PLA Electronic Newsletter
Volume 5 No. 19 http://www.pla.org/members/enews/vol5no19.html
In this Issue:
Chris Bohjalian to Speak at PLA Spring Symposium
December 31 Deadline for PLA 2004 National Conference
Program Proposals
Proposed Bylaws Amendment
PLA Midwinter Meeting List Available
Kaiser Family Foundation Study of Internet Filters Affect
on Online Health Information
American Library Association Announces Lawyer Institutes
Environmental Protection Agency
New ALA Electronic Discussion List
CHRIS BOHJALIAN TO SPEAK AT PLA SPRING SYMPOSIUM
Acclaimed author Chris Bohjalian will serve as the author luncheon speaker Friday, March 7, from 12 to 1:30 p.m., at the Public Library Association's 2003 Spring Symposium in Chicago, Illinois. Bohjalian is the author of eight novels, including "The Buffalo Soldier," "Tran-Sister Radio," "The Law of Similars," and "Midwives," which was named an Oprah Book Club(r) Selection and a "Publishers Weekly" Best Book of 1997. His writing has appeared in many publications, including "Reader's Digest," "The Boston Sunday Globe Magazine," and "Burlington Free Press," for which he has written a column since 1992. Bohjalian is also the recipient of the New England Book Award as well as a New England Booksellers Association Discovery title. Tickets are $40 for this event and require preregistration.Symposium attendees will have the choice of attending one of five programs that cover all aspects of librarianship: "Building the Perfect Library;" "Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Effectiveness;" "Power Up With Print: Connecting Teens and Reading in a Digital Age;" "Emergent Literacy Part II: Research and Preschool Services;" and "Staffing for Results." New speakers have been added for the "Power Up With Print" workshop. They are YA author James W. Bennett, Amy Alessio (librarian/author), and Jennifer Bromann (librarian/author). Agendas for each of the five workshops are posted on PLA's Spring Symposium website.
Advance Registration fees for each workshop are $195 for PLA members and Illinois Library Association members, $230 for ALA members, $260 for nonmembers. To qualify for these rates, registration form must be postmarked by January 27, 2003. Persons registering before January 8, 2003 (date of postmark) receive a $10 discount.
For more information visit www.pla.org or call the PLA office at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA.
DECEMBER 31 DEADLINE FOR PLA 2004 NATIONAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM PROPOSALS
The deadline for submitting program and preconference proposals that are not sponsored by ALA/PLA units, divisions, committees and affiliates is December 31. All proposals must be submitted using the online proposal process located at http://www.pla.org/conference/conf04/proposal.html.Don't miss this opportunity to participate in the most exciting conference for Public Librarians!
The deadline for ALA/PLA units, divisions, committees and affiliates who wish to submit program/preconference proposals for the PLA 2004 Seattle conference is January 31, 2003.
Questions can be addressed to lbostrom@ala.org.
PROPOSED BYLAWS AMENDMENT
At the 2002 ALA Annual Conference the Public Library Association (PLA) Board of Directors expressed interest in amending the PLA bylaws to include the PLA Representative to Council as a member of the PLA Executive Committee. The PLA Executive Committee reviewed this request at their fall meeting, and voted to take the proposed bylaws amendment to the membership for a vote as part of the Spring 2003 ALA Election.PLA is the only ALA division who's ALA Division Councilor is not a member of its Executive Committee. Amending the bylaws to make our councilor a permanent member of the PLA Executive Committee will help the councilor to better understand the philosophies that guide PLA and will enable the councilor to more successfully represent PLA at ALA Council sessions. If the PLA membership approves this amendment, the PLA Executive Committee will increase by one voting member. The Executive Committee will then consist of 7 voting members and one non-voting member, the PLA Executive Director.
The proposed change to the PLA Bylaws is italicized:
Article IV OFFICERS AND DUTIES, Sec. 3. The Executive Committee The Executive Committee will consist of the president, vice-president, immediate past president, the chairs of the clusters, and the PLA division councilor. The Executive Director will serve as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will have the authority to act for the Board of Directors between Board meetings.
