Retiring Guy Goes on a Semi-Hiatus

The boys and I leave tomorrow morning for Warren, Pennsylvania to visit family. My mom, who will be 90 in October, has recently experienced a couple of setbacks in her health -- anemia and glaucoma. Last week she was hospitalized for the first time since 1957, when my brother Dale was born.

"I feel like I become an old lady overnight," she said to me in a phone conversation earlier this week.

My brothers and I, along with Andy and Eddie's help, plan to reorganize and remodel the first floor of the house (the last photo in this series) to accommodate Mom's changing needs.

The following photos were taken in October 2008.

Warren County Courthouse

The Point (at Pennsylvania Avenue East and Second Avenue

Liberty Street (the heart of Warren's business district back in the day).

View of the Allegheny River, looking west, 

from Pennsylvania Avenue West and Hickory Street

A view from the top of Division Street.

Warren Library Association

The Nelson home since 1957.

6 One-Week Furloughs for New Jersey Public Library Staff?

Rutherford Public Library

Link to July 22 The Leader article, "Rutherford Public Library may have to close for six weeks".

Excerpt: Even as its supporters continue to fervently lobby the Rutherford Borough Council for more money, the Rutherford Public Library is bracing for budget cuts. The library’s board of trustees has prepared an impact statement describing how it will cope if the borough reduces its funds by a certain percentage.

A 30-percent reduction in borough funding, as proposed by the council in its introduced budget, would threaten the library’s position in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System, by reducing its hours below state-mandated levels, the impact statement indicates.

“I never thought in my career that I would see the day where I was begging for a 10-percent cut,” said Library Director Jane Fisher at the Tuesday, July 13 meeting of the borough council. “But, I am begging on behalf of your residents, and your borough workers.”

State law requires that libraries in municipalities of Rutherford’s size be open 45 hours per week, including some weekend and evening hours, according to the board’s report. With a 30-percent reduction in municipal funding, that would not be possible.

Fractured Publishing Tales

With apologies to...


Link to July 23 Mashable post, "Amazon’s Exclusive New Publishing Deal Threatens to Fracture E-book Market".

Excerpt: The Wylie Agency has signed a deal to bring the e-book editions of 20 classic titles, including Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, exclusively to Amazon’s Kindle Store for two years, the company announced Thursday.

The future of e-book distribution = ...a long line of disagreements...

What this means for readers = ...a frustrating future in e-book purchasing...

Linda Holmes Contemplates Libraries as the Next Pop-Culture Wave

Libraries:  Better for you and less fattening than cupcakes.

(And as you might expect, not all of the "cupcakes" images at everystockphoto are a suitable accompaniment to his post.)

Link to June 20 NPR story, "Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries". (Probably old news by now!)

The whys?

Libraries get in fights.  (As in Mary Dempsey k.o.'s Anna Davlantes)

Librarians know stuff.

Libraries are green and local.

Libraries will give you things for free.

"Open to the public" means "some days, you really have to wonder about people."

There seems to be a preposterous level of goodwill.

And, I might add....

Can you spell plutocracy?

Talk about NOT knowing your candidate!

Merriam-Webster

Link to July 23 New York Times article, "With Voters Angry, More of the Rich Run as Populist Outsiders".

Excerpt:    When Jeff Greene, a k a the Meltdown Mogul, recently brought his Democratic campaign for the United States Senate to a poor Miami neighborhood rife with the kinds of subprime mortgages that he became a billionaire betting against, did he:

A) Arrive in a Cadillac Escalade S.U.V., before stumping for energy conservation;

B) Tell the crowd that he was “fed up and frustrated” with Washington while suggesting job-creation ideas previously proposed by Washington politicians;

C) Receive a raucous welcome as an outsider who could turn Florida around.

The answer? All of the above, of course.

Call it the Great Recession paradox. Even as voters express outrage at the insider culture of big bailouts and bonuses, their search for political saviors has led them to this: a growing crowd of über-rich candidates, comfortable in boardrooms and country clubs, spending a fortune to remake themselves into populist insurgents.

