Academic Library Association of Ohio Home Board Membership Join ALAO (or renew) Newsletter ALAO Listserv E-mail ALAO June 2001 Newsletter Highlights (from vol. 19, no. 2, June 2001) Newsletter Issues Listing Contents Election Results Legislative News President's Report: Farewell to Susan Collins; Collaboration with Other Organizations; Internal Operations Diversity Committee Report Membership Report   Congratulations to Election Winners! Jerome Conley, Past President Miami University Iit is my pleasure to announce the winners from the 2001 ALAO elections held this past spring. Ballots were mailed to 2001 current members and 2000 non-renewals for a total of 650 ballots. 209 valid ballots were returned along with 3 questionable ballots and 11 voided ballots for a 34% return rate. On behalf of the 2001 Nominations Committee, I am pleased to present the incoming officers and board members: Vice-president/President-elect Erica Lilly Treasurer Karen Wilhoit Board Member-at-Large John Burke, Deborah Carter Peoples, Donna Jacobs Congratulations to these deserving members from the entire nominating committee (Lois Szudy, Carolyn Radcliff, Miriam Conteh-Morgan, Marcia Suter and myself). We extend warmest thanks to everyone who agreed to stand for election; you are all winners in our eyes! Please consider running for office again. Finally, this is my last column as an officer of the Academic Library Association of Ohio. I have enjoyed meeting and serving each of you, and wish the organization continued success in its endeavors for years to come. President's Report Carolyn Radcliff, President Kent State Univ. This summer brings the departure of one of ALAO's most dedicated supporters. Susan Collins, a past-president and recipient of the 1996 Distinguished Service Award, is retiring from Ohio University-Lancaster on June 30, 2001. Susie has served on the ALAO Board in a number of capacities since 1989, and for the past several years she has lead the ALAO Government Relations Team with Pat Walker (Wright State). Thank you, Susie, for your unsurpassed commitment to ALAO; you will be sorely missed. Good luck in your new adventures! ALAO is intensifying its relationships with other state organizations. Over the past year, we collaborated with OhioLINK and Kent State University to bring to Ohio the ACRL Institute for Information Literacy; we participated in interviews for the executive director of Ohio Library Council; and took part in a coordinated approach for libraries to address UCITA in Ohio. Other organizations participating in that effort included the State Library of Ohio, OLC, OELMA, OhioLINK, OPLIN, INFOhio, Kent State University School of Library & Information Science, and Kent State Libraries & Media Services. We accepted an invitation to co-sponsor a "Dinner for Spectrum," to be hosted by OCLC this fall to raise funds and awareness for the Spectrum Initiative. We met with Rick Rubin, Kent State's director of the School of Library & Information Science, to hear about the School's interests and activities related to diversity within the profession. We continue to enjoy a strong working relationship with OHIONET, not only in terms of the meeting space they provide on a frequent basis, but also the wonderful contributions and encouragement of Executive Director Michael Butler to our recent Diversity Committee retreat. Within ALAO, we are working to maintain and strengthen operations. Our Web site continues to grow, with events, opportunities, and other useful information posted regularly. Some documents, such as our operating manual, need to be updated, and plans for streamlining that process are now under review. The Web site will soon be the repository for Board meeting reports and minutes. The ALAO listserv regularly receives announcements of position openings and events. To join the listserv, send a message to listserver@devrycols.edu (leave the subject line blank); in the body of the message, type: subscribe alao lastname firstname. In this last column as President, I want to thank all ALAO members for their contributions to the organization, whether it's paying your dues, serving on a committee, accepting appointments, or running for office. A volunteer organization like ALAO cannot operate (or improve!) without membership interest and support. I encourage each of you to give serious thought to increasing your involvement; we welcome your energy and talent! You will find that your contributions are repaid many times over by the professional and personal opportunities that will come your way. ALAO ON CAPITOL HILL Susan D. Scott, Board Member-at-Large Denison University ALAO members Pat Walker and Susan Scott attended ALA Legislative Day (actually a two-day event including briefing and legislative visits) in our nation's capitol on April 30 - May 1, 2001. "Briefing day", directed by ALA's Washington Office staff, was an excellent focus for immediate issues. A luncheon with additional briefings organized by ACRL for academic librarians was a refresher course for issues that Pat Walker and Susie Collins have continually been raising as ALAO's Government Relations Team. