Notes from Councilor James Casey on the 2010 Annual Conference

Council at ala10

Print

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE— Washington, D.C.
June 24 – June 29, 2010.  Notes by James B. Casey

Despite extremely difficult economic conditions facing libraries across the country, the attendance at this Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. reached a strong final tally of 26,201.  The huge population centers within driving distance of Washington – Philadelphia, Baltimore, Newark, New York and Boston – provided the opportunity for day trips and the avoidance of costly flights and hotel accommodations.  Although scorching hot weather, Washington proved to be an interesting and highly popular Conference site.  The previous Annual Conference final attendance reports were 28,941 for Chicago (2009), 22,047 for Anaheim (2008), 28,499 for Washington (2007), and 16,784 New Orleans (2006).   Future Mid-Winter Meetings (January) will be held in San Diego (2011), Dallas (2012), Seattle (2013) and Philadelphia (2014). Future Annual Conferences (June) will be held in New Orleans (2011), Anaheim (2012), Washington (2013) and Las Vegas (2014).
Oak Lawn Public Library Trustee Marian Sullivan attended this Annual Conference and participated in ALTAFF (Association for Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations).  My wife Diane Dates Casey completed her fifth year as Division Councilor for the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS). I completed my fourth term (thirteenth year) as a member at-large of ALA Council and am set to begin in July as a member of the ALCTS Budget and Finance Committee.

ALCTS BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE:  ALCTS Executive Director Charles Wilt presented to the Committee his assessment of the fiscal situation facing ALCTS as FY10 draws to a close (ALA FY runs from September 1 to August 31).  Despite revenue projections that are running as much as 6.7% lower in such categories as membership dues, royalties, book sales and subscriptions, there is considerable financial strength in continuing education (CE) through an excellent symposium at Mid Winter (Boston) and heavily attended webinars as well as donations.  Expenses have also been reduced through economies on program expenses as well as several very painful furloughs and two years without pay increases for Mr. Wilt and his staff.  Through wise management, ALCTS appears to be $35,368 “in the black” at this point late in the FY10.  While it was noted that ALCTS membership has declined by 6.7%, some other highly successful divisions have experienced much greater losses.  In this economic climate, losses in membership and attendance at programs are not unexpected.  Efforts by ALCTS to emphasize webinars to address the needs of librarians unable to afford travel and to offer electronic as well as print versions of its superb journal Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) at a reduced cost are strategies that may reverse some of the downward fiscal pressure.

ALAWO (ALA Washington Office) UPDATE:  The ALA Washington Office presented a review of issues facing the Library community as Congress and the Obama Administration proceed into a new decade ( http://www.ala.org/washoff ).  ALAWO Executive Director Emily Sheketoff hosted this event and introduced speakers who provided much insight concerning the present situation in Congress and within the new Obama Administration.   It was noted that Congress has moved into a contentious period before the November mid-term elections in which the possibility of movement on key issues important to Libraries is unlikely.  Bi-partisanship seems to be at a standstill with both parties fearful of anti-incumbent tendencies among the electorate.  Consequently, several ALA initiatives are facing very tough, slow progress.   The “Workforce Investment Act” seeking funding for public libraries to promote job training and employment resource centers for the unemployed is under discussion in the Senate, but stalled in the House.  The “Elementary and Secondary Education Act” is being pushed ahead by
Secretary of State Arnie Duncan, but has not acquired much support beyond his office.  ALA has been pushing for a State certified librarian in every school, increased funding for school libraries, access to professional development dollars for librarians (not just teachers) and the funding of a LEARN Literacy component that could bring a few dollars to public libraries.  The ALAWO has been pushing hard on these fronts, but resistance has been formidable and money very scarce.

Attendees were pleased to hear remarks by Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.  She is one of the powerful Federal Communications Commissoners appointed by President Obama in June 2009 for the three year term ending in June 2012.  She holds one of the three seats on the FCC.  Commissioner Clyburn praised ALA for its work in pioneering access to the Internet, supporting E-Rate and in rising awareness of the need for more access to broadband.   She indicated that between 14 and 24 million people in the USA don’t have any access to broadband and about one third of the population lacks access due to cost and/or computer literacy.  Efforts underway to expand access to broadband will include streamlining the process by which E-Rate and Broadband funding is granted.  Although the expansion of broadband access in the home is sought, she reminded the audience that this might serve to expand demand for internet access in libraries since 78% of broadband users have accessed the internet in locations other than the home.  Her clear and articulate presentation was well received by the audience. 