The number of self-financed candidates has crept up the last few election cycles, and this year seems to be on pace for another uptick.


You can indeed fool some of the people all of the time.

"The Importance of a Library as a Real Place"

Malden (Massachusetts) Public Library

Thanks to Joan Wickersham for today's required reading.

Link to July 23 Boston Globe hyperlocal news, "A library tells a story of its own".

Excerpt:   There's A wonderful line in Proust when the narrator’s grandmother, describing the steeple of the local church, says, “If it could play the piano, I am sure it would really play.’’ Some buildings are like that: they have a personality that goes beyond mere function and physical appearance. If you met the Malden Public Library at a party, you would come away feeling that you’d met an eloquent character who really knows how to tell a story. The library would tell you a lot about what America was like and how it has changed. It would speak about the history of architecture and art, of industrialism and philanthropy, of immigration, of economics, of literature and technology. And it would tell you about the hard choices that go into running a popular public institution in changing times.

[snip]

At a time when information is digitized, when the internet makes everything virtual, when the future of libraries and books is fiercely debated, this encounter with the Malden Public Library is a reminder of the importance of the library as a real place. A library isn’t just one place, it is many places, with many stories, many meanings, and many possibilities for the future.

Get to Know Your Candidates

(Like Retiring Guy, some of you may need more columns.)

Link to Wisconsin Library Association Legislation and Advocacy page (where the above grid should soon be available).

Link to July 23 Green Bay Press Gazette guest column by Dan Linssen, "Take the time to know your candidates".

Excerpt: Complaining about politicians is a national pastime. We blame them for everything, then whine that the country is "headed in the wrong direction."

But who puts these people in charge? Who gives them the authority to make and enforce our laws? We do. And we do a pretty lousy job of it. More effort goes into qualifying and selecting a waitress at the local truck stop than we put into selecting people to lead our government. (As a consequence, most truck stops have pretty good waitresses.)

Recently, South Carolina voters hopefully embarrassed themselves by electing Alvin Greene as their Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. If you don't know who Alvin Greene is, then you really need to brush up on what's happening to our democratic process. But you're not alone, because apparently the 59 percent of voters who elected him didn't know who he was, either.


Other useful sources:

LINK

LINK

LINK

June 2010 Unemployment Rates for Wisconsin Cities

Note:  The "Appleton City -- Winnebago County" percentage is likely to be an anomaly due to an unusually small sample. Or it could also be a misprint. The unemployment rate for the entire Appleton area is 10.1%.

Found at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's website.

Launching Interest in Summer Reading at Indiana's Greenwood Public Library

Greenwood Public Library

Link to July 22 Indianapolis Star article, "Young readers build catapults as part of Greenwood library program".

Excerpt: "Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds" is this year's theme, and children have been learning about medieval times since the program kicked off in June. Since then, more than 1,500 adults and children have signed up for the program.

In addition to building catapults, the youngsters have learned about tapestries, knights, gothic calligraphy and more.

The Society for Creative Anachronism also has helped participants understand the time period by holding a medieval fair at the library earlier this month.

For 7-year-old Sophie Shackelford, one of the highlights of the July 14 event was making her own catapult to launch a button. After fixing a sticky-tape problem, she launched a marshmallow more than four feet.

New Waunakee Library At Least a Few Years Away

Waunakee Public Library

Link to July 21 Waunakee Tribune article, "Village board confirms no new library till 2013".

Excerpt: The Waunakee Village Board reiterated a stance it had taken several months ago Monday, stating again that a library is not in the cards at least until 2013, if not 2015.

The issue rose again recently when a proposal for a library was one of two submitted for the E. Main and N. Madison Street site.

Related articles:
Library director describes crowded conditions.  (3/4/2010)
Plans for new library stall.  (2/11/2010)
Village board says "no library without referendum".  (1/21/2010)
Waunakee resurrects library plan.  (10/17/2009)
New library tops capital projects wish list.  (6/5/2009)

Work Begins on Multi-Purpose Livingston County Facility

In Kentucky.

