SRRT Newsletter - Issue 181, December 2012
91´«Ã½
Also available in EPUB format.
Contents
- Midwinter Schedule of SRRT Activities
- Letter from the Editor
- Coordinator's Column
- Feminist Task Force News
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Task Force News
- Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task Force News
- Government Document Round Table News
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table News
- The Merritt Fund - a Truly Humanitarian Fund
- Banned Books Week: Celebrating 30 Years of Liberating Literature
- Going Green in the Carribbean
- Book Review: All of Us Or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Call for Submissions
- Publication Information
Midwinter Schedule of SRRT Activities
Friday, January 25
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting I
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
All Task Force Meeting
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604
Feminist Task Force Meeting I
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604 (Table 4)
Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task Force Meeting
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604 (Table 5)
International Responsibilities Task Force Meeting
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604 (Table 3)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force Meeting
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604 (Table 2)
Rainbow Project Book List Committee Meeting
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604 (Table 6)
Task Force on the Environment Meeting
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 604 (Table 1)
Saturday, January 26
Action Council Meeting I
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Willow
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting II
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
Rainbow Book List Committee I Meeting
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Renaissance Seattle Hotel - Room 525
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting III
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
Progressive Librarian's Guild
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Willow
Sunday, January 27
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting IV
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
Rainbow Book List Committee II Meeting
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Renaissance Seattle Hotel - Room 525
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force Meeting II
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Jefferson
Action Council Meeting II (A)
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 307-308
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting V
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
Action Council Meeting II(B)
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 307-308
Feminist Task Force Meeting 2
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Grand Hyatt Seattle - Portland B
Monday, January 28
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance and Sunrise Celebration
6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.
Washington State Convention Center - Room 611-614
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting VI
9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
Amelia Bloomer Project Committee Meeting VII
3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Richmond
Letter from the Editor
by Amy Honisett
Hello SRRT Newsletter readers!
It’s a busy time of year, and I first want to thank all our contributors (present and past); I know time is precious, and your contributions are essential to making the newsletter as great as it is.
For those of you who are able to attend Midwinter, this issue contains a schedule of SRRT events at the conference, as well as information about some activities that will happen there. Seattle is a beautiful city, and I am sure you will all have a fun and productive time.
Recently, my local newspaper (the wonderful Salt Lake Tribune) ran a story about a library program the Salt Lake County Library is putting on to help teen refugees tell their stories (you can read the story here: ). What a great program! I would love to hear from you about the programming your library is doing to promote social justice. How does your library make a difference in your community? How does the programming you put together make a difference in your patrons’ lives?
I hope you enjoy the rest of your year, and have a great time at Midwinter if you’re going. As always, please feel free to contact me at ahonisett@yahoo.com with any questions, comments, or concerns about the newsletter. We welcome your contributions and hope to hear from you about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.
Coordinator's Column
by Laura Koltutsky, SRRT Coordinator
I live in Canada, but like many of you, I stayed up late on November 6 to watch the US election results. Canada and the United States share many things, including the consequences of US elections. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once said (of the US), “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” In Canada we are somewhat insulated from US election advertisements, but even here it would have been impossible to escape the competing messages. This was the first presidential election following Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and it was obvious that much of the negative campaigning was a result of this 2010 Supreme Court Ruling. Free speech was preserved, but at a high cost to civility. Policy analysis was replaced by voices amplifying the opposition’s latest gaffe or misstep. Unlimited donations to Super PACs seemed to create an environment in which sheer volume replaced ideas. It was reassuring that the loudest voices of hate were rejected by their own constituents.
I am looking forward to Midwinter in Seattle and to seeing both new and old members of the Social Responsibilities Round Table. One of the things I have always enjoyed about working at the Round Table level within 91´«Ã½ is meeting others who share common interests and goals. If you are considering joining SRRT, I am certain that any of our Task Force groups would welcome your interest and will answer any questions you might have. If you are currently a SRRT member and would like to become more involved please consider becoming a candidate for Action Council. Nominations need to be submitted by February 4th, 2013.
Feminist Task Force News
The Feminist Task Force (FTF) is getting ready for the 91´«Ã½ 2013 Midwinter Meeting. We want to have some new programs and to get some new people involved. If you are interested in being a part of FTF, please attend our meeting on Saturday, January 26 from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in the Sheraton Seattle Hotel Jefferson Room (part of the SRRT All Task Force meeting), or send a message to diedre08@gmail.com.
