Info, links and musings from a (non-librarian) Library supporter.
Alternative Teen Services blog has this wonderful list of “public libraries that use Library 2.0 technologies to connect with teens.”
The list includes podcasts, blogs, myspace libraries and RSS feeds. It’s not a very long list, but it’s growing.
LifeHacker is one of my favorite daily reads. I always find something useful, something helpful through their posts. This one, covering ways to “Get the most of your local library — online” was nice enough to share.
Imagine a collection of music, movies, and books you can access for free with the help of the Internet. What if you could share it all with your friends and neighbors? No, I’m not referring to BitTorrent or Napster; I’m talking about your local library. Not only are most card catalogs available online, but you can often reserve and renew materials, access online databases, ask reference questions, and more—all without leaving your computer.
Included in the post:
I particularly like this point:
Lastly, be sure to ask what you can do to help your library. By donating money, time, or used books, you can help to ensure that the library will continue to be there when you need it.
Libraries adapt to serve Latinos
Officials work to provide easier access, more selection
– reported by DesMoinesRegister.com
Libraries in Des Moines, Perry and across the nation are trying to meet a growing demand for Spanish-language books, programs and services and make it easier for Latinos to obtain library cards.
Latino activists in Perry four months ago asked their library officials to increase the number of books and materials in Spanish and consider changing the identification requirements necessary for newcomers to obtain library cards.
[snip]
The trend is happening elsewhere across the country as libraries try to improve accessibility for Latinos, boost their collections and add bilingual staff, said Laura Maldonado , president of the Washington, D.C., metro chapter of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.
[snip]
owa’s Hispanic population grew 26.2 percent, to an estimated 104,119, between 2000 and 2004, according to the latest Census data. Projections show the state’s Latino population will grow to 269,830 by 2030. Perry’s Latino population also has increased, from 47 people in 1990 to 1,873 counted in the 2000 census.
In Des Moines, Spanish-language materials are being moved to the front of the library to improve access. Signs will be posted in Spanish, said Lorna Truck, deputy library director.
Neither the Des Moines nor the Perry library has information about the libraries in Spanish on its Web site.
[snip]
Tacoma overhauls its library system
– reported by King5.com
If you’re looking for help at a library in Tacoma, get ready to dial because the library system is pulling reference librarians from most branches and reassigning them to the main office.
It’s about juggling resources to keep the doors open longer at more libraries.
Only three of 10 branches will have reference personnel. Everywhere else, people who need help will have to pick up the phone and call for it.
[snip]
In OKLAHOMA CITY…
Hearing on library bill is delayed
– reported by KTEN
A hearing was delayed this morning on a bill that would effectively require libraries move children’s and young adult books with homosexual or sexually explicit themes to adult areas or special areas.
The bill by Representative Sallyi Kern would prohibit state funding to libraries that fail to move the books to special areas. The libraries would also have to adopt policies to limit distribution of the books or similar materials to adults only.
[snip]
LibraryLaw Blog answers the question “Can you prohibit people from taking pictures of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road manuscript on display at the library?”
The short answer: yes.
The long answer: It all depends.
My take: I see two relationships here. First, the manuscript owner has a contract with the library. It likely has a clause requiring the library to prohibit photographs. Second, the library has a relationship with the public. Although it’s unlikely that the library requires the public to sign an agreement before entering the exhibit area, the library has the right to enforce reasonable rules of conduct, related to its mission. Kreimer v. Morristown 958 F. 2d 1241 (3d Cir. 1992). Assuming the library does a reasonable job putting patrons on notice and enforces the policy equally (i.e. no one takes photographs), I believe it has the right to enforce the policy.
There seems to be this mistaken idea that, because the library is a public building, anyone can do anything they want. That libraries can’t regulate whether people eat there, bathe there, behave offensively or violate copyright laws.
At the same time, there are arguments trying to get the library to regulate more. Patiot act, filtering, policing the patrons to find criminals, prohibiting adults from being in children’s areas unaccompanied by a child… the past few years have really seen a pendulum of activitiy.
Then there is the practical aspect - it is a public library, after all, and doesn’t have the capacity to require people to check their cameras at the door. All it can do is post signs and security guards, and then tell someone to leave if they violate the policy.
It is a public library, and doean’t have the capacity to require people to _______________. (insert action here)
With staffing shortages, budget cuts and not enough security, no library in the country is going to have the same ability to monitor patrons behaviors as a commercial establishment. All they can do is create the rule and, when possible, enforce it.
Library patron ‘borrows’ way into prison
Record of 402 overdue items leads to Randallstown man’s theft conviction, 3-year term
– reported by Newsday.com
If you’re two weeks late in returning a book to the Baltimore County library, you’re likely to get a phone call. If your book is four weeks overdue, you’ll receive a notice in the mail.
And if you’re Philip Akbar Shabazz, you’re sent a letter that begins: “You currently have 402 items overdue from the Baltimore County Public Library. Fees and charges for these items amount to over $8,400.”
Library officials say they suspect that the books were sold. Yesterday, Shabazz, a Randallstown resident, went to court to face a felony theft charge. He was convicted and sentenced to three years behind bars.
Shabazz, according to library officials, went from branch to branch to check out hundreds of books. He used, they said, as many as 10 different library cards using different names. On one day alone, they said, he checked out more than 60 books - at least six times as many as the typical adult library patron.
“To my knowledge this is the first time we’ve taken somebody to court,” said Deborah Wheeler, assistant director for the county library. “We’ve never seen anything this large.”
Stealing library books, and even selling them, is not unheard of, said Leslie Burger, president-elect of the American Library Association. But she says, “It doesn’t happen all that much. … It’s not like there’s a widespread underground economy in taking books from libraries.”
[snip]
Still, library officials said that if Shabazz were to square his account, he would no longer be barred from library branches.
[snip]
My personal note: I think that the fact that library is willing to give him another chance, after he settles his account, is very indicative of the fact that libraries work with patrons to keep them coming back in.
Just my $.02.
According to CNN, being is a librarian is one of the “Five of the most unpopular jobs.”
Librarian
Studies have shown that librarians are expected to exit the profession en masse in coming years. The American Library Association Website quotes statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau indicating that more than one-quarter of all librarians will reach the age of 65 by 2009. A study published in the Library Journal found that 40 percent of library directors would retire by that same year.
In addition to the librarians expected to retire within the next decade, interest in the profession is waning among younger workers, according to the BLS. The situation is particularly dire for colleges and universities, which report the greatest difficulty in hiring librarians due to lower pay.
Graduates of library programs in 2004 reported an average starting salary of more than $39,000, an increase of nearly 3 percent over the previous year. The median salary for librarians is nearly $47,000, according to the BLS.
Found via Library Stories.
From h20boro lib blog’s "Update on the USA Patriot Act":
The Washington Post says: "The proposal would restrict federal agents’ access to library records, one of the Patriot Act’s most contentious provisions. A form of secret subpoena known as National Security Letters could no longer be used to obtain records from libraries that function ‘in their traditional capacity, including providing basic Internet access,’ [Senator John] Sununu [R-N.H.] and others said in a statement. But libraries that are ‘Internet service providers’ would remain subject to the letters, [Sen. Richard] Durbin [D- Ill.] said."
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Library wins national PR award
– reported by the Business Courier
A library card sign-up campaign won a national award for the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County. The local library said in a news release it was one of several nationwide to win the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award.
The Cincinnati library won for its “Get Your RED Card, it’s Wild!” campaign, which it conducted in partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The campaign, which took place in fall 2005, used a wildlife theme to encourage Hamilton County students to sign up for cards.
[snip]