I am writing this at Dulles airport. In about 45 minutes boarding will begin for my non-stop flight to Beijing. From there I will travel to Kunming and join a small group of members of the Chinese American Library Association for CALA’s 21st Century Librarian Seminar. It will be held at Kunming University of Science and Technology in Kunming in Yunnan Province. On Thursday I will present a paper on “Challenges for Academic Libraries in the Networked World.”

After the seminar concludes my wife and I will take another ten days or so to tour some of China’s highlights–the terra-cotta army in Xian, the panda reserve near Chengdu, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City in Beijing, and more.

I thank CALA for inviting me to participate in the seminar.

On July 2 my old ALA president-elect’s Web site came down and was replaced by a new ALA president’s Web site. It remains at the same URL. It repeats the design of the old site but has been reorganized to highlight the president’s activities. The newest item at the site is an audio recording, made in a studio prior to the event. of my July 1 American Library Association inaugural address. To listen click on “Listen to and watch Jim.”

To set the tone and establish the theme for my inaugural speech, a fife and drum corps opened the ceremony and Benjamin Franklin, played by an interpreter, welcomed the audience and reflected on his love of reading and his contribution to the genesis of the library movement in America.

I am honored to serve as ALA’s president for 2008-09. I will do my best to honor the great trust my fellow ALA members have placed in me.