EPA Library Closings
In February 2006, President Bush introduced a   FY2007 budget request to Congress that included a $2 million cut, initially proposed by EPA, that would reduce the 35-year-old EPA Library Network's budget by 80 percent and force closure of some regional libraries.  In Fall 2006, EPA closed three EPA regional libraries in Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City, KS, as well as closing public access to the main EPA Library in Washington, DC before a FY2007 budget was passed.

EPA administrators have maintained that these closings would not affect access to the important environmental and scientific collections and data sets since online functions will meet the needs of the EPA staff, researchers, and the public.  However, many scientists, EPA staff, and librarians dispute this contention.  ALA and other critics have argued that the EPA library online services are not fully in place and are not adequate to meet the current, as well as future, demands of users.

ALA has a long-standing commitment to promoting public access to government information in order to enable individuals and communities to obtain good information about issues that concern them, such as the health and safety of their families and communities.  EPA has, since its creation in the early 1970s, been a key source of such information.  ALA has worked vigorously to fight these closings since word first came out about the EPA budget plans in February 2006.

ALA Washington Office staff has met with EPA staff many times and has maintained steady conversations with key congressional staffers, as well as several key allies in Washington.   ALA has sent letters to Congress and to the EPA, including the ALA Council resolution opposing these closings.  These efforts led to a September 18 formal request for a General Accountability Office investigation from ranking Democratic members of the House Science Committee.  On December 9, the New York Times published an opinion piece by ALA President Leslie Burger opposing the closings.  On December 14, President Burger spoke at a meeting of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) on the importance of EPA libraries and librarians.

In response to the ensuing media attention, EPA requested a meeting with ALA's Washington staff on December 13.  At that meeting, EPA officials indicated that they were now ready to discuss their plans for EPA's libraries, and that they would hold off closing any more libraries pending public outreach.
  
EPA officials have agreed to come to ALA's Midwinter meeting to initiate this public outreach. They are scheduled to meet with ALA's Committee on Legislation, Legislative Assembly, Special Library Association members, Government Documents Roundtable, Government Information Subcommittee, and Federal Librarians Subcommittee.
The Washington Office Update Session, Saturday, January 20, 8:00 - 10:00 am, Convention Center, Rooms 611-614 will feature the EPA representatives.

LC Bibliographic Control Decisions

With the announcement by the Library of Congress in the last spring of 2006 regarding the discontinuing of series authority work, ALCTS, on behalf of ALA and in concert with the ALA Executive Board, has been vigorously pursuing a continuing discussion with LC regarding the future of LC subject headings, based on public comments that suggested that the subject headings might be discontinued.  ALA and ALCTS both issued comment in May, 2006 on the LC decision, questioning the decision and calling for better communication between LC and its constituents, the library community at-large.  On Friday of the 2006 Annual Conference in New Orleans, ALCTS held the first of a series of forums on the future of bibliographic control.  Over 200 individuals attended this forum and heard from a number of speakers including Beacher Wiggins, Director of the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Control Directorate at LC. 

In the fall, ALA, at the invitation of Deanna Marcum of LC, appointed Janet Swan Hill from the Executive Board, Diane Dates Casey from ALCTS, and Sally Smith from PLA to the LC Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control.  The minutes for the group’s November 2 & 3 meeting and further actions are available on the website:  http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/

In October, the ALCTS Board charged the Cataloging and Classification Section with the task of producing a "Next Steps" document which would outline the issues that face libraries who must address the future of bibliographic control (cataloging, online catalogs, electronic resources, and most importantly, access to those materials).  The "Next Steps" report is mentioned in the following announcement of the Midwinter forum and is available on the ALCTS web site. 
 
As the division delegated by ALA to address issues relating to bibliographic control in its broadest sense, ALCTS will present informative forums and programs on these issues and will work with the ALA representative to the LC Working Group and the ALA Executive Board to facilitate the discussion and inform the library community.  ALCTS has also been working with the Washington Office to help define the issues and has provided background information for the written testimony presented before the joint library committee in August, 2006.


ALCTS Forum: The Future of Cataloging and Basic Values
A Forum on the Future of Cataloging will be held by ALCTS at the Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. This Forum continues ALCTS’ role as facilitator in the discussion prompted last spring by actions taken by the Library of Congress. 
The forum focuses on the document "ALCTS and the Future of Bibliographic Control: Challenges, Actions and Values" (available at www.ala.org/alcts).  This document was produced in October 2006, by an ad hoc group headed by the Executive Committee of the Cataloging and Classification Section (CCS) of ALCTS, in response to a request by the ALCTS Executive Committee. The document includes a focus on seven "frames," statements of basic values or viewpoints, which may serve as starting points for considering changes in the policy and practice of cataloging and the nature of the catalog.  Speakers will address these value statements, which are intended to be thought-provoking, and may prove controversial. 
The forum will be moderated by David Miller, Curry College, and CCS Chair.  Speakers include: Casey Bisson, Plymouth State University (NH); Ana Lupe Cristán, Library of Congress; Tamera Hanken, Tacoma Community College (WA); Daniel Joudrey, Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science; and Sally Smith, King County Library System (WA), Public Library Association -Cataloging Needs of Public Libraries Committee, and delegate to the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control. 
Sponsored by the Cataloging and Classification Section, the Forum will be Sunday, January 21, 8 – 10 am, Grand Hyatt, Princess Ballroom.
ALA Web Site
ALA members and staff who met in a Web planning retreat in mid-December have developed a staged plan for creating the next generation ALA Web sites.  Retreat participants reviewed the results of a year long usability assessment, based on feedback from about 1,200 people who responded to an online survey and participated in the usability study.
The first round of changes will begin in the first quarter of 2007 and will tackle areas identified as high-priority in the usability assessment and by participants at the retreat:
·         Pull together blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts and discussion lists  into a new “Read Write Connect” page;
·         Add committee volunteer information to create a “get involved” page    
·         Pull together and  increase the visibility of information on library education and careers
·         Pull together  and increase the visibility of “frequently asked questions” pages developed by the ALA Library in response to member requests and
 
By June, a number of high-priority fixes will be made to improve navigation and information architecture, including graphical recasting of home page content to provide more prominence to weekly spotlight items.  Google search results also will be modified to assure users that they are searching ALA content and have not left the ALA site. Work will begin on creating flyouts and dropdowns on high-level navigation items. Members should be able to preview the preliminary redesign at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., and provide feedback on various redesign options.
Using feedback from the conference, the final stage of activity will be completing the redesign and creating permanent mechanisms for testing and improving usability on an ongoing basis. Long-term goals include increasing interactivity and customization options, revamping the “Join ALA” and “Professional Tools” sections and creating a section for new members.
The Web usability assessment and additional information from the retreat, including a list of the members who participated, can be found online at http://wikis.ala.org/webplanning/.
ALA-APA Salary Surveys
The ALA-APA Salary Surveys were top sellers at the ALA Online Store for several weeks and have gone into second (Librarian) and third (Non-MLS) printings.  A subscription-based database is in the works of all the library salary data - and a trial version will be ready
for previewing at Midwinter. 

The 2007 Salary Surveys will be combined.  More than 3900 public and academic libraries will receive letters indicating that the Web-based survey is ready for data entry in early February.  Responsible staff (directors, HR managers) in all libraries in the sample are encouraged
to participate.
 

ALA OFFICES

ALA Editions

American Libraries Celebrates 100 Years

American Libraries is celebrating its first 100 years by looking to the next.  Since 1907, more than 29 million copies of the magazine of the American Library Association, have been published, helping library workers do their jobs better.  Sharing best practices, offering updates and debates on the library profession’s hot issues of the day, and bringing every member the latest news of the Association’s work have all contributed to the magazine’s century-long popularity.  American Libraries will launch a year-long celebration of its 100th anniversary during the Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, where free copies of the redesigned print magazine will be available in the Cognotes bins.

