November 29, 2006
3 Minutes at the Conference: the Video
Submitted by Bernadette Swanson, Marketing and Public Relations Round Table
The Marketing and Public Relations Round Table has created a quick video tour of the exhibit floor at the 108th Annual California Library Association Conference from Nov. 10-13, 1006 in Sacramento. Quick stops include: California State Library & Statewide Projects; Infopeople's Technology Petting Zoo; Joan Frye Williams, Library & Information Technology Consultant; Poster sessions from St. Mary's College of California and University of California Davis; and Strong at the Heart by Carolyn Lehman. A lower quality streaming version of the video is also available.
The streaming video is 3 minutes in length.
November 28, 2006
Native Libraries Round Table 2006 Wrap Up
November 11, 2006 the Native Libraries Round Table presented a workshop at the CLA conference. The program, "I" is not for Indian: The portrayal of Native Americans in Children's Literature was met with great enthusiasm from audience members.
The panel of speakers discussed how to evaluate and select children's materials for truthful portrayals of Indian peoples. They used examples to increase program participants' awareness of harmful stereotypes and inaccurate portrayals of Native Americans in children's literature, including "Best Sellers." They also provided participants with resources to help them evaluate Native American literature and make it easier for librarians to choose books which objectively describe the lives and histories of indigenous peoples. Lastly, the speakers talked about identifying resources for materials on California Indians while dispelling the myth that California Indians are extinct.
The Native Libraries Round Table looks forward to presenting another thought provoking and stimulating workshop at the next CLA conference.
In other news, I would like to thank Kisa Collins who has agreed to co-chair the round table with me this coming year.
Liana Juliano, Chair
Native Libraries Round Table
Historical Library Tour Wet and Successful!
Despite the weather, a sold-out group braved the rain to tour three of Sacramento's most magnificent special collections during the final hours of CLA's annual conference, November 13th. For their soggy efforts they were rewarded with firsthand glimpses of Audubon's famous illustration of white owls in the State Library's California History Room, multiple copies of 19th century (and earlier!) maps housed in the bowels of the State Archives, and a fabulous artist's book made of marble and cow's teeth (!) in Sacramento Public Library's Sacramento Room. Some photos from our tour of the State Archives are below.
A warm thanks to our tour guides and hearty tourists for making this one of the most successful Library History Round Table events yet. And a special round of applause to Susan Hanks for pulling it all together!
Cindy Mediavilla
Programs Chair
CLA Library History Round Table
November 22, 2006
Annual Awards Winners
This year, for the first time, CLA honored our award and scholarship winners at an Award Dinner Gala on the Friday before our annual conference. Below are brief introductions of the honorees. Congratulations to all our winners!
MEMBER OF THE YEAR: Anne Cain
The Member of the Year Award recognizes an individual member of the California Library Association for his or her outstanding contributions, leadership and achievements in service to California libraries.
This year's recipient led her library to excellence amid budget cuts and diminishing County resources. She became County Librarian one month after the library lost an election for a parcel tax to increase library hours in 1998. Since that time, she built consensus, forged community partnerships, and created a strong, cohesive county library system that reflects the diverse communities the library serves. Under her leadership, six new libraries have been built or moved into new facilities, and six others have been renovated, and library usage has increased.
She has been described as resourceful, ingenious, and creative. Some examples:
- In 2004/05, facing a $250,000 budget shortfall, she raised over $250,000 in donations and $350,000 in grants to support the library. A library sponsored 5K Fun Run drew over 400 runners and support from library unions and local businesses!
- The 2005 county State Fair exhibit featured library services and won a silver medal.
- With a small IT staff, she has been able to offer online library cards that allow new users access to the library resources remotely, wireless "hot spots," digital audiobooks, and expanded computer training.
- The library's literacy program, Project Second Chance, is one of the most successful in the State.
Her remarkable achievements were recognized by her Board of Supervisors when the library won the 2005 Departmental Award of Excellence.
In CLA, she has chaired the Legislative Committee, the 2005 Awards Committee and is currently a member of the Nominations Committee. She served on the Executive Committee of the Proposition 81 Campaign, and worked tirelessly to generate support for the library bond measure. We are pleased to recognize Anne Cain, Library Director of the Contra Costa County Library, as the 2006 CLA Member of the Year.
