Reference Librarian to the Rescue; or, No, Folks, It Ain't Wal-Mart

Referred to as an "epic Wal-Mart fail" here.

But here's the real scoop from Taste of Home (12/7/2007), "Grocery Store Goofs With Hanukkah Ham Ad".

Excerpt:    A grocery store in Manhattan made a food faux pas, advertising hams as "Delicious for Chanukah."

Chanukah _ an alternate spelling for Hanukkah _ is the eight-day Jewish holiday that began Tuesday evening, and hams _ as well as pork and other products from pigs _ can't be eaten under Jewish dietary laws.

A woman who saw the mistake over the weekend at the Balducci's store on 14th Street took pictures of the signs and posted them on her blog.

Jennifer Barton, director of marketing, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the signs were changed as soon as the error was noted.

From 5/11/2009 11 Points blogpost, "11 Unbelievably Insensitive (and Often Racist) Holiday Advertisements".

Hoo, boy!!  An urban legend in the making.  By the end of the year, there might be as many as 80 Wal-Mart locations accused of this faux pas.  (Source.)

And about those Vande Rose Farms hams you see in the above screenshots.

Wal-Mart a gourmet retailer?  Fuggedaboutit!!

Building a Common Agenda Continues to Elude Galesburg City Council and Library Board

LINK

Link to December 2 Galesburg (IL) Register-Mail article, "Library could cut materials budget".

Excerpt: The Galesburg Public Library Board is hopeful city leaders will approve an increase for the library’s tax levy.

Even so, at least one board member at Thursday’s meeting proposed cuts on library materials next year if the City Council votes against the requested increase.

A long-standing conflict between the City Council and the library board is expected to culminate next week.

The City Council is scheduled Monday night to take a vote on the city’s property tax levy, which includes the library’s levy.

“I will be happy to see that happen,” said Library Director Pam Van Kirk at Thursday’s board meeting. “ ... At least the process will have been followed.”

Mike Kroll, board treasurer, has said the requested property tax increase translates to $4 for a home assessed at $100,000.

Last year, the city rejected the library’s levy request, forcing library officials to make several cuts. As part of its efforts to reduce costs last year, the library closed on Sundays and reduced its budget by $93,000.


Related article: 
Library looks at bare-bones budget.  (8/21/2010)

Prattville Alabama Declares Financial Emergency, Rescinds Library Funding

LINK

Link to December 4 Montgomery Advertiser article, "Autauga-Prattville library system cuts hours due to budget woes".

Excerpt:   The system gets 90 percent of its funding from the city of Prattville ["The Preferred Community"] and the Autauga County Commission, Earnest said. The City Council repealed its budget about two months ago, declaring that the city was in a state of financial emergency.

The city's budget had funded the library system $265,000, the same amount as last year's ap propriation, records at City Hall show. The county government will give the system $185,000 this fiscal year, which is level fund ing from last year's spending plan.

The remaining 10 percent of the library system's budget comes from state library funds, donations and grants.

Related story:
Prattville keeping open mind on budget. (11/6/2010)

Oshkosh Public Library Has a Roto-Rooter Moment

Link to December 4 Oshkosh Northwestern article, "Public library to reopen today after sewer backup".

Excerpt: The library closed at noon Friday so that plumbers and other contractors could resolve the problems and clean up the affected area. Damage was confined to staff and basement areas. There was no water damage to any public areas of the building.

This Little Mermaid Feels a Little Stuffed

Well, no wonder!

Link to December 3 San Jose Mercury News article, "Library book returned with a little something extra: $7,600".

Excerpt: Donna Nguyen, a clerk at the Santa Teresa Branch library in San Jose, noticed something strange when she was sorting returned books the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

A copy of "The Little Mermaid" was heavier than it should have been. And when Nguyen flipped through the book, she was stunned to find it stuffed with $7,600 worth of $100 bills.

She told her bosses, and they stored the money in a safe place until the relieved customer could retrieve the cash.

Apparently the money was stashed inside the book by a grandmother for safekeeping -- and not just payment for a really, really overdue book.

Let's Hope the Oak Park Police Catch These Perps

What sad sacks if this is what it takes to get a tingle.

LINK

Link to December 3 Chicago Tribune article, "Vandals break library windows … again".

