ALANEWS v1n004 (October 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alanews/alanews-v1n004 NEWS RELEASES October 1995, Vol. 1, No. 4 This batch contains: ALA News 1. Media Alert 2. ALA awarded $10,120 NEA grant for writers project 3. ALA involved in new Library Literacy project 4. ALA seeks library sites for American frontier exhibition 5. ALA to sponsor "conversations" with $373,000 NEH grant ALA Division News 6. Authors Jayne Ann Krentz, Jean Auel PLA national conference speakers 7. PLA national conference program, registration information available ALA Staff News 8. ALA OLPR Director Margaret Myers retires; joins Peace Corps Award Nominations Sought 9. Submissions accepted for ALA LHRT Justin Winsor Prize Essay New Publications 10. Compensation strategies publication issued by ALA OLPR 11. "Internet Connections" latest LITA publication 12. Library and information studies financial assistance directory available 1. M E D I A A L E R T ALA MIDWINTER MEETING TO FEATURE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF BOOK AND YOUTH AWARDS WHAT: The American Library Association (ALA) will host its annual Midwinter Meeting where the winners of the "Academy Awards" of children's literature -- the 1996 Newbery and Caldecott medals -- as well as other acclaimed children and youth book awards will be announced. The theme of the meeting is "Equity on the Information Superhighway." WHO: The ALA is the world's oldest and largest library association with 57,000 members representing all libraries -- public, school, academic, state and special. Some 10,000 librarians, trustees, Friends as well as leaders in the library and information industry will attend the Midwinter Meeting. WHEN: January 19-25, 1996. The book award news conference will be held on Monday, January 22, at 9 a.m. WHERE: San Antonio Convention Center. WHY: Participants will attend approximately 2,000 meetings and events. Exhibits by more than 500 companies will feature the latest information technology available to today's libraries and library users. CONTACT: Pamela Goodes, Press Officer 312-280-5043 or Linda Wallace, Director, Public Information Office 312-280-5042 #### 2. ALA awarded $10,120 NEA grant for writers program The American Library Association (ALA) has been awarded a $10,120 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the expansion of "Writers Live at the Library." "Writers Live at the Library," a project that brings writers and readers together in America's libraries, is expanding its geographical area from three states to nine during 1995-98 with a grant from the Lila Wallace- Reader's Digest Fund. Libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin are eligible to take part in the expanded project. The 1992-93 pilot project, funded by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, attracted more than 20,000 people to hundreds of literary events at 19 public libraries in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Ten libraries, serving populations of 150,000 or less, will be selected to establish "Writers Live at the Library" programs in the new project. Ten of the original 19 pilot sites will also receive funding to continue literary programming. Applications have closed for these two features of the project. Applications are being accepted for one-day seminars to be presented in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis for public librarians interested in learning more about presenting literary readings and workshops. Participants are eligible to apply for programming funds following the seminar. The seminar application deadline is December 15, 1995. For more information or to request a one-day seminar application, contact: "Writers Live at the Library," Public Programs, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 5056. Fax: 312-280-3224. E-mail: Public.Programs@ALA.org. -30- 3. ALA involved in new Library Literacy project The American Library Association (ALA) is involved in a project, sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, aimed at exploring the issues of library-based adult literacy programs. The project, co-sponsored by the National Institute for Literacy and private section donors, will strive to help define issues that need new or renewed attention and seek solutions. The purpose is to re-focus attention on the important institutional and service roles of libraries in literacy. "Libraries play a far more important role than is recognized in encouraging and promoting literacy," said Elizabeth Martinez, ALA executive director. "This Center for the Book initiative comes at an excellent time and should be helpful to all of us who care about preserving and strengthening library literacy programs." Spangenberg Learning Resources of New York City will administer the program. Gail Spangenberg, the principal investigator, helped establish the Business Council for Effective Literacy (BCEL), an organization of business leaders. She was vice president and operating head of the Council from 1983- 93. Spangenberg also served as program officer and senior consultant to the Ford, Carnegie and Russell Sage foundations. Harold W. McGraw, Jr., and the McGraw-Hill Foundation, both principal BCEL supporters, are also project sponsors. A preliminary project report will be available in early 1996. It will be available by writing to the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540. The Center for the Book was established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in the roles of books, reading and libraries in society. ALA is the world's oldest and largest library association. Its 57,000 members represent all types of libraries-- public, school, academic and special libraries. ALA founded the National Coalition for Literacy in 1981. The association's literacy programs are coordinated by the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services directed by Mattye Nelson. -30- 4. ALA seeks library sites for American frontier exhibition The American Library Association (ALA) is accepting applications from libraries to host the traveling exhibition "The Frontier in American Culture." The deadline is January 15, 1996. In cooperation with the Newberry Library in Chicago, ALA has received a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the project which includes educational and interpretive materials, and examines how stories and images of the frontier and the settling of the West have played an integral role in shaping American identity and values. