• Focus on the impact of services to end-users, maximizing the value of an organized joint approach to the limited resources available and recognizing current political, economic, and organizational capacity.
• Fund necessary research to adopt the best possible models for critical cooperative services (e.g, delivery, shared catalogs, group purchasing, databases, continuing education, etc.)
• Take into account varying needs of different types of libraries and different geographic concerns and the need for equitable sharing of resources.
• Provide an actionable blueprint for discussions with policymakers.

For the full text, please click here.

ILA President Gail Bush is working with key stakeholders to focus the plan on immediate actions to be presented to Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White, including reallocation of funds to maintain delivery, research alternatives, and restructure if necessary.  The goal is to meet with Secretary White prior to the start of the 2011 session of the Illinois General Assembly in January.

Opposes House Bill (HB) 6913 that would transfer literacy funds from the Illinois State Library to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Supports the introduction of legislation to change the deadline for municipal libraries to file their Illinois Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR) to concur with the two-month timeframe for district libraries.  

Supports the introduction of legislation amending the Local Records Act to allow immediate disposal of paper library card applications once the information has been entered and verified in an electronic database.

Supports the concept of introducing legislation that would change the current requirement to secure a bond for library Treasurers to a requirement that the Treasurer secure insurance to cover the loss of library funds, but requested ILA's Public Policy Committee to carefully review/draft the specific language for the proposed bill.  

Supports the introduction of legislation that would change the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District formula for reimbursing Public Library Districts by deleting reference to the Library Research Center at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and substitute a different formula.  The current basis for reimbursement is a per capita payment based on an annual University of Illinois report that is no longer being updated.

Approved John W. Berry and Alphonse F. Trezza for possible induction as Illinois Library Luminaries.

Accepted the Audit Report, Year Ended June 30, 2010 as prepared by Weiss, Sugar, Dvorak & Dusek, Ltd.

Please click to download the entire December 2010 ILA Reporter or click on the links below to download a separate pdf for each specific article:

Once Upon a Time: Storytelling and the ILA Legislative Network by Nancy A. Ashbrook

A Royal Beginning for Everyday Use: Special Collections at Augustana College by Sarah M. Horowitz and Jamie L. Nelson

Green Literacy Gets Off to a Great Start

2010 ILA Annual Conference

2010 ILA Public Policy Initiatives

2010 General Election Library Referenda Results

Librarians . . . . Oh, How Merry! by Allen Lanham

Dear Elsie by Richard A. Stewart

My Turn by Kathleen McSwain

Debby Miller has been very active in library activities on the local, state, and national levels, and she is a trustee extraordinaire!  She is a former member and president of the board of the North Suburban Library System.  As a trustee of the Schaumburg Township District Library since 1971, Miller has served as that board's president several times. Her honors include the Illinois Library Association (ILA) Trustee of the Year Award in 1979 and the American Library Association (ALA) Trustee of the Year Award in 1985.  She was president of the ILA's Trustee Section and an officer and member of the board of American Library Association's Association of Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA).  She served on ALA's Intellectual Freedom and Legislation committees and was active for many years in the legislation activities of the Illinois Library Association.  Miller continues to be active not only at the Schaumburg Township District Library but also on the Arts Commission of the Village of Hoffman Estates as well as assisting in the adult education program at Roosevelt University in Schaumburg.

As of November 2010, the roster of Illinois Library Luminaries continues to grow with fourteen illustrious members, all of whom have been honored with at least $1,000 in contributions to the ILA Endowment.  This campaign to honor Illinois library leaders and build the ILA Endowment began in 2008 and has now raised nearly $30,000 in contributions.  Please visit the ILA Web site for more information on how to submit a nomination or make a contribution to honor any of the following nominated outstanding individuals or add your contributions to current fourteen honorees:  Robert P. Doyle, Ernest J. Martin, Vandella Brown, John W. Berry, Alphonse F. Trezza, and Sylvia Murphy Williams.  Many thanks to all the generous donors to date!