AkLA Handbook Section II:2
Legislative Priorities

Updated: Friday, 09-Feb-2007 14:37:00 MST

• 2007 Legislative Priorities
• Priority 1 - Full Funding of State Library
• Priority 2 - Importance of School Librarians
• Priority 3 - Privacy and Confidentiality
• Priority 4 - Open Access to Information
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The Alaska Library Association (AkLA) is an association of librarians, library trustees, library supporters, and others who work to support libraries in Alaska. Members are drawn from all types of libraries--school, academic, public and special. Many companies that do business with Alaska libraries join the Association as commercial members. 

Each year at its annual face-to-face meeting in September, AkLA establishes a set of legislative priorities. These priorities address what AkLA believes are the most pressing needs of libraries of all types around the state. The Association agrees to work with with AkLA lobbyist to secure passage of legislation that furthers these priorities.

2007 Legislative Priorities

1. AkLA supports full funding for the programs and services of the Alaska State Library. AkLA also supports the critical capital need for budget appropriations to fund the building of a new Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museum facility.

The leadership role of the Alaska State Library enables the staff of libraries, large and small, urban and rural, to provide better library service to all Alaska residents. The programs and services of the Alaska State Library make library service possible across Alaska in places where it would not otherwise exist. The State Library coordinates cooperative projects among Alaska's libraries and provides important services, which benefit libraries and their constituents statewide. These include:

• interlibrary loan
• Alaska state publications depository program
• Alaska Historical Collections
• talking book services to the blind and disabled
• information on State government
• staff training and support for libraries of all sizes
• management of the state public library assistance grant program
• management of the federal Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant program.

2. AkLA believes that every student in the state needs and deserves the services of a certified school librarian and AkLA supports the development of a school library funding grant program.

Certified school librarians are educators who are trained to provide staff, students and parents, with services and programs to meet state standards for students' competency in information literacy. They acquire, organize, and maintain library collections to support school curricula and offer instruction in the use of those collections to find, evaluate, manage, and utilize information effectively, efficiently, and responsibly.

School library budgets vary widely between and within school library districts many students do not have access to up-to-date and varied print materials.  To increase Alaskan student's access to quality materials for their school curriculum and patrons it is vitally important for school libraries to receive adequate funding.  To this end we support the proposed School Library Collection Development Grant Program.

3. AkLA supports the protection of each library user’s privacy and the confidentiality of individuals’ library records.

Records held in libraries which connect specific individuals with specific resources, programs, or services are confidential and not to be used for purposes other than routine record keeping. Library staff need to use library records to maintain access to resources in a timely and orderly way and protect the library’s investment in resources and facilities. However, the ethical responsibilities of library staff, as well as statutes, protect the privacy of library users. Confidentiality extends to the information sought or received and materials consulted, borrowed, or acquired and includes database search records, interlibrary loan records, and other personally identifiable uses of library materials, facilities, or services. The library community recognizes that children and youth have the same rights to privacy as adults.

4. AkLA supports the role of libraries in a democracy to provide open access to information for all Alaskans.

Access to information is an essential element of good government. Our ability to govern ourselves depends on having access to information about all aspects of the issues that face us. The library serves as one of the primary sources of information for the entire community, regardless of a person's age, interests, background, or economic status. To help Alaskans make informed decisions and participate fully in the democratic process, libraries must be able to provide unfettered access to material from which individuals may select the information and viewpoints they find appropriate for themselves and their families.

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