ALA Annual Conference 1998

Dear Colleagues,

ALA’s 1998 Annual Conference was held in Washington, D.C. June 26-July 1, 1998. Two of the days were extremely steamy, but otherwise the weather cooperated and most people negotiated the considerable distance between the Convention Center and the Washington Hilton headquarters hotel with some grace (or perhaps resignation…). ALA’s business was conducted pretty much as usual, with several substantive issues being referred to committee or to the Executive Board for reports at the next Midwinter meeting in Philadelphia. We will be unusually lucky if we make it through the agenda next winter, given our failure to do so in Washington!!

In addition to all of the meetings required of Councilors, I also represented Virginia at Chapter Relations Committee meetings and events, while pursuing my continuing committee appointments and interests in ACRL and LAMA.

Given the lack of a quorum (1% of the ALA membership, approximately 550 members), neither Membership Meeting I nor II was able to conduct official business or take binding votes, but forums were held and reports offered. Some members of Council believe the current quorum requirement is dauntingly high and even undemocratic, while others feel that ALA should not make decisions based on the opinions of such a small percentage of unelected individuals.

Dismay over the continuing problem in achieving a quorum for Membership Meetings lead to a motion in Council to reduce the required attendance for a quorum. The proposal stipulated cutting in half the quorum required, to 0.5% of the ALA membership, or approximately 275. The colorful phrase used was "Let’s not put ourselves in a concrete kimono." The proposal failed, largely because several years ago a mail ballot seeking to reduce the quorum was roundly defeated by the overall membership.

Nevertheless, reports to the membership by ALA Executive Director Bill Gordon, President Barbara Ford, and Senior Trustee Bernie Margolis revealed a financially healthy association (if very conservatively invested!). ALA is accomplishing important work on our behalf, such as publishing the "700 Best Internet Sites for Kids," launching the Spectrum Initiative to increase diversity in the profession, and supporting telecommunications discounts (the e-rate) for libraries and schools and fair use of copyrighted materials in the digital age. Council passed resolutions on behalf of the latter issues during this conference.

The Spectrum Initiative received a major boost on June 29 when former ALA President Betty Turock and her two sons announced their family’s pledge of up to $25,000.00 to match dollar-for-dollar all donations made to the initiative between then and Midwinter 1999.

THIS MEANS YOU!! Your tax deductible donation counts TWICE if you make it before Midwinter. Make your check out to the ‘ALA Spectrum Initiative’ and send it to 50 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611.

Council voted to postpone action on CD#51 Resolution on the Boy Scouts of America and CD#52 ALA Relations with External Organizations until Midwinter 1999. Media attention has begun to focus once again on the Boy Scouts of America and their policies of discrimination against atheists and homosexuals (for example, see The Washington Post Magazine Sunday, August 2, 1998). ALA has long had a relationship with the BSA, but there is some question about whether it is a formal or an informal relationship. ALA Bylaws prohibit the association having formal relations with groups that discriminate.

Although the Executive Board provided Council with definitions and clarifications of the terms "formal" and "informal" relationships, resolutions 51 and 52 were postponed to allow members to study what the definitions mean.

These postponements were very irritating to some members, who consider it another case of Council passing the buck or refusing to live up to its responsibility. Given the timing of the VLA Newsletter and my report to you, you’ve probably already seen John Berry’s editorial in Library Journal (August 1998) on this topic.

Council also voted to refer a Resolution on Socially Responsible Investment to the Executive Board for a report at next Midwinter. The resolution would have required ALA to use as its investment guide the Investment Code of Conduct based on the Code of Conduct for Businesses Operating in South Africa, prepared by the South Africa Council of Churches (July 1993). Although ALA had endorsed this code several conferences ago, adherence to it had not been implemented.

A resolution was proposed to charge the ALA Committee on Accreditation and an appointed task force to revise ALA’s Standards on Accreditation to require that accredited schools include specialized courses in school and public services for youth, and that ALA accredit masters degree programs designed to prepare students for careers in librarianship. The resolution was prompted by the perception that ALA’s accreditation of masters programs is based primarily on whether the school meets its own declared aims, regardless of whether the library components of the program are given short shrift relative to "information science." Meanwhile, the Executive Board had voted at its spring meeting to sponsor an Education Summit prior to the year 2000 which will look at these and other issues. The motion was referred to the Council Committee on Education and the ALA Committee on Accreditation for a report at Midwinter.

Sorry, but there were lots of these, as usual. Council attempted to revise the policy manual by adding such words as "sexual orientation" and "disability" to the list of prohibited types of discrimination and add "Pacific Americans" and "Latinos" to minority concerns provisions. There were others, but my brain refuses to retain them.

We defeated a motion to adopt an Internal Review Policy that would have required every ALA unit to engage in an extensive internal review every six years. Unit Councilors argued that the process would be too time-consuming, while those in favor of the motion believe ALA has too much overlap and units that remain in existence beyond their usefulness. This one will undoubtedly rise again.

