Librarians Head for the Hill to Rally for Reading - Page 4

Council approved six action items from the Committee on Legislation: a measure that urges Congress to commit a minimum of $100 million designated for school libraries in FY20111 and beyond to Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (CD#20.6); a resolution to include school librarians in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (CD#20.7); commending the U.S. Senate for its passage of the Faster Freedom of Information Act (S. 3111) (CD#20.8); supporting the Government Printing Office’s “Strategic Vision for the 21st Century” pilot project (CD#20.9); and supporting the Equal Access to 21st Century Communications Act (S. 3304) and Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 (H.R.3101) (CD#20.10).

Several measures from the Constitution and Bylaws Committee were approved, including changing the limit of three endowment trustees to no fewer than three nor more than six; defining the executive director’s nonvoting status and adding “voting” members to the constitution language regarding suspension of Executive Board members and Executive Board quorum language (CD#25.1).

Council also gave the go-ahead for the establishment of a Retired Members Round Table, offered by the Committee on Organization, as well as a measure to increase the composition of the Conference Committee to include a representative of the Accessibility Assembly (CD#27.2). A resolution on nondiscrimination in conference contracts was also passed (CD#45 revised).

Resolutions to ensure equitable access to all formats of electronic content through libraries (CD#44 revised) and urging library directors, trustees, school board members, and supervising government bodies to provide adequate funding for summer reading programs (CB#47) were approved.

Tributes were approved honoring the 40th anniversary of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association as well as the 30th anniversaries of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association and the Map and Geography Round Table.

Memorial resolutions honoring recently deceased colleagues were approved for: Frank L. Turner, Spencer G. Shaw, Marion W. Francis, Burton A. Joseph, Lillian LaVerne Lewis, Marilee Fogleson, Patricia A. Morris, Lillian Moore Bradshaw, Suzanne J. LeBarron, and Grace-Ellen McCrann.

Convening as the ALA–Allied Professional Association, the ALA-APA Council heard a report from Executive Director Fiels about the receipt of a $590,000 Institute of Museum and Library Services grant.

“I am pleased to report that APA will have a positive financial result this year with a net positive of $25,000,” ALA-APA Treasurer Rod Hersberger said, recommending approval of the FY2011 budgetary ceiling of $243,878 (APACD#4.2).

Read more at americanlibrariesmagazine.org/ala10.

American Libraries Editor and Publisher Leonard Kniffel, Associate Editors Pamela A. Goodes, Greg Landgraf, and Sean Fitzpatrick, AL Direct Editor George M. Eberhart, and Steve Zalusky of ALA’s Public Information Office all contributed to this report, with photos by Curtis Compton courtesy of Cognotes.