Published by the Texas Library Association
C O N T E N T S
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Kilts, Carnivale, and Conference
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From
a St. Patrick’s Day festival to a Carnivale at the library, TLA’s 2004
Annual Conference is all about celebrating and coming together.
Nationally-acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni, civil action commentator Siva
Vaidhyanathan, library development expert Glen Holt, organizational guru Shelly
Phipps, OCLC researcher Ed O’Neill, digital library expert Roy Tennant, and
librarian Kathleen de la Peña McCook are only a few of our headlining speakers.
Of
course, your favorite authors will also be on hand to discuss their works and
sign autographs. The conference will feature Jack Gantos, David Schwartz,
Sarah Weeks, Douglas Wood, Gary Paulsen, Rick Riordan, Susan Wittig Albert, Don
Brown, Matthew Gollub, Roxie Munro, Michael Johnson, Julie Commins, Jaclyn
Moriarty, Carl Dueker, Marisa Taylor, Rene Saldaña, David Rice, and Manuel
Medrano. Other authors include Wendelin Van Draanen, Laurence Yep,
Steven Alten, Xavier Garza, Kathi Appelt, Libba Bray, D. Anne Love, Naomi Shihab
Nye, Diane Roberts, Joan Bauer, Valerie Hobbs, Jeff Abbot, Tim Dorsey, and Dean
James.
Programs
will address such varied topics as the USA PATRIOT Act, the library as a center
for community democracy, curriculum integration, academic library usability
studies, violence in the workplace, salary negotiations, grant funding, future
trends in libraries, librarians in film, and much more!
You’ll get to welcome spring at San Antonio’s famous “Enchilada Red” Central Library during Friday night’s President’s Party. The evening’s decadent street festival atmosphere wouldn’t be complete without music and dancing under the stars. Complete with masks, beads, and the Queen of Carnivale, this celebration will bring out the fun-loving nature in all you wild librarians! The evening will also feature readings by authors, including Walter M. Mayes (a.k.a. Walter the Giant); David Liss, author of The Coffee Trader and The Conspiracy of Paper; and Robert Graves, author of Myself and Strangers and Goodbye to a River.
Other
activities at the President's Party
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7-9 pm Starlight Dance on the Palm Terrace
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7-9 pm mask making for children
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8-9 pm San Antonio Street Dance and Drum Co.
Other events include Wednesday night’s Welcome Party on March 17, taking place at the nationally-acclaimed Witte Museum, will ring in a spectacular St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Expect music, sword dancing, and more as you gather at the premier museum of history and science in South Texas. Evening with the Authors, subtly dubbed “Food for Thought,” takes place on Thursday, March 18. Moderated by catering guru Rosemary Kowalski, the evening features readings and stories served up by Chefs Frances Towner Giedt, Edwin Greenwald, Scott Hass, and Jeremy Jackson.
One great feature to this year’s conference is our first conference-wide reading and discussion series, featuring Mark Dunn’s Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable. All conference attendees are invited to read Ella Minnow Pea before attending conference and then to participate in a group discussion of the book. There will also be a preconference on what it takes to lead a successful book discussion group as well as a program where you can learn to coordinate a one book program in your community.
All
three sessions will be led by Nancy Pearl, director of youth services at Seattle
Public Library and director of the Washington Center for the Book. She is the
force behind “If All Seattle Read the Same Book.” Nancy Pearl is also the
author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason,
and she hosts The Beat: Book Reviews on Seattle’s NPR News & Information
Station.
Conference
organizers have also worked to provide family-friendly activities for those
traveling with family during Spring Break. TLA attendees will be offered
special discounts at some of San Antonio’s preeminent amusement venues and
sporting events.
Exhibit
Hall Highlights
- TLA is the third largest library tradeshow in the world with over 450 companies represented. Take advantage of this amazing offering in your home state!
- The Authors Area will offer 12 aisles of authors throughout the show.
- Diversity Fair Park will be the forum for TLA’s annual Diversity Fair, featuring examples of diversity throughout Texas libraries. The Park will also be a resting place for exhibit hall shoppers. Park benches will be waiting for you!
- NetFair and Technology Showcase are must-attend programs!
- Don’t miss Rush Hour with Exhibitors from 4-5 pm on Thursday.
- Take a well-deserved break! An abundance of food areas in addition to a Cappuccino/coffee bar, Dove Ice Cream bar, frozen lemonade, and various drinks stations are placed strategically throughout the exhibit hall.
For more information about the TLA 2004 exhibitors, see the TLA conference website.
