Monday, September 24, 2012

Open Letter to Publishers from ALA President

An open letter to America’s publishers from ALA President Maureen Sullivan

CHICAGO — The following open letter was released by American Library Association (ALA) President Maureen Sullivan regarding Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin refusal to provide access to their e-books in U.S. libraries.

The open letter states:
It’s a rare thing in a free market when a customer is refused the ability to buy a company’s product and is told its money is “no good here.” Surprisingly, after centuries of enthusiastically supporting publishers’ products, libraries find themselves in just that position with purchasing e-books from three of the largest publishers in the world. Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin have been denying access to their e-books for our nation’s 112,000 libraries and roughly 169 million public library users.

For more of the letter: http://www.ala.org/news/pr?id=11508

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

School Library Award Opportunity

For school libraries: Apply by Dec. 15 to receive $4,000, national recognition for program model

The ALA Public Programs Office is now accepting nominations for the 2013 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming. School libraries, public or private, that served children in any combination of grades K-8 and conducted humanities programs during the 2011-2012 school year are eligible. Applications and award guidelines are available at www.ala.org/jaffarianaward. To be considered, nominations must be received by the ALA Public Programs Office by December 15.

The award consists of a $4,000 honorarium and a plaque. Additionally, the winning program will be promoted as a model program for other school libraries on www.ProgrammingLibrarian.org, a library programming resource center. To be considered, applicant libraries must have conducted a humanities program or program series during the prior school year (2011-2012). The humanities program can be focused in many subject areas, including but not limited to social studies, poetry, drama, art, music, language arts, foreign language and culture. Programs should focus on broadening perspectives and helping students understand the wider world and their place in it. They should be initiated and coordinated by the school librarian and exemplify the role of the library program in advancing the overall educational goals of the school.

To help you find inspiration for your application, ALA Public Programs Office and ProgrammingLibrarian.org present an online learning opportunity especially for school librarians.

Who Are We?: An award-winning humanities program model for school libraries
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
4:00 p.m. CDT

Francis Feeley, school librarian of Inter-American Magnet School in Chicago, Ill., and winner of the 2012 Sara Jaffarian Award, will present his winning model for humanities programming in the school library. The program, titled “Who Are We?” challenged seventh- and eighth-grade students to explore the individual and collective behavior of human beings in the past and present in a series of quarterly research projects. Following the presentation, Feeley will discuss elements of his award application that lead to his selection, and give tips to prospective applicants to help get their applications started. Registration for this event is required, and can be found at: http://www.programminglibrarian.org/online-learning/who-are-we-an-award-winning-humanities-program-model-for-school-libraries.html.

This session will be held in Adobe Connect Pro. If you've never used Adobe Connect Pro, you may want to watch "Participating in Your First Connect Pro Meeting" or read the Visual Quick Start Guide (PDF) before the presentation. Please note that registration is required in order to attend the online learning session.

With questions, please contact the ALA Public Programs Office, publicprograms@ala.org or 800-545-2433 x5045.
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ALA Public Programs Office

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

ALA Councilor At Large Positions


We are actively seeking people to run for ALA Council. If you are interested, please go to http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council for more information. You must fill out the form no later than August 17th. It is available at https://www.alavote.org/nomination/2013users.html. If you do fill it out, please select the "Nominated" option (rather than petition). Please thoughtfully consider becoming part of the governance of ALA! If you have any questions, please email me privately at terri.kirk@mccracken.kyschools.us

Terri G. Kirk
ALA Councilor,
Kentucky Library Association
Reidland High School
5349  Benton Road
Paducah, KY 42003
270-538-4225

School Literacy Grants

From ALA District Dispatch:

Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program (IAL) school literacy grants is now open, the Department of Education announced today in the Federal Register. We encourage school librarians to apply for the program grants, which can range from $150,000–750,000. At least 50 percent of the $28.6 million is designated for school librarians. The deadline to apply for the grant funding is August 10, 2012, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

World Book Night


From ALA:
 
WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2013
LIBRARY PARTICIPANT APPLICATION

WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2013 is a celebration of literacy by publishers, bookstores, libraries and individuals who love books and reading.  On WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2013, 25,000 “book givers” will each give away 20 copies of a specially-printed, not-for-resale WBN edition of book they have read and loved (from a list of 25-30 titles selected by librarians and booksellers) to complete strangers – people who may never have owned a book of their own.  To promote this literacy event, libraries and bookstores – as organizational participants in the event – form a nationwide advocacy and distribution network.

WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2013 library organizational participants are making a commitment to (1) be a site for individual “book giver” volunteers* to pick up their shipment of books and (2) be an active advocate in their community for World Book Night 2013 and literacy.  (*Individuals in your community interested in being a “book giver” volunteer will be asked to complete the application on the World Book Night website, available in Fall 2012.)

WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2013 library organizational participants are committing to do the following:
·        Agree to be listed as a World Book Night organizational participant on a list for potential “book givers.”
·        Promote World Book Night within the library – for instance, by creating a display of WBN books, using the regular (“trade”) editions in the library’s own collection.
·        Have a designated World Book Night coordinator to handle shipment receipt, contact “book givers” in their area, receive WBN email updates and advocacy resources
·        Supply a shipping address (accessible by UPS) and be open to receive boxes for area “book givers”
·        Be a site where “book givers” may pick up their shipment of books, to be given away to light or non-readers in the community to encourage literacy and an appreciation of books
·        Invite givers to an open house/reception the week before World Book Night (see schedule below)
·        Make copies of informational materials supplied by WBN to give to each book giver along with their box
·        Work in their local area, with local media and organizations, to promote World Book Night and literacy, (see promotion schedule below)
·        Give unused books (for instance, boxes of books not picked up by the designated “book giver”) to local nonprofit groups identified by the library (for instance, senior centers, teen centers)
Schedule:
·        Week of April 1: Receive names of book givers who have selected your library as their pick up site (notification will be made by the American Library Association)
·        Week of April 8, 2013:  Receive, check in and store WBN “book giver” boxes for givers who have chosen your library as a pickup point; email or call givers to let them know their box has arrived; invite givers to an open house/reception (week of April 15) to pick up their box; make copies of the “giver letter” and certificates (from WBN) to give to each book giver along with their box.
·        Contact Ingram Book Co. (contact information to be supplied in early 2013).  If the “book giver” box does not arrive by April 15.
·        Week of April 15, 2013: Hold an open house or reception to welcome “book givers,” members of the local media, and other friends and supporters. 
·        Week of April 22, 2013:  Be open Monday and Tuesday for last minute box pick up, celebrate a successful World Book Night community outreach, share your stories.  World Book Night is April 23.
If you have questions, please contact Mary Ghikas (mghikas@ala.org) or Danielle Alderson (dalderson@ala.org)
Please return the attached commitment form to American Library Association, attn. MPS-WBN, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795    -- or fax to 312- 280-5013 or pdf to dalderson@ala.org   by Sept. 1, 2012

Friday, July 6, 2012

"Libraries, Patrons, and E-Books"

Fom the American Library Association:

OITP releases backgrounder on “Libraries, Patrons, and E-books”
As part of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy’s work with the Digital Content and Libraries Working Group, several member leaders have requested we develop and distribute communications resources that will support local libraries around digital content issues.
Today OITP released the first of these documents, a backgrounder (pdf) that shares some highlights from the newest Pew Research Center report on “Libraries, Patrons, and E-books,” along with some possible messaging and local angles for leveraging this new research with local media and decision makers.

ALA Annual Conference Report 2012

ALA Chapter Councilor Annual Conference Update 2012
The American Library Association Annual Conference (http://alaannual.org/) was held June 21-26, 2012 in Anaheim, CA. This was the 131st Annual Conference and Exhibition included over 500 programs, pre-conferences, General Sessions, Auditorium Speakers, Author Stage presentations and special events.
Attendance numbers were somewhat below those of last year’s conference in New Orleans. Anaheim registration included 11, 655 attendees and 5,045 exhibitors for a total attendance of 16,700. This compares with 20,000 in New Orleans. Some discussion about attendance indicated that attendance numbers improve vastly when Annual is held in Chicago, as it will be in 2013. Although attendance numbers were down, the conference did not lose money.
ALA Council passed the following resolutions:
“Resolution that School Libraries and Librarians are Critical to Educational Success”
Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA):
1.    Directs the ALA Presidential Task Force on School Librarians to lead the Association in its continued mission to address the urgent need for advocacy for school libraries and school librarians; and to address the impact of the de-professionalization and curtailment of school library instructional programs on students and student achievement, continuing to engage librarians of all types from across the association to advocate for school libraries, which are imperative to the survival and success of all libraries;
2.    Encourages state associations and affiliates to influence legislation requiring adequate funding and appropriate staffing of school libraries in schools at all levels;
3.    Places a high priority on seeing that upcoming ESEA legislation recognizes and specifically supports the necessity for effective school library programs and credentialed school librarians;
4.    Works to encourage federal lobbying efforts to include school libraries in legislation and regulations, including areas such as digital literacy and broadband; and
5.    Actively seeks partnerships with national organizations to reach mutual goals of sustaining school libraries.
“Resolution on Voter Suppression in America”
Resolved that the ALA:
Opposes voter ID laws restrictions on voter registration, cuts to early voting and any other laws resulting in the restriction of lawful access to voting; and
1.    Encourages libraries, librarians and library support staff to provide information to citizens to mitigate these restrictions should they remain in effect on Election Day.

Changes to scheduling and number of programs at Annual were discussed at length. Because of declining net revenue, the cost of space and supportive technology, the size and scope of annual conference may be altered. Caps on the number of programs from divisions and roundtables as well as reduction in amount of reserved space will be considered by Executive Board for each conference based on attendance. Since the Executive Board administers conference content, this was not a Council action item but a point of information.
Maureen Sullivan was inaugurated as the President of the American Library Association and Barbara Stripling as President-Elect. Four Council members were elected to serve on the Committee on Committees and five to serve on the Planning and Budget Assembly. Retiring President Molly Raphael and Councilors were recognized for their service, including the South Dakota Chapter Councilor whose term ended at the Annual Conference.
Respectfully submitted,
Vickie Mix, SDLA
 ALA Chapter Councilor