I was pleased to be elected one of four Councilors who will serve on the Committee on Committees during the coming year. Five Councilors were elected to the Planning and Budget Assembly, including fellow Chapter Councilors Larry Romans (TN) and Frank Iacono (RI).

I currently also serve on a Task Force on Council Formats which has been gathering information on how to streamline Council’s procedures so that all points of view can be aired, while allowing major issues and business to be addressed and resolved in a more timely way. Too often, Council does not have time to discuss substantive issues in Council III because we have wasted too much time early in the conference on less important matters. Unfortunately, that happened again at this conference, when we adjourned (after two extensions) leaving five agenda items untouched, several of them important.

Despite the occasional frustrations, I continue to feel it is an honor, and often a pleasure, to represent you. Enjoy what promises to be a glorious autumn in Virginia!

Bye for now,

Scottie Cochrane

The Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the two recipients of the 1998 Virginia Library Association Scholarships.

Anne Anderson currently works for the Northern Virginia Community College where she has undertaken a variety of roles, from reference services to acquisitions to circulation to web page development. She has a B.A. in Spanish and Hispanic Studies from St. Olaf College, and an M.A. in Linguistics from American University. Anne is now attending the Catholic University library program and plans to continue working in an academic library as a reference librarian.

Jaye Lahlou is currently employed by the Fairfax County Public Library as a circulation manager. She has a B.A. in both Advertising and French from the University of Minnesota, and is now attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, library program. Jaye is also active in VLA and hopes to continue serving the public of Northern Virginia as an information professional.

Both recipients were awarded $2,000 to assist them in pursuing Master’s degrees in library science. VLA congratulates Anne and Jaye and wishes them well in their studies. These scholarships are made available this year through the generosity of Blackwell North America and the Information Access Company. The Scholarship Committee gratefully acknowledges this support.

--Sydney Simpson, Chair, Scholarship Committee

You are invited to the annual Children’s Book Week Luncheon sponsored by the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC, and the Washington Post on Saturday, November 14, 12 noon at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The 1998 Award for Nonfiction will be presented to Jean Craighead George, author of the Newbery Medal-winner Julie of the Wolves. Additional speakers include, Avi, author of the Newbery honor book The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and the Caldecott-winning illustrator Ed Emberley. Doors open at 10 a.m. Come early for book sales and signings and mingling with writers, illustrators, librarians and other book lovers. Advance tickets are $25; one table (ten people) is $350. For more information contact Paige Billin-Frye at 202-291-3105.

The College of Library and Information Services of the University of Maryland will sponsor several Internet Workshops this fall. Workshops will be held in Richmond and at the University of Maryland, College Park near Washington, D.C. All workshops are full-day, hands-on programs. Topics include using the Web for Research, Web page design, and using search engines effectively. A workshop about news resources on the Web is also planned. For more information about these workshops, check the VLA Newsletter calendar or contact Robin Albert at (301) 405-2057, email ra67@umail.umd.edu.

Sentence one of paragraph two of the "Open Access to The Internet" statement printed in the August, 1998 VLA Newsletter, should read "The Virginia Library Association endorses a position of open access and opposes any state or federally mandated restrictions on or of access to the Internet".

Billie Hackney is the new Cataloging Services Librarian at Old Dominion University. Ms. Hackney’s MLS is from the University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Literature and Language is from Stockton State College in Pomona, NJ. She comes to ODU from the University of Southern Mississippi where she was the project cataloger for the deGrummond Collection. Prior to that she was the library supervisor in the Cataloging Department at Pennsylvania State University.

Lisa M. Blouch was chosen community liaison for the County of Henrico Public Library System.

The next VLA Council meeting will be held in Charlottesville at the Northside Library on September 11.

Sponsor: Regions I & II and SWING

Place: Roanoke, Marion

Contact: Ellen Bell

(540) 632-7125, ext. 224

ebell@vsla.edu

Sponsor: Region V

Place: Marymount University, Arlington

Contact: Linda Vretos

(703) 913-3851

lvretos@wshs.fcps.k12.va.us

Sponsor: CYART

Place: Central Rappahannock Regional Library Headquarters, Fredericksburg

Contact: Rebecca Purdy

(540) 372-1144

rpurdy@crrl.org

Sponsor: Public Documents Forum

Place: University of Virginia, Charlottesville

Contact: Steve Stratton

(703) 993-2238

sstratto@gmu.edu

VLA/VEMA Annual Conference, Virginia Beach

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: College Park, Richmond

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu

Sponsor: VLA Paraprofessional Forum

Place: Chesterfield County Public Library (Central Branch)

Contact: Lydia Williams

(804) 395-2432

lwilliam@longwood.lwc.edu

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: Richmond, College Park

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu

Sponsor: College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland

Place: College Park, Richmond

Contact: Robin Albert

(301) 405-2057

ra67@umail.umd.edu