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January 3, 2007
Checked Out
A Washington-area library tosses out the classics.
[…] What are libraries for? Are they cultural storehouses that contain the best that has been thought and said? Or are they more like actual stores, responding to whatever fickle taste or Mitch Albom tearjerker is all the rage at this very moment?
If the answer is the latter, then why must we have government-run libraries at all? There's a fine line between an institution that aims to edify the public and one that merely uses tax dollars to subsidize the recreational habits of bookworms.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110009472
January 2, 2007
Libraries for the Internet Age
These centers of wisdom are not just about books anymore. They're diversifying—and designers are focusing on their social role
In these determinedly digital times, the idea of a library almost strikes one as quaint. Imagine: a collection of paper and books stored in one building to, well, gather dust.
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2007/id20070102_926921.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_innovation+and+design+lead
Lock the Library! Rowdy Students Are Taking Over
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — Every afternoon at Maplewood Middle School’s final bell, dozens of students pour across Baker Street to the public library. Some study quietly.
Others, library officials say, fight, urinate on the bathroom floor, scrawl graffiti on the walls, talk back to librarians or refuse to leave when asked. One recently threatened to burn down the branch library. Librarians call the police, sometimes twice a day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/nyregion/02library.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Hello, Grisham -- So Long, Hemingway?
With Shelf Space Prized, Fairfax Libraries Cull Collections
You can't find "Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings" at the Pohick Regional Library anymore. Or "The Education of Henry Adams" at Sherwood Regional. Want Emily Dickinson's "Final Harvest"? Don't look to the Kingstowne branch.
It's not that the books are checked out. They're just gone. No one was reading them, so librarians took them off the shelves and dumped them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/01/AR2007010100729.html
December 31, 2006
Clan plans "Saddam library" at burial site
AWJA, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's extended family plans to found a presidential library and religious school at his burial site in his native village, a family member said on Sunday as mourners thronged to pay their respects.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR157346.htm
December 18 2006
'Digital black hole' threatens your documents
The European Union is funding a project involving national libraries and digital preservation groups aimed at fighting off a looming "digital black hole."
The black hole in question is the potential future loss of data as file formats become obsolete and inaccessible.
The Planets consortium will develop a "sustainable framework" to maintain access to digital content after its original storage format has disappeared. ("Planets" is short for "preservation and long-term access project through networked services.)
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,61975904,00.htm
December 05, 2006
Library funding method ruled unfair |
[Charleston, WV] Urging the Legislature to step in, a divided state Supreme Court ruled that West Virginia's school funding formula shortchanges counties required to devote some of their money to public libraries.
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2006120525/
US judge partly grants Russian counterclaim over Jewish library
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. district judge has partly upheld a Russian government plea to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Hasidic Jewish movement to recover 18th century religious writings, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Tuesday.
Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that an American court has no jurisdiction over a Moscow library of religious books, collected since 1772 and comprising over 12,000 volumes and 381 manuscripts.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061205/56478740.html
December 1, 2006
Blind pensioner sentenced to library course
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A blind Turkish pensioner has been sentenced to a 26-day reading and writing course at his local public library after he failed to vote on time in an election for his village cooperative, his son said on Friday.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-12-01T131004Z_01_L01889975_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-TURKEY-BLIND.XML&WTmodLoc=HP-C13-Oddly-3
November 29, 2006
Faith in the Library's Future
With the Opening of a Flagship Building in Rockville, Montgomery Bets the Public Will Keep Coming Back
Librarians, those experts in answering people's questions, had a few vexing ones for themselves as they contemplated their relevance in the Internet age.
Mainly, they wanted to know whether people could be lured away from the comforts of home electronic centers to go to the public library. They wondered whether the public library could be hip enough, comfortable enough and relaxed enough to make people want to hang out there. They looked at the way bookstores have been retooled and asked: Why not try the same thing with libraries?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112801581.html
November 25, 2006
Coffee's on, dusty books are out at UMass library
Extras aimed at drawing students
AMHERST -- To its 3 million volumes of books, the personal papers of US Representative Silvio O. Conte, and the works of William Butler Yeats, the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts has added more features: a café, a lounge, and cellphone isolation booths.