FTF’s Amelia Bloomer Project has a number of meetings at Midwinter, since this is when the committee members put together the Amelia Bloomer list. Past lists may be found at .
Nominations for the 2013 Amelia Bloomer Project List closed on October 31st. This year, the committee will be reviewing 84 titles at the Midwinter Meeting. A complete list of nominations is available at . The Amelia Bloomer Project Committee would like to extend thanks to the many people who submitted field nominations for review and to those who have enthusiastically commented on the blog.
Anyone may attend the Amelia Bloomer Project meetings; we want anyone who is interested to feel free to attend. All of the meetings will be held in the same room throughout Midwinter – in the Sheraton Seattle Hotel Richmond Room. The meetings may begin earlier and last longer than the official schedule, so feel free to check anytime to see if people are meeting. The official scheduled times are:
Friday, January 25 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 27 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Monday, January 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Monday, January 28 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The Feminist Task Force also has a newsletter, Women in Libraries (). We will need people to report about the meetings and programs they attend that might be of interest to feminists. This will help us update WIL. Please send your notes to sharrington@berry.edu. Any ideas for articles are also welcome.
For more information about FTF, check our wiki (), our website (), and our Facebook page ().
Please join us and get involved.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force News
by LaJuan Pringle - Library Manager, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force, along with SRRT, will observe the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunrise Celebration Monday, January 28 at 6:30 a.m. at the Washington State Convention Center, Room 611-614.
This year’s theme, Stride Towards Freedom, encourages librarians to again consider the importance of ensuring access to information in libraries to all people, especially traditionally underserved populations. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Dr. Theoharis will be promoting her latest book, The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks (Beacon Press), which will be released on Tuesday, January 29 – just days shy of the 100th birth anniversary of Rosa Parks (February 4).
The Call-to-Action will be delivered by Dr. Sandra Hughes-Hassell, a professor and coordinator of the School Library Media Program in the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Her current research focuses on social justice issues in youth library services and the role of school library media specialists in education reform. We are looking forward to an exciting event.
More information to come regarding the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. video project.
Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task Force News
by Lisa Gieskes, HHPTF Coordinator, and Julie Winkelstein, SRRT AC
With the official publication this fall of the 91´«Ã½ HHPTF and Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) toolkit, Extending Our Reach: Reducing Homelessness Through Library Engagement, we thought this would be a good time to reflect on the process of creating the toolkit and invite comments and suggestions from newsletter readers. Print copies of the toolkit can be ordered on the OLOS website at , where there is also a downloadable
Creating this toolkit was a challenging and, ultimately, rewarding experience. Over approximately two years’ time, we discussed the title, goal, language, layout and audience. Each of these aspects required ongoing conversations, compromises and understanding. For instance, it’s amazing how much discussion can go into simply choosing a title. We wanted a title that lets librarians know what the toolkit is about, but doesn’t sound like serving homeless library users is an onerous task, since reaching out to people experiencing homelessness is in most ways just like serving any other community member.
Our overall goal was to create a document that was positive, educational and practical. Using language that was respectful and positive was particularly important, because so much information about homelessness is negative. For example, being positive means not labeling a disparate group of people “the homeless,” as if that were their only identity rather than a description of their housing status. Instead, it means looking at the individual needs of people experiencing homelessness and separating the stereotype of homelessness from the reality of peoples’ lives. People experience homelessness for many reasons - poverty being one of the most powerful.
As part of our educational goal, we included a list of commonly used terms that relate to homelessness. We hope this mini vocabulary lesson will provide librarians with some of the tools they need in their efforts to reach out to people without stable and permanent housing. Terms like “emergency housing” and “transitional housing” can be confusing to those who don’t need to know them. Our goal is to provide definitions that will help librarians gain a greater understanding of the world of homelessness and its challenges. We have also provided some basic facts about homelessness in the United States and a list of possible barriers to library service access. We hope these lists will offer useful insight into ways libraries can take part in addressing the effects of homelessness on library users and ways to remove some possible obstacles these users may be encountering.
We wanted the toolkit to be practical because ultimately that’s why it was written - as a practical tool for librarians who would like to make sure they serve all of their patrons equally well. We included tips on getting started, suggestions for essential library services and creating partnerships, and ideas for relevant programs and materials. In addition, there are examples of model programs, showing some of the wonderful ways libraries are addressing homelessness around the country.
