Committee on Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds
2012 ALA Annual Conference, Anaheim
Committee Meeting
Saturday June 23, 2012, 10:30 AM - 12:00 Noon
Hilton Anaheim, Mezzanine Rm. 14
Minutes
Presiding: Jennifer Peterson, Chair
Committee Roster:
Jennifer Lee Peterson (Chair, 2011 - 2012)
Naomi Bishop (Member, 2011 - 2013)
Carlene S. Engstrom (Member, 2010 - 2012)
Veronica Isabella Franco (Member, 2011 - 2013)
John D. Hales Jr. (Ad hoc Member-PLA, 2011-2012)
Jennifer E. Manning (Member, 2010 - 2012)
Christopher Brent Strange (Member, 2011 - 2013)
Darren Tanaka (Ad hoc Member-AASL, 2010 - 2012)
Aliza Allen Leventhal (Intern, 2011 - 2013)
Omar Jerome Poler (Intern and Ad Hoc Member-AILA, 2010 - 2012)
Stephen L. Matthews (ALA Executive Board Liaison, 2011 - 2012)
Andrea Berstler (Ad hoc Member-ARSL, 2011 - 2012)
Charge: To review issues and challenges facing rural, native and tribal libraries of all kinds; to
collaborate with other ALA units addressing the needs of rural communities; and to serve as an
advocate for and partner with libraries serving rural, tribal and native populations.
1. Introductions
Jennifer Peterson, Chair
Naomi Bishop, Committee Member, Venata Medical Systems
Barbara Ray, AASL Representative, Northeastern State University
Betty Braaksma, Committee Member, University of Manitoba Libraries
Liana Juliano, Chair-elect
Steve Mathews, ALA Executive Board Liaison to Committee
Danny Hales, PLA Representative, Suwannee River Regional Library, Retired
John Amundson, OLOS Communication Specialist
Camille Callison, Committee Member, University of Manitoba
Omar Poler, UW-Madison SLIS-CES
Marilyn Lewis, Committee Member
Andrea Berslter, Wicomico Public Library
2. Assignment of Recorder for Minutes
Omar Poler accepts.
3. Approval of Minutes from 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting
Approval recommended. Passed.
4. ALA Executive Committee Liaison Report, Stephen Matthews
ALA––57,100 members. Big drop after recession, but increase is expected next year.
Virtual Membership Meeting––Approximately 500 members participated on June 6. Business
can be conducted through the meeting, including resolutions, etc.
ALA finances––There was a slight 2012 budget deficit with attendance down at conferences.
Neal-Shuman has been acquired by ALA Publishing, but with associated transition costs. Will do
more with e-books. A slight increase in the 2013 budget will allow for a 1-3% staff pay increase.
The Office of Research & Statistics and Office for Information Technology will also see
increased budgets. A dues increase (tied to consumer price index) is under discussion, but more
input required.
Reinventing conference––Changes are needed because of reduced revenue. For instance, 8,500
people to attend meeting but 16,000 seats have been requested; it’s unsustainable. There will be a
smaller campus for a more convenient meeting experience. As of next year, it will also be digital.
Registered participant will have increased access to more free-of-charge digital content.
School libraries––School Library Task Force submitted approximately 28,000 signatures to the
President. It was a success in that it marshaled our troops. They will increase awareness with
school administrators to demonstrate the importance of school libraries. To make it personal,
they will feature kids.
Office for Diversity update––Miguel Figueroa has taken a new position elsewhere. The
selection of a new director is in now in process.
Website––Dreamhost ISP suffered an outage with a serious rebuild needed. This impacts the
OLOS blog.
5. Ongoing Business Items
Toolkit revisions––Several have volunteered to participate in the revision of the “Guide to
Winning Big Support for Your Tribal Library,” but with no action yet. It was published in 2008
and needs to be updated. Use ALA Connect to post Word documents and PDFs. Suggestions
may be submitted. AILA is aware of the “Guide to Small Libraries” revision after the broader
community was approached following the draft version.
Rural Library Leadership blog series––Appears on OLOS Columns Blog and promoted
through American Libraries Direct and ARSL. Post so far have been written by John “Danny”
Hales, Jr. and Melinda Tanner. A schedule for future posts is needed.
