Volume 18, Number 4 - JUNE 1999
Published by the Texas Library Association

Ahh–Summertime, and the living is easy. Swimming pools, cookouts, and that annual trip to Austin for–what else? TLA Annual Assembly. This year’s meeting–to be held July 10-13 at the Hyatt Regency Town Lake Hotel in Austin–is just around the corner with an agenda that will make the trip particularly worthwhile. Among the many activities in store for TLA members at Assembly are a preconference on media training, a public forum for candidates for the job of director and librarian, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, a luncheon meeting with State Representative Helen Giddings, and a gumbo cook-off which is really a chance to show off the new TLA office expansion. All this is in addition to the usual round of meetings that will allow TLA members to come together and plan their year’s activities.

Candidate forum

The departure of Robert Martin as director of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for a faculty position at Texas Woman’s University, has activated the search process for a new state librarian. TLA members will have an opportunity to meet candidates for the position at a forum to be held Saturday, July 10, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Hyatt. Attendees will be able to hear presentations from, and ask questions of, each candidate.

Media training preconference

Following the candidate forum, TLA will present a preconference entitled "Giving the Media Your Message" that will provide attendees the tools to handle inquiries about controversial topics from both patrons and the media. This hands-on training session will feature Robyn Stein and Rochelle Lefkowitz of ProMedia, a nationally recognized media consulting firm that is familiar with library issues. The preconference will be held at the Hyatt on Saturday, July 10, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. There will be no registration fee to attend the meeting, but space is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, please complete the form enclosed with this TLACast.

Laissez les bon temps rouler

Didn’t get to New Orleans for ALA? Or maybe you went and didn’t get enough cajun cuisine. Never fear–TLA has you covered. A gumbo cook-off has been scheduled on Sunday, July 11, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. For only $10, you can get a ticket that will allow you to sample all offerings. Proceeds will benefit the TLA Disaster Relief Fund. This event will provide attendees (and other TLA members in the area) a fun opportunity to tour the newly expanded TLA offices at 3355 Bee Cave Road. A shuttle bus between the office and the hotel will be provided.

All-Assembly

Carrying on the tradition of inviting a noted state leader to speak at the Assembly Luncheon, this year’s guest of honor will be State Representative Helen Giddings of Dallas. Rep. Giddings is a strong library supporter who sponsored legislation this session to redirect proceeds from the sale of the "Read to Succeed" license plates to Texas public school libraries. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from this legislator and to share with her your views on state support for Texas libraries. The luncheon is a ticketed event and will be held Monday, July 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Thinking strategically

TLA members are urged to attend a special meeting to reassess the TLA Strategic Plan and to activate the next three-year plan. With the TLA Strategic Plan now nearing the completion of its first three-year cycle, it is time to decide how well the plan has met TLA’s needs and to plan the next step. This meeting will be held at the Hyatt, Monday, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., just prior to the meeting of Council I.

Get your bearings

A new feature at this year’s Assembly will be an orientation session for unit and committee chairs on Saturday, July 10, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. Come learn about topics such as how to plan programs, how TLA finances and reimbursements operate, publications deadlines, and how to get your groups motivated and working.

It’s later than you think

Back by popular demand is a presentation on what every unit chair and officer should know to plan a successful program for TLA Annual Conference. This presentation, which is highly recommended for at least one member of any unit planning a conference program, will be held Sunday, July 11, 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.

All TLA members are invited to attend Annual Assembly. TLA unit officers and committee members will automatically receive meeting schedules and other information. All others should contact the TLA office at 800-580-2852 or 512-328-1518, or find Assembly information on the TLA web site.

Raffle of Rosemary Wells Artwork Raises $8,000 for Disaster Relief Fund

The raffle of an original illustration by Rosemary Wells at the TLA Annual Conference raised over $8,000 toward the endowment of a fund to provide relief for Texas libraries damaged by disasters such as floods, tornadoes, and fires. For a five-dollar chance, TLA attendees vied to acquire Wells’s whimsical drawing of two bears dancing with gleeful abandon. The winning ticket was held by Nancy F. Shanafelt, catalog librarian at McMurry University in Abilene. Ms. Shanafelt announced almost immediately her intention to donate the work to the National Center for Children’s Book Illustration which happens to be located in Abilene.