With students shunning its 28 stories and opting to conduct research by mouse click, the library is on an outreach offensive, shelving once-forbidding rules and replacing an old circulation counter with a coffee bar, where hot drinks and soda are for sale and an assortment of pastries are on display behind the counter. Chicken wing deliveries are allowed, along with other previously banned activities, like cell phone chatter.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/25/coffees_on_dusty_books_are_out_at_umass_library/
County Libraries In The United States - The Availability of Desi Media
At the country library in San Ramon, California, where my grandson Siddarth lives with his parents, I was pleased/amused to note a placard in vernacular saying, 'Hindi and Gujarati books are available'. Pleased, because it was a matter of pride that our books have found a place in a 'firangi' library; and amused by the fact that an overwhelming number of visitors to the library would have no clue to what the placard says. If the idea was to attract the Hindi/Gujarati knowing readers, they needn't have taken the trouble, for 'desis' who use libraries in this part of the world are usually also familiar with plain English.
http://desicritics.org/2006/11/25/010421.php
November 24, 2006
As more graphic novels appear in libraries, so do challenges
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Amy Crump took over as director of the Marshall Public Library in central Missouri two years ago, she decided to build up the library's offerings for young adults by buying the literary world's hot new thing — graphic novels.
The novels, using the pictures and dialogue balloons of comic books to tell sometimes sophisticated stories in book form, are one of the fastest-growing sectors of the publishing industry, selling $250 million last year, according to market research firm ICV2 Publishing. But they're also leading to challenges to libraries from some parents, who complain that the books with adult content could be read by children attracted to the comic book-like drawings.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=17805
November 23, 2006
Gates Foundation to provide free access to computers and Internet in Romania
BUCHAREST - The Foundation of US billionaire and Microsoft founder Bill Gates plans to computerize Romania's public libraries to provide free access to computers and the Internet for all Romanians, the culture ministry said in Bucharest.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061123/tc_afp/romaniauscharity
A Tiny Window on the U.S., Prized by Those Peering In
YANGON, Myanmar — For a window into how people think in this closed and cloistered Asian society, consider these eclectic interests in American culture, found on the bulletin board and library shelves at the American Center here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/23/world/asia/23myanmar.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
November 19, 2006
Library worker wins discrimination suit, fighting for right not to work on Sunday
SAVANNAH, Mo. - Three years after she was fired for refusing to work on Sundays, Connie Rehm has won back her job on the staff of this small town's public library, and her employers have received a costly education in employment rights law.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1119working-sunday1119.html
New York Library Officials’ Pay? Shhh
The New York Public Library, which started an emergency fund-raising campaign in 2003, has sharply increased top executives’ pay.
Three years ago, the New York Public Library — the city landmark with 50 million books and other items in its vast collections — declared itself in some financial distress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/nyregion/19library.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
November 18, 2006
Mold problems forcing Waterbury library to toss 20,000 items
WATERBURY, Conn. --A mold outbreak in the basement of Waterbury's main library is forcing officials to throw out about 20,000 books, magazines and other items.
The items, some of which date to the 19th century, were damaged by mold that was spawned by humidity and ventilation problems in the Silas Bronson Library's 10,000-square-foot basement storage area.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/11/18/mold_problems_forcing_waterbury_library_to_toss_20000_items/
November 12, 2006
Food and drink invade U.S. libraries
LOS ANGELES -- Campus libraries across the United States are starting to let in food and drink, part of an effort to lure students away from coffee houses and Internet cafes.
