No Surprise Why This Headline Caught Retiring Guy's Eye

Library director claims arrest video clears him.

East Chicago Public Library

Link to June 5 Chicago Sun-Times article.

Favorite line: [Lake] County [Indiana] Democratic Chairman Thomas McDermott said he would urge Montalvo to consider the negative publicity his arrest has brought to the party, but said party rules set a high bar to remove an officer.

Yeah, library director and secretary of county Democratic Party.

San Jose Mayor's Budget Proposal Would Keep Branch Libraries Open 5 Days a Week

In the process, the Mayor insures he'll have a big fight on his hands.

Mayor Chuck Reed

Link to San Jose Mercury News, "San Jose mayor asks council to impose pay cuts on workers to save libraries, community centers".

Excerpt:  [Mayor Chuck] Reed's proposal was issued late Friday, giving council members little time to review it by press time. The chief of staff for Councilwoman Nora Campos, who has opposed imposing contracts on unions, said she was hopeful an agreement would emerge soon that would make the move unnecessary.

Reed has twice cobbled together a narrow majority to impose cuts on unions: last year with the operating engineers and earlier this year with building inspectors. The operating engineers, who include maintenance workers, park rangers and parking control officers, are among the six on which he is seeking to impose cuts this month.

The terms of what Reed called the city's "last, best and final offer" would cut salaries almost 5 percent and trim benefits to reduce total compensation 10 percent. Benefit changes would include raising employees' share of health insurance premiums from 10 to 15 percent; increasing co-payments for doctor visits from $10 to $25; and reducing "cash-outs" of unused sick leave for retiring workers. The proposal also incorporates the additional pension payments employees had offered.

The imposed cuts would save $9.5 million, the mayor's office said. That money would keep branch libraries open five days a week instead of three and spare six community centers that were expected to close in the fiscal year that begins next month.

Boston Magazine Offers Profile of Amy Ryan, Public Library President

Boston Public Library

Link to May 22 Boston Magazine article, "The Nice Queen".

Excerpt:   As protests go, this one is downright amiable. On an unseasonably warm Sunday in March, 40 people have gathered on the steps of the Boston Public Library’s McKim Building in Copley Square for a read-in — a bookish riff on the sit-in — to demonstrate their displeasure with a plan to close several of the BPL’s neighborhood branches. The crowd ranges in age from infants in strollers to sexagenarians. Some chat among themselves, a few hold Sharpied “Save Our Libraries” signs, but most just sit and read their paperbacks. Their leader, a bespectacled Harvard postdoc named Brandon Abbs, speaks with a trickle of reporters and passersby, including a slim, silver-haired woman wearing black chinos and Asics, a black cardigan tied around her shoulders.

That would be Amy Ryan,the 59-year-old president of the Boston Public Library and, theoretically at least, the authority the crowd has gathered to oppose — The Man. But Ryan doesn’t look like The Man. She looks like a mom, one who doesn’t seem to recognize that she’s the object of these people’s ire.

“Isn’t this an honor? Isn’t this wonderful?” she repeats over and over, gazing at the protesters. “People really, really love their libraries.”

Related articles:
State funding at risk.  (4/29/2010)
Library board votes to close 4 branches.  (4/10/2010)
Recommendation to close 4 branches (among other cuts).  (4/8/2010)
More than 100 gather to fight possible branch library closings.  (4/4/2010)
The Skinny on Boston's branch libraries.  (4/1/2010)
Library measures data published.  (3/31/2010)
Don't close the book on us. (3/29/2010)
Citywide Friends of BPL to Hold Demonstration.  (3/28/2010)
BPL Budget News Available at Website.  (3/25/2010)
A Small Branch Makes a Big Impact.  (3/24/2010)
Friends of Boston Public Library Host Read-in to Support Tax Increase. (3/14/2010)
Emotions Reach Boiling Point in Boston Public Library Discussion. (3/13/2010)
The Boston Public Library Dilemma, Continued. (3/12/2010)
Boston Speaks Up for Its Libraries. (3/10/2010)
Boston Public Library Branches to be Ranked in Consolidation Plan. (3/9/2010)
Boston Public Library Anticipating Budget Cuts in 2011. (3/2/2010)

Indianapolis-Marion County Library Board Delays Decision on Branches

Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library

Link to June 4 Indianapolis Star article, "Library board to delay decision on closures".

Excerpt: The delay will allow the library board’s finance committee more time to review subsequent proposals and suggestions received from the public, it said in a news release.  [Delayed until July 15.]

[snip]

The anticipated deficit is the result of the poor economy and lower caps on property taxes that took effect this year by state law. Property tax revenues provided the library system with 80 percent of its $46 million annual budget in 2009, including operating expenses and debt repayment.

