91´«Ã½

Tribute to Hawai'i Librarians

Adopted at 1997 Annual Conference

WHEREAS individual librarians in various communities banded together;

AND WHEREAS by doing so they rallied the general public in support of libraries and professional values;

AND WHEREAS they were effective in lobbying the state legislature to pass and the governor to sign A.B. 252 on June 19, 1997;

AND WHEREAS that legislation specifically reads:

312-Selection and acquisition of library books.

(a) The board of education shall take all steps possible in any outsourcing contract in effect on the effective date of this Act, including the development and implementation of necessary procedures, to ensure formal involvement by the state public service librarians in the selection of books and other library materials;

AND WHEREAS in doing so they affirmed their own professional ethics implied in their own public action and mobilization;

AND WHEREAS their actions raised the visibility of libraries and importance of professional library ethics and services in the eyes of the general public and inspired their library patrons to recognize and value the intellectual opportunities available to them through the public library and to demonstrate that via letters to the editor, telephone calls to legislators, personal testimony at hearings, and petitions in support of their libraries;

AND WHEREAS these actions ensure that the citizens of Hawai'i have access to the full dimension of ideas they need to be an informed citizenry;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the 91´«Ã½ applauds the efforts of the librarians in Hawai'i to safeguard the right of local control of selection of library materials;

AND THAT copies of this resolution be sent to the Governor of the State of Hawai'i and the president of the Hawai'i Library Association.