Link to July 21 Paducah Sun article, "Volunteers seek $200K to stock new library.  Livingston group hopes to purchase at least 10,000 titles".  (Subscription required to access full text.)

Excerpt:   Angela Zimmerman won’t let a $200,000 obstacle slow her down.

The self-described parent-teacher organization mom said it may be more overwhelming than raising money for playground equipment, but she ranks stocking shelves of the county’s new library before it opens next year as possible with hard work and determination.

Livingston County, Kentucky

From the webpage description:  The building will be three (3) floors with each floor covering approximately 9000 square feet for a total of 27,000 square feet and it will house the Sheriff and County Clerk on the first floor; the Judge Executive, County Attorney, Child Support, and PVA Office on the second floor; and the Library on the third floor.

Big Year* for Lexington Public Library

(Yeah, it's a Kentucky kinda night.)

(*Fiscal year July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010)

Lexington Public Library

Link to July 18 Lexington Herald-Leader article, "Lexington library reports record circulation".

Excerpt:   Lexington Public Library patrons last year checked out at record 2.92 million items — roughly 10 items per Lexington resident.

It's an increase of 5.5 percent from the previous year, according to a press release.
Books made up 77 percent of the total, with DVDs and videos making up 17 percent and music 6 percent.

The number of visitors to the library's six locations also increased by 10 percent, totaling almost 2 million. Items where checked during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Prospect Kentucky's Lawrence C. Falk Library

Lawrence C. Falk Library

Link to July 21 Louisville Courier-Journal article, "Prospect library seeks patrons".

Excerpt: Before the Prospect Reading Center opened eight years ago, residents who wanted to borrow a library book had to travel 10 miles to Middletown or pay a $24 fee to use the Oldham County library in Goshen.

The reading center was a project of former Mayor Lawrence C. "Lonnie" Falk, who died in 2006. It opened in City Hall with 1,350 books in March 2002. Today, it has 3,200 titles and is known as the Lawrence C. Falk Library.

Officials hope calling it a library rather than a reading center will clear up some confusion, said Paul McAllister, chairman of the library committee .

New Lebanon Junction Library Branch Now Open

Lebanon Junction Library Branch

Link to July 21 Louisville Courier-Journal article, "New chapter begins at library".

Excerpt: The $1.5 million library comes after four to five years of work finding a suitable location for the new facility, designing the structure and construction.

The library's staff had been in the old cinderblock library for roughly 25 years and, given its small size, holding teen and children's programs had been a challenge, they said.

"The other one was a cozy, little library, and we really enjoyed it," Yocum said. "But we definitely needed something bigger."

The new library has separate children's and teens' sections, along with a study room, 13 computers and a large meeting room that can hold 55 people.

Lebanon Junction is part of the Bullitt County Public Library.

Sorry, but Retiring Guy can't help himself.  Someone just made a reference to one of his all-time favorite movies.

Great Recession Not Putting a Dent in Netflix's Revenues

Netflix:  Is everybody happy?

Link to July 21 Mashable post, "Netflix Users Watching More Movies and TV Shows Online".

Excerpt: Netflix subscribers are continuing to consume more and more of their video content online, with 61% of them watching at least 15 minutes of streaming video during the company’s second quarter.

That’s nearly double the number of subscribers doing so last year (37%) and a decent bump from the company’s first quarter, where 55% watched at least 15 minutes using the Watch Instantly service.

Netflix is one of the reasons -- Retiring Guy hesitates to make this confession -- that my older son's library card has expired.  (But then I did catch him reading today -- a book from his personal library.)

READ

Search Me

Link to Pew Research Center Daily Number for July 21, "57% - Search: Me".

Here's what I discovered googling myself on April 10, 2008.

The other Paul Everett Nelson
(from Auburn, Washington)

Wheaton City Council Still Quibbling Over Library Hours Ordinance

Link to July 21 Daily Herald article, "Should city mandate Wheaton library hours?"