PRESIDENT'S AWARD: Alan Smith
The CLA President's Award recognizes outstanding contributions, leadership and achievement in support of California libraries by a Trustee, Friend, Elected Official or other layperson. The President's Award for 2006 goes to Alan Smith.
Alan is recognized for his tireless advocacy for public libraries in Contra Costa County and throughout California. He is a Contra Costa County Library Commissioner.
As Chair of the Prop. 81 campaign in Contra Costa County, Alan gave over 25 presentations in 2006 and obtained over 50 endorsements for Prop 81 from groups including the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, 18 of the 19 City Councils, 11 school boards, a community college district, and numerous organizations and leaders in the community. He met with other local campaigns to provide assistance and advice on grassroots advocacy.
Since 2000, Alan has worked with CALTAC and the California State Library to present board effectiveness training for over 100 library boards and commissions in California. A frequent and effective speaker at meetings of public agencies, Alan has generously shared his talent and expertise in advocacy with fellow library commissioners and board members. He is a remarkable man, who demonstrates every day what a committed, motivated and articulate community advocate can do for libraries.
CYRM PRIMARY CATEGORY: Michael Garland - "Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook"
Each year, one of the CYRM winners is recognized at the CLA annual conference. This year's honoree was Michael Garland. On Michael's website he reveals that he wasn't the smartest one in his class or the best athlete in any sport, but when they passed out the paper and crayons, it was his day to shine. His teachers would never hold up his math test and proudly display it to the rest of the class, but everything he drew would be shown to the class and given a place of honor on the bulletin board. And that's when he started to think he might become an artist. A complete listing of the 2006 CYRM winners is available at http://californiayoungreadermedal.org/winners.htm.
JOHN AND PATRICIA BEATTY AWARD: Dorothy Kupcha Leland - "The Balloon Boy of San Francisco"
Dorothy didn't have a TV when she was growing up and reading was a really big thing in her family. She used to ride her bike up to the library, filling her bicycle baskets with books. She was always intrigued with the idea of writing and really enjoys the research. She ran across the story of Ready Gates, the young San Francisco newsboy who took flight, while working on another book. We are glad that she wanted to learn more about Ready, and now we have "The Balloon Boy of San Francisco" and Dorothy Kupcha Leland, winner of this year's Beatty Award.
CLA SCHOLARSHIP FOR MINORITY STUDENTS IN MEMORY OF EDNA YELLAND: Africa Hands, Pearl Ly and Melanee Vicedo
Africa Hands is in her second semester at San Jose State's MLIS program. She lives in the Bay Area and currently works part-time for Contra Costa County Library. As a child, Africa frequented the Richmond Public Library Main and Point Richmond Branches. She fondly remembers participating in summer reading programs and spending lots of time among the stacks discovering the treasures within.
Africa comes to librarianship from higher education where she worked for several years in admissions and academic advising. Her experiences providing information and services to prospective and current students led her to explore a library career and information science. Africa graduated from Golden Gate University with an MA in Psychology, concentration in Counseling; and University of California at Davis with a BA in Psychology.
Pearl Ly is a native Southern Californian with Chinese-Vietnamese heritage. She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of San Diego (USD). As an undergraduate, Pearl was an Americorps Volunteer and USD Student Co-Director of Community Service. After graduation, Pearl served in the Peace Corps as a natural resources specialist in Central Honduras. In addition to providing environmental education workshops, Pearl supported a forestry school library data management project and helped establish the first library in a rural community elementary school. Her professional goals include becoming a community college librarian and/or an information specialist for non-profit groups.
Melanee Vicedo is a student at UCLA's Information Studies program. After emigrating from the Philippines at age 7, she was introduced to her local library and the branch became one of the most useful tools into understanding her new home. From the children's section to the university stacks, her appreciation for the services and knowledge residing in libraries has grown exponentially. She received her B.A. in Education from Cal State Los Angeles. She currently works as a Library Assistant at UCLA's Biomedical Library and has a summer internship at the Marina Del Rey branch of the L.A. County Public Libraries. She has worked with UCLA's LGBT Library and the Los Angeles Filipino American Library and was recently elected co-president of the ALA Student Chapter. Melanee will graduate in Summer 2007 and anticipates working as an academic librarian in the community college level.
