Library Worklife

Volume 2, No. 1 • February 2005

ALA-APA News

Empowering Library Support Staff for the 21st Century

ALA is proud to present the two-day Conference within a Conference, a separate, specially priced educational opportunity for library support staff!

The event, which will be held in conjunction with the 2005 Annual Conference in Chicago, will offer opportunities for library support staff from across the country to come together to learn, network and share model programming. There will also be opportunities to attend the world’s largest library exhibition as well as hear a national list of speakers.

Participants will be able to attend workshops on a variety of topics including reference services, children’s services, circulation, health and safety, internal customer service, management skills, technology, advocacy, outreach, bookmobiles, program planning and career development. Don’t miss this exciting, history-making event!

The Conference Within a Conference will be Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26, 2005 in Chicago, IL, during the 2005 ALA Annual Conference.

Registration for LSSIRT and COLT members is $99 in advance, or $125 onsite. Nonmembers can register for this two-day conference for $160 by January 2, $175 by March 4, $200 by May 20, or $250 onsite. If you register for this event only, you can only attend meetings and programs designated as part of the Conference within a Conference.

For more information on programming and events at the Conference Within a Conference, please visit www.ala.org/annual and click on “Conference Within a Conference.” Library support staff can join ALA and LSSIRT for $45, in order to receive the $99 registration rate. To join, go to www.ala.org/membership before you register.

Co-sponsors: ALA Library Support Staff Interests Round Table (LSSIRT) and Council on Library/Media Technicians (COLT)

Urge Labor Department to Keep Collecting Data on Women Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a division of the Department of Labor, has announced that it will stop collecting employment data on women from the Current Employment Statistics survey, a monthly survey of 160,000–400,000 businesses. It will continue to collect employment data on women with the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of 60,000 households. The National Organization for Women (NOW) urges you to tell the BLS and your Members of Congress that this information is absolutely essential, and its elimination will ultimately lead to an increase in workplace inequality. The BLS claims that the decision to eliminate collection is related to the lack of demand for the numbers. In a letter to BLS Commissioner Kathleen Utgoff, dated January 25, 2005, several members of Congress said, "We do not believe the Current Population Survey (CPS) is an adequate substitute for the CES in this area. While the CPS is valuable for other types of information, its smaller sampling size produces greater margin for error.[and] the CPS’ reliance on household interviews introduces the possibility of subjective reporting bias."

BLS is accepting comments until February 22, 2005. Comments are requested about the following:

Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses.

BLS notice

NOW’s Action Alert