Related articles:
Another big turnout for libraries.  (5/13/2010)
Mayor vows to keep library branches open.  (5/12/2010)
Residents speak up for their libraries.  (5/11/2010)
The neighborhood library as refuge.  (5/2/2010)
Indianapolis Star editorial board keeps library funding issue front and center.  (4/25/2010)
Efficiency experts look for ways to keep branch libraries open.  (4/23/2010)
More than 1400 sign petition to keep Glendale branch open.  (4/20/2010)
Editorial:  Find resources for library.  (4/19/2010)
What's in store for Indianapolis-area libraries?  (4/17/2010)
Indiana Pacers bailout talks continue.  (4/16/2010)
Postscript.  (4/15/2010)
Look what's at the top of Indianapolis's to-do list.  (4/14/2010)
A Challenge to Indianapolis-Marion County:  Stand Up for Libraries.  (4/13/2010)
Library rally caps?  Get real, sez IndyStar editorial.  (4/12/2010)
Will Indianapolis rally for its libraries?  (4/12/2010)
Library considers branch closings.  (4/9/2010)

Crowded Republican Field in Wisconsin's 42nd Assembly District

Link to June 4 Baraboo News-Republic article, "Fourth Republican will run for 42nd Assembly".

Excerpt: Scott Frostman, a residential loan officer for Associated Bank's Reedsburg office and a member of the Baraboo School Board, announced his plans this week. He joins Wisconsin Dells Mayor Eric Helland, Aureliano "A.J." Salas Jr. of Pardeeville and farmer Jack Cummings of rural Endeavor in the race for the Republican nomination.

Brooklyn Public Library's 'Power-Up' Program

Brooklyn Public Library

Link to June 3 inc.com article, "Start-Up Help at Your Local Library".

Excerpt: A tree grows there, so why not a startup? The Brooklyn Public Library has been running its “PowerUp!” program since 2003, and more than 2,400 entrepreneurs have participated. That’s a lot of saplings that have started their growth using library resources.

Maud Andrew of BPL’s Business Library Programs and Outreach told me their “Success Council” came up with the idea and started a competition. Members of the council gave prize money for the first round, and The Citi Foundation was the largest initial donor. In subsequent years, Citi has been the primary sponsor.

How is supporting startups part of a local public library’s mission? “The mission of BPL's Business Library is to promote economic development for all Brooklyn residents. PowerUp! is a real life example of the important role access to information plays in the success of a business venture. The participants are required to take classes at the library on writing a business plan, doing market research, making financial projections and giving a presentation,” said Andrew. “They are required to meet with a pro bono business counselor, get a library card and use the Library's resources.”

Just Having Books Around the House Makes a Difference

The smartest way to insure that books

are always available in the home

Link to June 2 Slate.com article, "Book owners have smarter kids".

Excerpt:  A study recently published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility found that just having books around the house (the more, the better) is correlated with how many years of schooling a child will complete. The study (authored by M.D.R. Evans, Jonathan Kelley, Joanna Sikorac and Donald J. Treimand) looked at samples from 27 nations, and according to its abstract, found that growing up in a household with 500 or more books is "as great an advantage as having university-educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled father." Children with as few as 25 books in the family household completed on average two more years of schooling than children raised in homes without any books.

According to USA Today, another study, to be published later this year in the journal Reading Psychology, found that simply giving low-income children 12 books (of their own choosing) on the first day of summer vacation "may be as effective as summer school" in preventing "summer slide" -- the degree to which lower-income students slip behind their more affluent peers academically every year. An experimental, federally funded program based on this research will be expanded to eight states this summer, aiming to give away 1.5 million books to disadvantaged kids.

Charlotte Observer Editorial: "Should city 'stay in its lane' on libraries?

Charlotte City Council

Link to June 4 Charlotte Observer editorial.

Excerpt:  Council member Susan Burgess, who opposes using city money to help the library, said at a council budget meeting last week, "I love the libraries ... but we ought to stay in our lane. It's a slippery slope." Council member Patsy Kinsey said, "I cannot in good conscience send city money over to support the county." Other council members have said similar things.

Let's see if we understand. It's fine to spend millions upon millions on pavement to bail out the state legislature in Raleigh, but not OK to pony up far less to help keep most of the libraries in your own home county from closing? Yes, pavement is important - up to a point. It is not more important than libraries, however.

The library system, which is independently chartered but which has depended almost exclusively on money from county government, faces the loss of almost half its budget from a cash-strapped county. It has asked Charlotte, the six other Mecklenburg municipalities and the county for more help. Mayor Anthony Foxx has said he'll veto the city budget if it doesn't set aside some money in case a library deal can be worked out. He's using the possibility of city money as a sort of challenge grant - the city would chip in if the other towns do, and if the county does (and if the council approves).

Council members may have questions about how the library has managed resources. Some may question the relative importance of libraries compared with public schools or the park and recreation department or community colleges. It's appropriate to consider those issues. It's also appropriate to make sure any city money would be, truly, a one-time thing.

