02/14/06 Resolutions Passed at ALA Mid-Winter Conference
The following is the summary of the American Library Association Council activities and discussions during the mid-winter conference, January 20-24, 2006 provided by Holly Carroll, OLC ALA Councilor.
ALA-APA. The ALA-Allied Professional Association, the companion organization to ALA, is in its third year of existence. Its purpose is to advocate for the improvement of salaries and status of library workers. It was established with a long-term loan from ALA. Despite the negative revenue figure for 2005, the future looks bright with income to be generated from the Certified Public Library Administrator certification program, salary survey for non-MLS positions, and the salary survey databases. ALA-APA is sponsoring the third ”National Library Workers Day” on April 4, 2006.
Election of Executive Board Members. Three councilors were elected by ALA Council to the 2006-2007 ALA Executive Board: Mario Gonzales, Greenwich Library, Greenwich, Connecticut; Terri Kirk, Reidland High School, Paducah, Kentucky; and Roberta A. Stevens, Library of Congress.
ALA Treasurer's Report. Total revenue for 2005 was $43,839,000 and expenses totaled $43,019,00, leaving a net operating revenue of $820,000. Financial and programmatic highlights included a successful ACRL Division national conference, successful ALA conference with net revenues of $2.1 million, successful publishing program with net revenue of $2.3 million, authorization of $1.5 million for the purchase of the Washington office, a strong performance in long-term investments and expense adjustments of $1 million by ALA staff. The dues increase is needed if ALA is to achieve the programmatic priorities of its strategic plan.
ALA Committee Reports
Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL). COSWL proposed a resolution to oppose the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and to communicate this opposition to the U.S. Senate. Citing Alito's legal record on employment discrimination, affirmative action, and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the committee requested that ALA (83% of its membership is comprised of women) go on record with other womens and civil rights organizations to oppose his confirmation. The resolution passed after much debate.
Intellectual Freedom Committee. Chair Kent Oliver announced the following activities:
• The seventh edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual has been published and is available from ALA Editions for $46.80 to ALA members.
• The Guidelines for RFID Technology are still under consideration. The committee is considering all the input it received in writing and at a hearing at mid-winter. A new draft will be disseminated before annual conference.
• The Office of Intellectual Freedom, the National Coalition against Censorship, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund are developing an introduction to graphic novels for libraries in light of recent censorship attempts.
• “Radical militant librarians” buttons have been designed in response to the FBI naming librarians as such due to ALA's resistance to various provisions of the US PATRIOT ACT. Buttons may be purchased from the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom. They are $2.00 each with discounts for multiple orders.
International Relations Committee (IRC). IRC proposed a resolution that allows librarians and library workers to travel from the U.S. to other countries and from other countries to the U.S. in order “to participate in conferences, to purchase books and other library materials, to meet and develop working relationships with librarians, to develop gift and exchange programs, to pursue and establish ties with library and other professional associations and libraries, and to conduct educational and other professional library-related activities.” It adds that travel to the U.S. not be prohibited or impeded by U.S. government policies. The resolution passed.
Personal Member Dues. The Membership Committee presented this resolution to increase all levels of personal member dues with an increase of $10.00 a year for regular members and an approximate $3.00 increase a year for other member categories. New revenue is needed to achieve ALA Ahead to 2010 Strategic Plan and to offset five years of a flat budget for the Association. The dues increase was approved by BARC and the ALA Executive Council before being presented to Council. The resolution passed and the dues increase will be voted on by the membership in March. An alternative resolution was presented in Council III asking for a study of a graduated dues structure study. It was referred to BARC for future consideration.
Committee on Legislation (COL). COL proposed six resolutions to Council that all passed as follows:
Resolution on the USA PATRIOT ACT Reauthorization urging Congress to amend sections 215 and 505 to safeguard privacy rights and civil liberties of all library workers, to include language that would allow a section 215 recipient to challenge a FISA Court order and allow a Section 505 recipient to challenge a Nation Security letter.
Resolution on OMBs - Implementation of Section 207(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002 requesting agencies to hold timely hearings on the Act with librarians as witnesses instead of notification via the web for comments and requesting Congress to provide oversight in to the categorization of government documents so that the public can have easy access to the documents.
Resolution on Protecting the Toxics Release Inventory Program in opposition to EPA's proposal to reduce the frequency and threshold requirements for Toxics Release inventory reporting and to encourage Congressional oversight to ensure such information is made public on a timely basis.
Resolution on the Changes to the IRS Tax Forms Outlet Program asking that ALA work with the IRS to “reconfigure the Tax Forms Outlet Program to meet the needs of the participating libraries and the public they serve.” The IRS has reduced the number of forms sent to libraries reduced the number and types of libraries eligible to received the forms.
Resolution Affirming Equity of Access Through Universal Service, E-Rate and Advanced Broadband Services asking Congress to “assess and review the impact of regulatory changes on the public interest, including libraries, educational institutions, and state and local governments,” asks for “open access and interoperability as well as for prohibitions against control of access by only a few” and asks for the continuation of E-rate or a similar program.
Resolutions in Opposition to “Sui Generis” Database Protection urging the European Commission to repeal its database directive that provides legal protection to databases that are not sufficiently original to be copyrighted.
Council Resolutions
Instructional Classification of School Librarians. ALA passed a resolution that calls for ALA and its entities to communicate a strong message about the value of school libraries in light of the First Class Education campaign for the passage of state laws to require 65% of school-district funding be spent on classroom instruction. School libraries are defined by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) as Instructional Staff Support Services and therefore are not included in the 65%. If school libraries and librarians are not included as part of the classroom instruction, library programs and certified librarians may face serious cuts or elimination. Legislation has been proposed in four states and such legislation is in discussion in eight additional states. Background on this issue can be found at http://www.schoolmatters.com/pdf/65_paper_schoolmatters.pdf
Resolution on Academic Freedom. ALA passed a resolution regarding the Academic Bill of Rights. This is a somewhat complex issue in that the bill of rights purports to ask that all points of view be available in a university environment and a university library but seems to be implemented by activities such as taping, sometimes secretly, the classroom presentations of primarily liberal professors. The resolution opposes any “legislation or codification of documents like the Academic Bill of Rights (ABOR) that undermines academic and intellectual freedom, chills free speech, and/or otherwise interferes with the academic community's well-established norms and values of scholarship and educational excellence.”
ALA Honorary Membership. ALA passed a resolution providing Honorary Membership to Robert Stueart, Simmons Professor, who is very active in International Librarianship.
Round Table Councilors . ALA passed a resolution to amend the bylaws so that Round Tables with personal membership equaling or exceeding one percent of ALA's personal membership be entitled to a councilor, and the remaining round tables continue to elect one councilor among themselves.
