Report to the AKLA Executive Board on the 2016-2017 American Library Association Annual

Report to the AKLA executive board on the 2016-2017 American Library Association Annual Conference Steven Hunt, ALA Representative

The Annual Conference of the ALA met in Chicago June 22-27. It was attended by 15,745 people. The ALA council met daily June 24-27. The highlights, in chronological order, follows:

Saturday, June 24

ALA president elect James G. Neal presides over memorials, tributes and testimonials. Memorials were presented for Eric Moon, Marija C. Sanderling, Robert Henry ‘Bob’ Rohlf, Pauline Manaka and Amanda Rudd. Tributes were given for Dr. Harry Bruce, Dean of the University of Washington Information School and prolific author, and for Keith Michael Fiels, former Executive Director of the ALA.

ALA president, Julie B. Todaro presides over several committee reports:

 ALA President-Elect James G. Neal fills us in on all he’s done during the year. He has been focused on “orientation, consultation, preparation, planning and participation.” Suffice to say he’s been working hard on behalf of ALA. His priorities for his coming term as president include recruitment, fundraising and the Center for the Future of Libraries, a think tank for innovation.  ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels gave a lengthy report (available at www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.../files/.../ebd12_45_executive_dir_rpt_ac16.pdf). Highlights: o The Fight for Libraries! Appropriations Campaign is gaining support in the U.S. Senate and House for funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy. o The Corporate Committee for Library Investment was launched. It has about 100 corporate members. It’s mission is to maximize federal library funding. o Membership is down. 60,000 library jobs were lost during the recession, including 20,000 people with professional degrees.  The Budget Analysis and Review Committee Report (Ann M. Martin, BARC Chair). ALA “continues to be a financially strong and sound organization.” Fiscal year 2017 total revenues were $30,601,315 and total expenses were $32,823,682 for a net revenue of negative $2,222,367. BARC reviewed the ALA “Resolution on Library Services to Refugees and Displaced Persons” and determined that it would be most effective and cost efficient for existing bodies within ALA to do the work.  Treasurer’s Report (Susan Hildreth, ALA Treasurer). ALA sources of revenue breakdown: 17% dues; 24% meetings and conferences; 36% publishing; 10% grants; 4% interest; and 9% other. ALA expenditures breakdown: 14% advocacy; 12% literacy, diversity and equity of access; 13% information policy and intellectual freedom; 38% professional and leadership development; and 23% member services and supportThe Treasury Committee requests Council approval for a fiscal year 2018 budget ceiling of $66,674,990. (Later approved.)  ALA Endowment Trustees Report (Rodney Hersberger, Senior Endowment Trustee). Everything is groovy. The market is doing fine despite Donald Trump. Fiscal year 2018 is expected to have a payout rate of 5%, or $1.8 million from the ALA endowment. Sunday, June 25

 Nominations were presented for the Committee on Committees election and for the Planning and Budget Assembly election. For those interested, I can supply the names of the winners.  ALA Executive Director Search Committee Report (Courtney L. Young, EDSC Chair). Isaacson Miller is a company ALA hired to help with the search process. The position was posted on June 16th to 18th. In-person interviews will be done in late September. The top 2 candidates will be interviewed in late October.  ALA President’s Report (Julie B. Todaro). The president exhorts us all to be active in fighting for the goals and values of ALA in these trying times. (Fear, disgust and snarkiness regarding the Trump administration permeated the conference.) o The Fight for Libraries campaign is advocacy to protect our clients’ information habits and privacy. o James G. Neal (president elect) is advocating for an initiative to confront and expose Fake News, in partnership with journalists and others. o ALA remains at the forefront of the fight for Net Neutrality. Everyone needs to engage in this fight.  Review of Executive Board Actions Since the 2017 Midwinter Meeting (Keith Michael Fiels). Highlights: o Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services (ODLOS) released a new site on lifelong literacy, the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse. This brings together resources from across ALA that promote literacy across the lifespan, from early childhood literacy to adult literacy. o Several resolutions were adopted from ALA MidWinter 2017. These include Resolution Establishing Family/Caregiver Status as a Protected Class in ALA Volunteer Work, ALA CD#31.12217; Resolution on Access to Accurate Information, ALA CD #19.10; and the Resolution on Gun Violence Affecting Libraries, Library Workers, and Library Patrons, ALA CD#42.1. These are available online. They all passed with near unanimity in Atlanta. o One resolution that did not pass in Atlanta was a motion to amend the educational qualification for the ALA Executive Director to make an ALA-accredited Master’s Degree or a CAEP-accredited Master’s Degree with a specialty in school library media a strongly preferred but not required education qualification. It was an extremely close vote. I voted against it.

 New Business: An American Library Association Statement on Global Climate Change and a Call for Support for Libraries and Librarians (Julie B. Todaro). The statement basically says that climate change is real and librarians are going say so and help people with the information they need to understand that. Quite a bit of time was spent discussing whether or not Donald J. Trump’s name should appear (see Trump, snarkiness above) in the statement. I voted no on that particular aspect and the resolution was adopted with his name removed.