Related articles:
County commissioners restore some cuts to libraries.  (6/4/2010)
Straw votes begin on Mecklinburg County budget.  (6/3/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries continue to look for one-time financial help.  (5/31/2010)
High school junior speaks out eloquently for libraries.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor Foxx on the art of governing.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor supports financial help for library.  (5/27/2010)
County budget:  Oh, yeah, this is fair.  (5/25/2010)
Bailout proposal not gaining traction.  (5/23/2010)
Library trustees vote to close 4 branches.  (5/20/2010)
Mecklenburg County tightens its belt.  (5/20/2010)
County manager cuts $14.7 million from library budget.  (5/18/2010)
2010-11 Mecklenburg County budget to be unveiled today.  (5/18/2010)
North Carolina woman plans on "going straight to the top" to keep Charlotte libraries open.  (5/16/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg officials ask local municipalities for $3 million contribution.  (4/30/2010)
Library Board chair speaks out.  (4/25/2010)
County commissioners seek ways to ease library cuts.  (4/23/2010)
Mecklenburg County needs to reduce $85-90 million deficit.  (4/16/2010)
County manager takes library board to task.  (4/10/2010)
Libraries now open fewer hours.  (4/6/2010)
"Save Our Libraries Sunday".  (3/29/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg users owe average of 55 cents in fines.  (3/27/2010)
Library announces new hours for branches.  (3/26/2010)
Library Board applies a Band-Aid to its bleeding system.  (3/25/2010)
Follow-up on Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board vote.  (3/25/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board votes to keep all branches open.  (3/24/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board presented with 2 budget-cutting alternatives.  (3/24/2010)
More and bigger cuts looming on horizon. (3/23/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library System Rethinks Closings. (3/22/2010)
A New Day is Dawning in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. (3/21/2010)

Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries haven't seen such large-scale reductions since the Great Depression. (3/17/2010)

Mecklenburg County Commissioners Restore Some Cuts to Libraries

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries

Link to June 4 Charlotte Observer, "County eyes smaller cuts to schools and libraries. Commissioners' straw vote based on sunnier projections of revenue from sales tax".

Excerpt:    Gambling on a stronger economy and a reviving sales tax, Mecklenburg commissioners tentatively agreed Thursday to restore more than $14.5 million in planned cuts to schools, libraries, parks and other agencies.

Among the biggest changes: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools would lose about $15.3 million, compared to the $21.3 million recommended by County Manager Harry Jones.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library had $3.5 million restored, lowering its recommended reduction to $11.2 million.

The park and recreation department also had nearly $1.2 million restored.

The changes, approved through a series of straw votes by commissioners, won't become final until the board approves a budget June 15.

Related articles:
Straw votes begin on Mecklinburg County budget.  (6/3/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries continue to look for one-time financial help.  (5/31/2010)
High school junior speaks out eloquently for libraries.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor Foxx on the art of governing.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor supports financial help for library.  (5/27/2010)
County budget:  Oh, yeah, this is fair.  (5/25/2010)
Bailout proposal not gaining traction.  (5/23/2010)
Library trustees vote to close 4 branches.  (5/20/2010)
Mecklenburg County tightens its belt.  (5/20/2010)
County manager cuts $14.7 million from library budget.  (5/18/2010)
2010-11 Mecklenburg County budget to be unveiled today.  (5/18/2010)
North Carolina woman plans on "going straight to the top" to keep Charlotte libraries open.  (5/16/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg officials ask local municipalities for $3 million contribution.  (4/30/2010)
Library Board chair speaks out.  (4/25/2010)
County commissioners seek ways to ease library cuts.  (4/23/2010)
Mecklenburg County needs to reduce $85-90 million deficit.  (4/16/2010)
County manager takes library board to task.  (4/10/2010)
Libraries now open fewer hours.  (4/6/2010)
"Save Our Libraries Sunday".  (3/29/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg users owe average of 55 cents in fines.  (3/27/2010)
Library announces new hours for branches.  (3/26/2010)
Library Board applies a Band-Aid to its bleeding system.  (3/25/2010)
Follow-up on Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board vote.  (3/25/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board votes to keep all branches open.  (3/24/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board presented with 2 budget-cutting alternatives.  (3/24/2010)
More and bigger cuts looming on horizon. (3/23/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library System Rethinks Closings. (3/22/2010)
A New Day is Dawning in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. (3/21/2010)

Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries haven't seen such large-scale reductions since the Great Depression. (3/17/2010)

Straw Votes Begin on Mecklenburg County Budget

Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners

Link to June 3 Charlotte Observer article, "Options considered for fewer Mecklenburg cuts.  Commissioners will offer ideas for the proposed budget tonight, but some of them could be risky".

