Volume 16, Number 8
December 1997
In this issue:
Second Annual Texas Book Festival Raises funds for Public Libraries
TLA Library Endowment and Advancement Funds (LEAF) Contributors
TLA Receives Humanities Grant for
Libraries
$80,000 available for library programs in the humanities
The Texas Council for the Humanities and the Texas Library Association have partnered to make $80,000 in grants available to support humanities programs for adults in Texas libraries.
The Texas Council for the Humanities (TCH) is a non-profit organization established to promote lifelong learning in the humanities. The Texas Library Association applied for and received a grant from TCH that will be re-granted to Texas libraries to support a variety of programs including lectures and discussions by recognized humanities scholars, literary programs, film series, and issues forums. Libraries may also use the funds to sponsor a series of workshops led by scholars that involve audiences in oral history, writing projects, or photographic histories. The program is extremely flexible, with a sole requirement that activities include a humanities scholar. The definition of a humanities scholar is anyone with a Masters degree or Ph.D. in a humanities discipline. Libraries are encouraged to provide TCH with the names of prospective scholars.
The goal of the TLA/TCH Humanities Grants will be to offer these events to diverse age levels, all ethnic, racial and cultural groups, and in all of the 10 geographical regions of Texas. The TLA Executive Board has appointed an ad hoc advisory committee--chaired by Julie Todaro, librarian at the Rio Grand Campus of the Austin Community College, to coordinate the grant process. Other members of the Advisory Committee are: Herbert G. Canales, Corpus Christi Public Libraries; Nancy Cunningham, St. Mary’s University; John W. Deats, Midland College; Vicki G. Decker, Collingsworth Public Library; Estella V. Gonzalez, Cathedral High School, El Paso; Anthony S. Guardado, Angelo State University; Ivonne R. Jimenez, El Paso Public Library; Meller T. Langford, Houston Area Library System; RoseAleta Laurell, Lockhart Public Library; Nancy L. Milnor, Rosenberg Library, Galveston; Patricia P. Mulkey, Plano ISD; Sue Sappington, University of Texas--Pan American; Sheila Y. Scullock, Dallas Public Library; Mark Smith, TLA; Patricia Smith, TLA; Elizabeth Snapp, Texas Woman’s University; Mary Kay Snell, Amarillo Public Library; Chris M. Tetzlaff-Belhasen, Del Mar College; Jane Gamez Vargas, McLennan Community College; Adam M. Wright, Houston Public Library; and Craig Zapatos, San Antonio Public Library.
The committee will issue guidelines for the first round of grants in Spring of 1998 with an application deadline of June 1, 1998. Applications for a second round of grants will be due November 1, 1998. Standard grant awards will $1,000; however, more funds may be available in certain cases and TLA will work with the Texas Council for the Humanities to fund as many projects as possible. Also, libraries will be encouraged to apply for other TCH funding to continue to expand humanities programming.
Second Annual Texas Book Festival Raises Funds
for Public Libraries
Thousands attend festival to benefit libraries
Proving that the success of the first annual Texas Book Festival was no fluke, the second annual festival held November 1-2 in Austin again drew thousands of Texans to Austin to hear authors read from their works, buy books, and visit with famous writers and fellow readers. Again this year, profits from the festival will benefit Texas public libraries. The Texas Book Festival has announced that an estimated $200,000 was raised for grants to public libraries, significantly more than the $127,000 given in grants last year.
Honorary Festival Chairman and First Lady of Texas Laura Bush presided over a festival that featured more than 100 authors ranging from such literary giants as Carlos Fuentes and Larry McMurtry to Texas favorites like Kinky Friedman and Bud Shrake. Many children’s writers were also featured, including Angela Shelf Medearis, John Erikson, and Louis Sachar. Festival attendees were able to purchase autographed books, hear their favorite authors read and perform, and attend panel discussions on a wide range of subjects including writing, reading, culture, and politics.
The black-tie gala dinner November 1 was a sell-out, attended by over 700 book enthusiasts including Governor and Mrs. George Bush, former Governor Ann Richards, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock and a who’s who of Texas writers. Writers featured at the gala were Carlos Fuentes, Larry King, Jim Lehrer, and Naomi Shihab Nye.
