Naperville Illinois Mayoral Candidates: We Love Our Library (Slimmer)

Naperville mayoral candidates debate library spending. (Daily Herald, 3/2/2011)

Excerpt:   Naperville Public Library officials believe they’ve been as frugal as can be in recent years without affecting services.

Naperville’s three mayoral candidates in the April 5 election mostly agree, but challengers Kenn Miller and Doug Krause believe the library can do more to help the city’s bottom line.

Library officials already have sliced $400,000 from their proposed 2011 property tax levy and are waiting to learn if the city will take any more. They’ve also seen a 21 percent decrease in spending on collections since fiscal 2008 and the reduction of more than four full-time employees at a savings of $211,000 since fiscal 2009.

Miller, a Naperville councilman, said the city should be proud of the library’s decade of nationally ranked service but said it needs to “play a part” during the economic crisis.

“They do an excellent job and I fully support the library, however when we’re in this economic downturn, all of the departments, including the library, need to play a part in reducing the cost so we overall are reducing the costs to residents and taxpayers,” he said.

Related articles:
Another take on the library budget situation.  (1/17/2011)
Library trims its budget. (1/15/2011)
Library to offer voluntary buyouts.  (4/3/2010)
Library cuts $1.1 million from budget.  (10/16/2009)

News Stories on HarperCollins eBook Decision Go Mainstream

Publisher puts new limits on library e-books. Librarians say HarperCollins' decision to allow just 26 downloads will add financial burden. (Chicago Tribune, 3/6/2011)

Excerpt:    For library users, that could mean longer waits for popular titles, tighter limits on how many times an e-book can be renewed and the possibility that e-books that are not repurchased would be available at the library for only about a year.

Librarians across the country are outraged and fear other publishers could adopt a similar model. Some have organized a boycott of books published by HarperCollins. They argue the restrictions place an additional burden on financially strapped public libraries, some of which have reduced their inventories because of budget constraints.

The added expenditures on e-books, they said, will make it more difficult to compete in an industry that is quickly becoming dominated by electronic readers such as the iPad, the Nook and the Kindle.

"This strikes at the heart of what we do," said Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey, who described electronic media as the new virtual library. "With limited financial resources affecting all libraries across America, people are asking, 'Why would you do this?'"

Walker Socks It To Madison

Close  enough.

Madison faces $11 million cut in state aid and a budget hole. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/4/2011)

Excerpt: The city of Madison would take a cut of about $11 million in state aid next year, a more severe loss than nearly any other city under Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget, according to city estimates released Friday.

[snip]

For 2011, the city received $54.9 million in state aid. Of the $11 million cut expected in 2012, Madison would lose about $1 million in payments for municipal services like fire and police, $1 million in state highway money, $1 million for recycling and $1.8 million for Madison Metro, according to city of Madison estimates
.
It would also lose $6.2 million in shared revenue, a larger percentage cut than almost any other city in the state because the proposed formula treats cities with higher populations and property values more severely.

Survey Influences Charlotte Mecklenburg's Future of the Library Task Force Recommendations

Library closings hurt, but may be best option. Panel did research, polling that buttress recommendations. (Charlotte Observer, 3/5/2011)

Excerpt: The local residents who made up the Charlotte Library's Future of the Library Task Force recognized that Wednesday. Their preliminary recommendation for six library branches to close or be run by volunteers or groups not funded by the county seems the best option based on current resources. But task force chair Jim Woodward spoke for many residents in saying: "None of us are comfortable with that."

Still, that's a well-thought out option, as are proposed funding cuts and a switch to per capita funding. Those ideas followed months of study and a survey done by Marketwise in January. The research findings buttress many of the panel's recommendations - the survey particularly so.

Survey says.....

87% say library system is extremely or very important to this community.

48% of all respondents and 55% of library users say county should provide more funding.

79 percent say remaining branches should be located where most number of residents can be served most efficiently, even if it means closing the library closest to them.

77% say branches should remain open in economically challenged areas.

