Info, links and musings from a (non-librarian) Library supporter.
First ‘Kid Lit Fest’ set March 8
Humble ISD event focuses on making reading fun
– Houston Chronicle2
The Humble school district will host the first Kid Lit Fest March 8, featuring nine children’s literature authors, activities, book signings and giveaways.The event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Atascocita High School, 13300 Will Clayton Parkway.
Admission is free.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
Margaret Downing, from the Houston Press, reviewed Stephenie Meyer’s “Eclipse.” She seems to like this book, though she says she didn’t really like the first.
Hmmm……
I loved the first, especially the way it takes its time to build up. My tween niece liked it a lot, almost for the same reason.
In fact, she’s the one who told me about the fact that they’re making a movie based on the book. Needless to say, she’s impatient to see this story on the big screen.
Lane Library returns to roots as social spot
Hamilton center adds laptops, café atmosphere
– Business Courier of Cincinnati
What has a drive-thru window, self-checkout kiosks and free wireless Internet?If you’re thinking Starbucks, try again. How about a neighborhood library? Butler County’s historic Hamilton branch of the Lane Public Library is shedding its stodgy image of yesteryear with a $1.2 million renovation to remake it into a place where people want to hang out.
Bookshelves will move to the sidelines to make way for lounge areas where people can interact, read and relax. Electrical outlets will be added so there are enough places for laptop users to power up and recharge. And the octagonal room under a grand cupola, which now houses the circulation desk, will return to its original purpose as a seating space.
“Lane Public Library has always prided itself on being up-to-date with technology,” said Patti Sumner, project manager and interior designer with Steed Hammond Paul Inc., the same architecture firm that renovated the 25,000-square-foot building a little more than a decade ago. The main focus of the latest Hamilton branch project, she said, has been improving the library’s flow to make it relevant for the way people use libraries in this digital age.
[snip]
Articles & blog entries to note:
Have you checked out Flamingnet yet? If you have a teen reader, or a teen you’d like to encourage to become a reader, you need to visit the site. “Your source for reviews and recommendations on past, present, and future preteen, teen, and young adult books.”
Resources:
From the Library Journal:
The Winnipeg Public Library, MB, now offers wi-fi to laptop users—for a price. According to Sam Katz, mayor of Manitoba’s capital, the city must charge $3 CDN an hour to laptop users to recoup the $23,000 it spent to install wireless Internet in all 20 library branches (and in the Pan Am Pool). “Winnipeg needs to be, you know, in the modern age,” Katz said at a September 10 news conference, as was reported by CBC News. “We need to be hip, and this is what it’s all about. It’s happening in other cities, and I certainly don’t want us to be the last ones.”[snip]
Kindle a nice try but a real book is a more solid value
– Houston Chronicle2
[snip]While the idea of being able to carry a couple hundred books around
in your pocket (and it would have to be a mighty big pocket in the
Kindle’s case) is attractive, people have a physical and emotional
attachment to books. The Kindle is just one plastic device, and while
it can do cool things, it cannot compete with the aesthetic appeal of a
full bookshelf.
But just as radio didn’t kill print, TV didn’t kill radio and the
Internet won’t kill off any other media, e-books and “real” books will
co-exist, side-by-side, in the long run. E-books have a long way to go,
but eventually, they’ll become as friendly and as useful as their
wood-pulp-and-ink predecessors.[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks
HISD’s library shelves are lacking
Report says collections are too small or old, and many schools have none at all
– Houston Chronicle2
Seventy percent of the Houston Independent School District’s libraries have collections that are so small or so old, the state considers them below standard.And HISD isn’t the only local district struggling to meet state guidelines. Others, including fast-growing Cypress-Fairbanks, also are missing the mark, sometimes because they can’t stock their shelves fast enough to keep up with the influx of students.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
Orient-Express to Build New York Hotel
–Houston Chronicle2
Hotel and leisure company Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. said Wednesday it signed a deal to acquire a building housing the Donnell branch of the New York Public Library and the land beneath it to create a luxury hotel.The company will pay the library $59 million in cash, in addition to the value of the library space, which the New York Public Library will own and occupy. The overall project is estimated to cost $220 million, including the library purchase.
The 150-room hotel will include a rebuilt Donnell Library location within it, as well as contemporary dining, spa and wellness facilities. Orient-Express said it also plans to expand the existing restaurant and dining business for its “21″ Club, which backs onto the library’s location, by connecting the two buildings.
The property will be marketed under a new “21″ Hotel brand name. The original “21″ Club in midtown Manhattan will remain at its location with enhanced facilities, Orient-Express said.
[snip]
Footnotes
2=article may expire in a few weeks