Obama for President

Opening General Session, Keynote Speaker: U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill)
Saturday, June 25, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Mayor Daley welcomed us to Chicago during the Opening General Session. He believes that libraries are part and parcel of a city's commitment to education. He knows, from experience, that the library can be an anchor in a community, an important tool in economic development. If a new library goes into a neighborhood that every one has given up on, it signals that the city has an interest and, soon, neighbors and businesses begin to care about the area as well.

Since 1989, Chicago has renovated or built 45 libraries. The city is opening seven new libraries this year.

Daley got a standing ovation when he said that we should never allow the federal government to interfere with the library system.

Barack Obama's first line was "that's a lot of librarians" as he looked out over an audience of several thousand.

He said that those in power have always, since antiquity, gone after libraries in attempts to control the word. Controlling books, the powerful hope, will enable them to control the people who read, or who might read if allowed. He says we need to continue to be aware of this possibility at a time when truth and science are affected by ideology and when words are used to obfuscate. What role do libraries play in this? Truth is about who has the right information, not the loudest voice--libraries provide the right information. Obama said that faith is not in contradiction to fact.

Barack Obama is working to pass in the Senate the House bill, the Freedom to Read Act, that would correct the problems in the PATRIOT act. He believes that we can fight terrorism and protect civil liberties. We don't have to choose between one or the other.

He spoke of the importance of education and libraries in a new economy with new kinds of jobs. It's all about "what you know and how fast you can learn what you don't know." Reading is the "gateway skill" for success in this new economy. How do we prepare people to prosper in the 21st century? "Get books into our children's' hands early and often." Libraries are a critical tool to help parents do this.

Barack Obama knew what librarians do and what issues concern them. He was a very impressive speaker, making the job opportunity I have in Illinois just a bit more attractive--I could actually have a senator that truly represents me.

This session received a lot of coverage, including newspaper reports. See the list at the ALA conference wiki.     #

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