More Wells Art to Be Auctioned

Rosemary Wells has also donated to TLA over 20 other illustrations to be auctioned to benefit the Disaster Relief Fund. These include two complete sets of illustrations used in two books as well as an individual work. One of the book series is now open for bids on the TLA web site. The single illustration is available for bids on the Amazon.com website.

TLA Council Passes Filtering, Database Resolutions

The TLA council passed several resolutions on April 23, the closing day of the 1999 Annual Conference, including a resolution on the use of Internet filtering software in libraries, and another regarding federal legislation on database protections.

The filtering resolution, forwarded to Council from the Intellectual Freedom Committee, states that "the Texas Library Association finds the use of filtering software limits the opportunity for citizens to fully participate in speech via the Internet in which it is their constitutional right to participate without government intrusion," and concludes by stating that "the use of filtering software cannot be consistent with a library mission of open access to information."

The Council also passed a resolution in support of the development of federal database protection legislation that will continue to ensure that libraries enjoy fair use access to government information in electronic formats.

Another resolution adopted "Libraries: An American Value," a policy statement of the American Library Association, as an official policy of the Texas Library Association. This document states a "contract" between libraries and the public, affirming such principles as the protection of confidentiality, the responsibility of parents to guide children’s use of the library, and the "rights of individuals to express their opinions about library resources and services."

The TLA Council also approved resolutions to do the following:

TLA Executive Board Actions

The TLA Executive Board has met three times in the past six months.
At those meetings, the board has taken a number of significant actions. Following is a recap of recent TLA Executive Board actions.

In December, the Board. . .

At its February meeting, the Board. . .

In April, the Board. . .

Libraries and the 76th Legislature: The Final Tally

The 76th Session of the Texas Legislature has concluded, leaving TLA members to assess how libraries fared. By all accounts, the 1999 session was a strong one for libraries. The Legislature found new money for school library materials purchases and doubled the funding for TexShare. All legislation which TLA officially supported was passed, as were a number of other bills that will benefit libraries. Among TLA initiatives, only public library funding went unaddressed in this session, with no new money for either the Texas Library System or the new Texas Public Library Fund.

Here’s a summary of library-related legislation in the 76th session:

Texas State Library and Archives Commission Budget. The TSLAC budget saw much more substantial increases than last session, including:

The agency also received the authority to increase the state librarian’s salary to $85,000. Despite support from the Governor and First Lady, however, TLA was unsuccessful in its efforts to fund Read for Your Life, an increase of $2 million per year for the Texas Library System.

School Library Materials
The TEA budget includes $1.85 million for first-ever funding for school library materials. This amount will flow to schools that meet as yet undetermined criteria from the Texas Public School Standards and will be given in the form of a 25 percent match for local library materials expenditures.

TexShare expansion
HB 1433 (Hunter/Lucio), signed into law by Governor Bush on May 14, will allow the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to consolidate public and academic library resource-sharing activities under a common project called TexShare. This will allow the program to more effectively serve the needs of the patrons of both types of libraries.

Texas Public Library Fund
The good news is that the SB 691 (Lucio/Pitts), providing the statutory authority to establish an endowment fund to create direct aid to Texas public libraries, is now law. The bad news is that the efforts of TLA members to find even a small appropriation for the fund fell on deaf ears in the budget-writing committees.

Public Library Districts
The Legislature passed HB 1618 (Keel/Wentworth) to expand application of the library district law to allow voters in any county in the state to approve districts and to include territory served by municipal libraries. These changes will increase from 14 to over 70 the number of places in the state that can hold district elections.

Academic library purchasing issues
Two bills by Sen. Chris Harris (House sponsor Jim McReynolds) have passed that allow college and university libraries greater flexibility in how they purchase materials. SB 481 allows prepayments for library materials using HEAF funds, while SB 1363 allows community colleges to purchase materials according to the same rules–and exemptions–that apply to all other academic libraries.

School librarian pay raise
SB 4 by Senator Teel Bivins includes a raise of $3,000 per year for school librarians as well as classroom teachers.

License plate bills
TLA supported two license plate bills that will aid public and school library projects. HB 1227 (Jones/Berson) will create a new license plate the proceeds from which are designated for support of public library-based literacy and reading programs. HB 3551 (Giddings/Ratliff) will redirect proceeds from the "Read to Succeed" license plate to school library programs. Both bills passed.

