Sign onto Dear Colleague supporting library funding by Congressman Grijalva!

Please contact your Representative and ask him or her to sign the “Dear Colleague” letter being circulated by Congressman Raul Grijalva, via the ALA Take Action Site, in support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program.

The deadline to sign the letter is Wednesday April 1! LSTA and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries are two of the most important federal programs for libraries today. The letter will not be taken seriously, and it will appear as if Members of Congress do not care about libraries if we don’t have hundreds of signers on the letter. Programs that don’t have a vocal support network are in danger of being cut.

The letter is addressed to the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriation Subcommittees and requests that the House include $300 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and $100 million for the Improving Literary Through School Libraries program for FY 2010.

When you contact your Representative, you must ask him or her to call Joseph Mais in order to co-sign the letter at 202.225.2435.

If you’re going to be at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, come to the ALA Membership Meetings. At this conference, these two open forums will highlight the role of libraries during a recession. Take advantage of these opportunities to address the ALA Leaders and offer your vote on resolutions.

Membership Meetings are an important way that you can affect what ALA does! 2009 ALA Membership Meetings will be held on Saturday, July 11, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. & Monday, July 13, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., locations to be announced or check Annual Conference Program Book.

Also be sure to join ALA President Jim Rettig, 2004-2005 ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano, and others for a panel discussion–Coalition Building for All Libraries in a Tough Economy–focusing on the value of building statewide coalitions during times of economic downturn and the concept of the “Library Ecosystem,” or how libraries of all types are interdependent. The program is sponsored by the Advocacy Training Subcommittee of the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy, the ALA Chapter Relations Committee, the ALA Committee on Legislation, and Jim Rettig’s Ad Hoc Task Force on Advocacy. Saturday, July 11, 2009, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., location to be announced or check Annual Conference Program Book.

If you can’t make it to Annual, or, in the meantime . . .

ALA’s efforts

The following are links to several of ALA’s library advocacy efforts: Advocacy for Libraries, Advocacy University, Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit, Issues and Advocacy, and Tools for Advocacy. See also ALA’s Office for Library Advocacy.

The ALA Washington Office has designed its page on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to be a one-stop source with resources on how to ensure libraries benefit from the package and the most up-to-date information on the stimulus. This resource page includes a State-by-State Impact for the ARRA. See also the Chapters Resource wiki for its information on this issue related to state chapters and economic recovery.

Connecting with local governments

Beginning this fall ALA has been taking the library value message directly to local government officials, and soon to school administrators, the decision makers on majority of funding received by public and school libraries. See also Showing Library Value to Local Government, from the Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit.

ALA provides online grassroots advocacy program to Chapters

Advocacy initiatives include helping raise awareness through the I Love Libraries Take Action page, powered by Capwiz advocacy software, where library advocates can take action on federal and state issues.

Portia Latalladi is the Youth Librarian and First Assistant at the Garfield Ridge Branch of the Chicago Public Library. Portia’s fascination with libraries began early in life and continued throughout her early adult years and was the basis for her decision to become a librarian. In 2001, Portia became a ALA Spectrum Scholar and in 2004 graduated from Dominican University in River Forest, IL, with a Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Her studies focused on youth services and library administration. As a recent professional librarian, Portia has increased her accomplishments to include speaking at professional library association conferences both locally and nationally.  Portia currently serves on the Spectrum Scholar Interest Group committee, to promote interest and understanding of the Spectrum Scholarship Program.

What made you choose your field of focus, and when did you decide?
When selecting my field of focus, I considered how I have always enjoyed working with children and young adults.  Planning programs, conducting outreach visits, promoting library services and providing reader’s advisory to young, inquiring minds is an absolute joy. I decided upon this career path while employed as a library page in a children’s department.

What skills have you had to learn on the job that weren’t covered in your classes?
I have had to acquire grant writing and fund raising skills. These skills were not covered in my library and information science classes.

What information from your MLS studies do you use regularly? What doesn’t come up at all?
As a public librarian, I find that I most often refer to information I learned in my reference, reader’s advisory and program planning courses.

What kinds of skills from outside of your library background have come in handy in your job as a librarian?
My undergraduate degree is in Biological Sciences.  I have found my knowledge of the sciences to be particularly helpful in assisting students during science project season.

What is your typical work-day like?
A typical day for me would be to conduct a preschool story time either in the library or in one of the local parks or schools, tackling any committee assignments for one of several committees, I serve on, collection management, attending training sessions, assisting patrons at the reference desk and planning upcoming programs for children and teens.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) will be hosting an ALSC Student Session on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 entitled, “Library 2.0: Technology in Children’s Services.”

Join three ALSC members for a panel discussion about what new technologies are being used in libraries, and how librarians are incorporating this technology into their children’s and ‘tween programming.  Hear about some great new products and how they’re affecting the library world, as well as how to budget for new purchases accordingly.

To attend this free, one-hour workshop, enter the ALA 25 seat room B in OPAL (Online Programming for all Libraries) a few minutes before the workshop begins and enter a username.  Your username is how other participants will identify you; there is no registration or password necessary.  If you have never used OPAL before, you will need to download a small piece of software called “tcConference,” which is free and available when you enter the OPAL room.  You do not need to be an ALSC member to participate.

