Contents of June/July 2006 American Libraries

News Fronts

4  ALA

• Roy Wins Presidency; Dues Increase Passes 
• ALA Councilors Elected 
• Library Input Urged in LC Cataloging Changes
• Burger Seeks Emerging Leaders 

14  Washington

• National Library Legislative Day 
• FBI Seeks Classified Documents in Journalist’s Archives
• Net Neutrality Fight Heats Up in Congress
• Washington Briefs

18  USA and International 

• OCLC and RLG Plan to Combine Operations 
• Officials Drop Harassment Claim against Ohio State Librarian 
• First Lady’s Hurricane Fund Makes First School Library Grants
• House Committee Challenges Smithsonian-Showtime Deal
• Media Specialists More Likely Than Teachers to Have Master’s Degrees
• Newsmaker: Straight Answers from MICHAEL WHITE,
  Xavier University educator and musician

Special News Reports

28  A Glimpse at the Future of Online Conferences

      BY MEREDITH FARKAS
      HigherEd BlogCon, April 2006.

30  Hosting It Huge in Houston

      BY LEONARD KNIFFEL
      The Texas Library Association annual conference.

Features

38  The Crux of Our Crisis

      BY JOHN PHILIP MULVANEY and DAN O’CONNOR
      We must pinpoint what every new librarian must learn,
      lest we lose our professional way.

42  Why Survival Is Not Enough

      BY RICHARD J. COX
      The MLS won’t thrive until our professional programs prioritize
      values over vocation.

46  Building Stronger Bridges

      BY RICHARD M. DOUGHERTY
      Technology provides new avenues for closing the continuing-
      education gap for students, staff, and faculty.

50  Information Science: Not Just for Boys Anymore

      BY JENNIFER GILLEY
      The move away from “the L-word” may be promoting gender
      equality in the profession.

52  Families Are Ready for Prime Time

      BY CATHAY O. RETA
      An innovative project contributes storytime programs and
      issue-oriented discussions to instill a love of reading.

Annual Conference Planner

56  Rebuilding the Big Easy

      Hundreds of attendees to aid in the recovery of New Orleans
      during 130th Annual Conference.

57  Seeing the Unbearable

      BY MICHAEL GORMAN
      A personal invitation to New Orleans.

72  Beignets and Bistros

      BY TERRI ROUSEY
      A diner’s tour of the French Quarter.

78  ALA Thanks Its Library Champions

Departments

4    Editorial

      “Julie Andrews and Library Education”
      BY LEONARD KNIFFEL

5    ALA President’s Message

      “Those Lost Liberties May Be Your Own”
      BY MICHAEL GORMAN

33  Thus Said

34  Reader Forum

35  On My Mind

      “Life Isn’t Fair”
      BY ARTHUR MASK

76  Executive Board Quarterly Report

      “Growth-Oriented Budget Will Boost Member Services”
      BY GORDON FLAGG

84  Currents

86  Grassroots Report

      “The Art of Repurposing Icons”
      BY JENNIFER BUREK PIERCE

88  Internet Librarian

      “The Next 2.0”
      BY JOSEPH JANES

90  Technically Speaking

      “Delivering Content to a Moving Target”
      BY ANDREW K. PACE

92  Working Knowledge

      “Calling All Transplanted Librarians”
      BY MARY PERGANDER

94  Librarian’s Library

      BY CATHLEEN BOURDON

96  Quick Bibs

      “Friends of Elwood P.”
      BY BILL OTT

98  Datebook

101  Career Leads

111  How to Contact ALA / Index to Advertisers

112  Will’s World

      “A Library Conference with Heart”
      BY WILL MANLEY