Brenda Hough – Erika Rux at IL2009

Originally uploaded by NLLN.

Erika Rux (Librarian at Concordia College’s Ylvisaker Library) and I were able to attend the Internet Librarian 2009 Conference last week in balmy Monterey, California.

Pictured here are Brenda Hough and Erika having fabulous desserts after a long day of sessions!

One of the hallmarks of IL is networking between attendees — a way to catch up with old friends, and to meet new people face-to-face. Old Monterey, on the bay, is a small town, so the conference flows easily from the conference center to the restaurants, pubs, and outdoor plazas of the area.

For more information about the sessions — most of which were being streamed — go to the bloggers and presenters who captured the sessions and shared their slide-presentations. Bloggers to check include Sarah Houghton-Jan, Bobbi Newman, David Lee King, Matt Hamilton, Buffy Hamilton, Michael Porter, Jason Griffey, … and many more.

On  Twitter, check out the nearly 5000 tweets under #il2009.

It is an exciting Conference and one I look forward to attending in the future. Along with Computers in Libraries (east coast; spring conference), Internet Librarian is one of the most stimulating and energizing conferences available!

Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund

Listening Sessions Scheduled

The Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Minnesota Humanities Center will host a series of listening sessions to obtain public input for a 10-year plan and 25-year framework for the use of funds made available through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The constitutional amendment, approved by voters in November 2008, added a provision to Minnesota’s constitution that provides for an increase in the sales tax to support outdoor heritage, clean water, parks and trails, as well as arts, history and cultural heritage.

Representatives from the three organizations and 10 other history, arts and cultural organizations and libraries will work together to develop a plan for how proceeds of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund will be spent. Members of the public are encouraged to attend. Listening sessions will be held in coming months in locations across the state. An online survey is available. The results of this collaborative planning process will be reported to the legislature by Jan. 15, 2010.

Listening Sessions

Time: 5 – 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to arrive at 5 p.m.

RSVP: legacy@mnhs.org

• October 21 Minnesota History Center in St. Paul
• October 27 at the Minnesota Discovery Center , Highway 169, Chisholm
• October 29 at the Fergus Falls Center for the Arts , 124 W. Lincoln Ave.
• November 16 at the Rochester Community and Technical College , Heinz Center, 851 30th Ave. S.E.
• November 17 in the Twin Cities TBA
• November 18 in Marshall at Charter Hall, Rooms 201 and 217, Southwest Minnesota State University, 1501 State Street South (Park in “A” or “B” lots on east side of campus)

Online Input

If you can’t attend a listening session, please provide your input via an online survey.

Committee

The 13-member committee was chosen from a field of 50 applicants nominated by their peers.

Members are

• Peggy Adelman, chief financial officer, Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley;
• Jennifer Bloom, executive director, Learning, Law and Democracy Foundation, St. Paul;
• Michael Garcia, president and CEO, Duluth Children’s Museum;
• Allen Harmon, president and general manager, Duluth-Superior Area Educational Television;
• Andrea Kajer, deputy director, Minnesota Historical Society;
• Patricia Mulso, executive director, Freeborn Historical Society, Albert Lea;
• Jeff Nelson, public strategy managing director, Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul;
• David O’Fallon, president and CEO, MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis;
• Rebecca Lynn Petersen, executive director, Fergus Falls Center for the Arts;
• Brenda Raney, director of government relations, Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul;
• Mark Ranum, director, Plum Creek Library System, Worthington;
• Stanley Romanstein, executive director, Minnesota Humanities Center;and
• Pam Perri Weaver, board member, Minnesota State Arts Board.

Below is the resolution pertaining to the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act that was approved by the MLA membership at the MLA Annual Conference, Oct 15, 2009:

Resolution on 2009 reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act

Approved by the Minnesota Library Association Board of Directors 10/13/2009

Approved by the Minnesota Library Association Membership 10/15/2009

Whereas, the Minnesota Library Association is committed to encouraging free and open inquiry by preserving the privacy rights of library users, library employees, and persons living in the United States;

Whereas, the Minnesota Library Association opposes governmental actions that suppress or chill free and open inquiry;

Whereas, Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act allows the FBI to secretly request and obtain library records for large numbers of individuals without reason to believe they are involved in illegal activity;

Whereas, Section 505 of the USA PATRIOT Act permits the FBI to obtain records from libraries by using National Security Letters (NSL) without prior judicial oversight;

Whereas, Section 215 automatically requires and Section 505 permits the FBI to impose a nondisclosure or “gag” order on the recipients, thereby prohibiting the reporting of abuse of government authority and abrogating the recipients’ First Amendment rights;

Whereas, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 25, 2009, that the FBI had used Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act 223 times between 2004 and 2007¹, and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Justice reported in March 2008 that the FBI had made 192,499 National Security Letter requests from 2003 through 2006²;

Whereas, the OIG reported in March 2008 that “the FISA Court twice refused to authorize Section 215 orders based on concerns that the investigation was premised on protected First Amendment activity, and the FBI subsequently issued NSLs to obtain information” without reviewing the underlying investigation to be sure it did not violate the statute’s First Amendment caveat³;

Whereas, members of Congress have introduced legislation to restore privacy rights and address the concerns of the Minnesota Library Association such as: The Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157 in the 108th Congress) and the National Security Letters Reform Act (S. 2088 in the 110th Congress and H.R. 1800); now therefore be it

Resolved that the Minnesota Library Association:

1. Oppose initiatives on the part of the United States government to constrain the free expression of ideas or to inhibit the use of libraries; 

2. Urge Congress to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded National Security Letter Section 505 and Section 215 authorities that allow the FBI to demand information about people who are not targets of an investigation and to reinstate standards limiting the use of these authorities to obtain information only about terrorism suspects and agents of foreign powers.