59% support dedicated tax or fee for libraries

Related articles:
$7.50 per household per year to keep 6 branch libraries open? Sounds reasonable to me.  (3/4/2011)
Up to 6 libraries could close under proposal.  (3/2/2011)
Tuesday vote of Future of Library Task Force likely.  (2/27/2011)
Future of the Library Task Force to release recommendations soon.  (2/8/2011)
Banker to lead Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  (1/22/2011)
And what about the cost of a joint library-county study committee?  (12/22/2010)
The future does not look bright.  (12/9/2010)
Library boosts fines, fees.  (11/23/2010)
CML libraries and parks:  Survey says...  (10/26/2010)
Future of the library task force.  (10/21/2010)
Volunteers to the rescue.  (10/17/2010)
Charlotte Observer to Harry Jones:  Check your ego at the door.  (9/21/2010)
County manager regrets hitting the 'send' key. (9/18/2010)
Library steering committee veers into off-road territory.  (9/15/2010)
Bank of America and Carolina Panthers kick off library fundraising campaign. (9/14/2010)
Another branch extends hours thanks to volunteer support.  (9/12/2010)
Volunteers step up.  (9/10/2010)
2 branch libraries to open one more day per week.  (9/5/2010)
Library urban legend in the making?  (9/4/2010)
Library launches pilot program to expand hours with volunteers.  (8/31/2010)
Group to study county library merger.  (7/28/2010)
Book stores help out the library.  (7/21/2010)
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)

UW-Madison Libraries Creates Guide to Wisconsin State Budget Government Documents

LINK

Thanks to Beth Harper, Government Documents Reference Librarian at Memorial Library, and UW-Madison SLIS student Kim Pittman.

Detroit Public Library to Reduce Staff by 20%

Detroit Public Library

Detroit Public Library to cut 83 workers. (Detroit Free Press, 2/27/2011)

Excerpt: It's the troubling consequence of an economic downturn: Funding drops while the demand for government services rises.

The Detroit Public Library is no exception.

Facing what leaders call an unprecedented fiscal crisis, the 23-branch system plans to reduce its staff by 20%, or 83 employees, at the end of March. Library officials also are weighing branch closures and fewer hours of operation.

The culprit is plummeting property values that are eroding dozens of government services across metro Detroit.

While library visits increased 16% over the past three years in Detroit, funding dropped roughly 30%, creating a deficit that could exceed $10 million, according to library records. The library's budget is $50 million. Most of that money comes from a 3-mill tax on Detroit residents.

Related article:

Budget woes.  (2/5/2011)

Walter Dean Myers: An Appreciation

Walter Dean Myers, 73, a hero to young readers. (Tacoma News Tribune, 3/4/2011)

Excerpt:  Myers, 73, has written dozens of novels, plays and biographies. He has received three National Book Award nominations and won many prizes, including a lifetime achievement honor from the American Library Association and five Coretta Scott King awards for African-American fiction. He is also the most engaged of writers, spending hours with young people at schools, libraries and prisons, giving talks and advice on life and work, his own rise from high-school dropout to best-selling author, a story that translates across generations.

LSSI's Fairly Pathetic Track Record

California libraries targeted for takeover by private equity firms. (Boing Boing, 3/4/2011)

But I wouldn't get too concerned.

Here's LSSI's track records after 30 years of operation.

Public libraries in the United States

Source:  Institute of Museum and Library Services, "Public Libraries in the United States. Fiscal Year 2008".

Source:  The New York Times, "Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries", September 26, 2010.

Related article:
Camarillo sez goodbye to Ventura County, hello to Library Systems.  (10/26/2010)

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Bans 11,850 Books

Here's the list.

LINK

‘Banned Books in the Texas Prison System: How the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Censors Books Sent to Prisoners’. (Texas Civil Rights Project)

Excerpt: The banned books list includes Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, New York Times bestsellers, and books by Nobel Peace Prize nominees, National Public Radio correspondents, Ivy League professors, civil rights leaders, and even the Bard himself, William Shakespeare. Conversely, the report sites two clear of examples of allowed books that could be banned: Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf (along with several other White Supremacist books), and Che Guevara’s Guerilla Warfare (which includes instructions on how to build a mortar).