Excerpt: Mecklenburg commissioners say they want to ease the pain of budget cuts targeted for schools, libraries, parks, veterans services and the Sheriff's Office.

But the question is how they might pay for it.

Tonight, commissioners could offer some answers as they begin straw-voting on the county's proposed budget for the year that starts July 1. The decisions aren't binding, but many probably will appear in the final spending plan set for approval June 15.

The current budget proposal cuts $81.1 million from county services - including layoffs of more than 440 workers - as the county struggles to recover from the recession and construction debt payments that eat about 21 percent of the budget.

Related articles:
Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries continue to look for one-time financial help.  (5/31/2010)
High school junior speaks out eloquently for libraries.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor Foxx on the art of governing.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor supports financial help for library.  (5/27/2010)
County budget:  Oh, yeah, this is fair.  (5/25/2010)
Bailout proposal not gaining traction.  (5/23/2010)
Library trustees vote to close 4 branches.  (5/20/2010)
Mecklenburg County tightens its belt.  (5/20/2010)
County manager cuts $14.7 million from library budget.  (5/18/2010)
2010-11 Mecklenburg County budget to be unveiled today.  (5/18/2010)
North Carolina woman plans on "going straight to the top" to keep Charlotte libraries open.  (5/16/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg officials ask local municipalities for $3 million contribution.  (4/30/2010)
Library Board chair speaks out.  (4/25/2010)
County commissioners seek ways to ease library cuts.  (4/23/2010)
Mecklenburg County needs to reduce $85-90 million deficit.  (4/16/2010)
County manager takes library board to task.  (4/10/2010)
Libraries now open fewer hours.  (4/6/2010)
"Save Our Libraries Sunday".  (3/29/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg users owe average of 55 cents in fines.  (3/27/2010)
Library announces new hours for branches.  (3/26/2010)
Library Board applies a Band-Aid to its bleeding system.  (3/25/2010)
Follow-up on Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board vote.  (3/25/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board votes to keep all branches open.  (3/24/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board presented with 2 budget-cutting alternatives.  (3/24/2010)
More and bigger cuts looming on horizon. (3/23/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library System Rethinks Closings. (3/22/2010)
A New Day is Dawning in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. (3/21/2010)

Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries haven't seen such large-scale reductions since the Great Depression. (3/17/2010)

North Carolina: First in Scented Billboards, Too

Link to June 3 Charlotte Observer article:  "Eau de marketing, with hint of pepper".

Excerpt: The Bloom grocery chain, part of Salisbury-based Food Lion, hopes to catch shoppers by the nose by wafting black pepper and charcoal smells from the base of a sign along River Highway (N.C. 150) in Mooresville.

And though businesses have been employing specialized aromas to boost sales and create ambiance for years, this, it appears, is a different frontier - one designed to cut through the clutter that commuters encounter every day.

Can't afford a billboard?   Try this!

Link

Wide Eyes, Dropped Jaws at Augmented Reality Event

Augmented Reality Event

Link to June 2 San Jose Mercury News article, "Gee-whiz factor high at augmented reality conference".

Excerpt: The first-ever global gathering devoted to the business potential of augmented-reality technology kicked off Wednesday at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

And it was hard to see where the augmented started and the reality stopped.

That's the bedeviling thing about this exotic branch of computer science that superimposes digital images and text over live real-time images. It's sort of trapped between the real world and your computer monitor or smartphone screen. Think of those yellow "first down" lines scribbled over a live shot of a televised football game. Think the online search tool Yelp's ability to overlay a users' rating grid over that restaurant you're pointing your iPhone at. Think of an emerging technology where the digital and the "real" worlds commingle and you're left straddling the two in wide-eyed wonder.

Congratulations to Phyllis Davis on her Retirement

And, more importantly, for her many years of service to libraries. (Enjoyed working with you on a variety of projects through the years and look forward to continue working with you on SCLS Foundation activities.)

Link to June 2 Deforest Times-Tribune article, "Library system director bookin' it to retirement".

Excerpt:  Phyllis Davis has played a key role in technological and governance changes at South Central Library System, but the retiring director knows the most important part of her job is the people.

“It’s not the system or the software you have to be dedicated to,” said Davis, who will retire in June. “It’s the people.”

Davis has been dedicated to SCLS since she came to the organization in 1985. She’s been dedicated to making the library easier to use for people, and dedicated to the people who run libraries having a say in the way they are run.

The Windsor resident had held many library-related jobs before joining SCLS in 1985 as its automation coordinator. She oversaw the development of the LINKCat shared database, an online tool that allows patrons from one library to view and check out items from another library.

2nd Dem Announces for Obey's Seat

Link to June 2 Wausau Daily Herald, "Reasbeck running for Obey's seat".

Excerpt: It looks like Democrats in the 7th Congressional District will have a primary after all, if Joe Reasbeck has anything to say about it.

