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AL Direct, July 1, 2009 Contents U.S. & World News ALA News AL Focus Booklist Online Chicago Update Division News Round Table News Awards Seen Online The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | July 1, 2009 Tech Talk Publishing Actions & Answers Calendar U.S. & World News HAPLR rankings celebrate 10th anniversary The 10th-anniversary edition of Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings, the annual ranking of over 9,000 libraries nationwide, was published June 30. Compiled by Thomas J. Hennen Jr., director of the Waukesha County (Wis.) Federated Library System, the index rates libraries using 15 factors—among them cost per circulation, visits per capita, and expenditures per capita—based on data gathered by the Federal-State Cooperative System and published by the National Center for Education Statistics.... American Libraries Online, July 1 Veto threatens support for Connecticut libraries Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell followed through July 1 on her promise to veto the legislature’s June 26 budget for FY2009–11 that would have restored library funding to FY2008 levels. The governor’s original budget recommendation (PDF file) called for the elimination of some $5 million in state aid that libraries expected to receive, including the Department of Information Technology’s Connecticut Education Network, which subsidizes internet connections for schools and libraries statewide. Legislative leaders will be in talks with Gov. Rell over the summer to work on a final budget. ALA has urged Connecticut legislators to reject the governor’s plan.... American Libraries Online, June 26; Hartford (Conn.) Courant, July 1 Washington Supreme Court hears filtering case The Washington State Supreme Court heard arguments June 23 in a challenge to the internet filtering policy of the North Central Regional Library, headquartered in Wenatchee. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in 2006 on behalf of three library users and the pro-firearm Second Amendment http://aldirect.ala.org/sites/default/al_direct/2009/july/070109.htm[7/17/2014 1:59:06 PM] AL Direct, July 1, 2009 Foundation, seeking that the library be required to disable its filters when requested by an adult for research or other lawful purposes. Watch the video (48:52) of the proceedings.... American Libraries Online, June 25; TVW network, Olympia, Wash., June 23 ALA Annual Conference, Chicago, July 9–15. In addition to programs sponsored by divisions, round tables, and committees, this year’s conference features ALA News 10 Grassroots Programs dealing with Gates Foundation renews library- current issues and selected by a jury of technology grant funding library school students ALA has received a $2-million, three-year grant and practitioners. The renewal from the Bill and Melinda Gates programs are part of ALA Foundation to continue its Public Library Funding and Technology President Jim Rettig’s Access Study. Office for Research and Statistics Director Denise Davis initiative to increase will remain as project director, and John Carlo Bertot, director of the opportunities for University of Maryland Center for Library and Information Innovation, members to participate will continue to manage the Public Libraries and the Internet survey in, contribute to, and as part of the study. A comprehensive 2008–2009 report will be benefit from their published in September.... Association. New website helps library job seekers Get a Job! offers library job seekers advice, resources, links, best practices, and real-life examples. Full of advice for finding a job in the current tough economy, it features information from a range of ALA divisions and units, as well as links to information about best job-seeking practices. ALA accelerated the website launch in response to the current economic conditions. The site is a work in progress.... ALA Connect Career Connections community The Career Connections community is an initiative of ALA President Jim Rettig. Currently with 93 members, its main purpose is to provide all ALA members with an opportunity to have their résumés or CVs reviewed by colleagues and peers. Community organizers are looking for ALA members who might be interested in participating as reviewers.... Coalition building in a tough economy Join ALA President Jim Rettig, moderator Jan Sanders, and others for “Coalition Building for All Libraries in a Tough Economy” July 11 during ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. The program will focus on the value of building statewide coalitions during times of economic downturn, as well as the concept of the library ecosystem—how libraries of all types are interdependent.... Gaming Pavilion will showcase link between gaming and literacy http://aldirect.ala.org/sites/default/al_direct/2009/july/070109.htm[7/17/2014 1:59:06 PM] AL Direct, July 1, 2009 On July 11 to 14 at in the ALA Annual Conference Exhibits Hall, the Gaming Pavilion will showcase the latest format to support literacy in libraries—gaming. The pavilion, sponsored by Verizon, will feature game manufacturers, platform