CLA Weblog Submissions
Do you have information that would be of interest to the library community? Please send your weblog submissions to the CLA office at lfisher@cla-net.org.
Intellectual Freedom
February 15, 2008
Copyright Advisory Network, Free Service from ALA
The Copyright Advisory Network (CAN) is a Web site, bulletin board, blog and wiki established to help librarians discuss copyright issues with colleagues facing similar concerns, share solutions, and learn more about copyright from trained copyright specialists. Pose your copyright query on the Network Forum, and trained copyright specialists - known as the CAN Scholars - will respond to your question within 48 hours. The Scholars will not provide legal advice but informed opinion on your topic. Anyone can join the Network by registering at: www.librarycopyright.net. This is a free service offered by ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP). Contact Carrie Russell, Copyright Specialist at crussell@alawash.org with questions or comments.
Posted by claadmin at 1:33 PM
January 25, 2008
San Jose Public Library - Internet access update
I attended the San Jose City Council Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday. I spoke during the public comment period as CLA Intellectual Freedom chair and presented a letter from President Monique le Conge in support of intellectual freedom and the San Jose Public Library's open Internet access policy. CLAleCongeLetter2007Dec.pdf
In case you haven't been following the issue, a San Jose city councilman has proposed filters. The San Jose Public Library has a chronology of events, including a link to the filter proposal, staff response, and library director Jane Light's status report presented on January 23, 2008.
The issue will return to the Rules committee again, likely in March. If you live in San Jose, or know someone in San Jose (including kids, groups, churches, clubs etc.) who would be interested in helping support the library (letters, showing up at a meeting etc.), please let me know or ask them to contact me. Thank you.
Continue reading "San Jose Public Library - Internet access update"
Posted by Mary Minow at 11:02 AM
January 9, 2008
State Intellectual Freedom updates
State library association intellectual freedom activities are being updated, as we speak, at a wiki hosted by the American Library Association. The wiki is a follow-up to the ALA 2006 Law for Librarians seminar. You can see what other states are up to here: Law for Librarians wiki.
ALA also posts a roster of state library association intellectual freedom committee chairs. I am the chair this year, so give me a shout if you have intellectual freedom issues that you'd like our committee to know about. We're also always interested in your nominations for the Zoia Horn award, and your ideas for what you'd like to see at our annual conference program.
Continue reading "State Intellectual Freedom updates"
Posted by Mary Minow at 3:07 PM
October 24, 2006
Tracked in America
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American government surveillance didn't begin after 9/11. It started in 1798.
"Tracked in America: Stories from the History of U.S. Government Surveillance," a newly launched online documentary, marks the most comprehensive effort to examine the history of surveillance in America. Featured on the site are the personal stories of 25 individuals affected by surveillance and six historians who chronicle surveillance and dissent in America from 1798 to today.
In the documentary's first-person audio accounts, a range of people describe their experiences with surveillance through different periods of U.S. history: World War I and World War II, the Red Scares of the McCarthy era, the civil rights movement, protests against the Vietnam War, the sanctuary movement of the 1980s, and our current post-9/11 era. Of special interest to librarians is the introduction of John Doe, aka George Christian, who was gagged by a national security letter.
The California Library Association is proud to join in the promotion of the site and invites you to visit the free documentary here.
Posted by claadmin at 7:24 AM
August 29, 2005
Join in Defending Intellectual Freedom
Dear CLA Member,
A newly unsealed federal lawsuit confirms the FBI has used controversial Patriot Act powers to demand records from an organization that possesses a wide array of sensitive information about library patrons, including information about Internet usage and reading materials borrowed by library patrons.
The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking an emergency court order to lift a heavy FBI gag order on the lawsuit, so that its client -an ALA member- can participate in the public debate. That debate will heat up in days, as Congress prepares to reauthorize or amend the Patriot Act in September.
Because of the importance of this issue to libraries and their patrons, the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the California Library Association is partnering with the ACLU to encourage all CLA members to host a public event about the Patriot Act. We are making immediately available to all member libraries a DVD copy of Beyond the Patriot Act, the first episode of The ACLU Freedom Files, a new TV series from producer Robert Greenwald(Unconstitutional, Outfoxed).
Beyond the Patriot Act is 30-minute program designed to reveal how civil liberties affect real people everyday. It features stirring accounts of current cases, as well as well-known actors, activists and comedians. All the necessary resources for a succesful event -publicity tools, invitations, event agendas, Patriot Act talking points- are also available.
If you schedule your event on Thursday September 8, you and your patrons can join in an 8:30 p.m. national conference call with Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU, to learn the most up-to-date news about this important new lawsuit and the status of Patriot Act legislation. The call will take place after the satellite TV premiere of Beyond the Patriot Act.
To participate in this national happening, and order your DVD contact the ACLU's distribution partner at FreedomFiles@activevoice.net, or call (415) 553-2841.
Help protect the First Amendment and our American tradition of intellectual freedom.
David Dodd
Chair, Intellectual Freedom Committee
California Library Association
Posted by claadmin at 2:00 PM
June 20, 2005
Response to Patriot Act Vote
Submitted by David Dodd, Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair 2004-2005
Speaking on behalf of the CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, which has long opposed section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, I am happy to see our Congress being willing to stand up to the President and to the FBI and other entities pressing for a trade-off of our civil liberties vs. our safety and security. The fact that Congress voted in favor of curtailing the authority of the FBI to seize library, bookstore, and hotel records by such a large margin, and that so many Republicans were willing to buck the party line to vote their conscience, is a huge victory for Intellectual Freedom. Particularly encouraging was the statement by Robert Ney, Republican from Ohio, who said that he "talked to my libraries, and they felt very strongly about this." We have a voice, and we are being heard.
Posted by claadmin at 2:09 PM
January 4, 2005
Welcome to the CLA Weblog
In the coming months, we will be adding articles to each of the main categories to your left. Our most recent articles will appear here on our weblog home page. You can also scan through the archives by Month or Recent Entries or use the Search this site tool to your left.
We hope you enjoy reading our articles!
Posted by claadmin at 6:00 PM