05.20.09
Posted in News at 4:22 pm by Paloma Cruz
Libraries Are America’s Lifelines. Leave Them Alone
– by Kenneth C. Davis, at Huffington.com
[snip]
In case you haven’t heard, New York City’s public library systems — three separate library systems in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens — are once again under siege, on the chopping block, threatened with draconian cuts in the face of New York City’s Great Recession. (The cuts were outlined in an article in Library Journal.)
Library cuts in down times remind me of the classic line from Casablanca: “Round up the usual suspects.” The public library is always suspect Number One when it comes to municipal budget cuts. And as librarians everywhere know, this is not a fact in New York City alone.
Underlying this reality are two simple facts. First, libraries do not have a vocal, powerful constituency. Unlike the police, teachers and firemen, they don’t have a potent union or benevolent association. There is no “Library Lobby” doling out campaign contributions. But far worse, libraries tend to be viewed by all too many people in power as a luxury.
In many of these minds, the public library is stuck with an antiquated image of stern ladies shushing noisy kids, retirees borrowing the latest bestsellers and — more recently — homeless folk camping out in a heated corner. They are all clichés. And dumb ones at that.
[snip]
The public library is not just about borrowed books. It is about information — the great currency of our time. And the library has, by default, become the bridge in the digital divide because it offers free access to computers. Can you imagine in this digital day looking for a job, submitting a résumé or a college application, or searching for housing without your computer? For millions of people, the library is their laptop.
[snip]
Then there is education. The library is the crucial backstop to the educational system, far beyond the fundamental notion of being a “homework helper” for a school kid with a science project. From learning to read, or speak English, to having a decent place to do schoolwork or doing graduate research, the library is still a cornerstone of an educated, enlightened America.
[snip]
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05.07.09
Posted in News at 8:52 am by Paloma Cruz
From this week’s Downtown Happenings email:
Helping hands
Celebrate the Salvation Army’s 120th year in Houston with an exhibition of rare artifacts and memorabilia of their history on display at the Houston Public Library’s Julia Ideson Building, 500 McKinney. The exhibition will be there all month and a special viewing is scheduled for Thursday, May 14 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. This free event will include live entertainment, guided tours of the Texas Room and refreshments.
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05.04.09
Posted in Resources at 6:15 pm by Paloma Cruz
Want to learn how libraries are using Twitter? InfoToday has a great article posted in Computers in Libaries that covers the topic well.
By the way, other great articles on Twitter you might want to check out:
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Posted in News at 5:49 pm by Paloma Cruz
FRIENDSWOOD ELECTION PREVIEW
Opinions differ on bond vote
– by the Houston Chronicle
[snip]
The second proposition is for $6.5 million, of which $6 million would be spent for a new library at a yet-to-be-determined location in the city’s downtown area.
The remaining $500,000 would be used to turn the city’s existing 16,000-square-foot library at 416 S. Friendswood Drive into a community center for hosting events and meetings.
[snip]
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Posted in Resources at 5:30 pm by Paloma Cruz
Some links to help you understand copyright:
These are sites to bookmark and reference.
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04.28.09
Posted in News at 12:05 pm by Paloma Cruz
BAYTOWN NOTES
Library receives computer for the visually impaired
– by the Houston Chronicle
Baytown’s Sterling Municipal Library has a new way to serve the visually impaired. The Friends of Sterling Library, a non-profit group that supports library services, recently purchased a special computer which allows blind and visually impaired patrons to access technology with greater ease. The new computer has an extra large 22 inch monitor, a Braille keyboard, and is loaded with special software called “JAWS.”
[snip]
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04.23.09
Posted in News at 10:18 am by Paloma Cruz
The Gates Foundation announced recently that they will spend $57 million on overseas libraries. Specifically, it will go to improve Internet access in libraries in Poland, Romania, and Vietnam.
Call me greedy, but I’d rather see the monies spent in the US. We still have a lot of libraries here that need improved Internet access, computers, and digital literacy programs.
(From the Houston Chronicle.)
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02.05.09
Posted in News at 12:50 am by Paloma Cruz
Dallas Public Library has a program called StreetSmart Express that “lets people check out popular books and DVDs for $5 each. Other items can still be checked out by Dallas residents at no cost.”
Somehow, I find this wrong.
Reported by the Dallas Morning News. Found via Literary License.
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01.30.09
Posted in News at 12:42 am by Paloma Cruz
The Smithsonian is looking to drag “the world’s greatest museum complex into the current century.” The Smithsonian 2.0 project sounds really interesting. Read more at the Houston Chronicle.
The GraveyardBook wins the 2009 John Newbery Medal. More info everywhere, but here’s the article at the Houston Chronicle.
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12.30.08
Posted in News at 1:25 am by Paloma Cruz
Gates Foundation supports broadband in libraries
– Houston Chronicle2
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is revisiting its commitment to American libraries by awarding $6.9 million in grants to upgrade public libraries in seven states to faster Internet connections.
The grants announced Thursday will help libraries in Arkansas, California, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Virginia. The money goes to Connected Nation, a nonprofit broadband advocacy group, and the American Library Association.
A recent report compiled by the American Library Association says 73 percent of public libraries are the only source of free, public Internet access in their communities. But a third of libraries have Internet connections that are too slow to access multimedia content.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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