When we had finished the draft for the toolkit, we asked for - and received - feedback from some of the 91´«Ã½ round tables and task forces. One suggestion we received is to create a separate toolkit that focuses solely on homeless youth and includes extensive information about youth homelessness and school libraries. We have incorporated many of the other suggestions into the final version, but we’re aware there will be additional thoughts and ideas from all of you. We’d love to hear from you - we want this toolkit to be as useful and current as possible.
Government Document Round Table News
by Kris Kasianovitz, 2012-2013 Chair, GODORT Membership Committee
As this is GODORT's inaugural post in the SRRT Newsletter, I'd like to start off by re-introducing GODORT to everyone. As you may or may not be aware, GODORT was originally formed by SRRT members many years ago, so one could say we are a product of SRRT. We’d like to reacquaint you with us and invite you to attend our programs and meetings, utilize our great resources, and follow us on 91´«Ã½ Connect, Facebook and Twitter.
Representatives from GODORT would also be happy to attend any of your meetings to discuss opportunities and collaborations. Please contact Barbara Miller, Chair of GODORT, at barbara.miller@okstate.edu.
Who we are, what we do
I like to think of GODORT as the government information collective brain. We engage with all things "gov" and support those who work directly or indirectly with those things. We cover all levels of government: state, local, international, foreign and federal, with a bit of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) included, too!
GODORT members work with or have some interest in an aspect of government information.We come together as an organization to support each other in our daily work, which may be depository management, research assistance, cataloging, managing born-digital materials, etcetera... We work in various library settings: academic, public, special, government agency. Many of us do not hold the formal title of government information librarian, but are active users and supporters of government information materials. We seek to include, collaborate with and assist anyone outside of GODORT with issues related to government information. We co-sponsor professional development programs and pre-conferences with other groups like BRASS, RUSA, LPSS, and PLA, because government information is so cross-disciplinary.
More formally, as our charge and mission state, the purposes of the Government Documents Round Table are:
- to provide a forum for the discussion of problems and concerns and for the exchange of ideas by librarians working with government documents;
- to provide a nexus for initiating and supporting programs to increase the availability, use and bibliographic control of documents;
- to increase communication between documents librarians and the larger community of information professionals;
- to contribute to the education and training of documents librarians.
Please visit the GODORT Wiki, which is the Round Table's main website:
We are a well-rounded round table, so there is always a lot to talk about in terms of our activities and programs, but two areas I think deserve attention at this time are Advocacy and Education.
Advocacy
While most of us engage in government information access advocacy in some form, the GODORT Legislation Committee () is responsible for following policy issues and drafting resolutions on a wide variety of topics, including assisting the 91´«Ã½ Washington Office on issues affecting federal government legislation and coordinating legislative action with other 91´«Ã½ bodies.
Some notable examples of the Legislation Committee resolutions are:
- Transparency and Openness in the Federal Government, 2010
- Supporting Digital Information Initiatives at the GPO, 2010
- IFC/COL Joint resolution on access to and classification of government information, 2011
For a complete archive of Resolutions passed by GODORT since 1973, see
The Legislation committee has also been actively involved in monitoring and leading discussions with regards to the Future of the Federal Depository Program:
Education
The preeminent hallmarks of our dedication to education are our various awards and scholarships, like the NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/91´«Ã½ Catharine J. Reynolds Award, W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship, and the 91´«Ã½ Emerging Leaders Program. To read more about award eligibility and past recipients, see:
The GODORT Education Committee is actively developing professional development and training opportunities for all interested in Government Information, both at 91´«Ã½ Annual conference and at other times. GODORT held its first webinar on May 4, 2012, thanks to our e-Learning Interest Group. "Lions, and Podcasts, and Videos! Oh My!" featured speaker Kathryn Yelinek, Coordinator of Government Documents for Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, discussing a rich variety of online government audiovisual material - from folk music recordings to historical videos, and even a few lions!
For more resources see the GODORT Projects page:
Join us!
Lastly, we have some great events and meetings planned for the Midwinter Conference in Seattle:
Want to learn more about government information librarianship, GODORT or both? Consider joining the GODORT Buddy Program. We pair interested librarians, library students and library staff with a GODORT member. This is open to anyone. To fill out a Buddy request go to:
Want to attend a meeting to see how we work? Check out the GODORT Midwinter conference schedule:
Come mingle and meet the many members of GODORT at the GODORT Happy Hour, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday at each Midwinter and Annual. Check the GODORT News and Announcements for location and other details.