Initial Analysis of Governor Walker’s Budget Proposal by the South West Education Association

South West Education Association.

$7.50 per Household per Year to Keep 6 Branch Libraries Open? Sounds reasonable to me

Reasonable. What a hurdle of a word it's become.

Related articles:
Up to 6 libraries could close under proposal.  (3/2/2011)
Tuesday vote of Future of Library Task Force likely.  (2/27/2011)
Future of the Library Task Force to release recommendations soon.  (2/8/2011)
Banker to lead Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  (1/22/2011)
And what about the cost of a joint library-county study committee?  (12/22/2010)
The future does not look bright.  (12/9/2010)
Library boosts fines, fees.  (11/23/2010)
CML libraries and parks:  Survey says...  (10/26/2010)
Future of the library task force.  (10/21/2010)
Volunteers to the rescue.  (10/17/2010)
Charlotte Observer to Harry Jones:  Check your ego at the door.  (9/21/2010)
County manager regrets hitting the 'send' key. (9/18/2010)
Library steering committee veers into off-road territory.  (9/15/2010)
Bank of America and Carolina Panthers kick off library fundraising campaign. (9/14/2010)
Another branch extends hours thanks to volunteer support.  (9/12/2010)
Volunteers step up.  (9/10/2010)
2 branch libraries to open one more day per week.  (9/5/2010)
Library urban legend in the making?  (9/4/2010)
Library launches pilot program to expand hours with volunteers.  (8/31/2010)
Group to study county library merger.  (7/28/2010)
Book stores help out the library.  (7/21/2010)
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)

"The Information" by James Gleick

Information, please. We don't just rely on data - we are data, from our genes to our social networks, says author James Gleick. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/1/2011)

Excerpt: "All of human history has been about information," Gleick explains. "It's not an accident that we humans named our species homo sapiens" (loosely, "wise man").

From the cave paintings at Lascaux to papyrus scrolls to the printing press and DVDs, we have sought to understand and record our experience of the world. Our collective identity is constructed from information.

Information has been an important part of Gleick's life. Born in New York City and educated at Harvard University in English and linguistics, Gleick, 56, pursued a career as a journalist, most notably at the New York Times, before turning his hand to science books.

His books, which include Chaos: Making a New Science (1987) and the biographies Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (1992) and Isaac Newton (2003), are celebrated for translating complex scientific ideas for the general reader.

Seven years in the making, The Information is his most ambitious project. And perhaps his magnum opus.

Boston Globe's Alex Beam Muses on a Series of Exaggerated Pronouncements

"Say it with me."  (Although it focuses on reading, Paul Saffo's quote still serves as a useful antidote.)

Long gone?. From landlines to e-mail to movies to print, their demise has been greatly exaggerated. (Boston Globe, 3/4/2011)

Snippets from Alex Beam's column.

Everything is obsolete. Or is it?

“We consistently find that states in the Northeast are more likely to retain their landlines,’’ the CDC’s Dr. Stephen Blumberg told me, making me feel better about being un-young and un-restless.

Maybe you didn’t get the memo, but voice mail is no more.

Scenester extraordinaire Choire Sicha — he was one of the first editors at Gawker.com, worked at the New York Observer when that still meant something, and cofounded TheAwl.com — recently declared that “e-mail is over."

Aren’t movies obsolete?

Books? No one has read a “p-book’’ — that’s industry jargon for “print books’’.

Wait — aren’t libraries obsolete? The subject of my next column, perhaps.

Your Wisconsin Recall Election Scorecard

LINK

Referenda Remain an Option to Exceed Property-Tax Caps

LINK

I suspect a new and heavily edited version of the above manual is in the works.

Local governments may turn to referendums to maintain service levels. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/3/2011)

Excerpt:     In his proposed 2011-13 budget released Tuesday, Walker is seeking a $59.5 million, or 8.8 percent, cut in state aid to municipalities for 2012. Aid for counties would be cut by $36.5 million, or 24 percent. He also wants 10 percent cuts in payments to municipalities for untaxed state properties and general transportation aid, and to eliminate recycling aid. Officials in Madison and Dane County are still analyzing how those cuts would affect them.

