News from Illinois Library Association

Vol. 5, Issue: 15| April 15, 2012

ILA Executive Board Actions at Friday's Meeting

Supports
House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment (HJRCA 49)

would amend the General Provisions Article of the Illinois Constitution by providing that no bill, except a bill for appropriations, that provides a benefit increase under any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall become law without the concurrence of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly. Provides requirements for passage if the Governor vetoes a bill or returns a bill with specific recommendations for change. Provides that no ordinance, resolution, rule, or other action of the governing body, or an appointee or employee of the governing body, of any unit of local government or school district that provides an emolument increase to an official or employee that has the effect of increasing the amount of the pension or annuity that an official or employee could receive as a member of a pension or retirement system shall be valid without the concurrence of three-fifths of the members of that governing body. Provides that no action of the governing body, or an appointee or employee of the governing body, of any pension or retirement system created or maintained for the benefit of officers or employees of the state, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof that results in a beneficial determination shall be valid without the concurrence of three-fifths of the members of that governing body.

Supports
House Bill (HB) 3782
would amend the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act by providing that it shall be unlawful for any employer to ask any prospective employee to provide any username, password, or other related account information in order to gain access to a social networking website where that prospective employee maintains an account or profile.

In other board actions:

received the final report on the Future of Illinois Library Cooperation (the next ILA E-Newsletter will contain more information on the report);
approved a redistribution of the current asset allocation for ILA's long-term investments;
approved changes in ILA Fiscal Policy 60661 Long-term Investment Policy, B Investment Policy;
approved two new candidates for possible inclusion as an Illinois Library Luminary;
heard a progress report on a new (fourth) edition of the Trustees Facts File; it will be an e-book edition that will be available later this year;
approved the possibility of holding a joint ILA/ISLMA/SLA-IL/IACRL conference in the future; and
approved that the current ILA presidents (immediate past, current and incoming) work collaboratively with staff to develop a succession plan for ILA based on ILA's governance and organizational structure.

ILA Is Working on a Best Practices Document on the Homeless

Senate Bill (SB) 3169

is being held and will not advance in the Illinois General Assembly in this session. The bill would have addressed the issue of borrowing privileges by persons residing in homeless, emergency, or other local shelters. ILA believed that a statewide mandate to extend the privileges fails to recognize widely varying shelter situations in local communities and usurps local control. ILA worked with Senator Rezin and ultimately it was determined that ILA should prepare a fact sheet with best practices to distribute to the Illinois library community on the issue.

ILA recognizes the long-standing court precedent has held that public libraries, as places set aside by the government for the public's receipt of information and services, are designated public forums subject to the First Amendment. As such, individuals possess a right to access the public library that is protected by the First Amendment. (Kreimer v. Bureau of Police, 958 F.2d 1242, 1259 (3d Cir. 1992).

Courts have struck down a number of library policies that effectively allowed library employees to deny access to the homeless because of individuals' appearance or personal hygiene. In general, rules that permit library employees to make discriminatory decisions regarding a user's right to access the library do not survive court review, especially if the rule appears to target a particular class of users. (See Kreimer, above; see also Armstrong v. D.C. Public Library, 154 F. Supp. 2d 67, 75 (D.D.C. 2001).

ILA will be looking closely at the 2006 case involving the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Worcester Public Library. The lawsuit was filed after the Worcester Public Library adopted a new policy that restricted the borrowing privileges of persons residing in homeless shelters. Persons residing in such shelters or similar institutions could only borrow a maximum of two items at any given time, while other library users were permitted to borrow up to 50 items at a time.

