Maryland's Howard County Library: The New Charles E. Miller Branch & Historical Society, a Collaborative Visioning Effort

New Miller library branch prepares to open learning garden. (Baltimore Sun, 5/5/2012)

Excerpt: The new Miller library branch in Ellicott City will open its Enchanted Garden next weekend, an outdoor learning space that will be one of the few nationwide to be owned and tended by a public library. 

The space, which will offer classes and activities related to nutrition, environmental science and gardening, was named for the now-defunct Enchanted Forest amusement park on nearby U.S. 40. 

There will also be programs on meditation, acupuncture, insects and painting in the new space, said Rita Hamlet (University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate), the development specialist in charge of the quarter-acre garden. A variety of programs during the grand opening will showcase the garden space's offerings.

Admit it.  You're curious about the Enchanted Forest Amusement Park.

LINK

The Shorter version
 

Atlas Obscura.

Maryland’s Enchanted Forest is like Candyland after a neutron bomb strike.

Cambridge Community Library Board Discusses Expansion Plans with Village Board

Cambridge Village Board discusses library expansion. (Cambridge News, 5/2/2012)

Excerpt: As the community and economy continues to develop in the village, new and continuing projects meant to better the village are happening every day. 

At this meeting, the library board was present to discuss their plans for a library expansion. Director Joan Behm and trustee Mary Gjermo were in attendance to present to the board. 

The library has been in existence since 1978, has been funded by the village and Jefferson County, and they have been in their current location since 1990. 

They do also receive reimbursements for users from other municipalities through the inter-library sharing program. 

The current plan is to build an addition onto the Amundson Center and utilize the space behind the building. 

It was stated by the board that it is important for Cambridge to sustain and update the library. 

During this current economy, there is more use of the facility for public and business use and increased diversity of its offerings is essential.

Going to the Candidates' Debate?

Here's what's happenin'.

Here's what Gannett Wisconsin media wants to happen.

Menomonie Public Library Opens Branch in Elk Mound

A pick-up and drop-off location, but a step forward as  Elk Mound residents work to achieve their dream of a library/community center.

LINK

Elk Mound branch library opens at Village Hall. (Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 5/2/2012)

The article was also posted on the Chicago Tribune website.

Excerpt:   Residents are working to raise money to build a library and community center adjacent to Elk Mound's Village Hall. 

For now a small room in the Village Hall, E206 Menomonie St., serves as the village's library branch. 

Patrons can drop off materials at an outside drop-off box or inside the office. They also can pick up materials for which they have placed holds via the Internet or sign up for a library card. 

"Dunn County has always wanted to do something in this area of the county," said Ted Stark, director of the Menomonie Public Library. 

The Dunn County Committee on Administration, at the recommendation of the Community Resources and Development Committee, approved spending $2,500 to help cover costs of the Elk Mound library branch. 

Stark said the county pays about $80,000 to $100,000 annually, primarily to Eau Claire, for library services to Dunn County residents. 

The current library site is small, perhaps 150 square feet, Stark said, quipping it may be one of the smallest libraries in the world. 

"This is an experiment," Stark said of the Elk Mound branch. "I think it will take off."

Dunn County & environs public library locations

Dunn County (orange)

Chippewa County (red)

Eau Claire County (blue)

Pepin County (green)

Pierce County (purple)

St. Croix County (yellow)

All counties are members of the Indianhead Federated Library System

From the Can't-Help-Myself Department.  Nice to know that if you're in Downsville, it's just a short drive to Comfort.

Occupy G-8 Summit in Frederick, Maryland

G-8 protesters eye Baker Park, library.  (Chicago Tribune, 5/3/2012)

Excerpt:    While delegations from the leading industrial nations meet at Camp David to discuss world economic conditions, area Occupy activists and Frederick residents are planning meetings of their own. The two events planned so far, "Occupy G8 People's Summit" on May 18 at the C. Burr Artz Public Library and a "People's Bloc Party" on May 19 in Baker Park, were announced this week on a website associated with Occupy Frederick.

 The event is being held in the Community Room and is not a library-sponsored event.  (Meeting room policy.)

From the Frederick News-Post....

Occupy Frederick’s pitch delays city camping ban. (5/4/2012)

Herman Cain's Payday

After Primary Losses, Legacies of Deb and Strained Reputations.  (The New York Times, 5/3/2012)

Excerpt: Similarly, Herman Cain, a businessman who briefly led the Republican pack before falling back amid reports of an extramarital affair, is still drawing crowds.

LINK

Herman Cain Speaks on Sex and Politics.  (The Daily Beast, 1/13/2012)

Excerpt:  Cain would doubtless welcome being anointed as a prophet. Failing that, a 

• bestseller, 
• some whopping speaking fees, 
• another radio show, or a 
• juicy television contract 

might be the perfect consolation prize. But since nothing lasts forever, he would do well to manage his expectations, according to former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, who lost the 1988 presidential race to George H.W. Bush. 