"Maybe some party insiders feel like we should have a coronation. I'm of the mindset that we should have a debate," said Reasbeck, referring to the party's selection of state Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, to seek the seat that will be vacated by Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, upon his retirement next year.

Reasbeck, 41, of Iron River announced his candidacy Saturday in Superior. Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, he said one of his top legislative priorities would be to promote policies that expand high-speed Internet access into rural areas such as Northwoods Wisconsin. He said the infrastructure would be a key part of future job creation efforts.

"We're in the information age," Reasbeck said. "This is as important as rural electrification, the laying of the railroads ... and the Interstate system."

Reasbeck grew up in the Superior area, graduating from Superior Senior High School in 1987. He wrestled at the University of Minnesota, and has written young adult novels about wrestling. He said he worked in California in the '90s on a dot-com startup company, and that he and his family moved back to northern Wisconsin in March. He is married with four young sons.

Summer Reading Research Focuses on Low-Income Students

Access Books

Program founded by Rebecca Constantino

Link to June 1 USA Today article , "Free books block 'summer slide' in low-income students".


Excerpt:   Schools have always tried to get students to read over the summer. For middle-class students, that's not as big a deal with their access to books at home, public libraries and neighborhood bookstores, says Richard Allington, a longtime reading researcher at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Over the past 20 years, researchers have shown that low-income students simply have less access to print. In some cases, even walking to the local public library may be too dangerous.

"A lot of parents say, 'When we're gone, you can't go to the library.' It's not an option," says Rebecca Constantino, a researcher and instructor at the University of California-Irvine.

Wisconsin has a similar program.

Fond du Lac School District Reconsideration Committee to Meet

Link to June 2 Fond du Lac Reporter article, "Hearing scheduled June 7 on 'Sisterhood' book".

Excerpt: Citizen Ann Wentworth is requesting the book "Forever in Blue: the Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood" by Ann Brashare be removed from the library at Theisen Middle School.

Related articles:
Yet another book challenge in Fond du Lac.  (5/20/2010)
Wentworth motors on. (5/3/2010)
Ann Wentworth gets fan mail.  (4/29/2010)
School board upholds decision to keep book on shelves.  (4/13/2010)
School library challenge moves to next step.   (4/5/2010)
Parent appeals decision to keep book.  (2/28/2010)
Fond du Lac School District: Update on Remaining Book Challenges. (2/24/2010)
Sonya Sones Letter to Fond du Lac School Superintendent. (2/23/2010)

Fond du Lac Newspaper Editorial Board Support School District Committee's Decision. (2/22/2010)
Challenged Book to Remain on Shelves in Fond du Lac Schools. (2/19/2010)
Ann Brashares, Meet Ann Wentworth. (2/18/2010)

Fond du Lac School District Parent Requests Reconsideration of This Book. (1/29/2010)

The State of Appleton Wisconsin's Downtown

Appleton Downtown, Inc.

Link to June 2 Appleton Post-Crescent article, "Q&A: Appleton Downtown Inc.'s Jennifer Stephany says downtown Appleton is poised to grow".

Excerpt: As the country works its way out of the latest recession, downtown Appleton also seeks new opportunities.

Appleton Downtown Inc., a downtown advocacy group and development organization for downtown Appleton, is seeking increased activity from businesses interested in locating to the central business district.

Jennifer Stephany, ADI executive director, recently met with The Post-Crescent to discuss the state of the downtown and what's in store for the summer. Here's an edited transcript of that conversation:

Retiring Guy was disappointed to find the word 'library' not used in this [edited] conversation.

Although the Appleton Public Library is not located on College Avenue, it can certainly be considered part of the downtown business district.

And its services and programs definitely draw a lot of people into the downtown area.

Take a look at these numbers (from the 2008 Wisconsin Public Library Service Data).

1630+ visitors on an average day?  Open Sundays for the majority of the year?

Let's give credit where credit is due!

(From COLAND "Beginnings Report on the Future of Wisconsin Libraries, 2008-2018"

Related article:
Eau Claire:  the library as anchor store. (7/17/2009)

File Under "Things They Don't You in Library School" (as Did Chip Ward)

Edmonton Public Library policies

Link to May 30 Edmonton Journal article, "Quiet in the library: an urban dilemma.  Cities cope with bad apples in public spaces".

Excerpt: Maybe it's that they don't have DVDs. Or maybe they don't have time for big novels. But for whatever reason, in the winter in Salt Lake City, the homeless tend to congregate near the periodicals.

It's something Chip Ward saw every year when he was assistant director of Salt Lake City's public library system. Ward was trained to organize information, to file papers and data. But his job, he says, was as much about knowing regulars as it was shelving books.

There was Crash, a happy drunk with a deep scar that cleaved his face from forehead to chin. There were Mick and Bob who suffered seizures. Margi had dementia. John, open wounds he wouldn't treat. For each, the library was as much a home as anywhere else.

