Why Can't We Live Together in Peace?

Link to July 14 New York Times article, "A New World: Scheduling E-Books".

Excerpt: No topic is more hotly debated in book circles at the moment than the timing, pricing and ultimate impact of e-books on the financial health of publishers and retailers. Publishers are grappling with e-book release dates partly because they are trying to understand how digital editions affect demand for hardcover books. A hardcover typically sells for anywhere from $25 to $35, while the most common price for an e-book has quickly become $9.99.

Did you know?

John Grisham is a slow adopter. His books are currently unavailable in electronic format.

E-books comprise 1-2% of total book sales.

City of Omaha Looking at $11 Mil in 2010 Budget Cuts

W. Dale Clark (Main) Library

Link to July 12 Omaha World-Herald article, "Pain seen in budget cuts".

Excerpt: Library: $8.6 million. (2009 allocation from City of Omaha.)

Possible cuts include closing branches, reducing hours or spending less on new materials. The materials budget has remained the same since 2001, about $1.6 million.

In 2004, a proposal to close the Swanson Library would have saved $500,000. Earlier this summer, the city said it could save $1 million by closing three branches.

According to the Nebraska Library Commission's 2007-2008 annual report, the Omaha Public Library also received approximately $1.5 million from Douglas County. I suspect the county is feeling some pain, too.

Ohio Lawmakers Finalize State Budget

The drastic cuts by Governoer Strickland have been avoided, but the loss of revenue is still significant -- and will be painful.

Link to July 15 Library Journal post, "In Final Ohio Budget, Libraries Will Lose Up to 30% of State Support. Loss of $84.3 million, rather than $227.3 million; still, advocates thanked".

Link to July 14 Columbus Post-Dispatch article, "Final bill passes with wealth of grumbling".

Link to July 13 Ohio Library Council news release, "Public Library Funding Cut in New State Budget".

Michigan Governor Proposes Cuts to State Library Service

Link to July 14 libraryjournal.com post, "Michigan Governor Proposes Killing Department of History, Arts, & Libraries, Dropping State Librarian".

Excerpt: [Gretchen] Couraud [executive director of the Michigan Library Association] said that, while the library community was open to belt-tightening, the governor’s proposal was shortsighted. “The Library of Michigan is the only state agency that has had the vision, and succeeded, in moving the state forward to a knowledge-based economy with digital information and group purchasing,” she said.

She said that Library of Michigan saved taxpayers $72 million, if the $3.9 million spent on the Michigan eLibrary were compared to the cost of every library in the state purchasing databases independently.

The state Senate will hold a hearing Wednesday on legislation to keep the library functions whole and move them to the Secretary of State’s office, Couraud said, indicating that the future direction of state library services remains unresolved.

As described in a July 12 New York Times article ("In Michigan, Deficits Defy Years of Cutting"), state government in Michigan has been cutting back since 2002.

Excerpt: Long before California resorted to i.o.u.’s to pay state bills, and before New York’s political insurrection made a mess of this year’s budget planning, and even before the recession pushed dozens of other states into their worst fiscal distress in decades, lawmakers here were cutting.

The cuts started in the 2002 budget year, when some prisoners were ordered to sleep two to a cell. Then came cuts to state colleges in 2003, and orchestras, zoos and operas in 2004. Medical payments for the poor were cut in 2005, followed by cuts to a youth prison in 2006. After that? More cuts — to prisons, crime laboratories, libraries and day care programs.

Last month, 100 state troopers were laid off, and the troopers left behind were told to drive around less to, of course, cut costs.

In Michigan, everything in on the table.

City of Madison 2010 Budget Picture

Link to July 13 Wisconsin State Journal article, "Madison's budget a 'very serious' situation, mayor says".

Excerpt: Again, Madison faces a tough budget with the prospect of layoffs, a wage freeze or service cuts, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said Monday.

“It’s very serious,” Cieslewicz said, adding that the situation is worse than last year’s “worst budget in decades” because revenue streams have dried in the recession.

“It’s highly unlikely we’ll be laying off police officers or firefighters,” he said. “Beyond that, I don’t think there’s anything we can take off the table.”

Mayor Dave is still open to a new Central Library.

Wireless @ Your Library

Link to July 14 Wisconsin State Journal article, "Most Wis. libraries offer wireless services".

Excerpt: Most people living in Wisconsin have access to a public library that offers free wireless Internet connections.

The state Department of Public Instruction says that at the end of 2008, 345 libraries serving 97 percent of the population offered wireless services. The department says 21 more libraries are expected to add the service this year.

Following Obama's Lead

Link to July 14 Capital Times article, "Will you be my friend? Gov candidates reach out to voters via social media".

Excerpt: "What we're doing is very calculated," says Keith Gilkes, Walker's campaign manager. "It is our intent to have the most savvy social media campaign of this race."

Those running for Wisconsin's highest office have taken a page from the playbook of Barack Obama. While running for president, Obama took social media to new heights by amassing a powerful grassroots base that could be reached for financial contributions and mobilized instantly.

Governor Doyle's Facebook page.

Scott Walker's Facebook page.

Mark Neumann's Facebook page.

Mark Todd's Facebook page.