THE BEGUN SCHOLARSHIP: Jody Meza
CLA has a second scholarship, the Begun Scholarship, named in memory of former librarian Betty Begun. This scholarship supports continuing library school students who have demonstrated a commitment to becoming children's or young adult librarians in a California public library.
The 2006 Begun Scholarship winner is Jody Meza. Jody is a student at SJSU. Her local library in Orland, CA was always her favorite place to visit. She never outgrew her love of the library and as a high school student, she became a volunteer. It was the assignments helping the Children's Librarian that most influenced her decision to work in Youth Services. She was delighted to be hired as the Children's Librarian at the Orland Free Library in 2003 and she believes that earning her degree will allow her to offer the children and young adults of Orland the best programs and services.
CLA REFERENCE SERVICES PRESS FELLOWSHIP - Sarah Lehmann
The CLA Reference Service Press Fellowship encourages college seniors, college graduates and beginning library school students to prepare for a career in reference/information service librarianship.
One fellowship of $3,000 is awarded annually. The funding for this fellowship is provided by Reference Service Press, a California-based publishing company.
This year's winner is Sarah Lehmann. Sarah is currently a first-year student in UCLA's Library and Information Science Master's program. She first became interested in librarianship through a student job at Occidental's library reference desk. What she loves about librarianship is that it unites her interests, skills, and values in the service of something which she finds both meaningful and rewarding: enabling the greatest possible access to the best possible information.
She is particularly interested in academic reference, library outreach and marketing, and thinking about ways to ensure that libraries are as user-friendly as possible.
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE AS A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN: Lynn Whitehouse
This award was established in 1994 by CLA's Public Library Section and provides recognition to a librarian who, in a public library setting, has demonstrated achievement in library programming, community outreach, range and depth of knowledge about books or other library materials, or in service delivery.
This year's winner is Lynn Whitehouse.
Lynn's success in developing high quality programming, attracting new audiences to the library and building lasting partnerships with local organizations and community groups is remarkable. Thanks in large part to Lynn's creative talents, organizational skills and grant-writing expertise, the library has been able to offer a wide variety of thought-provoking and entertaining programs for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Her programming expertise is a major asset to the library.
ACCESS, COLLECTIONS AND TECHNICAL SERVICES SECTION AWARD: Patricia French
This award acknowledges superior achievement by an individual in those areas of the library profession that encompass access, collections, and technical services. The ACTSS Award recognizes colleagues who have made outstanding contributions in those areas of librarianship that have been especially challenged by the need for innovation and adaptation in dealing with rapidly changing technology and work environments.
This year's winner is Patricia French. Pat served the California library community for many years, providing leadership within the University of California and beyond. Pat's contributions to the library field are numerous She has served as a trainer, was President of ACTSS in 2000 and was one of the initial group from the UC campuses that spent a year setting up the foundation for the Shared Cataloging Program. She was instrumental in setting up and testing the actual process of receiving the MARC records at the campuses. Three years after the records started to flow, she wrote a well-received article for Serials Review on the Shared Cataloging Program. She has also been a multi-year editor for the NASIG proceedings. Her contributions are numerous, but embody outstanding achievements in all four criteria for the ACTSS award.
This past summer, Patricia French left California for a new life as head of technical services for the Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon. This award thanks her for the many, many contributions in California.
OUTSTANDING LIBRARIAN IN SUPPORT OF LITERACY AWARD: John Adams
Since its inception in 2003, the Literacy Section has sponsored an annual award for Outstanding Librarian In Support of Literacy.
This year's winner is John Adams. John has been working in libraries since 1971, starting as an undergraduate Librarian at University of Illinois. After receiving his MLS in 1973, he worked as a branch librarian for Los Angeles Public Library until 1978. From LAPL he moved back to the Midwest to be the director of the Moline, IL Library and then to Tampa, FL as the Director until 1991 when he came to the Orange County Public Library where he has remained.
ZOIA HORN INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AWARD: Tarnel Abbott
This Award honors Californians who have made significant contributions to intellectual freedom in California. The committee selects nominees based on recent or important lifetime contributions to intellectual freedom.
The Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award honors California librarian Zoia Horn, who in 1973 chose to serve time in jail rather than betray confidential patron information. Ms. Horn's experience sets an example of integrity over personal comfort, and has been a model discussed in library literature and shared with generations of library students everywhere. A key goal of the Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award is to celebrate and honor other selfless examples of commitment to intellectual freedom that help preserve free speech in an open society.
