PLA Electronic Newsletter
Vol. 5, No. 11
*PLA Issues RFPs for Two Projects
*Report Concludes Federal Programs Critical to Bring
National Online
*ALA Washington Office Updates
*ALSC Between the Lions Survey
*Managing for Results Workshop - Register Today!
PLA ISSUES RFPs FOR TWO PROJECTS
The Public Library Association has recently issued two Requests for Proposal (RFP) for two different projects.
The first is for authorship of a Collection Development Manual. PLA is seeking a consultant or consultants to work with the Public Library Association's Collection Development Manuscript Editorial Board to develop a manual on collection development for public libraries. The Public Library Association is committed to publishing manuals that provide library managers, staff and board members with practical information they can use to plan services and manage their resources more effectively and efficiently.
Five of these manuals have been published to date and they have become known as the Results series. They are:
Planning for Results 1998
Wired for the Future 1999
Managing for Results 2000
The New Planning for Results 2001
Staffing for Results 2002
This manual, the 6th in series, should be similar in style to the other five manuals. It should also build on the concepts in those manuals. Editorial Board consists of past authors or committee members from the Results series and two current library practitioners. The deadline for submission of proposals for this project is September 20, 2002 with contractor being selected by September 30, 2002. Visit http://www.pla.org/publications/coldevrfp.pdf for the proposal form and more information about this project.
The other RFP recently issued by PLA is for Consulting Services for Development of Evaluation Materials and Training for the PLA/ALSC Early Literacy Initiative Project. The Public Library Association (PLA) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) are seeking a consultant to work with the PLA/ALSC Early Childhood Literacy Initiative Task Force to design an evaluation study for the project and to train public librarians involved with the project in data collection techniques.
The Consultant will work with the members of the Task Force to design and implement the evaluation of the second phase of the project. The evaluation design should incorporate both output and outcome measures. The consultant will develop evaluation materials and train librarians from the 15 to 20 demonstration sites in needed data collection techniques. The consultant will serve as a resource to the demonstration sites and will analyze the data collected by staff at the sites. The consultant will prepare a summative evaluation report for the Task Force.
The proposal due date is September 2, 2002 with contractor being selected by September 13, 2002. Visit http://www.pla.org/publications/earlylit.html for the proposal form and more information about this project.
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NEW REPORT CONCLUDES FEDERAL PROGRAMS CRITICAL TO BRINGING A NATION ONLINE - DATA SHOW MANY AMERICANS STILL ON WRONG SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY DIVIDE
Read the report: http://www.civilrights.org/publications/bringinganationonline
Today, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund and the Benton Foundation, with support from the Ford Foundation, released a new report that concludes that continued Federal leadership is essential to bringing a nation online, given the significant technology gaps that remain along economic, racial and geographic lines.
"Bringing a Nation Online: The Importance of Federal Leadership" examines data released earlier this year by the Department of Commerce in its report "A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet" which showed substantial gains in access to computers and the Internet for all Americans. The report released today underscores that despite these gains, a significant divide remains based on income, race and ethnicity, geography and disability. As a result, many Americans have yet to witness the significant social, civic, educational and economic benefits of the information age.
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ALA WASHINGTON OFFICE UPDATES
[1] E-Government Act of 2002 Passes Senate
On June 27, 2002, the E-Government Act of 2002 (S. 803) passed the U.S.
Senate on Unanimous Consent. This is legislation that the library community
has been involved with since its initiation and in support of which Sharon
Hogan, Chair of the 2001-2002 Committee on Legislation, testified in July
2001 [http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/071101_hogan.htm]. While the
legislation changed in a number of ways over the last year, its passage
in the Senate is a big step in the direction of better federal executive
branch management of information over its life-cycle, with public access
being a key focus.
The legislation creates a number of new opportunities for the public, libraries, and others concerned with information access to participate in the legislative and governmental processes. The bill also contains important provisions regarding the privacy implications of government information systems, digital divide concerns, and community technology centers.
The Washington Office site [www.ala.org/washoff/803keyprovisions.pdf] has an overview of some of the bill's key provisions from the library and public access community's perspective.
[2] ALA's Universal Service Email Discussion List is now open to all
who wish to subscribe!
The Universal Service discussion list provides an excellent forum for
sharing information and asking questions of peers about the E-rate program
and application processes. The list is also used to alert subscribers
to current E-rate news, FCC orders and announcements from the Schools
and Libraries Division of USAC. All members of ALA's E-rate Task Force
subscribe to the list. This list is slightly restricted in that only subscribers
may post or access the archives. ALA reserves the right to remove anyone
who is using the list for blatant advertising or commercial purposes.
