NHLA: New Hampshire Library Association

National Library Legislative Days

NHLA | May 15, 2013 | 0 Comments

National Library Legislative Days –The NHLA Presidential Report

National Library Legislative Days are a chance for librarians from across the country to come together and petition their representatives in the House and Senate for renewed federal funding and to gain attention for the issues that most affect libraries. ALA Washington, D.C. hosts the event, provides training opportunities and social activities, and supplies packets of materials for librarians and legislators about key issues. Here’s what my experience was like:

Monday May 6^th kicked things off with a “pre-conference” training or “newbie” training for first timers to Legislative Days. In truth there were plenty of veteran attendees there, too. This meeting was held at the ALA Washington office (on NH Avenue!) and included speakers who had worked as congressional staffers. It was very helpful to learn the do’s and don’ts for meetings with representatives. They told us to prepare ourselves for the youth of the staffers (seriously, I don’t think I saw any one of them over 25), research our legislators on social media, and don’t forget to actually ask for what you want.

Tuesday, May 7^th was a day of briefings on all the issues of concern to libraries on a national level. I have to confess that this was a little overwhelming. (For anybody who wants to see what we were doing–video briefings, PDFs with key issues are available at the National Library Legislative Day Web Site http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/nlld There was a speaker from the Pew Research center, and several people and panels stressing the importance of federally funded programs. SO much info. Lots of homework for me.

Wednesday, May 8^th Meetings Day. Michael York had arranged our meetings and we were fortunate to see somebody in all four of our Congressional Representatives’ offices. In speaking with other attendees of Legislative Days, I know not all visitors were so fortunate. We had a brief meeting with Senator Jeanne Shaheen and a follow up meeting with one of her staff assistants. Later, we met with legislative correspondents in Congresswoman Shea Porter’s office, Congresswoman Kuster’s office, and Senator Ayotte’s office. In each case I feel we were able to impress upon them the crucial role of federal funds (LSTA monies) to NH libraries. In all but one case the person was from NH.

Since our meetings, Senator Shaheen’s and Congresswoman Kuster’s offices have “liked” NHLA on Facebook and begun to follow NHLA on Twitter. Senator Ayotte’s office said they would consider itJ. I have received warm follow up emails from all four staff people with whom we met. I hope that this is a sign of positive connections made during our brief stint in the Nation’s Capital. Many thanks to Michael York, NH State Librarian and Randy Brough, NHLA Legislative Liaison, for their help and support throughout the happenings.

I met many wonderful people from all over the country last week, and heard about their organizations. It was a terrific experience, and I am fortunate to have had this great opportunity. I was honored to be representing NHLA at this important event.

Diane Lynch, NHLA President, 2013

Teen Video Challenge Winner

jroy | May 14, 2013 | via YALS: Young Adult Library Services of New Hampshire

Congratulations to the winner of the 2013 NH Teen Video Challenge, Windham’s Niki Kuchipudi!

Click here to learn more about the entry and the award.
See Niki’s video, as well as the winning videos from other states, by visiting the CSLP website.

CSLP, teen summer reading, video challenge

Two New RTG Kits Added in April

Diane Mayr | May 1, 2013 | 0 Comments

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, and The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler, were both added last month. To learn more, visit www.reads-to-go.org.

Nominate a librarian for the 2013 READS Award of Excellence!

Lori Fisher | April 4, 2013 | via READS: Reference and Adult Services

The Award of Excellence is presented annually by the READS section of New Hampshire Library Association to a library staff member who provides outstanding service in the reference or adult services area. Nominations can be submitted by anyone affiliated with the library staff person’s work — a colleague, a Friend of the library, a trustee, or a supervisor. You do NOT need to be a library director to nominate someone for this award!

Deadline for nominations is June 1, 2013. The award will be given at the READS Fall Meeting on October 25, 2013.

An application form in pdf format can be downloaded here: 2013 Award of Excellence nomination form

NHSLMA Conference May 16, 2013

Nancy Lang | April 2, 2013 | via CHILIS: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire

The New Hampshire School Library Media Association invites members of CHILIS to attend an afternoon of children’s programs at the NHSLMA’s annual Spring Conference on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at Mountain View Grand from 1:15-4:30. Please see the registration form for schedule and directions: NHSLMAconfCHILIS2013

The afternoon will feature the Great Stone Face Tea and book talks by Chris Rose. Attendees will also be able to visit the exhibits, the Children’s Book Review and the bookstore.