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy working with our legislators! Thank you, ALAO Board, for sending me to Washington, D.C., to help represent library interests to our members of Congress! I did similar legislative work for many years as an elected member of a local Ohio school board, and with the able coaching of veteran ALAO Government Relations Team member, Pat Walker, I quickly got back into the swing of things. Pat and I, along with other Ohio librarians, began our day on the Hill by meeting with staff in Senator DeWine's office. I then joined a group having a similar conversation with a staff member in George Voinovich's office. In the afternoon, Pat had the opportunity to speak with staff for Representatives David Hobson and Tony Hall, while I joined librarians speaking with Congressman Tiberi and legislative aide Adam Francis. We invite you to join your fellow ALAO members in writing to your representative concerning the following issues: Database Protection Legislation; No bill has yet been introduced in the 107th Congress concerning database protection, although two congressmen have announced their intent to work together to produce such a bill. Points listed below, taken directly from an ALA Office of Government Relations publication, highlight librarians' concerns. Ask your senator and representative to oppose any bill that: · would not allow "fair use" of databases comparable to that under copyright law · would protect facts that copyright has never protected · would allow a producer or publisher unprecedented control over uses of information · would not provide safeguards against monopolistic pricing · could hinder the progress of science and education Appropriations FY 2002; As Congress debates the myriad issues of the budget, we asked our senators and representatives to fund the Library Services and Technology Act at $350 million. Funding would be set at only $168,078,363 in the Administration's budget for FY2002. Funds last year were over $207 million. Just a short note to your members of Congress asking that they increase funding would be helpful to all libraries! Federal Depository Library Program and the Government Printing Office; Last year's budget cuts impacted the ability of FDLP to provide services. We reminded Congressional staff members, many who are recent college graduates, how important convenient access to government published information was to their success as students! Issues of archiving, especially of electronic information, also came up in our discussions. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science An independent agency within the executive branch, the NCLIS advises the President and Congress, issues reports and studies, and assesses the library and information needs of the Nation. Funding for the Commission is not included in the FY2002 budget request. Ask your member of Congress to restore this funding. THE DIVERSITY COMMITTEE RETREAT Miriam Conteh-Morgan, Chair Ohio State University The Diversity Committee held a half-day retreat at OHIONET on Friday, April 27, 2001. The main purpose of the retreat was to revitalize the committee and develop its objectives, as outlined in ALAO's 2000-2001 goals. Michael Butler, Executive Director of OHIONET, was the invited speaker. His stimulating talk made us reflect on definitions of diversity and forced us to take a closer look at what he called "the many building blocks of diversity." He also shared his great collection of resources on diversity in libraries and offered his future assistance to the committee. Michael strongly recommended forming partnerships with other groups when considering special projects. Invited to participate in the retreat were ALAO President Carolyn Radcliff and President-elect Marcia Suter. Carolyn gave a brief overview of ALAO's objectives for the current year and asked us to consider how the committee's objectives can fit into ALAO's broader objectives. Marcia discussed the work of the Program Committee and the various ways in which committees and interest groups have participated in past conferences. All of the above presentations primed participants for the discussion stage of the retreat. Ideas tumbled forth, and we quickly filled the board with notes and ideas -- and Carolyn made sure the synergy never flagged as she urged for more! From the long list generated, priorities were set along with a schedule for future meetings. I extend my thanks to the invited participants and to the following committee