351, e-mail: sandrah@hsc.edu.
Intellectual Freedom Update
State and Federal
Laws Banning Internet Speech
Federal and state laws that attempt to ban Internet speech deemed “harmful to minors” face problems in the courts. In late 1999, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver rejected New Mexico’s law and upheld a federal district judge’s 1998 decision that blocked the law from taking effect. The appeals court concluded that the law violated the First Amendment and that it improperly aimed to hold Internet users in all states to the standards set by one state.
On November 4, 1999, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia did not appear to be sympathetic to the Justice Department’s appeal of an injunction blocking the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). COPA, designed to block “harmful to minors” material by requiring commercial web sites to collect a credit-card number or some other proof of age, was blocked by a federal district court judge earlier in 1999 after it was challenged by a coalition of web publishers and booksellers.
In October, 1999, civil rights advocates and 15 Internet businesses filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Virginia’s new law that seeks to ban from the Internet commercial material that could be considered harmful to juveniles. The lawsuit alleges that to comply with the law, Internet users and businesses “will be obliged to self-censor their speech, thus reducing the adult population in cyberspace to reading and communicating only material that is suitable for juveniles.” (See Washington Post, Oct. 7, 1999, B1, for more specifics.)
More About Free
Expression on the Internet
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral
arguments in the Urofsky v. Gilmore
case in October, 1999. Urofsky is the case dealing with six
Virginia university and college faculty members who challenged the Virginia law
requiring them to obtain agency head permission before they accessed certain
types of materials using their state-owned computers. In their suit against the Commonwealth the six faculty members
alleged that the act chilled their abilities to carry out their dual roles as
educators and scholars. The act that
they challenged was passed originally in 1996, but was amended in 1999 after
the Office of the Attorney General recommended that the General Assembly revise
the Act to restrict only sexually explicit content having lasciviousness as its
dominant theme. A U.S. district court
judge ruled the original law unconstitutional in 1998, but a three-judge panel
of the circuit court overturned her decision and ruled that the act was not
overly broad and did not infringe on the plaintiffs’ free speech rights. The faculty members appealed to the full
12-judge panel. A decision is expected
at some point this spring.
Acceptable Internet
Use Policies
The 1999 General Assembly enacted two bills that require application of acceptable Internet use policies (AIUPs). House Bill 2343 (enacted as Act of March 24, 1999, chapter 384) requires that state agencies adopt and enforce AIUPs for all state employees. The bill is codified at Va. Code Ann. §§ 2.1-114.5, -804 (Supp. 1999). House Bill 1043 (enacted as Act of March 9, 1999, chapter 64) requires the use of AIUPs in Virginia’s public schools and libraries. This bill is codified at Va. Code Ann. §§ 22.1-70.2 (Supp. 1999), 42.1-36.1 (1999). Both bills began from the Joint Committee on Technology and Science’s study of access to the Internet. The JCOTS report included several interesting conclusions. First, JCOTS recommended that the Commonwealth should not mandate the use of filtering software that blocks access to certain sites on the Internet in its public schools and libraries. Secondly, it concluded that “decisions about when, where, how, and whether to filter are best made at the local level by local school and library boards. Finally, it advised that the Commonwealth should require public schools and libraries to adopt acceptable use policies or guidelines for Internet use.
Miscellaneous Issues
“Harry Potter” books continue to raise concerns in many states. Family Friendly Libraries has warned that the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter books are not appropriate for the public school classroom, because of occult themes, violent content, and anti-family bias. FFL says that library policies should restrict access to the books and allow children to check out the books only if they have parental permission.
“The Legal Implications of Internet Filters in Public Schools and Libraries” (Journal of Internet Law, October, 1999) provides a good assessment of the use of filters in libraries. The author concludes that “the battles over filters are far from over, and we will likely see countering volleys of legislation and lawsuits for some years to come, with children and students caught in the crossfire.”