The governor also wants to limit increases in local property tax collections to the gain in value due to new construction.

To help local governments, Walker earlier offered a budget repair bill that would make most public employees pay more for health insurance and pensions and impose limits on collective bargaining.

Not My Wisconsin, Scottie

(highlight added)

Gov. Walker Sez Adios to Maintenance of Effort Requirement for Public Library System Membership

 Budget provision could mean end of decades-old libraries sharing system. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/3/2011)

Excerpt:    Library officials are concerned a provision in Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal could unravel Wisconsin's library system, which allows patrons to access books, movies and other material from anywhere in the state.

To help municipalities control costs, Walker wants to eliminate a requirement that library funding levels be maintained minimally at the average of the prior three years.

The requirement has been in place since the library system was established in 1972 to ensure municipalities can't slash services and book budgets while taking advantage of the resources at neighboring libraries, according to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

"Wisconsin is just an incredible shining beacon of shared library resources," said Martha Van Pelt, director of the South Central Library System, which covers Dane and six other counties.

So....what needs to be done about this situation, you might ask.

As I noted in a recent email to LD&L and SRLAAW members......

What we need to do is find 3 Republicans senators and 16 Republican assembly representatives willing to sponsor MOE compromise language that WLA, in conjunction with DPI/DLTCL, proposes. That's assuming all Democrats from both houses are on board.

And, if we somehow deflect the lobbying efforts of the Wisconsin League of Municipalities, we'll then need a two-thirds majority to override the Governor's veto.

Taking a Look at HarperCollins Books in Print with More Than 26 Circs

Mayor Richard M. Daley's Greatest Cultural Legacy: Reading and Libraries

Daley's last one for the books. (Chicago Tribune, 3/2/2011)

Excerpt: A man known for his discursive and staccato sentence structure, Daley may nevertheless pass on as his greatest cultural legacy his support of reading and libraries - 59 of which have been built or renovated since he became mayor in 1989. That may be his largest cultural legacy. Despite the precarious times for the city's budget, four new libraries will open in Chicago by the end of the year.

Library Ireland Week 2011

Charlotte Mecklenburg Future of the Library Task Force Proposes to Strengthen Regional Libraries

Up to 6 libraries could close under proposal. (Charlotte Observer, 3/2/2011)

Excerpt: The closures are part of a trade-off that would take staffing dollars from those branches and use it to restore services cut last year at the county's six regional libraries, according to a preliminary model released Tuesday.

"None of us are comfortable with that," said task force chair Jim Woodward. "We just feel the regionals need to be strengthened ... because they offer the full range of library services you can't get at the smaller branches."

The plan also prioritizes sparing branches in three fragile neighborhoods: Scaleybark, Sugar Creek and West Boulevard. All would remain at current service levels of 32 hours a week.

Any money left over after that would go to branches that are farthest away from regionals, including Steele Creek, Mint Hill, Mountain Island and Matthews.

Keeping all the branches open is considered the best possible solution, but that would require the library getting an additional $2 million from the county next year, officials said.

The shift in resources to regional libraries is part of a series of recommendations the task force intends to present to the Mecklenburg County commissioners and library board in a joint meeting on March 21.

Related articles:
Tuesday vote of Future of Library Task Force likely.  (2/27/2011)
Future of the Library Task Force to release recommendations soon.  (2/8/2011)
Banker to lead Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  (1/22/2011)
And what about the cost of a joint library-county study committee?  (12/22/2010)
The future does not look bright.  (12/9/2010)
Library boosts fines, fees.  (11/23/2010)
CML libraries and parks:  Survey says...  (10/26/2010)
Future of the library task force.  (10/21/2010)
Volunteers to the rescue.  (10/17/2010)
Charlotte Observer to Harry Jones:  Check your ego at the door.  (9/21/2010)
County manager regrets hitting the 'send' key. (9/18/2010)
Library steering committee veers into off-road territory.  (9/15/2010)
Bank of America and Carolina Panthers kick off library fundraising campaign. (9/14/2010)
Another branch extends hours thanks to volunteer support.  (9/12/2010)
Volunteers step up.  (9/10/2010)
2 branch libraries to open one more day per week.  (9/5/2010)
Library urban legend in the making?  (9/4/2010)
Library launches pilot program to expand hours with volunteers.  (8/31/2010)
Group to study county library merger.  (7/28/2010)
Book stores help out the library.  (7/21/2010)
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)