Starbucks, of course, is leading the invasion, and California is on the front lines.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061112-062039-6814r
Kashmiris Close the Book: Reading Down 95 Percent in 60 Years
[Kashmir, India] A six foot-wide, seven foot-tall slab of pearly white stucco stands alone near the center of a vacant, trash-strewn lot behind a red brick wall across M.A. Road from Regal Chowk. The faux Spanish tile roofing is cracked and falling off, and on one side a golden inscription in black marble reads: Sri Pratap Singh Library, Foundation Stone, Laid…February 27, 2004.
Zahida Bano, Chief Librarian of the current SPS Library, explained what happened.
"Nothing," she deadpanned, chatting outside her office last week. "There was some controversy between the builders and the government, apparently costs were higher than they expected, and construction stopped before it started."
http://www.kashmirobserver.com/index.php?id=1056
November 11, 2006
Letter: Will we need a library in 10 years?
[…] Finally, with the Internet — who needs to go to the library in the first place?
My 18-year-old grandson spent two years at Baton Rouge Magnet High School and did 99 percent of his research online from home on his computer.
Will any library be viable in 10 years?
http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/4617162.html
November 10, 2006
Libraries in the sand reveal Africa's academic past
TIMBUKTU, Mali - Researchers in Timbuktu are fighting to preserve tens of thousands of ancient texts which they say prove Africa had a written history at least as old as the European Renaissance.
Private and public libraries in the fabled Saharan town in Mali have already collected 150,000 brittle manuscripts, some of them from the 13th century, and local historians believe many more lie buried under the sand.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10685745.htm
Libraries look for ways to increase staff diversity
"That the library's existence is necessarily predicated on its relevance to the communities it serves demands that we pay more than cursory attention to our burgeoning national diversity and our ability, thus far, to fully reflect that diversity among our ranks."
-- From Foreword of "Diversity Counts" from the American Library Association (ALA) Offices for Research and Statistics and Diversity, September 2006
I recently read the extensively researched and reported American Library Association document, "Diversity Counts." The 36 pages of this report give a realistic look at libraries and how well they reflect the communities they serve. It is obvious after reading it and looking at the various tables and graphs that changes need to come about.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15977902.htm
See also:
ALA’s Diversity Counts
http://www.ala.org/ala/ors/diversitycounts/divcounts.htm
November 9, 2006
ALA's Sheketoff: New Congress Should Be Good for Libraries
The new Congress elected Tuesday—with a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and a possible majority in the Senate—should bode well for libraries, according to Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Washington Office. "I think it's going to be a very exciting time in Washington," she told LJ. "The voters sent the message that they weren't happy with the way the government is running. So I hope that that means there will be real cooperation between both houses of Congress and the president in the future, and that's good for libraries." She noted that simple gridlock has slowed the approval of library appropriations bills that both parties have agreed on.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6389668.html
November 6, 2006
Libraries and pornography
Back when the Information Super Highway was brand new, I was one of those people who took his time getting to the on ramp. In other words, 10 years ago, I didn’t even own a computer which means that I was slow to learn the benefits of the Internet. I was, however, hosting a daily morning radio show back then and was scheduled to interview one Gennifer Glowers. Yes, the same Jennifer Flowers who had a fling with former President Bill Clinton.
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/11/06/news_opinion/left_right/cea8e911ea8ada6a8625721c0003a043.txt
November 3, 2006
Your Library May Be a Safe Haven for Criminals
Library Confidential: Police Say Library Law Hinders Their Ability To Nab Offenders
NAPERVILLE, Ill. A little-known law may be turning your local library into a safe haven for criminals.
Thursday night, CBS 2's Save Savini exposed serious crimes and inappropriate behavior going on at libraries in the city and suburbs, and being kept confidential.
