Former FISA Court Chief Judge to Speak in Open Session
Contact: Andy Bridges
Communications Specialist
202-628-8410
For Immediate Release
June 20, 2007
Former FISA Court Chief Judge to Speak in Open Session
Nearly 1,000 Librarians to Lobby on Capitol Hill;
Bookmobiles to Showcase Unique Library Services
WASHINGTON — Former Chief Judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Royce Lamberth will speak in an open session about the inner-workings of the secretive court and how it has changed since passage of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 at the American Library Association’s 2007 Annual Conference.
Judge Lamberth will talk on Sat., June 23 from 8-10:15 AM in Room 143-B of the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC. There will be a short press availability immediately afterward.
Reporters covering the remarks will need media credentials. In advance contact Andy Bridges at 202.628.8410 or abridges@alawash.org. For registration on the day of the event, go to Level 1, Room G-312 of the Convention Center.
More press information is available at the ALA Annual Conference page.
On Tues., June 26, the ALA conference wraps up with events stretching from Capitol Hill to Franklin Square at 13th and Eye Streets, NW.
Nearly 1,000 librarians and library supporters from around the country will lobby Members of Congress on the urgent need for funding libraries threatened by closures, shortened hours, staff shortages and diminished services; the importance of school libraries to the success of No Child Left Behind; and other critical issues.
A state-of-the-art bookmobile from Cleveland – called the People’s University – will be open to Congress and their staffs on Capitol Hill from 10 AM– 5 PM. The unit provides full access to the library’s collections and includes Internet capabilities.
Specifically, the bookmobile will be:
- On the House side from 10 AM-1PM; parked at the East curb of South Capitol Street, between C St. and D St., SE (closest to the South Capitol St. and C St. intersection);
- On the Senate side from 1-5 PM; parked on the North curb of C St., between Delaware Ave. and First St., NE (closest to Delaware Ave and C St. intersection).
More than a dozen exhibits of unique, forward-looking services from public, school, research and specialized libraries around the country will be on display in the Gold Room (Room 2168) of the Rayburn House Office Building. About 50 Members of Congress are registered to pose for ALA "READ" posters in the same room.
Bookmobiles from 10 cities across America will parade from the Washington, DC, Convention Center, starting at 10 AM, and gather at Franklin Square (13th and Eye Streets, NW) from 1l:30 AM-2PM; visitors are welcome. The Franklin School was the site of Alexander Graham Bell’s first wireless message on June 3, 1880. The following bookmobiles are participating:
Washington, DC
District of Columbia Public Library
Maryland
Washington County Free Library, Hagerstown*
Harford County Public Library, Belcamp
Wicomico Public Library, Salisbury
Maryland Correctional Education Libraries, Baltimore
Pennsylvania
Adams County Library, Gettysburg
Bibliotheca, Inc. RFID Library System, Yardley
Virginia
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, Charlottesville
New Jersey
Burlington County Library System, Westampton
Ohio
Cultural Exchange, Cleveland
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* Note: The first U.S. bookmobile started as a library wagon in Hagerstown, MD -- the Washington County seat -- in 1905. Boxes of books were sent to the general store or post office in small towns and villages throughout the county.
