Join libraries across the nation to celebrate Choose Privacy Week, May 2-May 8, 2010.

This new campaign invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. The campaign gives libraries the resources they need to educate and engage their users, helping citizens think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy. Print and online tools provide libraries with out-of-the-box programming and outreach.

Posters, buttons, bookmarks, and a resource guide are now available for purchase in the ALA Online Store. (You can receive a 20% discount to these materials if you order before November 15, 2009 by using code PRIV20.) Be sure to visit the Choose Privacy Week website to learn more about the campaign, programming, and the privacy issues that libraries and their users face every day.

If you have questions or want to get more involved, contact Angela Maycock at (312) 280-4221.

Follow Choose Privacy Week developments on Twitter.

See also ALA’s Privacy Toolkit, Privacy and Confidentiality, and Privacy and Confidentiality Policies.

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is offering free one-year memberships to students graduating from ALA-accredited MLS and MLIS programs and from school library media programs recognized by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), an educational unit accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

Students whose graduation date was Aug. 1, 2009, or later can, upon their graduation, download a membership form and mail, fax, or e-mail it to the Freedom to Read Foundation.

“We are very excited to offer this gift to new librarians,” FTRF President Kent Oliver said.

“By becoming members of the Freedom to Read Foundation, these professionals will be helping the librarians and library supporters who are on the front lines defending intellectual freedom as well as vital First Amendment litigation that helps uphold many of the core values of librarianship. Offering these free memberships is our way of encouraging the long-term support of the organization and the intellectual freedom principles it upholds,” Oliver noted.

As benefits of their membership, the graduates will receive the Freedom to Read Foundation’s quarterly newsletter, and be eligible to vote in the annual trustee election and attend FTRF member receptions. The membership will be good through December 2010.

The Freedom to Read Foundation, an affiliated organization of the American Library Association, was founded in 1969 to promote and defend the right of individuals to freely express ideas and to access information in libraries and elsewhere. FTRF fulfills its mission through the disbursement of grants to individuals and groups, primarily for the purpose of aiding them in litigation, and through direct participation in litigation dealing with freedom of speech and of the press.

For additional information, contact Jonathan Kelley at (800) 545-2433 x4226.

Join the Privacy Revolution!

We live in an age when knowledge is power. New technologies give us unprecedented access to information. They also facilitate surveillance, with the power to collect and mine personal information.

People enjoy the convenience of having information at their fingertips. But most people don’t realize the trade off. For example, citizens turn a blind eye to the fact that online searches create traceable records that make them vulnerable to questioning by the FBI, or that government agencies can track their phone calls, airline travel, online purchases, and more.

In this environment, convenience and fear trump the fundamental right of privacy. And privacy has become so amorphous an idea that many citizens have resigned themselves to an inevitable erosion of rights.

In an information age, it’s vital to protect the impulse to be curious, read, and learn. Yet people seem resigned to the loss of their privacy rights because they see no recourse.

We aim to spark a national conversation on privacy. Join us!

Add your voice to those who are calling for change.

Take charge of your privacy now.

At each American Library Association Annual Conference a reception and fundraiser is held to benefit the Leroy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund. This year’s event, sponsored by ALA President-Elect Camila Alire and the Intellectual Freedom Round Table, provides an opportunity to join other librarians who support intellectual freedom and fair employment.

The reception will be held Monday, July 13, 2009, 5:00-7:00 p.m., Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan, North Imperial Suite, 27th Floor. There is a suggested contribution of $25 (payable at the door or online). All proceeds go directly to the Merritt Fund to help librarians in need.

This event does not require registration for the conference. You can RSVP on Facebook, or contact Jonathan Kelley at (800) 545-2433 x4226.

Unable to attend? You may still donate to the Merritt online, by calling Jonathan at (800) 545-2433 x4226, or by sending a check to the Leroy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611.

Click here to watch a video about the work of the Merritt Fund!

The LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund was established in 1970 as a special trust in memory of Dr. LeRoy C. Merritt. It is devoted to the support, maintenance, medical care, and welfare of librarians who, in the Trustees’ opinion, are:

• Denied employment rights or discriminated against on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, age, disability, or place of national origin; or
• Denied employment rights because of defense of intellectual freedom; that is, threatened with loss of employment or discharged because of their stand for the cause of intellectual freedom, including promotion of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the freedom of librarians to select items for their collections from all the world’s written and recorded information, and defense of privacy rights.

See Draft Resolution on Civil Marriage Equality Regardless of Sexual Orientation, this draft resolution’s latest version.

Please provide input on this draft resolution, which will be presented to ALA Council during the 2009 ALA Annual Conference. Send comments to Locke J Morrisey, ACRL Councilor 2007-2010/ President NCNMLG, and Larry Romans, ALA Executive Board Member.

RESOLUTION ON MARRIAGE FOR GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDERED PEOPLE

WHEREAS, ALA Policy Manual 1.5, Goal Area III, goals of the Association include to

• Increase ALA’s influence in promoting equity of access and fair use.
• Support grassroots efforts to influence local, state and federal
  policies and standards that affect library and information services; and

WHEREAS, ALA Policy Manual 7.1.1. Non-Discrimination in Conference Contracts states There shall be no discrimination, including that based on race, origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, creed or disability, in the use of any facilities used by the American Library Association. This policy shall become a part of ALA contracts for the use of space. The ALA will enter into conference-site contracts only with organizations and legal bodies in cities, counties, or states that do not by law discriminate against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; and

WHEREAS, same-sex couples can legally wed in several countries and at least five U.S. states and the District of Columbia; and

WHEREAS, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered (GLBT) couples living in states where GLBT marriages are not currently recognized do not receive the same rights, including but not limited to: library privileges, hotel services, housing benefits, tuition remission benefits, health benefits, family leave coverage, adoption or birth leave, as wedded heterosexual couples; and

WHEREAS, legally wed GLBT couples, when visiting/working in states where GLBT marriages are not currently recognized, also may not be afforded the same rights as wedded heterosexual couples; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that the American Library Association advocates legislation that would legalize marriage between Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered (GLBT) people in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

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For additional information, see ALA policies and more on Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation issues. Also visit the home page of the ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table (GLBTRT).

The Intellectual Freedom Committee is revising the Intellectual Freedom Manual. Part of that process involves suggesting revisions to existing IF policies. Another part involves drafting new policies, when appropriate, including Interpretations to the Library Bill of Rights. Yet another, just as important, involves gathering comments.

 

That is, before IF policies, revised or new, are taken to the ALA Council for adoption, the IFC gathers comments on them to ensure a thorough review.

 

The IFC plans to present these Interpretations to the Council for adoption at its third session during the 2009 Midwinter Meeting. 

 

Proposed revisions:

 

• “Challenged Materials” PDF
• “Restricted Access to Library Materials” PDF

Deletions are struck through; insertions are underlined.

 

New Interpretations:

 

• “Minors and Internet Interactivity” (PDF)
• “Services to People with Physical and Mental Disabilities” (PDF)

 

Please send comments on these Interpretations prior to conference to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (phone: 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4224; fax: 312-280-4227; e-mail: dstone@ala.org, please carbon copy nperez@ala.org). 

 

Written comments also may be left at OIF’s table in the ALA Office Area in the Colorado Convention Center until noon on Tuesday, January 27.

 

The IFC’s final meeting at conference is on Tuesday, January 27, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., Colorado Convention Center, Room 603.