Excerpt: On Tuesday, Councilman Todd Scalzo said there's no need for the law because library board members agreed to reopen the facility from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Fridays beginning in September.

"This ordinance can't be any more unnecessary," Scalzo said. "As far as I am concerned, the issue is totally moot."

Still, Councilman Howard Levine said he believes the ordinance is necessary and should go to a vote Aug. 2.

"I think the vote will provide some finality on this issue and give direction to the library for the future," Levine said. "Then we can all move on."

The proposed ordinance was drafted after city council members strongly criticized the library board for implementing Friday closures to make up for a $300,000 budget cut.

Some council members said they wanted to make it easier to remove library trustees who ignored the city's wishes. So in addition to restoring Friday hours, the proposed ordinance would reduce the term of future library board members from three years to two.

Library board President Colleen McLaughlin called the ordinance "nonsensical" and "unenforceable."

Related articles:
Mayor, council bully library board to restore Friday hours.  (7/17/2010)
Wheaton mayor, council members continue their hissy fit.  (7/5/2010)
Apparently, Scalzo's colleagues didn't take his advice.  (6/30/2010)
'Take a deep breath' advises Wheaton council member.  (6/20/2010)
No Friday hours at library irks council members.  (6/10/2010)
Bad news/good news.  (5/21/2010)
More budget cuts could lead to no Friday hours.  (3/20/2010)

Outpouring of Support for Wheaton Public Library.  (3/6/2010)

Thought of the John Godfrey Saxe poem while reading this column.

The Blind Men and the Elephant.  (Guess that means we're mixing our metaphors here.)

Link to July 21 column by Richard Cohen in the San Jose Mercury News, "Americans want to know — Who is Barack Obama?"

You'd Be Up in Arms Too

The City of Bell

(No links to budget info.)

Link to July 21 Los Angeles Times article, "Bell council seeks resignation of 3 city officials".

Excerpt: Rizzo earns nearly $800,000 a year, making him the highest paid city manager in California and possibly the nation. Adams makes $457,000 — 50% more the Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck — and Spaccia makes $376,288, more than the top administrator for Los Angeles County.

The salaries, revealed by The Times last week, sparked protests in the small, predominantly working-class town southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The sources, who spoke to The Times on the condition that they not be named because of personnel rules, said attorneys for the city are in talks with attorneys for the three administrators.

For demographic information about Bell, California (population 36,664) go to this link.

The Bell Library is a branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library System.

Charlotte Area Book Stores Help Out the Library

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries

Link to July 21 Charlotte Observer article, "Book stores to help libraries".

Excerpt: To help out, 18 bookstores in the greater Charlotte area have agreed to hold their own three-day book sales and give a portion of profits to the library's book-buying fund.

"Customers will be asked if they're interested in supporting local libraries, and if they're interested, 10 percent of their purchases for that day will go to the libraries," said Edward Lee, general manager of the Books-A-Million at Concord Mills Mall.

Each participating store created its own policy.

Related articles:
Libraries hope to expand hours with volunteers at 4 branches.  (7/20/2010)
Another change in hours.  (7/18/2010)
Matthews branch library sends out plea for volunteers.  (7/13/2010)
Most county commissioners cool to sales tax hike.  (7/9/2010)
New hours in effect.  (7/6/2010)
Charlotte Observer editorial board laments the passing of the Novello Festival of the Book.  (6/28/2010)
Shuttered branch could  become Friends' used book store.  (6/25/2010)
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)

Bonus Brouhaha at Free Library of Philadelphia

Source:  Wikipedia

Link to July 21 Philadelphia Daily News article, "Controller: Library chief not entitled to 236G".

Excerpt: Before the arrangement was ruled improper in mid-1999 by the then-city solicitor, Shelkrot was receiving a "supplemental retirement benefit" from the nonprofit foundation.

Then, after the Free Library Board of Trustees was unable to get Shelkrot a raise in 2000, he began receiving "periodic bonuses," according to a legal opinion from Smith to Chief Integrity Officer Joan Markman.

