VLA Statement on HB 516

The VLA Executive Committee, Legislative Committee, and Intellectual Freedom Committee have been communicating with various stakeholders, including ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and various educators’ associations, regarding HB 516. To our knowledge, the Virginia Education Association has not, to date, made an official statement about the bill; the Virginia Association of Teachers of English (VATE), an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English has drafted this statement in opposition to the bill: http://vate.org/official-position-on-house-bill-516/ . The bill has been receiving a great deal of press and an article about it is featured on the front page of today’s Washington Post: . It has passed the House and is scheduled to go before the Senate today.

• We believe the concerns that led to the drafting of HB 516 would be better addressed through local Board of Education policy rather than prescribed by law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, both to protect the interests of all stakeholders and to provide for flexibility when necessary.
• We support parents being actively involved in their children’s education; at the same time, we believe labeling places the weight of responsibility wrongly on teachers to make judgements about what a diverse range of parents may or may not deem “sexually explicit.”
• We believe institutional labeling of books or media (by policy or law) is a form of censorship. We believe parents, students, and teachers can work together to make the best choice when there is a disagreement about what is age appropriate for an individual student.
• We believe this legislation could turn institutional labeling into self-censoring by educators or others in an effort to avoid the conflicts and challenges intended, thereby depriving students the opportunity to be exposed to a wider range of viewpoints to choose from in developing their personal opinions. Decreasing the range of viewpoints discourages the promotion of diversity and diminishes intellectual rigor.

We encourage all of our members to read the bill (http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+ful+HB516) and to contact your legislators if your conscience directs you to do so.
Sincerely,
The VLA 2016 Executive Committee,
The VLA Legislative Committee and
The VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee
February 25, 2016

Listen to VLA President Martha Hutzel's interview with Saraya Wintersmith of the Community Idea Stations, March 2, 2016

Knight News Challenge on Libraries opens for submissions

Posted by Nina Zenni

The Knight News Challenge on Libraries is now open for applications. Winning applicants will receive a share of $3 million for a project that answers the question: How might libraries serve 21st century information needs?

The challenge hopes to uncover projects from librarians and their collaborators as they transform to meet the needs of our communities. Knight Foundation recognizes that libraries are well positioned to build more informed and engaged communities and promote stronger democracies. This challenge is an opportunity to discover new ways the library world can meet the demands of their communities in this increasingly digital world.

The Knight News Challenge will be open to anyone working in the U.S., including public and private libraries, businesses, nonprofits and individuals. Projects have the chance to receive funding of approximately $35,000 to $500,000 for a grant period of six months to two years.

Many of the projects we fund through the challenge are those which have some early validation and require moderate to larger investments. However, we expect to fund several projects as prototypes, which will receive $35,000 in seed funding. (In the last libraries challenge, we funded prototype projects from several organizations, such as San Jose Public Library, Make it @ Your Library, and DC Public Library.

The challenge closes at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, March 24. During April and May, Knight Foundation will be joined by a group of outside advisers who will assist us in reviewing applications.  Every applicant will be notified about the status of their application during the week of April 11.

The winners of the challenge will be announced in June 2016, in time for the American.

The News Challenge application, available at newschallenge.org, consists of five questions. You'll be able to edit your entry at any time prior to March 24 based on feedback and questions posted on the platform. Please be sure to hit the “Publish” button at the top of the submissions page. This will make your application live on the platform.

If you wish to apply privately, please answer the questions below (following the same guidelines and character limits) in a PDF document titled, “[Project Name], KNC: Libraries Closed Entry” and send to [email protected]before 5 p.m. ET on March 24.

To submit your application, you will be asked to answer the following questions:

1. Describe your project.
2. How does your project advance the library field?
3. Who is the audience and what are their information needs?
4. Please list your team members and their qualifications.
5.  Please provide your organization name and its city and state.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll offer many opportunities for you to ask questions and learn more about the challenge. Here is some of what we have planned:

●      Join us for virtual office hours Feb. 25 and March 16 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET each day. You can access this meeting online using ID 451 981 706 or participate via phone by calling (888) 240-2560.

●      Vice President of Media Innovation John Bracken will be answering questions on reddit for an Ask Me Anything chat at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 29. To access, please go to reddit IAmA and click on the thread titled, “I’m John Bracken, VP for media innovation at Knight Foundation. AMA about the Knight News Challenge on Libraries, our nationwide search for ideas, Knight Foundation and everything else.

To learn more, please visit newschallenge.org to apply, view our challenge brief, timeline, FAQ page, and applications from the last News Challenge on Libraries. Keep an eye on Knight Blog for updates, tips for applying and promotional events. You can also reach us with questions on Twitter via@knightfdn, @heychrisbarr, or via e-mail [email protected].

Nina Zenni is a media innovation associate at Knight Foundation.

Dr. Carla Hayden nominated to be our 14th Librarian of Congress

https://www.facebook.com/potus/videos/457630757760103/

President Obama

“Today, I'm nominating Dr. Carla Hayden to be our 14th Librarian of Congress. Michelle and I have known Carla since her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and her dedication to learning and education is unparalleled. More recently, she's been hard at work revitalizing Baltimore’s struggling library system as the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library. Last year, during the unrest in Baltimore, Dr. Hayden kept the doors of the Pratt open as a beacon for the community. Her understanding of the pivotal role that emerging technologies play in libraries will be essential in leading the Library of Congress as it continues to modernize its infrastructure and promote open access and full participation in today's digital world. Finally, Dr. Hayden will be the first woman and the first African-American to hold this position in its 214 year history – both of which are long overdue.
I hope you'll take a couple minutes to watch this video and meet Carla for yourself. I have no doubt she'll make a fantastic Librarian of Congress.”

February 24, 2016

YOU Make Libraries Happen! The 24th Conference of the
Virginia Library Association Professional Associates

Registration is NOW OPEN

Download the Conference Brochure

Reserve a hotel room at the DoubleTree

Enter to win a $50 stipend from the VLA Fundraising/Development Committee

Cost: $100 for VLA members, $150 for non-members. Breakfast and Lunch included.

Register 4 people from your organization and receive the 5th registration free with discount code FIFTHFREE

Other discounts:

• Public libraries who have paid 2016 Institutional Dues: one non-VLA member at the Member Rate using code INST16
• Academic libraries who have paid 2016 Organizational Dues: one non-VLA member at the Member Rate using code ORG16