The 100th anniversary logo debuts on the January cover and in related features.  The logo is available for use by any ALA unit, with the tagline: American Libraries Magazine--The First 100 Years. The Development Office's Library Champion panels in the Midwinter registration area will include congratulatory messages on the 100th, as do the Champions pages in the January issue.  American Libraries will also cosponsor the Arthur Curley Lecture by Joe Klein, senior writer for Time magazine, Saturday, January 20, 2-4 pm in the Convention Center, Rooms 611-614.  A commemorative centennial resolution will be presented to Council.  At the American Libraries/Tech Source booth, visitors to the exhibit hall will be able to play Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero.

A number of anniversary events and articles, including an official commemorative issue in June/July, will culminate in the new ALA pavilion in the exhibit hall at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in June.  Innovations including the ‘Hectic Pace’ blog and a relaunch in January of the AL Web site at www.ala.org/alonline reflect a greater emphasis on technology, as requested by readers in a 2006 survey.  Also coming in January is the CentenniAL Blog, providing a forum open to all to share memories, stories, questions, and suggestions for American Libraries’ future, present, and past.  Among other ALA anniversaries in 2007: YALSA, ALCTS, and LAMA are celebrating 50 years.  AL will be working with these divisions and other units to mark their milestones.  The February issue of American Libraries will contain a look back at 10 years of the Spectrum Initiative.

More Plans for AL in 2007
                                
Will Manley’s many fans may flip first to the back of each issue in 2007 to read “Will’s World,” in which he’ll be looking back in his inimitable way on whatever tickles his fancy about the past century of AL-highlighting sometimes that what goes around comes back around!  Jennifer Burek Pierce begins a new column, Youth Matters, devoted to demonstrating how to turn children into lifelong learners.  Booklist's Mary Ellen Quinn takes over the Librarian's Library column, and Meredith Farkas debuts in January as an American Libraries technology writer with a cover story about what it means to be a library professional in 2007, which marks not only the 100th anniversary of American Libraries but the one-year anniversary of American Libraries Direct.

CentenniAL Blog

As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, American Libraries will launch a “CentenniAL” blog at the Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.  Designed to serve as a repository for reminiscences about where the magazine has been over the past century and where it may be headed for the next, the blog will act as a forum for the interesting, the controversial, and the amusing from the history of American Libraries and its earlier incarnation, the Bulletin of the American Library Association.
Information Technology
CMS Implementation

American Libraries Online went live on Collage, the Association’s new content management system, in late December. 
Website Usage Statistics

Urchin, a web log analyzer from Google™, was purchased in October and has been installed.  Staff are now easily able to pull up meaningful usage statistics.


WebCT

Options are being evaluated including a suitable replacement for WebCT.  One possibility is Moodle, an open-source course-support system.  A test installation of Moodle has been created, and staff will soon be invited to use the system and provide feedback as to its suitability.  Until then, WebCT version 4.1.1.5 will continue to be used.

 

Web Editorial Board

The Web Editorial Board (WEB) is involved in a number of projects intended to improve the usability of the ALA website.  A wiki called "Read Write Connect" has been created.  It pulls together information about, and links to, ALA's growing number of blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts, Flickr sites and Second Life avatars.  Work is also underway on a member "landing page" that will draw together sites and content of interest to members only, perhaps using an upgraded Online Communities login page as the entry point.  The WEB is also working on a revamped home page.  There are now seven permanent spotlight buttons on the upper right-hand corner of the page.  These buttons have pushed the weekly spotlight buttons "below the fold," greatly decreasing their exposure.  A revamped home page will rearrange the elements currently on the home page to provide more equitable positioning.

The WEB will be heavily involved in the upcoming implementation of the recommendations of the usability assessment and the December 18th web planning retreat.
Office for Accreditation
(OA)
 

Comments Sought on Accreditation Standards

On December 11, 2006, the Committee on Accreditation released  proposed changes to the Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies, 1992 for comment by March 15, 2007.  Comments have begun arriving and opportunities in open forum to discuss the changes have been scheduled and announced for ALA Midwinter and Annual 2007 conferences.  The document with proposed changes to the Standards is accessible from http://www.ala.org/ala/accreditation/.
 
Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3)
The second edition of Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3) was released December 15, 2006.  Hard copies have been shipped and the document is accessible from http://www.ala.org/ala/accreditation/.   
Office for Government Relations
(OGR)

2006 National Awards for Museum and Library Service

On January 9, Emily Sheketoff and PLA Executive Director, Greta Southard, attended a White House Ceremony honoring the three public libraries that won the 2006 National Awards for Museum and Library Service – the Frankfort Community Public Library, Indiana; the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; and the San Antonio Public Library, Texas.

National Library Legislative Day

National Library Legislative Day 2007 (NLLD) will be held on Tuesday May 1 and Wednesday May 2.  Efforts to reach out to and improve communications among existing grassroots networks for federal legislation are being made this year to increase participation in NLLD and in Virtual Library Legislative Day.
To help NLLD participants and other library advocates prepare for National Library Legislative Day, the Washington Office is offering a free online advocacy course entitled, "Messaging and Talking with Congress: An Interactive Workshop." This three-part online course is designed to help library supporters build or hone effective messages and successfully communicate library needs to Congress.
Also new this year, the Washington Office and YALSA co-sponsored a "National Library Legislative Day 2007 Student Contest.”  In November the Legislative Day Committee selected the winning entry entitled, "Check Out the Future,” submitted by Danny Chapman, a student from Lake Forest Illinois.  The winning theme will appear on all legislative day promotion materials.  The contest winner will participate in Legislative Day briefings and activities and join the Illinois delegation on its visit to Capitol Hill to talk with Senators and Representatives about the needs of libraries.
Office for Information Technology Policy
(OITP)

Gates Grant

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) $375,000 for the purpose of studying ways to improve library connectivity and increase library participation in the federal E-rate program.  The grant will help OITP experiment with a training and support program for state library E-rate coordinators.  OITP will also conduct research on problems for libraries sustaining adequate connectivity by examining the barriers and opportunities in several selected states.
 
Both projects will conclude in late spring, with a final report and a set of recommendations expected at ALA Annual 2007.

Participatory Networks Paper

OITP commissioned a paper on the "social networking" debate from Dave Lankes and Joanne Silverstein, two researchers at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies.  The paper they produced proposes major changes to the role of libraries in mediating the conversation around information in the networked environment.  In the spirit of Web 2.0, the paper was posted to the web at http://iis.syr.edu/projects/PNOpen/ , and an open comment period gave readers an opportunity for feedback through a wiki and a forum.  The comments from readers focused on three main points from the paper – the concept of Library 2.0, the use of the term "conversation," and the potential commercialization of libraries.
 
The paper was the focus of much discussion and debate at the 2007 LITA forum.  The final version of the paper will be ready for the 2007 Midwinter Meeting. 

Public Libraries and E-Government Services 

OITP convened a meeting, December 6-8, with the Information Institute of the Florida State University and the Florida State Library to discuss 1) the evolving roles of public libraries as sources of and access to local, state, and federal E-government services, and 2) strategies by
which federal, state, and local governments can link their E-government efforts through public libraries.  Increasingly local, state, and federal governments rely on public libraries to support E-government services.  Meeting attendees included public librarians, state library officials, state and federal government staff and researchers.  A summary report of the meeting will be available following discussion with stakeholders at Midwinter.  Next steps include broad discussion with the membership, especially PLA, as well as a research agenda and discussion with federal, state and, local officials.

Office for Intellectual Freedom

(OIF)

Mid-Atlantic Regional “Lawyers for Libraries” Training Institute

The Office for Intellectual Freedom will present the Mid-Atlantic Regional “Lawyers for Libraries” Training Institute in Philadelphia, PA on May 17, 2007.  This will be the tenth in a series of regional institutes.
 
”Lawyers for Libraries” is intended to equip attorneys with tools they need to effectively defend the First Amendment in libraries.  Participants will be instructed by practicing attorneys specializing in First Amendment law and will be eligible for continuing legal education (CLE) credits for their participation. 

Among the topics to be covered during the institute are:

• Privacy, law enforcement requests for records, and the USA PATRIOT Act
  
• Public forum analysis and libraries, including developing meeting room and display case policies
  
• Internet filtering and the ongoing repercussions of the Supreme Court’s CIPA decision
  
• How to respond to attempts to censor books and other library materials
  

To register or for more information, visit http://www.ala.org/lawyers or contact OIF at jokelley@ala.org or x4226.

