From the Editor

As you will quickly discover, this issue is a bit shorter than the last several; it is our first quarterly issue. Well, OK. We said that in the last issue. However, this is the first issue to follow a previous issue after only three months. It is mostly composed of information concerning the upcoming (next week's) ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

If you will be attending, we hope it will help you wade through the ocean of choices available at every annual meeting. If you will not be attending, we hope it will give you a taste of what IFRT is up to and alert you to intellectual freedom issues before the Association -- to be reported in the August issue.

Recent issues have contained favorite IF quotations as an occasional feature. This issue contains an article by Martin Marty (a featured speaker at the main IF program in Chicago) documenting one of the most frequently used and paraphrased quotes of the 20th century, "First they came for..." by Martin Neimoller.

To further whet your appetite for our main program, Carolyn Caywood has contributed a handout on religious freedom prepared for the League of Women Voters in Virginia.

Reports, articles, news, columns, reviews related to intellectual freedom are always welcome and may be sent to the editor or any member of the Publication Committee.

If you are not a member of the IFRT but have somehow stumbled upon our report and are interested, join us. Just go to "How to Join the Intellectual Freedom Round Table". Only fifteen bucks for a very good cause.

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/oifprograms/ifprograms/intellectual.htm

Religion and Intellectual Freedom:
Divine Revelation in the Marketplace of Ideas

Sponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table

Saturday, June 25, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., McCormick Place, N427

How can libraries serve both the religious and the secular demands made by members of their communities? Does demonstrating respect for religious life conflict with the separation of church and state? Come and explore these questions with our distinguished panelists.

Speakers:

• Martin E. Marty, professor emeritus, University of Chicago, editor of Fundamentalisms Observed (The Fundamentalism Project), and author of The Promise of Grace: A Journey of Faith
• Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers : A History of American Secularism
• Mike Wessells, librarian, Timberland Regional Library and Pentecostal pastor
• Doug Archer, librarian, University of Notre Dame and Church of the Brethren minister

Ethics and Librarianship:
Alternative Perspectives on the ALA Code of Ethics

Sponsored by the ALA Committee on Professional Ethics

Sunday, June 26, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., McCormick Place, S105d

Relevant or relic? Does the ALA Code of Ethics live up to the challenges of the new millennium? Join the Committee on Professional Ethics for the first in a series of panel discussions and open forums to determine if the Code is sufficient or needs revision.

Tiny Trackers:
Protecting Privacy in an RFID World

Cosponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, and the LITA Technology and Access Committee

Sunday, June 26, 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., McCormick Place S404

This program is a follow-up to the successful RFID program held at the 2004 Annual Conference in Orlando. Panel members will discuss recent developments in RFID technology and the policy environment, privacy concerns, RFID issues specific to libraries and more.

Speakers:

• Jim Lichtenberg, president of LIGHTSPEED, LLC, based in New York City
• David Molnar, a graduate student in computer science at UC-Berkeley
• Jackie Griffin, director of Library Services, Berkeley Public Library

We've Got Your Back:
Librarians and Teens Speak Out on Intellectual Freedom

Cosponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table and the ALA Young Adult Library Services Association

Sunday, June 26, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., McCormick Place, S403

This program seeks to provide practical information on how Young Adult librarians can stand strong in defense of intellectual freedom. Real-life challenges to intellectual freedom will be shared by teens and librarians, and discussion will follow, with audience participation encouraged. A lawyer with expertise in the area of teen rights and intellectual freedom will be present to offer suggestions on how librarians can react to such challenges.

Speakers:

• Traci Truly, Lawyer and author of Teen Rights: A Legal Guide for Teens and the Adults in Their Lives (Legal Survival Guides)
• Erin V. Helmrich, Teen Services Librarian, Ann Arbor (MI) District Library
• Anne Heideman, Youth Services Manager, Chippewa River District Library, Veterans Memorial Library, Mt. Pleasant, MI

IFC Issues Briefing Session

Sponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee

Monday, June 27, 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m., Chicago Hilton and Towers, Waldorf

Please join us for a briefing session on the intellectual freedom hot topics at this conference.