Best practices might include:

Libraries should actively review and reconsider policies that serve to deny the poor and homeless access to library services, including policies that require users to provide proof of a permanent address in order to obtain a library card or access library services and computers. Examples of such strategies include:

* Allowing homeless users to present a letter from a social service agency that verifies residence in the city and a current mailing address (San Francisco Public Library, 1989);

* Allowing use of a post office box or mailing drop for a permanent address, with mail verification (i.e., the library mails a letter to the box or mail drop, with the requirement that the letter be returned to the library to qualify

for the card);

* Working actively with social service agencies, shelters, and residential programs to establish a system to verify the status of those using the housing institution's services for purposes of issuing a library card.

ILA is in the progress of drafting a document and welcomes your suggestions. Please click here to send an e-mail message with your suggestions.

New Report from OLCC

U.S. Public Libraries: A Snapshot of Priorities & Perspectives

This new report details findings from a study OCLC conducted with libraries in mid-2011 to learn about their priorities, initiatives, thoughts on the future of their service points and the sources they use to keep up with developments in the library field. Select Key Findings:

Most public library staff:

Are focusing their priorities on Internet access, demonstrating value to funders and delivering e-content
Are concentrating on e-books as their top current initiative
Rely mostly on listservs and e-mail to stay current---while just a few use social media

Opinions are split on the make-up of service points in the future
The top priority for public library directors is demonstrating the library value's to funders

Nearly 1,300 public library staff including directors, managers, and librarians participated in the study. Please click here for the report's pdf.

15 Big Ways the Internet Is Changing Our Brain

With much of human knowledge now our fingertips, the Internet is rewiring our brains in various ways, Online College finds:

The Internet is our external hard drive
Children are learning differently
We hardly ever give tasks our full attention
We don't bother to remember
We're getting better at finding information
Difficult questions make us think about computers
IQ is increasing over time
Our concentration is suffering
We're getting better at determining relevance
We're becoming physically addicted to technology
The more you use the Internet, the more it lights up your brain
Our brains constantly seek out incoming information
We've become power browsers
Online thinking persists even offline
Creative thinking may suffer

Award Nominations Due May 15

Spotlighting Four More Awards

Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year Award
This award recognizes an Illinois librarian who is making an outstanding statewide contribution to academic or research librarianship and to library development.

Reference Services Award

This award is presented annually in accordance with the RSF's mission statement: "The ILA Services Forum exists for all who are interested in providing assistance to library users as they seek and use information. The Forum offers opportunities to share and enhance skills as well as to promote and recognize quality service throughout Illinois."

TBS, Inc. Technical Services Award

This award is awarded to an individual who has made a substantial contribution in the area of library technical services.

Trustee of the Year Award

This award is awarded to a public library trustee for achievement, leadership, and service to libraries.

Nominations for all ILA Awards are due May 15, 2012. Nominating someone for an ILA Award has never been easier!

Submit your nomination form and all supporting documentation via the ILA website. No service should go unrecognized, so toot your own horn or tell us who you think is the best!

If you have any questions about the ILA Awards, please contact the ILA office at (312) 644-1896, or ila@ila.org.

In the News

Library-related stories appearing in local news media are reflected in this section of the ILA E-Newsletter. The intent is to alert and inform the Illinois library community about issues and events that are considered significant by the general media.

Fox River Grove Gets New Library Director

To continue reading about this story, please click here.

Tiny Expansion Afoot for Huntley Library District

To continue reading this story, please click here.

Belleville Library Makes Changes to Attract New Patrons

To continue reading this story, please click here.

National Library Week Kicks Off with a Grand Reopening in Quincy

To continue reading this story, please click here.

Deerfield Librarian Honored for Work with Special Needs Children

To continue reading this story, please click here.

Aurora Council Approves Tax Increase for Library Improvement
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Libertyville Library to Honor Donor Posthumously
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Bartlett Library Tells Patrons It's "The Best Deal in Town"
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Science Expo at Elgin Library Draws Over 1,000 Students
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Grant Awarded to Grafton Food Pantry
Top continue reading this story, please click here.

If your library has a newspaper story with link, send it to us at doyle@ila.org for possible inclusion in the next ILA E-Newsletter. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Doyle
Illinois Library Association

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