Volume 6, October 14, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) LIBRARIES AND THE ELECTIONS – HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

2) BILL TO EXPAND FOIA AWAITS PRESIDENT’S SIGNATURE

3) BULLYING SURVEY OF LIBRARIES

4) COMMENT ON PROTECTING COPYRIGHT ON THE INTERNET

5) YALSA GRANT FOR FIRST-TIME ALA ATTENDEES

6) ALTAFF’S TRUSTEE ACADEMY

7) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) LIBRARIES AND THE ELECTIONS – HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

You may have heard that there’s a midterm election coming up in November. This ALA Washington office webinar looks at what library supporters can legally, ethically, and effectively do to get involved. Ensuring that candidates understand the importance of libraries is one of the most important ways to have library voices heard, whether at the local, state or federal level. Watch this 48-minute webinar recording to learn 10 specific techniques for being engaged in democracy at its most basic level—through the electoral process! The webinar is archived at vimeo.com/15606784.

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2) BILL TO EXPAND FOIA AWAITS PRESIDENT’S SIGNATURE

On September 23, the House of Representatives voted to pass S. 3717, a bill to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide for certain disclosures under Section 552 of Title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act). The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was created to protect classified government information while, at the same time, providing the public with a way to access information that is not classified.  S. 3717 strikes FOIA exemptions that had allowed the SEC to avoid disclosing records or other information obtained from its registered entities if the information was used for “surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities.”

The bill passed unchanged in both the Senate and the House and is now awaiting the President’s signature. This is an important step to ensure that the Freedom of Information Act and the public’s right to know are not impeded. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law. For more information, use this link: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/S3717.

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3) BULLYING SURVEY OF LIBRARIES

Researchers from the SHARP (Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention) Program of the Department of Labor and Industries are interested in the experiences of library staff related to the issue of workplace bullying and are conducting a survey to examine libraries as work environments. The researchers ask that participants complete the survey whether or not they have experienced or have witnessed bullying in the workplace. Study results will be reported to the Washington Library Association and the Interest Group of Library Unions.

This survey will be available from October 7 through October 21, and may be completed in three ways: 1) online by via this shortcut link: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/bullying; 2) by phone by calling SHARP (888.667.4277); or 3) by mail (call SHARP for the form and a self-addressed envelope). Participation in the survey is completely voluntary and all responses are confidential. If you have any questions, please contact Nanette Yragui at [email protected] or 888.667.4277, ext. 6334. SHARP has requested that participants complete the survey at home.

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4) COMMENT ON PROTECTING COPYRIGHT ON THE INTERNET

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force has issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comment from all interested stakeholders on the protection of copyrighted works online and the relationship between copyright law and innovation in the Internet economy.

Considering the vital importance of the Internet in today’s society, the Department of Commerce has made it a top priority to ensure that the Internet remains open for innovation. The initiative on Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Internet Economy seeks to identify policies that will:

1. Generate benefits for rights holders of creative works that are accessible online and make recommendations with respect to those who infringe on those rights;
2. Enable the robust and free flow of information to facilitate innovation and growth of the Internet economy; and
3. Ensure transparency and due process in cooperative efforts to build confidence in the Internet as a means of distributing copyrighted works.

 

The comments gathered through this NOI will be used by the Internet Policy Task Force in preparing a report that will contribute to the administration’s domestic policy and international engagement in the area of online copyright protection. Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments filed in response to this NOI will be made available to the public on the Internet Policy Task Force website at www.ntia.doc.gov/internetpolicytaskforce.

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5) YALSA GRANT FOR FIRST-TIME ALA ATTENDEES

YALSA members who have never attended an ALA Annual Conference are invited to apply for YALSA’s $1,000 Baker & Taylor Conference Grant. The two grants of $1,000 each are awarded to librarians who work directly with young adults in a school or public library setting to enable them to attend the Annual Conference for the first time. To be eligible for this award, you must be a YALSA member, have one to ten years of experience working with teenagers, and have never been to an ALA Annual Conference.

To learn more, or to apply, visit www.ala.org/yalsa/awards&grants or contact committee chair Ken Petrilli at [email protected]. Send your completed application and supporting statement by email to Nichole Gilbert, [email protected], by Dec. 1.

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6) ALTAFF’S TRUSTEE ACADEMY

On Oct. 18, 2010, the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) will launch its Trustee Academy, a series of online courses taught by professionals in the field, designed to help Trustees become exceptionally proficient in their roles on behalf of their libraries. Those wishing to sign up for the Academy may register for a single course, for more than one course (but not the entire series), or for the entire series with discounted pricing per course.  In addition, a board of Trustees can sign up for further discounts.

All courses will be available as recorded webcasts to allow Trustees flexibility in completing the courses, which can be viewed on an individual basis or in a group setting. In addition to the recorded webcast, Trustees will be provided with discussion questions and access to a list of questions and answers to further enhance their learning outcome. Certificates of completion will be available for each course.

More information, including registration, is available on the ALTAFF website via this shortcut: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/trustees.

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7) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, October 18:

• Legal Reference for Public Librarians (WSL); 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. PDT;

Tuesday, October 19:

• Learning In Today’s World: Blending The Best Of Formal, Informal And Social Approaches – A New Blended Model (Elluminate); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT;
• 5 Tips For Succession Planning: Engage, Retain And Develop Your Best Talent (Training Magazine); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT;
• Reaching Reluctant Readers: Using High-Interest Fiction to Engage and Inspire (Booklist); 11:00 a.m – 12:00 p.m. PDT;
• Learning in Today’s World: Blending the Best of Formal, Informal and Social Approaches – Implementing the New Blended Model (Elluminate); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT;
• Dealing with the Difficult Patrons (WebJunction); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT;

Wednesday, October 20:

• r u game? Game Night @ Perkins Library (NCompass Live); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PDT;
• No-Lecture Webinar: How To Create Extreme, Hyper-Interaction (Training Magazine); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT;

Thursday, October 21:

• Cool New Legal Sources Online (Infopeople); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT.

 

All of these sessions are online. Providers are listed in parentheses. For registration links and more information on these events, visit the WSL Training Calendar: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/training.

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