ALA-WORLD

Listserv for ALA
International Relations Round Table

Purpose:

The purpose of the ALA-World Listserv is to foster international cooperation and understanding between libraries by providing a forum for sharing news, including educational and exchange opportunities, about libraries around the world and international entities affecting libraries.

ALA World Listserv Policies:

Please read and understand these policies in their entirety before subscribing to the ALA World Listserv.

By utilizing the ALA World Listserv, you agree to accept and be bound by the following policies approved at the IRRT Executive Board Meeting at the ALA Annual Conference in June 2006:

Overview:

In an effort to create and foster a positive, collaborative, and thoughtful listserv environment, it is important that all subscribers work to keep their comments constructive, polite, and relevant to the listserv at large.

Disclaimer:

ALA World Listserv accepts no responsibility for the information posted or distributed through this listserv.  Opinions or points of view expressed in a listserv message are solely those of the contributing subscriber and do not necessarily reflect those of ALA World Listserv.

Administration:

ALA World Listserv is hosted by the IRRT.  It is an un-moderated list.  A listserv administrator is appointed by the IRRT to resolve disputes or take appropriate action when a listserv subscriber violates any of the stated listserv policies.  Please see “Consequences for Inappropriate Listserv Behavior” below for further information.

Copyright:

It is a violation of ALA-World Listserv policy to post information that is not original unless it satisfies “fair use” guidelines.   Furthermore, the text of a copyrighted article or document may not be reprinted via the ALA-World Listserv without the express permission of the author and/or publisher.   If a subscriber has obtained permission or clearance, this should be clearly stated.  When in doubt, err on the side of caution:  fully

Appropriate listserv behavior:

All subscribers of the ALA-World Listserv voluntarily submit themselves to the following guidelines and etiquette.  The ALA-World Listserv reserves the right to remove any subscriber of the list who does not abide by these guidelines.

• NEW POSTS:
  • When posting a message, identify yourself, including your name, affiliation and email address.
  • Be specific in the subject line of the email, previewing the content of your post.
  • Do not monopolize:   only send messages to the entire listserv when it contains information relevant to the purpose of the listserv.
• REPLYING TO POSTS:
  • When replying to a message, include only the relevant information to which you are responding.  Be sure to delete the header from the previous message, and place your response at the top of your message.
  • Take “personal conversations” off the list:  please direct individual messages to the appropriate person off-list, utilizing that person’s provided email address.
• UNSOLICITED EMAILS:
  • Do not post commercial messages.
  • Refrain from posting chain letters.
• DISAGREEMENTS:
  • Challenging or attacking others is bad etiquette.  Please remember that without benefit of facial expressions or spoken intonations, it is easier to take offense in a text-based environment; thus, word your posts and replies appropriately.  Along these same lines, do not type in capital letters, as this gives the appearance of yelling.
  • Never send an email in anger.
  • “Getting the last word” is for children.
  • Agree to disagree.
• COMPLAINTS
  • Complaints about the ALA-World Listserv may be sent to the list administrator Steve Witt at: swwitt@uiuc.edu
• HARRASSMENT:
  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited.
• ULTIMATELY, REMEMBER TO:
  • Say something substantial and/or say something new.  Monitor previous posts and replies to be sure that you are not egregiously repeating information.
  • Remember that you are being judged by the quality of your contributions.
  • Be civil.
  • Respect the rights of others.
  • Please keep your email short and to the point to increase the likelihood it will be read.  Reframe from posting long articles, (even if you have copyright clearance), instead, summarize the major points.

Consequences for inappropriate listserv behavior:

If the listserv administrator finds an ALA-World listserv subscriber to be in violation of any of the above stated policies, s/he will receive one warning from the list manager, stating this fact.  If the subscriber continues to violate the stated policies, s/he will be removed from the list.  Decisions about warnings and removal from the listserv should be made in consultation with the chair of the Publications Committee.

The listserv administrator’s decisions may be appealed to the IRRT Publications Committee.

To Subscribe send the following message to listproc@ala.org:

subscribe alaworld followed by your name