Monday, June 26

 Committee on Diversity (ALA Councilor Martin L. Garnar, Chair ) Suggested a Resolution on Libraries as Responsible Spaces which passed. There was some discussion about the language of “safe places” vs. “responsible spaces.” The resolution urges libraries to adopt and implement behavior policies that protect patrons and staff from harassment, and encourages libraries to sponsor programs fostering dialogue in the community and to develop programming that deters hate, fosters community, and opposes bigotry toward or oppression against any group.  International Relations Committee (IRC) (Leslie B. Burger, Chair) o 475 librarians from 59 countries are attending the Conference this year. o ALA will provide information and resources at the ALA stand at the upcoming IFLA Congress in Wroclaw, Poland, in August. o 25 ALA librarians toured Cuba in February. For the first time, Cuban librarians have been able to attend an ALA Conference. o Libraries Transform continues to grow internationally with 445 participants from 79 countries  Freedom to Read Foundation (Martin L. Garner, President). o 20th Anniversary of the Internet’s “Legal Birth Certificate.” It was a unanimous Supreme Court decision striking down the Communications Decency Act. o Talked about several lawsuits regarding intellectual freedom that I don’t have good notes on o The FTRF Developing Issues committee reported on several developing issues that raise significant Constitutional issues for libraries: . The disappearance of online government information and publications under the new administration. . The new administration's repeal of the FCC broadband privacy rules and its effort to repeal net neutrality . The privatization of essential government functions . "Fake news" displacing facts and truthful reporting . Open carry and guns in libraries . Efforts in the states to criminalize and punish public protest.  Center for the Future of Libraries (Susan Kent, Chair). Goals include identifying emerging trends, promoting innovation techniques to help librarians and library professionals shape their future, and building connections with experts and innovative thinkers to help libraries address emerging issues.  Conference Accessibility Task Force (ALA Councilor Christopher J. Corrigan and ALA Executive Board Member Mike L. Marlin, co-chairs). Presented the final report of ALA’s Conference Accessibility Task Force. At the 2016 Midwinter Conference, ALA Council passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Conference Accessibility Task Force charged with researching accessibility at ALA conferences and meetings, and producing a final set of recommendations for facilitating improvements at future meetings. There are 81 recommendations in total in the report.

Tuesday, June 27

 ALA Treasurer’s Report (Susan H. Hildreth). o The council approved the FY2018 Budgetary Ceiling at $66,674,990. o ALA is facing a deficit of $753,000 out of a $51.5 million budget. That’s only 1.5% of the overall budget.  Committee on Legislation (Ann Dutton Ewbank, Chair) o Phase One of the Fight for Libraries campaign secured record numbers of support in House and Senate. o Over 500 people (record capacity) attended National Library Legislative Day. More than 1000 gathered for virtual legislative day. o Gale (in collaboration with the ALA Office Of Government Relations) started vendor/business allies for libraries called the Corporate Committee for Library Investment. o Work to protect net neutrality at the FCC and to prepare for possible Congressional action to reverse the FCC 2015 Open Internet Order. o Privacy and surveillance matters, particularly efforts to reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to afford the public greater privacy protection, and ongoing efforts to reform the 30-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act. o Copyright issues, including proposals to relocate Copyright Office out of Library of Congress; to reform key provisions of Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and, legislation to remove authority of Librarian of Congress to appoint Register of Copyrights.  Intellectual Freedom Committee (Pamela R. Klipsch). o The Intellectual Freedom Committee moved the adoption of the following action items, and they both passed Council: “Politics in American Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” (CD # 19.12), and “Equity, Diversity, Inclusion: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” (CD # 19.13) o Over the winter and the spring the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) partnered with others to offer monthly online learning on intellectual freedom history, privacy, and ethics. o OIF celebrates their 50th Anniversary this year. o Began tracking hate crimes in November 2017. There have been 30 reports logged since then. o The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has been the subject of two very public challenges in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In New London-Spicer School District (MN), the request from parents was to remove the book from the curriculum. Earlier this month, the school board voted 4 to 2 in favor of allowing The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to be used in the curriculum as an option. o There are several other emerging Intellectual Freedom issues: . Speakers invited to universities, schools and public libraries, who are then disinvited after protests. . Self-censorship in schools, by public and university administrators intervening in controversial displays. . Public school textbooks and curricular challenges, extending the idea of parental notification. . New issues related to social media such as “what public comments must be accepted in library FB and Twitter feeds” and “What are the limits of employee free speech on their own FB page, or on the library’s?” . Increased restrictions on government information, both on government websites and in the relocation of government deposits to less accessible library spaces. . Legislative trends in states that include efforts to incorporate prayer and religious expression into the curriculum and life of public schools, mandatory filtering initiatives, proposals to suppress public protests, and state privacy legislation. . Net Neutrality.  Hillary Clinton, final keynote speaker. She said Libraries are great and Librarians are the greatest. I left early to get a taxi before everybody else.