Centennial of Mark Twain's Death

 


Link to June 26 Los Angeles Times article, "A visit to Mark Twain's Hannibal, Mo."

Excerpt: It's moments like this that keep Hannibal in business. And there should be plenty of business this year: It's the centennial of Mark Twain's death, and a new comprehensive version of his autobiography (delayed a century, as per the author's instructions) is due for publication in November. Especially in the next three months, as tourism peaks, Hannibal will be talking more than usual about its favorite son.

"There would be no Huckleberry Finn. There would be no Tom Sawyer. None of that would ever have happened if he hadn't lived here," said Cindy Lovell, director of the Twain home and museum.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born about 40 miles southwest in Florida, Mo.; he was a redheaded 4-year-old when his family arrived in Hannibal, just across the river from Illinois.

Link to Mark Twain Home webcam.

Mark Twain 2010.

A LINKcat "TITLE starts with" search of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn earns you 66 bibliographic records.

And you'll bag 438 records with an "AUTHOR etc. (Last, First)" search.

Which reminds me of oft-heard lament at the Middleton Public Library reference desk, "I just want to find a copy of the book here."

Oakland California Deals with $31,000,000 Deficit

...every library....

Link to June 26 New York Times article, "Facing Deficit, Oakland Puts Police Force on Chopping Block".

Excerpt: At the Council meeting on Thursday night, where a crowd of hundreds filled the chambers and spilled out the door, city officials said that their hands were largely tied by contracts with the fire and police departments, which comprise nearly 75 percent of the city’s $400 million general fund.

“Even if we wanted to, and we don’t want to, if we closed every senior center, every library, every park and rec and city hall, we could not balance the budget without going to police and fire,” said Jane Brunner, the City Council president.

More Spending Cuts Might Be In Store for States and Localities

Link to June 26 New York Times article, "Federal Aid States Were Counting On May Be Lost After Jobs Bill Stalls".

Excerpt: Financially struggling states, already facing record budget shortfalls, are now confronting the possibility of losing out on billions of dollars in federal aid that they had been counting on, if Congress does not revive a jobs bill that stalled in the Senate this week.

The result, governors and state budget officers are warning, could be hundreds of thousands of layoffs at the state and local levels, as well as draconian spending cuts.

“It’s a bloodletting,” said Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat.

BadgerNet Fiber Grant Approved

Not quite a done deal?

BadgerNet Converged Network

Link to June 26 Beloit Daily News article, "Libraries to speed up Internet".

Excerpt: The Internet’s about to get a whole lot faster at the Beloit Public Library.

The library is one of six public libraries in the area along with two local school districts to be awarded federal stimulus funds aimed at improving their Internet access.

The plan was approved Wednesday by the Wisconsin legislature’s joint finance committee, which includes State Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit.

“Expanding broadband Internet access to our small towns is the rural electrification of the 2010s,” Robson said in a press release. “Just as a federal initiative helped us light up our small towns and farms in the 1930s, federal stimulus funds today will make Internet access faster in our public libraries and schools.”

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s Administration applied for and obtained $22.9 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to Robson’s press release.

Out of that total sum, $64,733 is going to the Beloit Public Library for the fiber installation. The Clinton Public Library was awarded $105,327, the Orfordville Public Library was awarded $106,204, and Parkview High School in Orfordville was awarded $119,606.

“We were delighted when we found out the grant had been approved,” said Ruth Ann Montgomery, the director of the Arrowhead Library System that includes the Beloit, Clinton and Orfordville Public Libraries.

Currently, the Beloit Public Library pays $100 a month for a 3 megabyte per second service, and the Clinton and Orfordville Public Libraries pay $100 a month for service at a speed of 1.5 megabytes per second, according to Montgomery.

After the fiber installation is complete, all of these libraries will still pay $100 a month but for a 20- megabyte-per-second service, Montgomery said.

Caveat:  The $100 a month for 20-megabyte-per-second service is contingent upon the Wisconsin Department of Administration agreeing to extend the current BadgerNet contract through November 2016, which is a clear stipulation of the grant.  I'm not aware that DOA has taken this step yet.

Don't Miss This: Clint Webb for Senate

This Demographic Trend Seems to Have No Impact on Library Storytime Attendance

Library Storytime

Link to June 25 Pew Research Social & Demographic Trends report, "More Women Without Children".

Excerpt: Nearly one-in-five American women ends her childbearing years without having borne a child, compared with one-in-ten in the 1970s. While childlessness has risen for all racial and ethnic groups, and most education levels, it has fallen over the past decade for women with advanced degrees.