Excerpt: Vandals have hit the Oak Park Public Library’s main branch for the second time in less than three weeks.

Two large rocks were thrown through two windows on the south side of the library, 834 Lake St., between 3:10 and 3:14 a.m. Friday. The windows have been boarded up and police estimated damage at $1,000.

We've Heard This Before: Library Use Up with Fewer Staff to Provide Service

Source:  WebJunction Connecticut

Link to December 4 article in the Hartford Courant, "Conn. libraries have more visitors, smaller staffs".

Excerpt: Connecticut officials say library use statewide is rising, even as library budgets and staffs continue to shrink.

The Connecticut State Library says data submitted by local libraries shows the number of items borrowed in the 2009-2010 budget year was up 4 percent.

Five percent more people also attended library programs than in the previous year.

At the same time, officials say the number of full-time equivalent positions in public libraries is at its lowest level since 2000 and their operating income has dropped.

Link to report.

[Yellow highlights added.]

Most use indicators are up -- visits, circulation, program attendance -- but I'm curious about downward trend in 'Use of Internet Workstations'.  And I surmise the drop in 'Total Registered Borrowers' is the result of a purge of long inactive records.

Burlington Vermont's 'Book Buddies' Program

COTS

Link to December 4 Burlington Free Press article, "'Book Buddies' build community at shelter".

Excerpt: So began another episode of “Book Buddies” at the Champlain shelter, one of three refuges for homeless families operated in Burlington by the Committee on Temporary Shelter. Book Buddies has become an evening story-hour ritual at all three. Volunteers read children’s picture books to anyone who cares to listen. For the younger set, these amount to bedtime stories. When the hour’s up, the volunteers pass out stickers that can be redeemed for prizes.

“We’re thrilled by Book Buddies,” said Rita Markley, COTS executive director. “It does two things. It helps make reading a lot more fun — it greatly enhances what happens in the classroom. And it give the kids the kind of attention that the parents are often too stressed to provide.”

Son Kills Dad with Crossbow at Toronto Public Library Branch

Link to December 3 Toronto Star article.

Excerpt:  Si Cheng, 52, of Toronto, was shot inside an east-end library and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The Main St. library, located just south of Gerrard St. E., was bustling with children and their parents when Cheng was shot around 4 p.m.

Zhou Fang, 24, of Ottawa, was arrested shortly after the attack and has been charged with first-degree murder. Cheng is also referred to in court documents as Si William Cheng.

Reached on Friday afternoon, Const. Tony Vella confirmed that the victim and suspect are father and son.

Flint Public Library Not Likely to Send a Thank-You Note to GM

LINK

Link to November 30 Flint Journal article, "Budget troubles cause Flint Public Library's main branch to close on Mondays".

Excerpt:   Budget reductions are causing the Flint Public Library to cut back on some hours, despite voters in August agreeing to renew — and increase — the taxes they pay to run the 159-year-old institution.

Effective Jan. 31, the library's main location, 1026 E. Kearsley St., will be closed on Mondays.

The library will continue to be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

A recent reevaluation of General Motors taxes caused a budget reduction of about $180,000 for the library.

"Being a good fiduciary agent of the public's trust means making decisions to live within your means while providing the best possible service to the community," interim library director Kay Schwartz said in a news release.

The library's three branches — North Flint, West Flint and Cody — will remain open two days a week but "the days and hours may change," said the release.

Related article:
Citizens for Flint Public Library launch 'Keep Our Library' campaign.  (6/13/2010)

Population of Flint Michigan 1910-2010

                                  1910  1920  1930  1940   1950  1960   1970   1980  1990   2000   2010

Alabama Woman Creates Secret Branch Library in Her Bedroom

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Link to December 2 Anniston (Alabama) Star article, "Woman stole $5,000 worth of books from library".

Excerpt: Anniston police arrested a local woman Wednesday on a felony theft charge of stealing more than 200 books worth about $5,000 from the Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County.

Police originally arrested Regina Smith, 42, on a misdemeanor theft of property charge Nov. 25 after they found four library books illegally in her possession, Investigator Kyle Price said.

Price — the lead investigator on the case — said library officials reported in October that employees had observed a woman stealing two books from library shelves.

After a couple weeks of investigating the case, Price discovered Smith’s identity and went to her Eulaton Road home to interview her about the missing books.