Friday CBS 2 takes a look at why police say libraries are hindering their efforts to stop crime.
http://cbs2chicago.com/westsuburbanbureau/local_story_307173446.html
See also:
Illinois’ Library Records Confidentiality Act
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/ifgroups/stateifcchairs/stateifcinaction/illinoisprivacy.rtf
Florida Statute 257.261 (Title XVIII: Public Lands and Property)
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/ifgroups/stateifcchairs/stateifcinaction/floridaprivacy.rtf
October 31, 2006
Google Horror Stories
Need a scary story before you tuck your trick-or-treaters in bed that will make them convulse with fright until they lay unconscious in a nightmarish hell until morning? Google can help.
For Halloween this year, Google opens up its chest to show off the public domain contents of Book Search. The bloodiest and most ghoulish classics are available through Google's Scary Stories page.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20061031GoogleHorrorStories.html
October 24, 2006
Row over 'tyrant' Menzies library book
[Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia] A principal is resisting calls from a Liberal senator to remove a book from his school's library which labels former prime minister Sir Robert Menzies a tyrant.
The book, 100 Greatest Tyrants by British author Andrew Langley, places Menzies, sometimes labelled Ming the Merciless after the evil emperor from Flash Gordon comics, alongside Adolf Hitler, Cambodian dictator Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Row-over-tyrant-Menzies-library-book/2006/10/24/1161455704923.html
October 19, 2006
Labor call to block internet porn
[Australia] More than 20,000 people have signed a petition tabled in the Senate today, demanding internet pornography be blocked in all households, schools and public libraries.
In June, the government announced it would offer all households internet filters for their computers, but the opposition says the plan does not go far enough.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20608226-1702,00.html
October
17,
2006
Alabama
puts
LOCKSS
on
Digital
Preservation
The
Alabama
Commission
on
Higher
Education
was
recently
awarded
$113,427
from
the
Institute
of
Museum
and
Library
Services
to
be
used
over
the
next
two
years
for
the
preservation
of
archival
material
in
the
Alabama
Digital
Preservation
Program.
The
Commission,
through
its
Network
of
Alabama
Academic
Libraries
(NAAL),
will
test
the
feasibility
of
adopting
the
Lots
of
Copies
Keep
Stuff
Safe
(LOCKSS),
a
concept
that
creates
a
network
of
duplicates
that
can
replace
quickly
any
lost
or
damaged
digital
object.
http://www.public-cio.com/newsStory.php?id=2006.10.17-101709
October
15, 2006
Britain's
bloggers
make
history
Future
generations
may see
it as
the
Domesday
blog of
21st-century
Britain.
A
digital
time
capsule
detailing
a day in
the life
of
hundreds
of
thousands
of
Britons
is to be
posted
on a
website
and then
archived
permanently
at the
British
Library.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2405000.html
October
14, 2006
Digital
archive
peeks
into
history
of South
Florida
Postcards
from the
old
Hialeah
race
track. A
telegram
handwritten
by
Ralph
Munroe's
wife
after
the 1926
hurricane.
A
brochure
luring
potential
avocado,
mango
and
citrus
growers
to what
is now
South
Miami.
These
are some
of the
fascinating
items
you'll
find on
a new
digital
archive
hosted
by the
University
of Miami
Richter
Library
website
-- more
than
3,000
scanned
images
and
documents
now
available
to
anybody
with a
computer
and
historical
curiosity.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/front/15756502.htm
See also:
University
of Miami
Libraries:
Miami
Digital
Archive
http://scholar.library.miami.edu/miamidigital/
October 12,
2006
University
joins Google
library
project
The
University
of Wisconsin
has agreed
to take part
in Google's
bid to scan
book
collections
of the
world's
great
libraries,
joining a
second wave
of backers
for the
controversial
project, the
two
organizations
said late on
Wednesday.
The
University
of
Wisconsin-Madison
and Google
plan to
provide
access to
hundreds of
thousands of
public and
historical
materials
from the
UW-Madison
libraries
and the
Wisconsin
Historical
Society
Library,
they said.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6125226.html
October 11, 2006
Rating system
urged at
libraries
Graphic content
on an audio book
spurs an
Arlington woman
to push for
warnings on
library
materials.