Texas librarians were very much in evidence in the festival: volunteering, buying books, and attending events. The Texas Library Association booth featured information about TLA and Texas libraries and offered several story hours for children, organized by Claudia Ford, librarian at the Round Rock ISD. Dale Ricklefs, director of the Round Rock Public Library, organized volunteers who donated their time staffing of the TLA booth.
Funds raised at the festival will be distributed to Texas public libraries through competitive grants. Applications and guidelines for Texas Book Festival grants have been mailed to libraries with applications to be sent to the TLA office postmarked by February 6, 1998. Grants will be for a maximum of $2,500 per library or no more than $10,000 for a multi-branch system.
Texas Bluebonnet Award 1998-99 Master List
The Texas Bluebonnet Award Committee has released the TBA master list for 1998-99. The titles are:
TLA to Develop Public Library
Standards
Ad hoc committee to establish process; write standards
In response to a formal request from the TLA Public Libraries Division, the Texas Library Association Executive Board has voted to create an ad hoc committee to write public library standards. Eva Poole, director of the Denton Public Library and chair of the Public Libraries Division of TLA, requested the action in a letter to TLA President Barbara Immroth. Ms. Poole’s letter requests “the creation of an ad hoc committee to plan a review and development of public library standards for services in Texas.”
Ms. Poole’s letter goes on to define standards as “objective benchmarks agreed upon by the statewide library community ” and recommends that the composition of the committee be “broadly representative of the public library community” while suggesting representation on the committee by small community librarians, system coordinators, Texas State Library staff, MRC directors, lay persons, and members of the academic and school library communities. Ms. Poole put forth the names of a number of TLA members to serve on the committee, and Ms. Immroth is now contacting those members to ask that they serve. The committee is expected to start its work in Spring 1998.
“Texas has no public library standards,” commented Eva Poole. “The closest thing we have are the minimum criteria for membership in the Texas Library System. But these criteria have not been updated in at least 20 years and are grossly inadequate. They require a minimum of $1.20 per capita to run a library. You simply cannot provide adequate library service for that level of expenditure.”
But what the level should be is not yet clear. For this reason, Ms. Poole and the Executive Board will charge the committee with holding at least 10 meetings (one per library system) throughout the state to solicit comments and suggestions from public librarians, board members, city and county administrators, and the public on the content of the standards.
This model was used to create the school library standards adopted by the State Library and Archives Commission last year. While compliance with these standards remains voluntary, they are regarded by school librarians and administrators as highly successful, and the process was widely acclaimed as inclusive.
Any standards developed by the committee will be recommended to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for adoption as administrative code. The committee will recommend whether the standards should be considered a replacement of all or part of the existing minimum criteria for membership in the Texas Library System or be entirely voluntary as are the school library standards.
Catherine Lee Joins TLA
Staff
Veteran administrator to manage TLA finances
Catherine Lee, a 16-year veteran of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, joined the TLA staff December 15 as the TLA’s first Director of Administration in which position she will manage the Association’s financial operations and general administrative functions. At the State Library, Ms. Lee served as director of the Administration Division and previously as grants administrator. Ms. Lee brings to her position extensive expertise in the areas of human resources management, accounting, financial management, automation, and public administration. She is a graduate of Southern University and holds an MBA from Columbia University. Before joining the State Library, Ms. Lee worked for seven years with a management consulting firm in New York.
“I wanted to continue to work with Texas libraries, while at the same time continuing my professional growth and development in a way that allows me to use my administrative talents,” says Ms. Lee.
This position represents an expansion of duties previously performed by Jeanne Douthitt, TLA’s accountant who resigned effective December 15 (see below).
Jeanne Douthitt Resigns as TLA Accountant
Jeanne Douthitt, manager of financial services for the Texas Library Association has resigned her position effective December 15, 1997. She will work part time for another company and maintain her private accounting practice. Ms. Douthitt is well known to Association members as the staff member who presented the “How to Read the Financial Statements” segment of the new officer briefing each year at the TLA Annual Conference.
Ms. Douthitt came to TLA in 1995 after having worked for the CPA firm who audited the TLA accounts at that time. Ms. Douthitt will continue to work with TLA on special projects and during annual conference.