The most educated women still are among the most likely never to have had a child. But in a notable exception to the overall rising trend, in 2008, 24% of women ages 40-44 with a master's, doctoral or professional degree had not had children, a decline from 31% in 1994.

By race and ethnic group, white women are most likely not to have borne a child. But over the past decade, childless rates have risen more rapidly for black, Hispanic and Asian women, so the racial gap has narrowed.

North Smithfield Public Library Threatened with Closure and ProJo Looks the Other Way

Rhode Island's North Smithfield Public Library will close on July 1 if the town budget is passed as proposed.

And here's what I found when I searched the Providence Journal online.

Please tell Retiring Guy he missed something here.

Cedar Rapids Public Library Promotes 'Your New Downtown Destination'

Cedar Rapids Public Library

Plus there's this little tidbit about opening the 1985 time capsule.  

Related articles:
Library staff looking at the best for design ideas. (5/6/2010)
For sale, old library, needs work.  (4/9/2010)
Site Selection Raises Ethics Concerns.  (2/9/2010)
Cedar Rapids Library Board to Recommend Site for New Library. (01/26/2010)
FEMA Reconsiders, Decides Library Provides an Essential Service. (12/24/2009)
Hide and Seek: Downtown Cedar Rapids Satellite Branch Library. (11/30/2009)
Early Days of Cedar Rapids Public Library. (11/20/2009)

Historic Mural at Nebraska Public Library

Wahoo Public Library

Link to June 20 Fremont Tribune article, "McClure creates historic mural for Wahoo Public Library".

Excerpt: Artist Rhonda McClure revealed a new chapter of her career.

McClure, a longtime resident of Saunders County, wanted to draw attention to the Wahoo Public Library.

She created a mural depicting the building that housed the former library in the 1920s - City Hall.

The library board had given its stamp of approval.

Board member Rita Lindahl had a postcard of the old building.

"That's all I had to go on," McClure said.

She used a limited palette of just two colors of acrylic paint.

"Going with the same idea as a black and white photo," she said.

The 6-by-10 foot painting in a handmade frame was recently unveiled.

The library began through the efforts of the Wahoo Women's Club.

ALso reported in the Wahoo newspaper on May 14, 2010.

Shuttered Charlotte Mecklenburg Branch Could Become Friends' Used Book Store

Friends of the Library

Link to June 25 Charlotte Observer article, "Checkit Outlet could be place to buy used library books".

Excerpt: It hasn't been closed a week, but plans are already in the works to put one of the county's recently shuttered library branches to a new, less expensive use.

The Checkit Outlet on South Tryon Street, which largely served the city's uptown workers, could reopen this summer as an all-volunteer sales outlet for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system's used books.

Details are still being worked out. But Wells Fargo reportedly has offered to forgo a year's rent - $36,000 - for the Checkit space. The Friends of the Library, which would run the used-book outlet, estimates it could raise as much as $200,000 over its first two years.

Related articles:
A reduced future.  (6/23/2010)
Interlocal cooperation pact.  (6/22/2010)
Three branches close.  (6/19/2010)
Town of Mint Hill perspective.  (6/18/2010)
Five towns tentatively OK $730,000 for libraries.  (6/18/2010)
Carmel, two other branches to close.  (6/16/2010)
Now that the ax has fallen.  (6/16/2010)
Commissioners to vote on budget today.  (6/15/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries:  It's complicated.  (6/9/2010)
Mayor wins straw vote at emotional council meeting.  (6/7/2010)
Editorial:  Should city 'stay in its lane' on libraries.  (6/4/2010)
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.  (4/30/2010Library 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)

Amen to Neil Gaiman

Link to June 24 Telegraph article, "Neil Gaiman says closing libraries would be 'a terrible mistake'".

Excerpt:   Neil Gaiman said librarians were "more important than ever" in the internet age. 

His comments came as he received one of the world's most high profile literary award for children's books, the CILIP Carnegie Medal, for his novel The Graveyard Book.

Gaiman, 49, is the first person ever to have been awarded both Britain's Carnegie Medal and the US Newbery Medal – considered the two most important children's literary awards – for the same book.

The Carnegie Medal is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

30th Anniversary of Duluth's Central Library

Duluth Public Library

 

Three Candidates Running in Wisconsin's 56th Assembly District

The 56th district covers largely rural portions of Outagamie and Winnebago counties.  The current representative, Roger Roth, is one of a number of Republican candidates running for the 8th Congressional District.

Link to June 24 Appleton Post-Crescent article, "Former Town of Menasha board supervisor Jay Schroeder joins race for Assembly seat".

Michelle Litjens 

Jim Pleuss

Jay Schroeder has just announced.  No campaign website yet. 