Protecting Anonymity on the Internet

Monday, June 27, from 10:30 to Noon., Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Cosponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and the ALA Committee on Legislation. Panel members will discuss who is trying to prevent anonymity on the Internet and why, why anonymity is important, and how people can protect their anonymity.

Speakers:

• Franklin S. Reeder, The Reeder Group
• Paul Alan Levy, Public Citizen Litigation Group

Intellectual Freedom:
A Casualty of War?

Monday, June 27, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., McCormick Place, S403

Cosponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, the Association of American Publishers Freedom to Read Committee, and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression

It is said that the first casualty of war is the truth. Certainly, experience has shown that during wartime, access to information and the freedom to express ideas have become curtailed. This session will explore the history of Intellectual Freedom in wartime, the extent to which the current wars have impacted speech, and strategies for the book and information communities to help maintain our liberties during "perilous times."

Speakers:

• Geoffrey R. Stone, Harry Kalven, Jr. Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School, and author of Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from The Sedition Act of 1798 to The War on Terrorism
• Floyd Abrams, a partner in the New York law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel, the William J. Brennan, Jr. Visiting Professor of First Amendment Law at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, and author of Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment

Copyright 1994 CHRISTIAN CENTURY. Reproduced by permission from the December 12, 1994 issue of the CHRISTIAN CENTURY. Subscriptions: $49/year from P.O. Box 378, Mt. Morris, IL 61054. 1-800-208-4097

Christian Century; 12/14/94, Vol. 111 Issue 36, p1207

FEW TOPICS addressed in this column have drawn more sustained interest

than (a) the origins and use of "the Christian flag" and the place of

flags in the church sanctuary; (b) the source of the Serenity Prayer

attributed to either Reinhold Niebuhr or a German pietist; (c) the

Martin Niemoller saying that is the subject this week.

The saying attributed to Niemoller is so relevant, so telling and so

well crafted that it is often quoted in books and speeches and reprinted

on greeting cards and stitched samplers. The only problem is, no one can

find it in any of the mountains of published Niemoller materials. Still,

everyone believes he originated it.

This week's final, definitive, absolute comment on the matter comes from

Ruth Zerner, who teaches at Lehman College in the Bronx. She gave me an

offprint of a chapter she contributed to Jewish-Christian Encounters

Over the Centuries, edited by Marvin Perry and Frederick M. Schweitzer

(published by Peter Lang). In "Martin Niemoller, Activist as Bystander:

The Oft-Quoted Reflection,"Zerner calls the churchman's famous phrase

about being a bystander instead of a responsible actor "the most

frequently quoted and misquoted of [Niemoller's] statements."

Zerner cites Franklin Littell as one of those who has publicized the

quotation. "Franklin Littell has assured me that he verified his

recollection of these words with an American church official who

organized Niemoller's speaking engagements in the United States after

the war." But no tape recorder caught it, so it was not transcribed or

published. "Therefore, like biblical tales," says Zerner, "this

biographical confession has its genesis in oral tradition." Niemoller's

daughter Brigitte Johannesson told Zerner that Niemoller first made the

remark in England between 1955 and 1969.

Who was included in the famous passage about persecuted people for whom

Niemoller, a typical bystander now confessing, failed to act? All

witnesses agree that he did not include Catholics, who are mentioned in

later quotes, but did include communists. "Inevitably, Martin

Niemoller's faith was Protestant, with more than a hint of

anti-Catholicism," wrote James Bentley, Niemoller's British biographer.

In 1956 he answered a Jew:

I have never concealed the fact and said it before the court in 1938

that I came from an "anti-Semitic" past and tradition .... I believe

that from 1933 I truly represented the Lutheran-Christian outlook on the

Jewish question ... but that I returned home after eight years'

imprisonment [by the Nazis] as a completely different person.

