From The President. . .

Greetings to all of you....PA Libraries "Best Friends",

It is my privilege and pleasure to serve PCBL as President for the next two years. I am fortunate to have excellent, experienced officers serving with me–Denny Leeper, Vice President; Carolyn Pfeifer, Secretary; and John Fordon, Treasurer. New Chairpersons will be announced following the next full Board Meeting.

We the members of PCBL have much to accomplish in the months ahead. In the aftermath of the September terrorist attacks and the continuing hostilities, we need to remember the significant place our libraries have in our communities and the role libraries play in restoring normalcy to everyday lives. People have always sought comfort in books, understanding through history and knowledge through scholarly writings. But perhaps most of all, libraries feed our souls–the inexpressible need we have for solace when overcome by grief and pain. Libraries provide a sense of comfort, continuity, and connection. And we are reminded of our mission to "stimulate public and governmental awareness of the value of libraries as essential community services." Let us go about our work with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication.

Immediate attention will be given by the PCBL Board to revision of the By-Laws. It was necessary for us to make some changes relative to the new membership category of affiliate members—those Friends Groups who have joined to take advantage of the 501(c)3 benefit that comes with this membership class. We now have 30 groups participating in this way! One By-Law change would provide for Board representation from this class of membership. More about this later.

Other Board action will focus on directions we want to take and goals we hope to achieve over the next two years. We need your help in setting these. If you have ideas on ways the organization can be of benefit, direct assistance or support to your group, please contact any Board Member, our Executive Secretary or me. My e-mail address is: scoates@stargate.net.

You will hear-and see-elsewhere in the Newsletter, reports of our grand annual meetings and the awards given to some outstanding library advocates and supporters. Congratulations to each of the awardees! They make us proud. And ALL OF YOU make this organization what it is. Thanks for being out there!

Cordially, Sara Oates.

New Board and Committee Chairs

2002 - 2003 BOARD MEMBERS

Marcia Abrams, Broomall
Barbara S. Murphy, Reading
Yvonne Addison, Pittsburgh
Sara Oates, Wexford
Philip R. Albright, Blue Bell
JoAnn Ogborn, Downingtown
Janice Cary, Hummelstown
Patricia Owens, Canton
Sara Jane Cate, Harrisburg
Carolyn Pfeifer, Camp Hill
Audrey Dawida, Pittsburgh
Carolyn Poff, Harrisburg
Sylvia Firth, Morgantown
Lucille Reilly, Harrisburg
John Fordon, Camp Hill
Berry Richards, Bethlehem
Barbara Grater, Ephrata
Julie Rinehart, Wyomissing
Kathy Kennedy, Monroeville
Janice Stebbins, Cogan Station
Dennis P. Leeper, Berwyn
Naomi Thomas, Pittsburgh
Carl Mitchell, Meyersdale


EX OFFICIO: Lois K. Albrecht, Executive Secretary, Greensburg
James Hollinger, Commonwealth Libraries Liaison, Harrisburg

Our Heartfelt Thanks to those retiring members of the Board for a job well done: Galen Godbey, Immediate Past President Nan Cavenaugh, Past President C. Ann Brugger

2002 COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Annual Meeting - Philip Albright
Legislation - Janice Cary, Sara Jane Cate
Awards - Carolyn Poff
Membership - Julie Rinehart
Finance - John Fordon
Newsletter - Kathy Kennedy
Friends Development/Workshops - Pat Owens
Nominating - Dennis Leeper
Public Relations - Janice Stebbins

TENTATIVE NEXT BOARD MEETING DATES:

February, 2002 TBA Board Meeting, Ephrata
Friday, May 31, 2002 Board Meeting, Monroeville Library
Friday, September 20, 2002 Board Meeting, New Cumberland
Friday, December 6, 2002 Board Meeting, Hershey


TENTATIVE NEXT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING DATES

Thursday, January 24, 2002 . Executive Committee, Altoona
April, Immediately after Legislative Day Activities, Harrisburg
Friday, August 9, 2002 Executive Committee, Carlisle
Friday, October 11, 2002 Executive Committee, Ligonier
November, 2002, TBA

PLEASE PLAN TO PARTICIPATE

April, 2002 Legislative Day, Harrisburg(date and time to be announced)
Saturday, June 1, 2002 Friends Institute, Radisson, Monroeville
Sunday, November 10, 2002 Annual Meeting, at PaLA, Hershey

PCBL 22nd Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon

PCBL and PaLA Trustee Division jointly sponsored the Opening Luncheon and PCBL Annual Meeting at the PaLA Centennial Conference on Sunday, October 14, 2001 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Philadelphia. This was PaLA's 100th celebration and was an exciting event, chaired by PaLASecond Vice President Evelyn Minick. Dennis Leeper of Temple University and past President of PCBL, served as the Annual Meeting Chair.