 

Public Information Office
(PIO)
 

Regional Advocacy Institute in California

An ALA regional Advocacy Institute took place on Friday, November 10, 2006, at the 2006 California Library Association (CLA) Annual Conference in Sacramento, CA.  Luis
Herrera, City Librarian, San Francisco Public Library, coordinated the program with Marci Merola, PIO PR Specialist for Advocacy at ALA.

Highlights included Susan Hildreth, PLA President and California State Librarian, discussing the state of California libraries after the November 7 loss of a statewide bond measure, as well as an informative panel discussion on coalition building, featuring Marian Chatfield-Taylor, Capital Campaign Manager, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library; Alan Smith, President, California Association of Trustees and Commissioners (CALTAC); Carey Gross, Literacy Specialist, Butte County Library and Melissa Ramos, AmeriCorps Member, Butte County Library.  Donna Bero, Executive Director, Friends of San Francisco Public Library gave an energized presentation on messaging.  Terri Maguire, Chair, CLA Legislative Committee, Deputy Director, County of Los Angeles Public Library and Jan Sanders, Director of Information Services, City of Pasadena, provided basics on lobbying.

Tentative Schedule of Additional Advocacy Institutes

·         January 19, 2007                    2007 ALA Midwinter Meeting, Seattle, WA

·         March 6-8, 2007                      Louisiana Library Association, Baton Rouge, LA

·         March 14-16, 2007                  Mountain Plains Library Association/New Mexico Library     

                                                            Association, Albuquerque NM

·         March 29-31, 2007                  ACRL 2007 Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD

·         June 22, 2007                         ALA Annual Conference, Washington, DC

·         October 25-28, 2007               AASL 2007 Annual Conference,

Teen Read Week Campaign

The evaluation of Teen Read Week media relations outreach campaign showed that it reached more than 22 million readers, listeners and viewers - a 230 percent increase (from 6 million in 2005).  Highlights included attention from targeted niche publications and sites that cater to teens including Teen Newsweek and Teen Voices, as well as placements in figure skating publications due to Kimmie Meissner’s participation.
   

PIO Support for Joint Conference of Librarians of Color

PIO provided media support and staffed the press room for the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color.  During the conference, the ALA presented findings from the Diversity Counts! research conducted by the ALA Diversity Office and the ALA Office for Research and Statistics.  The press briefing was attended by local and trade press that included: the Dallas Examiner;  KDFW-TV (FOX affiliate); WFAA TV (ABC affiliate); American Libraries; Library Journal; School Library Journal and Críticas.


Plan for Second Phase of the Campaign for America's Libraries
At the 2007 Fall Executive Board meeting, the Board reviewed and gave its support to the plan for the second phase of the Campaign for America's Libraries.  The plan addresses Campaign objectives and key messages, audiences, strategies (including the promotion of key library issues, partnerships, and tools, materials and training for libraries) and evaluation. 

The plan was based on comments and feedback from ALA member groups, including: AASL Board of Directors, AASL Advocacy Committee; ACRL Board of Directors; ACRL Ethics Committee; ALSC Board of Directors; ALSC @ your library Taskforce; ASCLA Board of Directors; PLA @ your library Taskforce; LAMA Fundraising and Financial Development Section; Public Awareness Committee; Chapter Relations Committee; Committee on
Diversity; Intellectual Freedom Roundtable; Public and Cultural Programs Advisory Committee; Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Roundtable; and the Library Support Staff Interests Roundtable.  ALA Unit Heads also had the opportunity to participate in a planning and discussion session and submitted comments, which have been incorporated into the draft plan.
Also incorporated into the planning process were comments received from a 2005 Campaign member survey, in which 3,200 members provided feedback on the future of the Campaign, and testimony received during and after the 2005 Annual Conference in Orlando, FL.

Public Programs Office

(PPO)

Applications Now Available for Two New Traveling Exhibits

The Public Programs Office is currently accepting applications for two new traveling exhibits for libraries.  Major funding for both exhibits has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
“Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World” is based on a major exhibition of the same title, which was on display at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia until April 30, 2006. One copy of the 1,000-square-foot traveling exhibit will circulate to 20 public and academic library sites beginning in November 2007.   “Benjamin Franklin” has been developed by PPO in collaboration with the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, Philadelphia, PA.
“Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country” is based on a major exhibition of the same title, which was on display at the Newberry Library from September 28, 2005 through January 14, 2006. Beginning in November 2007, the “Lewis and Clark” exhibition will be displayed at several Indian Country libraries and/or cultural centers that represent the tribal cultures which encountered the Corps of Discovery on its original expedition.  The exhibit will then travel to other public and academic libraries around the country.  “Lewis and Clark” has been developed by PPO in cooperation with the Newberry Library.
Public, academic and special libraries interested in hosting “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World” and/or “Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country” may download the application and guidelines at http://www.ala.org/publicprograms.  Applications for both traveling exhibits are due by February 9, 2007.

Applications Now Available for New Programming Award for School Libraries

In November, the Public Programs Office, in cooperation with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), announced a new award to recognize excellence in humanities programming in school libraries.  Elementary or middle school (public or private) libraries, or any school library program that serves children in any combination of grades K-8, are eligible to apply.  Guidelines and the application are available online at www.ala.org/jaffarianaward. Applications are due by February 28, 2007.
The Sara Jaffarian Library Programming Award for Exemplary Humanities Programs will provide a $4,000 grant to support library programming and a recognition plaque to a single winner annually.  The winner will also be included in a PPO-sponsored national training opportunity to highlight the school’s award-winning program as a model for others to develop outstanding humanities programs. To be considered, the applicant must have conducted a humanities program or program series during the previous school year.  The humanities program can be focused in many subject areas, including but not limited to social studies, poetry, drama, art, music, language arts, foreign language and culture. Awards will be made by a selection committee comprised of ALA members, including representatives from the Public and Cultural Programs Advisory Committee (PCPAC) and AASL.  The winner will be notified in April 2007 and announced in June during ALA’s 2007 Annual Conference in Washington, DC.
The Award is named after Sara Jaffarian, a retired school librarian and long time member of ALA.  Jaffarian has made a donation to ALA’s Cultural Communities Fund in order to establish the award.

New “Picturing America” Grant for School Librarians and Educators

In December, the ALA Public Programs Office received notification that a new grant opportunity for schools and school libraries will be funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  The pilot project, called “Picturing America,” is part of NEH’s We the People program.
The goals of “Picturing America” are to promote the teaching, study and understanding of American art and history in K-12 schools, and to facilitate interdisciplinary partnerships between school library media specialists, art teachers, classroom instructors and other educators. “Picturing America” will provide 500 public and private schools with a collection of 20 double-sided, laminated posters depicting works of American art; related reading lists; and a 100-page resource booklet with information about the paintings, sculpture, architecture, and crafts reproduced. Complete information, including the application, is available online at http://publicprograms.ala.org/picturingamerica.  Applications will be accepted through March 19, 2007 and programs will take place during the 2007-2008 school year.

