Archive for the 'Public Libraries' Category
Judge backs library in lawsuit brought by employees
February 22nd, 2010Pueblo Chieftain – “A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by six employees of the Pueblo City-County Library District over a letter they wrote to The Pueblo Chieftain. The employees, four of whom still work for the library, said they shouldn’t have been disciplined for refusing to retract the letter, which library officials said [...]
Sign me up! Event registration with GoogleDocs and Calendar
February 17th, 2010LibraryTechTalk – “By now, if you’re not a GoogleDocs convert, you at least know enough about it to resist it’s Google-y charms. If you fall into the latter group, well, you might just come around by the end of this post. Nestled among Google’s answer to the trifecta of productivity software is a gem that [...]
Library celebrates new logo, Web site
February 14th, 2010Omaha World Herald – “The Omaha Public Library celebrated its new logo and Web site Saturday with parties at all 12 library locations.”
View the new site
Gloucester County libraries thwarting thieves
February 14th, 2010NJ.com – “He got hooked eight years ago. Now, 81-year-old John M. Dick says he has a full-blown addiction to crossword puzzles. But what began as his weekly fix photocopying newspaper crosswords at the library almost made him quit cold-turkey when he began to find the puzzles already completed.”
Authors on Google Maps
February 14th, 2010Google Maps Mania – “Soren, of Microformats.dk, has produced a Google Maps mashup to show the birthplaces of the authors whose books are on the list of the top 250 books borrowed from UK libraries.”
Access the map, plus an article from The Guardian
Wellfleet library bowled over by unexpected $200K gift
February 11th, 2010Wicked Local – “The Wellfleet Library Trustees were pinching themselves Monday at the news that Martin Nerber, a frequent patron of the library, recently bequeathed to them a record-shattering gift of $200,000, with no strings attached.”
Fairfax libraries set to lay off 107 employees
November 18th, 2009Washington Post – “The Fairfax County Public Library is set to lay off 107 full- and part-time employees to help close a $4 million budget gap next year, officials told library staffers Wednesday. The affected departments within the library system would include library administration and operations and technical operations. Under the proposal approved by the [...]
eIFL.net receives grant to spark innovation in public library services in developing countries
November 18th, 2009EIFL – “eIFL.net is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a three-year $1.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to spark the development of innovative public library services using technology in transitioning and developing countries.” (via)
Libraries turn Arizona Highways into shopping bags
November 17th, 2009AZCentral – “Old Arizona Highways magazines donated to Chandler libraries are never trashed; they’re taken apart and turned into shopping bags. The practice is expected to save the downtown library’s gift shop $200 a year, said shop manager Suzanne Kinsinger. Volunteers transform the colorful magazine pages into bags by using natural folds and taping [...]
Library shows signs of progress on flood cleanup
November 9th, 2009WAVE 3 – “Just three months after devastating floods caused over $5 million in damages at the Louisville Free Public Library, progress in the cleanup is beginning to show. The old heating and air conditioning system that was destroyed by flood waters was being replaced on Monday. Crews arrived early to use a crane [...]
Some libraries have waiting list for book on Petit murders
November 3rd, 2009New Haven Register – “Even if some Cheshire residents aren’t interested in reading the latest book on the 2007 Petit family murders, others in the state are. There are 43 requests to take out Brian McDonald’s book, “In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood” among [...]
Mary Dempsey loves Chicago’s library
October 24th, 2009and is willing to fight for it
The Library of Today
October 22nd, 2009Chris Brogan – “[M]y library has become Blockbuster”
DC Public Library Launches New Web Site
October 14th, 2009From a news release – “The Library’s new Web site mirrors what Library users find at online bookstores,” said Ginnie Cooper, chief librarian for the DC Public Library. By adding services like the ability to reserve space at a neighborhood library, the Web site becomes a virtual location open 24 hours a day.”
Direct to [...]
No Humor
October 14th, 2009Scott Douglas has a beautiful essay about the importance of libraries and the recent closures of many.
Denver Bibliophile’s Bedbugs Take a Bite Out of ILL Loans
September 30th, 2009American Libraries – “Denver Public Library has destroyed 31 books and fumigated four areas of its central library after a bedbug infestation caused, ironically, by a patron dedicated to preserving classic literature.”