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name presented at the Newberry Library from August 1994 to January 1995 with NEH support. Richard White, McClelland Professor of History at the University of Washington, Seattle, and recipient of a 1995 MacArthur Foundation fellowship, is the curator of both exhibitions. Forty-five U.S. public and academic libraries will be selected by ALA to host the traveling exhibition scheduled to tour between September 1996 and August 1998, with a six-week stop at each site. "The Frontier in American Culture" focuses on two conflicting stories about the settling of the West -- historian Frederick Jackson Turner's account of free land and peaceful settlement, and Buffalo Bill Cody's depiction in his Wild West Shows of bloody conflict and violent confrontation. Another perspective presented in the exhibition is that of the Indians, who were virtually ignored by Turner and demonized by Cody. Library site selection will be based on an application form available from the ALA Public Programs Office. Applicants must agree to appoint an exhibition coordinator, develop public programs related to exhibition, seek community support and provide reports to ALA project staff. Coordinators from the 45 libraries selected for the tour will attend a May 1996 seminar in Chicago to view the traveling and original Newberry Library exhibitions. They will also discuss local community programming with the curator and other project staff. To obtain an application form, contact: ALA Public Programs, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 5053/5056, or 312-280- 5053/5056. FAX: 312-280-3224. E-mail: Public.Programs@ala.org. -30- 5. ALA to sponsor "conversations" with $373,000 NEH grant The American Library Association (ALA) has been awarded a $373,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for a project titled "The Nation That Works: Conversations on American Pluralism and Identity." The project is a series of 100 conversations to be held in 20 libraries across the United States in fall 1996. The award is part of the NEH initiative "A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity." The NEH initiative encourages Americans to engage in thoughtful dialogue about the values, loyalties and conflicts that characterize our diverse, democratic society. "The Nation That Works" focuses on the workplace--an area that brings Americans of disparate communities and backgrounds together because of economic need and occupational goals. "We live in neighborhoods separated by race, ethnicity and class, but we meet in the workplace, and our working lives are knit by small but symbolically resonant stories of nurturing and competition, support and betrayal, trust and fear," said Valerie Smith, project advisor and professor of English at UCLA. "Although it may appear that employees of different races, ethnic groups, religious beliefs, and economic classes have little in common, their attitudes toward work frequently reveal shared "American" values that stress hard work as critical to success," Smith said. "Work is an excellent 'conversation starter' that can help people explore the broader issues involved in defining American identity and the nature of contemporary American society." A unique feature of "The Nation That Works" project is a pilot program of conversations to be conducted in five libraries in Connecticut under the direction of the Connecticut Humanities Council and the Southern Connecticut Library Council (SCLC). The SCLC has developed many reading and discussion themes and coordinates hundreds of scholar-led discussion programs in Connecticut libraries each year with funding from the Connecticut Humanities Council and other sources. The 20 libraries selected nationwide to participate in "The Nation That Works" will host conversations on five themes: generational differences in attitudes about work; gender and work; the effects of immigration in the workplace and the importance of mobility in American life; race, ethnicity and work; and how changes in technology and the growth of international markets influence Americans' attitudes towards work. Conversation participants will read books, short stories, poems and plays, and watch relevant films that relate to the themes. Discussion questions targeted to each theme will encourage participants to reflect upon their attitudes about work, to understand the values of others, and to investigate the role these values play in "American" identity. Among the discussion questions are: What value did your grandparents give to work--is this different from your attitudes toward work? How would you feel if you could not work? Do your friends at work tend to be like you? Do people in other ethnic and racial groups feel the same way about work as you do? Libraries selected to take part in the ALA demonstration project must identify local community partners to help ensure representation of diverse groups in the conversations and submit a plan and budget in order