During the course of that interview, Smith handed over four books she said she took from the library. But those books weren’t the ones officials said were missing. With some help from Smith’s daughter, Price eventually discovered that over the past couple of years, Smith had stolen 222 books totaling $5,431.

“We found her bedroom full of them,” Price said.

The library’s acting director, Teresa Kiser, said she and her staff knew many copies of books had systematically gone missing from library shelves.

Newbold town chair "okay with that": $10,000 increase to Rhinelander District Library

LINK

Link to December 2 Rhinelander Daily News article, "Newbold residents pass tax decrease.  Vote forces board to cut $40,000 more from budget".

Excerpt: Newbold’s share in the Rhinelander District Library also went up this year. That is at $144,228, nearly a $10,000 increase from last year. Newbold’s share of the library among the five municipalities is bound by a formula that considers equalized property values and population. Kroll went to the library to try to get the tax reduced but was unsuccessful.

“I was obligated to make the request, it failed, we move on,” Kroll said. “I’m okay with that.”

The Ebook Reader Compatibility Surprise

Link to November 30 Sussex Sun article, "Some e-readers incompatible with library e-books".

Excerpt:     Predicted to be among the biggest sellers this holiday season, e-reading devices - Kindles, nooks, iPads and the like - have mushroomed in popularity over the past year.

Unfortunately, some library users who buy the devices are surprised to learn that the electronic books available through Waukesha County libraries are not compatible with Amazon's Kindle, one of the best-selling electronic reading devices.

It's not a problem limited to Waukesha County, or even to libraries in general. The only electronic books that will work on a Kindle are the ones available for download at Amazon.com, according to David Burleigh, director of marketing for Overdrive, the distributor that provides e-books and other digital content to the member libraries of the Waukesha County Federated Library System (WCFLS).

The problem, Burleigh says, stems from the fact that there are three main operating systems used in e-book publishing: the Kindle system, the Apple system used by the iPad, and the Adobe system used by the Sony Reader, Barnes and Noble's nook, and most other devices. The Adobe system is the one supported by Overdrive, which is the country's largest distributor of online content to libraries, Burleigh said.

Library Research Service

Link to 3/10/2010 Go to Hellman blogpost, "eBooks in Libraries a Thorny Problem, Says Macmillan CEO".

Excerpt:   When my turn came to ask a question, I asked [John] Sargent [CEO of Macmillan] if he had thought about the role of libraries, and particularly public libraries, in ebook distribution. His answer indicated that just as he was not afraid of changing the relationship with Amazon, Sargent is not afraid of changing the publisher's relationship with libraries. In fact, change may well be required.

"That is a very thorny problem", said Sargent. In the past, getting a book from libraries has had a tremendous amount of friction. You have to go to the library, maybe the book has been checked out and you have to come back another time. If it's a popular book, maybe it gets lent ten times, there's a lot of wear and tear, and the library will then put in a reorder. With ebooks, you sit on your couch in your living room and go to the library website, see if the library has it, maybe you check libraries in three other states. You get the book, read it, return it and get another, all without paying a thing. "It's like Netflix, but you don't pay for it. How is that a good model for us?"


Related articles:
Ereader ownership:  Survey says....  (11/30/2010)
David Carnoy asks, "Does the Kindle pay for itself?" (11/29/2010)
Need to repair that ebook reader?  (11/19/2010)
Who uses an ereader:  Survey says....  (9/22/2010)
Book industry wrestles with print vs. pixels.  (9/2/2010)
Coming soon to a screen near you:  Ads in ebooks.  (8/20/2010)
Ebooks now comprise 8/5% of book sales. (8/12/2010)
Genre paperback publishers drops print.  (8/6/2010)
Ebooks and libraries.  (5/4/2010)
Ebooks eliminate a free form of adversiting:  the book jacket.  (3/31/2010)
Ebooks: another round of false promises?  (3/19/2010)
The skinny on ebooks.  (3/8/2010)
Hardcover vs. ebook:  Breaking down the costs.  (3/1/2010)

New London Building Project Update

LINK

Link to December 1 Waupaca Now article, "Library/museum board plans for future".

Excerpt: The New London library/museum board has stepped off the plate to start a whole new ball game for the library's future expansion. 

