What would you do if you hit a $93 million lottery jackpot? Since I don't play the lottery, I'll never be faced with this dilemma, but a very kind couple here in town just had exactly this experience. As you might expect, quite a number of ideas were forthcoming as to how they might use the money. Not the least of these was a neighbor who wrote a letter to the newspaper suggesting they might "consider helping out the library." While enthusiastically seconding that suggestion, I realize that I don't need $93 million to consider helping out the library; I can accomplish that goal simply by doing my job better. In this regard, I made the following early New Year's resolutions:

• I'm going to do a better job of telling the library's story. On the Google website I noticed a service called Google Answers, which seems to be Reference For A Fee. In fact, it looks to me as if the more you pay, the better answer you get to your question. Wouldn't it be something if there were a place where you could get top-drawer answers regardless of your ability to pay? Well, there is!! I work in it!! I need to tell our community about the value we add, about the amazing possibilities of Internet access at the library rather than just the insidious temptations, about the wonderful success stories of people whom the library has helped in so many ways. At least three libraries in my state were recently faced with imminent closure, but one by one, their communities have rallied to save them. Success stories breed success. I resolve to break out of my strictly defensive mode against censors, and go on the evangelistic offensive about the terrific value of libraries to the citizens of a democracy.
  
  
• I'm going to do a better job of using freedom to combat the stranglehold of fear. It seems to me that all censorship is based on fear: "If certain people become aware of this information or image, horrible consequences will ensue; therefore, I will stop them from seeing it." Since childhood, I have been able to conjure up an astounding array of fearful monstrosities that might lurk in a dark room, but once I turned on the light, I could ascertain what was really there and deal with it. Truth benefits from light, not darkness; speech, not silence. In the wake of the war on terrorism, extraordinary measures have been taken to increase surveillance on citizens and at the same time decrease access to information provided by and about government, on the assumption that terrorists might find it useful. The mantra is, "The government needs to know more about you; you need to know less about the government," which seems to me to have it precisely backward.

Thankfully ALA is also concerned. Many units have put in hard work to preserve both individual privacy and open access to information. The Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) worked over two years to produce the Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights on Privacy and Confidentiality adopted by Council at Annual Conference 2002; both IFC and the Committee on Legislation (COL) have active subcommittees on privacy, while your IFRT has made privacy a key focus for this year. Both COL and FTRF are working in their different spheres to maintain access for citizens and libraries to public documents. In response to some of the government's measures for the war on terrorism, the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) stepped to the plate with resolutions over a year ago, and your IFRT crafted a Resolution on Reaffirming the Principles of Intellectual Freedom in the Aftermath of Terrorist Attacks, which IFC brought to Council for passage at Midwinter 2002. This coming Midwinter, there will be a wide-ranging discussion about the USA PATRIOT Act, how it affects libraries, and how ALA should respond. I intend for IFRT to play a part in this discussion. Please let me know your thoughts.

Mike Wessells
Chair, IFRT
Email: mwessell@timberland.lib.wa.us