PLA Electronic Newsletter, Vol. 5 no. 7

In this issue:

PLA Election Results
Black Caucus Program
PLA Leadership Development Program at ALA Annual Conference
"Staffing For Results" Available at Annual Conference
PLA Past-President Featured on GoMemphis!
New PLA Products Aid Recruitment Efforts
National Academies Report on Youth, Pornography, and the Internet
CIPA Update

PLA ELECTION RESULTS

Vice-President/President Elect
Luis Herrera

Issues and Concerns Cluster Steering Committee
Donna Joy Burke
Florence Simkins Brown

Library Development Cluster Steering Committee
Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin
Gertiana Williams

Library Services Cluster Steering Committee
Yvonne Chen
Carol Simmons

We thank all candidates who ran for election and we appreciate your willingness to serve PLA. All candidates elected will take office after the 2002 Annual Conference. Congratulations to all.

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BLACK CAUCUS PROGRAM

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Recruitment & Professional Development Committee; The Clark Atlanta University School of Library &Information Science; CAU Press; Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library present:

BLACK LIBRARIANS & PUBLISHING: GETTING OUR VOICES HEARD

DATE: JUNE 17, 2002
TIME: 9am-12pm
LOCATION: Clark-Atlanta University - Science Research Center Auditorium
PRESENTERS: Lisa Pillow- Assistant Documents Librarian, AcademicLibrarian, Presenting the Current Trends of Academic Black Librarians & Publishing;
Khafre Abif- Director, Children's Librarian, Recording the Culture of Black Librarianship;
Greg Reese- Director, Public Librarian, Shares Experiences of Publishing as a Form of Advocacy;
Dr. Mark Winston- Professor, Academic Librarian, How to Identify Topics for Publication & Matching them with Appropriate Journals. This forum will discuss the need for Black Librarians in all fields of librarianship to participate in publishing. We will discuss getting your ideas from pen to publication. For more information contact tfontno@uic.edu

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PLA LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AT ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Developing Your Leadership Style

Friday, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Omni Hotel - Atrium A
Members of PLA committees are invited to join PLA President-elect JoAnn Pinder and the PLA Board of Directors to meet, mingle and learn about our association. The keynote speaker, an authority on association management, will consider association leadership and discuss the differences between a member-driven organization and a member-focused organization. Refreshments and musical entertainment will be provided.

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STAFFING FOR RESULTS AVAILABLE AT ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Staffing For Results: A Guide to Working Smarter
Diane Mayo and Jeanne Goodrich for the Public Library Association (PLA)

How long does it take to...catalog a book?

This latest entry in the PLA Results series will help you to answer that question and others you have related to the output and performance of your staff. By analyzing, in a systematic way, how long work activities take and then assigning steps to each unit of work, you will have a quantifiable measure of the output of your staff. The only book of its kind, Staffing for Results equips you to not only gauge performance and output but also build on what you learn to maximize and even increase productivity.

Using common public library tasks as the context, Staffing for Results walks you through the process of measuring work, identifying best practices, assigning costs to each activity, analyzing resource allocation, and communicating results. With more than 20 figures and workforms that you can customize for your setting, six easy-to-follow chapters provide step-by-step guidance on how to ensure that your library is optimizing its resources. By the end of the process, you'll be able to answer questions such as:

Who is doing the work?
How long does it take?
What steps are required?
Can the work process be streamlined?
Is this the best use of people available?
Do we need more staff?
Can support staff handle a job done by a library professional?
How can the data be communicated to support needed changes?

Giving you tools from the experts of PLA to get the job done, this indispensable guide will help you to show and prove results! Staffing For Results will be available at ALA Annual Conference or from the ALA Online Store in June. Price: $42.00 -192 pages - 8.5" X 11" - Softcover - ISBN: 0-8389-0826-8 - ALA Order #: 0826-8-2233

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PLA Past-President Featured on GoMemphis!

Visit http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_1104025,00.html to view the article featuring Memphis Public Library Director and PLA Past-President, Judith Drescher.

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NEW PLA PRODUCTS AID RECRUITMENT EFFORTS

The Public Library Association has developed a number of products to aid in the ongoing effort to recruit public librarians into the profession. The association has developed a comprehensive recruitment website (www.pla.org) that contains testimonials from real-life librarians on why they chose public librarianship; educational requirements; scholarships information and links; salary data and other resources; and an informative look at the public library world entitled "public library fast facts."

In addition to the website, colorful "Ask Me Why I Love My Job" buttons are available for .25 each and brochures entitled "Public Librarianship: Imagine the Possibilities" are available for free. The order form for the buttons and brochures is available at www.pla.org/projects/button.html or call PLA at 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA to place a telephone order.

PLA also will present a program at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference that will address the shortage of public librarians and detail current recruitment efforts. "Where Have All the Librarians Gone - Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Them" will be held on Sunday, June 16, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

For more information visit the PLA web page at http://www.pla.org. PLA is a division of the American Library Association.

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NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT ON YOUTH, PORNOGRAPHY, AND THE INTERNET

No Single Solution for Protecting Kids From Internet Pornography
WASHINGTON

No single approach -- technical, legal, economic, or educational -- will be sufficient to protect children from online pornography, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. It describes social and educational strategies, technology-based tools, and legal and regulatory approaches that can be mixed and adapted to fit different communities' circumstances.

The report serves as a practical guide for parents, teachers, librarians, information technology vendors and service providers, and public policy-makers. An essential element of protecting children from inappropriate material on the Internet -- and one largely ignored in the present debate -- is the promotion of social and educational strategies that teach children to make wise choices about using the Internet and to take control of their online experiences: where they go, what they see, to whom they talk, and what they do. Teachers, library administrators, Web site developers, and organizers of public-interest campaigns can play a role in developing and implementing these strategies.

Read the full text of Youth, Pornography, and the Internet for free on the Web (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10261.html?onpi_newsdoc05022002), as well as more than 1,800 other publications from the National Academies. Printed copies are available for purchase from the National Academy Press Web site or by calling (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Reporters may obtain a pre-publication copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).

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CIPA UPDATE

ALA expects the three-judge panel of the federal court to rule on its legal challenge to the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) soon, probably at the beginning of next week. To date, the media coverage of CIPA has been balanced, and the bulk of editorial/opinion coverage has been positive to the ALA's position. Tank you for your continued support of the ALA's legal challenge to CIPA. If you have any questions, please call the Office for Intellectual Freedom at 800-545-2433 x4223.