Massachusetts State Budget Includes Cuts in Aid to Cities and Towns

According to statistics gathered by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Massachusetts public libraries received 87% of their funding from local sources in 2007.

The worry that 'the cuts will hit home locally'  is likely to be realized -- if it hasn't already.

Springfield (Massachusetts) City Library

Where Retiring Guy was a regular visitor, 1976-1978

Link to June 24 Boston Globe article, "Budget would cut services, local aid".

Excerpt: State lawmakers last night completed a $27.6 billion budget plan for next fiscal year that would cut local aid for cities and towns, require all government offices to remain open on Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day, and impose a softer crackdown on illegal immigrants than the measure approved by senators last month.

A group of six House and Senate negotiators had been hammering out the final budget, which includes a broad range of policy and spending plans, behind closed doors since June 7, trying to reconcile differences between plans passed earlier this year by the two legislative bodies.

But the lawmakers were thrown off course in recent days as they were forced to plug an additional $687 million gap to account for federal stimulus money that had been expected to keep some state programs afloat, but is now far from certain to arrive.

Boston Public Library's Catch-22: The City of Boston also stands to lose at least $2.4 million more in library funding if, as planned, it closes four branches during the next budget year. The Legislature’s compromise plan includes language taking that money away to prevent closings, even though the city says it is forced to close the branches largely because state funding has been declining in recent years.

Congratulations to the Coos Bay Public Library on its 100th Anniversary

Coos Bay Public Library

 Coos Bay, Oregon

Groton Public Library Turns 50

Love the 'Chiclets'.

Link to June 20 The Day article, "Groton Public Library celebrates five decades".

Excerpt:  When the town's public library opened, with just about 6,000 books in its collection, the head librarian, Martha Hagerty, noticed a problem: People weren't returning the books they checked out.

"One day Mrs. Hagerty asked me and another lady to get in our cars and go knock on doors and try to get our books back," said Donna Clark, who worked in the library full-time in the late-1960s, then part-time through the '80s. "As you can imagine, we had a bit of trouble."

GPO at 150

Link

No Bar for 'Library Reference Collection'?

GraphJam

Add This Report to Your Reading List: 'Demographic Change and the Future of the Parties'

About Ruy Teixeira

FiveThirtyEight blogpost

Excerpt:  (1st paragraph of 'Introduction and summary' section):
The tectonic plates of American politics are shifting. A powerful concatenation of demographic forces is transforming the American electorate and reshaping both major political parties. And, as demographic trends continue, this transformation and reshaping will deepen. The Democratic Party will become even more dominated by the emerging constituencies that gave Barack Obama his historic 2008 victory, while the Republican Party will be forced to move toward the center to compete for these constituencies. As a result, modern conservatism is likely to lose its dominant place in the GOP.

In This Case, Be Thankful the Library is Not a City Service

The Maywood Cesar Chavez Library is part of the County of Los Angeles Public Library.

Link to June 23 Los Angeles Times article, "Maywood hires others to run the city".

Excerpt: The action is yet another blow for the predominantly Latino city of 45,000 residents densely packed into about 1.2 square miles in the heavily industrial southeast part of Los Angeles County. Officials estimate about half the city's residents are illegal immigrants.

Under the city's plan, the Sheriff's Department will take over patrols. The neighboring city of Bell will take over other municipal services, including staffing Maywood's City Hall, saving the city an estimated $164,375 a year, officials said. The changes would take effect July 1.

Contracting with Bell is the most cost-effective way to ensure that residents still get basic public services, Aguirre said. "Our streets will be cleaned, our potholes will be filled, this is not affecting any of that," he said.

Book with gay themes for young readers take off

Link to June 23 San Jose Mercury News article.

Excerpt: Reads that speak to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens have traveled light years since John Donovan's "I'll Get There. It Better be Worth the Trip" led the way in 1969, now long out of print. The book on the confused world of 13-year-old Davy and the jock he kisses will be reissued in September from Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide.

 "This book made Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) very nervous," said Brian Farrey, editor of the new edition. "They weren't sure how people were going to take to it. It was the one that said it can be done for teens and there won't be people with pitchforks and torches waiting for you at the door. It opened the closet to teens and said you are not alone."

Well before gay characters began popping up in the mainstream on TV and at the movies, librarians embraced "I'll Get There," said Kathleen T. Horning, director of the Cooperative Children's Book Center of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Another important forerunner was Nancy Garden's 1982 "Annie on My Mind" and its unabashedly happy ending for two 17-year-old girls who fall in love.

"Previous to that, there would be some awful car accident or one of the gay characters would die," Horning said, acknowledging that thread in "I'll Get There." "There was a sense that the gay character had to be punished somehow. They were kind of depressing."