TLA Thanks Our Friends in the Legislature

Another session is over and libraries did well, thanks to a number of legislators who went to bat for Texas academic, public, and school libraries. TLA encourages you to take the time to thank these members for their actions on behalf of Texas libraries, library patrons, and librarians.

Rep. Henry Cuellar

Rep. Bob Hunter

Rep. Jim Pitts

Rep. Sherri Greenberg

Rep. Talmadge Heflin

            Made key recommendation for additional $2 million for TexShare; also recommended increased salary for State Librarian and additional funding for other state library initiatives

Rep. Helen Giddings

Authored bill to redirect "Read to Succeed" license plate sales to school libraries.

Rep. Jesse Jones

Authored bill to create new license plate to benefit Texas public libraries

Rep. Scott Hochberg

Sen. Eddie Lucio

Sen. Chris Harris

Authored two bills to streamline academic library purchasing

Sen. Jeff Wentworth

            Sponsored House bill to amend the Texas public library district law

Sen. Judith Zaffirini

Authored a resolution honoring Texas libraries for National Library Week.

TLA Awards

Distinguished Service Award:
George Huffman, director of learning resources, Amarillo College

Librarian of the Year:
Louella V. Wetherbee, independent library management consultant

Outstanding Service to Libraries Award:
Jann Brown and Will Richardson, members of the board of                           trustees of the Westbank Community Library District

Library Project of the Year:
Power Card, Houston Public Library

TLA Benefactor Awards:

Other Awards

Highsmith Innovation Award:
STOMP Program, Moorhead/Caney Creek Library
Circle of Success, Harrington Library, Plano

Hotho Literacy Award:
Hale County Literacy Council, Unger Memorial Library,                                    Plainview

Love Award:
Kountze Public Library

Siddie Joe Johnson Award:
Cyd Sheffy

SIRS Intellectual Freedom Award:
Judy Thomas

Small Community Librarian of the Year:
Dorothy Manning, director, Jourdanton Public Library

DEMCO Research Grant:
Mary Lynn Rice-Lively and Viki Ash-Geisler

Any Changes?

If you have changed your name, work location, mailing address, phone number, fax number, or e-mail address, please contact Haven Whatley Toothman at 1-800-580-2852, ext. 11, or havenwt@txla.org at your earliest convenience. The 1999-2000 Membership Directory will be going to press in a few weeks, and we would like to have it contain as much up-to-date information as possible. Thanks!

New Web Guidelines

The TLA Publications Committee has adopted new guidelines for units wishing to publish web pages on the TLA web site. Those guidelines can be found at: www.txla.org/html/web.html.

Come tell your story

The Storytelling Round Table is looking for librarians for consideration to tell at the 2000 TLA Conference Concert. Start practicing your stories and making them come alive. Keep watching the TLACast for an opportunity to be considered for the librarian teller spot at the 2000 TLA Concert! Your stories will have to be 7 to 10 minutes in length. Find your best story and be on the look out for upcoming information.

Lost and Found

The following items were found during TLA Annual Conference. If one of these items is yours, call the TLA office at 800-580-2852 or 512-328-1518: silver tear-drop earring; gold twisted ring; pearl earring; gold earring; roll of used film; silver charm bracelet (no charms); two books: Webster’s Dictionary and Lemon-Aid Used Cars; woman’s belt; white sweater; dark blue sweater; notebook cover; Vivitar camera PS44s; glasses (brown with silver holder); glasses (brown, small); sunglasses (tortoise).

Names in the News

Donna Littlejohn has been appointed director of the Amarillo Public Library where she had previously served as head of technical services.

Ann Loggins, formerly the director of the Bedford Public Library, will become director of the Lewisville Public Library in July.

Linda D. Newsome, formerly branch librarian at the Missouri City Branch of the Fort Bend County Libraries, has been named director of the George Family Development Center in Richmond.

Linda Plevak, consultant at the Alamo Area Library System, and Antonio Martinez, director of the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerrville, were married April 10.

Roberta I. Shaffer has been named dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Shaffer, a former law librarian at the University of Houston, is a member of the Texas Bar and has most recently worked as an attorney at a large firm in Washington, D.C.

Anne Stobbe, formerly a consultant at the Texas Panhandle Library System in Amarillo, is the new director of the Lovett Memorial Library in Pampa.

Death

Arless Nixon, well-known to Texas librarians as the former director of the Fort Worth Public Library and president of TLA in 1948-49, died in March in Phoenix, Arizona.

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