The board hosted its first expansion meeting Nov. 15 at the library, inviting city council members and interested citizens of the library and museum. The agenda included an overview of the new plan, a tour of the current facilities, a power point presentation of The Past, The Present, and The Future, and an opportunity to address some questions at the end of the meeting.

Mayor Gary Henke reported on the city's position with the library expansion. "The city is in good shape financially, however city council right now is afraid to borrow any money, and with good reason. With our debt limit at 16.6 percent, I'd say we're doing a far cry better than Menasha with their 90 percent."

"Over the past four years we have streamlined and kept our debt low. We can't afford to do anything with this right now, but who knows," said Henke, "in five or six years we may be able to."

Board President Ron Steinhorst presented a new footprint for the new library, across the street from the existing building. He then put his money where his mouth was and announced a $35,000 personal gift to be used by the city for purchasing a part of the property across the street from the existing library and museum.

Related articles:
Council grants library board authority to choose site.  (7/19/2010)
New London library and museum plan unveiled.  (6/28/2010)

Ralph Illick, New Director at Marathon County Public Library, Begins His Duties on January 10

LINK

Link to December 3 Wausau Daily Herald article, "Marathon County Public Library system's next director loves libraries".

Excerpt:    "My parents would take us to the Orlando Public Library every other week, and we'd always hide a little bit when it was time to go," Illick said this week during an interview with the Wausau Daily Herald. "It was always, 'Just 15 more minutes.'"

Those visits instilled a passion for libraries that Illick will carry with him as the new director of the Marathon County Public Library system.

"There are few things that I'm passionate about, but I've seen libraries change people's lives, and that's really where my commitment is," he said.

Illick, 50, was hired last week to replace outgoing library Director Phyllis Christensen. He will begin his new job Jan. 10.

Kenneth Day, a library board member, said Illick has several strengths that helped him stand out among three final candidates for the job.

"He's mature in his management style, his personal confidence, his willingness to listen to others and his ability to coalesce a strong organization," Day said.

Related articles:
Ralph Illick selected as library director.  (11/24/2010)
Three finalists announced for library director position. (11/3/2010)
Wisconsin job opening:  Marathon County Public Library Director.  (10/5/2010)
Library Director announces her retirement.  (9/21/2010)

Water Damage Closes Butte Library

Butte-Silver Bow Library

Link to December 2 Montana Standard article.

Excerpt: Damage is being assessed and events rescheduled a day after a ruptured water line forced the Butte Public Library to close.

An insurance adjuster flew to Butte Wednesday from Seattle to tour the library at 226 W. Broadway St. and record the water damage, said library director Lee Phillips.

Also, efforts are being made to relocate events it has planned for Friday's Christmas Stroll and other regular library activities.

The library is expected to be closed for at least two weeks, and possibly longer, Phillips said.

A pipe from the library's fire suppression system burst sometime Monday evening in a wall in a stairwell on the third floor. Water sprayed from walls and flooded some of the rooms with as much as 3 inches of water, damaging carpets and books.

The exact amount of damages was still being determined Wednesday.

Related articles:
Deja vu all over again?  Library renovation followed by water damage.  (11/30/2010)
Georgetown (Delaware) Public Library's recent history with water.  (9/28/2010)

And while you're at it, check out the Butte Digital Image Project.

Here's a sample.

More Butte history.

LINK

LINK

When Toil Meant Trouble: Butte's Labor Heritage.

Evel Knievel is from Butte.

.

Legislators Restore County Executive's $4,000,000 Cut to Library -- For Now

LINK

Link to December 1 Buffalo News article, "Legislature acts to aid library, arts. Pushes Back On Collins' Budget Plan".

Excerpt: The Erie County Legislature snapped its logjam on a 2011 budget Tuesday by restoring $4 million in support for the busy library system and renewing grants for an array of arts groups that would have collected no county dollars next year under the county executive's proposal.

In a surprise, the library allocation drew unanimous Legislature support as the six-member Republican bloc broke from County Executive Chris Collins.

Collins had wanted to drop the county's contribution to the libraries to $18 million, from $22 million, next year. But amid a public backlash, the Republicans teamed with rarely united Democrats to deliver the full $22 million.

The would-be recipients, however, should not count on the money just yet. Collins, who never likes it when the Legislature messes with his budgets, vowed vetoes and other steps to nullify what lawmakers did.