Rural Library Leadership blog series (background and ideas)––Midwinter’s “Small But
Powerful” forum, with PEARL Project, which helps communities build outreach plans, found
advocacy is about leadership to demonstrate impact. Therefore, it might be helpful to create a
“menu” of helpful tribal/rural leadership qualities. Perhaps tap into rural/tribal leaders to tell
stories of success. Danny Hales started the blog series, but it’s now on OLOS blog. John
Amundson would like to keep the posts coming, eventually with video and audio too. Melinda
Tanner did a post. It would be nice to target a tribal librarian. Maybe Ben Grignon of the
Menominee Nation? A leadership panel may also be great. Or Barbara could have students post
resources. Two posts have already been published.
Promotion of RNTLOAK products––OLOS included the “Tribal” and revised “Rural” toolkits
in a presentation at the ATALM Conference in Tulsa. John presented at ATALM with Janice
Kowemy and Sandy Littletree. It was well received and the toolkits went like hotcakes. Will we
get another set of toolkits? Rural toolkits were reprinted and ARSL will receive copies for their
conference. Contact John with any questions. Both are available on the OLOS website
6. Updates
ALA Annual programs––Danny and Jennifer are presenting as part of “Advocacy and
Fundraising for your Rural or Tribal Library.” Peter Pearson, involved with frontline advocacy,
and Janice Kowemy will also speak. “Building and Sustaining Strategic Plans and Partnerships
in your Rural or Tribal Community” will feature Andrea Berstler with Ron Carlee from
International City/County Managers Association (ICMA). ICMA has worked with libraries to
build partnerships. UNT’s PEARL project will also speak to partnerships. General advice: move
quickly on session topics; get presenters there early before others.
7. New Business Items
New committee members––Liana Juliano is welcomed as incoming chair. New members are
needed in order to have a more sustainable core to keep work progressing throughout the year.
Committee’s role is to publicize work already going on [in the field].
8. Additional Items
Announcements––American Youth Literacy Awards tomorrow (6-8) at Convention Center.
AAC 213 C. Books on display in diversity booth. Aisle 300 in Exhibits. Talk Story session at
1pm
Ideas––Quick and dirty programs to do at your library. Some libraries don’t have space, so
maybe even program outside of the library somewhere. Blog post on Talk Story. Use
bookmobile to go out to where the kids are, they’re doing that in MD. If ARSL and RNTLOAK
can partner, that would be great on a future session.
Resource collaboration––How do we create a platform to collaborate between gatherings?
Perhaps new resources on how to catalog can be developed. Collection development is also a
topic of interested. For instance: how to think creatively about appropriate selection? Tribal
libraries rely heavily on donations, what’s the best way to decide on what to acquire and weed?
How does one deal with the politics of weeding when community members make donations?
How to weed politically? How should guidelines and collections development policies be
worded? Maybe a script to handle talks with donators is needed. One could be prepared with a
handout that describes the potential options after the library owns an item. Is the resource
collaboration platform a wiki? Yes. State librarians are talking about this and rural libraries want
this. Where to go for resources? WebJunction is already there, but it’s large. It has a new tagging
system that could be used for easier discoverability. Generally, there’s a need to educate users
about WebJunction’s resources [and structure]. Maybe a pathfinder could be developed for it?
Eventually, ALA wants to create an accessible space for such resources. Whatever the case, a
Pathfinder should be a short, manageable list.
Other topic ideas––Management. How to work within tribal politics? Maybe a special toolkit
(or series) on management? It could be hosted by ALA. Online access could be difficult in
Canada, however, due to poor Internet connectivity. Conference strategy. How to have an action
plan that makes conference attendance more valuable to institutions. Maybe a rural librarians
preconference through Gates grant. This could include coming together to reflect––before and
after––and on how to navigate a large conference. Spectrum did this, but didn’t like it. Rural
librarians and Spectrum students are in different places in their careers, however. Fun approaches
are recommended for students. At a recent rural library conference, ½ of attendees hadn’t spent
time away from their spouses in 10 years.
9. Adjournment
Meeting officially adjourned at noon.