Ward worked at Salt Lake City's central branch, an architecturally arresting five-storey structure that opened in 2003.

A wedge-shaped, glass-fronted wonder that features cafes, an art gallery and one of the world's largest collections of graphic novels, the branch is also the Utah capital's de facto daytime shelter for the homeless and a default hangout for street kids and misfits.

Ward spent five years at the branch. After he retired, he wrote an essay about his work. Published online, the piece became a minor sensation. It was e-mailed from library to library before breaking into the mainstream. Emilio Estevez is now reportedly producing a movie based on its themes.

For Ward, the piece resonated because it dealt with issues that weren't unique to Salt Lake City. The story plays out every day in libraries in Houston and Dallas, Vancouver and Toronto. "I don't think there's an urban library in the country where they can't start telling you stories."

In the past month, there's been a lot of focus on the Edmonton Public Library's downtown branch.

Libraries and the Homeless.  January 28, 2010, post by The Homeless Guy.

Novi Public Library Completed On Time and Under Budget

Novi (MI) Public Library

Link to June 1 Hometown News article, "Mouths drop at sight of new Novi Public Library".

Excerpt:   Wow. Amazing. Awesome. Beautiful.

Those are just a few of the many one-word exclamations people used as they made their way through the new Novi Public Library for the first time Tuesday morning.

A small crowd gathered at the entrance to the building a little before 10 a.m. with Kehong Niu and his wife Hiumiu the first in line. They were greeted by several library staffers who fought back tears as people entered.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” said library director Julie Farkas. “I’m so excited for this community and so excited they are in awe of this place.

“It’s a dream come true.”

The library construction was completed on time and under the $12.5 million budget voters approved in 2007.

Aggrieved Vent Online...and Defendants Get Slapp-Happy

Link to Facebook page

Link to June 1 New York Times article, "Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court".

Excerpt: Web sites like Facebook, Twitter and Yelp have given individuals a global platform on which to air their grievances with companies. But legal experts say the soaring popularity of such sites has also given rise to more cases like Mr. Kurtz’s, in which a business sues an individual for posting critical comments online.

The towing company’s lawyer said that it was justified in removing Mr. Kurtz’s car because the permit was not visible, and that the Facebook page was costing it business and had unfairly damaged its reputation.

Some First Amendment lawyers see the case differently. They consider the lawsuit an example of the latest incarnation of a decades-old legal maneuver known as a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or Slapp.

[snip]

Many states [27, the article later specifies] have anti-Slapp laws, and Congress is considering legislation to make it harder to file such a suit. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Charlie Gonzalez of Texas, both Democrats, would create a federal anti-Slapp law, modeled largely on California’s statute.

State-by-state overview.

The Sideshow Known as the Texas Board of Education

Texas Curriculum

Link to May 31 Los Angeles Times article, "Experts: New, more conservative textbook curriculum is unlikely to go beyond Texas".

Excerpt: The influence of Texas on the $7 billion U.S. textbook market has steadily weakened.

Technology has made it easier and more affordable for publishers to tailor textbooks to different standards. That's especially true in the 20 other states like Texas where education boards approve textbooks for statewide use.

Substitutions are an easy fix. And publishers won't gamble on incorporating one state's controversial curriculum into a one-size-fits-all product for other markets, said Jay Diskey, executive director of the schools division of the Association of American Publishers.

Diskey's group is the trade group for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson Education Inc., which together publish more than 75 percent of the nation's K-12 textbooks.

"Why would we walk in with stuff that we know might be rejected and knock us out of a business opportunity?" Diskey said.

AAP School Division

Marshfield Wisconsin's Historic Preservation Month Activities/"Passport to History" Program

Great example of cooperative programming

Link

Link

Link to June 1 Marshfield Daily Herald article, "Passport game features city's historical sites".

Excerpt:   This is the second year the city's Historic Preservation Committee has organized the Passport to History project. While the event was held in one month -- May -- last year, the project will continue through the summer, ending at 5 p.m. Sept. 17.

"The intent is to familiarize people in the community with the city's history. It's also a fun activity for visitors and tourists," said committee member Don Schnitzler of Marshfield.

New York Libraries’ Adult English Programs Face Cuts

Link to May 30 New York Times article.

Excerpt: The New York Public Library is one of many providers of free English classes in New York City. The Queens and Brooklyn Public Libraries offer them, as do the New York City Department of Education, the City University of New York, and various nonprofit community groups. Even so, the need for instruction in English still seems to outpace the supply.

Registration takes place three times a year for the New York Public Library’s classes, which are offered on evenings and Saturdays in neighborhoods throughout Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Typically, many more people show up than there are spots available, and hundreds have to be turned away. (Spots are distributed by a lottery.)

