President Attends D.C. Conference

Abstract

President Attends D.C. Conference Marilyn Apseloff From November 15-19, I attended the first White House Conference on Library and Information Services as an Official Observer representing the Children's Literature Association. The idea for the Conference was first suggested in 1957 by Channing Bete, a library trustee from Greenfield, MA, who recommended a White House Conference on Libraries to the American Library Trustee Association. Finally, twenty-two years later, that idea became a reality. From September 1977 to April 1979 pre-White House Conferences were held in each state, the District of Columbia, the six U.S. territories, and among American Indians. Delegates were chosen, plus alternates and at-large members, who would represent the various regions in Washington. Only one-third of the delegates were librarians: the rest were lay people interested in libraries and their needs. All were there to form resolutions to present to Congress as their recommendation for inclusion in the final version of a National Library Act (a study bill for such an Act—S1124—was introduced by Senators Javits and Kennedy). At the opening banquet Thursday evening, the delegates were sworn in. A general session followed concerning the adoption of the rules, which met with some heated debate. At one point the voting machines failed and a standing vote had to be taken: so much for technology! That session began at 8:30 P.M. and was adjourned at 12:35 A.M. Friday night, amid very tight security, President Carter arrived to address the Conference briefly. He commented on the importance of libraries to him throughout his life and how crucial they are to a democracy. He spoke of the librarian who had issued him his first magnetic library card, and then he asked her to stand: she was there as a delegate. Both of them had also served together on the Sumpter County, Georgia, Library Board of Trustees. After President Carter left, there were speakers on the five main themes of the Conference: Services for Personal Needs; Services for Lifelong Learning; Services for Organizations and the Professions; Services for Governing our Society; and Services for International Understanding and Cooperation. The rest of the Conference was devoted to those themes, first in thirty-four different workshops to arrive at resolutions for each theme, and later in theme groups where the resolutions were debated, culled, modified, and/or combined. Eventually the final resolutions were adopted after more discussion and amendments on the last day; they will be sent to Congress which had been awaiting the outcome of the Conference before proceeding with their own deliberations. There were three Open Hearings before members of the National Library Commission. Delegates had pre-registered to speak about particular issues of concern to them, and learning that there were still a few open slots, I prepared the paper and abstract required for signing up for one of them for the session the following morning. The paper was entitled "Priority Funding for Children's Services," and it stressed the need for secondary source materials for adults concerned with children and their literature as well as the traditional need for more services directly for children. The last paragraph was as follows: The ChLA is trying to remedy the situation by disseminating information about children's literature through the ChLA Quarterly, the annual conferences, the conference Proceedings, and by working with publishers and other organizations. We have established a scholarship to help members with research and we present an annual award for the most significant critical article written during a given year. Libraries are crucial to meet our goals, to meet what should be the country's goals: a heightened awareness of children's literature so that we can make book lovers of children, and a determination to educate their parents to realize the importance of good books for children. Therefore, I urge you on behalf of children everywhere to keep their needs in the forefront of your deliberations: after all, our future is in their hands. There were Joint Congressional Hearings, too. Although all of the allotted time was taken, written testimony could be submitted that would be accepted into the Hearing record. Therefore, when I returned from...