Boston ALA Meeting Tackles Salinas, No Child Left Behind

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2005abc/january2005ab/midwinter.cfm

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Posted January 21, 2005.

Boston ALA Meeting Tackles Salinas, No Child Left Behind

Grappling with the dire funding situation in many school and public libraries in the United States, the American Library Association’s governing Council passed resolutions calling for the federal government to include library standards in No Child Left Behind legislation and objecting to the closure of public libraries in Salinas, California, where funding cuts have left the city unable to maintain service. The actions were among several taken by ALA during the Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Boston, January 14–17, to address growing threats to publicly funded libraries during a period of increased usage.

Meeting registration totaled 13,232 attendees and exhibitors, which marked an increase from 10,788 at the 2004 Midwinter Meeting in San Diego and nearly matched the 13,664 registrants who flocked to Philadelphia for ALA Midwinter in 2003.

The Boston conference also featured the announcement of the winners of the annual Newbery, Caldecott, and other youth book and media awards, as well as a Best-Selling Authors Forum with Chris Bohjalian, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Tom Perrotta. ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano hosted a daylong preconference on grassroots advocacy for libraries that drew some 235 attendees and included “Creating an Advocacy Epidemic,” a panel discussion keynoted by author Malcolm Gladwell.

The Midwinter Meeting brings ALA members together to plan the Association’s Annual Conference and to update librarians on legislative issues, current topics, and Association business. A full report is scheduled to appear in the March issue of American Libraries.

Posted January 21, 2005.