================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 33 ISSN 1069-7799 May 8, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (78 lines) HIGHLIGHTS OF NATIONAL LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY _________________________________________________________________ HIGHLIGHTS OF NATIONAL LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY On May 5-6, 1997 the 23rd annual National Library Legislative Day was held in Washington, D.C. Nearly 500 librarians and library supporters attended the event to visit congressional offices and focus a spotlight on library issues. Library advocates focused on library funding, new youth initiatives such as the America Reads Challenge, access to government information, copyright, and technology in the public interest. The event was sponsored by the District of Columbia Library Association, the American Library Association Washington Office and other participating organizations. Monday, May 5 was an all day briefing session to exchange ideas with Washington area experts and ALA Washington Office staff to prepare for the next day's congressional visits. Special guests included Michael Stephens, vice president of Van Scoyoc Associates; Thomas Susman, attorney with Ropes & Gray; and Leslie Harris, attorney with Harris and Associates. Stephens, a former staff member of the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, outlined the new budget agreement. Susman, who had worked with the ALA Washington Office on the successful passage of the GPO Access legislation, discussed proposals to update Title 44 and the Federal Depository Library Program. Harris, a first amendment attorney, described the current situation concerning intellectual freedom and legislative attempts to require Internet censorship. The morning of Tuesday May 6 was highlighted by Friends of the Library USA President Heather Cameron, who presented public service awards to education committee chairs Sen. Jim Jeffords (R-VT) and Rep. William Goodling (R-PA) for their work on the passage of the Library Services and Technology Act. Following the ceremony and a briefing by Carol Henderson, ALA Washington Office executive director, library advocates visited congressional members and key staff and spoke with them about library issues. For those who attended this year's event, the National Library Legislative Day committee expresses its thanks for coming and a reminder to return your evaluation forms to the ALA Washington Office. The tradition will continue next year with the 24th annual National Library Legislative Day to be held on May 4-5, 1998. For an invitation to next year's event, visit http://www.ala.org/washoff/legday.html. _________________________________________________________________ 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 Tennant Mary Costabile All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================