After you have met us, we’re sure you’d like to join us. You can become a GODORT member by clicking on the following link:
You can find us on Facebook at:
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table News
by John Mack Freeman, Chair-Elect, GLBTRT Newsletter Committee
Planning has begun for both the 2013 Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference. The GLBTRT board is embracing the 91´«Ã½ goal to reduce the size of conferences by cancelling one of the regularly scheduled meetings at Midwinter. The tentative schedule for Midwinter can be found here: . Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open.
The GLBTRT will also be electing a number of positions in the upcoming 91´«Ã½ election cycle: Chair-Elect, Treasurer, Directors-at-Large (2), and Round Table Councilor. We are also currently seeking volunteers to serve as the Alternate Legislation Assembly Representative and individuals in the Chicago area interested in helping to plan the 2013 Annual GLBTRT Social.
For more information about this news, as well as access to reviews of current LGBTQ books and films of all stripes and reflections on LGBTQ current events, you can access the GLBTRT's most recent newsletter at:
If you have any questions about anything or would like more information, please shoot me an e-mail at johnmackfreeman@gmail.com, and I will help you out in any way that I can!
The Merritt Fund - A Truly Humanitarian Fund
by Jonathan Kelley, Program Coordinator, LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund
When I started working for 91´«Ã½ and the Freedom to Read Foundation in 1999, I was informed that as part of my job description, I would help administer something called the “LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund.” Not being a librarian by training, I had never heard of it. I soon found out that among those in the 91´«Ã½ family, I was not alone in being unfamiliar with this unique organization. In fact, despite celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2010, the Merritt Fund is still unknown to far too many librarians and library workers who might need it, or who might become supporters.
Headquartered within the 91´«Ã½ Office for Intellectual Freedom, the Merritt Fund is a separate organization that provides direct financial support to librarians who are fired or otherwise harmed in the workplace due (since its initial inception) to their support for intellectual freedom principles or (since 1975) because of discrimination based on religion, gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status, or another reason. It started from the Freedom Fund for Librarians and was then named in honor of Dr. LeRoy C. Merritt, the Dean of the University of Oregon School of Librarianship, who died in 1970 and whose estate gave a significant grant to the Fund.
With rare exceptions, the grant process is completely confidential. The only exceptions have come when individual grant recipients have agreed to tell their stories. The most recent incidence of this was last year, in the case of Karla Shafer. Karla was the librarian of the tiny town of Hooper, Nebraska. Her library’s Friends group was the recipient of two grants from 91´«Ã½’s “The American Dream Starts @ Your Library” project, sponsored by Dollar General. The project’s funds are intended to connect libraries with newcomers to the US. Karla enthusiastically used the grant to reach out to Latinos in the area. There was backlash and she found the hostility too much and resigned. The city then successfully appealed her unemployment benefits and she was left in dire financial straits. The grant she received from the Merritt Fund helped her through those dark days, and she has now reestablished herself in the Omaha area. (You can read the American Libraries article about Karla’s case on the Merritt Fund website, .)
Another “out” grantee was Michael McConnell, the cataloguer who in 1970 made history by applying for a marriage license in Minnesota with his partner Jack Baker. He was soon thereafter refused employment at the University of Minnesota Library and filed suit in federal court. He won an injunction at the lower court, but it was overturned in a strikingly anti-gay decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1971, the Merritt Fund provided McConnell with a $500 grant to help offset his financial hardship.
More about the Merritt Fund: the Trustees ask recipients to repay the money when they are in a better financial situation, so that the Fund can be self-supporting. In fact, the Fund is entirely supported by its members, primarily individual librarians who want to “pay it forward.” Recipients are able to use the grant money for anything from rent, to outstanding bills, to relocation costs, to legal fees – and beyond.
The Merritt Fund trustees (currently consisting of past 91´«Ã½ President John W. Berry, incoming 91´«Ã½ president Barbara Stripling, and 91´«Ã½ Councilor Pat Wand) and staff (OIF Director Barbara Jones and me) are thankful to the many SRRT members who are also Merritt Fund members. If you’re interested in joining the Merritt Fund, please send a check at whatever level you’re comfortable to:
The Merritt Fund
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
You also can join online at , email me at jokelley@ala.org, or call me at (312) 280-4226.
(Note: donations to the Merritt Fund are not tax deductible.)
Merritt Fund members are eligible to run for election for Trustee. Please contact me if you’re interested in running.