Michele Richarson, Legislative Counsel for the ACLU, discussed the Cyber Security issues Congress will address in the next six weeks.  The Administration and Congress seem to be determined to craft legislation to enable the country to wage a “cyber war” and expand government power to regulate and control information.  The ACLU is working largely with the full support of ALA to make sure that any emergency powers are narrowly defined, actions and emergencies are of short duration, Congress has sufficient oversight and that protections for personal information are obtained.

GOOGLE CASE: Jonathan Band, Attorney for the ALAWO, moderated a lively panel discussion of the Google Book Settlement.  Unfortunately, all of the panelists were advocates for the Google position and addressing an audience of librarians and library advocates who agree with open access and “fair use”.  In 2004, Google entered into an agreement with several major libraries to scan their books and was met in 2005 with a lawsuit prompted by the claims of authors and publishers who claimed that the copyright protections afforded to their intellectual property were being violated by this agreement.  The settlements proposed have been stalled in the courts with other groups presenting anti-trust arguments against Google as well as artists and illustrators claiming to share rights with authors and publishers.  The final settlement is probably into the future with the three possible outcomes foreseeable – Google’s position being affirmed, a rejection of half of Google’s position with only snippets available for scanning, and an outright rejection of the Google position.   The panel was overwhelmingly in favor of the Google position and felt that an outright rejection of the Google position was unacceptable.  

ALAWO announced their rally on Capital Hill on June 29 to which many (including Council Members) already planned to travel following the end of Council III.   This was offered in place of National Legislative Day for 2010.  But the next National Library Legislative Day is scheduled for May 9-10, 2011 in the Liaison Hotel in Washington, D.C..

LIBRARIES AND THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN:  This program included a detailed and encouraging presentation by FCC Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer Mark Lloyd.  He and his panelist colleagues discussed how the new Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) had been fashioned within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to resolve the problem of insufficient access to broadband connections throughout the United States.  The ten year goals of this plan are that 100 million U.S. homes would have affordable access to 100 megabit per second speeds for access and actual upload speeds of 50 megabits and that in every community there would be at least 1 gigabit per second access.  Libraries will play a role in this new expansion of broadband service.   Less clear from these presentations are what public libraries can do right now to position themselves better to receive the grant funding.  – Changes authorized by the FCC to simplify and streamline the E-Rate Program were met with nods of approval from the audience. 

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION SESSION:  James G. Neal, Chair of Budget Analysis and Review Committee (BARC), reported how ALA and its divisions have sustained service and fiscal balance despite revenue shortfalls (publishing, membership, conferences) through economies (layoffs, furloughs, etc.) implemented promptly.  The complex nature of the BARC deliberations were emphasized as well as the agile and prudent manner in which ALA management has met the difficult economic climate.  Endowment Trustee Chair Dan Bradbury reviewed the mixed results of the endowment fund during the past year and the more spectacular gains of the year 2009.  Portfolio value through the first portion of 2010 reached $28,916,000 where the market value in 2003 was at $18,991,000.  The high point of the fund in 2007 was at $31,221,000 – prior to the drop to $23,421,000 during the “crash” year of 2008.  ALA President Camile Alire reported on her successful presidential year in developing advocacy and diversity awareness.  Incoming President Roberta Stevens announced that her presidency will emphasize the developing fund raising techniques and models for libraries as well as the development of authors as advocates for libraries. [Personal Note: Persuading authors and publishers to speak out on behalf of “fair use” might be a major coup.]   ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels gave a brief review of his lengthy (36 page) report to Council and Executive Board.  He noted favorable trends in Membership holding steady and very encouraging registrations for this ALA Annual Conference despite the depressed economy.  Two grants have been received from IMLS (Institute for Museum and Library Services) to promote the support staff certification as well as the recruitment of new librarians from minority groups.  Members were encouraged to give generously to ALA funding initiatives.  http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/dev/alafunding.cfm

COUNCIL I:  The Council approved the Goals and Objectives of the Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 by a near unanimous vote after months of input from across the Association.  http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/missionhistory/plan/index.cfm   Keith Fiels reported that Executive Board actions included establishing standards of responsible conduct for corporate affiliates and champions of the Association.  A “Resolution Reaffirming Equal Employment Opportunity for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Librarians and Library Workers” was passed after some discussion on a unanimous vote.  Harrassment of some transgender members at the ALA Annual in Chicago had inspired this Resolution.  A “Resolution to Insure Equitable Access to All Forms of Electronic Content Through Libraries” was discussed at length. The need for libraries to be assisted in the development of technological innovations to insure that wider access to information can be assured were emphasized.  Several Councilors complained that the resolution was hopelessly broad in its scope while others realized that the ALA Presidential Task Force could act with greater flexibility to address the complex array of problems with a more general mission. Council voted to bring the resolution back to Council II.  A “Resolution on Non-Discrimination in Conference Contracts” offering a restrictions on entering into contracts with organizations and legal bodies in cities, counties and states that by law discriminate against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people was referred to BARC for assessment of fiscal implications. 