A Reduced Future for Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries

Link to June 23 Charlotte Observer article, "Library future: No Novello, fewer hours".

Excerpt: Even with last-minute support from local governments, the Mecklenburg County library system will be vastly different as of July 6.

The current 20 branches - down from 24 in the past week - will remain open.

But on Thursday, the library board votes on a 2011 operating plan that will cut branch hours by 26 percent, cut staff by 18 percent, and end programs such as the popular Novello Festival of Reading after 20 years.

All this comes in response to an $11 million cut from the county, which is the system's chief source of money.

Even the Main Library and ImaginOn will take hits, shutting down Sundays and Mondays during the summer.

The proposed changes were forged from months of community meetings, government concessions and library cutbacks that included 120 layoffs in April.

Related articles:
Interlocal cooperation pact.  (6/22/2010)
Three branches close.  (6/19/2010)
Town of Mint Hill perspective.  (6/18/2010)
Five towns tentatively OK $730,000 for libraries.  (6/18/2010)
Carmel, two other branches to close.  (6/16/2010)
Now that the ax has fallen.  (6/16/2010)
Commissioners to vote on budget today.  (6/15/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries:  It's complicated.  (6/9/2010)
Mayor wins straw vote at emotional council meeting.  (6/7/2010)
Editorial:  Should city 'stay in its lane' on libraries.  (6/4/2010)
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.  (4/30/2010Library 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)

Census population estimates by place: 2000-2009

Search your location.

 up-down-up

Up up and away! 

Capital Times Takes Mayor Dave to Task for Lack of Focus on Digital Issues

Link to June 22 Capital Times editorial, "Madison remains digitally backward".

Excerpt: This year’s State of the City address paid little attention to the challenge of ensuring that every Madison home and business has easy, reliable and free access to high-speed Internet service. But that is the essential issue when it comes to connecting Madison to the world.

 Madison has not done a good job in this regard. The city is far behind others in the U.S.* and abroad when it comes to ease and reliability. And it has failed when it comes to the essential step, which is ensuring that the services are available to all free of charge.

Cities that are serious about economic and community development recognize that visitors should be able to flip open their laptops and get online without any hassle or charges — especially at airports and in other public spaces. They also recognize citizens should have the same freedom and flexibility in their homes, shops and offices. That’s not the case in Madison. And the city’s failure to get ahead of the technological curve hinders our development far more than does a debate about whether to build a new hotel and condo complex.

*Perhaps Minneapolis was one of the cities the editors had in mind.

Wireless Minneapolis

...or this. 

Digital Access Project 

Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2009-2010

Link to Executive Summary.

No surprises here for those of you who provide these services, or those, like Retiring Guy, who check the pulse of libraries on a daily basis.

Executive summary subject headings:

• Libraries Aid Job Seekers.
• E-Government Support Grows
• Funding Tightens
• Urban Libraries Under Pressure  [Editorial comment:  "Paging the National Summer Learning Association".]
• What's Next
• Conclusion:  Data from the 2009-2010 Study describe a mixed landscape and paradoxical environment. Libraries have expanded technology resources, particularly around workforce development and e-government, to meet rising demand, but many are hampered by outmoded buildings and funding reductions that threaten every aspect of service, including available staff and hours open. Public libraries need sustained support for their services to ensure that the safety net they provide to millions in the United States remains in place.

Milwaukee Public Library's Green Roof Project

Related article:
Milwaukee Public Library installs green roof. (5/8/2010)

Porter Memorial Branch Library Construction Moving at a Fast Clip

Newton County Library System

Why the Disconnect Between the National Summer Learning Association and Public Libraries?

Waiting to be enlightened.

National Summer Learning Association

Link to guest column by Ron Fairchild, chief executive officer of the non-profit organizationNational Summer Learning Association, in the June 21 Washington Post.

Retiring Guy finds it puzzling that Mr. Fairchild and his organization can't seem to build a common agenda with the nation's public libraries.  (Or vice-versa, for that matter.)

574-word article.  "Library" (or "libraries") not found.

The search term "public library" produces the same results.

And on the flip side....

California's 6347-square-mile Siskiyou County Faces Worst-Case Scenario: No Libraries

Siskiyou County Library

Link to June 21 Los Angeles Times article,

Excerpt: The worst-case scenario? The Board of Supervisors could adopt a budget Tuesday that would shutter the entire system by the end of the month, making Siskiyou — an area bigger than Connecticut — the only county in California without public libraries.

Local book lovers are scrambling to figure out a way to avert that disaster. The state librarian visited recently and pledged to help. Friends of the Library chapters in several of the scenic towns near the Oregon border have vowed to raise money.