Zerner probes all the reports she can find of what Niemoller may have

said (but never wrote) and, seconded by second wife and widow, Sibylle

Niemoller, comes up with the following as the textus receptus. We will

use it until some more definitive version arises.

First they came for the communists,

   but I was not a communist--

   so I said nothing.

Then they came for the social

      democrats,

   but I was not a social democrat--

   so I did nothing.

Then came the trade unionists,

   but I was not a trade unionist.

And then they came for the Jews,

   but I was not a Jew--

   so I did little.

Then when they came for me,

   there was no one left who could

      stand up for me.

~~~~~~~~

by Martin E. Marty

Religion and the First Amendment:

A March, 2005, presentation to the League of Women Voters

Carolyn Caywood

           This year a bill in the Virginia General Assembly would have changed state law on religious liberty. In support of the bill, "Jack Knapp, executive director of the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, said he believed court decisions have made the amendment necessary. 'We’ve come to the place now where the Christian religion is not even treated as an equal partner in religious liberty. We’ve come to the place where to express anything Christian is now against the law in the public forum,' he said." Virginian-Pilot 2/9/05, p.20

           The First Amendment has two clauses on religious liberty - Establishment and Free Exercise. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These two clauses are in tension, creating a sort of tightrope for government to tread. Minority religions have protested infringements on their free exercise and recently, as in the Virginia bill, so have Christians. Civil liberties groups have protested funding plans that verged on Establishment, and viewed the Virginia bill as too close to an Establishment of religion.

Courts, in debating how to keep government balanced on the high wire, have come up with the Lemon Test. Government action violates the Establishment Clause unless it:
1. Has a significant secular (i.e., non-religious) purpose,
2. Does not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and
3. Does not foster excessive entanglement between government and religion.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/lemontest.html

           You have various background documents you can refer to as we discuss the following questions.

o Has time changed interpretation of the First Amendment2 and the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom3?

o Do these laws still meet our needs?

o Does "free exercise" or Virginia's "freedom to profess" include speaking to students in a public school?

o Would the bill be better if modified in some way? If so, how?

o Is this bill different from the Ten Commandments monument case now before the Supreme Court?

o How can we best explain our understanding of the tension between “establishment” and “free exercise?”

Resources:

1. The LWV National Position says, "The League of Women Voters of the United States believes in the individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. The League is convinced that individual rights now protected by the Constitution should not be weakened or abridged." Announced by the National Board, March 1982.

2. US Constitution, Amendment I:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/estabinto.htm

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/freeexercise.htm

Also, US Constitution, Article VI: "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution.html

3. Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as it was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time; that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a natural right; that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

And though we well know that this assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act to be irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such act shall be an infringement of natural right.

Source: W.W. Hening, ed., Statutes at Large of Virginia, vol. 12 (1823): 84-86.

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/42.htm

4.HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 537

Offered January 12, 2005

Prefiled October 15, 2004

Proposing an amendment to Section 16 of Article I of the Constitution of Virginia, relating to free exercise of religion.

----------