Cost of registration is $35 for CHILIS members only. Number of registrants is limited, so send your registration form along with a check for $35 payable to NHSLMA to Ann Hoey at the State Library by April 30, 2013.

Conferences, Great Stone Face Award, NHSLMA

More RTG Kits!

Diane Mayr | March 25, 2013 | 1 Comment

Four new kits have recently been added!

There are now 100 different kit titles in NHU-PAC! How awesome is that?

For more information, click here.

The Art of Fielding–New RTG Kit Title Added

Diane Mayr | February 11, 2013 | 0 Comments

Now being housed in Effingham–read all about it here.

READS-TO-GO

Part II of ALA Councilors Midwinter 2013 report

Amy Lappin | January 31, 2013 | 0 Comments

As promised after my first report from Seattle earlier this week, here is a summary of all the work done and resolutions completed by the ALA Council on the second and third days of the Midwinter Meeting. I realized that I promised to keep it brief. I tried…

The ALA Council approved the following programmatic priorities in line with the ALA Ahead to 2015 Strategic Plan as a guide in the preparation of the FY 2015 budget.
1.Diversity
2. Equal Access to Information and Library Services
3.Education and Lifelong Learning
4. Intellectual Freedom
5. Advocacy for Libraries and the Profession
6. Literacy
7. Organizational Excellence
8. Transforming Libraries.
Note: Taking a vote on the programmatic priorities is required by the Council’s by-laws which I believe is why these priorities are so very broad. They are designed so most any program will fit under this umbrella.

There was a vote to formally change the ALA Policy Manual to reflect the change in language from School Library Media Specialist to School Librarian. The recommendation for the language for a master’s degree with a school specialty is now “a master’s degree with a specialty in school librarianship.” The discussion on this item took place at a previous ALA Meeting and voted on here.

There was quite a bit of discussion regarding a resolution to change the structure of membership dues increases. The main crux of the change read, “dues for personal members will be reviewed annually by the Executive Board, which may approve a dues adjustment not to exceed the percentage change in the national average Consumer Price Index for the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest dollar. Any increase beyond the above provision shall be proposed by the Executive Board with approval by a vote of the Council and subject to a mail vote of the personal members.”

The intent was to provide more frequent incremental increases in dues in an equitable manner rather than hitting membership with a larger one time increase every five or ten years. After much discussion and compromises both in and outside of Council meetings, the dues adjustment proposal was sent back to the Executive Board to amend the language for Council III on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday morning, the amended proposal came before the Council. Many people found that the new language lent more to transparency to the proposal. The resolution read,
Resolved, Beginning in September 2013 and continuing annually through September 2017, personal member dues will be reviewed by the ALA Executive Board, which may approve a dues adjustment not to exceed the percentage change in the national average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest dollar. Any increase beyond the above provision proposed by the Executive Board will require approval by a vote of Council and a mail vote of ALA personal members. This provision shall be formally evaluated by the Executive Board and Council in 2016 with input from ALA personal members. Any subsequent dues adjustment will require approval by a vote of the ALA Executive Board, Council and a mail vote of ALA personal members. Council approved the resolution.

Note: ALA includes email in their definition of mail. Any mail vote including an email vote costs about $130,000.
This will now go to the membership for a vote on the ballot this spring. I will send more information to NHLA about this votes as it approaches. As difficult as a dues increase can be and as expensive as ALA is, I do believe in this measure and will be advocating for your support.

A resolution was presented supporting the application of the First Sale Doctrine of the copyright law to all materials in library collection and urging the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to remedy any judicial decision that limits libraries ability to lend copies of foreign made works under the First Sale doctrine.

Resolved, that the American Library Association: 1) Reaffirm the essential role of the First Sale Doctrine in ensuring that the education, research, and library communities continue to support the constitutional purpose of copyright law by promoting the advancement and sharing of knowledge, innovation, and creativity, wherever made; and 2) Urge the United States Congress to pass legislation to remedy any judicial decision that limits libraries ability to lend copies of foreign-made works under the First Sale Doctrine. Council approved the resolution.

A resolution honoring senator Olympia J. Snowe for her support of America’s libraries passed.
Resolved, that the American Library Association 1) Extends its deepest appreciation to Senator Olympia J. Snowe for her extraordinary service and record of achievement; 2) Thanks her for years of dedicated commitment to libraries and the American public that depends upon them.