Related articles:
"No more worthwhile program of service".  (11/14/2010
A bibliopocalypse @ the library.  (11/6/2010)
WBEN online poll offers 3 general options for public library future. (10/31/2010)
Reimagining the library.  (10/27/2010)
Budget cuts = reduced hours.  (10/21/2010)
Deep cuts (again) in the works.  (9/17/2010)
Editorial puts in 'a word about libraries'.  (8/30/2010)
Library could lose 25% of funding.  (8/19/2009)

Illinois Library Systems Receive Funding for Rest of Fiscal Year

LINK

Link to December 2 Chicago Tribune article, "State pays rest of overdue funds to library system".

Excerpt: The payments rescued, at least temporarily, the systems' delivery service, which many patrons have come to rely on when they can't find something at their hometown library. The Illinois Library Systems deliver more than 30 million items annually, officials said. But the service has not gotten payments for the current fiscal year, which began July 1 and amount to about $15 million.

Su Bochenski, executive director at the Metropolitan Library System, which serves parts of Cook, DuPage and Will counties, said she remained concerned that the statewide system will be in jeopardy again next summer if the state does not catch up on payments for the current fiscal year.

"We still have questions about our funding stream," Bochenski said. "Is it going to stabilize or are we constantly in a position of running to the brink of closing?"

Related articles:
'Illinois was exemplary at one time'.  (5/28/2010)
Layoffs and service cuts in store for North Suburban Library System.  (5/14/2010)
Illinois Library Systems Still Await the Remaining 65% of Their State Funding.  (3/6/2010)
State funding shortage may doom library systems. (2/14/2010)
"Save Illinois Libraries" Campaign Shakes Loose Some Funds. (1/22/2010)
Save Illinois Libraries: Tweeting Up a Storm of Support. (1/20/2010)
Sarah Long: Illinois Regional Library Systems and Boiling Frogs. (1/13/2010)
lllinois Regional Multi-Type Library Systems Hit with Cut in Funding. (8/13/2009)

Pat Conroy: "I was born to be in a library."

Link to December 1 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, "In 'My Reading Life', Conroy details how he found writing".

Excerpt: “I was born to be in a library,” Conroy says, and that’s where it all begins.

An Army brat, Conroy never lived long enough anywhere to make friends; his mother filled that slot. As a result of her belief that she had never gotten enough education, Peg camped out at the public library in every new town and took Pat with her. “To my mother, a library was a palace of desire masquerading in a wilderness of books,” Conroy writes. “She distributed books to me as though they were communion wafers.”

Related article:
Pat Conroy on the books and people that shaped his writing career. (10/17/2010)

Gwinnett County Public Library's 2011 Budget Cut by 15%

More locations

Link to December 1 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, "Gwinnett unveils trimmed-down budget for 2011".

Excerpt: One of the more noticeable cuts will come within the county library system, which will get $2.8 million less in funding than the $18.9 million it received this year.

Gwinnett's library system faced a similar funding crisis last year before county commissioners approved a 21 percent hike in the property tax rate. Part of the increased revenue from that tax hike went to ensure that the county's 15 neighborhood branch libraries could stay open about 50 hours a week. The libraries currently are open 53 hours each week.

Readers Rate a Book's Content on Violence, Sexual Content, Profanity, and Mature Themes @ 'Squeaky Clean Reads'

Yeah, kid, I feel the same way.

LINK

Link to Library Lynx column, "Keeping Things Squeaky Clean" by Poynette Area Library Directgor Kris Daugherty in the December 1 Poynette Press.

Excerpt: Have you ever wished that there was a rating system for books, similar to what is in place for movies? Well, someone has.

A nifty website called Squeaky Clean Reads can be found, appropriately enough, at www.squeakycleanreads.com. This website allows readers to rate the content of a book according to violence, sexual content, profanity and mature theme. It also gives the age group that the reviewers feel the book would be most appropriate for as well as whether or not it's a clean read, if it would be a good choice for a book club, its overall rating and a content review. You may use this website to give your opinion about books you've read or to read others' opinions.

Squeaky Clean Reads divides their booklists into the following genres: best sellers, young adult, classics, required high school reading, young teen, Newbery awards, book club, nonfiction and most viewed. In addition, they have their small lists: our favorites, suspense, fantasy and Oprah's Book Club. They have another category for Cultural Reads that showcases African American, Middle Eastern and Asian books.