“Make sure you’re ready for reentry,” says Dukakis. “Always anticipate the return to your previous life.”  ('Rearranged' by RG)

Or not.

LINK

Nielsen's Cross-Platform Report: Developments to Watch (Outlined)

LINK

Developments to watch:

Traditional TV viewership

• Dropped by 0.5%, or 46 minutes per month since last year.
• Possible reasons
• Leveling off after period of sustained growth
• Weather and economic factors
• Other viewing options
• Live TV declines
• Adoption of DVRs
• Transition to timeshifited viewing

Defining the TV home

• Slight decline noted in fall 2011
• Growing number of choices
• How to incorporate these changes in terms of who and what is measured and reported.

Kids' viewing

• Timeshifted viewing up 20% over last year
• Competition from mobile phones, tablets, DVRs and game consoles

"The Best screen available" goes mobile

• 50% of mobile phones are smart phones
• Improving screens
• Internet connectivity
• The new portable TV

Cable provider-enabled timeshifting

• Video-on-demand
• Cloud-based DVRs

Pennsylvania: Delaware County Library System's 17th Annual Legislative Breakfast and Awards Ceremony

Strong public library system called vital to county. (Delaware County Daily Times, 5/3/2012)

Awards given at 17th annual Legislative Breakfast and Awards ceremony held Friday at Upper Darby’s new library.

Outstanding Public Official.  Thomas Judge Jr., Upper Darby's chief administrative officer, for his efforts in the financing, design and construction of the new municipal library.

Phyllis S. Larson Award for Outstanding Citizen for Libraries:  Naomi Jay.

Outstanding Library Employee:  Lauren Longbottom, Ridley Township Children’s librarian.

Special Friend of Libraries.  Rotary Clubs of Swarthmore, Springfield, Upper Darby-Lansdowne, Chester and Ardmore for combining efforts to support PA One Book.

Drop in Property Values and Increase in Tax Appeals Impact New Jersey's "Third of a Mil" Library Funding Formula

LINK

Third of a mil funding for four local libraries drop. (northjersey.com, 5/3/2012)

Excerpt: Four local libraries are dealing with less mandatory funding than last year, according to state figures, and the problem could get worse if the municipalities they're based in continue to lose value. As property values drop, more tax appeals are won and towns do reassessments, towns' overall values drop. The North Arlington Public Library has seen its third of a mil funding drop in the past few years, and because of additional costs it is now responsible, will have to reduce summer reading programs and book buying for the children's section. 

Library funding is tax-based, and is tied directly to property values in a community. Under state law, local libraries receive funding through the "a third of a mil" formula, which means one third of a dollar for every $1,000 of a municipality's equalized total value goes to the library.

Other south Bergen County libraries mentioned in article:
The William E. Dermody Public Library, Carlstadt.
Lyndhurst Library.
Rutherford Public Library.

PowerPoint from New Jersey State Library Trustee Resources

Once upon a time, libraries could bank on an annual increase in equalized property valuation.

Related posts:
The downward trend in property tax collections.  (3/13/2012)
The property tax domino effect.  (12/27/2010)
Wisconsin Department of Revenue releases equalized values.  (8/13/2010)

President of Poudre River Public Library District Responds to Author's Concerns

1st floor

Library expansion will serve current, future needs. (Coloradoan, 5/3/2012)

Excerpt: Our library system has changed a lot since voters approved a library district in 2006. We appreciate our patrons' feedback and are always disappointed when someone has a bad experience at the library. A soapbox author recently took us to task for having reduced our collection size and questioned our use of the term "expansion" to describe the current construction project. 

We are adding 9,000 square feet of public space to the Main Library; 6,000 of that is new construction. Changes are occurring daily; and by the time our project is completed, we will have added space to the community room, children's section, the computer center and all book display areas. These are real physical changes. The old floor space was crowded; there were handicap accessibility problems; and we had many shelves of books that were not reachable by the average patron. 

We timed the weeding of our collection to coincide with the construction project to minimize the labor in moving duplicate or unused books. With-drawal of out-of-date, superseded or worn books and multiple copies of former bestsellers must be done on a continuous basis to make room for new materials. Withdrawn items are donated to the Friends of the Library, who sell and recycle the items. The Friends return the proceeds for good services at the library. 

Weeding is a fact of life in libraries.

Related post:
Author Laura Pritchett Experiences "Great Sick-Feeling Shock" Over Fort Collins Library Expansion.  (4/29/2012)

Fort Atkinson Considers Social Media Ordinance to Combat Cyberbullying

1st reading of ordinance at May 1st Council meeting.  

