News from Washington Office
In mid May the ALA Washington Office signed onto a letter requesting that the White House’s Office of Administration be once again subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The Google Book Search Settlement Agreement : Recently Google representatives have initiated contact with members of the library community to explain from their perspective, the proposed Google Book Search settlement agreement that was recently reached among Google, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Authors Guild.
On May 4, 2009 ALA, ACRL and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) filed comments with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for the judge to consider in his ruling on the proposed settlement. The library associations asked the judge to exercise vigorous oversight of the interpretation and implementation of the settlement. Many features of the settlement, including the absence of competition for the new services, could compromise fundamental library vales, including equity of access to information, patron privacy and intellectual freedom. The judge presiding over the case extended the deadline for filing comments to the court by four months to September 4, 2009 and scheduled a final fairness hearing for October 7, 2009.
National Legislative Day: Please see the attached separate report
Summer of Service Program from the White House
The American Library Association has just been contacted by the White House in partnership with the Corporation for National & Community Service to get libraries involved in the President’s Summer of Service program, scheduled to launch on June 22, 2009.
Summer of Service is a “national coalition of major youth-serving organizations that are committed to engaging youth in service during the summer months and recognize the potential of youth to identify issues, develop projects, and provide lasting benefits to the communities in which they live through volunteer service.” Libraries and other organizations that work with youth ages 5 to 21 are encouraged to participate.
Beginning the week of June 8, 2009, libraries and other organizations will be invited by the White House to list their local volunteer opportunities online. On June 22, the White House will announce the initiative to the public at large. The initiative will conclude on September 11, 2009.
House Passes Public School Facilities Act: On May 14, the House passed HR 2187. the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act. The bill authorizes $6.4 billion for school facilities projects, and ensures that school districts will quickly receive funds for school modernization, renovation, and repairs.
Judith F. Krug Judith Fingeret Krug, 69, the long-time director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, who fought censorship on behalf of the nation’s libraries, died April 11 after a lengthy illness.
Summary: Intellectual freedom advocate, speaker, writer, and educator; director of the
ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom and Executive Director of the Freedom to Read
Foundation
Biography: Pittsburgh, Pa, March 15, 1940;
Education: University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1961 (Political Theory); University of Chicago,
M.A., 1964 (Library Science, with additional graduate work in political theory);
University of Illinois, Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), 2005.
Career: Reference Librarian, John Crerar Library, Chicago, 1962-63; Cataloger, Northwestern
University Dental School, Chicago, 1963-65; Research Analyst, American Library
Association, Chicago, 1965-67; Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American
Library Association, 1967-2009; Executive Director, Freedom to Read Foundation, 1969-
2009.
Memberships in (at various points in career): American Library Association (member of
AASL, ACRL, ALCTS, ALSC, LLAMA, PLA, RUSA, YALSA and IFRT); Phi
Beta Kappa Society; Phi Beta Kappa Fellow; Pi Sigma Alpha; Beta Phi Mu; Illinois
Library Association; ACLU, American Bar Association.
.
Leadership positions:
ALA: Staff liaison, Intellectual Freedom Committee, 1967-2009; Executive Director,
Freedom to Read Foundation, 1969-2009; Ex-officio, LeRoy C. Merritt
Foundation, -2009; President, ALA Staff Association, 1978-1979, 1988-1989
(filled out term); 1989-1990 (partial year), and 1990-1991 (filled out term)..
Illinois First Amendment Center Board (2007-)
Vice President, Phi Beta Kappa Society: Vice President, 2006-
Center for Democracy and Technology Board of Directors (Chair, 2001-
Internet Education Foundation Board of Directors, Vice-Chair, 1999-
Phi Beta Kappa Society Senator (1994-)
GetNetWise Advisory Board (1999-)
Media Coalition, Chair (1997-2000; 2003-2005)
Media Institute’s First Amendment Advisory Council (2000-2003)
Media Institute’s Cornerstone Project Advisory Council; (2000-2003)
Phi Beta Kappa Association of the Chicago Area President (1990-1993), Executive Committee
(1970-73, 1980-1993), and Secretary Treasurer (1973)
Illinois Division, American Civil Liberties Union (1975-78)
Commission on Public Understanding About the Law of the American Bar Association (1985-91)
Fund for Free Expression, Board of Directors, (1992-1996)
Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, Board of Directors (1992-2004)
Illinois State Justice Commission, Advisory Council (1995-1996)
1 A Biographical Directory of Librarians, 1970; Who’s Who in Library and Information Services, 1982;
Directory of Library & Information Professionals. 1988. various databases.
Update: 82% of ALA Council voted on the question of granting posthumous Honorary Membership to Judith Krug; and of that 82%, all voted in favor. Therefore, posthumous Honorary Membership will be conferred on Judith F. Krug at the Opening General Session of the 2009 Annual Conference.
Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2008–2009 assesses public access to computers, the Internet, and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, and the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment, and sustainability. The study builds on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries begun in 1994 by John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure.
The report provides information that can help library directors and library IT staff benchmark and advocate for technology resources in communities across the nation. The data are also of importance for policymakers at local, state, and federal levels, manufacturers of information and communication technologies, and the communities served by public libraries.
ALA Elections:
13,125 voted — of 56,069 eligible, or 23.41%
Roberta Stevens Total Ballots: 6,796 , 55.7% The winner
Kenton L. Oliver Total Ballots: 5,416, 44.3%
ALA Presidential Initiatives
ALA President Jim Rettig:
A call for program proposals for the 2009 Annual Conference attracted 118 proposals. That is a very positive response for a first-time venture that departs from long established practice.
To strengthen connections between ALA and its student members, I asked the student ALA chapters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to serve as the first round jurors. In early February I met with both groups of students. They were very enthusiastic about their assignment and the quality of their questions demonstrated their engagement. Each group received half of the proposals and selected the ten they thought best. Members of my presidential initiatives advisory committee selected ten of these twenty for presentation in July. The authors of the proposals selected are very pleased that they will get to share their ideas at the Annual Conference.
Mr. Tomas S. Blanton, director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, will speak at the President’s program at the Annual Conference in Chicago, in July. He directs the National Security Archive at George Washington University (http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/). He will speak on access to government information.
ARRA (Stimulus Funding)
Important websites:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/washfunding/fedfund/arra101.cfm,
ARRA 101
Some of the information on the above website:
Programs that libraries can benefit from:
An additional $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$13 billion for Title 1
$650 million for Enhancing Education Through Technology
An additional $120 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program
An additional $130 million for the Rural Community Facilities Program
$4.24 billion and $1.33 billion for Military Libraries
//stimulus.virginia.gov. Virginia’s information on stimulus in VA and where it will go.
See attached Broad Band Report. (Broad Band Slides May 12)
Bette Dillehay has been participating in bi-monthly conference calls from ALA Washington Office.
Her impressions: “There are many funding avenues which can benefit libraries of all types. I think the most urgent matter is to establish a means for effectively monitoring what is happening in Virginia. It appears from the presentation that the required State Education Stabilization Plan had not been submitted as of the date of the call. I believe the deadline for submission is July 1, 2009.
Linda Schatz discussed the “Ten Things You Can Do To Get Broadband Stimulus Funding for Your Library,” which is available at ala.org/knowyourstimulus, and is an excellent guide for action. Critical to our benefiting, however, is to effectively track what is happening in Virginia.” (See above //stimulus.virginia.gov)