State Library Shifts Key Staff Positions
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has announced several shifts of key staff in recent weeks. Edward Seidenberg, formerly the director of the Library Development Division, will assume the position of director of the agency’s Administration Division effective January 1, 1998. This position was vacated when Catherine Lee accepted a position with the Texas Library Association (see above). Mr. Seidenberg has been the director of the Library Development Division for 10 years and has worked for the Texas State Library for over 20 years. In his new position, he will oversee the agency’s fiscal and human resources operations, computer functions, and print shop. Jeanette Larson, consulting and continuing education manager, has been named interim director of Library Development. Ms. Larson has been at the agency for over six years and is well-known to the Texas library community, having directed many notable projects including the process that resulted in the Texas School Library Standards.
The announcements regarding changes in Library Development staff follow on the announcement in November that Dale Propp, director of the agency’s Talking Book Program, had been named interim director of the Library Resource Sharing Division. Mr. Propp, who has worked at the State Library since 1973, and has directed the Talking Book Program since 1983, was appointed interim director of this division after the first round of interviews failed to result in a permanent appointment.
Jenifer Flaxbart will serve as the interim director of the Talking Book Program. Ms. Flaxbart has been manager of reader services at the Texas State Library since 1993.
SBEC May Change Renewal
Rules
Board and staff predict grandfathering
Members of the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) have indicated that the Board may revise plans to require that all educators certified by that agency undergo periodical renewal. At a hearing in Amarillo on November 17, SBEC Chairman James Nelson commented that he thought the agency should review this proposal and consider grandfathering educators who have certification. This would, for those grandfathered, essentially restore the certification-for-life system that has long been the practice of TEA and SBEC.
Earlier this fall, the SBEC published a proposed rule that would have required 200 hours of continuing education to renew a certificate. The proposal proved highly controversial, and drew heated comments from most educational organizations. Subsequent revision of the hours to be required to 150 did little to quiet objections. At a December 5 meeting with representatives of several educational organizations including TLA, Board staff reiterated the intention of the agency to revisit the rule and probably remove the renewal proposal for current certificate holders. The staff outlined a system by which educators could opt to participate in a voluntary recertification process.
The Texas Association of School Librarians (TASL), upon reviewing the proposed rules, opted not to object to the renewal requirements. It was the opinion of TASL leadership that continuing education was desirable and the range of activities proposed to satisfy the continuing education requirement were reasonable and attainable. For example, attendance at TLA annual conference would satisfy requirements.
TIF Announces Public Library Internet
Grants
157 grants to be awarded
The Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) has announced the public libraries that will receive public library Internet grants. The grants, announced December 12, will fund connections in 157 libraries that did not previously receive an Internet Assistance Grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
This round of grants will fund new Internet connections for use by the general public. Future TIF initiatives will address such issues as libraries with inadequate connections, community college connectivity, and collaborative community network development and training.
Staff from the public libraries receiving grants will attend a training session to be offered in Austin on January 23.
TLA Library Endowment and
Advancement Funds (LEAF) Contributors
Donations as of December 10, 1997
Many thanks to all who have contributed to the LEAF campaign. Contributions may be sent to the TLA office at any time throughout the year.