Now, with the library facing a possible $37 million budget cut, even fewer people may be able to take classes next year. If the cuts go through, the library says that in addition to closing 10 branches and cutting service across the system to four days from six, it will have to cut the number of English language classes it offers from 117 to 48, and the number of spots from roughly 3,000 to less than 1,300. The Brooklyn and Queens library systems are facing similar financing cuts that threaten their English classes as well.

“They’re incredibly valuable and incredibly popular,” Councilman James G. Van Bramer said of the classes offered across the city. Mr. Van Bramer, who heads the committee of the Council that oversees libraries and is a former executive of the Queens Public Library, said many people who cannot get into the classes are “unable to get into the job market.”

Cuyahoga County Public Library Takes Bold Moves Forward

Link to May 31 cleveland.com article, "Cuyahoga County Public Library planning to restore buildings, hours".

Excerpt: Despite hard times, the Cuyahoga County Public Library plans to erect four buildings, expand or renovate six, move two branches and restore Sunday hours countywide.

The library plans to merge two branches and take over construction costs from the hard-pressed communities it serves.

"It's nearly impossible for many cities to put an issue on the ballot for the library in today's climate," said Deputy Director Tracy Strobel, "yet there are huge inequities between our branches that we must address."

Starting Sept. 12, all 28 branches -- not just the seven branches keeping Sunday hours right now -- will be open on Sundays. On Sept. 7, Richmond Heights will begin keeping the same hours as other branches: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

The library's funds from property taxes and state aid have slumped during the recession. But officials said they can afford to add hours because of staff cuts and a profitable new service: handling passport applications for fees.

New York Times Best Sellers/LINKcat Copies and Holds

Fiction and nonfiction hardcover best sellers lists as published in the May 30, 2010, New York Times Book Review.

Outside of a few excerpts from Outliers, Retiring Guy has read none of these titles, though he is patiently waiting for his name to reach the top of the holds list for The Help, the audiobook version.

Massachusetts Municipalities Tax Catholic Properties

Friends of libraries, too?

Link to May 31 Boston Globe article, "Strapped towns tax Catholic properties. Church forced to pay for shuttered buildings".

Excerpt: Hundreds of thousands of dollars remain in dispute before the state Appellate Tax Board, where the archdiocese hopes to fend off tax collectors in Framingham, Natick, and Scituate, and where it is also challenging Revere’s decision to tax a convent that still houses a small number of nuns.

The tax disputes have come to a head at a time of financial duress for both the archdio cese and cities and towns.

Cuts in state aid have forced cities and towns to chop school budgets and scale back library hours. Many of the archdiocesan properties are tempting tax targets because they are expansive and in desirable areas of town, meaning their potential property values are high.

The Litigious Richard Kreimer

Slide from "Will It Hold Up In Court?" PowerPoint

(Found at New Jersey State Library website)

Link to May 30 New York Post article, "The sweet stench of $uccess".

Excerpt: He's filthy, rich.

The city's most litigious bum, Richard Kreimer -- infamous for winning a $230,000 suit 20 years ago after being kicked out of a Morristown, NJ, library for his body odor -- is about to file his 18th lawsuit since 1988.

The 61-year-old hobo plans to go after Amtrak in Philadelphia because he claims police forcibly removed him from the train station. He already has another lawsuit pending against NJ Transit for the same thing.

Kreimer agreed to meet The Post at Penn Station, where he often spends his nights. He is still homeless -- but doesn't look the part with oversized black shades, pressed plaid shirt, cellphone and an ATM card. He took a shower, combed his hair and wore clean clothes, all the things he refuses to do in other public places.

Library Hygiene in Morristown.   New York Times editorial, 3/28/1992.

A Surprising Demographic for Town and Country Magazine

Town & Country

Link to May 31 New York Times article, "Town and Country Magazine Tries to Broaden Readership".  [Print headline:  "An Old-Money Magazine Starts to Chase New Money".

Excerpt: According to GfK Mediamark Research & Intelligence, the main demographics research firm for magazines, Town & Country’s readers have a median annual income of just $61,614, putting it just ahead of readers of Dirt Rider, but trailing Good Housekeeping, Cooking With Paula Deen and Four Wheeler.

Editorially, the Hearst magazine has never won an award from the American Society of Magazine Editors, and the last time it was nominated was 1999. Its newsstand sales dropped about 36 percent from 2005 to 2009.

The magazine relies on luxury ads, and it took a beating as many luxury companies halted print advertising. Its ad pages fell 45.6 percent from 2008 to 2009, worse than almost any other luxury magazine, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

LINKcat holdings of magazine titles mentioned in 1st excerpted paragraph.  (49 library locations.)

Another iPad Testimonial

Photo source:  Wikipedia

Link to May 30 San Jose Mercury News article, "He vowed he was done with upgrades, then along came the iPad".