Patrons-- Carrico, Abbitt, Armstrong, Athey, Black, Bryant, Byron, Cole, Cosgrove, Cox, Dudley, Hargrove, Hogan, Hugo, Hurt, Ingram, Janis, Johnson, Jones, S.C., Kilgore, Landes, Lingamfelter, McDonnell, McDougle, Nutter, Parrish, Saxman, Sherwood, Ware, R.L., Weatherholtz and Welch; Senator: Puckett

----------

Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

----------

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, a majority of the members elected to each house agreeing, That the following amendment to the Constitution of Virginia be, and the same hereby is, proposed and referred to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates for its concurrence in conformity with the provisions of Section 1 of Article XII of the Constitution of Virginia, namely:

Amend Section 16 of Article I of the Constitution of Virginia as follows:

ARTICLE I

Section 16. Free exercise of religion; no establishment of religion.

That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other. No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

To secure further the people’s right to acknowledge their faith according to the dictates of conscience, neither the Commonwealth nor its political subdivisions shall establish any official religion, but the people’s right to exercise their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including public schools, shall not be infringed; however, the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions, including public school divisions, shall not compose school prayers, nor require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity.

And the General Assembly shall not prescribe any religious test whatever, or confer any peculiar privileges or advantages on any sect or denomination, or pass any law requiring or authorizing any religious society, or the people of any district within this Commonwealth, to levy on themselves or others, any tax for the erection or repair of any house of public worship, or for the support of any church or ministry; but it shall be left free to every person to select his religious instructor, and to make for his support such private contract as he shall please.

8.Amended: To secure further the people’s right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience, neither the Commonwealth nor its political subdivisions shall establish any official religion, but the people’s right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including public schools, shall not be infringed; however, the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions, including public school divisions, shall not compose school prayers, nor require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity.

Discussions from the Council email list of potential interest to IFRT

Carolyn Caywood, IFRT Councilor

The IRC is monitoring Turkmenistan, which has closed most of its libraries (along with other institutions of civilization).

The Resolution on Workplace Speech, which IFRT endorsed, was postponed for a review by IFC before Annual. IFC reports that the resolution puts ALA in the position of giving legally misleading advice. There has been considerable discussion on how to rewrite it to avoid this problem and I expect a revised version to be on the agenda.

While considerable debate followed the presentation of a citation to Laura Bush, the only Council action I expect may be a resolution requiring that such actions be brought to the Council for endorsement. That could mean only at conferences, thus delaying ALA’s responsiveness, or it could be by some phone/internet means that might violate our open meeting policy.

Privacy concerns were given a boost by the hijacking of part of ALA’s member list. Function creep and RFID chips for library cards were also discussed.

How to manage disruptive posters on ALA email lists also drew debate with the IF lists being cited as examples. I don’t expect any Council action, but it is interesting to know how widespread this issue is. And another form of Internet communication – blogs - generated debate back in March in the wake of an article by Michael Gorman.

Other resolution ideas floated at Midwinter were a condemnation of political grandstanders who want to excise GLBT authors from libraries, and a condemnation of the Administration practice of spreading disinformation. I have heard nothing further on these.

Council issues less directly related to IF include concerns about library closings and funding cuts that continue in the wake of Salinas. They may generate a resolution to create an ALA office to address this. Discussions of the financial stability of APA and of ALA’s partnerships also keep resurfacing. And, in the wake of the LJ article there is concern about newly graduated librarians who can’t find a professional job. There is a resolution pending about requesting an update of the US News ranking of library schools but discussion has been unfavorable. The administration of the second electronic ballot also drew discussion.

