(CHICAGO) The American Library Association (ALA) will host a special benefit screening of "Fahrenheit 9/11" for members and attendees at the 2004 Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, 10 p.m. in the Orlando Convention Center Auditorium. The screening is an encore of sorts for Moore, who previewed "Bowling for Columbine" to a standing-room-only crowd two years ago and met Ann Sparanese - the librarian who started the chain reaction that took "Stupid White Men" from threatened pulping to bestseller lists.
While Moore won't accompany his newest movie, he and distributor Lion's Gate are donating the use of the film to the ALA for a screening that will benefit the association's First Amendment, intellectual freedom and USA PATRIOT Act education efforts. Admission is by $10 donation, which may be made on-site through ALA registration. Seating is limited.
ALA Immediate Past President Maurice Freedman, who also chairs the ALA-APA Better Salaries Committee, will open the program and share a short film that advocates for better salaries for all library workers, "Working @ your library - for love or money." ALA Councilor Sparanese, who is thanked in "Dude, Where's My Country" for her efforts in rallying support for the distribution of "Stupid White Men," will follow and introduce the film.
Via his Web site, Moore also has helped publicize the ALA's efforts to raise awareness about how Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act undermines reader privacy in U.S. libraries and about the impact of library funding cuts nationwide. Both of these issues will be topics of discussion at the 2004 Annual Conference in Orlando, which takes place June 24 to 30 and will bring an estimated 25,000 library staff, authors, exhibitors and guests to the city. For more information on the ALA and the Annual Conference, please visit www.ala.org.