President's Letter
Barry Bishop

A great conference is a tribute to and a result of great librarians and a great profession. Dr. Vartan Gregorian, at the White House Conference on School Libraries, eloquently stated the role of libraries in our culture:

Libraries contain our nation's heritage, the heritage of humanity, the record of its triumphs and failures, the record of mankind's intellectual, scientific and artistic achievements. They provide tools for learning, understanding and progress. They are a source of information, a source of knowledge, a source of wisdom; hence they are a source of action. They are a laboratory of human endeavor. They are a window to the future. They are a source of hope. They are a course of self-renewal. They represent the link between the solitary individual and mankind, which is our community. The library also marks an act of faith in the continuity of humanity. The library contains a society's collective but discriminating memory. It is an act of honor to the past, a witness to the future, hence a visible judgment on both.

For librarians to be stewards of such laudable institutions as libraries, we need to constantly learn and improve. Come to the Texas Library Association Annual Conference in Houston Texas, April 1-4, 2003, to augment your professional skills.

Conference planners have created a great theme to guide conference activities, focusing on the value of libraries as both constant and evolving institutions. The planners selected a theme that underscores the immediate goals before the library community and that could provide a common rallying call: Libraries ­ Freedom in Action!

Here are some specific reasons for attending. Let's start with the first general session, which will feature Dr. Bill Cosby. PBS's Robert (Bob) Cringely is the speaker for the second general session, and author Adriana Trigiani will be featured at the closing luncheon. The TLA conference will also offer you the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on other important library issues. And, in addition to having uncontested exhibit time, TLA will feature a new lead generation system that will allow vendors to automatically register attendees for door prizes.

The TLA Steering Committee, the Program Committee, and the Local Arrangements Committee (to whom I am extremely grateful) focused on providing strong content to meet the needs of all types of libraries, to address the professional goals of librarians at all career levels, and to explore the full breadth of library materials and services. We believe we have produced a conference that will equip you with new knowledge and ideas that will be instrumental in your work place. I look forward to seeing you in Houston and celebrating Libraries ­Freedom in Action.