ALA Councilor Report - June 2002
ALA Councilor report to WLA following the June, 2002 ALA Annual Meeting
The ALA/Allied Professional Association (ALA/APA) 501(c)6 has been established and at the last midwinter meeting a transition team was put in place "to develop and propose an operating plan for approval by Council at the 2002 Annual Conference in Atlanta." The ALA/APA was established as an organization that can lobby for librarians and librarians' salaries which ALA can not do without jeopardizing its tax status as a 501(c)3 organization. The Council for ALA is the Council for APA. A time limit was established for Council to conduct ALA/APA business. Council did pass ALA/APA Guiding Principles but all other recommendations from the Transition Team did not get addressed as Council got bogged down on the whole issue of the organization, its existence and role. For further information concerning the ALA/APA see the following .
Council passed by consent to incorporate Policy #6.16 (Virtual/E-Members) into the ALA Policy Manual. This provides broader opportunities for participation in ALA committees. This means that members can serve on committees and fully participate in committees even though they may not be able to attend conferences. Although this policy is not yet posted on the ALA website it will be located under
Council voted to establish a Rural Libraries Task Force with the charge of identifying and studying the issues and challenges confronting rural school, tribal and public libraries, and making recommendations on possible solutions. The work of this task force should be of interest to libraries in Wyoming.
Council adopted Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. Please see and for further information.
The final item I want to report on is information about the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" (USA PATRIOT Act). This was passed by Congress on October 25, 2001.This law broadly expands the powers of federal law enforcement agencies investigating cases involving foreign intelligence and international terrorism.
ALA addresses the Patriot Act at the following site .
The legislation states that any person or institution served with a search warrant not to disclose that such a warrant has been served or that records have been produced pursuant to the warrant. This does not mean that libraries and librarians served with such a search warrant cannot ask to consult their legal counsel. If you or your library are issued a warrant under this law, and wish advice of legal counsel but do not have an attorney, you can obtain assistance from the Freedom TO Read Foundation's legal counsel. Call the Office for Intellectual Freedom (1-800-545-2433, ext 4223) and inform the staff that you need legal advice. Do not reveal why you need the advice. The staff will make sure an attorney contacts you.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as Wyoming's ALA Councilor. The experience has been interesting from the very first meeting where I stood as the lone no vote concerning a White House Conference on Libraries issue to my final meetings where I saw Council come to a screeching halt during debates on the ALA/APA issue. If you are interested in getting to know more of the inner workings of ALA, of having the opportunity to know first hand issues being addressed by ALA and want to meet colleagues from across the county, I urge you to consider taking a turn as Wyoming's ALA Councilor.
Lucie P. Osborn
ALA Councilor