Understanding the new Office for Information Technology Policy. (ALA's new office)

Two months is not a long time to establish a new office, define its place within ALA, prepare for a physical move, set up a local area network, and set out an agenda for the future. Nevertheless, Director of the Office for Information Technology Policy Andrew Magpantay will probably tell you quite cheerfully that he didn't have much choice. With this summer's 67% vote for a dues increase widely interpreted as a vote of confidence in ALA Goal 2000, there are great expectations for the Washington Office. And with the help of Carol Henderson, director of the Washington Office, it looks as if Magpantay will have accomplished these things and more by the end of August. The office plans to be in its new quarters, ready for action, by Labor Day.

American Libraries will have more to report on that move and the renaissance of interest in the Washington Office in upcoming issues. In the meantime, we present an outline of the report Magpantay and Henderson made to several groups, including the ALA Executive Board, at Annual Conference this summer. It lays out the broad goals and objectives of the OITP and defines its relationship to the Washington Office and ALA Goal 2000. What cannot be communicated here, unfortunately, is the impression of energy generated by Magpantay and the slide show he presented. Slight of build, fast-talking, and animated, Magpantay seemingly talks with one hand in his pocket only to discharge the energy centered somewhere inside his head. Remember, this presentation …