But the choices facing county officials are stark. Can they afford to keep a skeletal library system open, even for a few months? Should they save the Hornbrook fire station near the county's northern edge? If they don't, ambulance response time for an accident on Interstate 5 will be 45 minutes. And how deep should the Sheriff's Department be cut? What should they do with the county museum?

"They're to the point where it's a crisis," said State Librarian Stacey Aldrich. "The only free Internet access available to 60% of Californians is through their public library. They use it for job hunting, resume writing, gaining computer skills, online homework help."

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries' Interlocal Cooperation Pact

Link to June 22 Charlotte Observer article, "Mecklenburg's towns chip in; libraries to stay open".

Unfortunately, it's the only piece of good news -- as you'll read.

Excerpt:   The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library says it has received enough help from the county’s towns and from the City of Charlotte to keep its remaining 20 branches open during the coming fiscal year.

The library says the libraries will be open under shortened hours, but it is establishing geographic “pods” to maximize the operating hours of branches in various regions of Mecklenburg County.

However, library officials say they still will have to lay off 66 employees – or 18 percent of the remaining staff. That comes on top of 120 layoffs in April.

In addition, library officials say they will convene a citizen task force to help develop an operating “model” for the future.

Here's the tally.

Cornelius: $175,000 contribution.

Davidson: Forgiveness of a $37,000 lease payment, and solicitation of donations estimated to be $175,000.

Huntersville: No direct financial contribution, but in-kind contributions such as programs, cross-promotion, and police presence in and around the North County Regional Library.

Matthews: Restructuring a lease to defer the current payment of $205,000 to 2018.

Mint Hill: $175,000 contribution.

Pineville: No contribution. There is no library branch in Pineville.

Related articles:
Three branches close.  (6/19/2010)
Town of Mint Hill perspective.  (6/18/2010)
Five towns tentatively OK $730,000 for libraries.  (6/18/2010)
Carmel, two other branches to close.  (6/16/2010)
Now that the ax has fallen.  (6/16/2010)
Commissioners to vote on budget today.  (6/15/2010)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries:  It's complicated.  (6/9/2010)
Mayor wins straw vote at emotional council meeting.  (6/7/2010)
Editorial:  Should city 'stay in its lane' on libraries.  (6/4/2010)
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.  (4/30/2010Library 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)

Four Boston Public Library Branch Closings Delayed

Boston Public Library

Link to June 22 Boston Globe article, "Library closings temporarily averted.  But officials still foresee
other uses for the sites".

Excerpt:   Four Boston libraries targeted for closing at the end of the summer won a temporary reprieve and will remain open at least through the winter, the Menino administration announced yesterday.
The city added another $654,000 to the library’s balance sheet, giving the system enough money for at least another nine months. The extra money buys more time to work with each affected neighborhood to make plans for the buildings when the library branches do close down.

“We’ve been listening to the community, and we understand the desire for more planning time,’’ said Amy E. Ryan, president of the Boston Public Library. “This extension demonstrates the commitment of the city to keep these facilities open and accessible to the community. We believe that with continued input from the public, a new use for these buildings can be found.’’

Related articles:
Boston Magazine profiles Amy Ryan, Public Library President.  (6/5/2010)
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)

Library Flash Mob, Vancouver BC

Marquette County (Wisconsin) Librarians Build a Common Agenda with their County Board

This exemplary piece of library advocacy deserves wide distribution.

Thanks to Winnefox Library System Assistant Director Mark Arend and Winnefox Graphic Artist Renee Miller for permission to reprint here.

And a big thanks to the 6 Marquette County library directors for taking the time to make an informative presentation to the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday.

Fingers Stop Walking, Start Gliding

SWYPE

Link to June 21 New York Times article, "Phone Software Takes the Taps out of Typing".

Excerpt:    Back in the 1990s, typing out “hello” on most cellphones required an exhausting 13 taps on the number keys, like so: 44-33-555-555-666. 

That was before the inventor Cliff Kushler, based here in Seattle, and a partner created software called T9, which could bring that number down to three by guessing the word being typed.

Now there is a new challenge to typing on phones. More phones are using virtual keyboards on a touch screen, replacing physical buttons. But pecking out a message on a small piece of glass is not so easy, and typos are common.

Mr. Kushler thinks he has a solution once again. His new technology, which he developed with a fellow research scientist, Randy Marsden, is called Swype, and it allows users to glide a finger across the virtual keyboard to spell words, rather than tapping out each letter.



The retro way to use your fingers.

The 100 Most Influential U.S. Taglines Since 1948.

This one's #16.