In “Porn Alley: Now at Your Local Public Library” (Computers in Libraries, Nov./Dec. 1999) author Michael Schuyler argues that the issue of filters in libraries will not be resolved completely until there are more lawsuits and decisions like the Loudoun case and until one party is willing to take his or her suit to a higher court than the federal district court level.
Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial writer Steve Chapman challenges Senator John McCain’s assumptions about filters and his bill to require all public libraries and schools getting federal Internet subsidies to deploy these “gadgets.” In his editorial, “Internet Filters Keep Our Kids Safe from The New York Times” (12/23/99, page A15), he suggests that Senator McCain’s proposal deserves censure for two reasons. First, he says that the proposal ignores how poorly filters serve their intended purpose. The second, he writes, is that it takes the decision away from local librarians and communities, forcing them all to follow the same Washington-dictated “one size fits some” policy.
--Timothy L. Coggins, VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee
Upcoming Events and
Programs
Computers in
Libraries Conference
The 15th annual Computers in Libraries Conference will be held at the Washington Hilton & Towers in Washington, D.C. from March 15-17, 2000. Conference themes will concentrate on key issues for information professionals in libraries, developing information services and Web-based products, and searching or guiding content users. In addition, the conference will feature a 2-day conference within a conference, Computers in School Libraries 2000, on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18, which will provide more in-depth coverage of technology and its impact on the practices and practical concerns of librarians, teachers, and school library media specialists in the K-12 education system. For more information about Computers in Libraries, see the website at http://www.infotoday.com/cil2000.
PLA National Conference
The Public Library Association will hold its eighth national conference from March 28-April 1, 2000 in Charlotte, N.C., offering more than 100 continuing education programs. Conference participants will be able to build personalized schedules using program tracks that cover several areas of specialization. Tracks include administration, adult services,
authors/collection management, buildings, children's services, marketing/customer services, special population, staffing and staff development, technology, trustees/friends/volunteers/advocacy and young adult services. Preconference programs will be held Tuesday, March 28 and Wednesday, March 29. Topics include: readers advisory, technology, library leadership, libraries as cultural community centers and
library board trusteeship. Popular children's authors Dori Sanders and Paula Danziger will keynote the Children's Author Luncheons. Noted mystery writer Lisa Scottoline will be the featured speaker at the Adult Author Luncheon. Science fiction writer Orson Scott Card will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday at the preconference luncheon. National Public Radio commentator and author Bailey White will be the featured speaker
during a box supper social on Thursday evening. Exhibits sales for PLA 2000 are at record numbers, with nearly 400 companies scheduled to exhibit. More information can be found at the PLA website at http://www.pla.org or from the PLA office at (800) 545-2433, ext. 5PLA. The final registration deadline is February 25, 2000.
National Library
Legislative Day
Mark your calendars for the 26th Annual National Library Legislative Day, May 1-2, 2000, sponsored by the District of Columbia Library Association. VLA is organizing a luncheon similar to last year's, which was attended by several members of Congress and one of our Senators. For more information, check the website at http://www.ala.org/washoff/legday.html.
Continuing Education
at Oxford
For the 8th year, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science, the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education and the Bodleian Library will present Libraries and Librarianship: Past, Present and Future at the University of Oxford, England. This seminar, held from May 21 through June 3, 2000, will provide a comprehensive survey of librarianship in England. Participants will learn about academic libraries and librarianship in Britain, as well as trends and developments in library automation in Britain and Europe. Areas such as preservation, conservation and collection development policies will be presented from both the Oxford and British national viewpoints. Participants may earn three hours of graduate credit from the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science for attending. Registrations for the seminar must be postmarked by March 31. For more information, call (919) 962-0208, send e-mail to oxford@ils.unc.edu or visit the website at http://www.ils.unc.edu/ils/continuing_ed/oxford.
Technical Services
& Technology Forum
The Technical Services & Technology Forum (TSAT) provides continuing education programs on topics of interest to persons who work in technical services, systems or access technologies. We encourage communication via the VLA listserv--please subscribe. During 2000, TSAT will sponsor a spring workshop and a program at the VLA annual meeting.