The Awards Luncheon was attended by over 100 persons who were treated to an informative and timely talk by well known Philadelphia news personality, Larry Kane. PCBL's Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Elliot Shelkrot, Executive Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Past Presidents, Galen Godbey and Nan Cavenaugh were honored for their years of service to PCBL. PaLA Trustee Division Chair Philip Albright presented the Trustee of the Year Award to Harold G. Hurff of the Easttown Library and Information Center. Other PCBL awards in the form of engraved plaques were presented to the following for their leadership in support of libraries in Pennsylvania:

Citizen of the Year Joseph J. Kelly, Executive Director, PHC
Corporate Citizen Award Guthrie Health Care System, Bradford Co.
Corporate Citizen Award JanWay Company, Cogan Station
Friends Group Award Friends, Pike County Public Library
Friends Newsletter Award Friends, Hershey Public Library
Library Public Relations Award Library System of Lancaster County.

In addition to the opening luncheon some special programs of interest to Friends and Trustees were held on Sunday. These included a presentation by Steven L. Herb, Director of the PA Center for the Book at University Park, PA. Discover Pennsylvania's literary figures was the subject of his presentation with a special preview of the "Literary Map of Pennsylvania."

The day ended with an All Conference Reception to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Pennsylvania Library Association. The Free Library of Philadelphia served as host to Benjamin Franklin, premiere body artist "Peanut Butter", Philadelphia's great Doo-Wop ensembles and others. PaLA presented the Public Official Award to the Lackawanna County Commissioners.

Library Advocacy: Staying Informed

State Issues to Monitor:

Political Environment
Recession and State Revenue Trends

2002 - 2003 Budget
1. Funding for Year 4 of the Platform for 21st Century Libraries
2. Ensuring flexibility in local financial effort and collection development standards
3. Funding to extend the POWER LIBRARY concept to academic libraries


Anti-Local Decision Making
Child Internet Protection Act (House Bill 10 and Senate Bill 583). If these bills pass it would remove local library board decision making by ordering mandatory, state-imposed filtering or blocking technologies on all public Internet access terminals in all public libraries.

Federal Issues to Monitor:

Re-authorization of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
Re-authorization must occur by September 30, 2002

Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
The American Library Association, the Freedom to Read Foundation and other plaintiffs won an early decision in the legal challenge to CIPA. A three judge panel of the Third U.S. Court of Appeals denied the government's motion to dismiss the suit on July 26, 2001. Trial is set for March 25, 2002.

One of the best ways to stay informed is to participate in the state and federal library legislative days. PCBL - PaLA Legislative Day will be held in the spring, usually April. Watch for announcements. The American Library Association's Library Legislative Day will be held in Washington, D.C. May 6 and 7, 2002.

Information may also be found on PaLA's Web site at www.palibraries.org and on PCBL's Web site at www.pcblpa.org

Keeping in Touch

If your Friends group has a Newsletter or information on activities to share, please send such information to the Editor:

Politician of the Year

Congratulations to former Governor Tom Ridge for being named Library Journal's Politician of the year 2001!! We wish you all the best as you take on your new responsibilities in Washington.

We've Got You Covered Reminder

Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries is now recognized as a tax exempt organization under sectiion 501(c)3 of the IRC. Through a "group extension provision," we can now extend that same tax exempt status to any interested local Friends group. Don't let your contributors get wet with the IRS because of a disallowed deduction. We make getting tax exampt easy: you fill out a simple form affiliating your local group with PCBL, and agree to submit to us an annual financial statement for your records.

We, in turn, submit a consolidated return to the IRS, with no identification of individual Friends group finances. You continue to run your own operation and collect your own money. You simply use PCBL's tax exemption whenever needed.

The cost to you? Only $30 a year over the regular ($40 a year) organizational membership, regardless of your group's size or budget, and there is no further obligation to PCBL in anyway. Come in under our umbrella and get out of the rain!

For more information, contact our treasurer, Dr. John Fordon, at
717-761-3309, or write him at 515 Kevin Ct., Camp Hill, PA 17011.