 

ALA DIVISIONS

American Association of School Librarians
(AASL)
AASL New Reading Institute Launches in Seattle 
The newest AASL Regional Institute, "Reading and the School Library Media Specialist," is launching as an all-day workshop for ALA Midwinter Meeting attendees.  The Reading Institute will address critical topics in reading for P-12 library media specialists.  Participants will review current research on reading instruction, discuss how it informs classroom practice, explore reading strategies, and learn what the library media specialist can do to enhance them. This Regional Institute will be available from AASL for nationwide use throughout the profession.  State associations, school districts and other entities interested in hosting the Institute can license the full content from AASL to present locally.  More information on AASL Regional Institutes can be found at: http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/conferencesandevents/aaslregionalinstitutes/regionalinstitutes.htm 
AASL's Affiliate Assembly Enters its 30th Year 
The Affiliate Assembly of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a group of local leaders and delegates from all around the country, has been an incubator for AASL leadership since 1977 and will celebrate its 30 year anniversary during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., this summer.  State association officials, who join the Assembly as representatives to bring grassroots ideas to the national forum, often become Affiliate Assembly elected leaders, and then move on to other leadership positions within the association. 
AASL Longitudinal Survey of School Library Media Programs 
On January 18, 2007, AASL will launch its longitudinal survey of school library media programs, just in time for announcement at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.  The purpose of the AASL longitudinal survey is to gain an understanding of the state of school library media programs nationally through a scientific sample. The survey will be conducted annually and will result in a longitudinal series that will provide data on the health of the nation's school library media programs.  Of primary interest are indications of changes: whether facilities are closing, the status of employees is changing, or whether budgets are going up or down.  Learn more about the survey on the AASL Web site, www.aasl.org. The survey is available at http://www.aaslsurvey.org. 
AASL New Learning Standards Open Forum at Midwinter 
In order to recognize the changing role of school library media programs now and in the future, AASL's Learning Standards Task Force began to develop new learning standards for school library media programs in the fall of 2006.  The task force has prepared a second draft of the Learning Standards and will present it at the Open Forum on New Learning Standards, Friday, January 19, 2007, 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm, at the Westin Seattle Hotel.  For more information see: http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/standards.htm 
 
Registration to Open for AASL’s 13^th National Conference & Exhibition 
Within two weeks of the close of the 1007 ALA Midwinter Meeting, registration for the next AASL conference will open.  Dan Pink, a best-selling author, acclaimed technology writer and business consultant, will keynote the AASL 13th National Conference & Exhibition, "The Future Begins @ your library," October 25-28, 2007, in Reno, Nev.  Wendelin Van Draanen, author of the acclaimed "Sammy Keyes Mysteries," will be the guest of honor at the Author Banquet on Friday, October 26.  The Author Brunch on Sunday morning, October 28, will be hosted by David Lubar, award-winning author of "Hidden Talents," named as one of ALA Best Books for Young Adults.  The AASL National Conference will feature several educational tours, many author events, full exhibits, and more than a hundred concurrent sessions.  Omar Wasow, co-founder of BlackPlanet.com and a respected technology analyst will deliver closing remarks at the Closing General Session, on October 28.  For more information see: http://www.ala.org/aasl/reno
Association of College and Research Libraries
(ACRL)

ACRL 13^th National Conference

ACRL opened registration for its 13^th ACRL National Conference,"Sailing into the Future ~ Charting Our Destiny,” in September 2006.  The conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, March 29 - April 1, 2007.  Currently registration is 20% ahead of numbers for the 2005 National Conference.

 

The ACRL 13th National Conference is dedicated to the interests of academic and research librarians and will enable participants to explore the issues, challenges and opportunities in their field. The conference will offer networking activities with colleagues from all professional levels and types of institutions from across the country, and around the world.  More than 200 exhibitors will be on hand to showcase the latest in library products and services.  Participants can choose from more than 250 peer-reviewed programs that will sharpen their professional edge.
A celebrated lineup of keynote speakers will be challenging and entertaining.  Michael Eric Dyson, one of the nation's most renowned public intellectuals, will discuss the impact that generational disputes and differences have on higher education.  Filmmaker John Waters will share influences on his creative work, which often pushes the boundaries of conventional propriety and censorship, as well as the culture of his hometown, Baltimore.  Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio’s award-winning legal affairs correspondent, will examine connections between higher education and current issues and events in national public policy.
New enhancements to the conference this year include an improved Virtual Conference Community to include live Web casts, blogs, polls, conference snapshots and hot topic discussions as well as Cyber Zed Shed demonstrations that will showcase new tech-tools and their library applications.

Registration and hotel reservations for the ACRL 13^th National Conference as well as more detailed program information are available online at http://www.acrl.org/baltimore.

ACRL Fall Virtual Institute

ACRL’s first Fall Virtual Institute, "The User at the Center," was held completely online on November 9, 2006.  The institute focused on how libraries can use technologies and practice to put the user at the center of the information enterprise on campus.  The ACRL Fall Virtual Institute provided participants with a featured speaker and concurrent sessions focusing on topics varying from blogging to wikis to user perceptions and more.  The schedule was flexible with synchronous and asynchronous activities, and participants received access to all of the institute sessions in the community archives for one year after the event.  Participants were able to view and download speaker materials including PowerPoint presentations, bibliographies, and biographies as well as connect directly with experts and network with other attendees.  This was a successful first-time event with a total of 282 registrants.
 

ACRL Institute for Information Literacy

ACRL’s Institute for Information Literacy held its first Intentional Teacher Program November 29–December 3, 2006, at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  This program, Intentional Teacher: Renewal through Informed Reflection, had a competitive application process and 32 participants attended.  The program was geared towards the experienced instruction librarian who wants to improve his/her teaching, gain knowledge of supporting resources, and become more self-aware and self-directed as a teacher, with the goal of professional renewal.  The program offered a mixture of structured content sessions and peer discussions, individual reading and reflection times.  Evaluation comments were positive overall, and ACRL plans to repeat this program again in the fall of 2007.
ACRL/RBMS 48^th Annual Preconference
ACRL’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) will hold its 48th Annual Preconference, “From Here to Ephemerality: Fugitive Sources in Libraries, Archives, and Museums”, June 19 - 22, 2007, in Baltimore, MD.  This will be the first time that an RBMS Preconference will explore the theme of ephemera in libraries, archives, and museums.  Ephemera collections have traditionally been neglected by institutions and have been underutilized by scholars; they provide unique challenges in cataloging, preservation, and access.  The goals of the Preconference will be to explore these issues, and to uncover the value of building and using ephemera collections to their full potential.  Plenary speakers include internationally renowned scholars, collectors, and library and museum curators.  In addition to the plenary sessions, there will be short papers further developing aspects of the theme, and seminars offering a more practical or case-study approach to the topic.  Registration will open in February; please see the “Events and Conferences” section of the ACRL Website www.acrl.org for further details.


ACRL Preconferences at the ALA Annual Conference 2007

Registration is now open for ACRL’s two preconferences to be held on June 22, 2007 at the ALA Annual Conference this summer in Washington D.C.

§         Accepting an Electronic Resources Librarianship Position: The Best Professional Decision You Ever Made!  Now What?  An A to Z guide to practical tips, strategies, workflow, standards, and software applications needed to succeed.  Meant for new and practicing ER librarians, this half-day workshop is planned as a “how to” session to gain in-depth knowledge on critical aspects of creating a framework for successful e-resources management.

§         Writing and Using Objectives to Improve Library Instruction This half-day preconference will introduce the development and use of learning objectives for library instruction. Participants will learn how to create objectives that are specific and measurable and will practice writing instructional objectives for lessons they currently teach or wish to teach. 

Complete details about ACRL Preconferences are online at www.ala.org/acrl/events (Click “ACRL @ Annual”). 

ACRL’s Institute for Information Literacy Immersion Programs 2007

ACRL will offer Regional and National Immersion programs in the summer of 2007.  Immersion programs include four-and-one-half days of intensive training and education for academic librarians selected from a competitive application process.  Immersion provides participants with intellectual tools and practical techniques to help build or enhance instruction programs.  A faculty of nationally recognized librarians will instruct the programs which fall into two tracks. The Teacher Track focuses on individual development for those who are interested in enhancing, refreshing, or extending their individual instruction skills.  The Program Track focuses on developing, integrating, and managing institutional and programmatic information literacy programs.
 
The Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) has licensed the regional program that will be held at Illinois State University, in Normal, Illinois, July 13-18, 2007.  The deadline for Illinois residents to apply for the Regional Program is Wednesday, February 28, 2007.  The National Program will be held at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, August 5-10, 2007.  This program will be ACRL’s first international Immersion Program.  The Invitation to Apply to the National Immersion Program was issued in September 2006, with applications due December 1, 2006.  Selected participants will be notified in February, 2007.
Complete details about Immersion '07 Programs are online at www.ala.org/acrl/events (Click “Immersion ‘07”). 