to receive project funds. A training seminar for librarians, discussion leaders and others will be held in June 1996. Application forms will be available in November 1995 from ALA Public Programs. For more information, contact: ALA Public Programs, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 5053/5054. FAX: 312- 280-3224. E-mail: Public.Programs@ALA.org. -30- 6. Authors Jayne Ann Krentz, Jean Auel PLA national conference speakers Authors Jayne Ann Krentz and Jean Auel will be featured speakers at the Public Library Association (PLA) National Conference, March 26-30, 1996, at the Portland (Ore.) Convention Center Krentz and Auel will speak at two Author Luncheons. Krentz will speak on Thursday, March 28, and Auel on Friday, March 29. Both luncheons begin at noon. Krentz, who also writes under the alias Amanda Quick, is the author of several romance novels, including many historical fiction works. She is an outspoken advocate for the romance genre. She has received many awards including the Bestselling Contemporary Romance Award (B.Dalton), the Bestselling Original Contemporary Romance Award (Waldenbooks) and the Special Achievement/Romance Writers of America Industry Award. Krentz, who is also a librarian, was named a Top Ten Favorite Author at the 1994 Affaire de Coeur Awards. Krentz's new novel, "Absolutely, Positively," is scheduled to be published in February 1996 by Pocket Books. Auel, an Oregon native, is the author of the international best- selling novels that make up the "Earth's Children" series: "The Clan of the Cave Bear"(1980); "The Valley of Horses" (1982); "The Mammoth Hunters" (1985), and "The Plains of Passage" (1990). She has received several awards, including the Best First Novel, American Book Award (National Book Awards) (1981), the Award for Excellence in Writing from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (1980) and the Most Popular Foreign Language Novel Award, Holland (1991). Auel serves as honorary vice-president of MENSA and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. She is a charter member of the Oregon Writer's Colony and the Oregon Women's Forum. Preregistration is required for both luncheons. The final registration deadline is February 26, 1996. For more information, call the PLA Office at 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA. PLA is a division of the American Library Association. PLA national conference program, registration information available -30- 7. PLA national conference program, registration information available Registration information is available for the Public Library Association (PLA) 6th National Conference, "Access for All: The Public Library Promise," scheduled for March 26-30, 1996, in Portland, Ore. The deadline for final advance registration is February 26, 1996. The deadline for the "early-bird" discount is January 5. The conference will feature more than 110 continuing education programs focusing on such topics as administration, buildings, collection management, customer service, the electronic library, the Internet, special populations, staffing, trustees/Friends/volunteers, visions and youth services. An author track, more than 250 exhibits and a number of special exhibit events, including author signings and a dessert reception, will also be featured. Preconference programs will be held on Tuesday, March 26, and Wednesday, March 27. One and two-day program sessions are available. Preconference rates for PLA members range from $60 to $120. The preconferences include "Boards and Directors: Growing Together," "Planning for Technology: Mission Impossible?", "How to Build a Public Library: A Primer for Librarians and Trustees", "Internet 101", "Writing Your Home Page", "Make Connections: The Role of the Public Library in Community Networking" and "Workplace Ergonomics". Registration materials are available from the PLA Office, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA. PLA is a division of the American Library Association. -30- 8. ALA OLPR Director Margaret Myers retires; joins Peace Corps Margaret Myers, director of the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Library Personnel Resources, will retire effective October 13 after 21 years of service. She will leave in early November for a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Botswana where she will help to develop community libraries. "Margaret has provided counsel and personal assistance to thousands of librarians, library workers and potential librarians," said ALA Executive Director Elizabeth Martinez. "She has recruited many, helped many, and tirelessly and thoughtfully responded to the needs of our members and friends. In many ways, she has been the voice for librarians in speaking for equal pay and status for women." Martinez described Myers' decision to join the Peace Corps as "another step in a career of courage and commitment. I and countless more ALA members wish her all the best." Myers received the first ALA Equality Award in 1984 for her leadership in promoting equal opportunities for women and minorities. She is the author of several articles about library education and human resources. "It has been energizing to work with ALA members in addressing important issues such as pay equity and fair employment," Myers said. "I will miss this national network of colleagues and friends, and I will probably be calling on them for help from Botswana." Myers served as director of the Office for Library Personnel Resources since 1974 and was part-time executive secretary for the former Library Education Division from 1974-78. Her responsibilities included the Placement Center at ALA conferences, the Library Personnel News newsletter and recruitment activities such as the "Each One, Reach