[PUBLIB] FYI: Press Releases from Mainstream Loudoun (fwd)

[PUBLIB]

Sender: "Don Wood" <dwood at ala.org>
Subject: FYI: Press Releases from Mainstream Loudoun

FYI: press releases from Mainstream Loudoun

JUDGE ORDERS LIBRARY BOARD TO PAY ATTORNEYS*
FEES

On April 1, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, United States District
Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, ordered that plaintiffs
in
*Mainstream Loudoun v. Board of Trustees of the Loudoun
County Library* be awarded attorneys* fees and costs in the
amount of $106,918.25. [Plaintiffs* attorneys* were awarded
$45,954.38 in fees and $23,926.62 in costs.  Intervenors (ACLU)
were awarded $21,823.64 in fees and $15,213.61 in costs.]

The original fees and expenses of $300,000 requested by
Mainstream*s attorneys had been greatly discounted from normal
charges and then reduced again by an additional 25%.  In her
review of Mainstream*s petition for legal fees and costs, Judge
Brinkema found that Mainstream*s *rates were reasonable* and
that Mainstream*s attorneys were entitled to $207,744.12 in fees
and expenses.  Brinkema, a former librarian, then reduced the total
fees by 75% to avoid creating a "budgetary nightmare" for the
library.

Brinkema*s decision was an effort to strike a balance between
sending the message that violating the Constitution is costly and
coming up with a penalty that would not hurt the library system.

Mainstream now has a basis on which to reach a final
agreement with the county.

MAINSTREAM RECOGNIZED AGAIN FOR FIRST
AMENDMENT CONTRIBUTIONS

Mainstream Loudoun is pleased to announce it has been awarded
the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for 1999.  This award,
sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table of the
American Library Association, honors notable contributions to
intellectual freedom and acts of courage in defense of freedom of
expression.

The award committee recognized the efforts of Mainstream
Loudoun in supporting freedom of access to internet resources in
the public library.  The award, which consists of $500 and a
plaque, will be presented at the ALA*s annual conference in New
Orleans in June.

STATE-LEVEL INTERNET CENSORSHIP LEGISLATION
BLOCKED

Virginia Delegate Dick Black, author of  Loudoun*s library
internet policy, attempted to institute his misguided policy at the
state level.  He sponsored legislation which would have required
any public library receiving any state funding to obtain filters
which
block obscene materials, child pornography, or materials harmful
to juveniles.  His bill did not make it out of the Science and
Technology Committee...mainly because members of that
committee are computer literate.

RESTORATION OF ALA BILL OF RIGHTS FAILS AGAIN

At the February library board meeting, the motion to reinstate the
American Library Association Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read
document to Loudoun library policy was reluctantly withdrawn
after the motion*s sponsor realized there were not enough
supporting votes.  Supervisor Jim Burton, a non-voting member of
the library board, expressed regret that these documents would not be
restored and informed the board that the removal of the ALA documents
was a symbol of the former library board*s censorship efforts.  We
believe Loudoun County remains the only library system in the United
States to have removed these documents from its policies.