"School Libraries in Crisis: Why Everyone Should Care", will take place on Friday, June 27th from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Grand Ballroom E/F at the Hyatt Regency Orange County (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.) during the 2008 Annual Conference in Anaheim, California.

Attendees will learn how the crisis in school libraries can affect libraries of all types, and how to leverage this crisis into their own advocacy campaigns.

Online advance registration to the program is available at the discounted rate of $50 through May 16, 2008. Onsite registration will be $75 at the door, with both prices including a box lunch. Registration to ALA's Annual Conference is not required. To register, please visit www.ala.org/annual.

Also available is the "I Love Libraries" Advocate's Package, which includes registration for the Advocacy Institute, "Exhibits Supreme" badge for Annual Conference, and an ilovelibraries.org Advocacy Membership, for $100 (a $120 value). To learn more, visit www.ala.org/advocacyinstitute.

The Advocacy Institute in Anaheim, California, is co-sponsored by the California Library Association (CLA), the California School Library Association (CSLA), and the American Association of School Librarians. It is coordinated by the Office for Library Advocacy (OLA), the OLA Advocacy Committee, the Advocacy Institute Task Force and the Library Advocacy Now! Training Subcommittee, in cooperation with the ALA Public Information Office (PIO), the Association for Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA), the Chapter Relations Committee, the Washington Office's Committee on Legislation, and Friends of Libraries USA (FOLUSA).

FROM: Mike Dillon, CLA Lobbyist and Christina Dillon, CLA Lobbyist

RE: NEWS FROM THE CAPITOL

Several weeks ago the Senate Education Committee took testimony on SB 1516 by Senator Joe Simitian. The measure, which is sponsored by CLA, seeks to place a $4 billion library construction and renovation bond measure on the November 2010 ballot. Offering support of the measure in committee was CLA, highlighted by the testimony of CLA's Legislative Chair, Melinda Cervantes (Santa Clara County Library Director). Also joining in support of the bill was the California Special Districts Association, the California Federation of Teachers, the California School Library Association, and various cities and counties, including Burbank, Sonoma, Merced, and San Jose.

Chairman, Senator Jack Scott, indicated that he was "saddened" that the 2006 bond on the June ballot did not pass, and noted that he hoped there would be a more positive future outlook for library bonds. He acknowledged that SB 1516 would have to be sent to the Senate Education Committee "suspense file" due to its significant cost. You may recall that the fiscal committees in each house - the Assembly Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, for many years, have implemented a so-called "suspense file." Bills costing more than $150,000 are traditionally sent to the "suspense file," which allows the leadership and the committee Chair and Vice Chair to prioritize which bills should go forward given the state's finances. In recent years, the Senate Education Committee, and the Revenue and Taxation Committees have also implemented their own version of the "suspense file."

Last Thursday, the Senate Education Committee took up all of the items on their "suspense file" and voted, on a strong bi-partisan vote of 8 "ayes" to 1 "no" to pass the bill out of committee. Voting in support of the measure were Democrat Senators: Jack Scott, Elaine Alquist, Alex Padilla, Gloria Romero, Joe Simitian, and Tom Torlakson. Republican Senators voting in support were: Jeff Denham and Abel Maldonado. Voting against the bond was Vice Chair, Senator Mark Wyland. Thanks to all of you who wrote letters to the committee, as well as visited with these legislators on CLA Legislative Day!

SB 1516 is now scheduled to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, April 28. Due to the substantial costs involved with any bond measure, it is assumed that SB 1516 will be sent to the Senate Appropriations "suspense file." The measure would then sit on the "suspense file" until late May, when leadership and the committee Chair and Vice Chair prioritize these measures and send them to the Senate Floor for a vote, or hold them in committee. Please take a moment to write the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee (you will have until mid-May to send your letters), and encourage their support of SB 1516-Simitian.

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Senator Tom Torlakson, Chair
Senator Dave Cox, Vice Chair
Senator Sam Aanestad
Senator Roy Ashburn
Senator Gil Cedillo
Senator Ellen Corbett
Senator Bob Dutton
Senator Dean Florez
Senator Sheila Kuehl
Senator Jenny Oropeza
Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas
Senator George Runner
Senator Joe Simitian (author)
Senator Darrell Steinberg
Senator Mark Wyland
Senator Leland Yee

Sample address:

The Honorable Tom Torlakson
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

To go directly to the HTML version of Spring 2008 CSL Connection, please visit: http://www.library.ca.gov/newsletter/2008/2008Spring/.