It is an unmoderated list. To subscribe, please send a message to listproc@ala.org
and leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message type: subscribe
univserv yourfirstname yourlastname.
Please contact Jennifer Hendrix (jhendrix@alawash.org) with questions or concerns.
From the ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsletter July 16, 2002. [3]TEACH Act Passes House Judiciary Committee The TEACH Act, the bill updating the Copyright Act to provide for distance education in the information age, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, Wednesday, July 17th. The bill will now go to the full House of Representatives for a vote. Inasmuch as the bill, S.487, passed the Senate last year unanimously and has broad bipartisan support, we expect it to pass without difficulty and then be signed into law by the President. We'll let you know further developments as soon as we know them. Please check out our web site for information about the TEACH Act: http://www.ala.org/washoff/disted.htmln, D.C. -- Today, the Leadership Confe. From the ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline - July 18, 2002Fundation, with support from the For To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon.
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ALSC "Between the Lions" Survey
The producers of the Between the Lions public television program are trying to gauge if and how ALSC members are using the program in their library. Below are questions they would appreciate your taking a moment to answer. Please send your responses directly to Linda Mays in the ALSC Office at lmays@ala.org
Here are the questions:
- Is your library using Between the Lions as part of its outreach?
- What types of activities are you sponsoring using Between the Lions? For example: Are you holding BTL-themed read-alouds? Are you using BTL materials to train parents, teachers or caregivers? Are you conducting any family events based on BTL?
Again, please send your replies to Linda Mays at lmays@ala.org. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
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PLA MANAGING FOR RESULTS WORKSHOP - REGISTER TODAY!
Managing for Results: Effective Resource Allocation for Public Libraries" is a companion volume to "The NEW Planning for Results: A Streamlined Approach" and presents an overview of issues library managers have to consider as they make the resource allocation decisions that are required to implement their strategic plans.
"Managing for Results" also provides a detailed look at the unique challenges managers face in four specific resource areas: staffing, collections, facilities, and technology. Finally, "Managing for Results: Effective Resource for Public Libraries" includes over fifty workforms to provide managers with practical tools to help them gather the data they need to make informed decisions. This workshop will provide library managers with the information they need to determine the current capacity of their resources, how those resources are being utilized, and how many of those resources will be required to accomplish the results identified in the library's strategic plan.
Workshop leader Sandra Nelson is a consultant specializing in public library planning and management issues. She is co-author of "Wired for the Future: Developing Your Library Technology Plan" (ALA, 1999),"Managing for Results: Effective Resource Allocation for Public Libraries" (ALA, 2000), "The New Planning for Results - A Streamlined Approach" (ALA, 2001) and is currently working with June Garcia on a book about public library policies.
Workshop Location: The Brown Palace Hotel - 321 17th Street - Denver, CO 80202
Target Audience: This workshop is appropriate for library managers and trustees.
Housing: PLA has reserved a block of sleeping rooms at the Brown Palace Hotel, 321 17th Street, Denver, CO 80202 at a rate of $179 single/double room, plus tax. To make your hotel reservation call 800-321-2599. For more information about The Brown Palace Hotel check out http://www.brownpalace.com
For More Information - Call the PLA office at 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (CST), Monday-Friday, visit the PLA web site at www.pla.org or email pla@ala.org
To Register - Registration is limited! All registrations must be received by September 13, 2002. The registration form also is available on the PLA website.
General Registration - Registration fee includes all workshop materials, continental breakfast, and breaks.
- $165 PLA Personal Member
- $195 ALA Member
- $225 Nonmember
- $145 2-4 Registrants from Same Library or System*
- $125 5 or more Registrants from Same Library or System*
Cancellations and Refunds - Written cancellations and requests for refunds will be accepted until September 13, 2002 (date of postmark) and are subject to a $25 handling fee. Refunds will be processed after October 11, 2002. No refund requests will be accepted after September 13, 2002.
Discounted Registration* To qualify for the discounted rate for two or more registrations from the same library, you must use one form for each person and mail all forms stapled together in the same envelope, or faxed at the same time. Offer available to PLA members and nonmembers valid through September 13, 2002 (date of postmark) only.
Please Note - This conference is offered on a cost-recovery basis. PLA reserves the right to cancel all or any part of this event if there is insufficient registration or for other reasons. Neither ALA nor PLA is responsible for cancellation charges assessed by the airlines or travel agencies, or other losses incurred due to any cancellation. All information in this brochure is subject to change.