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Issue: # 6
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January 20, 2009
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 Final Report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University has released the final report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force and an assessment of the risks faced by youth on social networks. The task force, headed by the Berkman Center and comprised of academics, child safety experts and executives of technology companies -- including Microsoft, Facebook, Google and MySpace -- found that bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the most frequent threats that minors face, both online and offline. The report concluded there was no simple technology solution to protect children from online threats. "[A] combination of technologies, in concert with parental oversight, education, social services, law enforcement, and sound policies by social-network sites and service providers, may assist in addressing specific problems that minors face online," the study said. The task force was created in February 2008 by 49 state attorneys
general to look into the problem of sexual solicitation of children by
adults online. The study found, counter to popular perception, that
youth report sexual solicitation by other minors more frequently than
solicitation by adults. |
| Jeffrey Scherer, Board Chair for Libraries for the Future in New York, Writes to the New York Times
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 America's public libraries are at the center of one of the most radical changes of information dissemination, use, and importance in our history. In many communities, they are the only source for individuals to connect to the World Wide Web, get reading materials and information essential to their rapidly changing lives-including employment and education materials. In these troubled economic times, they are even more critical as our citizen's purchasing power has evaporated.
The proposed language of the $825 Billion Recovery Plan before the House of Representatives today does not include money for our libraries. While it includes roads and bridges to drive across our communities, it must include our intellectual bridges, the public library. It is crucial that they have the financial resources to be upgraded, expanded and renovated to fit the new era in the 21st century. I urge everyone to encourage Congress to include this crucial American intellectual resource in this recovery package.
Public libraries are at the heart of America's very poorest and middle class communities. Increasingly, they are essential resources to further one's education. As importantly, they are the essential community connection. While the hardware and the buildings may already be present, their broader role in supporting people needs in gathering to discuss civic issues, brush up their resumes, or learn more about a business opportunity is ever more critical. Through inclusion in the $825 Billion Recovery Plan, libraries can improve the tools and facilities that these constituents deserve at their libraries. Finally, for any institution to be effective, it has to be open and staffed. That takes taxpayers' dollars. NOW is the time to invest in our libraries.
Meanwhile, the ALA Washington Office disagrees with Sherer's
assertion that public libraries are not included in the recovery plan
and has posted a District Dispatch response
refuting the notion that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 does not contain funding for libraries, asserting that Scherer
"has misunderstood and misrepresented the bill."
In a January 16 e-mail message, Scherer told the Washington Office that
his reading still indicates "that essentially public libraries are
getting shorted in this bill," from which "the 15,000+ public libraries
in our society basically get nothing." He went on to say, "That does
not in any way suggest that the higher education, rural (native
American), and school libraries do not deserve all that they can get. I
applaud you for pointing this out. However, when a huge percentage of
libraries are excluded, the notion that some libraries are included is
just not enough."
Debate over this issue will likely continue in Denver at the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting this week. Follow the debate at AL Inside Scoop blog.
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Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit
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A new web-based resource has just been released that will help library advocates make the case for libraries during times of economic downturn.
Contents:
Introduction
I. Talking Points
II. Making the Case
III. Outreach to Patrons and the Public
IV. Talking to the Media
V. Working with Government Officials and Legislators
VI. Staging a Rally
VII. Library Checklist
Contacts
Resources
For further information, please click here. |
American Reading Habits Studied
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 The National Endowment for the Arts released some encouraging news
about the future of books and the Internet by studying the new market
for digital books, the NEA revealed that "Eighty-four percent of adults
who read literature (fiction, poetry, or drama) on or downloaded from
the Internet also read books, whether print or online... Nearly 15
percent of all U.S. adults read literature online in 2008." |
In the News
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Johnsburg Library Axes Relative Employment Policy
To continue reading about this story, click here.
The Glenview Village Board May Decide whether to Advance the Glenview Library Board an Additional $500,000 -- on Top of the $1M already Loaned Interest-free
To continue reading about this story, click here.
Glenview Public Library: From Conception to Reality
To continue reading about this story, click here.Indian Trails Public Library Boosting Spanish Collection
To continue reading about this story, click here. Temporary Sites Sought for Cook Library During Upcoming Renovation
To continue reading about this story, click here. Park Ridge Library Policy Limited Where Citizens Group Could Ask for Signatures
To continue reading about this story, click here. |
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Sincerely,
Robert P. Doyle
Illinois Library Association |
Disclaimer: Links to non-ILA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. The Illinois Library Association does not necessarily endorse the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ILA does not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.
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