3. Urge Congress to allow nondisclosure or “gag” orders of limited scope and duration only when necessary to protect national security and only upon the authority of a court, and ensure that targets of such orders have a meaningful right to challenge them before a fair and neutral arbiter.

4. Urge Congress to intensify its oversight of the use of the USA PATRIOT Act as well as other government surveillance and investigations that limit the privacy rights of library users, library employees, and U.S. persons;

5. Communicate this resolution to Minnesota’s Congressional Delegation, the Minnesota  Legislative Assembly, the Governor of the State of Minnesota, and the Minnesota State Librarian;  

6.  Urge its members, Minnesota librarians, Minnesota library trustees, and all library advocates to ask Congress to restore crucial safeguards protecting civil liberties.

Sources

1.  Robert S. Mueller. (March 25, 2009).  “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Accessed through LexisNexis Congressional database.

2.  Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice. (March 2008).  A Review of the FBI’s Use of National Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of NSL Usage in 2006, p. 110.  Available at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0803b/final.pdf

Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice. (March 2008).  A Review of the FBI’s Use of Section 215 Orders for Business Records in 2006, p. 73.  Available at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0803a/final.pdf

Heads up!  MLA Foundation mini-grants are available to Minnesota libraries. Application deadline is Dec 31, 2009, for these $500 awards. Click here for the guidelines and application information.

This is a great opportunity to seek supplemental funding for that very special project or event!

Joyce Valenza and Doug Johnson have written a “can’t miss” article for School Library Journal entitled, “Things That Keep Us Up At Night”. Find it at http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699357.html 

These things that keep Joyce and Doug awake at night are likely to keep most of us awake, no matter what type of library we work in or use. Times are changing — are we? are our libraries? are we up to the challenges or will our profession be eclipsed?

There is an urgency to this article that should stimulate wide discussion in our ranks.

Peg and Joan

Originally uploaded by NLLN.

Peg Werner and Joan Larson were both honored at the recent MN Library Association Annual Conference in St Cloud.

Peg received the President’s Award from MLA President Ken Behringer for her work on library maintenance of effort across a whole field of players and interested partners. Peg is the Director fo the Viking Library System.

Joan Larson received the MN Library Association Distinquished Achievement Award for her years of service in the library community, her passion, enthusiasm, and endless innovation, and her continued voice in retirement. Joan is the former Executive Director of the Northern Lights Library Network , an active member of the Douglas County Friends of the Library in Alexandria, and a member of the Mn Assoc of Library Friends Board.

Also honored at the Conference was Senator Dan Skogen of Otter Tail Co for his hard work and successful championing of libraries in the Minnesota Legislature.  

Congratulations to all!

The Weaver race car

Originally uploaded by NLLN.

Will Weaver’s appearance in Detroit Lakes, complete with race car and Team Weaver member Bill Smith, was a big hit. Thanks to the Detroit Lakes Public Library and Becker Co Friends of the Library. Middle school kids from Detroit Lakes and Mahnomen were there. More pictures are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlln

Organizations with volunteer programs that focus on preserving our heritage are encouraged to apply for designation as Preserve America Stewards. The next quarterly deadline for submitting applications to the Preserve America Stewards program is December 1, 2009.
Read more: http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/101609a.shtm

… from the IMLS e-Newsletter, Primary Source

Op-Ed Contributor – A Library to Last Forever – NYTimes.com

Read this Op-Ed piece by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, about the Google Book project – and the disputed Google settlement. The piece is interesting — but even more interesting are the comments it is generating from all sides.

The Google Book setttlement is still being decided. And is still controversial.

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts » Blog Archive » arts alert: Where are Amendment Dollars Now?

This is a great summary of what is happening with the Legacy Funding being used for the arts acrosss Minnesota. Sheila Smith, from the Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,  has posted this on their Arts Alert blog. Below is an excerpt from the blog post. It includes information and links to what libraries, as well as the other arts groups, are planning with their anticipated funds.

1. Where is the Amendment Money?

Access Points For Amendment Resources:

The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, passed by the voters in November, 2008, created new resources for land conservation, water conservation, parks and arts.

The agencies and programs that received legislative appropriations from the four funds are scrambling now to create programs to make grants across the state. Many of these plans are not yet finalized, but a road map is now emerging for arts and culture organizations and artists in terms of how to access the resources in the Arts and Culture Fund. Because the funds have gone to multiple agencies, artists and arts organizations would be well advised to pay attention to these mulitple “Access Points” for Arts and Culture Fund dollars. I have included a quick description of where each agency is in their planning process.

