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Editor for DttP (Documents to the People)
This position is appointed for a three year term, and is eligible for one renewal, beginning with the Fall 2009 (volume 37:3) issue of DttP and concluding with the Summer 2012 (volume 40:2) issue. The Lead Editor receives an annual stipend of $750. To find out more about this position, view the full description here.
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GODORT Pre-Conferences & Programs, Anaheim 2008
We are fortunate to boast two pre-conferences and one program at this year's Annual Conference in Anaheim, California (June 26-July 1). Join us Thursday, June 26 to become better informed on election data, from every possible perspective, at Got Elections? Informing the Public (GODORT members $125). Impress your colleagues with your up-to-the-minute web skills by attending on Friday, June 27 Docs 2.0: Emerging Web Technologies for the Government Documents Community (GODORT members $100). And don't lose your mind in the process of Going Local, the theme of our Monday morning program (free with registration), where you will learn to find business and demographic information at county and municipal levels.
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Proposed GODORT Bylaws Changes
Members will have an opportunity to vote on proposed bylaws changes at the Midwinter membership meeting. The proposed changes would reduce the membership of the Government Information Technology Committee (GITCO) from twelve to nine members and update its description; strike a misleading sentence about the number of members appointed to the Cataloging Committee each year; and revise the language and format throughout the bylaws for clarity. Please review the proposed changes and attend the GODORT Membership meeting on January 14th at 10:30 am at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - Liberty B to vote on the proposal.
- GODORT has a new strategic planning committee. See the following pages for committee membership and the committee's charge.
- Becoming an Effective Government Information Advocate
Advocacy is "the process of turning passive support into educated action by stakeholders." On a more basic level, advocacy is simply voicing your support for libraries and encouraging others to do the same. How can you become an advocate for government information? You might encourage elected officials to use the library. Library use by itself can often turn people into supporters. You might voice your support to a Mayor, or a School Principal, a State Representative, or a U.S. Senator. You might speak out as an individual or you might lend your voice to other voices in a more organized campaign for general support or for support of a more specific project. You could offer to help a local official with their research needs, give them a sense of what a government information specialist can do for them.
Being an effective advocate for government information issues is central to the mission of ALA's Government Documents Roundtable (GODORT) yet speaking to an elected official may be intimidating. We all know that time is precious so how can we get our message across effectively when most elected officials, at all levels, are faced with any number of issues and advocates that they need to respond to?
On Wednesday, October 18th a baker's dozen of government information specialists gathered at the ALA/Washington Office to learn how to do just that. This excellent program, organized for GODORT by the Washington Office, was lead by the acclaimed "advocacy guru" Stephanie Vance with assistance from the Washington Office's Lynne Bradley and Tara Olivero.
GODORT members learned about how to approach an elected official to make "the ask" and through role-playing and demonstrations were reminded of the importance of persistence in getting the message about access to government information to the attention of staff and elected officials.
Additional pictures can be found on the ALA/WO Flicker site.