Finally, please note that the position of IFRT councilor will be on the 2006 ballot. I’ll be glad to share my experience with anyone considering running for the office.

HIL–Chicago Hilton and Towers / MCP–McCormick Place

Nanette Perez

Schedule

Friday, June 24

Business Meeting I

2:00 – 5:30 p.m, HIL-Northwest 2

Saturday, June 25

IFRT Awards Reception

12:00 – 1:30 p.m., MCP N426b

IFRT Program

1:30 – 3:30 p.m., MCP N427

“Religion and Intellectual Freedom: Divine Revelation in the Marketplace of Ideas”

Sunday, June 26

Joint Meeting with ALA IFC and Division IFCs

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., HIL-Northwest 2

IFRT/YALSA Program

1:30 – 3:30 p.m., MCP-S403

“We’ve Got Your Back: Librarians and Teens Speak Out on Intellectual Freedom”

Monday, June 27

Business Meeting II 

            8:00 – 10:00 a.m., HIL-Northwest 2

I.             CALL TO ORDER—Barbara Jones

II.            REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA

III.          REVIEW OF THE 2005 MIDWINTER MEETING MINUTES (EXHIBIT I, distributed via e-mail earlier. Please bring your copy with you. Extra copies will be available.)

IV.         IFRT FINAL BUDGET—Laura Koltutsky

The 2006 IFRT budget will be discussed. The 2006 budget was approved in principle at the 2005 Midwinter Meeting. A final IFRT budget must be approved at this conference. The final budget (Exhibit II) will be distributed at the meeting.

V.            NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT: 2005 IFRT ELECTION RESULTS—

                Melora Ranney Norman

       Chair-elect: Rosanne Cordell (2005-2006)

       Treasurer: Julia Glynn (2005-2007)

       Directors: Jim Kuhn, Robert P. Holley (2005-2007)

VI.           JOINT MEETING WITH IFC AND DIVISION IFCs

The joint meeting of IFC, IFRT, and Division IFCs will be held on Sunday, June 26,

10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m., HIL-Northwest 2. The agenda will be distributed at the meeting.

VII.         AWARD RECEPTION AND PROGRAM UPDATE—Melora Ranney Norman

Award Reception

John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award Winner—Hays Public Library Board of Trustees, Hays, Kansas, Saturday , June 25, 12:00 to 1:15 p.m., McCormick Place, N426b.

Program

Religion and Intellectual Freedom: Divine Revelation in the Marketplace of Ideas

ALA-IFRT, Saturday, June 25, 1:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m., McCormick Place, N427.

How can libraries serve both the religious and the secular demands made by members of their communities? Does demonstrating respect for religious life conflict with the separation of church and state? Come and explore these questions with our distinguished panelists.

Speakers: Martin Marty, professor emeritus, University of Chicago; Susan Jacoby, author, Freethinkers : A History of American Secularism; Mike Wessells, librarian, Timberland Regional Library; Doug Archer, librarian, University of Notre Dame.

VIII.      SELECTED ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM PROGRAMS (EXHIBIT III)

IX.         2006 ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM PLANNING—Pam Klipsch

The Call for Proposal Form must be turned in no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28, 2005, during Annual Conference in Chicago.

X.           PROPOSED JOINT PROGRAM WITH IRRT: “CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM” (EXHIBIT IV)—Pam Klipsch and Julia Glynn

XI.         RESOLUTIONS

A.     RESOLUTION ON WORKPLACE SPEECH (EXHIBITS V-Va)

At the 2005 Midwinter Meeting, Council referred SRRT’s “Resolution on Workplace Speech” to the IFC. During its 2005 spring meeting, the IFC reviewed the resolution and determined that it does not comport with current case law regarding workplace speech. The Supreme Court has laid out very specific rules regarding workplace speech and the free speech rights of public employees. Employees do not have the same free speech rights that ordinary citizens enjoy. ALA cannot give its members advice and information that is contrary to current case law.

Exhibit II is a compilation of reactions to IFC’s comments, posted to the Council’s e-list from May 2 to May 5.

B.     Resolution on Threats to Library Materials Related to Sexual Orientation

The resolution (Exhibit VI) will be distributed at conference. Exhibits VIa-VIc provide background material.