Stated Shared Revenues to Counties and Municipalities

Background and Payment Formulas (6 pages)

Governor Walker's budget proposal cuts aid to cities by $60 million, an 8.8% reduction, while counties would lose over $36 million, a 24% cut.

2010 Estimated Shared Revenue and Expenditure Restraint Payments
A county-by-county spreadsheet

I'll leave you to do the math and ponder where the cuts in expenditures will occur.

(It's Not Me Who) Can't Get Enough of Those Long Overdue Library Book Stories

Chattahoochee 6-Month Update

Teen's six-month library ban ends. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/28/2011)

Excerpt: Claudya Muller, the director of the Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library System, previously told the newspaper the ban “had nothing to do with what he was saying, but he was warned multiple times. ... As people came in, he would approach them. He prevented people from simply using the library.”

Caleb, whose parents are missionaries, lives with his family in a cabin in east Alabama. He said the library ban did not deter his efforts to share his faith.

“It didn’t make me very mad, and I’ve been praying for the people there,” he said. “It made me draw closer to the Lord. … I like to witness. The Lord is doing great things, praise the Lord.”

Related article:
North Columbus Public Library Patrons Get Reprieve from Unsolicited Religious Advice. (9/23/2010)

Pictures from Saturday's Day-Long Rally

Not So Fast on that Death Knell for Email

Social Media Is Not Killing Email. (eMarketer, 2/28/2011)

Excerpt:    But web-based email checked at a desktop computer is only one slice of all email communications, and email represents an overwhelmingly important communications channel.

According to research from customer relationship marketing agency Merkle, 87% of internet users checked personal email daily in 2010, a number that has changed little since 2007. Among those with a separate email account for commercial email, 60% checked daily, down just 1 percentage point since 2008.

Related articles:
What's more popular? Social media or email? Survey says... (10/12/2010)
Survey says:  Generation Y loves its email.  (10/20/2009)
Not so fast with that death of email thing.  (10/16/2009)
"Abide with me, fast falls the eventide".  (3/17/2009)

Publishers Take a Niche Approach to Selling Books

Publishers Look Beyond Bookstores. (The New York Times, 2/28/2011)

Print headline: Books Fly Off Unusual Shelves.

Excerpt:     “The national bookstore chain has peaked as a sales channel, and the growth is not going to come from there,” said David Steinberger, chief executive of the Perseus Books Group. “But it doesn’t mean that all brick-and-mortar retailers are cutting back.”

A wide range of stores better known for their apparel, food and fishing reels have been adding books. The fashion designer Marc Jacobs opened Bookmarc in Manhattan in the fall. Anthropologie has increased the number of titles it carries to 125, up from 25 in 2003. Coldwater Creek, Lowe’s, Bass Pro Shops and even Cracker Barrel are adding new books. Some mass retailers, too, are diversifying — Target, for instance, is moving away from male-centered best sellers and adding more women’s and children’s titles this year.

At Lowe’s, books on subjects like cooking and home projects are stacked at the front of the store, “inspiring and informing customers to purchase goods that will allow them to successfully complete home improvement projects,” Patti Price, the company’s senior vice president for merchandising, said in an e-mail.

And, I suspect in many cases, inspiring customers to check the availability of titles of interest at their local public library.

Library Board President Among Protesters in Hudson

Union supporters rally in Hudson.  (Hudson Star Observer, 2/23/2011)

Excerpt:   Roy Sjoberg, a prominent Hudsonite and president of the Library Board, was carrying a “Recall Harsdorf” sign and distributing copies of the section of the Wisconsin Constitution pertaining to recall elections.