Smith wrote that the library's board of trustees was "determined to get around that prohibition and continue to pay Mr. Shelkrot the extra compensation that the Board believed he deserved."

Wisconsin, You're No Lake Wobegon

Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Link to July 20 Wisconsin State Journal article, "Wisconsin's average state, local taxes and income per person are below U.S. average".

The average Wisconsin resident paid $40 less in state and local taxes and had an income almost 6 percent less than the average American in 2008, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Wisconsin Budget Project.

Revenue collected in Wisconsin is further below the national average if all state and locally generated revenue is accounted for, including fees and taxes. The state and local government revenue in Wisconsin was $6,152 per person, $236 below the national average.

In per capita federal revenue, the state received $1,310 per person compared with a national average of $1,582. Wisconsin's ranking in per capita federal revenue dropped to 46th from 35th in 2000.

The analysis also found state and local government spending per capita was $7,541 in 2008 — 4.4 percent below the national average — which brings the state down to a ranking of 22nd. Wisconsin was ranked 12th in 2000.

In state and local taxes relative to income, Wisconsin went from 4th in 2000 to 13th in 2008.

Wonder if this analysis will have any impact here?

See a Pattern Here?

LINK to Glenn Beck's ratings go south

LINK

LINK

Redistricting & the 68.7 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality

Link to July 20 Capital Times article, "Redistricting means Dane County may gain Legislative seats".

Excerpt: Thirty square miles surrounded by reality.

Since the phrase was first muttered 30-plus years ago by one-term Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus, the geographic footprint of the capital city has more than doubled. As Madison's borders expanded, so did its population and that of Dane County.

In politics, population leads to regional power. The more people there are living in an area, the more representatives those residents are entitled to in the Legislature, which is why news that Dane County's population has increased by 50,000, enough to warrant greater representation in the Capitol, may be a hard pill to swallow for some lawmakers.

Well, lookie here!

Source:  Wisconsin Blue Book, 2009-2010

The population increases in Wisconsin's reliably conservative counties outpace Dane County.  How about that?!

Thanks for the full story, Jessica.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries Hope to Expand Hours with Volunteers at 4 Branches

Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries

Link to July 20 Charlotte Observer article,

Excerpt: The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is putting out a call for volunteers, hoping it can recruit enough help to extend operating hours at branches in four suburbs.

The volunteers are being sought, library officials say, so branches in Cornelius, Davidson, Matthews and Mint Hill can remain open longer than the current 32-hour, four-week schedule each week.

The library system was forced to cut operating hours after its budget was slashed by county commissioners for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The volunteer recruitment effort is part of an agreement reached between the library and governments of the towns, in which the towns would provide additional funding for the library system.

Related articles:
Another change in hours.  (7/18/2010)
Matthews branch library sends out plea for volunteers.  (7/13/2010)
Most county commissioners cool to sales tax hike.  (7/9/2010)
New hours in effect.  (7/6/2010)
Charlotte Observer editorial board laments the passing of the Novello Festival of the Book.  (6/28/2010)
Shuttered branch could  become Friends' used book store.  (6/25/2010)
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)

Hours Reduced at Los Angeles Public Library for 3rd Time in 7 Months

Los Angeles Public Library

Link to July 20 Los Angeles Times article, "L.A.'s city libraries eliminate Sunday and Monday hours".

Excerpt: Libraries throughout Los Angeles were shuttered Monday as service cuts made in response to the city's budget woes took effect.

The Los Angeles Public Library system dropped to a five-day-a-week schedule, with doors closed Sunday and Monday. The system includes the Central Library downtown, eight regional libraries and 64 branches.

The reduced schedule comes after the city cut $22 million and 328 full-time positions from this year's library budget.

Many of the jobs eliminated were vacant or early-retirement positions, but the library system also sent layoff notices to more than 100 employees three weeks ago, library spokesman Peter Persic said. Those laid off included 20 full-time librarians.

The move to a five-day week, which library system commissioners approved June 10 in response to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's proposed budget cuts, was the third reduction in library service hours since December.