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SPONSORS |
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| Platinum: Sagebrush Corporation Gold:
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Silver:
Bronze:
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Conference Stipends and Awards Be sure to visit the TLA Awards webpage to learn about conference grants, stipends, and awards. Deadlines are approaching fast. |
The
library community is hard at work creating recommendations on some of the
state’s most pressing library issues. Four task forces are meeting,
gathering input, and preparing reports that will be presented at TLA’s annual
conference. Information about the task forces and their recommendations
will be posted on the TLA website prior to conference. Please check the TLA website
after January 30, 2004 for information about the groups’ findings.
The
four task forces are:
- The
Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and TLA joint Task
Force on Implementation of the Public Library Development Study began
its work reviewing and evaluating a 2003 TSLAC-sponsored study on public
library development. The task force, which is chaired by Julie Todaro, will
recommend to TSLAC which study recommendations should be implemented,
including priorities for implementation, a feasible timeline, and resources
required.
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The Salary Compensation Task Force, led by Leah Adams and Herman Totten, is charged with designing and conducting a comprehensive salary survey and comparability study of all public and academic libraries in the state that will result in a recommended competitive salary level for library employees throughout the State of Texas.
The
Texas Bluebonnet Award Book Talk website, which was launched April 2003, now
includes streaming book talk videos. The videos, conducted by librarians
and delivered by students, are available for each of the Texas Bluebonnet Award
nominated titles. Students and librarians can quickly view the videos
using the media players they have installed on their computers, eliminating the
need to download files. Viewing the videos can be done through both
dial-up and high-speed Internet connections.
The Texas Bluebonnet Award Committee partnered with Sagebrush Education Resources to produce the Book Talk website. The site, available through links on www.sagebrushbooks.com and the TBA site, offers visitors a wealth of information on each of the TBA nominees. In addition to the new book talk videos, the site also features author biographies and a special section for librarians to share ideas about the books.
“We’re
proud to be a part of the TLA mission and sponsor the Book Talk website for the
Texas Bluebonnet Award Program,” said Jim Zicarelli, Sagebrush CEO.
“We wanted to use modern, interactive media to increase awareness and
excitement about the books and authors nominated in this year’s program as
well as inspire students to read. We think these attention-holding and
educational book talk videos accomplish both.”
The
2004-2005 Texas
Bluebonnet Award List
has been released!
The
Get on Board and Read @ your library program, through which teens can win a trip
to meet pro skateboarder Tony Hawk, began officially this fall with the launch
of a new website (www.hersheysmilk.com/getonboard).
Librarians who register on the site will receive access to free materials to
help them promote the program, including downloadable posters and bookmarks,
programming ideas, and sample press materials. To date, over 2,300
librarians have registered on the site. The program runs through the end of
April, 2004.
Developed
by ALA and Morningstar Foods Inc., maker of HERSHEY®'S Milks and MilkShakes,
"Get on Board and Read @ your library" encourages teens to check out a
book from their local library and create an entry about how the book is
meaningful to them. Teens may submit a written essay or a creative entry
consisting of a poem, painting or video; entries may be created individually or
as a team. The librarian who sponsors the winning teen or team will also go on
the grand prize trip to meet Tony Hawk.
"Get
on Board and Read" is also offering Tony Hawk skateboards as first-place
prizes; copies of Hawk's book, "Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder"
as second-place prizes; and a one-month's supply of HERSHEY'S Milks and
MilkShakes as third-place prizes.
The
program offers librarians the opportunity to win special incentives for the
numbers of teen entries they send in. Libraries that send in 5-14 entries will
receive 50 coupons for HERSHEY®'S Milk; 15 HERSHEY'S Milk and MilkShake
T-shirts for those who submit 15 to 24 entries; and an autographed poster of
Tony Hawk and 25 t-shirts for 25 or more entries. Also, librarians who
submit a report on how they promoted the program, along with sample publicity
materials, will be entered into a drawing for a $100 bookstore gift certificate.
The
Council of the Texas Library Association met twice during Annual Assembly in
July 2003. The following actions were taken:
- Passed resolutions honoring Cyd Sheffy; Milton Van Dusen, Sr.; John Collins, Board Member of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund; Mary S. Rausch; and Bettie J. Agnew.
- Passed
a resolution related to alternative funding for public and school libraries.
- Adopted
the TLA Strategic Plan for 2003-2006.
- Approved
the 2003-2004 operating budget for the Association.
The Executive Board also met twice during the Annual Assembly in July 2003. The Board accepted the slate proposed by the Nominating Committee and approved Jan Moltzan's appointment as coordinator for the Leadership Development Institute.