Pillar $1,000-$1,999
Elizabeth Crabb Fund
Jo Ann Oliphant (In memory of Ralph Rehm and Virginia Whitten)
Partner $750-$999
Doo-Wop Interest Group
Anonymous
Guardian $500-$749
Christina Woll Memorial Fund
Deborah Svenson
Elizabeth Crabb Fund
Maribelle Davis
Whitten Fund
John Pat Murphy
James Stewart
Mentor $100-$249
Elizabeth Crabb Fund
Clarksville Pottery
Survey Advantage
Bonnie McNeely
Hetherington Leadership Development Fund
Izoro Daphane Kerley
Legislative Reserve Fund
JoAnne & James Moore (In memory of Helen Riepma)
Scholarship and Research Fund
Izoro Daphane Kerley
Wayne Williams Fund
JoAnne & James Moore
Patron $50-$99
Christina Woll Memorial Fund
Teresa White
Elizabeth Crabb Fund
Nicholas P. Sims Library
Sue Compton
Karen M. Williams
Betty O. Yarbrough
Scholarship and Research Fund
Jean F. Tolbert
Whitten Fund
Sue Thetford
Donor Up to $49
Area of Greatest Need
Maeolar Crumpton
Susan Fishman (In honor of John Hyatt)
Karen Harrell
Wayne Williams Fund
Barbara A. Swanson
Christina Woll Memorial Fund
Jean Heath
Dorothy M. McMahon
Guilzelda D. Peña
Mary P. Roderick (In memory of Marge Palmer)
Anne Souby
Elizabeth Crabb Fund
Kathleen Melston
JoAnne and James Moore (In memory of David Garrett)
Mary Lynn Rice-Lively
Barbara A. Swanson
Legislative Reserve Fund
Frank D. Hankins
Furry Tails! Funny Tales!: A Conversation with Lynn
Munsinger
Meet Lynn Munsinger, illustrator for the 1998 Texas Reading Club, at a program
sponsored by the TLA Program Committee and the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission on Saturday, April 4, 1998 from 11:00 to 11:50 a.m.
Munsinger has illustrated more than 80 children’s books, including The Gator Girls, Tacky the Penguin, and Underwear. This is a rare opportunity to hear a prolific and highly regarded illustrator talk about herself and her work. Members of the Texas Reading Club Advisory Committee will distribute handouts and other information to make the 1998 Texas Reading Club even more fun than A Zooful of Animals. Lynn’s books will be available for purchase and autographing after the program.
Preconference to Address Computer Security
Calling all library directors, managers and department heads! Are you looking
for someone to explain “electronic security” in terms you can
understand? Do you have decisions to make, but can’t seem to cut through
the jargon to grasp the issues? Then this TLA preconference is for you!
Wednesday, April 1, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the TLA Automation and Technology Round Table will present “Keep Out! No Hackers Allowed! Library Security in an Electronic Environment,” at the TLA Annual Conference in San Antonio.
Come, learn about electronic security from Bruce A. Shuman, adjunct professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Florida, Tampa, the editor of the Haworth Press journal, Library & Archival Security, and author of the forthcoming Handbook of Library Security and Safety.
This preconference targets the non-technical librarian, but can also serve as an introduction for those who are more technical. Mr. Shuman will explain--with a minimum of jargon--issues involved in electronic security, including: “Internet: the good news and the bad news”; privacy; system vulnerability; electronic library security audit; methods for illegal access such as spying and monitoring, viruses and Trojan Horses, and spoofing; defenses and countermeasures such as network integrity, authorization, proxy protection, firewalls, and encryption; and costs and constraints.
Janet Swan Hill to Speak at TLA Conference
Program will explore justifying tech services costs
Janet Swan Hill, associate director for technical services at the University
of Colorado, will be the speaker Thursday, April 2 at the annual program
of the Texas Regional Group of Catalogers and Classifiers at TLA. Her topic
will be “Justifying Your Existence: Costs, Values, and Parables.”
In days of tightening library budgets and expanding possibilities for spending time and money, all library activities are subject to scrutiny. Technical Services activities are especially prone to such scrutiny in part because they are expensive, not well understood, and because--although it may be relatively easy to determine their cost--it is difficult to assess their value. Ms. Swan’s program will explore how technical services librarians have to make their needs, their operations, and their contributions understandable to those in charge of the resources through stories, analogies, and articulation of the value of particular activities.
Conference Tips. . .
TLA members for whom we have a 1998 TLA conference registration postmarked
by Friday, February 13, will be eligible for a drawing for three complimentary
registrations to the 1998 Conference.
And remember: for the best possible rates on airline tickets with Southwest and American, always use the TLA codes when booking tickets. For Southwest Airlines, refer to meeting ID #D3838; for American, refer to File #4138UI. You may use these codes for discounts with your own travel agents, when calling TLA’s travel agency, TTG (800-355-8093), or when calling the airlines directly (American at 800-433-1790; Southwest at 800-433-5368).
