These findings and more like them are important for the public library community to know about and if needed, react to since many libraries are working very hard to become community info hubs. From eMarketer: US consumers love local search, at least according to January 2014 polling by Google conducted in partnership with Ipsos MediaCT […]
Southport, CT: Pequot Library Has 100% of Their Public Funding Cut, Might Be Forced to Close
Filed by on April 4, 2013
From News 12 Connecticut: The head of the Pequot Library says the historic landmark could soon be forced to shut down. Town officials voted 5-4 last night [Tuesday] to cut 100 percent of the library’s annual $350,000 grant, which amounts to about one-third of its funding. Library officials say the rest is raised privately, but there’s […]
A Missouri Public Library Agrees Not to Block Witch Websites
Filed by on March 6, 2013
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A Missouri library has agreed not to censor patrons’ internet searches on the Wiccan faith, Native American religions and other spiritual matters, the ACLU said Wednesday. In the consent judgment, approved Tuesday, the Salem, Mo., Public Library’s board agreed not to re-impose filters that blocked the category “occult,” among others. […]
Indiana: Gary’s Main Library Could Reopen by End of Year
Filed by on February 19, 2013
From The Post-Tribune (Merrillville, IN): Closed last January following a 40 percent cut in the budget, library officials hoped to turn the 50-year-old building into a museum and cultural center. The move triggered an outcry in the community and led Robert Buggs to form Citizens to Save the Gary Public Library. The group gathered 5,000 […]
Camden County, NC Will Be Getting Their Own Public Library in July, Currently Only NC County Without Their Own
Filed by on February 19, 2013
From The Virginia-Pilot: As of July 1, Camden will no longer be North Carolina’s only county without a library. After partnering with Pasquotank County for library services for more than 70 years, Camden plans to lease 6,800 square feet in a business park on Short Cut Road, furnish it and stock it with computers and […]
Arizona St. University Will Soon Begin Roll Out of Biz Incubators Located Inside Public Libraries, Scottsdale Public Library Will Be Home to First Incubator
Filed by on February 19, 2013
From a Post by Emily Badger on TheAtlanticCities.com: Arizona State is planning in the next few months to roll out a network of co-working business incubators inside public libraries, starting with a pilot in the downtown Civic Center Library in Scottsdale. The university is calling the plan, ambitiously, the Alexandria Network. [Clip] Participating libraries will […]
Ohio: Cuyahoga County Public Library’s $110 Million Renovation Project Turns Branches Into Community Gathering Spots
Filed by on February 17, 2013
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: The Cuyahoga County Public Library, one of the busiest in the country, is in the midst of replacing and renovating 18 of its 28 branches. It began its design plans in 2011, revealing a project that would work to turn the atmosphere of libraries into something similar to bookstores, making […]
Texas: Thefts Cost Austin Public Library System More Than $1 Million in Five Years
Filed by on February 17, 2013
From The Austin American-Statesman: In a given month, nearly 500,000 items churn through the Austin Public Library System’s 21 libraries — books, music CDs, movies and magazines that are lent to users with a promise to return them by their due dates. But an American-Statesman/KVUE News joint review shows that $1.1 million in taxpayer-purchased inventory […]
WSJ: Library Systems in Four NYC Boroughs Plan to Unify Some Tasks
Filed by on February 16, 2013
From The Wall Street Journal*: For two years, New York’s three separate library systems have been working on a plan to offer a single, seamless library account for all New Yorkers that would unify checkouts, returns, deliveries and even late fees for the New York, Brooklyn and Queens public libraries. [Clip] By May, the New […]
UK: Materials Begin Moving Back Into Liverpool Central Library After £50m Refurbishment
Filed by on January 23, 2013
From the BBC: Liverpool’s central library has started the painstaking task of moving rare books and documents into its new home after a £50m [$79.2/USD] refurbishment. Archivists will spend the next three months carefully transporting four million books, prints and paintings to the city’s new library and repository. The items have been held in secure […]