One" campaign. She was staff liaison to several ALA committees and roundtables, including the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, the Committee on Education (COE) and Committee on Pay Equity. Before joining ALA, Myers was an assistant professor and placement director at the Rutgers Graduate School of Library Science in New Brunswick, N.J. She holds a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., a master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and a master's degree in library science from Rutgers. "Margaret Myers leaves an Office for Library Personnel Resources with a strong tradition of service to the profession, Martinez said. We will be moving ahead to maintain and build on her excellent work by conducting a national search is underway for a new OLPR director with counsel from the OLPR Advisory Committee. The position announcement will be featured in the December issue of American Libraries." -30- 9. Submissions accepted for ALA LHRT Justin Winsor Prize Essay Submissions are being accepted for the 1996 American Library Association (ALA) Library History Round Table (LHRT) Justin Winsor Prize Essay. The deadline is February 15, 1996. The $500 award is named in honor of Justin Winsor, a 19th-century librarian, historian and bibliographer who also served as ALA's first president. It is given to the author of an outstanding essay embodying original historical research on a significant subject of library history. The winning essay will be considered for publication in Libraries & Culture. The winner will also be invited to present the paper during the 1996 ALA Annual Conference, July 4-10, in New York. To be considered, essays should embody original historical research on a significant topic in library history, be based on primary source materials whenever possible, and use good English composition and superior style. Essays should be organized in a form similar to that of articles published in Libraries & Culture, with footnotes, spelling, and punctuation conforming to the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Manuscripts submitted for consideration should not be previously published, previously submitted for publication, or under consideration for publication or another award. Papers should not exceed 35 typewritten, double-spaced pages. Three copies of the manuscript should be submitted, with the name and other information identifying the author appearing only on a separate cover letter. They should be submitted to: Ren e Prestegard, American Library Association/LHRT, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800- 545-2433, ext. 2156, or 312-280-2156. 10. Compensation strategies publication issued by ALA OLPR "Improving Compensation for Library Workers: Strategies" is the latest publication from the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Library Personnel Resources (OLPR) and the Committee on Pay Equity. Written by freelance librarian Alison Brill, the publication includes information on a variety of strategies that library workers have used in raising salaries. It is a compilation of survey results conducted by public and academic libraries on pay equity or other job evaluation and position classification studies. The publication includes information on job evaluation criteria and the role of human resources departments, unions, boards and public officials. It also includes a pay equity case study and guidelines for a classification review. "Improving Compensation for Library Workers: Strategies" (ISBN 0-8389- 7820-7) is $3 and is available prepaid from: ALA OLPR, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 4276, or 312-280-4276, 4281 or 4282. FAX: 312-280-3256. -30- 11. "Internet Connections" latest LITA publication "Internet Connections: A Librarian's Guide to Dial-Up Access and Use," 2nd edition, is the latest Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) publication. Written by Mary E. Engle, Marilyn Lutz, William W. Jones, Jr., and Genevieve Engel, the new edition is designed to provide librarians with information and resources on such online services as Archie, Gopher, WAIS and the World Wide Web. It includes information on the software necessary to access these services. "Internet Connections: A Librarian's Guide to Dial-Up Access and Use," 2nd edition (ISBN 8389-7793-6) is $24 ($21.60 for LITA members). To order, contact: American Library Association Book Order Fulfillment, 155 N. Wacker, Chicago, IL 60606-1719. Telephone: 800-545-2433, press 7. FAX: 312-836-9958. LITA is a division of the American Library Association. Library and information studies financial assistance directory available -30- 12. Library and information studies financial assistance directory available "Financial Assistance for Library and Information Studies, Academic Year 1996-97" is available from the American Library Association (ALA) Committee on Education (COE). The annual directory provides information on scholarships, fellowships, grants and assistantships from state library agencies and associations, educational institutions and local libraries as well as national awards. Most listings are for programs leading to the master's degree in library and information science. Some information is included on the undergraduate, sixth-year certificate, doctoral and continuing education programs. Printing of this directory was made possible through a grant from The H.W. Wilson Foundation Inc. Single copies of the booklet are available for one dollar to cover postage and handling from: Committee on Education (COE), American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 4277/4281/4282, or 312-280-4277/4281/4282. Institutions and associations seeking multiple copies should contact COE at ALA. -30-