CE NEWS

June 8, 2018

Table of Contents

• CE Calendar
• Webinars You Don’t Want to Miss
• Small Library Institute of Management (SLIM): An Intensive and Rewarding Professional Development Experience
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
• Labeling and Rating Systems and the First Amendment
• Free Public Libraries in Alaska

CE Calendar

Visit the Library Development Training & Continuing Education Calendar for a listing of free webinars and webcasts of interest to librarians.

Webinars You Don't Want to Miss

• Librarian’s Insights on How to Integrate STEM and Coding into Makerspaces
• Demonstrating Library Impact with Data
• Fighting Fake: Digital Forensics and News Literacy
• Public Librarians’ Chat: Tackling the weeds in your library collection

Small Library Institute of Management (SLIM): An Intensive and Rewarding Professional Development Experience

During the week of May 21^st, fifteen rural public library directors from around the state attended the 2018 SLIM weeklong face-to-face training held in the APK Building in Juneau. Prior to arriving in Juneau workshop, attendees were asked to complete a questionnaire describing their library experience, workshop expectations and confidence in completing the online portion of the course.  SLIM is an intensive workshop with content provided in-person and online.

During the week, fourteen guest presenters introduced attendees to a wide range of library topics and resources: grants, cataloging, Alaskana for children and copyright issues, SLED databases, the Ready to Read Resource Center, Alaska’s Digital Archive and much more.  A great big thank you to all of the guest presenters and volunteers that helped during SLIM! Robert Barr, Katy Spangler, Samantha Blanquart, Ginny Jacobs, Tracy Swaim, Freya Anderson, Sara Bornstein, Leah Geibel, Katie Fearer, Brett Dillingham and Andrea Hirsh, Jared Shucha, Patience Frederiksen and Daniel Cornwall, Sandy Kipmeyer, Chris Skidmore and Clint Carlson.

 The eight modules in the SLIM online course expand and support content covered during the face-to-face workshop. The online modules include: Role of the Library Director, Library Laws & Regulations, Vision, Mission & Service goals, and Library Philosophy & Ethics, Policy vs. Procedure, Collection Development, and Technology Planning and Library Programming.  Each module includes one or two activities SLIM participants are required to complete. The activities are designed to help participants apply the content covered in the workshop directly to their library situation. 

While each SLIM participant brought a unique set of skills, knowledge and experience to the workshop, all of them share a deep commitment to their professional development and a desire to excel in their role as the public library director.  During the workshop they worked collaboratively and created a supportive environment where learning flourished and everyone excelled.  

SLIM attendees: Bre Ohlson, Ticee Graham, Carol Shade, Sue Crew, Geraldine Denkewalter, Jen Gardner, Audra Gooden, Tona Hanson, Candace Nelson, Mae Mendenhall, Patricia Welch, Sandy Curtis, Erin Pedersen, Ashley Harzell and Carrie Longpre

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act provides the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. According to information found on the FOIA.gov website, Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions from disclosure established by Congress to protect personal privacy, national security and law enforcement.  FOIA only applies to federal agencies. State agencies and local governments aren’t required to meet this federal law

Alaska Open Records Law

Alaska’s Open Records Law was created to ensure that the public has access to government records and meetings, and encourage transparency and oversight in state and local government.  

 AS 40.25.110 Public records open for inspection and copying; fees.  Unless specifically provided otherwise, the public records of all public agencies are open to inspection by the public under reasonable rules during regular office hours. The public office having the custody of public records shall give on request and payment of the fee established under this section or AS 40.25.115 a certified copy of the public record.

Alaska statute recognizes that some information should remain confidential and AS 40.25.120 lists 17 exceptions to requests for public records.  One of the exceptions states are records required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulation or by state law; some library records fall within this category. 

AS 40.25.140 Confidentiality of library records.  The names, addresses or other personal identifying information of people who have used materials made available to the public by a library shall be kept confidential, except upon court order, and are not subject to inspection under the public records Act. The only exception are records of public elementary or secondary school library identifying a minor child shall be made available on request to a parent or guardian of that child.

 The National Freedom of Information Coalition has created a webpage with Alaska freedom of information resources, including a sample freedom of information request form.

The 6^th edition of the Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings Laws in Alaska was published by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of The Press in 2011 and is available online. This comprehensive guide outlines the rights of Alaska citizens to obtain information and attend state and local meetings. 

Labeling and Rating Systems and the First Amendment

Restricting a library’s user access to materials based on a private groups rating system, such as the movie industry’s Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA);  which has a board comprised of independent group of parents, is a violation of the First Amendment and the Library Bill of Rights.

While libraries should organize materials so they are easily located within the library and use viewpoint-neutral directional aids, such as fiction genre labels,  they should refrain from using labels created by private groups regarding what may or may not be objectionable viewing.

While parents have every right to determine and restrict the library materials their children may read or view. The public library  allow and support library users efforts to determine for themselves what they are interested in and want to check out.  For more information on labeling and rating systems visit the American Library Association's Questions and Answers on Labeling and Rating Systems. 

Free Public Libraries in Alaska

In order to be recognized as a public library in Alaska, libraries must provide the following four services free of charge to residents of their municipality or community:

1. Establish and maintain a collection of books and other materials for loaning;
2. Provide access to interlibrary loan services;
3. Provide reading or other education programs for children; and
4. Provide reference information

While a library may charge non-residents (people living outside of their library’s service area) a fee to obtain a non-resident library card in order to borrow materials. Residents living within a library’s service area should not be charged a fee in order to obtain a library card. Alaska statutes do not make a distinction between permanent and/or temporary residents. While libraries may limit the number of items a new resident library card holder may check out, as a measure to limit potential losses, they should not require temporary residents to pay a fee in order to obtain a library card.  

In a nutshell Alaska libraries should not charge permanent residents a fee or require them to make a deposit in order to obtain a library card.   People living outside of a library's service area may be required to pay a fee to obtain a library card.