 

Association for Library Collections & Technical Services
(ALCTS)
ALCTS 50^th Anniversary Celebration:  Commemorating our Past, Celebrating our Present, Creating our Future 
A sold out “Definitely Digital” Symposium on Friday at Midwinter launches ALCTS’ 50^th Anniversary Celebration. 
ALA Executive Board member Janet Swan Hill joins other former ALCTS Presidents in conversation on past, present, and future issues in libraries on Monday, January 22, at 10:30 am in the W Hotel, Great Room I.   
Registration is now open for the ALCTS 50^th Anniversary Conference.  A press release, Indirect entry, and an email announcement went out just prior to Midwinter. 
Stay in touch with future ALCTS events:  www.ala.org/alcts50
Disaster Recovery 
A continuing discussion of disaster preparedness will be the focus of a forum of the ALCTS Preservation Section sponsored by the Preservation Discussion Group, Sunday, January 21, 4 – 6 pm, Westin, Grand Ballroom III.  After the popular consciousness has forgotten, how can we sustain recovery programs to provide collection management, building safety, and public service in libraries?  Preservation and Reformatting Section is discussing this issue with other ALA Divisions and Round Tables to provide a holistic and long-term perspective on disaster response and recovery. 
Non-English Task Force
In October, the ALCTS Non-English Task Force announced that the task force was seeking comments on their recently released report.  The report noted that making library resources available to a person who uses a language other than English would require that records, authority files, systems, searching, and the presentation of results accommodate the user's language and that although progress is being made, the future work is complex and requires considerable collaboration. The call for comments was announced on the ALA Council list in November.  The ALCTS Non-English Task Force was constituted in response to a membership meeting resolution at Annual 2005 in Chicago asking the ALA Council to address issues regarding the representation of non-English works in library catalogs.  Findings from this report will be available after Midwinter.
ALCTS Forums of Note at Midwinter in Seattle

 

ALCTS is sponsoring two pertinent forums at Midwinter.  A forum on the Non-English report will be held on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the Sheraton Hotel, Metropolitan B.  Second is the Forum on the Future of Cataloging which was highlighted earlier in this report.

ALCTS First Bilingual Publication Available in Spring 

SALSA de Topicos = Subjects in SALSA:  Spanish and Latin American Subject Access is the first fully bilingual ALCTS publications.  SALSA (for short) explores current and historical efforts to provide Spanish-language or bilingual subject access to users in North and Central America.  SALSA was edited by David Miller and Filiberto Felipe Martinez. 
Other ALCTS publications coming this Spring include: 
·         Perspectives on Serials in the Hybrid Environment 
·         CMDS Sudden Selector's Guide #1: Sudden Selector's Guide for Business
The Sudden Selector’s Guide is a series of informative short publications to help develop library collections in specific areas. 

ALCTS Cataloging Continuing Education (CE) Continues in Spring 

ALCTS Cataloging (CE) returns in the Spring with many of its most popular offerings including Rules and Tools: Cataloging Internet Resources.  Look for a new workshop:  Basic Creation of Name and Title Authorities. 
Association for Library Service to Children 
(ALSC)
El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) 
Target Corporation has come on board as the official 2007 national sponsor of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), known as Día. This annual celebration, held April 30, spreads “bookjoy” by linking children of all languages and cultures with books.
ALSC and Target will provide mini-grants of $5,000 plus a suite of Día-themed promotional materials to eight model public libraries.  Selected libraries will be known as Día 2007 Super Sites.  Grant funds will support efforts to purchase culturally relevant books for permanent collections or giveaways, or to fund Día programs.  Super Sites also will receive a display banner, bookplates, bookmarks, and bilingual brochures featuring recommended children’s books and tips for parents on reading to/with their children.
Additional libraries may receive complimentary bookmarks and brochures by registering their events on the Día Web site at http://www.ala.org/dia.  Día 2007 Super Sites include El Paso (TX) Public Library, Hennepin County Library (MN), Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County (NC), Queens (NY) Public Library, Riverside County Library (CA), Broward County Library (FL), Providence (RI) Public Library, and Phoenix (AZ) Public Library.

 

Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies
(ASCLA)
ASCLA New Member Kit 
The ASCLA Membership Committee has recently created a snappy new member kit.  Colleagues at Thomson Gale generously underwrote printing for the kit.  The kit includes a brochure on how to get involved, a copy of the most recent newsletter and an ASCLA bookmark.  Receive a personal copy by joining today! http://www.ala.org/ASCLATemplate.cfm?Section=JoinASCLA 


Library and Information Technology Association
(LITA)
LITA National Forum 2007 Call for Proposals
The Forum Planning Committee has received 61 proposals for the 10^th LITA National Forum. Proposals on all aspects of library and information technology were invited.  The Committee is reviewing the proposals and will finalize its decisions by the end of February.  The Forum is scheduled for October 4-7, 2007 in downtown Denver at the Marriott City Center Hotel.  The theme is Technology with Altitude: 10 Years of the LITA National Forum.
LITA Journal on the Web

 

Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) is now available on the LITA Web site in both HTML and PDF formats.  ITAL is LITA’s double-blind refereed journal, available to all members and subscribers in print and online. 
LITA Standards Coordination
Diane Hillman was recently named LITA Standards Coordinator.  Diane has posted A New Corner of the LITA Blog: Standards Watch to the LITA Blog (http://litablog.org/).  Diane plans to use the LITA Blog and LITA Wiki to keep us informed about standards issues and activities.
Public Library Association  (PLA)

PLA-ALSC Launch Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® Wiki

PLA and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) are proud to introduce the Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® wiki.  The wiki allows new and current users of the Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® program to share innovative ideas and best practices.  PLA and ALSC jointly developed the Every Child program to provide public librarians with vital tools to help prepare parents for their critical role as their child's first teacher.  Since the program materials and training were introduced in 2004, hundreds of libraries have held programs for parents and caregivers.  Please visit the wiki at http://wikis.ala.org/ecrr.  To learn more about the program, see www.ala.org/everychild.

Po Bronson to Keynote PLA Spring Symposium Author Luncheon

The 2007 PLA Spring Symposium, to be held in San Jose, CA, March 1-3, 2007, will feature six one-and-a-half-day workshops focused on issues important to public librarians and public library staff such as staffing, outcome measurement, advocacy and literacy.  In addition, best-selling author Po Bronson will present the keynote address at the symposium luncheon on Friday, March 2.  Bronson's “What Should I Do With My Life?” was a #1 New York Times bestseller and remained in the Top 10 for nine months.  He has published five books and written for television, magazines, and newspapers, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and for National Public Radio's Morning Edition.  Currently he is writing regularly for Time magazine.  The registration deadline is January 26. 
Continued Success of Results Boot Camp Workshop for Librarians
As part of its continuing education offerings to public librarians, PLA held its second successful Results Boot Camp program in Nashville, TN in November 2006.  The weeklong workshop provided librarians with management training not covered in library school.  Results Boot Camp 2 focused on current library issues and used case studies to help students apply new skills to real-life situations.  In addition, the program reviewed all of the publications in the Results series and showed firsthand how they interconnect. Fifty-five participants from 23 states attended the workshop.  Results Boot Camp 3 is tentatively scheduled for October 2007.
Certified Public Library Administrator Program (CPLA)
PLA has applied to the ALA-APA to become a continuing education provider for each of the nine CPLA core competency standards.  The courses have been developed by nationally known trainers and support the learning outcomes defined in the CPLA standards and the principles and practices of the PLA Result’s series.
Reference and User Services Association
(RUSA)
Reference Bloggers
RUSA has begun a new blog called “Talking Reference &”.  On recent postings, blogger Dave Tyckoson shares memories and a photo from New Orleans and suggests that maybe the time to start circulating reference books is now.  Check it out at http://www.rusablog.org/. 
Young Adult Library Services Association
(YALSA)

YALSA Turns 50 in 2007!

The following calendar represents YALSA’s plans for the year-long fiftieth year anniversary and an invitation to join in the celebration:
January 2007:  Kick off YALSA’s anniversary with refreshments at the Joint Youth Division Member Reception, Monday, January 22 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting.

