No money? Visit your library!
It seems that I’ve seen a rush of stories about how great the library is, especially is you’re strapped for cash. The Houston Chronicle joins the ranks of library fans with a story from the Newhouse News Service which, basically, discusses libraries’ importance all the time, and especially when economic times are hard. Of course, we already knew that.

Villanova University’s Digital Library initiative assembles, presents, and preserves digital collections that support the teaching and research of the campus and the global community of scholars. We work with faculty, staff and regional partners to select and develop resources that enhance access for a wide range of disciplines and audiences.

I read this message over at the Self Publishing Yahoogroup and
thought I would share it here as well. Feel free to pass it along.

Greetings, All!

I am now on active duty again and have deployed to Iraq for the second time. I am assigned to 1st Marine Logistics Group as the Camp Commandant of Camp Al Taqaddum. “TQ” is just west of Baghdad on the northeast corner of Lake Habbaniya. It is a large sprawling base that is home of several thousandMarines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen. We have a modest library on the camp and they are in need of more books. The library staff really wants copies of the Commandant’s Reading List and other books and DVDs that would be of interest to young men and women 18-30. College prep books would also be welcomed.

Books may be sent to:

Sabine Glascoe
KBR/MWR (B6)
APO AE 09381

Your support is appreciated. Thank you. Semper Fidelis!

John D. Folsom
Colonel, United States Marine Corps, Reserve
Al Taqaddum, Iraq

Pass it along!

Very good news.

Great reads
Looking for a good read this summer? Entertainment Weekly has compiled the “100 best reads from 1983 to 2008.” Some I agree with, some I don’t.

The University of Houston-Clear Lake will receive a $906,104 federal grant to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians, U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson announced Monday.

[snip]

Kruse and South Houston elementary schools will be expanding their school library collections with the help of a $6,000 grant from The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.

[snip]

Congratulation, Kruse & South Houston.

You can no longer use MySpace, Facebook or other “social networking sites” at Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library.

Fights, lewd language and cars being blocked in the parking lot by teenagers are among the problems Director Dave Eisen said have plagued the downtown library lately.

He told library board members that adults have complained about not feeling safe at the library. Eisen and his staff believe the teenagers are there to use MySpace, Facebook and other social sites.

So he received permission from the library board to cut off social networking sites.

It might have worked, as there were few teenagers going to the computer room by 3:30 p.m. Friday, a half hour after it normally begins to fill up. There were few teenagers even coming in to the computer room at the library.

[snip]

This is just sad. Reading the story it’s clear that they had some serious behavior issues to address. It’s unfortunate that they believed that they had to limit access to vital online tools to do that.

Found via Tame The Web.

The Humble school district will host the first Kid Lit Fest March 8, featuring nine children’s literature authors, activities, book signings and giveaways.

The event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Atascocita High School, 13300 Will Clayton Parkway.

Admission is free.

[snip]

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.

Hmmm……

I loved the first, especially the way it takes its time to build up. My tween niece liked it a lot, almost for the same reason.

In fact, she’s the one who told me about the fact that they’re making a movie based on the book. Needless to say, she’s impatient to see this story on the big screen.

What has a drive-thru window, self-checkout kiosks and free wireless Internet?

If you’re thinking Starbucks, try again. How about a neighborhood library? Butler County’s historic Hamilton branch of the Lane Public Library is shedding its stodgy image of yesteryear with a $1.2 million renovation to remake it into a place where people want to hang out.

Bookshelves will move to the sidelines to make way for lounge areas where people can interact, read and relax. Electrical outlets will be added so there are enough places for laptop users to power up and recharge. And the octagonal room under a grand cupola, which now houses the circulation desk, will return to its original purpose as a seating space.

“Lane Public Library has always prided itself on being up-to-date with technology,” said Patti Sumner, project manager and interior designer with Steed Hammond Paul Inc., the same architecture firm that renovated the 25,000-square-foot building a little more than a decade ago. The main focus of the latest Hamilton branch project, she said, has been improving the library’s flow to make it relevant for the way people use libraries in this digital age.

[snip]

• 80th Annual Academy Award Nominations Announced, at the Harris County Public Library
• Spanish-language publishing; Lost in translation no more
  Sales of books in Spanish are booming, and there is plenty of room for growth, by the Economist.com (found via Librarian)
• UCO 24 hour library - a success?, at Library Stories

Resources:

• Flamingnet

The Winnipeg Public Library, MB, now offers wi-fi to laptop users—for a price. According to Sam Katz, mayor of Manitoba’s capital, the city must charge $3 CDN an hour to laptop users to recoup the $23,000 it spent to install wireless Internet in all 20 library branches (and in the Pan Am Pool). “Winnipeg needs to be, you know, in the modern age,” Katz said at a September 10 news conference, as was reported by CBC News. “We need to be hip, and this is what it’s all about. It’s happening in other cities, and I certainly don’t want us to be the last ones.”

[snip]

Via Library Technology in Texas.

[snip]

While the idea of being able to carry a couple hundred books around
in your pocket (and it would have to be a mighty big pocket in the
Kindle’s case) is attractive, people have a physical and emotional
attachment to books. The Kindle is just one plastic device, and while
it can do cool things, it cannot compete with the aesthetic appeal of a
full bookshelf.

But just as radio didn’t kill print, TV didn’t kill radio and the
Internet won’t kill off any other media, e-books and “real” books will
co-exist, side-by-side, in the long run. E-books have a long way to go,
but eventually, they’ll become as friendly and as useful as their
wood-pulp-and-ink predecessors.

[snip]

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks

Seventy percent of the Houston Independent School District’s libraries have collections that are so small or so old, the state considers them below standard.

And HISD isn’t the only local district struggling to meet state guidelines. Others, including fast-growing Cypress-Fairbanks, also are missing the mark, sometimes because they can’t stock their shelves fast enough to keep up with the influx of students.

[snip]

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.