First Lawyers for Libraries institute announced

Contact: Don Wood


312-280-4225

dwood@ala.org

For Immediate Release


November 2002

First Lawyers for Libraries institute announced

Lawyers for Libraries, an ongoing project of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom (ALA/OIF), is designed to create a network of attorneys around the country involved in, or committed to becoming involved in, the defense of the First Amendment freedom to read and the application of constitutional law to library policies, principles and problems.

The first
Lawyers for Libraries Institute is scheduled on February 27-28, 2003, in Washington, D.C. The second is scheduled in Chicago, May 12-13, 2003. The cost of the institute is $500 per person. Registration fee includes opening reception and dinner plus lunch the next day.

These institutes are designed to help attorneys increase their ability to protect the First Amendment in libraries. Librarians and trustees may attend, but due to space limitations, they must be accompanied by an attorney.

The first two training institutes were held in 1997 and 1998 and proved very successful. Beginning in 2003, OIF will be sponsoring regional training institutes to ensure that libraries throughout the United States will have access to effective representation when dealing with First Amendment issues.

In addition to the scheduled institutes in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, OIF will announce dates and locations for future regional institutes. Contact the OIF at
lawyers@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4226, for more information about upcoming
Lawyers for Libraries events.