               C.     OTHER

XII.       INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM COMMITTEE’S SPRING MEETING—Barbara Jones

XIII.      ROUND TABLE COORDINATING ASSEMBLY

XIV.      SEVENTH EDITION OF THE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM MANUAL

   The projected publication date of the seventh edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual is the 2006 Midwinter Meeting.

   Exhibit VII is a list of the status of all reviewed policies and guidelines.

XV.        FESTSCHRIFT TO HONOR GORDON CONABLE

               At the 2005 ALA Midwinter Meeting, Barbara Jones, Intellectual Freedom Round Table chair, said IFRT discussed the possibility of working with the IFC on a Festschrift to honor Gordon Conable. The IFC agreed this was a worthwhile project, and Forman and Gardner volunteered to work with the IFRT. FTRF also wishes to be involved in this project. Krug suggested one topic could be the Universal Right to Free Expression.

               Publishers have been contacted and permission granted from the Conable family. Barbara Jones (or Carrie Gardner) will report on further progress of the Festschrift, including when and how contributions will be solicited.

XVI.      REPORT ON LEROY C. MERRITT HUMANITARIAN FUND—FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY

XVII.     GOOGLE AND LIBARIES (EXHIBITS VIII-VIIIj)

               What role, if any, should the IFRT undertake?

A.  Google Is Adding Major Libraries to Its Database (Exhibit VIII)

B.  Google and God’s Mind (Exhibit VIIIa)

C.  On Google’s Monetization of Libraries (Exhibit VIIIb)

D.  Despite Google, We Still Need Good Libraries (Exhibit VIIIc)

E.  Some Are Leery of Google’s Online Data Project (Exhibit VIIId)

F.  Beth Givens to Mitch Freedman et al. on Google Library Project and Daniel Brand (Exhibit VIIIe)

G.  Pam Dixon on Google and Libraries (Exhibit VIIIf)

H.  Google’s Library Project: Questions, Questions, Questions (Exhibit VIIIg)

I.   France’s Top Librarian Attacks Google Online Library (Exhibit VIIIh)

J.   Google’s Projects Continue to Generate Shock Waves (Exhibit VIIIi)

K.  European Libraries Fight Google-ization (Exhibit VIIIj)

XVIII.   ALA STRATEGIC PLAN: AHEAD TO 2010 (Exhibit IX)

Over the last year, ALA gathered information from its members on the issues important to them, and the trends they see affecting the future of libraries and the association. A group of board, division, and round table representatives drafted this information into a series of goals and objectives for the next five years. At the 2005 Midwinter Meeting, Keith Michael Fiels, executive director of ALA, asked all committees to review the Ahead to 2010 draft goals and to share their feedback.

Exhibit VI is a final draft copy of the proposed ALA Ahead to 2010 strategic goals and objectives for the period 2006 to 2010. These were approved by the Executive Board on April 15, and will be submitted to the ALA Council for its consideration and approval at the 2005 Annual Conference in Chicago. If approved, the plan will be implemented beginning September 1, 2005.

XIX.      INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM ALERTS

               The following alert items are for information.

A.     Evolution, Again (Exhibit X)

B.     10 Steps to More Democratic Media (Exhibit XI)

C.     With Bookstores, Who Needs Libraries? (Exhibit XII)

D.     U.S. Is Asked to Close Site on Sex Issues (Exhibit XIII)

E.     Real ID Act (Exhibit XIV)

F.     Board in Johnson County, KS, Excises ALA Bill of Rights Language (Exhibit XV)

G.     Deroy Murdock on the USA PATRIOT Act (Exhibit XVI)

H.     Library Fees, Again (Exhibit XVII)

I.      Keeping the Public in Public Library (Exhibit XVIII)

J.      Rep. Jones Takes Fight Over Gay Marriage to School Libraries (Exhibit XIX)

XX.         REPORT OF OFFICERS

A.   Chair: Barbara Jones

B.   Chair-Elect: Pam Klipsch

C.   Directors:

1.                      Christine M. Allen

2.                      J. Douglas Archer

3.                      Lauren Christos

4.                      Sylvia Turchyn

D.   Secretary: Carol Gulyas

XXI.        REPORT FROM COUNCILOR: Carolyn Caywood

A.   Biometric Technology and Council (Exhibit XX)

B.   Inclusiveness and Mutual Respect Proposed Policy (Exhibit XXI)

C.   Other

XXII.      STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

A.   Bylaws and Organization Committee: Susan Brynteson

B.   Membership Promotion Committee: Martin Garnar

C.   John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award Committee: Laurence Miller