This year's winner is Tarnel Abbott, a reference librarian at Richmond Public Library and a passionate about intellectual freedom. Ms. Abbott has also been a children's librarian at Richmond. She works tirelessly to promote intellectual freedom. In addition to annual Banned Books displays, she has partnered with organizations to provide films and lectures regarding freedom to read.
PREXCELLENCE AWARDS
The PRExcellence Awards honor the creative side of California's libraries. The awards are to showcase the materials that libraries produce in the areas of marketing, advertising, public relations and all-together communications.
There are four categories that entries can be entered into: Programming (social, cultural, educational or political); Advocacy (fundraising, etc.); News and Information (service listing, calendars, websites, etc.) and Other (everything else that doesn't fit into the other categories.) Within each of these categories there are budget categories (based on the library's budget) as well. A "Best of Show" award is also selected.
BEST OF SHOW
- Whittier Public Library Foundation - One City One Book, Whittier Reads: Farewell to Manzanar material
Less than $5 million Category:
PROGRAMMING
- Whittier Public Library One City One Book, Whittier Reads: Farewell to Manzanar material
NEWS & INFO (tie)
- San Jose State University, Recruiting and Development materials
- South San Francisco Public Library Small Business Brochure
ADVOCACY
- San Francisco Public Library Book Sale Material
OTHER (tie)
- San Bruno Public Library brand campaign
- Victoria Garden Library Cultural Center Opening materials
$5-10 Million Category:
PROGRAMMING
- Kern County Library One Book, One Bakersfield: Epitaph for a Peach
NEWS & INFO
- Santa Clara City Public Library Teen Net
OTHER
- Livermore Public Library Recruiting Brochure
More than $10 Million Category:
PROGRAMMING
- County of Los Angeles Public Library Homework Centers material
NEWS & INFO
- Contra Costa County Early Literacy Services Information
ADVOCACY
- Oakland Public Library Fundraising brochure
OTHER
- San Diego County Library Youth Services Exchange/internal tool
Again, congratulations to all our winners! And a very special thank you to Danis Kreimeier for planning and coordinating the inaugural awards dinner gala! This would not have happened without her and amazing staff.
- Gala Slide Show! (3,640 k)
November 17, 2006
Legislative Analyst's Fiscal Outlook
To: CLA Members/ Systems/ Network Contacts
From: Mike Dillon, CLA Lobbyist; Christina Dillon, CLA Lobbyist
RE: LEGISLATIVE ANALYST'S FISCAL OUTLOOK FOR NEXT FIVE YEARS
On Wednesday, the Legislative Analyst's Office issued a report containing projections of General Fund revenues and expenditures for 2006-07 through 2011-12. The LAO, in recent years, has developed this Fall report to assist the Legislature with its fiscal planning, by assessing the revenues and expenditures of the State. The report concludes that since there is a "modest" increase in revenues than estimated when the 2006-07 Budget was passed last June, the State will still face an operating shortfall in the range of $4.5 billion to $5 billion during the subsequent two fiscal years. In those subsequent years, the operating shortfall begins to decline, primarily as a result of repayments associated with the so-called "deficit-financing bonds," which were approved by the voters in March 2004.
In a cautionary statement, the Analyst notes, "It may be tempting for the State to rely heavily on the large carryover reserve balance and other one-time solutions to get through 2007-08. However, failing to meaningfully address the long-term fiscal imbalance would leave the state in a precarious position." To address the shortfall, the LAO suggests that certain savings could be achieved through the reduction or suspension of cost-of-living adjustments in a variety of areas, including health, social services, and trial courts, as well as suspension or elimination of certain tax credits, such as the Teacher's Tax Credit. Legislative leaders have expressed caution against funding new programs in light of the slight increase in revenues, and H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the Governor's Department of Finance, was quoted in The Sacramento Bee as saying that the DOF "had already begun turning down requests from state agencies to boost their budgets next year." In the meantime, the Governor and his staff continue to develop the 2007-08 Budget which will likely be released the week of January 8th.
Conference Pictorial
Below is a brief pictorial from CLA's Annual Conference in Sacramento. Please check back for more!
PRExcellence "Best in Show" Award Winner
Former US Poet Laureate, Billy Collins (right)
Attendees get their groove on in the drum circle!