ALA-APA COUNCIL:  Keith Fiels (ALA-APA Executive Director) reported the award of an IMLS grant to assist with the APA Certification program for support staff.  This $590,000 should greatly expand the Certification Program efforts across the nation.  On-line tutorials, scholarships and further initiatives will be forthcoming.  ALA-APA will have positive fiscal results during FY 2010 with some encouraging steps underway to repay the indebtedness of ALA-APA that had been extended to $275,000 during the last Mid-Winter.   The budgetary ceiling of $242,878 was approved unanimously for FY 2011.  [This was the first session in which ALA-APA seemed to begin “turning the corner” in terms of fiscal performance.  It is still difficult to understand anything being done by ALA-APA that would be so dissimilar to what ALA has already been doing that would require an entirely parallel and separate organizational existence.]

ALCTS AWARDS CEREMONY:  ALCTS President Mary Case and Director Charles Wilt led a splendid awards ceremony recognizing the work of about 20 eminent librarians who contributed years of service to the advancement of cataloging, conservation of library materials and cooperation in addressing common needs.  Peggy Johnson of the University of Minnesota won the important Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award.  Pamela Bluh, Dina Giambi, Jeanne Drewes, Kate Harcourt, Keisha Manning and Karen Motylewski were honored with ALCTS Presidential Citations.  

COUNCIL II:  Freedom to Read Foundation President Kenton Oliver reported victories in preservation of first amendment rights and addition of 200 additional members during the past year.  He also noted the death of FTRF champion and vice-president Burton Joseph.  Freedom to Read Foundation, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, Illinois 60611   www.ftrf.org/joinftrf    Policy Monitoring Committee Chair Janet Swan Hill submitted to Council a number of wording changes in ALA Policy.  One of these was 5.5.6 Reporting Council Votes:  “Results of recorded votes of Council shall be published in a widely available official outlet of the Association.  Results of roll call votes shall be published promptly and in detail.”  Another action item called for the formation of a Presidential Task Force to further revise and clean up wording discrepancies and inconsistencies in the ALA Policy manual.  With the departure of the tireless and meticulous Janet Swan Hill from Council after 23 years of service, this Task Force will face a difficult challenge.  Council expressed warm appreciation for Janet’s many years of outstanding leadership.  Michael Stephens, Chair of the Website Advisory Committee (WAC), reported how his committee has been proceeding to improve the current ALA Website. He indicated that the Event Planner has been pulled into ALA Connect.  Dr. Stephens is a professor in the MLIS program at Dominican University.  —  “Resolution Concerning the Proposed Closing of the School of Library and Information Science at Louisiana State University” was passed unanimously after a convincing introduction by Committee on Education Chair Lynn Connaway.  The resolution opposes the closing of the LSU SLIS.  The resolution will be communicated to LSU Board of Supervisors and Board of Regents, but may also be relayed to key officials in the Louisiana State Legislature and Governor’s office.  ALA Treasurer Rod Hersberger presented a clear, albeit somewhat depressing view of the FY 2010 and 2011 financial picture.  It has been evident that the ALA management and staff have done a creditable job of maintaining service during a very difficult period.  The Council approved the total Budgetary Ceiling of $57,162,413 for FY 2011. “Resolution to Ensure Equitable Access to all Formats of Electronic Content Through Libraries” was passed with the understanding that the efforts of the Task Force created will work in conjunction with OITP (Office of Information Technology Policy).  Also passed was a “Resolution on Ensuring Summer Reading Programs for all Children and Teens.”  Nick Buron, YALSA Councilor, Sylvia Norton, AASL Councilor and Rhonda Puntney, ALSC Councilor presented this resolution with much passion and effectiveness.