To go directly to the PDF version of Spring 2008 CSL Connection, please visit: http://www.library.ca.gov/newsletter/2008/2008Spring/CSL0408.pdf.

Sarah Dalton
Editor
CSL Connection
California State Library
914 Capitol Mall, Ste. 211
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 654-1483
www.library.ca.gov
sdalton@library.ca.gov

On behalf of the students, staff and faculty in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University, we would like to say "Thank you." We appreciate your support of the Library and Information Science Scholarship Program at San Jose State University.
Rhonda Dahlgren
Recruitment & Events Coordinator

The quickest way to register is online at www.regonline.com/LibraryLegislativeDay. This is your only option if paying by American Express or Discover Card. If paying by check, please use the form on our website at http://cla-net.org/included/docs/LegDay_Registration.pdf.

After you have registered, you also need to sign up for meetings with your legislators at http://www.legiday.net. To log in, please use "member" as both your account name and password.

• Over 1,000 authors to meet, greet and get autographs from including Neil Gaiman, Alec Bladwin, Michael Moore, Dennis Lehane and many more.
• 120+ Educational Programs including the Library Journal Day of Dialog
• Special Events that are entertaining as well as educational including Saturday Night with Lewis Black, Authors Breakfast/Luncheons, Upfront & Unscripted with Jeff Bezos and Chris Anderson.
• Books, Books, and more Books - You may even need another suitcase!
• Savings - Take advantage of show discounts

Registration is easy, simply go to the CLA Registration webpage to receive the discount.

The CLA discount price is $45 for one day and $65 for three days. For more information, contact Reka Rubin, rprubin@verizon.net, PH: 203-840-5896.

Library Legislative Day in Sacramento will be held on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 and our network of Legislative Contacts is busy making appointments with legislators to discuss topics of interest to the library community. The 2008 CLA Legislative priorities are:

• Rejecting the Governor's 10 percent across-the-board cut to the Public Library Foundation (PLF) in the 2008-09 budget. Note: This fund was already cut $7 million in the 2007-08 Budget. With the Governor's cuts, the program would only receive approximately $13 million out of the $100 million required by statute to fully fund the program.
• Rejecting the Governor's 10 percent across-the-board cut to the Transaction Based Reimbursement (TBR) in the 2008-09 Budget. Note: This fund was already cut $7 million or 33% in the 2007-08 Budget. With the Governor's cuts, the program is funded at $10.1 million. Full funding would be approximately $25 million.
• Actively monitoring and supporting SB1516, the California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2010. SB-1516 (Simitian) is a proposed statewide bond bill that would provide $5.6 billion in state monies to fund public library construction and renovation projects.
• Supporting the Governor's proposed 2008-09 Budget for State Library operations.
• Advocating for funding of public library capital projects including support for possible legislation to lower the threshold for future library bond measures to 55% as was done for school bonds.

Sponsored by the California Library Association (CLA), the California School Library Association (CSLA), and the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners (CALTAC), Library Legislative Day is an opportunity for library staff and supporters to meet with your state Legislators and/or their staffs in their Capitol offices.

We will brief Legislators on issues affecting public and school libraries, tell them how libraries are making a difference in the lives of their constituents, and learn more about the current situation in Sacramento.

Registration for Library Legislative Day is a 2-step process.

1. Register with CLA at www.cla-net.org.
A small registration fee will help offset the costs of this event. An important briefing will being promptly at 8:30 AM - please make travel arrangements to ensure you are there on time. You will need to make your own arrangements for accommodations if required.

2. Go to http://www.legiday.net/.
This website will provide appointment dates and times and allow you to add your name to the appointment list for specific legislators.
At the www.legiday.net login screen, enter:
Account name: member
Password: member

After you hit enter you will be taken to a new screen. Click on "legiday" to enter the database. This will take you to the Home Page for the Legislative Day 2008.

