Category: ala

I read about this at about the same time I saw it in my RSS reader. Incoming ALA President Michael Gorman wrote an LJ opinion piece coming down hard on blogs and bloggers, quite possibly in response to some hassling he’s been getting from some of of the conservative bloggers. I read about it on the Council list, and then Anna’s blog, and then Karen’s. There were some heated responses on the list, and Gorman’s response that he was being satirical doesn’t really ring true to me. I supported Gorman’s ALA presidency last year and have always considered him an political ally and something of a comrade. Seeing him lash out — whether in jest or for real — in a way that makes him sound like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about disturbs and concerns me. Though the concern is more in a “will ALA ever get a clue?” way than in any “what will the fallout from this be?” way. Ugh, just ugh.

Anyone who is curious what I do at ALA Council meetings is welcome to take themselves to this URL

http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governanceb/council/councilagendas/councilagendas.htm

and follow along with the [Word] documents and three separate Council pages and see if you can follow along at home. No, I haven’t been keeping this from you since early January, this page was just posted.

You have probably already seen this article about a library in Illinois who had a challenge to the [admittedly weird] movie Happiness. The library ultimately decided to keep the movie in its collection but to ditch the ALA guildelines from their policy manual for being “too liberal.” I assume they were talking about the Library Bill of Rights though the ALA does have many guidelines about intellectual freedom for libraries. [libactivist]

And, speaking of laughing out loud, I present: ALA Council: The Drinking Game

– ALA referred a Workplace Speech resolution encouraging free exercise of workplace speech to legal counsel before it was voted on by council.
– ALA passed a resolution endorsing the Health Care Access Resolution.
– ALA debated a cell phone ban during ALA meetings but wound up voting it down after some amusing discussion.
– Council debated a resolution supporting lobbying to include standards for school libraries in a revised version of the expanded No Child Left Behind legislation. “If you can’t beat them, we join them” according to one Councilor. Passed unanimously.