Grant Opportunity

Libraries are invited to apply for Great Stories Club programming grants for at-risk teens
The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office invites libraries to apply for the Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion program for at-risk teens.
Eligible libraries are located within or working in partnership with organizations that serve at-risk youth, such as alternative high schools, juvenile justice organizations, homeless shelters, foster care agencies, teen parenting programs, residential treatment facilities and other nonprofit and community agencies.

Visit https://apply.ala.org/gscmedia for full guidelines and to apply online. Applications are due Sept. 15.

First offered as a pilot in 2006, ALA’s Great Stories Club has reached 670 libraries in 49 states and more than 30,000 young adults (ages 12 to 21).

ALA 2015 Annual Conference Report

All documents cited should be available on ALA Connect http://connect.ala.org/.

Council I

Courtney Young, ALA President, welcomed all present to the first Council session of the 2015 Annual Conference and introduced special guests

Minutes of the 2015 Midwinter Conference Council Minutes adopted.Committee on

Committees CD#12, CD#12.1 Sari Feldman, Chair and ALA President-Elect

• Nominations for the 2015-2016 Council Committee on Committees election.  Four councilors are to be elected for one-year terms from the following candidates: Edward L. Sanchez, Gladys Smiley Bell, Min Chou, Maria Carpenter, Stephen L. Matthews, Cristina Dominguez Ramierez, Ellen Hunter Ruffin, and Rocco A. Staino.

•  Nominations for the 2015-2016 Planning and Budget Assembly Election.  Three Chapter Councilors and three Councilors-at-Large are to be elected from the following candidates: Chapter – Ben Allen Hunter, Sherry Machones, Kris Seerengan, and Patricia (Patty) M. Wong, Jason Hatton, Jennifer A. Alvino; At-Large – Mary Biblo, John C. DeSantis, Denice C. Adkins, Eric D. Suess.

Tellers Committee, ALA CD#12.2 appointment by President Young

ALA Awards Committee ALA CD#7 Eric D. Suess, Chair

• Proposed establishment of the Ernest A. DiMattia, Jr. Award for Innovation , and Service to Community and Profession.  The award is intended to recognize an administrator in a public library setting for leadership qualities in anticipating emerging trends in services, products and technologies that will enhance the library’s position in its community.

ALA CD#37 Barbara K. Stripling, immediate Past President of ALA, moved for approval the Strategic Directions Document.  Key action areas are advocacy for libraries and the profession; diversity; education and lifelong learning; equitable access to information and library services; intellectual freedom; literacy; organizational excellence; and transforming libraries. Goals and strategies to support ALA’s directions are also included in the document. Council approved.

ALA Constitution and Bylaws Committee ALA CD#25.1  James Rettig, Chair

• Recommended that Council approve an amendment to the ALA Constitution as a first step towards placing the amendment on the spring 2016 ballot for a vote by the ALA membership. Council referred the recommendation back to the committee.

ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels,  ALA

• Implementation of the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting Council Actions ALA CD#9.1
• Reviewed Executive Board actions since the 2015 Midwinter Meeting CD#15.1-15.2.   

Resolutions considered:

• ALA CD#36 Resolution on the Importance of Sustainable Libraries. Council passed the resolution.

• ALA CD#43 Resolution Denouncing the Systemic Racism that Motivated the South Carolina Shootings .

• ALA CD#40, Rev. Resolution on Libraries and Schools Affected by the Conflict in Gaza and Israel in 2014. Council rejected.

• ALA CD#42 Resolution Against Mass Surveillance of the American People. Council voted to refer the resolution to the Committee on Legislation.

Keith Michael Fiels announced that total registration currently stands at 22,363.

Council II

Courtney Young, ALA President, asked for a moment of silence to honor the memory of Cynthia Graham Hurd, a public library manager in Charleston, S.C., and the eight others who were murdered at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church. 

Outgoing Executive Board members and councilors were recognized.

International Relations Committee ALA CD#18.2 Loida Garcia-Febo, Chair

• Almost 600 librarians from 62 countries registered for the 2015 Annual Conference.