companies, and vendors offering electronic games, board games, card games, and other products and services used for curriculum-based teaching and recreation.... West Bend panel to share censorship stories Meet the librarians and community members who are fighting to keep library materials on the shelves in West Bend, Wisconsin, July 13 at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. A panel, part of the Intellectual Freedom Committee’s Issues Briefing, will feature West Bend Community Library Director Michael Tyree, Young Adult Librarian Kristin Pekoll, library board President Barbara Deters, former library board member Mary Reilly-Kliss, and community organizer Maria Hanrahan.... OIF to host Judith Krug memorial The library world lost a great leader in April with the death of Judith Krug, long-time director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read Foundation. OIF will host a special memorial service at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago July 10 where family, friends, and colleagues can come together to honor her memory and her immense contributions to librarianship and First Amendment freedoms.... Join the Privacy Revolution at Annual The Office for Intellectual Freedom invites you to take up personal-privacy issues and join with us as we kick off our year-long National Conversation on Privacy, an initiative that will culminate in Choose Privacy Week, May 2–8, 2010. “Privacy in an Era of Change: Privacy and Surveillance Under the New Administration,” on July 13, will feature Mary Ellen Callahan, David Sobel, and Jeff Jarvis.... OIF Blog, June 30 More than 1,000 librarians Step Up to the Plate Since its spring kickoff, more than 1,000 public and school librarians from across the country have signed up for season four of Step Up to the Plate @ your library. For others interested in libraries and baseball, there is still time to register before September 1.... ALA volunteers to support Chicago school libraries Volunteers from across the United States will gather July 10 at McCormick Place for “Libraries Build Communities,” a daylong community-service effort taking place at various school libraries throughout Chicago. Coordinated by the Chapter Relations Office, this volunteer event is in conjunction with the 2009 ALA Annual Conference.... Seven-time NBA all- New report on fiber-optic technology in libraries star Yao Ming is The Office for Information Technology Policy has released a report on reading The Fiber to the Library: How Public Libraries Can Benefit from Using Shawshank Fiber Optics for Their Broadband Internet Connections (PDF file), Redemption in this which articulates the benefits of fiber-optic technology for public new Celebrity READ libraries and strategies to obtain connectivity. The policy brief is poster. An ambassador intended to help applicants include “fiber to the library” in their for the Special federal broadband stimulus funding proposals under the American Olympics, Yao is also http://aldirect.ala.org/sites/default/al_direct/2009/july/070109.htm[7/17/2014 1:59:06 PM] AL Direct, July 1, 2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Act.... the founder of the Yao District Dispatch, June 29 Ming Foundation, which OITP seeks cutting-edge technology practices supports rebuilding The Office for Information Technology Policy is soliciting nominations high-quality, for best library practices using cutting-edge technology. Nominations earthquake-resistant should be submitted by mail or email by September 1.... schools in Sichuan District Dispatch, June 29 province, China, following the Meet Programming Librarian devastating 2008 The Public Programs Office will host demonstrations of its new online earthquake. NEW! resource, Programming Librarian, during ALA Annual Conference in From ALA Graphics. Chicago from July 11 through July 13 at the PPO Booth in the Exhibits Hall. The free demonstrations will explore this new resource, designed to assist librarians in bringing cultural and community programs, such as literature discussion series and author In this issue appearances, to their libraries.... June/July 2009 The media blitz continues The ALA Public Information Office continues to work with media outlets to obtain coverage about the surge in library usage during tough economic times. More than 900 placements on this topic have appeared on TV, radio, websites, and in print. More than 800 million people have seen, heard, or read stories about the surge since the fall of 2008, when PIO began its media outreach effort.... AL Focus Transcripts now available Summertime in American Libraries Associate Editor Greg Landgraf writes: “One of the Chicago earliest requests we had when we started AL Focus was to include transcripts of videos. We looked for an easy, elegant way to provide Prescription for them, and didn’t find any. We did, eventually, find a more mundane Financial Recovery way, thanks to John Chrastka, ALA’s director of membership development, and Molly Sasajima of ALA Conference Services, who Librarians As actually did the transcribing work. As a result, all of the AL Focus Writers videos now have transcripts.”..