Training Lawyers for Libraries
The Lawyers for Libraries Training Institute will be held in Dallas, Texas, on February 12–13, 2004. Developed by the American Library Association, the program is geared for attorneys with the goal of increasing understanding of legal issues affecting libraries—specifically, censorship and privacy matters. Participants will be instructed by practicing attorneys specializing in First Amendment law and will be eligible for CLE credits for their participation.
The
recent US Supreme Court decision on the Children’s Internet Protection Act has
many libraries wondering what their options are regarding Internet filtering and
other censorship concerns. At the same time, the USA PATRIOT Act has made
it increasingly important for libraries to protect the privacy of users.
The Lawyers for Libraries Institutes give crucial help to attorneys and
libraries as they prepare for emergency situations that will surely occur.
The
institute costs $500 per person to attend. While the institute is
primarily directed at attorneys and library trustees, librarians are welcome to
attend, provided they are accompanied by an attorney. For more information
on Lawyers for Libraries, please visit www.ala.org/lawyers.
The
Dallas institute will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, 1717 North Akard Street.
The hotel is offering a special room rate of $119.00/night for conference goers.
Call (800) 257-7544 for reservations and mention American Library Association.
Contact Jonathan Kelley with any questions at jkelley@ala.org,
or call (800) 545-2433 x4226.
Amarillo
Public Library opened the Northwest Branch Library on October 1, 2003.
Austin
Public Library has received a $5,000 grant from Mervyn's to fund
Fort
Worth Public Library (FWPL) is unrolling “Mervyn’s & Target Super
Saturdays at the Library,” a program designed to provide family entertainment
in a learning environment for children. The 32 scheduled programs for the
2003 – 2004 school year emphasize multiculturalism and are intended to promote
literacy, entertain, and facilitate lifelong learning. FWPL has also completed
it annual October Library Fest, which featured numerous authors.
Robert
H. Hu, chair-elect of District 9, reports a successful meeting on October
18. Some 30 librarians participated in the event, which took place in Lamesa,
located about 60 miles south of Lubbock. In addition to conducting the
unit’s business and electing officers, the group heard from TLA President Eva
Poole, who called upon the librarians to stand up to libraries’ governing
bodies and make the library’s case for financial support. The day’s
programming also included presentations by Dennis Harp, a professor at Texas
Tech University, and by Abilene school librarian Kristy Fowler Coke, who spoke
on the “ABCs of Library Promotion.” Marlan Green of AMIGOS presented
an afternoon workshop on book repair.
IFLA
Fellowship
The
U.S. IFLA National Organizing Committee has announced that it will support
the participation of 20 young professional librarians from the Americas (South
America, Central America, North America, and the Caribbean) to IFLA's World
Library and Information Conference, August 22-27, 2004 in Buenos Aires.
The
Committee is offering fellowships to cover air travel, shared accommodations, a
per diem food allowance, and conference registration fees.The deadline for
applications is January 15, 2004. Applications can be found at //cs.ala.org/ifla2004/.
If you have any questions please contact Alanna Aiko Moore at amoore@ala.org.
We
the People
As
many of you know, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is
collaborating with the American Library Association to inaugurate “We the
People Bookshelf,” a program to encourage young people to read and understand
great literature while exploring themes in American history. School and public
libraries are invited to apply to the NEH to receive a “We the People
Bookshelf” package, which consists of 15 thematically related books and
supplemental materials to help with publicity and the organization of public
programs. Each year, “Bookshelf” will explore a different theme. For
2003-2004, the theme is "courage."
The
NEH will accept applications online from December 15, 2003 to February 15, 2004,
5 pm local time. Further information and application guidelines may be found on
the We the People website at www.wethepeople.gov/bookshelf/guidelines.html.
Best
Buy Te@ch Awards
The
Best Buy's Children's Foundation is supporting schools and educators in their
efforts to make learning fun through the use of technology. The Te@ch Program
will award $2500 grants to schools in recognition of programs or projects that
creatively integrate interactive technology into the curriculum. This year, a
total of $3,000,000 will be given to 1200 schools across the country. Each
selected school must be located within 25 miles of a Best Buy store. Awards will
be announced on January 30, 2004 at www.BestBuy.com.
To
apply for a te@ch award, simply complete the application and answer the
supporting questions accessible at //communications.bestbuy.com/communityrelations/teach.asp.
The Foundation is interested in learning about the creative ways schools and
teachers are integrating technology into the curriculum, and they are
particularly interested in innovative, interactive programs or projects that
make learning fun for students.
NNLM
Grant
The
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region is offering a
new grant for public libraries. The grant of $5,000 will be given to fund a
project between a public library and a community based health organization to
increase the use and knowledge of online consumer health information.