February 2007:  Look for a feature article by Betty Carter and Pam Spencer Holley in School Library Journal outlining the major accomplishments of YALSA over the past 50 years.  Fifty teen spaces in libraries will be featured on the YALSA Flickr site at www.flickr.com/photos/yalsa/. 

March 2007:  Celebrate the first Teen Tech Weekä March 4-10.   www.ala.org/teentechweek

April 2007:  Celebrate the first Support Young Adult Literature Day, April 19^th.

May 2007:  Join YALSA during National Library Legislative Day, May 1-2.  Download YALSA’s Legislative Advocacy Guide from YALSA’s web site to help prepare and keep an eye out on the same site for information on how to participate virtually.  May 31 – June 3: Book Expo America’s Day of Dialog will include a session on YA literature

June 2007:

• Fri. June 22:  Booklist’s Books for Youth Forum will feature the authors who were honored in 2000 for the first Printz Award.  An anniversary party will follow the Forum.
  
• Sun. June 24:  YA Authors’ Breakfast.  YALSA is inviting all of the past winners of Printz and Edwards awards.  Come mingle with them at an informal breakfast.
  
• Mon. June 25:  ALA’s PPO and YALSA will feature contemporary YA authors, including Cecil Castellucci, John Green and Patrick Jones all day long at the Live @ your library Readers’ Stage in the Exhibit Hall.
  
• Mon. June 25:  YALSA’s President’s Program will feature five decades of YA literature, as well as an author from each decade.
  

July 2007:  Visit YALSA’s web site for 25 of the best summer reads for teens.

August 2007:  Visit the web site for another 25 of the best summer reads for teens

September 2007:  Visit the web site for a list of 50 banned YA books and ideas for celebrating Banned Books Week in the library.

October 2007:  Celebrate the 10^th Annual Teen Read Weekä Oct. 14-20.  50^th Anniversary issue of Young Adult Library Services mails out.

November 2007:  Visit the web site for 50 great web sites for teens.

December 2007:  American Libraries features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.

2006 Teen Read Week Wrap-Up

·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge. 
·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind. 
·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.
·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL. 
·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.

YALSA Gears Up for Teen Tech Weekä, March 4-10, 2007

Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see www.ala.org/teentechweek.

YALSA Launched MySpace Space in December

YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at www.myspace.com/yalsa.  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

YALSA Blog Celebrated One-Year Anniversary January 9^th

The YALSA blog receives about 2,000 hits per day.  Seventy other blogs link to YALSA’s blog.  Its purpose is twofold—to push information out to members and librarians and to provide them with a place to chat and network with like-minded people. 

Upcoming YALSA Publications

 

• Best Books for Young Adults, 3^rd edition.  Edited by Holly Koelling and published by ALA Editions.
  

• Get Connected: 50 Tech Programs for Teens.  Edited by RoseMary Honnold and published by Neal-Schuman.
  

Both books will be released sometime between June and December.

Upcoming YALSA Events and Activities

• YALSA e-courses (Winter Session) runs February 3- March 16, 2007.  Four courses will be offered.  Registration closes January 25.
  

• YALSA Competencies Live (Instructor:  Amy Alessio)
  
• Making the Match (Instructor:  Teri Lesesne)
  
• New Literacies for Teens (Instructor:  Linda Braun)
  
• Reaching Teens Virtually (Instructor:  Angela Pfeil)
  

• 1^st annual Teen Tech Week, March 4-10, 2007
  
• 1^st annual Support Young Adult Literature Day, April 19, 2007
  
• Events at ALA’s 2007 Annual Conference
  

• Preconferences: Sins of YA Literature (full day) and Beginner’s Guide to Teens in Libraries (half day)
  
• Booklist Books for Youth Forum will feature the first Printz winners from 2000 and an anniversary party for YALSA will follow
  
• Young Adult Authors’ Breakfast: all past and present winners of Printz and Edwards are invited.  Attendees can mingle with the authors.
  
• Live @ your library Reading Stage (hosted by YALSA & ALA’s Public Programs Office).  Eight young adult authors, including Cecil Castellucci, John Green and Patrick Jones, will participate.
  

• 2007 Teen Read Week, October 14-20; the theme is “LOL @ your library.”
  

ALA-APA

Certification News

 

The Certified Public Library Administrator Program (CPLA) has its highest number of applicants yet for the Midwinter Review – 29.  Nine courses will also be reviewed by the CPLA Certification Review Committee.

Work continues on development of the Support Staff Certification Program.

Update for the Better Salaries and Pay Equity Toolkit

The Better Salaries and Pay Equity Toolkit is being updated and will be available after Midwinter for download from the ALA-APA Web site - www.ala-apa.org.

ALA-APA Highlights
ALA-APA is now included as a button on the ALA Web site home page.  Another highlight;- For the first time, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2007, ALA-APA had a positive net revenue, which exceeded $20,000.

 

·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

ALCTS Cataloging (CE) returns in the Spring with many of its most popular offerings including .  Look for a new workshop:   Target Corporation has come on board as the official 2007 national sponsor of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), known as Día. This annual celebration, held April 30, spreads “bookjoy” by linking children of all languages and cultures with books.ALSC and Target will provide mini-grants of $5,000 plus a suite of Día-themed promotional materials to eight model public libraries.  Selected libraries will be known as Día 2007 Super Sites.  Grant funds will support efforts to purchase culturally relevant books for permanent collections or giveaways, or to fund Día programs.  Super Sites also will receive a display banner, bookplates, bookmarks, and bilingual brochures featuring recommended children’s books and tips for parents on reading to/with their children.Additional libraries may receive complimentary bookmarks and brochures by registering their events on the Día Web site at .  Día 2007 Super Sites include El Paso (TX) Public Library, Hennepin County Library (MN), Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County (NC), Queens (NY) Public Library, Riverside County Library (CA), Broward County Library (FL), Providence (RI) Public Library, and Phoenix (AZ) Public Library.The ASCLA Membership Committee has recently created a snappy new member kit.  Colleagues at Thomson Gale generously underwrote printing for the kit.  The kit includes a brochure on how to get involved, a copy of the most recent newsletter and an ASCLA bookmark.  Receive a personal copy by joining today!  The Forum Planning Committee has received 61 proposals for the 10 LITA National Forum. Proposals on all aspects of library and information technology were invited.  The Committee is reviewing the proposals and will finalize its decisions by the end of February.  The Forum is scheduled for October 4-7, 2007 in downtown Denver at the Marriott City Center Hotel.  The theme is (ITAL) is now available on the LITA Web site in both HTML and PDF formats.  ITAL is LITA’s double-blind refereed journal, available to all members and subscribers in print and online.  Diane Hillman was recently named LITA Standards Coordinator.  Diane has posted A New Corner of the LITA Blog: Standards Watch to the LITA Blog ().  Diane plans to use the LITA Blog and LITA Wiki to keep us informed about standards issues and activities.PLA and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) are proud to introduce the Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® wiki.  The wiki allows new and current users of the Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® program to share innovative ideas and best practices.  PLA and ALSC jointly developed the Every Child program to provide public librarians with vital tools to help prepare parents for their critical role as their child's first teacher.  Since the program materials and training were introduced in 2004, hundreds of libraries have held programs for parents and caregivers.  Please visit the wiki at .  To learn more about the program, see .The 2007 PLA Spring Symposium, to be held in San Jose, CA, March 1-3, 2007, will feature six one-and-a-half-day workshops focused on issues important to public librarians and public library staff such as staffing, outcome measurement, advocacy and literacy.  In addition, best-selling author Po Bronson will present the keynote address at the symposium luncheon on Friday, March 2.  Bronson's “What Should I Do With My Life?” was a #1 bestsellerand remained in the Top 10 for nine months.  He has published five books and written for television, magazines, and newspapers, including and and for National Public Radio's Currently he is writing regularly for magazine.  The registration deadline is January 26.  As part of its continuing education offerings to public librarians, PLA held its second successful Results Boot Camp program in Nashville, TN in November 2006.  The weeklong workshop provided librarians with management training not covered in library school.  Results Boot Camp 2 focused on current library issues and used case studies to help students apply new skills to real-life situations.  In addition, the program reviewed all of the publications in the Results series and showed firsthand how they interconnect. Fifty-five participants from 23 states attended the workshop.  Results Boot Camp 3 is tentatively scheduled for October 2007. PLA has applied to the ALA-APA to become a continuing education provider for each of the nine CPLA core competency standards.  The courses have been developed by nationally known trainers and support the learning outcomes defined in the CPLA standards and the principles and practices of the PLA Result’s series.RUSA has begun a new blog called “Talking Reference &”.  On recent postings, blogger Dave Tyckoson shares memories and a photo from New Orleans and suggests that maybe the time to start circulating reference books is now.  Check it out at . The following calendar represents YALSA’s plans for the year-long fiftieth year anniversary and an invitation to join in the celebration::  Kick off YALSA’s anniversary with refreshments at the Joint Youth Division Member Reception, Monday, January 22 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting.:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee.