[Arlington,
Washington]
The way Merrylue
Martin tells it,
the onslaught
was sudden.
She was driving
home from work,
absorbed in an
audio mystery,
when the
soothing-voiced
narrator she had
come to trust
let loose. In
six minutes, a
string of curse
words describing
a vivid sex
scene flew from
the narrator's
mouth.
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/10/11/100loc_a1ratings001.cfm
October 8, 2006
The Ethicist:
Copyright Wrongs
Is it piracy if
you take your
laptop into a
library and
download CD’s or
copy movies from
its DVD
collection? I
travel the
country
continuously and
frequent
libraries. Never
have I seen a
sign that
prohibits
copying the
material on
their shelves.
Adam Wasserman,
Los Angeles
I, too, frequent
libraries, and
never have I
seen a sign that
prohibits
shooting a
patron who
jabbers into his
cellphone in the
reference
section, but I
don’t take that
lacuna as
permission to
open fire. While
libraries exist
to lend just the
sort of material
you describe,
duplicating an
entire
copyrighted work
is forbidden.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/magazine/08wwln_ethicist.html
October 6, 2006
Naked campaign
to save library
Campaigners in a
Devon village
hope that a
naked protest
will keep their
library open.
Devon County
Council is
considering
shutting 12
branches which
are under-used
and reinvesting
the money in
other library
services.
But the Friends
of
Kingsteignton
Library got so
hot under the
collar about the
proposals that
they bared all
in a poster
protest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/5401872.stm
Liquor license
of Library
Lounge suspended
The New York
State Liquor
Authority has
suspended the
liquor license
of a bar in
Albany, N.Y.,
after a Sept. 26
raid found 22
minors who
admitted they
had consumed
alcohol or were
given alcohol by
another patron.
The raid also
found unlicensed
security guards.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2006/10/02/daily54.html
Webmaster’s
Note: The
Library Lounge
is neither a
library nor
affiliated with
a library, as
far as we can
tell. The
headline was
just too good to
pass up.
October 5, 2006
Google seeks
rivals' data for
lawsuit over
libraries
Yahoo, Microsoft
back other book
projects
Google is
subpoenaing
documents from
its two biggest
competitors,
Microsoft and
Yahoo, in an
effort to defend
itself in
copyright
lawsuits filed
against it by
publishers and
authors.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/15692831.htm
October 4, 2006
Google print
outshines the
European Digital
Library
As Google actively
courts European
publishers at
Frankfurt, the
nascent European
Digital Library
fumbles to catch up
In December 2004,
Google caught the
world by surprise
and revealed Google
Print, their new
project to digitize
15 million books
from 5 prestigious
English language
libraries, over a
6-year period. Since
then, Internet users
have been able to
access the entire
contents of public
domain books
(published since
1922, according to
US law). However,
the American giant’s
ambition does not
end here. It is
attending the
Frankfurt Book Fair
to convince European
publishing houses to
digitize and include
their most recent
publications in
Google. Thus, when
an Internet user
types in the
keywords of a recent
work, Google will
provide a 5-page
sample and a link to
the main libraries,
bookshops and online
sales portals where
the book can be
found. Publishing
houses love the
idea, since they can
keep the rights on
the books and get a
great deal of free
publicity on the
web.
http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=8276
October 3, 2006
Finger reader
helping schools,
libraries
[Caledonia,
Minnesota]
Checking out a book
at the Caledonia
library just got a
lot easier.
No need to fish in
your wallet for that
beat up piece of
plastic anymore. You
just put your finger
on a tiny scanning
device called a
Universal Finger Id
System, or finger
identification
reader.
http://www.hometownargus.com/2006/October/3finger_reading.html
Should Libraries
Offer Gaming?