Finally, if you’ll be at 91´«Ã½ Annual in Chicago, please join us at the Merritt Fund’s annual “Reception for a Cause,” scheduled for Sunday, June 30. Bring a friend! We’ll meet, greet, wine, dine (well, nosh), and support a genuinely worthy cause!
Banned Books Week: Celebrating 30 Years of Liberating Literature
by Nanette Perez, Program Officer, 91´«Ã½ Office for Intellectual Freedom
Banned Books Week (BBW) 2012, held September 30 through October 6, marked the 30th anniversary of the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, the 91´«Ã½'s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) coordinated the 50 State Salute to BBW. The 50 State Salute featured videos from organizations across the country demonstrating ways in which they celebrate the freedom to read. Many videos that appeared on the 50 State Salute featured representatives from state library associations who read from their favorite banned or challenged books. One great example is this video: , produced by Robin Shader, chair of Florida Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC), featuring a reading of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Other states produced videos featuring events they held in honor of BBW, such as the video from the Alabama Library Association and the Gadsden Public Library, entitled “The Arrest:” . To view the videos your state produced, check out the 50 State Salute page .
In addition to the 50 State Salute, OIF created this wonderful timeline: , which features a collection of significant banned/challenged books since 1982. And for the first time ever, 91´«Ã½ OIF and the sponsors of BBW selected Bill & Judith Moyers of Moyers & Company () as the honorary co-chairs of Banned Books Week. To honor the 30th anniversary, legendary journalist Bill Moyers produced a video essay. Moyers discusses the importance of our freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. We are proud to present this video, "The Bane of Banned Books.” ().
For the second year in a row, 91´«Ã½ co-hosted the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out! The Read-Out features readers from across the country and around the world proclaiming the virtues of the freedom to read by uploading videos of themselves reading a passage from their favorite banned or challenged book for the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out channel on You Tube (). Joining these readers are highly acclaimed authors Stephen Chbosky, Sara Paretsky and Carmen Tafolla.
Stephen Chbosky, author of critically acclaimed and often challenged book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, reads a passage from his novel as well as discusses the importance of BBW. ()
Sara Paretsky, highly acclaimed Chicago author, honors the life of the banned/challenged author Anne Frank by reading a passage written by Chilean poet, Marjorie Agosin.
Dr. Carmen Tafolla, poet laureate of San Antonio TX participates in the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out by reading a passage from her banned book, Curandera, which was banned from the Tucson Unified School District. (
We hope you had a chance to celebrate your freedom to read this year by reading your favorite banned or challenged book or hosting your own event honoring BBW. For more information on BBW, check out or .
Going Green in the Caribbean
by Fred Stoss, Associate Librarian, Oscar A. Silverman Library, University at Buffalo - SUNY
Fred Stoss recently attended the Green Aruba III Conference at the invitation of the Government of Aruba. His invitation came at the request of Mrs. Astrid Britten, Director of the National Library of Aruba and was facilitated through the conference co-sponsors, the Ministry of Justice and Education, the Ministry of Finance, Communication, Utilities, and Energy, Elmar N.V., W.E.B. Aruba N.V. and Utilities Aruba N.V.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Smart and Sustainable.” The program dealt with Aruba’s dedicated efforts to present their vision for a future economy built on alternative energy strategies on the island nation. The goal is to end Aruba’s dependence on an oil-based economy by becoming the world’s first sustainable country by 2020. Three themes: Aruba +20, Technology and Finance, and Green Energy for Households and Demand Site Management were addressed by 24 speakers representing government, finance, business, and research interests from Aruba, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. The conference keynote address, Smart Island Strategy, was delivered by Jose Maria Figureres, former President of Costa Rica and President of the Carbon War Room.
Fred Stoss’ involvement with the topic of sustainability formally began more than a decade ago with his serving as a member of the team that designed and implemented the 91´«Ã½’s “Libraries Build Sustainable Communities Project (LBSC)” from 1999 to 2001.
On October 8-9, 2012, the first Symposium of the Caribbean Energy, Environmental and Sustainability Education (CEESEd) program reached out to more than 2000 Aruban high school students and students from the post-high school professional training institute. These students heard four speakers and members of the Aruban Government emphasize the importance of their participation in Aruba’s development of its future sustainable economy. Fred’s concluding presentation, “CEESEd: Grabbing Sustainable Ideas for Schools in Aruba,” provided a rationale and call to action for students to involve themselves in a variety of STEM and other non-science learning activities exploring their interests in “things green” and related to energy. Several science education websites were shown as examples for student use in various projects and activities: the National Science Digital Library (NDSL - the National Science Foundation's online library of resources and collections for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education) and education sites from NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and UNESCO.