Based on a cursory search, I'd say the site need more content and more input.

Erick Plumb is New Director at Monona Public Library

Link to November 29 Monona Herald-Independent article.

After a national search and intensive interview process, the Monona Public Library Board has selected Erick Plumb as its new Director. Plumb, who came to Monona in 2006, had been serving as the library’s Assistant Director since 2009, and as Interim Director following the sudden illness and passing of former Director Demita Gerber in 2010. Plumb begins his new position immediately.

“Erick has shown true leadership and innovation during a challenging time for our Library,” said Library Board President Andrew Taylor. “He has been a key partner in the work that led to our selection as the Wisconsin Library Association’s Library of the Year in 2010. And he is a great choice for our next evolution in service and support to the community.”

“I'm thrilled that I will continue to serve the people of Monona," Plumb said. "Over the past four years, I’ve come to care deeply about this community, and have been amazed at the extraordinary level of support the community gives to its library. We have a terrific staff that is always looking for innovative and improved ways to serve Monona.”

Plumb is a graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and received his Master of Library Science from Indiana University in Bloomington. He was honored with a Mayoral Award in 2009 for valuable contributions to the city of Monona, and a “Webby Award” from the Wisconsin Library Association in 2008 for his design and development of the Monona Public Library web site.

Congratulations, Erick!

Des Moines City Council Asks Library, In Essence, to Look at Charlotte Mecklenburg Model

LINK

Link to November 29 Des Moines Register article, "Des Moines libraries asked to consider volunteers".

Excerpt: Mayor Frank Cownie and City Council members this month made the request in a letter sent to the Library Board of Trustees, which came in response to citizen concerns.

Evening and weekend hours at the two branches were cut recently to help trim $535,000 from the library budget. The branches, separated by roughly two miles, now share a manager and staff.

The North Side Library "means a lot to our neighborhood," said Cathy Rosenthal, who has lived in the area since 1993. "People were pretty upset when the hours were reduced. It affected a lot of people."

Library officials have cautioned that the use of volunteers to check books in and out, resolve fines, make library cards and conduct research, among other essential services, could raise privacy and security concerns.

Not to mention the more practical considerations of recruiting, hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating. And the likelihood it may take 10 volunteers to replace one half-time paid library staff member.

Related article:
Volunteers to the rescue at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  (10/17/2010)

U.S. Libraries Offer "Food for Fines" Options

And New Jersey gets into the act.

Neptune (New Jersey) Public Library

Link to December 1 Newark Star-Ledger article, "N.J. libraries allow food, cash donations to cover overdue fees".

Excerpt: Libraries are finding a way to help people feel good about resolving fines on overdue books.

Just donate food or cash to a local food pantry and the fine, or part of it, will be wiped clean.
Acknowledging the tough economy, "Food for Fines" drives have proliferated in recent years in libraries across the state and nation, said Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey State Library Association.

"Many libraries are doing it more frequently than they have in the past," Tumulty said. "The recent economic times have made it something that libraries see as a way of serving the community."

At the Monroe Township Library, a set time each year is not recommended.

However, a few less-altruistic patrons seem to exploit such drives. For years, the Monroe Township Library traded food for fines as the Thanksgiving drive approached, until a pattern emerged.

"People were holding on to summer books. Stuff that had been overdue for months would come in, and it was always the same people," said library director Irene Goldberg. She said drives now are held randomly and staff calls patrons with long-overdue books.

Pennsylvania: Raises for state officials vs. "keep some libraries open".

I'll happily make that call!

Meet Tom Corbett....

...oh, enough already!

Link to John Baer's 'Elections' column in the December 1 Philadelphia Dailiy News, "A stop, uncertain start to Corbett transition".

Excerpt: And asked about automatic cost-of-living adjustments taking effect today for lawmakers and scheduled Jan. 1 for judges and other top state officials, Corbett said, "It's very difficult to be expecting COLAs at this period."

Maybe so, but they're coming: 1,500 state officials get a 1.7 percent bump.

Corbett said he'll give his raise (the Guv's salary goes from $174,914 to $177,888) to charity but declined to suggest other specific action.

"I certainly want to have a discussion with the Legislature," he said. Pressed for details, he added, "I'm going to limit it to that."

