ALA Launches LISAN, Libraries on the Information Superhighway Network, A network of librarians established by LITA, OITP, and several library associations are to become advocates for the role of librarians in the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The group includes over 100 librarians from every region of the nation who were selected from respondents to an electronic call for participation. Their first meeting was held at ALA's Washington Office in December 1995. Members are available to speak and write on libraries and the information superhighway. American Libraries, March 1996.

ALA Posts Web Page on Universal Service A new web page, established by OITP, at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oitp/univers.html contains the latest information on universal service. This site is made available as a result of the signing and passage of the FCC's 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act, which now provides discount rates for libraries and schools. American Libraries, May 1996.

An ALA First: LITA/LAMA National Conference The first-ever joint conference of two ALA divisions [Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) and Library Administration and Management Association (LIMA)], held in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on October 13 - 16, is being produced by the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. The conference "Transforming Libraries: Leadership and Technology for the Information Age," will cover a broad range of interests, including cost models, licensing, free/fee information, copyright issues, issue of the information-poor, and libraries as learning centers. American Libraries, August 1996.

ALA Web Site Adds New Features ALA's Web site, http://www.ala.org, started in 1995, now includes many new features such as the ability to search its nearly 1,000 documents by subject. New features also include job ads from American Libraries and information about the reading and discussion series "Exploring the West...Whose West? http://www.ala.og/west . In addition ALA Editions' Open Stacks Web service includes information and news about product releases and works in progress http://ala.org/alaeditions.html . The Booklist site features reviews from 1966 to the present and articles from recent issues http://www.ala.org/booklist.html . American Libraries, November 1996.

New Listserv on Learning Disabilities A new listserv was launched by ALA's Road to Learning called "Public Libraries' Learning Disabilities Initiative" (PLLD-L). The listserv provides a forum for information about learning disabilities and their implication for public library collections and services. The listserv was designed with library staff in mind, but members of the learning disability community are also welcome to participate. "The project is funded by a grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and administered by ALA's ASCLA." American Libraries, November 1996.

LC Launches State Libraries Home Page The Library of Congress has produced a new homepage providing links to state libraries, library agencies, and commissions in all fifty states. The home page, http://www.loc.gov, inaugurated on December 9, 1996, was provided by an initiative between ALA and LC in an effort to strengthen LC's ties to the library community. American Libraries, January 1997.

Generation Xers Create a Campaign for the Libr@ry After research revealed that 18 to 26 year olds are the least likely to use and support the library, a design class from the University of Illinois/Chicago was enlisted by the ALA to design an advertising campaign for the nation's libraries. "Libraries, they felt, should have shelves chock-full of books, be wired to the information superhighway, be teeming with exciting programs, and have customer-friendly staff. They should be fun and exciting, and they should be projected as such." The fifteen week campaign was intense, powerful, exciting and provocative and the ALA was pleased with the results. American Libraries, February 1997.

ALA Parents Page ALA now has a link to their new Parents Page which can be accessed through the ALA web site or at http://www.ssdesign.com/ALAkids . The page offers links to family features such as "10 ways kids can connect at the library", "what parents should know about libraries and the internet," and "how parents can show support for their libraries at the federal, state, and local levels." American Libraries, April 1997.

Public Library Survey on Internet Usage ALA and the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) are going to conduct a survey this year on internet and the public library's involvement. ALA and NCLIS want to "provide a national picture of public-library electronic-network infrastructure that will help to inform policymakers and assist libraries in planning for the 21st century." "The survey is funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation." American Libraries, May 1997.

ALA receives Grant for Internet Training The Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received $40,000 in grant money from the Nathan Cummings Foundation. The money will be used to train librarians, and their administrators, and trustees on the internet and its uses. "The training will focus on the nature of the Internet; its protection under the First Amendment; legislative effort to restrict it at the national, state, and local levels; and the dangers of such restrictions." American Libraries, June/July 1997