Passage does not appear to be a sure thing.

Social media ordinance eyed. (Jefferson County Union, 5/2/2012)

Excerpt:     A proposed ordinance intended to make it illegal to send 

• threatening, 
• lewd or 
• harassing 

messages via Facebook, Twitter, texting or some other electronic fashion was reviewed by the Fort Atkinson City Council Tuesday. 

Per the proposal, a person is subject to a penalty for sending a message by an electronic device with the intent to 

• frighten, 
• intimidate, 
• threaten, 
• abuse, 
• harass or 
• offend 

someone by 

• threatening injury or physical harm, 
• use of obscene or lewd language or 
• repeated messages with intent of harassment. 

In addition, the message can not be sent intentionally preventing disclosure of the sender's identity. 

A second ordinance considered by the Fort Atkinson Ordinance Committee related to penalties for subjects who use a telephone or cellular phone in a similar fashion. 

For a violation of either ordinance, penalties are not to exceed $50 for the first offense and not to exceed $200 for second and each subsequent offense. In both instances, an additional $100 fine will be added for conduct that constitutes an "act against a spouse, former spouse or against an adult with whom the adult person has created a child" per state statute. 

Both ordinances correspond to existing state statutes that relate to either misdemeanor or forfeiture charges.

From the Wisconsin State Statutes 947.0125

State of Wisconsin Public Records Board memo to Agency Administrations, 10/27/2010.

Up to 7 Memphis Branches on the Chopping Block

One library included in the 7 has already been closed. Two others are unidentified.

Memphis libraries, community centers, pools targeted for cuts under Wharton budget plan. (Memphis Commercial Appeal, 5/1/2012)

Excerpt:   Up to seven city libraries would be permanently closed and community centers could be closed on Saturdays under Memphis Mayor AC Wharton's proposed budget. 

"Our hope is we don't have to do that, but under the fiscal constraints we're operating under, those are options we're having to consider," said Parks and Neighborhoods director Janet Hooks. 

The libraries identified so far as targets for closure are the Cossitt, Poplar-White Station, Levi and Gaston branches. The Highland branch, which closed in November, is included in the number. The administration says shutting down those libraries would result in $1.7 million in savings. 

Two more unidentified branches could also be closed. 

"Our preference, of course, would be to leave all our libraries open," Hooks said during a Tuesday City Council budget committee meeting. "That will be up to the council to decide."

Related posts:
Budget cuts: Public safety trumps other city services in Memphis. (7/31/2011)
Two library branches survivie Memphis city council cuts.  (5/25/2010)
Memphis mayor proposes closing 2 branches.  (5/21/2010)

Mayoral Candidate and Library Board Trustee Plays the Library Card

Confirmed

Montclair 2012 Blasts Turner on Library, Arts Support. (Baristanet, 5/2/2012)

Excerpt: Many Montclair residents received a two-page mailer this morning from the Montclair 2012 team, with the headline, “We Can’t Trust Karen Turner To Protect Montclair.”

Selected indicators of use @ the Montclair Public Library.  
From New Jersey Public Library Statistics 2010.

Monclair Public Library Trustees

Karen Turner's "Real Progress Montclair"

Harvey Susswein is also running for mayor.  He doesn't mention libraries in his appeal to the voters.

Not listed yet on website.

Mack to reopen shut Trenton library. (The Times of Trenton, 4/30/2012)

Excerpt: The opening ceremony for the new Mayor’s Learning Center Library is set for 3 p.m. on the 900 block of South Broad Street. The center will operate from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays as a space for computer access, study and other activities, according to a statement released by the mayor’s office. 

The Skelton library building was one of four branches closed in August 2010. Budget cuts that went into effect on Nov. 1 of that year included deep cuts to the Trenton Free Public Library, which relies on funds from the city for its operation. The main branch of the Trenton Free Public Library on Academy Street has been the only location to remain open.

Previously noted in RGD:
Let's limbo some more.  (11/19/2010)
Library officials still haven't seen the money.  (10/27/2010)
Library officials to mayor:  "Show us the money".  10/26/2010)
Now there appears to be money to keep Trenton's branches open.  (10/23/2010)
Reprieve unlikely for 4 branches.  (10/22/2010)
Trenton Mayor, Library Director need unified vision & common agenda.  (9/12/2010)
Preserving Trenton's libraries.  (8/15/2010)
Board president laments closing of 4 branches.  (8/7/2010)

What would Jesus say?

Probably something alone these lines.

Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

LINK

LINK

Groundbreaking Celebration @ the Cedar Rapids Public Library

But asbestos removal pushes back anticipated opening date to August 2013.

From the Cedar Rapids Gazette, 4/30/2012.

Excerpt: Initially, the city’s library board had estimated that the cost to remove asbestos as part of the site demolition would be $42,916 and that the new library would open in June 2013. 

