Library Stuff

“Public libraries have long been the go-to place to borrow books, attend classes or log on to public computers. But over the last decade, they have also become shelters for people in need, including the mentally ill, battered women, latchkey kids and new immigrants. Acknowledging that reality, libraries in Tucson, Ariz., have become the first in the nation to provide registered nurses along with their other services. Placing nurses in six branches is a nod to the widely accepted transition of public libraries into de facto community centers.” (via TODAY Health)

“A bill advancing in the Arizona Legislature would add protections for ebook readers under the state’s existing library privacy law.A Senate panel is expected to move the bill forward Monday. The House passed the measure in a 57-1 vote in early March.The measure seeks to include digital books under material protected by the state law that prohibits the disclosure of public library records.” (via AP)

“Glendale’s library system whittled nearly $550,000 from its budget this fiscal year, but an agreement with the Maricopa County Library District will offer some gains to residents and non-residents who use the city’s three branches. This month, Glendale will join 15 other cities and communities — including Avondale, Phoenix and Peoria — in the Reciprocal Borrowing Program. The program will allow non-residents to use Glendale libraries free of charge. The county also will pay for a new library management system, including an improved database that Glendale patrons can use to search for books and other materials.”

via Arizona Republic

“School and public libraries in Arizona have been filtering online content for years to protect minors from accessing obscene materials on their computers.

A new state law, which goes into effect Aug. 1, establishes significant consequences for those entities that don’t have a strict policy against such materials. House Bill 2712 specifies the types of material the schools and libraries must block and includes a tough penalty — the state can withhold 10 percent of its funding if the school or library doesn’t comply.”

via Arizona Republic

The Daily Beast – “Meet the Librotraficantes—the “book smugglers” protesting the state’s controversial ban on ethnic-studies classes—and putting Mexican-American works in students’ hands.”

More here, from the NYT

Houston Chronicle – “A grass-roots caravan from Houston to Tucson – filled with writers, students and activists – will bring prohibited books back to Arizona over spring break. When Tony Diaz heard that Tucson schools had dismantled a popular Mexican-American studies program and yanked Hispanic history books from classrooms, he began organizing a protest. Adding fuel to his fire: Two of the titles now prohibited in Tucson classes were published by the University of Houston’s Arte Público Press. Diaz coined a word to describe his new mission: Librotraficante – or “booktrafficker.”