Illinois Library Association
Vol. 5, Issue:  17| May  8, 2012
ILA Election Results

Vice President/President-Elect candidates:

 

 

 

468      Su Erickson 

           Robert Morris University, Aurora

 

373      Jocelyn Tipton

           Eastern Illinois University, Charleston

 

 

 

Su will begin her three-year term on July 1, 2012, running through June 30, 2015.

 

Board of Directors (three-year term beginning July 1, 2012 -- June 30, 2015).  A candidate from each pairing will be elected in accordance with the ILA bylaws as amended at the 1998 ILA Annual Conference.

 

Director-at-Large:

 

556      Carol Reid

           Heartland Community College, Normal 

 

272      Anthony Glass

           Eureka College

  

 

 

Director-at-Large:

 

447      Susan Westgate 

           Bartlett Public Library District

 

401      Amber Creger 

           Chicago Public  Library

  

 

 

Director-at-Large:  

 

515      Becky Robinson

           Galesburg Senior High School

 

318      Jeremy Dunn

           Chicago Public Schools

 

 

Director-at-Large:

 

555      Leora Siegel

           Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe

 

279      Ann Lee

           Dow Jones and Company, Chicago

 

 

ALA Councilor

 

423      Denise Zielinski

           Joliet Public Library

 

422      Allen Lanham, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston

 

 

 

This was the eighth year that ILA experimented with electronic voting.

 

In 2012, with 2,749 personal members eligible to vote 874 voted (32 percent). This breaks down as: 817 electronic (2,398 electronic voters or 34 percent) and 57 paper (351 eligible paper voters or 16 percent).

Draft Document
Service to Homeless Populations in Illinois
The ILA Public Policy Committee is considering advancing the following document to the ILA Executive Board for its action at the June 15, 2012 ILA Executive Board.  If you have any comments regarding this document, please click here and e-mail them to us.  The document was prepared at the request of an Illinois Senator who had proposed legislation, but held the legislation to see if the Illinois library community could advance information/guidelines on the topic and recommend best practices.

Service to Homeless Populations in Illinois

While affirming the right of access to information for all, the Illinois Library Association and its members believe library policy regarding services to homeless populations are best established at the local level.  The following guidelines are offered in support of developing local policies that are in accordance with state and federal laws, provide maximum access to information to individuals seeking library services, and protect the collective interests of the community as a whole, represented by the library board.

 

In addition to ensuring the rights of patrons, both homeless and not, libraries are in the business of offering resources to their community that provide opportunity to those most in need.  To deny access to information on the basis of economic or social disadvantage is to participate in perpetuating that disadvantage.  At the same time, policies that protect everyone's access to that information are an essential part of ensuring continued support and existence of library resources.

 

Legal 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).

Following a 2006 case filed by the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Worcester Public Library, a policy was developed that added options to the library's practice of requiring proof of residency, such as:

(1)         Letter from social service agency or temporary employer providing proof of residency within the past 30 days.

 

(2)         Returned post card mailed to an individual at a given address; when it is returned to the library by the individual, establishing that they receive mail at that address, they are allowed to apply for and receive a library card.  There is an additional provision that the address needs to be verified orally every three months.  Massachusetts does not accept a post office box or business address for this purpose.

 

A recent article in Public Libraries, May/June 2012, "Library Service to the Homeless," offers guidelines to developing legally acceptable practices and ethical policies.  ILA suggests developing a policy checklist that includes:

  • Accordance with the First Amendment
  • Equality and consistency of policies and enforcement
  • Clear and open statement of policies
  • Regular review and appeals process
  • Cooperation with social service agencies in the community to provide alternatives to conventional proof of residency and other practical, constructive means to provide access.

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.
Is Amazon a New Monopoly?
To listen this story, please click here.

Rolling Libraries Keep Kids Reading

To continue reading about this story, please click here.
  
New East Peoria Library Will Be a 'People Place'   
To continue reading this story, please click here

More Than Books:  There's a New Children's Librarian in Town        
To continue reading this story, please click here. 

Galesburg Library Houses Reagan, Sandburg Books    
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Renovations Continue as COD Library Work Begins

To continue reading this story, please click here.

New Sugar Grove Library Director Comes from Itasca, Starts Next Week
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Cary and Fox River Grove Libraries Continue to Debate Merging
To continue reading this story, please  click here.

New Direction for Carol Stream Library Board?
To continue reading this story, please click here.

New Leaf: Profile of the New CPL Commissioner
To continue reading this story, please click here.

Texting the Newest Way to Ask a Librarian
To 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
If you use spam filters to protect your in-box, please take a moment right now to add doyle@ila.org and Illinois Library Association to your e-mail address book, spam software whitelist, or mail system whitelist.  Adding the address will help ensure that you receive the ILA E-Newsletter and that your e-mail software displays HTML and images properly.   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.  


CALENDAR

June 20, 2012
Deadline for August issue of the ILA Reporter.

Guidelines for Submissions to the ILA Reporter.

October 9-11, 2012
2012 ILA Annual Conference, Peoria
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