The immediate reaction from the mayor and health officials in Toronto is
that the WHO's decision was a gross over-reaction to a situation that is
under control. Yes, we have about 200 cases, and 16 deaths so-far, but this
is nowhere near the thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths in the other
cities that have put on the travel advisory list -- In Toronto's case, it is
important to note that all of the cases can be traced back to
hospitals....and immediate contact with sick individuals. SARS is not being
spread in the general community in Toronto. No-one (except the really
paranoid) is wearing masks here -- I ride the subway every day and it's
business as usual. No panic. No unreasonable concern.
Our community leaders are lobbying to have WHO retract the advisory....but
I'm afraid the damage has already been done. It is going to be a very tough
summer for our convention and tourism industry.
That said, I hope that ALA will not make a rash decision.
Jill Patrick
Ontario College of Art & Design
-----Original Message-----
From: Paula Epstein [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2003 10:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] ALA and CLA Conference in Toronto
For those ARLIS members who are going or were
considering going to the combined ALA/CLA conference,
but SARS is a big issue because it's in Toronto.
ALA should have a final decision by May 9.
PAULA EPSTEIN
Columbia College Chicago
[log in to unmask]
312 344-7353
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 11:55:35 -0500
From: Lorraine Olley
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [LAMALEADERS:369] ALA/CLA Toronto conference
update
As many of you know, on April 23 the World Health
Organization issued a
travel advice recommending that persons planning
travel to Toronto
"consider postponing all but essential travel." See
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/notes/2003/np7/en/ for
the full text.
As of this moment, ALA plans to hold the Annual
Conference in Toronto
as scheduled.
Liz Dreazen, director of the ALA Governance Office,
issued this statement
today: "ALA is taking this very seriously and is
evaluating the reports
from the city of Toronto, the CDC and the World Health
Organization on a
daily basis. The health of our members and staff is
absolutely our primary
concern....Our options for moving a conference of our
size at this late
date are...very limited, but if the health situation
worsens we will of
course do what needs to be done to guarantee the
health and safety of our
members and staff. On the other hand, it's important
that we not panic
and that we wait for further updates and information
before changing any
plans - individual or organizational - so that our
decisions and actions
are thoughtful and reasoned. The Executive Board will
meet early next week
via conference call to review the status of the SARS
situation vis a vis
our Annual Conference. Hopefully by that time the
news will all be good!"
Please check the ALA website www.ala.org for updated
information on the
status of Annual Conference. We expect that a final
decision about the
conference will be made around May 9. If you have
specific questions or
concerns you may address them to me or ALA Public
Information Office
Director Mark Gould ([log in to unmask]).
Lorraine Olley
Executive Director
Library Administration & Management Association
American Library Association
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago IL 60611
312-280-2156
[log in to unmask]
www.ala.org/lama
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__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
http://www.arlisna.org//membership.html
Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
to [log in to unmask]
ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
Questions may be addressed to list owner (Kerri Scannell) at: [log in to unmask]
