• Bernadine E. Abbott Hoduski, Chair, ALA Committee on Legislation: "Endangered Access: Librarians’ Struggle to Keep Government Information Public"
• George Barnum, Electronic Collection Manager, Government Printing Office: "From Shipping Boxes to Browsers: Building a Digital Library of Federal Government Information"
• Grayson Barber, JD, Legal Counsel to the New Jersey Library Association, and Cynthia Czesak, Director, Paterson Free Public Library: "Librarians’ Security & Privacy Responsibilities under the USA Patriot Act and New Jersey Laws"
• Kelly Lillibridge and Heidi Neidlinger, GPO Access, Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services: Demonstration of GPO Access and Sneak Preview of New Website Pages
• New Jersey Documents Awards Presentation and Tribute to Honor Pat Reeling
• Luncheon Served

Get set for another exciting full-day DANJ conference and discussion of the ins, outs and unpredictabilities of the digital library.

The Association is very pleased to have as our keynote speaker Bernadine E. Abbott Hoduski of Montana, who will discuss the librarian’s struggle to keep government information public in the wake of recent federal legislation and executive branch activities endangering the public’s access to that information. Conference attendees are encouraged to voice their major concerns to Ms. Hoduski about legislative activities on all government levels as they affect access to information. So come prepared for a dynamic dialogue—not a monologue.

Mr. Barnum has written and spoken extensively about maintaining current and permanent public access to the universe of federal government information products that are of public interest or educational value. GPO, he asserts, must reinvent itself from primarily a printer-distributor to a multifaceted information broker-intermediary. He calls for partnerships between GPO, agency producers of information, and institutions willing to share storage capacity and expertise and the goal of maintaining permanent public access to government information. The interaction with GPO promises to be a real eye-opener.

Just how have librarians’ roles changed in the current climate? Grayson Barber, JD, offers a spirited discussion of librarians’ legal responsibilities as administrators of public records and librarians’ responsibilities for security and privacy under New Jersey law and the USA Patriot Act. Ms. Barber has authored a number of legal memorandums for libraries on such topics as Open Public Records, Internet Filtering, Parents’ Access to Children’s Library Records, Protecting Patron Records, and Elements of a Good Meeting Room Policy. Joining Ms. Grayson in the discussion is Cynthia Czesak, Director of the Paterson Free Public Library. Ms. Czesak has been interviewed on National Public Radio, where she related her experiences dealing with the FBI’s investigation into patrons’ records.

Wrapping up the conference is a fascinating practical session: a demonstration of GPO Access and effective search strategies by a representative from its Washington, DC office. GPO Access provides free online use of more than 1,500 databases of federal information in over 80 applications. The representative will answer your questions in Rutgers’ Scholarly Communication Center featuring a state-of-the-art teleconference hall and large projection screen.

The awards presentations for the best New Jersey government document and the best New Jersey government website will proceed as usual with the addition of a special tribute honoring Pat Reeling, who is retiring from Rutgers University's LIS/SCILS program. Besides teaching the government documents course at Rutgers for many years, Ms. Reeling was instrumental in the formation and growth of the Documents Association of New Jersey.

If the above sounds like a day not to be missed, we agree! Join us for a lively discussion of the Digital Library: Promises and Perils. Breakfast and luncheon will be served on site at the Scholarly Communication Center of the Alexander Library.

See you there!