Click on "Legislators". This will take you to a listing of all legislators in the database. Legislators are listed in district order by default. By clicking the headers of the columns you can sort the list by individual field. Also note there are other navigation tools in the header of list of legislators, e.g. alphabetical shortcuts and links to individual legislative houses.

For each legislator, click on either "View" or "Sign Up" to the left of the legislator's name to bring up a screen with the legislator's appointment information. You will then be prompted to enter your name and contact information.

The website will be updated as appointments are made. If no appointment has yet been made with your legislator(s), keep checking! The Legislative Contacts are setting up appointments as quickly as possible, but it can be a slow process.

Registration details:
NOTE: If you are a member of CLA, CSLA, or CALTAC, the database should automatically retrieve the contact information on record for you. If the database brings up a list of names and you are not on that list, you may register your name and email address by following the instructions at the top of the screen.

IMPORTANT #1: Always click on-screen buttons to post information. Simply hitting the Return or Enter key on your keyboard may not work.

IMPORTANT #2: Always click the /Log out/ link when you are finished. If you leave the screen idle for more than 5 minutes, you will be automatically logged out. The database can accommodate only 100 simultaneous users.

IMPORTANT #3: It can take some time for the Legislative Contact to set up the appointment. If the database does not yet list an appointment date and time with your Legislator please keep checking.

IMPORTANT #4: Please sign up for appointments by Friday, April 11 to ensure your name can be included in the printed schedule of appointments that is distributed on Legislative Day.

As you plan your participation in Library Legislative Day, here are some things to keep in mind:

Fact sheets are posted online at http://www.cla-net.org/legislation/legday.php. Prior to traveling to Sacramento, you are encouraged to check the CLA website under the heading of Legislation/Advocacy to help you prepare for your meetings with legislators.

CLA has posted information on funding received by each Legislative District for Public Library Foundation (PLF), Transaction Based Reimbursements (TBR) and Literacy Programs at www.cla-net.org/legislation/legday.php.

You may wish to bring brief handout materials (such as a brochure or newsletter highlighting the services provided by your library) that can be left behind for future reference.

Trustees, Commissioners, Board members, Friends, parents, students or other supporters are invited to attend. Please ensure that the names and affiliations of all representatives of your library are registered on the appointment website so that the contact person can let the legislator know who will be attending the meeting.

In partnership with the American Library Association, CLA has acquired Capwiz, a networking tool to keep subscribers apprised of legislative changes. If you are a member of CLA, information will automatically be sent to you. If you are not a CLA member and would like to subscribe, visit http://capwiz.com/ala/ca/mlm/signup/ to sign up.

See you in Sacramento!

Diane Smikahl
Library Legislative Day Coordinator 2008

• Julie Su
  ALA Council, Councilor-at-Large
• Ann Doyle Fath
  ALCTS-SS, Member-at-Large
• Ja-Lih Lee
  ALSC, Board of Directors
• Joanna Ward
  ALSC, 2010 Caldecott Committee
• Deborah Doyle
  LAMA-FRFDS, Secretary
• Gary L. Shaffer
  PLA, Library Development Cluster Steering Committee Member
  
• Sarah Flowers
  YALSA, Vice-President/President Elect
• Monique A. Le Conge
  YALSA, Board of Directors
• Gail Schlachter
  EMIERT, Treasurer

The Library Administration and Management Association will award three $500 scholarships for "An Inside Look at Leadership," a LAMA preconference being held at the American Library Association annual conference in Anaheim, CA, on June 27, 2008. The preconference is presented in partnership with The Pacific Institute, and is intended for everyone in leadership positions as well as those moving towards leadership roles within their organizations or lives.

Participants will work to improve effective thinking skills; heighten self-confidence; increase self-motivation; attain goals that were once thought out of reach; and understand paths to career growth.

The scholarships will offset the $225 cost of registration and the balance can be used toward travel, housing, or other costs associated with the annual conference. Applications are available at http://www.ala.org/ala/lama/precon_scholarship.pdf.

Funding for this scholarship is made possible through interest income generated by generous and ongoing contributions to the LAMA Endowment Fund.

The mission of the Library Administration and Management Association is to encourage and nurture current and future library leaders, and to develop and promote outstanding leadership and management practices. LAMA is a division of the American Library Association.

• Agenda requests.pdf

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Lisa Bartle
President, IT Section, CLA