Jena 6 - protest against racisim Sept 20th!

I was at home one day and heard on NPR the injustice of what is happening in the
small town of Jena, Louisiana. There, some African American students
were admonished by Caucasian students for sitting under a white student
only tree. The next day they had a Lynch noose on the tree.

As many of the African American students were top athletes, a lot of the
problems did not escalate until after the football season was over. Then
a full racial battle ensued including the burning of the school and arrests of
black students for battery when they were protecting themselves and no
arrests of the white students.

I was sickened when I heard about this. I hope I have all the facts straight...
this is what I remember from the NPR interview.

Here is a link for more information and a September 20th protest arranged.

http://www.revcom.us/a/100/jena-edit-en.html

Thank you - Jose Aponte to run for Spectrum Funding

I did not meet José Aponte, one on one, but heard him speak twice
at ALA in Washington D.C. He was one of the most inspiring speakers
that I heard there. He is the one who told everyone to something
terrifying every day. Now he is also challenging himself physically
and to provide funding for the Spectrum Scholarship.

Thank you Jose Aponte - You are awesome and an inspiration!

ida


ALA Press release

For Immediate Release
September 11, 2007

Library director’s run to benefit ALA: Spectrum Scholarship Program

CHICAGO - San Diego County Library Director José Aponte announced today that he will be running in the Chicago Marathon to raise awareness and funds for the Spectrum Scholarship Program of the American Library Association (ALA). The 26.2 mile race will take place on October 7, 2007.

The Spectrum Scholarship Program’s major drive is to recruit applicants and award scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander students. Spectrum provides a one-year $5,000 scholarship and over $1,500 in professional development opportunities to eligible students planning to attend an ALA-accredited graduate program in library and information studies or school library media program. There have been 495 scholarships awarded through the Spectrum Scholarship Program to date.

The Mission of the American Library Association Spectrum Scholarship Program is: “Improving service at the local level through the development of a representative workforce that reflects the communities served by all libraries in the new millennium.”

Aponte is a formerly ranked national duathlete and continues to participate in endurance sports, most recently completing the Barcelona Marathon in March 2007.

"The marathon and Spectrum have a nexus in my own life experiences,” said Aponte. “Simply, the marathon stretches us to the limits of our physical human potential, while the gift of the Masters in Library Sciences has opened my life to the inherent promise and potential within us all to create institutions that transform our communities, while building social capital that benefits us all in safer, healthier, prosperous futures."

Please join Aponte and his family in contributing to the Spectrum Scholarship, by sending a check or pledge to: ALA Development Office, Spectrum, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL, 60611. Please make checks payable to the ALA Spectrum, memo Aponte Chicago Marathon.

To learn more about the Spectrum Scholarship Program, please visit: www.ala.org/spectrum or contact Gwendolyn Prellwitz at 312-280-5048, gprellwitz@ala.org.

All in all - Life is Good!

All in All - Life is Good!

I can't believe it is September already...there were so many things I was going to write about and life just moved swiftly ahead. It reminds me of when I was a little kid and I begged my mom to buy me one of those kid diaries with a secret lock. She said, I will, but you will probably only write in it for a couple of days.

I say - that is fine, let kids get diaries and write them in a few days...later their moms will toss them in a goodwill bag and they will be found by artists and put together in books as found art...you never know.

The end of the August was quite lovely with a 3 day labor day weekend in S.F. visiting my old crew....and several weeks of occasional dinners, although I am supposed to be on a diet. All in all, life is good.

I got robbed!

Hello all,

I got robbed Monday in San Francisco.I parked on Franklin at Post - note to all
there has been a rash of robberies in the civic center area. So careful when you go
to SFPL main!

When I came back to my car - my passenger window was smashed in as well as a few other cars on the same street....and two of my bags were gone.

I found one bag as it was thrown away down the block...i found two police and they were really nice -- maybe

because i was a cry-baby, and they called some other officers - and an officer 10 blocks away

found a guy looking through the bag i described.

This is where things got really crazy...I had to follow them to the other policemen and identify

my bag --with the guy who stole it! They arrested him cuffs and all...i had to verify that I didn't know him, or

ever give him permission to take anything of mine...they took a lot of photographs and i had to let them keep

my bag and a few non-essentials as evidence. It was awkward for the two of us to look at each other - what
can one say - so we just glanced and avoided eye contact. He was not ethnic, just a 50ish year old addict with
a lot of needles in his possession and well...other stuff going on.

Anyway, everyone who parks in the city, hide all your belongings!

What a pisser.

ida

"O-tanjobi Omedeto Gozaimasu"

"O-tanjobi Omedeto Gozaimasu" I received this on a Japanese birthday card. I wanted to write it down so I don't forget how to give a formal birthday greeting. Daijobu?

Just heard that I won the election!

I just heard from CLA that I won the position of Vice President/President Elect for ACTSS ! Although my name is spelled wrong on the official announcement.

I'm looking forward to this position and I hope to see a lot of you at the CLA Conference
in Long Beach Oct 26-29th.

Ida