D.   Oboler Memorial Award Committee: Pamela Bonnell-Mihalis

E.    SIRS/ProQuest State and Regional Achievement Award Committee: Christopher Bowen

F.    Publications Committee: J. Douglas Archer

XXIII.   2006 MIDWINTER MEETING (San Antonio, TX, January 14 – 19) Tentative Schedule (EXHIBIT XXII)

XXIV.   ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE          COMMITTEE

XXV.     ADJOURNMENT

Selected Intellectual Freedom Sessions, Chicago 2005

Doug Archer

Complied from ALA’s Conference Planner

(Be sure to check your conference book and list of changes handout upon arrival.)

Thursday, 6/23/2005 

ALA -FTRF (Note change of location)

Freedom to Read Foundation Board of Trustees Meeting

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Hilton

Boulevard Room

ALA -FTRF (Note change of location)

Freedom to Read Foundation Board of Trustees Reception

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Hilton

Astoria Room

Friday, 6/24/2005

ALA -IFC

IFC I

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Hilton

Northwest 2

ALA -IFC

IFC Privacy Subcommittee

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Hilton

Conference Room 4D

ALA -IFRT

IFRT I

2:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Hilton

Northwest 2

PLA -IC

Intellectual Freedom I

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Parlor A

Saturday, 6/25/2005

ALA -IFC

IFC II

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Hilton

Northwest 2

LITA

Radio Frequency Identification Technology in Libraries: Meeting with the RFID Experts

8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Hotel Intercontinental

Grand BR

ALA -WO

WO Breakout Session I - Results of the OITP PATRIOT ACT Study

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Chicago BR VIII-X

ALTA

Intellectual Freedom Com.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Chicago Marriott Downtown

Denver/Houston/Kansas City

ALA -ETHICS

Ethics I

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Hilton

Lake Erie 

ALA -IFRT

Religion and Intellectual Freedom: Divine Revelation in the Marketplace of Ideas

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

McCormick Place

N427 

ALA -PIO

Google? Library closings? The USA PATRIOT Act? Access? Funding? Speaking Up About the Hard Issues---- A Library Advocacy Now! Workshop

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Chicago Marriott Downtown

Chicago BR A-B

ALA -IFC

FCC/Media Diversity Subcommittee

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Hilton

Conference Room 4M

Sunday, 6/26/2005

ALA -IFC

IFC/COL Joint Meeting

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Hilton

Northwest 2 

YALSA

Slippery Slope--Ethics for Teens in an Information Age

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Hilton

Waldorf

PLA -IC

Intellectual Freedom Com.

9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Hyatt Regency Chicago

Grand BR A-D North

ALA -IFC

IFC/IFRT/Division IFCs Joint Meeting

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Hilton

Northwest 2

AFL FOLUSA

Fighting the Good Fight -- Authors on the First Amendment

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Le Meridien Chicago

Salon III 

ACRL

Deciding What's Right: Academic Library Ethics Day-to-Day

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

McCormick Place

N230

ALA -ETHICS

Ethics and Librarianship: Alternative Perspectives on the ALA Code of Ethics

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

McCormick Place

S105d

ALA -IFC

Tiny Trackers: Protecting Privacy in an RFID World

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

McCormick Place

S404

ALA/YALSA -IFRT

We've Got Your Back: Librarians and Teens Speak Out on Intellectual Freedom

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

McCormick Place

S403

Monday, 6/27/2005

ALA -IFC

IFC Issues Briefing

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Hilton

Waldorf

ALA -IFRT

IFRT II

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Hilton

Northwest 2

ALA -ETHICS

Ethics II

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Hilton

Lake Erie

ACRL Intellectual Freedom Committee

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Hilton

Conference Room 4H

ALA -IFC

Intellectual Freedom: A Casualty of War?

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

McCormick Place

S403

ACRL Ethics Committee

2:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Palmer House

Clark 3 

Tuesday, 6/28/2005

ALA -IFC

IFC III

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

McCormick Place

N139