ARTS, ARTISTS AND ARTS ACCESS:
The Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils

Minnesota’s state arts funding system includes a state agency (MSAB) that does statewide programming and grant-making, and 11 regional arts councils (RACs) which each serve a set of counties with local grants and services. Collectively, they received $21,650,000 for grants and services for 1. Arts, and Arts Access, 2. Arts Education, 3. Arts and Cultural Heritage.

STATEWIDE: MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD: In addition to some administrative money, 70% of the MSAB/RAC appropriation goes to the MSAB for statewide projects and services. After a lengthy and exhaustive set of regional meetings and public input, the MSAB has nearly completed its plan to get grants out to Minnesota communities. Right now it looks like they will be doing a combination of beefing up current programs for artists and arts organizations, and creating new programs to promote arts education partnerships, to fund touring and festivals, to fund free public access to arts events, and to fund new opportunities for artists. Once finalized (within a month or two), they will be posted on www.arts.state.mn.us. I will send out updates as more specific information becomes available.

REGIONAL ARTS COUNCILS: The RACs are receiving 30% of the appropriation, and each RAC is determining independently the new programs it will create in their region based on local community input. For various reasons they are each on a different timeline, for example, Region 9 in Mankato will start making their grants in November, 2009. Region 2, in Bemidji, will be launching in May, 2010. To find out what opportunities are available in your area, contact your local Regional Arts Council. Contact info. can be found at http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm. 

MINNESOTA PUBLIC TV

All public TV stations in MN have received money to do more arts and cultural programming with their amendment funds. To find out what the stations in your area are planning, and to potentially partner with them, call your local station:

• Twin Cities Public Television, Minneapolis / St. Paul, 651-222-1717, www.tpt.org
• WDSE-TV  Channel 8, Duluth / Superior & Hibbing, 218-724-8567, www.wdse.org
• Lakeland Public Television, Bemidji / Brainerd, 800-292-0922, www.lakelandptv.org
• Pioneer Public Television, Appleton / Worthington / Fergus Falls, 800-726-3178, www.pioneer.org
• KSMQ-TV, Austin / Rochester, 800-658-2539, www.ksmq.org
• Prairie Public Television, Moorhead / Crookston, 800-359-6900, www.prairiepublic.org 

ART IN LIBRARIES

The state’s twelve regional library systems have received $4.25 million to provide arts and culture activities. All of the systems are looking for partnerships that will connect libraries, historical societies, arts organizations, and literacy.  The library Legacy money must be spent in 4 categories: 1. Arts 2. Culture 3. Literary 4. MN History. If you want to partner with the libraries to provide programming, then you should get on the phone with your regional library system asap. Some of them are very unfamiliar with local artists and arts organizations. More information about their Legacy Fund planning, and contact information for each of the regional library systems can be found at: www.crplsa.info.  Suzanne Miller, State Librarian, Minnesota Department of Education can also provide additional information.  She can be reached at:  651-582-8791 or suzanne.miller@state.mn.us. There is also a blog where the libraries are tracking their activity with Legacy funds at: http://www.crplsa.info/pages/viewrecentblogposts.action?key=CRPLSA.

STATEWIDE: All twelve regional library systems have set aside 10% of their allocation for a statewide initiative.  While not confirmed, it looks like it will be used for a Greatest Generation program in partnership with the State Historical Society.

THE TWELVE REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEMS: The other 90% will be split between the twelve regional library systems. (The allocation for each of the regional library systems is based on the existing “Regional Library Basic System Support” formula which is used to distribute the state’s appropriation for libraries, which includes factors for population and geographical area).  

METRO AREA:  The seven metro counties and the City of St. Paul each have a regional library system. Collectively, the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) covers them all.  They have decided to hire Melinda Ludwiczak melinda@melsa.org from the Hennepin County Library to coordinate the Legacy Fund efforts for the whole metro area.  MELSA will use approximately 40% of their funds to create programs and partnerships on a metro-wide level. The remaining 50% will be allocated by population to each of the eight member systems to enhance partnerships with local community agencies and provide arts, cultural heritage, literary and Minnesota history activities.

GREATER MN:  The remaining regional library systems are each determining their own programming.

• The Traverse des Sioux Regional Library, headquartered in Mankato, will partner with the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council to get the money distributed. 
• In Duluth, the Executive Director of the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is on the committee to help the library system  (Arrowhead Library System) determine how best to utilize their funds.
• The East Central MN Library system has posted a web page where they will post their plans: http://eastcentrallibraries.blogspot.com/2009/08/arts-and-culture-in-library.html

MN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Minnesota Historical Society has created a web page to describe their plans and promote potential grant opportunities for local historical sites and organizations: http://www.mnhs.org/about/grants/legacy/index.htm.

MN PUBLIC RADIO

As of this writing, I don’t have any advice except to call your local station and ask them what their plans are.