Excerpt: The iPad is a less-is-more device that has a real appeal to people of a certain vintage, like me, who are weary from decades of trying to keep up with the flood of new consumer technology. It's convenient, easy to use, really fast, runs for hours and hours, and is the perfect Internet device to have around the home.

A few things set it apart from my laptop: a really long battery life, good sound, and a habit-forming, very responsive multi-touch screen. Also, it doesn't come with a separate keyboard and, at least for now, can't do multi-tasking or run Adobe Flash and Java. And so far, I've been unable to edit in Google Docs.

So I'm not retiring my desktop and laptop yet, but I'm spending a lot less time on them..

Menasha Public Library Tasha Saecker describes her iPad experience at Sites & Soundbytes.

The Pest Shop: It Started at the Public Library

Link to May 31 Dallas News article, "Crawling critters are Plano man's calling".

Excerpt: He's even turned his 200-square-foot shop in central Plano, The Pest Shop, into a tourist attraction of sorts with his Cockroach Hall of Fame & Museum. About 6,000 people walk in every year, said Bohdan, who walks with a limp and wears a green felt fedora dotted with the carcasses of 14 cockroaches.

[snip]

[Michael] Bohdan opened his pest-control company 30 years ago with his entire savings, about $1,000, and little money to advertise. Burying himself in books at the public library, he learned how to promote, how to write a press release, and how to work with the news media. [Emphasis added]

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries Continue to Look for One-Time Financial Help

Link to May 31 Charlotte Observer article, "One-time funds in question".

Excerpt: There is momentum in the city of Charlotte and some county towns to give the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library one-time financial help to keep branches open.

But it's unclear if the libraries will receive the full $8 million requested. If the libraries receive less money, the Library Board of Trustees would likely face a difficult process of deciding which branches to close and how much input the governmental donors would have in the process.

Faced with a nearly 50 percent budget cut, the Library Board voted to close three branches in June - Carmel, Checkit Outlet and Belmont Center - and to temporarily close the Beatties Ford Road branch, which is being renovated.

If the system doesn't receive the emergency money, it has said it will close 12 more branches in July. That would leave six regional libraries operating, along with a branch at ImaginOn and the Main Library uptown.

Related articles:
High school junior speaks out eloquently for libraries.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor Foxx on the art of governing.  (5/30/2010)
Mayor supports financial help for library.  (5/27/2010)
County budget:  Oh, yeah, this is fair.  (5/25/2010)
Bailout proposal not gaining traction.  (5/23/2010)
Library trustees vote to close 4 branches.  (5/20/2010)
Mecklenburg County tightens its belt.  (5/20/2010)
County manager cuts $14.7 million from library budget.  (5/18/2010)
2010-11 Mecklenburg County budget to be unveiled today.  (5/18/2010)
North Carolina woman plans on "going straight to the top" to keep Charlotte libraries open.  (5/16/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg officials ask local municipalities for $3 million contribution.  (4/30/2010)
Library Board chair speaks out.  (4/25/2010)
County commissioners seek ways to ease library cuts.  (4/23/2010)
Mecklenburg County needs to reduce $85-90 million deficit.  (4/16/2010)
County manager takes library board to task.  (4/10/2010)
Libraries now open fewer hours.  (4/6/2010)
"Save Our Libraries Sunday".  (3/29/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg users owe average of 55 cents in fines.  (3/27/2010)
Library announces new hours for branches.  (3/26/2010)
Library Board applies a Band-Aid to its bleeding system.  (3/25/2010)
Follow-up on Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board vote.  (3/25/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board votes to keep all branches open.  (3/24/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board presented with 2 budget-cutting alternatives.  (3/24/2010)
More and bigger cuts looming on horizon. (3/23/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library System Rethinks Closings. (3/22/2010)
A New Day is Dawning in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. (3/21/2010)

Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries haven't seen such large-scale reductions since the Great Depression. (3/17/2010)

Town of Lisbon Chairman Proposes New Funding Formula for Pauline Haass Library

Link to May 25 Sussex Sun article, "Will the library become a pawn? Lisbon wants library funding switched to usage".

Excerpt: Village officials are looking at a proposal from Lisbon Town Chairman Matt Gehrke that would change the way the two communities fund the Pauline Haass Public Library.

Village President Tony Lapcinski told Village Board members meeting as a committee of the whole May 18, that Gehrke had proposed changing the funding formula from one based on equalized property values to one based on library usage.

Lapcinski said that would change the contribution balance from very nearly 50-50 to about 60-40, with Sussex picking up the 60.

"That's a huge change," he said.

Sussex residents use the library more, he explained, because Lisbon residents who live further from the library have other options, including libraries in Hartland, Menomonee Falls and Pewaukee.

Village Trustee Pat Tetzlaff said that since 1988, when the inter-municipal agreement to fund the joint library was reached, the town has contributed $6.4 million to the library and the village $6.1 million.