Category Archives: News from the Field

Help America Vote Act (HAVA) for 2016- Important Update

There is an important update to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which will impact member libraries that hold elections.  The Help America Vote Act (HAVA), signed into federal law in 2002, required states to transition to more accessible balloting, namely, optical voting machines, by 2006.  Several extensions were passed over the years to provide a cushion for this transition.  However, as of January 1, 2016, libraries which continued to enjoy an exemption from the requirements of HAVA and ERMA must now come into compliance with the provisions of these acts. Libraries which previously used lever voting machines in the conduct of elections must now move to optical scan balloting, or, in the alternative, use paper balloting methods compliant with existing law.

Any library in New York State which has not previously transitioned to conducting their elections through optical scan voting technology must do so for any election held after January 1, 2016, or use paper balloting that is compliant with statutory requirements. Due to the cost-prohibitive nature of purchasing and maintaining this technology, we (The New York Library Association) recommend coming to an independent agreement with your local county Board of Elections where necessary, or working with your local school district where applicable.

Read More About HAVA Compliance on the NYLA Website

How to protect the freedom to read in your library: Free Webinar

Free Webinar: How to protect the freedom to read in your library

Banned Books WeekTuesday, September 29 – 9 a.m. PT; 10 a.m. MT; 11 a.m. CT; 12 p.m. ET

What do you do when a patron or a parent finds a book in your library offensive and wants to take it off your shelves? How do you remain sensitive to the needs of all patrons while avoiding banning a title? How can you bring attention to the issue of book banning in an effective way? In this 1-hour webinar, three experienced voices will share personal experiences and tips for protecting and promoting the freedom to read.

Part I: How to use open communication to prevent book challenges

klKate Lechtenberg, teacher librarian at Iowa’s Ankeny Community School District, finds that conversations between librarians, teachers, students, and parents are a key way to creating a culture that understands and supports intellectual freedom. “The freedom to read is nothing without the freedom to discuss the ideas we find in books.”

Part II: How to handle a book challenge after it happens

avatar.jpg.320x320pxKristin Pekoll, assistant director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, will share her unique experiences facing several book challenges (and a potential book burning!) when she served as a young adult librarian. How did she address the needs of upset parents and community members while maintaining unrestricted access to information and keeping important books on her shelves?

Part III: How to bring attention to the issue of banned books

sdmWhy would a supporter of free speech and open learning purposely ban a book? Scott DiMarco, director of the North Hall Library at Mansfield University, reveals how he once banned a book to shed light on library censorship and what else he is doing to support the freedom to read on his Pennsylvania campus.

Following the three presentations, there will be some time for Q&A moderated by Vicky Baker, deputy editor of the London-basedIndex on Censorship magazine.

Register Now

Web-Scale Discovery Services: American Libraries Webinar

Thursday, October 8, 2015
2 PM Eastern | 1 PM Central
12 PM Mountain | 11 AM Pacific

Web-scale discovery services are moving library technology forward by leaps and bounds. According to library systems expert Marshall Breeding, “Web-scale discovery services—tools that search seamlessly across a wide range of local and remote content and provide relevance-ranked results—have the ambitious goal of providing a single point of entry into a library’s collections.”

Many librarians have questions about Web-scale discovery services. What will change? What technology is available and at what cost? What will we need to know to make informed decisions?

On the next episode of AL Live, Thursday, October 8th at 2 PM Eastern, Marshall Breeding will lead an expert panel in a discussion on the topic of web-scale discovery services.

Tune in for this free streaming video broadcast! You can pre-register here for this free event (pre-registration assures you a reminder before the event), or go to www.americanlibrarieslive.org on September 10 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern) to view.