ALA Annual Conference
Orlando, June 2004
Tom Twiss
Social Responsibilities Round Table Newsletter, No. 148/149, December 2004, p. 17.
The 2004 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando was a busy one for the SRRT International Responsibilities Task Force. On Saturday June 26, IRTF sponsored a program, Librarians Confront the War in Iraq. The panel of antiwar activists included Cynthia Banas, a retired librarian and member of Voices in the Wilderness; Chris Gaunt, a Library Assistant from Grinnell College; and Michael Malinconico, member of SRRT and professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. Michael provided background
and perspective based upon his professional experiences in Iraq; Cynthia spoke of her activities in Iraq as a member of the US American Peace Team; and Chris described her involvement in the antiwar movement and the circumstances of her arrests for civil disobedience. Approximately 40 people attended the program.
Also at the conference, IRTF members presented to SRRT Action Council a number of resolutions, including:a Resolution Against the Use of Racist Training Materials by the U.S. Military, a Resolution on the Occupation of Iraq, a Resolution Calling for the End of Travel Restrictions to Cuba, and a Resolution Against the Use of Torture All of these were adopted by SRRT Action Council, and the Resolution Against Torture was also adopted in amended form by ALA Council.
In our task force meeting we discussed several possible topics for the next ALA annual conference. These are still under discussion.
Finally, we reviewed the additions to the IRTF website during the past year.
These included pages of Alternative Resources on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Alternative Resources on Haiti, and a page on the Discussion on the "Independent" Cuban Libraries.