PLA MIDWINTER MEETING LIST AVAILABLE
Visit http://www.pla.org/conference/mid03meet.html for a complete list of PLA committee meetings to be held during the upcoming ALA Midwinter Meeting. The list includes dates, times, and locations. The ALA Midwinter Meeting will be held in Philadelphia, January 24-27, 2003 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION STUDY OF INTERNET FILTERS AFFECT ON ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released a comprehensive new study of how Internet filters affect the search for health information in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, December 10th. The report can be found at http://www.kff.org/content/2002/20021210a/.Since 2000, filters have been mandatory equipment on computers in libraries and schools that accept federal funds. Yet many questions remain about how well the filters are working: Do they block sought-after health information? Does surfing on the Web for health facts inadvertently expose young people to pornography?
With a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging mandatory filters in libraries, the Foundation conducted a comprehensive study of whether Internet filters significantly block valuable health information on the Web.
WHAT: Release of a comprehensive new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, "See No Evil: How Internet Filters Affect the Search for Online Health Information," including:
- What percent of general health sites are blocked by the six most popular filters;
- What percent of sexual health sites are blocked;
- How often pornography comes up in searches; and How effective filters are at blocking it.
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES LAWYER INSTITUTES
The Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association
(ALA) is pleased to announce a series of training institutes in 2003.
"Lawyers for Libraries" is an opportunity for attorneys to increase their
understanding of legal issues affecting libraries-specifically, censorship
and privacy matters. Participants will be instructed by practicing attorneys
specializing in First Amendment law and will be eligible for CLE credits
for their participation. "Library censorship issues impact all of us,
and the future of local libraries as a repository for the broadest range
of information will be strengthened by knowledgeable attorneys willing
to support their local library programs," said Joseph, Lichtenstein &
Levinson attorney Burton Joseph. "Every attorney interested in the First
Amendment and intellectual freedom should welcome the opportunity to attend
the institute."
These institutes will feature sessions on:
- The Library as a Public Forum
- Unprotected Speech
- Minimizing Liability, specifically regarding Internet filtering as well as "hostile work environment" issues
- Privacy and Confidentiality, especially in light of the USA PATRIOT Act
The first training institute will be February 27-28 in Washington, D.C.; the second will be May 12-13 in Chicago. Future institutes will be announced soon. The cost is $500. Librarians and trustees are welcome to attend, provided they bring an attorney with them. For more information on Lawyers for Libraries, please visit our Web site at http://www.ala.org/lawyers.
Contact Jonathan Kelley with any questions at jkelley@ala.org, or call (800) 545-2433 x4226.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed the Green Vehicle Guide at to help people find the cleanest, most fuel-efficient vehicles that meet their needs.Specifically, people can:
- Research vehicles in terms of fuel efficiency and air pollution - including recently released estimates for 2003 vehicles.
- Find fuel economy and air pollution information for all vehicles sold in the US. Learn about the connection between emissions, fuel economy and global warming.
Persons in the market for a new car or truck will find this tool particularly valuable - it's an important enhancement to other research they may be doing for such features as vehicle safety and price.
If you'd like more information about the Green Vehicle Guide, or if you'd like some free 8x11 foam-core posters to put up in your libraries, please contact Christine Mikolajczyk of the U.S. EPA at (734) 214-4403.
NEW ALA ELECTRONIC DISCUSSION LIST
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is pleased to announce
the development of a new ALA electronic discussion list devoted to library
services to older adults. SeniorServ is an open list for the purpose of
sharing information about library services to senior adults, sponsored
by the RUSA Committee on Library Services to an Aging Population.
To become a member of the list:
Send a message to listproc@ala.org.
Leave the subject line blank, or, if your system requires a subject line,
enter "subscribe" (without quotation marks) as the subject. As the only
line of text in the body of the message, enter the following:
subscribe SeniorServ [YourFirstName] [YourLastName]
substituting your own first and last names. Do not include the brackets
in your message.
Messages for distribution to all SeniorServ subscribers should be addressed
to: SeniorServ@ala.org
Visit http://www.ala.org/membership/lists.html
for more complete information about ALA discussion lists.
If you have questions about SeniorServ or difficulty subscribing, please
contact the email address below.
I look forward to active and informative discussions about building and
improving services and programs to the growing populations of older adults
in our communities!
Nancee Dahms-Stinson
Consultant, Youth & Senior Services
Missouri State Library
dahmsn@sosmail.state.mo.us
http://www.sos.state.mo.us/library/development/