Augusta Civic Center

THE SECRETARY'S REPORT:

A motion was passed to accept the minutes of the Fall Conference held November 6, 1999 at Freeport High School.

THE TREASURER'S REPORT:

A motion was passed to accept the Treasurer's report. Income as of May, 2000 was $10,449.00; expenses were $2169.80. Spring conference expenses have not yet been entered.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT:

President Suzan Nelson warmly welcomed everyone to the MASL business meeting and encouraged all MASL members to consider becoming board members. The board meetings are lively and participation in MASL activities is professionally rewarding. In addition to the Fall and Spring Conferences, meetings are usually held the first Saturday of the month, often at the Maine State Library in Augusta. Present board members were introduced. The address for the MASL website www.MASLibraries.org was announced.

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT'S REPORT:

Nancy Grant explained why the Maine Library Conference had been changed from UM to the Augusta Civic Center (The date UM had available was not OK for vendors). A straw poll was taken concerning location for next year with a split between Augusta and elsewhere.

OLD BUSINESS:

Past President Sylvia Norton spoke about Pam Fisher from the Center of Inquiry on Secondary Education who facilitated the MASL Board discussion of the research assessment work of the Information Skills Committee. Suzan Nelson reported on her trip to Washington, DC and her meeting with legislators. She urged all members to contact legislators asking them to support the Reed bill for elementary and secondary funding which would benefit school libraries.

NEW BUSINESS:

A motion was passed honoring Dot Gregory with lifetime membership in MASL in recognition of her many years of dedicated service. Thanks were given to all those who made the programs and workshops possible.

This incredibly rich website was developed and is maintained by the Film Study Center at Harvard University. The site map shows the wide range of resources including Martha Ballard's diary (searchable), among other primary documents; stories and themes from the diary; exercises; tips on how to use primary sources; maps and pictures; timelines; and many ways to branch off into individual studies. A Durham, NH historian is willing to do a workshop on using the site and a high school librarian is willing to show how to write grants to the Maine Humanities Commission for similar study. Audrey proposed that the Fall Conference be held on a weekday, so that teachers and administrators might be more likely to attend.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM COMMITTEE:

Chair Glenda Dow spoke about challenges to intellectual freedom. Members were asked to please notify the IF committee about challenges. The committee gives support and can help obtain reviews of the challenged material. The IF committee also tracks challenges and watches trends. Glenda reviewed some of the important steps to take before a challenge occurs. Be prepared: familiarize yourself with local policies; have a copy of the challenge form available; know local colleagues and other community people who support intellectual freedom. When challenged, call the complainant immediately to try to defuse the problem. Sometimes, people just want to be heard. If that doesn't work, ask the complainant to fill out a challenge form. Often, challengers will back off when asked to file a formal complaint form. Try not to focus on defending a specific book, instead defend the issue of intellectual freedom. Glenda will review procedures in an upcoming "Maine. Entry" A Phi Delta Kappan article can be accessed at the MASL website. This spring, school librarians have been asked to remove a list of trade publications and information books from library shelves so that the specified books will be new to students in an assessment program. In Bangor school libraries, the books were taken off the shelves. Bangor Public Library was asked to remove the listed books, but refused. In Portland, the issue was referred to the superintendent by the school librarians. Madawaska had a classroom complaint about There's a Nightmare in my Closet.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE:

New membership chair, Edna Comstock, plans to put a membership form on the web (www.MASLibraries.org ) with a list so members can check to see if their dues are current. Dues are due September first for the coming year. All new membership forms will request email addresses so that email reminders can be sent. A big thank you was given to Michele Adams for her long standing commitment to the board as membership chair.

NEXT MEETING: The next MASL business meeting will be at the Fall Conference.

Respectfully submitted,

Margaret McNamee margaretmc@lamer.net