================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 26 ISSN 1069-7799 April 18, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (134 lines) GORE POINTS TO LIBRARIES AS INTERNET ACCESS POINTS FINAL REGISTRATION FOR LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY, MAY 5-6 VIDEOCONFERENCE AIMS TO HELP LIBRARIES SECURE TELECOM DISCOUNTS VIRTUAL STAND FOR CHILDREN: AN ONLINE CAMPAIGN IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SECOND ANNUAL STAND FOR CHILDREN DAY _________________________________________________________________ GORE POINTS TO LIBRARIES AS INTERNET ACCESS POINTS At a cabinet meeting April 10, Vice President Al Gore provided yet another example of why Internet access at libraries is an important service to the public. In response to a question about how people would find information on federal jobs that will hire people from welfare to work, Gore said that libraries were one place for Internet access and to locate the federal job bank web sites (http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Services/employ.html#job.) Gore went beyond reciting the typical campaign call for access to the Internet in every library and classroom by the year 2000. It is exciting and gratifying to hear the Vice-President direct Americans to libraries as a primary location for tapping into vital telecommunication services to gain access to federal information. _________________________________________________________________ FINAL REGISTRATION FOR LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY, MAY 5-6 There is still time and space to register for the issues briefing on May 5 and the 23rd annual National Library Legislative Day on May 6 in Washington, D.C. The event is sponsored by the District of Columbia Library Association, the American Library Association, participating state library and media associations and other contributing organizations. For information visit http://www.ala.org/washoff/legday.html. To register contact Mary Costabile, ALA Washington Office, at email mrc@alawash.org or call 800/941-8478. _________________________________________________________________ VIDEOCONFERENCE AIMS TO HELP LIBRARIES SECURE TELECOM DISCOUNTS "Maximizing Your E-Rate: Making the Most of New Telecommunications Discounts for Schools and Libraries" will be the topic of a live, interactive videoconference scheduled June 3, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET. Sponsored by PBS with support from the American Library Association, EdLiNC (of which ALA is a member), the Council of Chief State School Officers, the U.S. Department of Education and other educational organizations, the conference will answer questions and provide guidelines for working with state public utility commissions and telecom vendors in order to help schools and libraries secure discounts for internal wiring, video, voice and data. The discounts, authorized by the Snowe-Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey Amendment in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, can range from 20-90 percent under recommendations that are pending before the Federal Commissions Commission. Speakers will examine strategies for achieving even greater cost reduction, such as bundling discounts with other "ed-tech" funding sources such as the new National Technology Literacy Program. A steerable C-band or Ku-band satellite dish is needed to participate in the videoconference. For a listing of organizations in your area with equipment, contact PBS Customer Service at 800-257-2578. For videoconference licensing information, visit http://www.pbs.org/learn/als/programs/live/erate.htm. _________________________________________________________________ VIRTUAL STAND FOR CHILDREN: AN ONLINE CAMPAIGN IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SECOND ANNUAL STAND FOR CHILDREN DAY Virtual Stand For Children is a two week Internet-based campaign which will run from May 25 to June 7. The campaign has three main components: the Virtual Stand For Children web site at http://www.stand.org, a World Wide Web banner campaign and an email pledge campaign. Virtual Stand for Children is inviting companies, organizations, and individuals to demonstrate their commitment to children by featuring a Stand for Children banner or logo, linked to www.stand.org, on their web sites during the two week online event. In mid-May, Stand for the Children will launch a campaign asking people to send email messages pledging to take a stand for children. For every email received, sponsors will contribute to a scholarship fund for young people who have beaten enormous odds in order to become leaders and academic standouts, up to $25,000 total. The event is sponsored by the Calvert Group, Bright Horizons and Silicon Graphics Computer Systems. In addition to their financial sponsors, Virtual Stand For Children has also partnered with Yahoo!, an Internet navigational guide. Last year on June 1st, more than a quarter million Americans stood for children at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. As part of this historic event, Stand For Children involved hundreds of thousands people through the Internet by publicizing the event online, by providing organizing information, by responding to people's questions, and by asking people to share why they stood for children. For more information visit Stand For Children at http://www.stand.org or contact Nalini Kotamraju, Producer of Virtual Stand For Children at 800/663-4032 ext. 23 or at nalini@stand.org. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson Claudette W. Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================