LISNews: Librarian News

As you may or may not know, Carol Brey, Robert Newlen and Herman Totten are seeking election for the ALA presidency.
Each year I conduct an email interview with interested candidates, and each year I ask for questions from the LISNews readers. So please email me [], use The Form or post your comments/questions below. I\'ll be emailing the candidates the best of the questions, and hope to have their answers back in a few weeks.

All three candidates will be participating.

Steve Fesenmaier passed along this note from Mitch Freedman, who says This is the worst financial situation in my memory for libraries around
the country, and the communities and states in the U.S. ALA is gearing
up this campaign to make the public aware of the impact of funding
cutbacks on libraries:

\"This weekend the Wall Street Journal Report will have a segment on the
funding cuts for America\'s libraries. It is a syndicated show, so the
time it is broadcast locally varies. Consult your local newspaper or TV
schedule. In the New York City area the show will be broadcast on NBC,
Channel 4, at 6:30AM.

I\'ve been told by the CNBC people who came out for to the Ardsley (NY)
Public Library to film the library\'s interior, patrons, & myself that
there would probably be a few sound bites from the Ardsley visit, as
well as the other places & people they filmed, and the whole segment
would probably be in the neighborhood of 5 minutes or so. -- Read More

ALA\'s Social Responsibilities Round Table is taking a lot of heat at the
moment from pro-Israel activists who are incensed with ALA\'s resolution against the destruction of libraries
and cultural institutions in the Palestinian territories, and aware of SRRT\'s role in the initiation of that
resolution. If you would listen to these critics, all SRRT does is plot a radical international agenda for
ALA. In truth, SRRT does a lot of things through its seven task forces, and brings issues to ALA Council in
a variety of areas. A good way to find out about what SRRT actually does is to check out its website, or better yet, to read the latest issue of the SRRT Newsletter, which gives
the whole run-down on what SRRT and its various Task Forces have been doing. For the record, I am the
current Coordinator of SRRT, and I am a Jew who is not self-hating, and I am very comfortable with the
positions that SRRT has taken on international issues, led by our International Responsibilities Task Force.

David Goldman, from over at kfsource.com has written This One on the allegations of anti-Israeli bias in the SRRT.
He raises several questions of interest to those following this topic.