OLA Information, 1999-2000
Submitted by Terry Ann Rohe
List of Officers
President: Terry Ann Rohe, PSU
Vice President: Anne van Sickle, McMinnville Public Library
Pas President: Sara Charlton, Tillamook County Library
Treasurer: Andrew Bonamici, U of O
Secretary: Carol Reich, Hillsboro Public Library
Parliamentarian: Ed House, Albany Public Library
ALA Representative: Deborah Carver, U of O
OEMA Representative: Margo Jensen, Willamette ESD
PNLA Representative: Nancy Spalding, Cedar Mill Community Library
Member at large: Diedre Conkling, Lincoln County Library District
State Librarian: Jim Scheppke, OSL
Location and theme of annual conference
Sheraton Hotel , Portland Airport
April 5-7, 2000
"Libraries: A Proud Tradition, A Bright Future"
Notable speakers:
· Brooke Sheldon, former President of ALA, Keynote Address
· Molly Bang, artist, Preconference "Picture This: Perception and Composition in Illustration"
· Leslea Newman, author of Heather has Two Mommies, "Heather's Mommy Speaks Out"
· John Callahan, cartoonist, Banquet Speaker
· Kee Malesky, National Public Radio Librarian, Lunch Speaker
· Virginia "Ginny" Furtwangler (a.k.a. Ann Copeland) and Albert Furtwangler, authors, "Shut That Door, I'm Trying to Think"
Legislative activity
This was not a legislative year, but issues with which we dealt included:
· Internet filtering
· Changes in Oregon's public records laws concerning patron confidentiality
· Separation of church and state in the issue of cultural symbols in a public forum. "Christmas Trees, Celebrations. And the Constitution: Public uses of Public Space" was the topic of an OLA conference program sponsored by the Public Library Division. The speaker was Mike Simon, ACLU attorney.
· Intellectual freedom
Programs at the conference focusing on Intellectual freedom included:
"Daily Dilemmas: Personal Versus Professional Ethics" was the topic of an OLA conference program sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Committee. Speakers were Karyle Butcher, OSU; Diedre Conkling, Lincoln County Library District; and Mike Wessells, Timberland Regional Library.
"Feeding the hand that Bites You: Libraries and the Religious Right" was sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Committee. The speaker was Mike Wessells, Timberland Regional Library.
Notable awards/honorary memberships
· Oregon Librarian of the Year - Gail Warner
· Library Employee of the Year - Judy Brunkal
· Library Supporter of the Year - Craig Berkman
· Intellectual Freedom Committee Award - Heather McNeil-Nix
· Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award Recipient: Nancy Spaulding
Outstanding events that you remember
We started talking about presenting budget requests for special projects for all types of libraries together to the legislature. We had a vision of the state providing additional funding for online services and databases for public, academic, and school libraries. Our initial discussions and plans led to further development of this idea during subsequent years, and I thought, increased communication and cooperation among various types of libraries.
Craig Berkman made a very generous donation to the Summer Reading Program. I believe it may have been $40,000.