Legislative Breakfast - March 4, 2005
Next year's Northeast Library Legislative Breakfast is scheduled for Friday, March 4, 2005 at the Reading Public Library. Our theme is "Great Comebacks!" Invite your legislators, friends, and trustees.

MLA Library Legislative Day - April 6, 2005
The Massachusetts Library Association has scheduled Library Legislative Day on April 6, 2005 at the Statehouse. The newly merged Northeast Legislative Breakfast Meeting Planners and NMRLS Legislative Education Committee are hoping to arrange for a bus to ease transportation headaches for attendees from our region. We also wonder if there might be some folks who would like a mentor to accompany them on their first legislative visit. If you are interested in making such arrangements, please let me know: greg@nmrls.org. Visit the MLA site for updates: http://capwiz.com/masslib/issues/alert/?alertid=6277021&type=CU

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Legislative Agenda FY2006 focuses on three areas: funding the Library Technology and Resource Sharing Account (7000-9506) at $6 Million, a new Construction Bond Bill, and strengthening the Agency itself. The agenda is forward looking, it addresses the equity of access to databases, relieves the burden to municipalities of absorbing state budget cuts, as well as meeting anticipated construction funding. To view the MBLC Legislative Agenda in its entirety, go to mblc.state.ma.us/mblc/legislative/initiatives/index.php.

Will Libraries Survive in 2005? - October 30, 2004
Friends, trustees, and librarians are invited to the Ninth Annual Joint MFOL/MLTA Conference: "How Will Libraries Survive in 2005?" Several advocacy sessions are scheduled. The conference is sponsored by the Massachusetts Library Trustees Association (MLTA) and Massachusetts Friends of Libraries (MFOL) and scheduled for Saturday, October 30, 2004 at the Radisson Inn, Marlborough, MA. Visit the MFOL Web site for more information and a registration form: www.masslib.org/mfol/news.htm.

ALA Advocacy Institute in Boston - January 14, 2005
The American Library Association Advocacy Institute is scheduled for January 14, 2005 as a Pre-Conference to the ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston. This one-day event with a special $10 registration fee is a full day program geared to help foster ongoing collaboration between Friends, trustees, librarians and other advocates at the local level. Attendees will receive specific training to assist them in making the case for libraries, and will leave with a draft of an action plan for their library. The results of ALA's recently developed advocacy issues survey will be integrated into the day. To participate in the survey, please visit www.ala.org/advocacysurvey. We will post registration information soon. Legislative Education Committee members wonder if there is a need to arrange transport to the ALA event. If you have an interest, please let me know: greg@nmrls.org.