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"ENTICING THE LITERATE, NON- READING YOUNG ADULT INTO THE LIBRARY ": This program's title caught my attention because I know we need to succeed in this area in our Library and I was interested in learning what author Gary Paulsen, author of two Newbery Honor Books: Hatchet and Dogsong had to say about the matter. He discussed the issues involved in why kids who can read don't and his consensus was that reading has been too closely associated with schoolwork and often perceived almost as punishment. He noted the majority of kids with high reading skills too often only read when it's required, and seldom for pleasure, and those with low reading skills only read when there is absolutely no other choice but to do so. He writes for that small majority which reads for pleasure and believes a mandatory silent reading session during the school day would be very beneficial because it would introduce kids to the fun of reading and consequently to its usefulness. Kids relate to interesting facts and stories which make sense in their language, and certainly to reading which entertains. And, as many of us agreed, entertainment can often be quite educational - it's the enticement to begin reading which is most difficult to establish. In the public libraries, the enticement can be programs which promote further inquiry into a subject via the printed format. Or it can be the involvment by kids in producing their own reading materials. Or the concerned professional librarian who suggests additional information in the form of fun, interesting material for leisure reading. Whatever methods prove successful, those methods are what we must utilize! "LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS: PLEASURES AND PITFALLS ": Small and medium -size public libraries can reap enormous benefits by having a well organized volunteer program. Volunteers can assist paid staff, perform useful but not necessarily critical tasks, and augment services and programs. Volunteers do not replace paid staff and this should be made clear to all concerned. The more organized and formal the program, the less problems will be encountered. Position descriptions should be available and a volunteer should be recruited, interviewed, selected, supervised, and evaluated just like other employees. Attendance records should be kept and projects /tasks completed recorded /publicized. The two main differences between volunteer staff and paid staff are usually the evaluation is not written and the recognition is not monetary. Recognition is often the key to the success of a volunteer program and library administrators must not forget that a simple greeting and thank you to a volunteer go a long ways in ensuring merit performances and continued service. Of course, recognition can be more elaborate and we discussed other ways in which a library with a small budget can say thanks but I won't mention them now because of the surprise factor! "PROJECT LEADERSHIP: STATEWIDE LIBRARY AUTOMATION STANDARDS ": This open forum drew a most concerned standing- room -only crowd and was scheduled to provide TLA members with an opportunity to ask questions about and provide input for the State Library's proposed document about automation standards. The Library Development Division's intent is for libraries to follow the standards and thus be more confident that funds committed to major automation activities would be wisely spent and that their large machine readable database files could be transferred to newer systems. Also, most automation projects funded by the State Library with state or federal funds would be required to follow the standards beginning September 1, 1990.