Related articles:
Don't let the library get washed away.  (7/19/2010)
The Middleton Public Library is open more hours than the Los Angeles Central Library.  (7/16/2010)
Los Angeles Board of Library Commissioners does Mayor's bidding.  (6/12/2010)
Another elective body thinks libraries are dispensable.  (5/5/2010)
Cutting library hours:  Charlotte Mecklenburg this week, LA next week, who's next?  (4/6/2010)
More news under the same headline.  (3/24/2010)

Save America's Libraries (The Los Angeles Story).  (3/23/2010)

Camden New Jersey Mayor Proposes 70% Cut in Library Funding

Mayor's Office

Camden, New Jersey

mayor@ci.camden.nj.us 

Link to July 19 Philadelphia Inquirer article, "Funding cuts threaten Camden libraries".

Excerpt: Mayor Dana L. Redd is slashing more than two-thirds of city funding for Camden's libraries, a move that could close all three branches.

In the best-case scenario, according to a library board member, one library would remain open with limited hours and a skeletal staff.

But all three branches could shut down, leaving many children in New Jersey's poorest city with no place to do homework, and cutting off Internet access for residents looking for jobs.

"That's a distinct possibility," said board member Frank Fulbrook.

Last fiscal year, the libraries operated on $935,000 from the city, plus $88,000 in state aid. This fiscal year, which began July 1, the library will receive $281,666.64, about a third of what the library board requested, according to a letter Redd sent to the library's board of trustees last week. Part of that money, about $20,000, was already spent last fiscal year.

More bad news for Camden's Little Citizens with Big Dreams.

Save L. A. Libraries!

Link to Save L. A. Libraries website.

Related articles:
The Middleton Public Library is open more hours than the Los Angeles Central Library.  (7/16/2010)
Los Angeles Board of Library Commissioners does Mayor's bidding.  (6/12/2010)
Another elective body thinks libraries are dispensable.  (5/5/2010)
Cutting library hours:  Charlotte Mecklenburg this week, LA next week, who's next?  (4/6/2010)
More news under the same headline.  (3/24/2010)

Save America's Libraries (The Los Angeles Story).  (3/23/2010)

Gushing Article on 3D TV Doesn't Mention Price -- But I Will

Link to July 18 pcmag.com article, "Is 3D TV Ready for Prime Time?"

Excerpt:  3D TV is a work in progress, and it will be slow to develop as a mainstream product. But there are two market segments that may adopt it quickly. The first is gaming. 3D games deliver an amazingly immersive experience. The other is the adult movie industry. Sources tell me that X-rated movie studios are the major buyer of 3D TV movie making equipment. The sad reality is that the adult industry drove the first major wave of VCR sales. It may well drive the first wave of 3D TVs, as well.

"Sources tell me..."

You're a riot, Tim, a regular riot.

Poet: Kindle "screws everything up."

Link to July 19 San Jose Mercury News article, "Kindle cruel to poetry".

Excerpt:   Billy Collins, one of the country's most popular poets, had never seen his work in e-book form until he recently downloaded his latest collection on his Kindle.

He was unpleasantly surprised.

"I found that even in a very small font that if the original line is beyond a certain length, they will take the extra word and have it flush left on the screen, so that instead of a three-line stanza you actually have a four-line stanza. And that screws everything up," says Collins, a former U.S. poet laureate whose "Ballistics" came out in February.

When he adjusted the size to large print, his work was changed beyond recognition, a single line turning into three, "which is quite distressing," he adds.

Poetry, the most precise and precious of literary forms, is also so far the least adaptable to the growing e-book market.

OK, did anyone else have the same song pop into your head?

"Cruel to be kind,
in the right measure..."

Defacing the Iowa City Public Library

Link to July 19 Cedar Rapids Gazette article, "WATCH: Teens caught on tape vandalizing Iowa City library".

Excerpt: Iowa City Police are asking for help finding three teens who vandalized the Iowa City Public Library.