Meanwhile, state Auditor General Jack Wagner said Corbett and lawmakers should impose a moratorium on the raises, which cost taxpayers $3 million.

Wagner said that with the state facing huge deficits and with too many citizens suffering the effects of recession, the raises should be stopped: "This is a leadership issue. . . . Symbolically, it's huge."

And he said $3 million could fund a meals-on-wheels program or keep some libraries open. [Emphasis added.]

Believing in the Importance of Education and Libraries, Part 2

LINK

Link to November 30 Philadelphia Inquirer article, "Merck's new CEO has Philly roots".

Excerpt: Frazier's success is all the more notable given his starting point, North Philadelphia, one of Philadelphia's most impoverished neighborhoods.

"Yes, by the accident of geography, my father's house was at 18th and Diamond Streets," Frazier said in an interview today. "But the standards of my father's house were universal in that he believed in hard work and the importance of education."

His father, Otis Frazier, was the self-taught son of a South Carolina sharecropper. Now deceased, he required his children to walk about a mile and a half twice a month to a branch library - to return books they had read, and bring home new ones.  [Emphasis added.]

Believing in the Importance of Education and Libraries, Part 1

Link to December 1 Boston Globe article, "Mother places priority on son, but finance suffer".

Excerpt: Among the thousands of letters Globe Santa receives each year from parents or guardians seeking help in providing their children with Christmas gifts are those from single mothers who are struggling against overwhelming conditions but want to make sure their children are able to enjoy the holiday in the same manner as those in more fortunate families.

One such letter received this year was from a single mother who wrote not only seeking help but also to tell of the bond that she has worked to develop with her son.

[snip]

The young woman from a community south of Boston said that she and her 8-year-old son spend most nights eating together and doing his homework. The boy has never known his father, whom she said she cannot locate, but that has not stopped the child from being everything a mother could wish for.

“He is full of life, likes to play with his plastic army men, and enjoys going to the library,’’ she wrote. “He is a great reader and loves to learn.’’  [Emphasis added.]

Meet Pam Galloway, Freshman Republican Legislator from Wisconsin's 29th Senate District

35th (and last) in a series.

Galloway defeated the Democratic incumbent (and Majority Leader 2009, 2007) Russ Decker, first elected to the State Senate in 1990 and re-elected since 1994.

LINK

About

Issues

Public libraries in the 29th Senate District, which includes portions of the Indianhead, Nicolet (2 townships in Shawano County), Northern Waters (3 townships in Sawyer County), South Central (1 townships in Portage County) and the Wisconsin Valley library systems.

Price County:  Ogema, Park Falls, Phillips.

Rusk County:  Bruce, Hawkins, Ladysmith.

Marathon County:  Marathon County Public Library (Wausau & Hatley, Marathon City, Mosinee, and Rothschild branches).

Taylor County:  Gilman, Medford, Rib Lake.

Portage County:  Rosholt Branch of the Portage County Public Library.

Meet Terry Moulton, Freshman Republican Legislator from Wisconsin's 23rd Senate District

34th in a series. (4th in the Senate.)

Moulton defeated the Democratic incumbent Pat Kreitlow, who was first elected to the State Senate in 2006.

LINK

Public libraries in the 23rd Senate District, which includes portion of the Indianhead Federated Library System and Wisconsin Valley Library Service.

Barron County:  Dallas.

Chippewa County:  Bloomer, Cadott, Chippewa Falls, Cornell, Stanley.

Dunn County:  Boyceville, Colfax, Sand Creek.

Eau Claire County:  Altoona, Eau Claire, Fall Creek.

Clark County:  Abbotsford, Colby, Dorchester, Granton (Samson Memorial), Greenwood, Loyal, Neillsville, Owen, Thorp, Withee.

Marathon County:  Marathon County Public Library (Edgar, Spencer, Stratford branches).

Meet Van Wanggaard, Freshman Republican Legislator from Wisconsin's 21st Senate District

33rd in a series.  (3rd in the Senate.)

Wanggaard defeated the Democratic incumbent John Lehman, who was elected to the Assembly in 1996 and the Senate in 2006. Lehman chaired the Senate Education committee during the 2009-11 biennium.

LINK

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Public libraries in the 21st Senate District, all of which is located within Racine County (Lakeshores Library System):  Racine, Rochester, Union Grove (Graham).