However, a month ago, the library board approved the spending of an additional $1.3 million for the 
additional asbestos-removal costs, which now have climbed to a total of $1,766,014. A month ago, the library opening date was moved into from June to July 2013. 

Bob Pasicznyuk, the city’s library director, on Monday said the complications of asbestos removal have moved the library’s projected opening date back even further, to the end of August 2013. 

“It’s the time it took to prepare the site,” Pasicznyuk said. “Our asbestos removal has lasted that long. We’ve lost about 10 weeks. … It’s something we had to deal with. But we didn’t let it get us down.” 

Excavation at the new library site uncovered a large amount of asbestos-tainted debris from the Washington School built in 1855 and the Washington High School built in 1890, which once sat on the site.

Related posts:
Construction update.  (12/1/2012)
Construction of new library starts December 5.  (10/14/2011)
Cedar Rapids PTA Council supports new library with penny drive. (9/19/2011)
Contracts sent out for bid.  (8/30/2011)
A "progressive and forward-looking design".  (1/11/2011)
FEMA sez it can't support site for new Cedar Rapids library. (9/16/2010)
New library construction will include old bricks.  (8/18/2010)
Library circulation plummets at temporary location.  (8/6/2010)
Library staff looking at the best design ideas. (5/6/2010)
For sale, old library, needs work.  (4/9/2010)
Site Selection Raises Ethics Concerns.  (2/9/2010)
Cedar Rapids Library Board to Recommend Site for New Library. (01/26/2010)
FEMA Reconsiders, Decides Library Provides an Essential Service. (12/24/2009)
Hide and Seek: Downtown Cedar Rapids Satellite Branch Library. (11/30/2009)
Early Days of Cedar Rapids Public Library. (11/20/2009)

LINK

Lester Public Library of Rome's Fundraising Campaign for a Much-Needed Building Expansion

Lester Public Library of Rome Looks to Expand. (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, 5/2/2012)

Excerpt: Fire codes give the current library a maximum capacity of 30 people, but the facility has twice that number enrolled in a summer reading program and often can't hold functions without violating the codes. It also has outgrown the current space for bookshelves, a space that was more than enough to hold the 672 volumes it had when it opened Dec. 27, 2001. There were 18,106 items in the collection at the end of 2008, the most recent figure included in the library report. 

In June 2011, the Lester Public Library of Rome Board of Trustees and library officials started educating Rome residents about the need for the library expansion. At the time, Jeanne Osgood, board president, said it didn't do any good to start a fundraising drive if the community didn't support an expansion of the 10-year-old building. 

The current library is 2,500 square feet, serving about 3,300 cardholders. According to the South Central Library System, it should have 12,000 square feet to serve the patrons it does now.

Page 1 of 3

Preliminary Program Statement (page 2 of 20)

Related posts:

Home Town Rome Players raise $6,000 for library building expansion fund.  (10/28/2011)
Library needs more room.  (6/24/2011)
Netflix, ebooks, and library building projects, part 61.  (6/20/2012)

Rome Home Town Players raise $1,000+ for library expansion.   (10/30/2009)

Sign the Petition: "Reading is your business. Reading is our business. Reading is everyone's business."

Watch the video.



Click on the link to fill out the petition.

Fill out the form.

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Launches Trustee Certification Program

All programs mentioned in this post are voluntary.

Although Wisconsin doesn't provide a certification program for public library trustees, the Public Library Development Team provides a wealth of  resources for directors to use to educate and inform trustees about their responsibilities.

LINK

LINK to the guidelines of this voluntary program (5 pages)

New library trustee certification program announced.  (The Lane Report, 4/26/2012)

Excerpt:  The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) recently unveiled the Kentucky Public Library Trustee Certification program, the first of its kind in the state. The program was created to provide trustees with the tools that will help them fulfill their responsibilities to the libraries and their communities. 

Eighty-five public library trustees were certified in the inaugural event, which took place at the Kentucky Public Library Association/Kentucky Library Trustees Roundtable spring conference in Bowling Green. This figure represents over 10 percent of all public library trustees in Kentucky. 

“Public library trustees advocate for the library, hire a director to manage the library, establish policies, monitor finances, and plan for the library’s future,” said KDLA continuing education consultant Beth Milburn. “The Trustee Certification program is designed to educate and inform those who have been appointed to this very important position. Libraries are a cornerstone of the community, and they need to be well managed to meet the needs of the citizens they serve. Certified trustees will be more effective in their duties.”

Other states that offer a similar program for library trustees.  (Not a thorough search.)

Kansas (established in 2007)

LINK

Montana  (established in 1990)

Vermont allows trustees to participate as workshop space allows.  (The program has been in effect in its present form for 25 years.)