While
eligibility is limited to members of the Network, membership is free and open to
all people. Award information is posted at //nnlm.gov/scr/conhlth/express_ch03.htm.
TLA
Membership Renewal
Electronic
renewal information has been sent to everyone for whom we have an email address,
and printed copies have been mailed to everyone else. If you have not
received any information about your renewal, please visit the Members Only
section of the TLA website (www.txla.org) to renew with your credit card or to
download a PDF of the membership form to renew by check.
Formation of a Digital Libraries Interest Group
Are you struggling with managing and preserving digital collections? Are you digitizing or thinking of digitizing library materials? Are you thinking that you should be collecting preservation metadata for your digital masters? Join your colleagues in forming a TLA unit to address digital library issues. A total of 60 signatures are needed to get this group started.
If
you or others at your institution support the formation of such a group, print
out the petition form at the TLA website http://www.txla.org/html/gifs/petition.pdf
and fax the signed form to Cathy Hartman at 940/565-2599. If you or others
in your institution would like to assist with the organization of this group,
please email Cathy at chartman@library.unt.edu.
UT
Open House
"Explore
UT!" invites teachers and K-12 students to learn about the University and
its activities on Saturday, March 6, 2004. UT Austin faculty and students will
team up to provide more than 300 educational activities for people of all ages.
Participation is free.
The
event will offer students the chance to learn more about everything from robots
to Russian, satellites to Shakespeare, and Mayan myths to hieroglyphs. Tours of
UT's libraries and collections of literature, art, photographs, materials on
Latin America and more will offered as special tours for librarians.
The
University will reimburse school bus expenses up to $25 (first 100 buses). For
more information, call Gail Bunce at 512/471-7753 and visit www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut/.
Off-Campus Library Conference
The 2004 Off-Campus Library Services Conference will be held the Carefree Conference Resort, which is just north of Scottsdale, Arizona, on May 5-7, 2204. The Off-Campus Library Services Conference is held every other year and has been in existence since 1982.
This international conference brings together librarians, administrators, and educators to discuss, study, demonstrate, and champion the technology, techniques, and theories of providing library services for students not pursuing their education on a campus. For more information, go to //ocls.cmich.edu/oclsc2004news.htm.
- Marsha
Barker has joined the Northeast Texas Library System as assistant
coordinator.
- Laura
Downes of Palmer Elementary School (Missouri City) and Suzonne Evans of
Cross Timbers Intermediate School (Arlington) both received travel stipends
from Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. to attend the American Association of
School Libraries Conference.
- Patricia
L. Hernández has been promoted to manager of they Ysleta Branch of the
El Paso Public Library.
- Toni
Lambert has been named the new deputy director for library operations at
Houston Public Library.
- Solina
Marquis will start work for the Frisco Public Library on November 6.
- Sandra
McCorkle, librarian at Lone Star Elementary in Fort Worth, has just
published her first book.
- Pat
Mora and Beatriz Vidal have received the 2002 Tomas Rivera
Mexican American Children's Book Award for A Library for Juana: The World of
Sor Juana Ines.
- Jo Ann Oliphant has resigned from her position with the Joe Barnhart Bee County Library.
- Kathy Pustejovsky, TLA’s conference manager, celebrated her 20th anniversary with the association.
- Robert Strong, dean of learning resources at Townsend Memorial Library at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor, has announced his retirement and will move to Mexico with his wife, Cindy Strong, a librarian with Baker and Taylor.
- Herman
Lavon Totten has been appointed as a member of the National Commission
on Libraries and Information Science for a term expiring July 19, 2008.
- Philip
Turner, who has served simultaneously as dean of the University of North
Texas School of Library and Information Sciences and associate vice
president for academic affairs for distance education since 1996, is
stepping down from the deanship to assume an increased role in directing
online academic programs at the university.
- Sheila
Williams retired from the Euless Public Library on November 19. She will
be moving back to her home in Blanchard, Oklahoma, where she will start a
new job as children's services manager at Moore Public Library.
Deaths
- Carol
Bramlett, former coordinator for the Lubbock Independent School District
(1977-1998), passed away October 19, 2003.
- Past TLA President (1979-1980) Annie May Gilbert died on November 2, 2003. A lover of books, children, and flying, she worked at Dallas Public Library for many years and had a distinguished military career and was an active lay member of TLA.
- Terry Harris lost his battle with cancer on November 15, 2003. Terry had served as the Central Texas Library System administrative assistant and newsletter editor from 1991 to 1998.
- William Morris, an executive with HarperCollins who was often credited with developing the modern marketing of children’s books, died in September.
- Author
Joan Lowery Nixon, who dedicated much of her energy to supporting
libraries, died June 28, 2003.