OCLC PRESIDENT’S LUNCHEON:  This splendid luncheon was provided to invited guests from OCLC Member libraries.  Hundreds were in attendance.  Jan Ison (from Illinois) not only was President of the OCLC Global Council Executive Committee, but helped to engineer a new governance model for the massive organization.  She spoke at length about the global collaboration underway within OCLC.  Distinguished and widely respected library leaders Brian Schottlander and James Neal were introduced as new OCLC Board Members. — OCLC Board President Dr. Larry Alford emphasized that OCLC is a dot.org and driven by values beyond the “bottom line” of most businesses.  In a rather defensive mode, he continually noted that OCLC is “not rich” and strives to keep its prices as low as possible.  He pledged that OCLC would freeze prices for 2011 as it did for 2010.  The average increase of OCLC prices for the years 2002 to 2011 stands at a modest 1.9%.  Alford further lauded the revision of its Record Use Policy in response to member input – which would not have been (he maintains) the practice of most businesses.  OCLC CEO Jay Jordan noted the advent of Wed Scale Services (“cloud services”) that will enable libraries to operate an ILS without locally run hardware and software.  The kind of comprehensive services to be provided by OCLC would, he maintained, bring about a huge saving to local libraries and allow hundreds of millions of dollars per year (potentially) to be pulled away from investment in hardware, software and local IT services.  He noted that 1.6 billion holdings were currently reflected on World Cat as of June 4, 2010.   [As usual, this was a slick and extremely persuasive presentation.  The immense content of the World Cat database is the product of Member Libraries contributing records at considerable cost and with much effort.]

COUNCIL III:  This final session of Council began at 7 AM in order to complete business by 10:30 AM and thereby afford Councilors the ability to attend a Library Rally on Capital Hill at 11 AM.  Constitution and Bylaws Committee Chair Tom Wilding presented several proposed wording changes in those documents that were passed unanimously.  Martin Garner, Chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee submitted an action item for approval of Council – “Prisoners’ Right to Read: An interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” was passed unanimously by Council.  [I was among those who had questions/feedback on this important document as it was circulated among the Membership last Spring.]  Mario Ascencio, Chair of the Committee on Legislation, brought six action items forward from his Committee.  Several were in support of School Libraries and School Librarians. All of these action items passed by unanimous or near unanimous vote.  However, one action item espousing the passage of comprehensive immigration reform involved some discussion and negative votes regarding lack of specificity about the provision of library services to immigrant populations.   It did pass by an overwhelming vote.  Beverly Lynch, Chair of International Relations Committee, presented a report outlining the important work done by the Committee and by ALA in the field of international cooperation.  She noted that there were no action items or anti-war resolutions for the first time in many years.   Jan Sanders, Chair of the Committee on Organization, proposed the formation of a Retired Members Round Table (RMRT).  Another action item sought an increase in composition to the Conference Committee to include a representative from the Accessibility Assembly.  This passed unanimously.  A “Resolution on Institutional Review Boards and Intellectual Freedom” was presented by outgoing Councilor Melora Ranney Norman with much enthusiasm.  This was not passed, but referred to several interested committees and round tables.  The “Resolution on Non-Discrimination in Conference Contracts” submitted by Councilor (and Executive Board Member) Larry Romans, had been reviewed by BARC subsequent to its referral from Council I.  This resolution was passed by a near unanimous vote.
The Council III session ended at 9 AM – more than one hour ahead of schedule.

My notes do not, of course, highlight all of the actions taken by Council during this eventful Annual Conference.  Copies of the final wording of all resolutions and action items from Council Sessions will be posted and available on the ALA Web Site http://www.ala.org  in a few weeks.
At 11 AM I joined about 1,600 Librarians and Library Supporters assembled for a rally before the Congress.  Wearing red shirts with “Vote for Libraries” on the front, this group enjoyed a lively rally and were privileged to hear from Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Vern Ehlers (D-Mich).  These legislators have been among the most resourceful and effective of our Congressional allies. Some members of the assembly then went to Capitol Hill and Congressional Offices to meet with key legislators.  This proved to be an impressive and highly successful event organized by the ALAWO that was held in place of the 2010 Legislative Day.  The 2011 Legislative Day will return and be held on May 9-10 at the Liaison Hotel. 

CONCLUSION:  This was a highly productive Annual Conference and in a very pleasant venue.  The high attendance at both Chicago and Washington Annual Conferences during the recession years of 2009 and 2010 were encouraging signs reflective of the underlying strength of the Association and to the favorable view of those sites by the Membership.  The skillful leadership of Camila Alire and Roberta Stevens helped the Council Sessions to move ahead quickly and productively.

My fourth term as a Member of Council ended on June 29, 2010.  It has been a privilege and honor to serve ALA in the capacity of Councilor-at-Large since my first election to that post in 1996.  THANKS to the ALA Members who have supported my candidacy over the years.

My sincerest thanks also go to the Oak Lawn Public Library, the Board and Taxpayers for sustaining my participation in ALA. 

James B. Casey, June 29, 2010