From Quill and Quire: At a meeting that stretched over five hours and saw more than 100 community members in overflow seating, the library board discussed its options for attaining a 4.3 per cent cut to its 2012 operating budget in order to reach the 10 per cent total reduction demanded by Mayor Rob Ford. [...]
UK Parliament: MPs to Investigate Library Closures
Filed by on November 24, 2011
From The Guardian: As campaigners up and down the country fight to keep their local libraries open, the Culture, Media and Sport select committee has announced the launch of an inquiry into library closures. The library inquiry, the first since 2005 when the committee highlighted “a service in distress”, will investigate whether planned library closures [...]
Idaho: Libraries to Adjust to New Internet Filtering Law
Filed by on November 23, 2011
From the AP (via the Idaho State Journal): Although the new law is a scaled-back version of the original proposal — which would have required libraries to filter Internet access for everyone — it’s still a concern to some library officials. Currently, every library in Idaho handles the issue its own way, with some choosing [...]
Public Libraries: Toronto Libraries Find Ways to Make Money
Filed by on November 17, 2011
From 680News.com Cash-strapped Toronto libraries are considering teaming up with a retailer to sell books through their website, as well as, lend them out through their branches. That is one of the money-making proposals which will be debated at the Library Board’s meeting next week. Board members will also consider more than doubling the overdue [...]
New Report: The Top 25 US Public Libraries' Collective Collection as Represented in WorldCat
Filed by on November 10, 2011
Title: The Top 25 US Public Libraries Collective Collection as Represented in WorldCat (11 pages; PDF) Author: Brian Lavoie, OCLC Research From the Report: A collective collection is the combined holdings of a group of institutions, with duplicate holdings (i.e., those pertaining to the same publication) removed. This yields the collection of distinct publications that [...]
College Press: "Kansas Libraries Lead Way in e-book Access"
Filed by on November 2, 2011
The article includes several quotes from Jo Budler, Kansas State Librarian on the current state of eBooks in KS. It also includes comments from: Lea Currie, head of collection development at KU Libraries Sherri Turner, assistant director of the Lawrence Public Library From the University Daily Kansan: “We’ve had a contract with OverDrive since 2005, [...]
New Article: Describing and measuring the value of public libraries: The growth of the Internet and the evolution of library value
Filed by on November 1, 2011
Authors: Paul T. Jaeger John Carlo Bertot Christine M. Kodama Sarah M. Katz Elizabeth J. DeCoster Source: First Monday Abstract: In the current economic climate, public libraries find themselves in the position of defending and justifying their funding and continued existence to their stakeholders. Many of these public libraries seek to prove their worth to [...]
Public Libraries: "Salt Lake City Library’s Embattled Director Resigns"
Filed by on October 29, 2011
Update: Here’s an Audio Recording (mp3) of the October 28, 2011 Board Meeting (via SLC Public Library Web Site) Includes statement from Beth Elder. From the Salt Lake Tribune: Saying it was time to remove herself from the “hot seat,” Beth Elder resigned Friday as director of Salt Lake City’s award-winning library system. Her immediate [...]
Canada: Public Libraries: "Library’s Porn Decision Deferred"
Filed by on October 28, 2011
Via London (Ontario) Metro News: A plea to ban pornography at city libraries will be considered next month. Josh Morgan, chairman of the library board, said a request that the library install porn filters on computers will be discussed during the board’s annual review of its Internet policy. [Clip] Others at Thursday’s meeting suggested a [...]
IMLS Announces the 2011 National Medal for Museum and Library Service Recipients
Filed by on October 25, 2011
From an IMLS News Release: The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has selected five libraries and five museums to receive the 2011 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries for extraordinary civic, educational, economic, environmental, and social contributions. Recipients must demonstrate innovative [...]