TLA Officer Candidates
Announced
Members to vote for two Executive Board positions
Candidates for TLA President- Elect and Executive Board Representative-at-Large have been announced. For President-Elect, members will choose between Catherine Ensign, director of the Harris County Library System and Gleniece Robinson, director of public services, Dallas Public Library. Candidates for the Representative-at-Large (school) slot are Kathy Jones, coordinator of library services at Amarillo Independent School District and Donna Pohl, education consultant/library services at Education Service Center XV in San Angelo. Ballots will be mailed to current TLA members whose dues are paid by February 1 in the February TLACast.
More TLA Units Launch Web Pages!
Three more TLA units have created new pages on the TLA Web site
(http://www.txla.org). The New Member Round Table Web page, created by Elizabeth
Dupuis, is an extensive listing of NMRT officers, programs, and activities.
The Texas Media Awards Committee page, created by Cheryl Rae, offers information
on the committee as well as how to apply for the award. The Library and
Instruction Round Table page, constructed by Diane Duesterhoeft, provides
information on that unit’s officers and activities as well as links
to continuing information resources. Expected soon: the College and University
Libraries Division page, the third of four pages from TLA divisions.
The 1998 Virtual TLA Conference
The 1998 TLA Annual Conference Web page is now available through the TLA
Web site. The colorful and lively page already offers extensive information
on the San Antonio Conference including materials for members planning programs,
exhibitor information (with a map of the hall), and information on San Antonio.
The site promises to grow significantly and quickly as conference planners
and staff finalize the 1998 program.
Web Page Template for Government Information
Cathy Hartman, documents librarian at the University of North Texas, has
created a web page template designed to help librarians in small and medium-sized
libraries provide convenient access to government documents information.
The template, available at
http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/template/index.html,
can be added to any library’s web page with only minimal adaptation.
Second TLA Cruise Set to Sail in July
Mark your calendar for July 20-24, 1998, to mix business and pleasure as the second annual TLA Continuing Education Cruise sets sail for the coasts of California and Mexico with career counselor and change expert Alice Gresham.
Adventurous TLA members and their families will board Carnival Cruise liner Holiday for an unforgettable vacation journey and professional growth opportunity. Ms. Gresham, founder of three successful consulting firms that boasted such clients as Harvard University, Microsoft, and the U.S. Navy, will present “Change Is a State of Mine: Mastering Personal and Professional Life Changes.”
Participants in the first TLA cruise found the experience highly enjoyable, relaxing, and professionally rewarding. The deadline for reserving a space on the cruise has been extended to January 30, 1998. Workshop registration is $50. Inside cabins are $354 and outside cabins are $404. Airfare varies from city of departure: Houston, $319; Dallas, $335; San Antonio, $385; Austin, 391; Amarillo, $408. For more information on cruise and airfare costs, contact Travel Technology Group at 800-631-9088.
"I Love This Game!"
Jan Moltzan, formerly of the Dallas Public Library, and June Berry, coordinator
of the TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute and member of the TLA
Executive Board, are the winners of the tickets to the NCAA Final Four Basketball
Tournament to be held in San Antonio next March. TLA raffled the tickets
to raise money for the Elizabeth Crabb Legislative Fund.
Names in the News
Angelo State University announces the appointment of Marilyn Dunham, formerly coordinator of reference services, to the position of assistant library director. Anthony Guardado has been named head of reference services.
Caroline Kienzle, director of library and media services for the Irving ISD, is serving on the American Association of School Librarians ICONet Task Force as well as the 1998-1999 ALA Presidential Committee.
TLA member Valentine Poska of San Antonio has been appointed editor of the Miniature Book Society Newsletter.
Gene Rollins, former head of technical services for the San Antonio Public Library, is now head of network services for the Harris County Library System.
The Texas State Library has appointed Beverly Shirley to the staff of the Library Resource Sharing Division and Wendy Clark, former genealogy supervisor at the State Library, has moved to a position as consultant in the Library Development Division.
L.G.Swift, 27-year veteran of the Arlington Public Library, has announced his retirement effective December 31, 1997.
Keith Swigger, dean of the library school at Texas Woman’s University and Cindy Potter, director of the James and Eunice West Library at Texas Wesleyan University, were married November 29 in Dallas.