• The IFLA World Library and Information Conference will be held in Columbus, OH, August 13-19, 2016

• ALA is partnering with READ Global (Rural Education and Development) libraries, other NGOs, and government organizations in Nepal to help rebuild and restock the hundreds of earthquake damaged or destroyed libraries

Committee on Organization ALA CD#27.1 Mary E. Rzepczynski, Chair
•    Requested change in language regarding Treasurer’s term limit. Council approved.

Freedom to Read Foundation ALA CD#22.1 Julius Jefferson, President
Litigation:

• Prison Legal News v. Kane –FTRF joined with journalists, booksellers, publishers and others to successfully challenge a Pennsylvania law that allows a victim to sue a convicted offender to stop any conduct — including speech — that causes “mental anguish.”

• Antigone Books v. Horne: FTRF joined with booksellers, publishers, and photographers to challenge an Arizona statute that makes it a crime to publish, sell, loan or disclose images that include nudity without the depicted person’s consent for each distribution.

• Arce v. Huppenthal: lawsuit filed by teachers and students in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) against the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction and other state officials.   The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of an Arizona statute prohibiting the use of class materials or books that encourage the overthrow of the government, “promote resentment toward a race or class of people,” are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Council III

Memorials and Tributes:
Gail A. Schlachter, David Cohen, Charles Benton, Cynthia D. Clark, Ruth C. Carter, William Vernon Jackson, Elizabeth H. (Betsy) Park, Floyd C. Dickman, Cynthia G. Hurd, and Zoia Horn. The tribute resolutions were: Jessie Carney Smith; 25th Anniversary of the Signing of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA); 35th Anniversary of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA); Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD; and 50th Anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Treasurers Report ALA CD#13.3 Mario Gonzales

• ALA’s programmatic priorities: advocacy for libraries and the profession; diversity; equitable access to information and library services; education and lifelong learning; literacy; organizational excellence; intellectual freedom; and transforming libraries.

• FY16 budget highlights; enabling strategies; and FY16 key initiatives. He also

• Requested approval of the total ALA FY2016 Budgetary Ceiling of $67,087,027.  Council approved

Tellers Committee ALA CD#12.3 Denise Zielinski, Chair

• Winners of the election of the Council Committee on Committees: Gladys Smiley Bell, Maria Carpenter, Stephen Matthews, and Rocco Staino. 

• Winners of the election of Council Representatives to the Planning and Budget Assembly: at large – John DeSantis and Eric Suess; chapter – Jennifer Alvino, Ben Allen Hunter, and Patty Wong.

Committee on Legislation ALA CD#20.2-20.3-Ann Ewbank, incoming Chair

• COL created an orientation manual to be used as a tool for incoming members and others interested in the work of the COL

• COL approved changes and additions to the ALA Core Competencies, which address government information skills and the management of and access to government information.

• COL offered resolution as a substitute for the Resolution Against Mass Surveillance of the American People (ALA CD#42) : Resolution on the Passage of the USA Freedom Act and Reaffirming ALA’s Commitment to Surveillance Law Reform.

• Substitute resolution passed and was referred back to committee.

Intellectual Freedom Committee ALA CD#19.2-ALA CD#19.7 Ma’Lis Wendt, representing Doug Archer, Chair

• Reported 9th edition of Intellectual Freedom Manual has been published.

• Proposed revised interpretations to the Library Bill of Rights in the following areas of Internet Filtering, Labeling Systems, and Rating Systems. Council approved each of the revised interpretations.  Those documents are available on ALA Connect.

Resolutions considered

• ALA CD#45, Revised_62915 and Amended by body Gun Violence Resolution approved

• ALA CD#46 Resolution to Endorse Statement from the Movement for Black Lives on Charleston Shooting approved

• ALA CD#38 Rev. Resolution on Improving Access to Spanish, Bilingual and Books in Various Languages for Children in Detention Centers approved

Keith Michael Fiels announced that current conference registration stands at 22,614.