The Spring Workshop is Basic Serials Cataloging taught by Tom Ray (Cataloging Coordinator at the Library of Virginia) and Phyllis Riddick (Serials Cataloger at the Library of Virginia), who are certified CONSER trainers. The Basic Serials Cataloging Workshop will be held in two locations:
1. Richmond--April 14, 2000
2. Blacksburg--May 5, 2000
In order for us to take on a greater role in providing state-wide training, we need to know what types of programs and workshops interest you. The following program topics have been suggested:
· Acquisitions: Electronic resources: licensing, contracts, state agency regulations
· Authority Control
· Catalogers' Desktop Training
· Preservation, including basic book repair and conservation
· Statistics, what kind of data do we need to collect and who uses it? Includes but not limited to how to get statistics from automated systems and IPEDs.
If you are especially interested in one or more of these topics, have suggestions for other program subjects, or desire more information about TSAT, please contact Althea Aschmann, Virginia Tech University Libraries, (540) 231-9251 or aschmann@vt.edu.
SOLINET Offers Awards
SOLINET actively seeks nominations and applications for its 2000 Outstanding Library Programs Awards, recently established to recognize the exceptional efforts of libraries and groups of libraries in the Southeast. Awards will be given in three areas: Continuing Education and Staff Development, Preservation and Electronic Information, and Multi-type Library Cooperation. Nominations/applications for the 2000 Awards must be received at SOLINET no later than February 29, 2000. Complete details and electronic application are available at the SOLINET website at http://www.solinet.net/members/SOLPA.htm. Questions may be directed to Michele Behr at (800) 999-8558, ext. 3816 or michele_behr@solinet.net. Winners will be announced March 15, 2000 and recognized at SOLINET's annual meeting in Atlanta on April 28, 2000.
In December 1999, Jan S. Pace was appointed Library Director at Virginia Wesleyan College's Hofheimer Library. She previously held the position of Public Services Coordinator/Instructor and has been employed there since 1991. Jan has a BA in Sociology from Northern Arizona University and an MLS from the University of Pittsburgh.
Marguerite Michel Heitmann, 86, died of congestive heart failure on October 15, 1999. She was formerly the head librarian at George Marshall High School in Arlington.
Loudoun County is proud to announce that it has been selected, along with 7 other libraries, as a winner of the John Cotton Dana Award.
The University of Virginia Library was recently invited to join the Digital Library Federation (DLF). The federation is a consortium of select research institutions with a common goal to create, maintain, expand, and preserve a distributed collection of digital materials accessible to scholars and to the wider public. The Library has also been awarded a $200,000 Challenge Grant for its Electronic Text Center by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
What's Different?
If you've noticed a change in the Newsletter, your eyes haven't deceived you. We've started the new year with a new color because our former shade of pink was discontinued by the manufacturer.
VLA Council Meetings
VLA Council meetings will be held in Charlottesville at the Northside Library on February 11, April 7 and June 9, and at the Main Library on September 15.
Library of Virginia
Board Meetings
Board meetings are scheduled for March 13 and June 18-19, 2000.
March 17
A Documents Sampler:
The Documents Workshop with Something for Everyone
Sponsor: Public Documents Forum
Place: Virginia Tech
Contact: Carol Hunter
(804) 243-8788
April 14; May 5
Basic Serials
Cataloging Workshop
Sponsor: Technical Services & Technology Forum
Place: Library of Virginia; Virginia Tech
Contact: Althea Aschmann
(540) 231-9251
May 1-2
National Library Legislative Day
Washington, D.C.
May 5
Friends of Virginia Libraries (FOVL) Annual Meeting
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: Central Rappahannock Regional Library
Contact: Bill Whitesides
(804) 932-8261
May 22-23, 2000
Reaching for the
Stars: Success, Recognition, Professionalism
Sponsor: VLA Paraprofessional Forum
Place: University of Richmond
Contact: Wanda Brown
(540) 231-4887
or Clara Stanley
(540) 231-5926
October 19-20, 2000
VLA Annual Conference
Norfolk