members who attended: Leigh French (Wright State Univ.), May Chang (Kenyon College), James Nalen and Susan DiRenzo (Univ. of Akron), and Hee-Sook Shin (Ohio State Univ.). The wattage harnessed from all those "light bulbs" will clearly illuminate the path to a successful future for the Diversity Committee. Did we say revitalize? STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: MEMBERSHIP REPORT Betsy Blankenship, Membership Chair Ohio State Univ. - Marion In the year that I have been Membership Chair, I have found one constant truth: membership in ALAO is like an ocean tide, always flowing and moving as members join, renew, and sadly, leave. I have learned a lot about ALAO and the people who keep it strong. Our membership has been close to 600 in the last several years. It goes up and down, usually with special events such as the annual conference and the spring interest group workshops. Since 1983, membership records have been kept in an electronic database. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate any membership records prior to 1983. è If your membership dates prior to 1983, please contact me at blankenship.5@osu.edu. I would like to try to identify the longest continuous member(s) of ALAO. I have discovered at least 13 members who have renewed faithfully every year since 1983. They are: Laura Blomquist, Beverly McDonald, Lucy Shelton Caswell, and Pamela Bradigan (Ohio State University); Janice Anderson (Malone College); Cynthia Comer, Alan Boyd, and Eric Carpenter (Oberlin College); Debbie Bogenschuz (Cincinnati State Technical & Community College); Cheryl Paine and Robert Garland (Mount Union College); Kathy Wright (OCA); and Sister Deborah Harmeling (Athenaeum of Ohio). What an incredible commitment to ALAO! I commend all of you! Most of us remember to renew our dues each year (usually with our annual conference registration), but sometimes we need a gentle reminder. I recently sent letters to over 200 members who had not yet renewed for 2001. I have had a great response to this mailing, and have found it a pleasure to answer your questions and address specific concerns. Many folks have sent in their renewals, and we are now working to update our membership database to ensure that everyone receives a summer issue of the Newsletter. Thank you again for the great response! Our membership now stands at approximately 400.Our interest group workshops are another way for members renew or join. I would like to welcome the following new members who joined by attending one of our recent workshops: Betina Gardner, Eastern Kentucky University Orville Martin, Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Linda Scott, Mount Union College Jan Maxwell, Wright State University Mary-Bess Halford, Bethany College Laura St. Clair, Franklin University Lorraine Wochna, Ohio University Sometimes, as much as we don't want it to happen, we lose members because of a job change, retirement, or death. I would like say good-by to the following members who have left the state for other positions: Scott Walter (formerly Ohio State University), Gladys Smiley Bell (formerly Kent State University), and Sherri Edwards (formerly of University of Akron). Judy Taylor and Thai Hoang have both retired from OSU- Agricultural Technical Institute). I would like to express deepest sympathy at the deaths of Gregory Golden (Columbus State) and Richard Cridlin (Capital University). How do members get information about ALAO? Well, checking out our Website is a great place to start. Contacting me is another way to get information. But did you know that you could contact an ALAO liaison at your institution to get information? I have been working to establish an ALAO contact at each institution represented by our membership. It has been a slow process as members come and go, and some institutions still need a contact. In future issues, I will be listing the various liaisons I have confirmed. You will also find a listing on our Web page under membership information. Liaisons serve as a voice to promote ALAO and ACRL activities and to help identify news for our newsletter. If you are interested in serving as a liaison to your institution, please contact me and become an active participant in ALAO! Here are just a few people who have recently agreed to be liaisons: Judy Albert, Ashland University Kathleen Aufderhaar, Bluffton College Janice Bosma, Cedarville College Laura Brendon, Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Ed Krakora, Heidelberg College I really enjoy hearing from our members, so please don't hesitate to contact me about your membership concerns. I hope to meet many more of you in the coming year by phone, e-mail or at the annual conference! Return to Top Web site maintained by ALAO Web Committee. Please send comments to us. Updated 07/23/01