A resolution supporting the WIPO Treaty for Improved Access for People Who are Blind, Visually Impaired and with Other Print Disabilities was presented.
Resolved that the American Library Association (ALA) 1) endorses the Obama Administration’s statement that access to information is a universal right; 2) commends the United States delegation to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for their recognition of libraries as critical providers of accessible content; 3) supports the call for a diplomatic conference to enact the WIPO International Instrument/Treaty on Limitations and Exceptions for Visually Impaired Persons/Persons with Print Disabilities. Council approved the resolution.

A resolution urging congress to approve a national interest waiver so the US can again pay its dues, and become a fully functioning member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also passed.

A resolution brought to Council by the Sustainable Living Roundtable asking ALA to divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies was found not to be in order no vote taken.

The final resolution of the Midwinter Council Meeting asked ALA to reaffirm its support for whistleblowers including Bradley Manning and John Kiriakou. The motion was amended to take out individual names. The consensus was generally that the newly amended doc spoke to something we already support as an organization. The motion failed. Next a motion was made to refer the revised Resolution to the Intellectual Freedom Committee with a request for a report at the 2013 Annual Conference. The motion to refer passed.

When they are completed, the full minutes will be available at http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/council/minutes.

Other newsy bits that you might find interesting:
Total conference attendance (including vendors): 10,731

Banned Books Week 2013 will take place September 22-28 and Choose Privacy Week 2013 will take place May 1-7.

Thanks,
Amy
Amy Lappin
NH ALA Councilor, 2013-2015

ALA, ALA Council, Midwinter

Greetings from ALA Midwinter 2013

Amy Lappin | January 28, 2013 | 0 Comments

Hello NHLA Members,
I am happy to be reporting to you from my first ALA Council Session.

My work here began on Friday at a thorough New Council Member Orientation. For those of you who don’t know much about the work of the ALA Council, in brief, it is the policy-making body of ALA. There are 187 members, one from each state plus at large members. I think many of us from NH would feel right at home in Council meetings as they operate very much like our annual town meetings. Anyone can speak and we all have an equal vote. The Executive Board is made up of Council members and the board is elected by the Council.

Believe it or not the most entertaining part of the orientation was a speech by the official parliamentarian, Eli Mina, a delightful man who clearly loves the rules of order and made me want to love them too. Anyone who has sat through past CHILIS meetings presided over by me, knows the rules of order and I have only a passing acquaintance. That is about to change!

Sunday morning began with Council I. The majority of the meeting was a breakout into small groups re-imagining the future of the ALA organization. What do we all want to see for the future of the organization? It was a productive collective brainstorming session. Emerging themes included engaging new members, making the organization less complex, focusing on literacy, making sure all types of libraries are heard, and defending the freedom to read.

Two things stood out for me in the discussion. One was a suggestion to get members to focus not on what they “get out” of ALA, but also on what they can give to ALA. I also appreciated the sentiments of one group who asked us to not lose sight of the fact that the information profession is not just fundamentally linked to education, but to democracy. Very little actual policy decisions from this morning’s meeting, but very interesting to be a part of this discussion. I wonder, as members of ALA (or even as nonmembers), what do YOU want to see as the future of the organization. I am quite sure this morning was the beginning of an ongoing conversation among not just Council, but the entire membership.

I also attended a forum for the ALA candidates for president and treasurer on Friday evening. It was great to put faces to the names we often see in ALA communications.

It is interesting to learn about how ALA operates which is something we don’t all get to know. I’m truly thrilled to be serving as the ALA Councilor from NH. I appreciate this opportunity. I will be sending updates after Council II on Monday and Council III on Tuesday. I’ll try to keep them briefer than this first report, but I did want to give you an introduction to what goes on here at ALA Midwinter.
Thank you.

Sincerely,
Amy

Amy Lappin
NH ALA Councilor, 2013-2015
Deputy Director
Lebanon Libraries
603-448-2459

ALA; ALA Council

Quilt Raffle at the CHILIS Spring Conference

Nancy Lang | January 27, 2013 | via CHILIS: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire

This beautiful, full size quilt, featuring the beloved children’s book character Olivia, will be raffled off at the CHILIS Spring Conference on March 7. The colors are black, red, and white. The quilt raffle will be separate from the regular 3-4 tickets for $1 raffle, so be sure to plan accordingly.

Conferences, Quilt, Raffle