[Quote from
the shifted
librarian blog]
An interesting
question. Obviously,
games have almost no
literacy value...
but neither do
knitting clubs that
meet in a library,
or DVD rentals, or
any of the many
other activities
that happen in
libraries.
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/libraries/should-libraries-offer-gaming-204934.php
October 2, 2006
Illinois boasts new
robotic library
CHICAGO -- Librarians won’t
be doing any of the heavy
lifting when Chicago State
University unveils Illinois’
first robotic library next
month.
On Oct. 12 the public will
be able to view the $1.7
million system that can
fetch a book in about 35
seconds after being it is
requested by computer, the
Chicago Sun-Times report.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/northamerica/article_1207445.php/Illinois_boasts_new_robotic_library
Libraries are limited,
obsolete
As a long-time resident of
Lawrence, and one who has
devoted his entire life to
education, I have followed
the debate concerning a new
library for Lawrence with
great interest. As a parent
of three students, two in
college and one teenager at
Southwest Junior High, I
have witnessed a stunning
transformation in the way
kids access and use
information technology. All
that I see as a parent
reinforces what I see at
work every day:
1. Libraries are
inefficient. Like me, kids
seek fast, convenient access
to up-to-date information.
That’s available on the
Internet. In this new
information age, libraries
are an obsolete place to
store and disseminate
information. Rather than
speed access to reliable,
up-to-date information,
libraries provide only
remote, slow and
inconvenient access to
limited and often outdated
information.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/02/libraries_are_limited_obsolete/
September 27, 2006
Libraries Face Net
Access Challenges
The nation's public
libraries have significantly
expanded wireless and
high-speed Internet access
but face budget and space
constraints in continuing to
meet demand, a new study
finds.
Nearly all libraries have
Internet access and offer it
to the public, and branches
average 11 public-access
terminals, comparable to
findings in a 2004 survey.
The new study, sponsored by
the American Library
Association and the
Bill&Melinda Gates
Foundation, found a doubling
of wireless access, to 37
percent. High-speed access _
defined as 769 kilobits per
second or faster, though
that can be shared among
many terminals _ grew to 63
percent in the latest
survey, up from 48 percent.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Sep27/0,4670,TechBitsLibraryAccess,00.html
See also:
Public Libraries and the
Internet
http://www.ii.fsu.edu/plinternet_reports.cfm
September 26, 2006
Google Library Project Says
Hola to University of Madrid
The Google Books Library
Project will get a Spanish
flair when the University
Complutense of Madrid adds
its collection to the
digitization project.
Spain’s largest university
library, and the
second-largest behind the
National Library, will
contribute works by Miguel
de Cervantes, Quevedo,
Calderón and Sor Juana de la
Cruz, among others, and is
the first Spanish-language
library to join Google’s
efforts.
http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003157275
British Library develops web
crawling system for
preserving web pages
The internet is an
ever-changing repository of
information, where pages
disappear as quickly as new
ones appear. The British
Library is part of a group
of institutions working to
preserve digital data
presented on the internet
for future generations and
to make it available for
research.
The British Library
co-funded with The National
Library of New Zealand the
development of a web
harvesting management system
called the web curator tool.
It uses software to crawl
through a specified section
on the web and gather
snapshots of various sites.
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=4903
See also:
International Internet
Preservation Consortium
http://netpreserve.org/about/index.php
Copyright Jungle
[…] Google is exploiting the
instability of the copyright
system in a digital age. The
company’s struggle with
publishers over its legal
ability to pursue its
project is the most
interesting and perhaps most
transformative conflict in
the copyright wars. But
there are many other battles
— and many other significant
stories — out in the
copyright jungle.
http://www.cjr.org/issues/2006/5/Vaidhyanathan.asp
September 25, 2006
British Library calls for
digital copyright action
The British Library wants
copyright law to be updated to
curb DRM excesses
The British Library has called
for a "serious updating" of
current copyright law to
"unambiguously" include digital
content, and take technological
advances into account.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39283599,00.htm
September 24,
2006
Woman gets probation in library
arson
LAKEVIEW, ILLINOIS -- A homeless
woman who started a fire in a
Lakeview library in June to get back
at a librarian was sentenced to 2
years of probation Friday and
ordered to undergo psychological
testing.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0609230235sep24,1,291974.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed
September 22,
2006
Group objects to gun ban in Newport
News libraries
Despite doubts, Newport News
officials say they will obey a state
law allowing firearms.
