News

Second Day at ALA

I am writing on the train home from Philadelphia and am happy to share news of the ALA conference with you all. Before conference began we were told of a resolution to open nearly all ALA listserves for read only access to all members. The general principles of open access were strongly supported but the resolution was referred back to committee for more study during our first council meeting. The entire issue of electronic access and online meetings was hot at this year’s conference. There is a task force on electronic communications which continues to study the issue. At our first day of council meetings we were introduced to a resolution requesting that computer access at the conference be handicapped accessible. The resolution passed easily at our final council meeting today. During our second day at council we were introduced to a change in the ALA code of ethics. The changes were in language dealing with fair use and balancing the rights of users and producers of materials. We also voted to accept some changes to Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library Science and Information Studies.

I’ll post once more about this conference in the next day or so and, as always, please let me know if there are any issues you would like to discuss.

Your voice at the American Library Association,

Nancy Wilson

Greetings from the ALA Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia!

I had the good fortune yesterday to attend a presentation at which Bassem Youssef , FBI whistleblower, spoke.  Mr. Youssef is the highest ranking Arab American at the FBI and oversees the department that monitors National Security Letters. He is a decorated agent who was  a trusted and respected expert in the politics and culture of the Middle East.  Shortly after the implementation of the Patriot Act Mr. Youssef noticed a dramatic change in his work environment. He believes that he has been discriminated against by the FBI because he has questioned their counter terrorism recruiting process, particularly the lack of Arabic speaking agents, and the unfettered use of National Security Letters by untrained FBI officers in the field. Before the Patriot Act National Security Letters had to be approved at the very top level of the FBI, following the passage of the Patriot Act they may be generated and served for nearly any reason. Read more→

Flyer for Legislative Day — Please Post!

In order to help alert patrons, trustees, friends, and librarians to the Legislative Day for Vermont’s Public Libraries event on January 18th, the VLA Advocacy Committee is asking that everyone please post this flyer in their libraries. If possible, we would love to see them go up in communities outside the library as well. Of course, feel free to encourage your community in other ways as well!

Library Legislative Day Flyer – 98K PDF

If you have any difficulty opening this file, please let me know and I can try to get it to you another way. Thank you so much for your help and see you on the 18th!

Helen Linda

CAYAL Program 2008: Call for Ideas

     Hello fellow CAYAL members,

 As many of you know from my previous e-mails, we the CAYAL section of the VLA are responsible for at least one annual program, the purpose of which is primarily to explore new concepts and/or further develop skills in a specific area of children’s and young adult services (the secondary purpose, to be blunt, is to generate enough revenue to refill the CAYAL coffer so that we will return to a balanced budget at year’s end). 

Read more→

State Librarian Position Input

The VLA and VSLA are hosting three meetings for library staff from all types of Vermont libraries. The purpose of these meetings is to provide input for the State Librarian position search committee. What do we need, hope for or expect from the State Library Leader position?

The first meeting was held at Middlebury College on January 4th, with David Brown, chair of the search committee, and twelve public and academic librarians.

The second meeting will be Thursday, January 17, 10:00 A.M. to noon at Brattleboro’s Brooks Library. All librarians and library board members are invited.

The third meeting will be held at St. Johnsbury Academy on Friday, February 8 (snow date February 15) in the Grace Orcutt Library on the Academy’s grounds at 10:30 A.M. A complimentary box lunch is offered to all who are attending – just let us know if you would like one. I have provided the link to the Academy web site to point you to directions to parking that is behind the gym. http://www.stjacademy.org

Read more→

Library Confidentiality Bill Introduced in VT Senate

We are delighted to announce that Senator Claire Ayer of Addison County has introduced S. 220, “An Act Relating to the Confidentiality of Library Patron Records,” in response to VLA’s request for a stronger and clearer law protecting the confidentiality of our library patrons. Read more→

Book Discussion: Creating the Customer Driven Library

Ever hear about a newer service model, but don’t know much about it? Want to make some changes in service at your library, but not sure how to do it? Need some other librarians to bounce around new customer service ideas with?

Join other librarians for a discussion of “Creating the Customer Driven Library: Building on the Bookstore Model” by Jeannette Woodward at Mid-State Regional Library on March 10 from 9:30-11 a.m. Coffee will be available at 9 a.m.

Read more→

Legislative Day for Vermont’s Public Libraries

Legislative Day for Vermont’s Public Libraries
Friday January 18, 2008, 8:30 am – 11:30 am
Statehouse in Montpelier

Come to the Statehouse on January 18th for an important kick-off to our state funding initiative! We will meet in the Card Room, on the second floor. (The Card “Room” is really the hallway before you enter the cafeteria.)

Arrange to meet with your lawmakers and ask them to support state funding for public libraries and the statute that enhances library patron confidentiality. The best way to do this is to contact your lawmakers in advance and set up a time to meet them in the cafeteria. Read more→

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