ALA book giveaway
NHLA has received copies of Oprah book club book, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. The first 6 libraries to respond will get a copy delivered to them on the van.
Amy Thurber
President, NHLA
athurber@canaanlibrary.org
April 15, 2008
July 23, 2007
ALA Council Resolutions from 2008 Annual
To read Lois Ann Gregory-Wood's summation of ALA Council Resolutions from the 2008 Annual Conference in June, download this Microsoft Word file. Lois Ann is the secretary general of the Council and a real dynamic lady. If you have any questions or comments about any of the resolutions, please contact me at rob.sargent@franklin.lib.nh.us.
June 29, 2007
Report on ALA Annual Conference
The 2007 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition was held in Washington, DC in June. As your NH Chapter Councilor, I attended Council meetings and forums, membership meetings and forums, and the President's reception. I also attended a few author lectures and a film premiere which I will detail later. But first, I will update you on ALA business.
There were two membership forums which were immediately followed by membership meetings. The theme of the first forum was "Should ALA take stands on non-library issues?" The issue was debated by Councilor Steve Matthews and Past President Michael Gorman, and any member present was able to speak on the matter. The issue was not resolved, but I can tell you from experience that a lot of time and effort is spent on issues like whether the American president should be impeached or if torture is a bad thing. The second forum was held to determine if ALA is adequately meeting the needs of its members. Several members spoke about their frustrations with a large conference: trying to find housing, too many programs at the same time, being turned away from well-known speakers, etc. No resolutions were introduced at either meeting, although the Resolution Committee was available and willing.
There were several resolutions presented at the three Council meetings, however. The most significant resolution was a unanimous vote to include school media specialists as "highly qualified" in any future incarnations of the No Child Left Behind act. (This resolution, and most of the others, of course, are non-binding since they serve as requests for Congress, but Congress is not required to take the action.) Other resolutions included funding for the National Library Service at $19.1 million, funding for the Government Printing Office Fiscal Year 2008 Appropriations at $182 million, and granting the Catholic Library Association affiliate status. Other business at the Council meetings included reports from various committees and sections, various proclamations, and daily annoucements. (By the way, did you know the annual ALA budget is in excess of $60 million?) For complete text and other information on the resolutions, you can visit www.ala.org.
The conference in DC set a record for attendance. Over 28,000 people were there, and some of them were there to see Ken Burns, Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci, and Judy Blume. There were several other authors throughout the four days, but those are the four I got to see and hear. Ken Burns premiered his documentary, "The War," which will air on PBS in September. Based on what I saw, I'm sure it will be his biggest hit to date. The other premiere I attended was for "Hollywood Librarian." This documentary was created to abolish the stereotype of librarians as portrayed in the movies and on tv for the last century. Real librarians were portrayed as strong, courageous advocates of library access and ideals. Over 5,000 people attended that premiere.
Thank you for the privilege and honor of serving as your ALA Chapter Councilor. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at rob.sargent@franklin.lib.nh.us.
March 20, 2007
Report on ALA Midwinter
Rob Sargent is NHLA's ALA Councilor, and what follows is his report from his trip to ALA Midwinter in Seattle, Washington this past January.
"ALA Midwinter in Seattle was my first meeting as the NH Chapter Councilor. Before departing for Seattle, I was in constant contact with my predecessor, Diane Tebbetts, whose guidance and support made the prospect of several meetings, numerous participants, and strict policies and procedures less intimidating. Thanks to Diane and the official ALA Council-mentoring program, I was able to relax and get down to business (and even to enjoy myself).
The first day, Saturday, was a day of orientations and a reception. The day began with an 8:00 a.m. orientation for new councilors. There are chapter councilors, councilors at-large, and councilors representing various ALA round tables and committees for a total of 160. Each councilor serves a three-year term, so one-third of the Council body was new. The orientation offered navigation through Midwinter and served as a tutorial on parliamentary procedure. In fact, all Council meetings and forums are presided over by a licensed parliamentarian. With a council of 160, it is necessary to follow a procedure or discussions would go on forever. (At times, it feels as though they do!) Another orientation for chapter councilors only followed. That evening, Joseph Eagan, the Maryland Chapter Councilor and my official mentor, hosted a reception for all councilors. It began at 9:00 p.m. and lasted for a couple of hours. There were not a lot of attendees, but I very much enjoyed talking with those who did attend and the desserts were very good.
Also on Saturday (or maybe it was Sunday), there was a presidential candidates forum. The two candidates made opening statements and then took questions from the Council. There was another forum for executive board candidates on either Saturday or Sunday. Although the entire ALA membership votes for president, only the Council selects the executive board members. There were six or seven candidates, and each councilor votes for two. I cast my ballot on behalf of NHLA for Charles Kratz of Pennsylvania and Melora Norman of Maine. (Charles was one of the two elected, but Melora was not.) To be honest, at both forums, all of the candidates sounded alike and deciding for whom to vote seemed to be a case of "six of one, a half dozen of the other."
To read the rest of Rob Sargent's report, download the complete report here.