Virginia Beach libraries to change policies after books thrown in dumpster
September 29th, 2009WKTR – “Hundreds of books from the Kempsville Library were thrown out in the garbage, getting ruined by the rain. The director of the Virginia Beach libraries, Marcy Sims says the books were damaged and could not be re-used.”
Watch the video.
See also,
Broward County running out of money for parks, libraries
August 22nd, 2009Sun-Sentinel – “After a decade of expanding its parks and libraries, Broward County government is running out of money to keep them open. Nature centers and most regional parks could close two days a week, libraries could shut on Sundays and free computer classes and recreational programs might be abolished.”
Bloomington Public Library to offer free online tutoring
August 16th, 2009Pantagrapgh – “The Bloomington Public Library has contracted with Tutor.com to provide free, one-on-one tutoring via an instant messaging format for Bloomington residents with a Bloomington Public Library card. The tutoring, for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, college students and adults, is offered in both English and Spanish.”
Library asked to stock ‘ex-gay’ literature
August 11th, 2009Pink News – “A Wisconsin library which was attacked earlier this year for stocking a book about a gay teenager, has now come under fire from an ex-gay group which says it is “discriminatory” for not stocking books by ex-gay authors.”
Toledo library approves $1.9M in budget cuts
July 24th, 2009AP – “Library officials in Toledo have approved $1.9 million in budget cuts that will reduce spending on new books, DVDs and magazines. Advertisement The move also means that Sunday operations will be eliminated at four locations. Ohio’s newest two-year budget calls for an 11 percent reduction in state funding for public libraries, [...]
Five Minutes in the Dark to support Save Ohio Libraries
June 27th, 2009The Star Beacon – ‘All over the state of Ohio, libraries were demonstrating the possible devastating effect of Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposed extra 30 percent cut of federal funds to Ohio’s libraries by shutting off their lights for five minutes at noon on Friday.’
Library money paying city bills
June 20th, 2009Detroit Free Press – “The City of Detroit has been spending property tax money intended for Detroit Public Library employees’ benefits on city operations instead, a library official said Friday.”
A Literary Legend Fights for a Library
June 19th, 2009NYTimes.com – “[A]mong Mr. Bradbury’s passions, none burn quite as hot as his life-long passion for halls of books. His most famous novel, “Fahrenheit 451,†which concerns book burning, was written on a pay typewriter in the basement of the University of California, Los Angeles, library; his novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes†contains a [...]
Library’s laptops will tattle on those who steal
June 16th, 2009Kansas City Star – “Yes, some of the Kansas City Public Library’s laptop computers have fallen prey to sticky fingers. No, the thieves didn’t get away with it — although some probably thought they did until police showed up at their doors with a search warrant. Each of the library’s 60 laptops, including 25 new [...]
Library visitors making new uses, but still seeking answers
June 4th, 2009digitalBURG.com – “Librarians at the James C. Kirkpatrick and Trails Regional libraries have noticed a great difference in the way people are learning and using library resources. Within the past five years, changes in search engines, advances in online communication, and the use of cell phones have affected library policies and the dynamics of how [...]
City library shouldn’t have banned teens
June 2nd, 2009Sudbury Star – “The library justified its actions by stating there were youth in the library causing frequent disruption and, sometimes, even engaging in criminal activity (for example, a staff member's vehicle was broken into). In general, the library claimed that the youth were using the Mackenzie Street branch as a hangout during school hours [...]
Closed! Pools, libraries placed on budget chopping block
May 25th, 2009http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/15760/”>People’s Weekly World – “PHILADELPHIA – Protesters rallied outside of the City Council here where the city’s $3.8 billion budget passed unanimously on May 21. The Coalition for Essential Services organized the protest to bring public attention to the cuts in city services which include closing libraries on the weekends and cuts in library programs, [...]
Libraries record ‘ordinary’ stories
May 24th, 2009Vallejo Times Herald – “Eleanor and James Moss are not the kind of people who usually make the history books, but they have stories worth remembering. The California State Library now wants to hear them. Armed with tiny cameras and bright lights, librarians are visiting living rooms across the state as part of a [...]
What else library charged – Library Expenses
May 24th, 2009Kentucky.com – “Nineteen Lexington Public Library employees who had active library credit cards, other than chief executive Kathleen Imhoff, spent about $350,000 with them over the past three years, according to a Herald-Leader review of library documents. Earlier this month, the library board voted to cancel most of those credit cards after a Herald-Leader story [...]
