Special Library Supports "Reading Capital of the World" Effort

Residents (primarily children) of Tifton, Georgia, have amassed over one million points in three years using the Advantage Learning Systems, Inc. "Accelerated Reader Program" and have proclaimed Tifton as the "Reading Capital of the World." For a nine-week period adults were allowed to read books and take tests as well and the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Tifton Campus Library was one of the sites where people could take tests. Librarian Duncan McClusky of the Tifton Campus is a member of the Environment and Resource Management Division as well and the Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition Division.

Best-Seller USA Signs SLA Member Quinn Koller

Quinn Koller has joined Best-Seller USA as Manager, Business Development USA. Koller, who currently serves on SLA's Board of Directors of the Geography and Map Division, and the Solo Librarians Division, formerly served as the Director of Library and Information Services for America Online Inc. (AOL). Koller was responsible for automating their immense geographic collection and pioneering the electronic delivery of all library services.

Prior to AOL, Koller was formerly an acquisitions librarian for the U.S. Department of State, has a wealth of international experience and has over fifteen years experience at all levels within libraries and library management. Koller, who is an active guest speaker at the SLA and other conferences, was a 1999 nominee for the SLA "Innovators in Technology Award" for his unique approach to bringing AOL's Library into the Information Age.

Save the Date!
Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mark Your Calendar for this year's Annual Conference -2001 - An Information Odyssey: Seizing the Competitive Advantage. This year's conference will be held June 9-14, 2001, in San Antonio, Texas at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Check the web site at www.sla.org/content/evetns/2001conf/index.cfm for more updates on conference happenings.

De Cagna Named to 2001 Class of ASAE Fellows

Jeff De Cagna, SLA's managing director of Strategic Learning and Development, is one of ten industry leaders that has been named to the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) 2001 class of Fellows. The Fellows designation is one of ASAE's highest honors, conferred upon industry executives who have complied a list of significant contributions to their current and past organizations. ASAE Fellows are often called upon to advise the ASAE President and Board of Directors, monitor trends in the profession and make recommendations for addressing future challenges. De Cagna and the other Fellows will be honored in March during a ceremony at ASAEs Strategic Leadership Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Yahoo! to Ban Hate-related Materials on Auction Site

Yahoo! Inc. will stop carrying online auctions of Nazi artifacts and other hate-related materials after some users complained that such items promote hate and violence. The new restrictions, which take effect a week from Wednesday, could also address a November court ruling from France requiring Yahoo to block such items from French users. Although Yahoo has insisted it cannot limit access to certain geographic regions, as the French court ordered, Yahoo may effectively comply by blocking the items from everyone. The new guidelines will also apply to the site's classified listings and its e-commerce partners. Yahoo! search directories, chat rooms and other areas are not affected. When the new policy takes effect, Yahoo will also begin screening items before they are listed. Computer software will reject any item that appears to violate the site's policies. Users will be able to appeal rejections to a human being. Auction sites have typically rejected items only after they are posted.

Call for Applications for 2001 American Memory Fellows Institute

The American Memory Fellows Program is joining with the Library of Congress for a year long professional development opportunity, the cornerstone of which is the American Memory Fellows Institute, held in Washington at the Library of Congress in two six-day sessions on July 15-20 and July 22-27, 2001. This is an excellent opportunity for outstanding teachers librarians and media specialist to work with the Library of COngress to understand better how primary sources can enrich the learning experience of students in grades 4 - 12.

The American Memory Fellows Institute sponsors twenty-five two-person teams of exemplary grade 4-12 educators for their stay in Washington. Teams will attend only one session; however, to be eligible for consideration, teams must be available for both sessions. To apply, use the application found online at learning.loc.gov/learn/amfp. Applications must be postmarked by February 26, 2001.

During the six day institute, Fellows will work with Library of Congress staff and consultants, examine both actual and virtual primary source artifacts-photographs, maps, graphic arts, video, audio, documents and texts-plus learn strategies for working with these electronic primary source materials. Participants will also develop sample teaching materials that draw upon the American Memory online materials.

Following the Institute, Fellows will continue to develop, refine and test their teaching materials with other colleagues and students. These teacher-created materials are then edited for presentation on the Library of Congress Learning Page at learning.loc.gov/learn. Throughout the school year, Fellows participate in online discussion groups. American Memory Fellows, as mentors to their professions, are also asked to share their knowledge with other colleagues throughout the nation at workshops and seminars or in writing.

The Library is seeking applications from two-member teams of humanities teachers, librarians and media specialists who:

· Have frequent access to and a high level of comfort using the World Wide Web, e-mail and other technologies;

· Have experience using primary source to motivate students, promote their critical thinking and help them connect history to their lives;

· Are active leaders in their fields, or have the ability to disseminate their expertise to teachers or librarians in their community and region;

· Work with student populations that are diverse(e.g. by region, income, race and ethnicity, language, ability, etc.).

If you meet these criteria, print out and complete the online application at llearning.loc.gov/learn/amfp. You may make copies or the applications for interested colleagues. Remember, applications must be postmarked by February 26, 2001. (No e-mail, fax, or disk-based applications, please.) Notification letters to all applicants will be mailed the week of April 23, 2001. Send inquiries to Andrea Savada at asav@loc.gov or 1-202-707-8148.

The Despository Library Council Seeks New Members

The Depository Library Council is seeking individuals who have a broad working knowledge of Federal information dissemination policy and issues, and the ability to relate that knowledge to the FDLP. We expect that in the coming year much of the Councils focus will be on GPOs actions to discover, catalog, and manage online resources. Therefore, Council members should have an understanding of the informationbased society and economy, including such issues as technological developments. Literacy, productivity, national competitiveness, and the roles of the various sectors of society in addressing such issues.

Members of Council will be asked to advise the Public Printer on issues of public access to Government information, GPO responses to legislative and funding proposals, and other issues which could impact the FDLP.

Council members must be able to devote sufficient amounts of personal and organizational time and resources to be part of indepth discussions of issues and to synthesize the results of such discussions and related research into formal recommendations to the Public Printer. This commitment of time will involve approximately ten days per year, including the two yearly meetings and committee work between the formal sessions. Council officers and committee chairpersons may need to devote additional time between meetings.

The Council has two public meetings each year in April and October: one in the Washington DC area and the other at different locations around the country. Each Council meeting is in session for 3.5 days. The Council convenes on a Sunday and adjourns on Wednesday. GPO pays the travel and per diem expenses of Council members.

If you wish to be nominated for the Council, please submit a brief biographical sketch to John Crosby, director, Public Communications at SLA via email at johnc@sla.org or contact by phone at 1-202-939-3629 by February 16, 2001.