He said an effort would begin immediately to recall Wisconsin Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, if she votes for a bill that eliminates collective bargaining rights for public employees.

ICMA Report: Maximize the Potential of Your Public Library

Link to 20-page report

Walker Budget Bill: More than $1,000,000,000 in Cuts to School District and Local Government Aids

That would be #1 and #5 on the scorecard.

Somewhere in the vicinity of a 9% cut.

Walker says budget will have more than $1 billion in cuts to school, local government aids. (wispolitics.com budget blog, 2/27/2011)

Excerpt:    Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who Walker beat last fall, also appeared on the show, accusing his former GOP rival of trying to create an ideological war. He also said Walker’s proposal goes too far and yet not far enough at the same time.

Barrett, a Dem, said Walker is intentionally pitting middle class librarians and nurses against middle class firefighters and police officers by not including the latter in his austerity measures.

“To me, I think that’s what he’s tried to do. It’s how can we pit neighbor vs. neighbor?” Barrett said

Barrett said Walker's decision to leave out police and firefighters is like gathering your children at the kitchen table and telling two of them they have to make sacrifices while the rest of them can go to a movie. Gousha pushed Barrett on whether the proposals would help him control labor costs for the city.

“It doesn’t help me if he’s excluding two-thirds of my costs,” Barrett answered.

Columnist Mike Cassidy Wonders if God has a Facebook Page

Well, how about that!

Actually, Cassidy muses on the fact that [t]he town square, complete with steepled church, has become a digital rectangle that we carry in our pockets.

Does God have a Facebook page? (San Jose Mercury News, 2/27/2011)

Excerpt: But Web 2.0 has changed everything. The social Web has empowered people in the face of institutions -- governments, big businesses and old-line religions -- in ways the early Web did not. No longer do pronouncements come down digitally from on high, as if delivered on stone tablets. The Web is democratic now. We are creating the content we want to consume. The masses, if you will, are creating the Masses.

The rest of the Trinity is on Facebook, too.  Jesus even allows unflattering posts of Scott Walker to appear on his page.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  (Although as a Lutheran, now lapsed, I always preferred the term Holy Ghost.)

Tuesday Vote Likely on Charlotte Mecklenburg Future of the Library Task Force Proposals

Tuesday vote could include closing libraries. (Charlotte Observer, 2/27/2011)

Excerpt: A plan to close more libraries is among the proposals that could be up for a vote Tuesday as a volunteer committee settles on recommendations to cut costs and make the library system more efficient.

The Future of the Library Task Force must submit its final recommendations next month. Among the items members will discuss and possibly act upon include:

Whether to increase hours, staffing and resources at the regional libraries. Those changes would come at the expense of the smaller branch libraries, and some are likely to close.

Whether the libraries should become a department of county government.

Whether ImaginOn, which is not a typical library branch, should remain part of the system or come under control of the county, with its own board of trustees.

Related articles:
Future of the Library Task Force to release recommendations soon.  (2/8/2011)
Banker to lead Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  (1/22/2011)
And what about the cost of a joint library-county study committee?  (12/22/2010)
The future does not look bright.  (12/9/2010)
Library boosts fines, fees.  (11/23/2010)
CML libraries and parks:  Survey says...  (10/26/2010)
Future of the library task force.  (10/21/2010)
Volunteers to the rescue.  (10/17/2010)
Charlotte Observer to Harry Jones:  Check your ego at the door.  (9/21/2010)
County manager regrets hitting the 'send' key. (9/18/2010)
Library steering committee veers into off-road territory.  (9/15/2010)
Bank of America and Carolina Panthers kick off library fundraising campaign. (9/14/2010)
Another branch extends hours thanks to volunteer support.  (9/12/2010)
Volunteers step up.  (9/10/2010)
2 branch libraries to open one more day per week.  (9/5/2010)
Library urban legend in the making?  (9/4/2010)
Library launches pilot program to expand hours with volunteers.  (8/31/2010)
Group to study county library merger.  (7/28/2010)
Book stores help out the library.  (7/21/2010)
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)