CLA President Margaret Miles (second from right) is joined by Edna
Yelland Scholarship winners Melanee Vicedo, Africa Hands and Pearly Ly.
John & Patricia Beatty Committee Report
Submitted by Jill Patterson, 2006 Beatty Committee Chair
The 2006 Beatty Committee members exemplify the dedication inspired by the only book award that CLA solely bestows. Along with considering sixty titles and selecting the final winner of the 2006 award, the committee updated and clarified all the documents used to guide member activities and promote the award. John Kallenberg took the lead in the initial update phase and the bulk of the 2005 November meeting was dedicated to finalizing the changes. None of the updates required approval from the Executive Committee as there were no changes to procedures or selection criteria. Primarily, wording was added to clarify that only books published in a given year could be considered by the committee and books unable to be considered could not be "passed on" to the subsequent year's committee. Additionally, we updated the award history and itemized specific responsibilities of the chair. Updated documents have been emailed to Susan Negreen, the 2007 and 2008 chairs and inserted into the Beatty Notebook.
The committee selected eleven books to add to the Eureka database of works that highlight California and demonstrate a high level of literary merit. Lisa Bartle then downloaded the entire Eureka database, examined the entries, and created a template. All entries were standardized in format, a number of former winners of the Betty award that were missing from the Eureka file were added, and after review by the Beatty Chair, the corrected file was uploaded. During this review, it was discovered that the Eureka entries for 2002 publications had never been added. We are in the process of contacting the members of the 2003 Committee headed by Julie Passalacqua. Julie was able to send a list of the Eureka titles and one member had annotations for five of the sixteen books. We hope to complete the database by adding these missing titles.
I can not praise the committee enough. Shana Johnson and Lisa Bartle are particularly thoughtful reviewers and have excellent design skills as they created the program and bookmarks. I can highly recommend both as potential chairs of this committee. John Kallenberg, who knew Patricia Beatty and helped create the award, was invaluable in updating the documents. Cynthia Corderman is the creative mind behind the centerpieces. All had strong opinions on the titles we considered and our final meeting to determine the winner was emotionally charged. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the chair of the 2006 John and Patricia Beatty Committee. I extend my sincere gratitude to Danis Kreimeier for appointing me to this position.
November 7, 2006
CLA Office is Closed
Due to our annual conference, the CLA office will be closed until November 15.
CLA PR & Marketing Committee Report
Committee Members: Loren MccRory, Diane Bish, Deborah Doyle, Andrea Woodruff; Ann Miller, Michael Beener, Cheryl Gratano, Sandy Vella, Mary Beth Train, Barbara Lynn Flynn
The committee met in Vacaville in February to brainstorm and to determine priorities for the coming year. Sub-committees were formed in relation to ongoing involvement by existing committee members with new members assigned in support roles for their first year. Assuming the responsibilities of the PRExcel Award, Deborah Doyle did an outstanding job in heading this primary role sub-committee. Her group, through the talented work of Michael Beener, reworked the web page's Call for Submissions creating a new look and identity for the award. Additionally, this sub-committee made an agreement with CLA offices to accommodate transport and storage for PRExcel winners and/or Swap and Shop submitters that required help in getting materials to conference. Special commendations to Deborah Doyle, who has identified and recruited award judges for the past three years in a row.
Because there continued to be confusion regarding the role of the Round Table versus the Committee, the committee took on the responsibilities of presenting programs for CLA with past chair, Diane Bish, responsible for Marketing 101 and 102 continuing the tradition for 2006 with Marketing 103. Additionally, we added a new program "Getting to Win" in which selected PRExcel Awardees share the secrets of their success. This new program may be transferred to the Round Table for continuation after 2006 conference.
The Committee again met in July in Sacramento in a joint meeting with CLA President Margaret Miles, Executive Director Susan Negreen and CA State staff members Susan Hanks & Kathy Low to discuss the feasibility of a statewide PR toolkit. Initially, the project was discussed as if it were a statewide PR campaign, but after much discussion, the idea of a online toolkit, consisting of simple pieces librarians from all over the state could use for promotion and advocacy was determined to more closely define what CLA can realistically provide, due to its severe budget constraints.
I would like to thank CLA for the opportunity to serve as chair of this committee and thank the entire committee for their commitment and support.
Respectfully submitted by,
Loren MccRory, Chair