Back on April 25, 2010 between 4:51 p.m. and 4:53 p.m. surveillance cameras at the Iowa City Public Library captured three males in the alley spray painting the outside of the building. The three suspects appear to be white males in their early teens and they were riding skateboards.

The multi-colored spray paintings may say “South East Side Crime Bang Bang”.

Help Wanted: Internet Content Reviewer (Gut Check Recommended)

Link to July 19 New York Times article, "Policing the Web's Lurid Precincts".

Excerpt: With the rise of Web sites built around material submitted by users, screeners have never been in greater demand. Some Internet firms have tried to get by with software that scans photos for, say, a large area of flesh tones, but nothing is a substitute for a discerning human eye.

The surge in Internet screening services has brought a growing awareness that the jobs can have mental health consequences for the reviewers, some of whom are drawn to the low-paying work by the simple prospect of making money while looking at pornography.

“You have 20-year-old kids who get hired to do content review, and who get excited because they think they are going to see adult porn,” said Hemanshu Nigam, the former chief security officer at MySpace. “They have no idea that some of the despicable and illegal images they will see can haunt them for the rest of their lives.”

Nannies Are Allegedly Still Thriving in Print

"The Godmother"

LINKcat status: 69 copies, 12 checked out

.
Link to July 14 New York Times article, "Nannies Still Draw a Keen Audience".

Excerpt: Years after “The Nanny Diaries,” the satirical 2002 best seller that hit a cultural nerve, the nanny novel lives on, showcasing complex and imperfect nannies whose personal stories intersect with thorny larger questions about race, class, immigration and parenthood.

“There’s an ongoing cultural fascination with this rich drama that plays out in your own home,” said Lucy Kaylin, who did dozens of interviews for her 2007 nonfiction book, “The Perfect Stranger: The Truth About Mothers and Nannies” (Bloomsbury).

Most women (and men) work because they have to, Ms. Kaylin said, so “the completely out-of-touch idle rich lady bossing around an immigrant is becoming cliché,” Ms. Kaylin said. At the same time, “race is a huge issue, for sure,” she said. “The women I interviewed found themselves confronting biases in ways that shocked them.”

Other fiction titles mentioned in the article.

Bad Marie by Marcy Dermanski.

LINKcat status:  2 copies, 8 holds.

My Hollywood by Mona Simpson.

LINKcat status:  9 copies, 26 holds.

Two books constitute a trend?  Well, there is a third -- Minding Ben by Victoria Brown, "due out next year".

Retiring Guy suspects that a skilled reader's advisor would recommend only a handful of the 102 book titles found under the heading of "Nannies--Fiction" to a Nanny Diaries fan.

New London Council Grants Library Board Authority to Choose Site

New London (Wisconsin) Public Library

Link to July 15 Waupaca Now article.

Excerpt: City Council granted the New London Library/Museum Board authorization to choose a future site for a library, during a special meeting held last week. The motion, which passed 7-3, did not include any financial commitment from the City.

Some council members were hesitant.

Alderwoman Lori Dean was skeptical, stating she thought her constituents would be upset over the vote. "I've had several calls from residents saying they don't want a new library," said Dean.

[Sound of alarm clock blaring.] Lori, it seems as though "several" of your constituents would be upset with ANY vote on where to site a new library.

Exploring the New Lisbon Library's Space Needs Options

New Lisbon Memorial Library

Link to July 18 Juneau County Star Times article, "New Lisbon mulls library plans".

Excerpt: The New Lisbon Common Council and Library Board discussed options for an improved library at a special meeting Thursday night.

According to city Administrator Ed Kaelin, the existing building housing the New Lisbon Memorial Library has "a lot of deficiencies," including a leaking roof and inadequate access to updated technology.

Early discussions mainly centered around the need for a brand new library building, which Kaelin said is still one of many options the council is mulling over.

"That's not off the table," he said. "You just have to explore every possible option."

Among those possibilities discussed at the meeting were expanding and repairing the existing facility and building an addition to New Lisbon City Hall to create a municipal complex housing the library.