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.
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- Page last modified May
18, 2005.
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