ACRL will offer Regional and National Immersion programs in the summer of 2007.  Immersion programs include four-and-one-half days of intensive training and education for academic librarians selected from a competitive application process.  Immersion provides participants with intellectual tools and practical techniques to help build or enhance instruction programs.  A faculty of nationally recognized librarians will instruct the programs which fall into two tracks. The Teacher Track focuses on individual development for those who are interested in enhancing, refreshing, or extending their individual instruction skills.  The Program Track focuses on developing, integrating, and managing institutional and programmatic information literacy programs. The Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) has licensed the regional program that will be held at Illinois State University, in Normal, Illinois, July 13-18, 2007.  The deadline for Illinois residents to apply for the Regional Program is Wednesday, February 28, 2007.  The National Program will be held at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, August 5-10, 2007.  This program will be ACRL’s first international Immersion Program.  The Invitation to Apply to the National Immersion Program was issued in September 2006, with applications due December 1, 2006.  Selected participants will be notified in February, 2007. Complete details about Immersion '07 Programs are online at (Click “Immersion ‘07”). A sold out “Definitely Digital” Symposium on Friday at Midwinter launches ALCTS’ 50 Anniversary Celebration.  ALA Executive Board member Janet Swan Hill joins other former ALCTS Presidents in conversation on past, present, and future issues in libraries on Monday, January 22, at 10:30 am in the W Hotel, Great Room I.   Registration is now open for the ALCTS 50 Anniversary Conference.  A press release, entry, and an email announcement went out just prior to Midwinter. Stay in touch with future ALCTS events:    A continuing discussion of disaster preparedness will be the focus of a forum of the ALCTS Preservation Section sponsored by the Preservation Discussion Group, Sunday, January 21, 4 – 6 pm, Westin, Grand Ballroom III.  After the popular consciousness has forgotten, how can we sustain recovery programs to provide collection management, building safety, and public service in libraries?  Preservation and Reformatting Section is discussing this issue with other ALA Divisions and Round Tables to provide a holistic and long-term perspective on disaster response and recovery. In October, the ALCTS Non-English Task Force announced that the task force was seeking comments on their recently released report.  The report noted that making library resources available to a person who uses a language other than English would require that records, authority files, systems, searching, and the presentation of results accommodate the user's language and that although progress is being made, the future work is complex and requires considerable collaboration. The call for comments was announced on the ALA Council list in November.  The ALCTS Non-English Task Force was constituted in response to a membership meeting resolution at Annual 2005 in Chicago asking the ALA Council to address issues regarding the representation of non-English works in library catalogs.  Findings from this report will be available after Midwinter.ALCTS is sponsoring two pertinent forums at Midwinter.  A forum on the Non-English report will be held on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the Sheraton Hotel, Metropolitan B.  Second is the Forum on the Future of Cataloging which was highlighted earlier in this report. is the first fully bilingual ALCTS publications.  SALSA (for short) explores current and historical efforts to provide Spanish-language or bilingual subject access to users in North and Central America.  SALSA was edited by David Miller and Filiberto Felipe Martinez. Other ALCTS publications coming this Spring include: ·         ·         The is a series of informative short publications to help develop library collections in specific areas. ALCTS Cataloging (CE) returns in the Spring with many of its most popular offerings including .  Look for a new workshop:   Target Corporation has come on board as the official 2007 national sponsor of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), known as Día. This annual celebration, held April 30, spreads “bookjoy” by linking children of all languages and cultures with books.ALSC and Target will provide mini-grants of $5,000 plus a suite of Día-themed promotional materials to eight model public libraries.  Selected libraries will be known as Día 2007 Super Sites.  Grant funds will support efforts to purchase culturally relevant books for permanent collections or giveaways, or to fund Día programs.  Super Sites also will receive a display banner, bookplates, bookmarks, and bilingual brochures featuring recommended children’s books and tips for parents on reading to/with their children.Additional libraries may receive complimentary bookmarks and brochures by registering their events on the Día Web site at .  Día 2007 Super Sites include El Paso (TX) Public Library, Hennepin County Library (MN), Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County (NC), Queens (NY) Public Library, Riverside County Library (CA), Broward County Library (FL), Providence (RI) Public Library, and Phoenix (AZ) Public Library.The ASCLA Membership Committee has recently created a snappy new member kit.  Colleagues at Thomson Gale generously underwrote printing for the kit.  The kit includes a brochure on how to get involved, a copy of the most recent newsletter and an ASCLA bookmark.  Receive a personal copy by joining today!  The Forum Planning Committee has received 61 proposals for the 10 LITA National Forum. Proposals on all aspects of library and information technology were invited.  The Committee is reviewing the proposals and will finalize its decisions by the end of February.  The Forum is scheduled for October 4-7, 2007 in downtown Denver at the Marriott City Center Hotel.  The theme is (ITAL) is now available on the LITA Web site in both HTML and PDF formats.  ITAL is LITA’s double-blind refereed journal, available to all members and subscribers in print and online.  Diane Hillman was recently named LITA Standards Coordinator.  Diane has posted A New Corner of the LITA Blog: Standards Watch to the LITA Blog ().  Diane plans to use the LITA Blog and LITA Wiki to keep us informed about standards issues and activities.PLA and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) are proud to introduce the Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® wiki.  The wiki allows new and current users of the Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® program to share innovative ideas and best practices.  PLA and ALSC jointly developed the Every Child program to provide public librarians with vital tools to help prepare parents for their critical role as their child's first teacher.  Since the program materials and training were introduced in 2004, hundreds of libraries have held programs for parents and caregivers.  Please visit the wiki at .  To learn more about the program, see .The 2007 PLA Spring Symposium, to be held in San Jose, CA, March 1-3, 2007, will feature six one-and-a-half-day workshops focused on issues important to public librarians and public library staff such as staffing, outcome measurement, advocacy and literacy.  In addition, best-selling author Po Bronson will present the keynote address at the symposium luncheon on Friday, March 2.  Bronson's “What Should I Do With My Life?” was a #1 bestsellerand remained in the Top 10 for nine months.  He has published five books and written for television, magazines, and newspapers, including and and for National Public Radio's Currently he is writing regularly for magazine.  The registration deadline is January 26.  As part of its continuing education offerings to public librarians, PLA held its second successful Results Boot Camp program in Nashville, TN in November 2006.  The weeklong workshop provided librarians with management training not covered in library school.  Results Boot Camp 2 focused on current library issues and used case studies to help students apply new skills to real-life situations.  In addition, the program reviewed all of the publications in the Results series and showed firsthand how they interconnect. Fifty-five participants from 23 states attended the workshop.  Results Boot Camp 3 is tentatively scheduled for October 2007. PLA has applied to the ALA-APA to become a continuing education provider for each of the nine CPLA core competency standards.  The courses have been developed by nationally known trainers and support the learning outcomes defined in the CPLA standards and the principles and practices of the PLA Result’s series.RUSA has begun a new blog called “Talking Reference &”.  On recent postings, blogger Dave Tyckoson shares memories and a photo from New Orleans and suggests that maybe the time to start circulating reference books is now.  Check it out at . The following calendar represents YALSA’s plans for the year-long fiftieth year anniversary and an invitation to join in the celebration::  Kick off YALSA’s anniversary with refreshments at the Joint Youth Division Member Reception, Monday, January 22 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting.:  features YA literature with an article from Michael Cart.·         Registration:  3,385 individuals registered to participate in Teen Read Week (TRW) and 490 registered to participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.  ·         Partners & Sponsors:  YALSA had 7 Promotional Partners for TRW and no Corporate Sponsors.  The total donations were $56,000: $11,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind.  ·         Products:  Sales of TRW products were up over 50% from last year.  For the 12 months of the 2005 TRW campaign, about 8,261 items total were sold.  For the 2006 campaign, 12,378 items were sold.·         Events:  YALSA sponsored two national kick-offs—one outside of Los Angeles in Glendale, CA and one outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, IL.  ·         Press:  According to ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO), press reached 22 million readers.  ProMedia sent out press releases and media alerts to more than 1,800 education, teen, celebrity and feature reporters.  The radio public service announcement (PSA) with Meg Cabot was aired on 14 radio stations in NY, LA and Chicago.Registration opened online October 30, 2006 and over 1,000 people have registered so far.  Teen Tech Week (TTW) products are now on sale through ALA Graphics’ catalog and online store.  To learn more about this upcoming event, which is meant to encourage teens to use their libraries’ nonprint resources and to recognize that librarians are trusted information professionals, please see .YALSA’s MySpace Space can be found at .  The purpose of it is to provide a way for YALSA to reach out to the general public including parents, educators, teens, librarians and library supporters.  Currently MySpace Space has over 350 “friends” who are mainly authors, librarians and Teen Advisory Groups and is managed by YALSA’s Web Advisory Committee. ALA members and staff who met in a Web planning retreat in mid-December have developed a staged plan for creating the next generation ALA Web sites.  Retreat participants reviewed the results of a year long usability assessment, based on feedback from about 1,200 people who responded to an online survey and participated in the usability study.The first round of changes will begin in the first quarter of 2007 and will tackle areas identified as high-priority in the usability assessment and by participants at the retreat:·         Pull together blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts and discussion lists  into a new “Read Write Connect” page; ·         Add committee volunteer information to create a “get involved” page     ·         Pull together and  increase the visibility of information on library education and careers·         Pull together  and increase the visibility of “frequently asked questions” pages developed by the ALA Library in response to member requests and By June, a number of high-priority fixes will be made to improve navigation and information architecture, including graphical recasting of home page content to provide more prominence to weekly spotlight items.  Google search results also will be modified to assure users that they are searching ALA content and have not left the ALA site. Work will begin on creating flyouts and dropdowns on high-level navigation items. Members should be able to preview the preliminary redesign at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., and provide feedback on various redesign options.Using feedback from the conference, the final stage of activity will be completing the redesign and creating permanent mechanisms for testing and improving usability on an ongoing basis. Long-term goals include increasing interactivity and customization options, revamping the “Join ALA” and “Professional Tools” sections and creating a section for new members. The Web usability assessment and additional information from the retreat, including a list of the members who participated, can be found online at .

