As we reported in March, Peggy Hoon is the recipient of the 2008 L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award: In Support of Users’ Rights, which was established to recognize the contributions of an individual who pursues and supports the Constitutional purpose of U.S. copyright law, fair use, and the public domain. Peggy was presented the award by members of the OITP Copyright Advisory Committee at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California on Monday.

Peggy E. Hoon is the North Carolina State University’s Special Assistant to the Provost for Copyright Administration. In this role, Ms. Hoon helps shape the university’s policies and regulations with regard to copyright, and she has shared that knowledge with countless other libraries and universities, through a busy speaking schedule and strong presence on the Internet. She has developed a new web site focused entirely on matters of copyright at http://provost.ncsu.edu/copyright/

The Patterson Award, which is partially funded by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is named after L. Ray Patterson, a key legal figure who explained and justified the importance of the public domain and fair use. He helped articulate that copyright law was negatively shifting from its original purpose and overly favoring rights of copyright holders. His book, The Nature of Copyright: A Law of Users’ Rights is the definitive book on the constitutional underpinnings of copyright and the critical importance of the public domain.

ALA members and OITP came together Saturday to continue the discussion about what America’s libraries will look like in the next 10, 20, 30, or 5(?) years. The breakout session kicked off OITP’s new Program on America’s Libraries in the 21st Century (AL21C), and welcomed a diverse set of speakers to share their visions and promote further discussion.

Vivian Pisano, committee chair and Chief of Information Technology at San Francisco Public Library, introduced OITP Director Alan Inouye and moderator Roger Levien, the new OITP Fellow and Principal at Strategy & Innovation Consulting. Dr. Levien put forth the importance of forming a partnership between OITP work and libraries and librarians on the ground. Pisano also introduced the panelists, including Joan Frye Williams, President of Joan Fry Williams Consulting, Stephen Abram, Vice President of Innovation at SirsiDynix, and José-Marie Griffiths, Dean and Professor at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

Joan Frye Williams offered three scenarios for the future of libraries. First, she suggested that libraries will transition to the “ideas business,” where traditional library commodities like books take on the role as the “connective synapses” that help users link ideas and connect with each other online. Second, she said that our relationships with the information object will become less important and our relationships with humans more important. Williams suggested that persons should be at the center for libraries, not as customers or patrons, but as members. Finally, she predicted that the library will further transition to a place to do stuff, not just a place to get stuff. The library will become a laboratory for community members to tinker, build, learn, communicate, and be entertained together. She looked to trends in wellness and health and suggested the library can be a lifelong venue for intellectual health.

Stephen Abram provoked the audience with a vision of libraries and the library profession 20 years in the future. He said that libraries must address some of the longstanding lags in innovation, efficiency, and user-centered service. For instance, he challenged librarians to step out from behind the anonymity of the reference desk, and advocated for librarians to use the communication tools of today’s connected users. Abram encouraged libraries to collaborate with each other and share programming ideas and materials. Finally, he pushed for stronger library leaders who hold accountable librarians and staff who are not meeting the requirements of the job in the 21st century.

José-Marie Griffiths also questioned whether the “future of libraries” should really be called “the future of librarians.” She said that while the collection is something that underpins library activity, the organization of those collections will continue to evolve, especially as those groups helping to organize information expands far beyond librarians. She echoed the sentiment that “library as place” will become increasingly important in every library sector. Finally, Griffiths advocated that librarians and supporters continue to promote libraries as drivers of community, education, and economic development.

David Lankes, OITP Fellow and Associate Professor at Syracuse University School of Information Studies, gave a rousing presentation on participatory librarianship. Dr. Lankes said that libraries are in a natural conversation with their users, and must engage proactively with them. The model puts users at the center, supporting learning as a collaborative activity and libraries as the facilitator of the conversation. Check out David’s great talk above, or visit his website for the slides, audio, and high quality video.

Stay tuned to District Dispatch for video from the AL21C breakout session, and check out coverage of the event the event at Library Journal.

Today is Virtual Library Day on the Hill! Go to www.capwiz.com/ala to write your Members of Congress about the importance of libraries.

We are looking for librarians and library supporters from across the country to call attention to the value of today’s libraries, as well as the issues the library community is facing. This is especially important in an election year, as many of our nation’s legislators will be looking to hear from their constituents. This is our chance to make the library voice heard!

Virtual Library Day on the Hill is an amazing opportunity to showcase the value and importance of libraries to Members of Congress and let them know how important federal funding is to our nation’s libraries.

At ALA’s Annual Conference, please join an open forum being hosted by the ALA Committee on Legislation’s Government Information Subcommittee and the GODORT Legislation Committee to discuss the future of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) on Saturday, June 28, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Hilton Anaheim, California Pavilion C (listed as the COL Subcommittee on Government Information in the program).

The topics to be covered in the meeting include: a brief overview of the current status of the FDLP program by Government Printing Office (GPO) representatives Rick Davis and Cindy Etkin; a brief overview of ALA policies concerning GPO and the FDLP over the past 20 years; and an open forum on the future of the FDLP which will focus on helping articulate and shape ALA’s areas of agreement on the issues and appropriate next steps.

Specific tools to help get up-to-speed on the issues being discussed include a GIS wiki, and the recently released GPO draft report, “Regional Depository Libraries in the 21st Century: A Time for Change?”