04.30.06
Posted in General at 12:01 am by Paloma Cruz
It’s not up on their Web site, but the Houston Public Library is getting into the groove of National Free Comic Book Day. I got the info from their enewsletter:
Free comic book giveaway
Saturday, May 6, 2006
Houston Public Library invites children, teens and adults to drop by any branch library to pick up a free comic book in celebration of National Free Comic Book Day, on Saturday, May 6, 2006.
This event is part of a national effort by the comic book industry to increase awareness of comic books available for all ages. The comic books will be provided one per customer, while supplies last.
This free giveaway has been made possible by Houston-based Midnight Comics & Games.
Comic Books, a view from an expert
Saturday, May 6, 2006 at 11 a.m.
Henington-Alief Regional Branch Library
7979 South Kirkwood, 77072
832-393-1820
Learn about the history of comics, major comic book characters and storylines from John Simons, owner of Midnight Comics & Games, during a presentation at Henington-Alief Regional Branch Library.
As part of the presentation, a surprise visit will give kids an opportunity to meet one of their favorite comic book heroes.
For more information on National Free Comic Book Day, visit www.freecomicbookday.com. To find a branch library near you, call 832-393-1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org.
Find a place to pick up free comic books near you, through the official Web site.
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04.29.06
Posted in General at 11:55 pm by Paloma Cruz
Archive-It launched recently:
Archive-It, allows institutions to build, manage and search their own web archive through a user friendly web application, without requiring any technical expertise.
Through a web based interface, users can capture, catalogue and archive their institution’s own web site or build additional collections, and then search and browse the collection when complete.
Collaborating with state archivists and university and state libraries, Archive-It is working to preserve a record for generations to come.
Interesting concept. I wonder how well this will work.
Found via LibrarianInBlack.
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04.19.06
Posted in Resources at 11:44 pm by Paloma Cruz
from Michael Stephens:
- We’ve always done it this way.
- He/She is a roadblock for anything to get done.
- The IT department won’t let us.
- I don’t have time for (insert new social tool here).
- Our director doesn’t like technology.
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04.18.06
Posted in News at 11:41 pm by Paloma Cruz
Libraries rewrite rulebook in an effort to stay relevant
They’re ditching rules on noise, food and drink in effort to seem more like hip bookstores
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Orange neon and iPods. Espresso bars and flat screens. Internet sites with advice about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
Libraries ain’t what they used to be.
With funding tight and competition fierce, the hushed repositories of worldly knowledge are undergoing an extreme makeover. Far from a simple shift from encyclopedias to laptops, the institution is embarking on a cultural time warp to keep pace with modern tastes.
[snip]
It’s not happening at every local library, but the trend is not paper-thin. In several cities, librarians are steeping themselves in business-management theory and marketing to niche audiences. They’re studying service at five-diamond resorts and ditching rules on noise, food and drink.
[snip]
It’s “all part of responding to the changing needs of our constituency,” says Katsouleas of the Newport library, which offers audio books on iPods and a teen room with a neon sign. “A 6-year-old does not need the same kind of materials and environment as teens.”
But behaving like a business means more than accommodating finicky consumers; it also means making money.
With budgets increasingly dedicated to technology and municipal funding often flat, libraries are charting new paths — far beyond used-book sales — to fatten their wallets.
In Huntington Beach, officials rent out rooms for family reunions, wedding receptions and religious services, events that netted the library $400,000 last year. Mission Viejo proctors tests and doles out passports, pocketing tidy commissions from each.
“We celebrate our entrepreneurialism here,” says Maginnis of the Mission Viejo Library, which may soon partner with a private copy center.
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04.17.06
Posted in News at 11:16 pm by Paloma Cruz
Dallas readers rack up nearly $3 million in library fines
– reported by the Dallas Morning News
Dallas bookworms owe the city’s library system nearly $3 million in fines and missing materials, with more than 25,000 accounts so overdue, they’ve been referred to a collection agency, according to a review of the city’s library database.
Compounding the problem is a Dallas library policy that permits patrons to check out as many as 250 books at one time. That’s more than five times the number permitted by most major library systems in the United States.
[snip]
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04.15.06
Posted in Resources at 2:10 am by Paloma Cruz
ALA Recruitment Assembly launches recruitment Web site
The American Library Association (ALA) Recruitment Assembly is pleased to announce the launch of a new Web site www.LibraryCareers.org. The Web site includes basic information on what it takes to become a librarian or library worker and also information on education, financial assistance and possible career paths.
[snip]
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04.13.06
Posted in News at 11:58 pm by Paloma Cruz
Benefit for library, posted by the Houston Chronicle
A bargain book sale benefiting the Houston Public Library system will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center May 5-7. Volunteers will be needed to serve as cashiers, direct visitors and help keep sales tables stocked. Morning and afternoon shifts will be available. Free parking and refreshments will be provided. Volunteers should be at least 16 years old.
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Posted in News at 1:09 am by Paloma Cruz
65% plan to include librarians
Some criticized Perry’s classroom spending proposal as putting sports before education
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Librarians will be included in a proposed definition of classroom spending for the new 65 percent rule, removing one of the biggest criticisms of Gov. Rick Perry’s initiative.
Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said Thursday that the inclusion “recognizes that librarians provide an important direct instructional service to students.”
[snip]
Last August, Perry ordered Neeley to create a new financial accountability system that included a requirement that 65 percent of a school district’s budget be spent on classroom instruction. His executive order referred to the definition for classroom instruction that is used by the National Center for Education Statistics, the statistical arm of the U.S. Education Department.
[snip]
The draft rule has a three-year phase-in period for districts to reach the 65 percent classroom spending level. If adopted after a public comment period, districts would be required to spend at least 55 percent on instructional costs in 2006-07, 60 percent in 2007-08 and 65 percent in 2008-09. Districts that don’t reach 65 percent could take other steps to improve their financial accountability rating.
[snip]
Texas Includes School Librarians in 65 Percent Solution
– reported by the School Library Journal
In a huge victory for media specialists, Texas has agreed fund the salaries of school librarians under its 65 percent solution rule.
State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley on April 6 agreed to classify school librarians as instructional expenses, meaning they now qualify for a portion of the nearly $1 billion in expenditures that will be made available for classrooms. Neeley has been charged with carrying out Governor Rick Perry’s executive order requiring school districts to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets on classroom instruction, says Rita Chase, TEA’s acting managing director of school financial audits.
[snip]
Texas school districts spend 54 percent of their budgets in the classroom. First Class Education, a national interest group behind the movement, purports that billions of dollars will be available for teachers and kids if all states raised that amount to at least 65 percent.
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04.12.06
Posted in News at 1:51 am by Paloma Cruz
Group seeks more books in Spanish
– reported by the Des Moines Register
Latinos Unidos of Iowa will hold a benefit dinner Saturday to raise money to add Spanish books and materials to Des Moines’ public libraries.
The libraries now have fewer than 1,000 Spanish-language titles, and the group hopes to add 250 to meet a growing demand for Spanish books, CDs and other materials.
[snip]
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04.11.06
Posted in General at 11:57 pm by Paloma Cruz
The Santa Fe Public Library recently posted stats on which browsers visited their Web site:
Internet Explorer is still the browser of choice for the visitors to our web pages, but the proportion slowly decreases as more users adopt Firefox or start using the Safari browser for Macs. This month 77% of visitors are using Internet Explorer, 15.5% are using Firefox (or Mozilla/Netscape), and 6% are using Safari. A year ago the proportion of people using Internet Explorer was 82%.
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