Click here for more information on ALSC Student Session or helpful tips on using OPAL.

Questions?  Please contact Jenny Najduch, ALSC Marketing Specialist, Membership, at jnajduch@ala.org or (312) 280-4026.

By Kristin Murphy, Government Relations Specialist, American Library Association - Washington Office

There are less than two months until National Library Legislative Day (NLLD)! On May 11 and 12, come to Washington, D.C. and take part in a historical NLLD – with a new Administration and a new Congress, now is the time to make history in our nation’s capital. Please visit ALA’s NLLD Web site to register or for more information.

With President Obama’s background as a community organizer, there is an emphasis on advocacy and constituent communication in the new Congress – this means that libraries, now more than ever, need our advocacy to ensure that they can continue to provide the critical services our communities have come to expect.

NLLD is an excellent opportunity to network with other library advocates on key issues as well as receive training on how to effectively communicate with your Members of Congress. In addition to the latest information on the most timely library issues, you’ll have an opportunity to put your new advocacy skills to good use when you meet with your elected officials and socialize with them at the Congressional reception. When you return home, you’ll be able to use your new skills to ensure libraries receive the support they need.

In order to defray travel costs for a non-librarian participant to attend NLLD, ALA, in conjunction with the White House Conference on Library and Information Services (WHCLIST), is offering the WHCLIST award, which provides a stipend of $300 and a two free nights at the conference hotel.

Can’t make it to NLLD? Take part in Virtual Legislative Day! Follow up-to-the-minute news through Facebook’s National Library Legislative Day page and Twitter by signing up for the Office of Government Relations’ updates. Our username is ala_ogr. By following what is happening on Capitol Hill, you will be able to act quickly to show you support these meetings as they happen. Sign up for the updates so you can be on the cutting edge of advocacy!

Ed Note: You can also participate in your state’s local Legislative Days to help work on issues in your area. Check out the list of State Chapter Legislative Days to see what’s happening in your state!

Become a fan of ALA Chapters on Facebook. Chapters promote general library service and librarianship within their geographic area, provide geographic representation to the ALA Council, and cooperate in the promotion of general and joint enterprises with ALA and other library groups.

Also become a fan of ALA Student Chapters! ALA Student Chapters have their own purposes and enhance students’ ALA membership by providing leadership and programming opportunities on the campuses.

For lots more information, resources, links, and contact information, see also ALA Chapters and ALA Student Chapters on the ALA website.

Spread the word!

National Library Workers Day is on April 14, 2009. NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.

There are a number of ways to celebrate the day:

National Library Workers Day works because you do! Not only does [ALA Allied Professional Association] receive more than 500 Stars submissions each year, we also receive dozens of emails describing ways that libraries around the nation celebrated employee contributions on the Tuesday of National Library Week.

Stars are stellar library staff! Take time to nominate a star today! You can nominate a great library school student! A great student worker! A great supervisor! Yourself!

This year’s stars will be featured until June 30, 2009.

Spread the word!

And, National Library Workers Day on Facebook.

Participate in ALA’s National Legislative Day and your own state library association’s legislative day!

On May 11 & 12, 2009, librarians of all kinds are invited to Washington, D.C., for an event like no other: ALA National Legislative Day (NLLD), a two-day event in which library advocates participate in advocacy and issue training sessions, interact with Capitol Hill insiders, and visit congressional member offices to ask Congress to pass legislation that supports libraries.

State library associations, too, organize their own legislative days to focus on library issues affecting their states.

“Movers & Shakers, which [Library Journal] launched in 2002 to identify librarians, vendors, and others who are ’shaping the future of libraries,’ is now over 400 innovators strong, with the addition of the 51 members of the Class of 2009. Together, these individuals comprise the coming generation of library leadership. They’ve embraced library technology, particularly library 2.0, ‘to provide exceptional service and kick-ass collections that respond to the real interest of patrons,’ as one of this year’s Movers so aptly phrased it.”

Here is Library Journal’s 2009 listing of People Shaping the Future of Libraries by state.

LJ is accepting nominations for the 2010 Movers and Shakers now.

District Dispatch is the official blog of the American Library Association’s Washington Office. If you want to know what’s going on in Washington from the library perspective, this is the one page you need to bookmark. Better yet, subscribe to the blog or receive it through an RSS feed.

The ALA Washington Office was established in 1945 to represent libraries on Capitol Hill, and now consists of the Office of Government Relations (OGR) and the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP).

As part of the ALA Washington Office, OGR is charged with following and influencing legislation, policy and regulatory issues of importance to the library field and its publics. In coordination with its sister office, OITP (see immediately below), OGR works to ensure that libraries are consistently involved in the legislative and policy decision-making processes.

Meanwhile, OITP advances ALA’s public policy activities. It does this by helping secure information technology policies that support and encourage efforts of libraries to ensure access to electronic information resources, this as a means of upholding the public’s right to a free and open information society. OITP works to ensure a library voice in information policy debates and to promote full and equitable intellectual participation by the public.