See Fred’s blog at for the full story!
Online versions of print media coverage and news-photo archives are at:
Cushing, Lincoln. All of Us Or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley, CA: Heyday, 2012.
Reviewed by Jessamyn West,
In this book, based on the recent acquisition of social justice posters that were on exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California this past summer, Lincoln Cushing has done a masterful job of explicating and illustrating all of the separate parts of this story. We not only get to see the beautiful posters – which are lovingly digitized, arranged and annotated – we get a peek inside the collectives and presses that printed and distributed them, the movements that inspired them and the mind of the man who collected them, Free Speech Movement activist Michael Rossman.
Drawing on his own knowledge, as well as published sources, Cushing makes the argument that the 'sixties poster movement was a “creative explosion” of ideals and affordable artwork at a time when the public was in a position to both appreciate and amplify those messages. Drawing on the graphic design “Golden Age” in Cuba and ephemeral artwork that came out of the general strike in Paris, posters with social messages and images became an innovative forum for the exchange of ideas.
Cushing is precise in his work, outlining the scope of his curation and giving citations for the interested researcher. At the same time he is clearly involved with the works as a passionate archivist and not just a disinterested cataloger of ephemera. A substantial appendix provides background on the individual presses, workshops and distributors. The book also has endnotes and a lengthy bibliography. The loosely chronological chapters outline the birth, growth, expansion and continuing legacy of social justice-oriented poster art.
Some of these images will be familiar to anyone with a passing interesting in the 'sixties or social movements generally. Many more, particularly in the Other Voices and International Solidarity chapters, may be new. The backstories Cushing provides (for example, Filipino-Americans’ contributions to the formation of the United Farm Workers or the budding Disability Rights movement) bring these posters to life. Cushing uses the Rossman collection as a jumping off point for a discussion of larger Bay Area social justice histories. His heavily cited chapters give a three dimensional look into the stories behind final two dimensional artworks, often using extended quotes from the people who were involved at the time.
This collection is interesting and educational to read and, most importantly, beautiful to look at. The design, layout and print quality of this volume are exceptional. Published by Heyday Books, an independent, nonprofit Bay Area publisher, this catalog of the All of Us or None poster archive is, itself, a striking example of the tradition inspired it.
For more information about the content of this book, consult these websites:
- Lincoln Cushing’s All of Us or None website:
- The late Michael Rossman’s website:
- Exhibit web page at the Oakland Museum of California:
Call for Submissions
The SRRT newsletter is always looking for good articles, essays, and letters to the editor. The next submission deadline is March 1, 2013.
Submissions to the SRRT Newsletter may be made by any current SRRT Member or SRRT affiliate. Please send your submissions electronically in one of the following formats: MS Word, RTF, PDF, or plain text pasted into the body of an e-mail. Submissions should be 500 to 1,000 words. Graphics are encouraged. If using images that are already on the Internet, the URL of the image and a caption or description may be added to the text of the submission.
Please send submissions and inquiries to SRRT Newsletter Editor Amy Honisett at ahonisett@yahoo.com, indicating "SRRT Newsletter" within the subject line of your e-mail. A confirmation of receipt will be sent in a timely manner.
Submissions for book reviews should be submitted to the Reviews Editor, Candise Branum, at cbranum@ocom.edu. Submissions should be sent electronically in MS-Word format or a Word compatible format. Reviewers should keep their reviews to 300-500 words; any length much shorter or longer should be discussed with the reviews editor prior to submission. Reviewers should avoid conflicts of interest. Full disclosure should be made to the book reviews editor when appropriate.
Publication Information
SRRT Newsletter is published quarterly by the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the 91´«Ã½. ISSN: 0749-1670. Copyright : 2011 by the Social Responsibilities Round Table. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without permission.
Editor: Amy Honisett, ahonisett@yahoo.com.
Reviews Editor: Candise Branum
Editorial Board Members: Gerardo Colmenar, Heather Edmonds, Erik Sean Estep, Rebecca Martin, Julie Winkelstein, and Sara Zettervall.
Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of 91´«Ã½/SRRT.
The editors reserve the right to edit submitted material as necessary or as whimsy strikes.