In February 2006, President Bush introduced a   FY2007 budget request to Congress that included a $2 million cut, initially proposed by EPA, that would reduce the 35-year-old EPA Library Network's budget by 80 percent and force closure of some regional libraries.  In Fall 2006, EPA closed three EPA regional libraries in Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City, KS, as well as closing public access to the main EPA Library in Washington, DC before a FY2007 budget was passed. EPA administrators have maintained that these closings would not affect access to the important environmental and scientific collections and data sets since online functions will meet the needs of the EPA staff, researchers, and the public.  However, many scientists, EPA staff, and librarians dispute this contention.  ALA and other critics have argued that the EPA library online services are not fully in place and are not adequate to meet the current, as well as future, demands of users.ALA has a long-standing commitment to promoting public access to government information in order to enable individuals and communities to obtain good information about issues that concern them, such as the health and safety of their families and communities.  EPA has, since its creation in the early 1970s, been a key source of such information.  ALA has worked vigorously to fight these closings since word first came out about the EPA budget plans in February 2006. ALA Washington Office staff has met with EPA staff many times and has maintained steady conversations with key congressional staffers, as well as several key allies in Washington.   ALA has sent letters to Congress and to the EPA, including the ALA Council resolution opposing these closings.  These efforts led to a September 18 formal request for a General Accountability Office investigation from ranking Democratic members of the House Science Committee.  On December 9, the published an opinion piece by ALA President Leslie Burger opposing the closings.  On December 14, President Burger spoke at a meeting of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) on the importance of EPA libraries and librarians.In response to the ensuing media attention, EPA requested a meeting with ALA's Washington staff on December 13.  At that meeting, EPA officials indicated that they were now ready to discuss their plans for EPA's libraries, and that they would hold off closing any more libraries pending public outreach.  EPA officials have agreed to come to ALA's Midwinter meeting to initiate this public outreach. They are scheduled to meet with ALA's Committee on Legislation, Legislative Assembly, Special Library Association members, Government Documents Roundtable, Government Information Subcommittee, and Federal Librarians Subcommittee. The Washington Office Update Session, Saturday, January 20, 8:00 - 10:00 am, Convention Center, Rooms 611-614 will feature the EPA representatives. With the announcement by the Library of Congress in the last spring of 2006 regarding the discontinuing of series authority work, ALCTS, on behalf of ALA and in concert with the ALA Executive Board, has been vigorously pursuing a continuing discussion with LC regarding the future of LC subject headings, based on public comments that suggested that the subject headings might be discontinued.  ALA and ALCTS both issued comment in May, 2006 on the LC decision, questioning the decision and calling for better communication between LC and its constituents, the library community at-large.  On Friday of the 2006 Annual Conference in New Orleans, ALCTS held the first of a series of forums on the future of bibliographic control.  Over 200 individuals attended this forum and heard from a number of speakers including Beacher Wiggins, Director of the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Control Directorate at LC.  In the fall, ALA, at the invitation of Deanna Marcum of LC, appointed Janet Swan Hill from the Executive Board, Diane Dates Casey from ALCTS, and Sally Smith from PLA to the LC Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control.  The minutes for the group’s November 2 & 3 meeting and further actions are available on the website:  In October, the ALCTS Board charged the Cataloging and Classification Section with the task of producing a "Next Steps" document which would outline the issues that face libraries who must address the future of bibliographic control (cataloging, online catalogs, electronic resources, and most importantly, access to those materials).  The "Next Steps" report is mentioned in the following announcement of the Midwinter forum and is available on the ALCTS web site.   As the division delegated by ALA to address issues relating to bibliographic control in its broadest sense, ALCTS will present informative forums and programs on these issues and will work with the ALA representative to the LC Working Group and the ALA Executive Board to facilitate the discussion and inform the library community.  ALCTS has also been working with the Washington Office to help define the issues and has provided background information for the written testimony presented before the joint library committee in August, 2006.A Forum on the Future of Cataloging will be held by ALCTS at the Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. This Forum continues ALCTS’ role as facilitator in the discussion prompted last spring by actions taken by the Library of Congress.  The forum focuses on the document "ALCTS and the Future of Bibliographic Control: Challenges, Actions and Values" (available at ).  This document was produced in October 2006, by an ad hoc group headed by the Executive Committee of the Cataloging and Classification Section (CCS) of ALCTS, in response to a request by the ALCTS Executive Committee. The document includes a focus on seven "frames," statements of basic values or viewpoints, which may serve as starting points for considering changes in the policy and practice of cataloging and the nature of the catalog.  Speakers will address these value statements, which are intended to be thought-provoking, and may prove controversial. Sponsored by the Cataloging and Classification Section, the Forum will be Sunday, January 21, 8 – 10 am, Grand Hyatt, Princess Ballroom.ALA members and staff who met in a Web planning retreat in mid-December have developed a staged plan for creating the next generation ALA Web sites.  Retreat participants reviewed the results of a year long usability assessment, based on feedback from about 1,200 people who responded to an online survey and participated in the usability study.The first round of ch