Rural Libraries Get Official ALA Committee

twistedlibrarian writes “Rural libraries now have a new platform within the American Library Association (ALA). During the ALA Midwinter Meeting, Council voted to approve the creation of the Standing Committee on Rural School, Tribal, Native, and Public Libraries. The committee is charged with addressing the needs of rural libraries, advocating for them, and collaborating with them. “The approval of the new ALA standing committee gives a larger and more forceful voice to libraries and library workers in rural America,” said Satia Marshall Orange, director of ALA’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS), who worked with the task force that brought the proposal to Council. Committee members will be selected by the ALA president and leadership of the Public Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, American Indian Library Association, the Legislative Committee, and OLOS.

Library Journal “

February 3, 2005 by Uncategorized 3

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3 Responses

  1. AshtabulaGuy says:
    February 3, 2005 at 5:48 am

    Why?
    Does this actually take into account the existence of the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship headed by Dr. Bernard Vavrek in the Department of Library Science at Clarion University of Pennsylvania? In conjunction with the H. W. Wilson Foundation the Center helps sponsor the Association of Rural and Small Libraries too.

    This seems like a new bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake. It is unclear to me why something new should be created when instead something existing could be beefed up and broadened.

    Reply
  2. rochelle says:
    February 3, 2005 at 6:12 am

    Re:Why?
    Dr. Vavrek was a member of the Task Force that got this ball rolling. I attended several of the meetings/programs at Annual 2004 and was very impressed with the work and commitment of the group that served. What it does is give rural libraries more visiblity and more of a voice within ALA. Here’s some more info about the specific work of the Task Force .

    Reply
  3. AshtabulaGuy says:
    February 3, 2005 at 7:00 am

    Re:Why?
    Thank you Rochelle. I was actually just in Clarion today hauling some paperwork to the Clarion County Courthouse for my father and visiting in-town with a close friend of mine who is in the graduate library science program at Clarion. I have downloaded the report and will read it in my copiously available time in between sending out job applications.

    I had not heard what Dr. Vavrek had been up to recently as he was off on sabbatical last semester in Montana (if memory serves correctly). The gig in Montana was under contract for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I remember in the fall semester of 2003 he was on planes quite a bit checking things out in Montana and wound up grading papers from his Clarion classes both directions! I know Kendise Dunn was heading up CSRL in the fall but am not sure who the GA-in-charge is now.

    In retrospect, I probably should have stopped by Dr. Vavrek’s office at Carlson Library today to see what he has been up to. It might have done me a great amount of good.

    Reply

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