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA
-- There's a small,
well-placed sign at the entrance to
the Main Street Library in Hilton
Village that makes it clear that
certain activities, such as
shouting, sleeping and chewing
tobacco, are taboo in the library.
The list also includes "bringing in
weapons," but that may change soon,
thanks to a statewide gun rights
group.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-32464sy0sep22,0,6756907.story?coll=dp-news-local-final
September 21, 2006
Library Won't Remove Mel Gibson Poster
Could a Mel Gibson poster in a
public library touch off a battle
between the American Civil Liberties
Union and the Anti-Defamation League?
Perhaps.
Two patrons of the Schaumburg (Ill.)
Township District Library complained
about a Gibson poster hanging in a
corridor of the library and asked that
it be removed. The poster promotes
reading.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/9/21/131748.shtml?s=ic
See also:
Mel Gibson READ poster at the ALA
Store
http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=193
September 20, 2006
New British Library Learning Web Site
The new website launched by the British
Library’s education department at
http://www.bl.uk/learning provides a
diverse mixture of texts, some literary
classics, others more ephemeral and
everyday.
Readers can examine a Quarto of a
Shakespeare play, a Caxton printing of
The Canterbury Tales, an illuminated
manuscript or a recipe for a plague
cure. These resources enhance school
lessons, each section providing
background information, suggestions for
classroom activities and high quality
images for printouts or for use on
whiteboards. Students, teachers and
lifelong learners all over the world can
now browse through a rich array of texts
and images, from ancient Iranian myths
and Renaissance anatomy diagrams to
Russian Constructivist book covers and
World War II maps.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=5207
California library can bar worship,
court says
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California
library can bar a religious group from
holding worship services in library
meeting rooms open to the public, a U.S.
appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
The dispute revolves around an
evangelical Christian church's efforts
to hold religious meetings in rooms of a
Contra Costa County library used for
educational, cultural and community
events.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-09-20T202111Z_01_N20419864_RTRUKOC_0_US-RIGHTS-RELIGION-LIBRARY.xml&archived=False
See also:
United States Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit Opinion
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/0A893E056B32B153882571EE00794928/$file/0516132.pdf?openelement
September 18, 2006
British Library immortalises tea site
A SITE which reviews tea and biscuits has
just been inducted into the British
Library’s "hall of immortality”.
Copies of
www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com will be
monitored and saved by the British Library
from now until doomsday because it is
quintessentially "British" site of popular
culture, said Reuters.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34440
September 13, 2006
Google seeks inroads into Asian libraries
The Google Books Library Project may have
won the support of prominent libraries in the
United States and the United Kingdom, but it is
not likely to make a splash in Asia--at least,
not yet.
Google's library project is one of two programs
under the Google Book Search, announced in 2004,
which aims to allow users to search and view a
limited number of pages from copyrighted books
of authors, or even download entire books when
they are out of copyright. The other partner
program reaches out to publishers as a sales and
marketing channel.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044246,61952383,00.htm
September 12, 2006
Fingerprints check at city school libraries
[Edinburgh, Scotland] School pupils at
several Edinburgh primary schools are having
their fingerprints taken before withdrawing
books from their libraries.
The book check-out system, called 'Junior
Librarian', requires school library staff to
scan pupils' thumbprints against biometric
readers before allowing them to check out books.
http://news.scotsman.com/education.cfm?id=1347802006
September 5, 2006
Man To Return Library Book 60 Years Overdue
Overdue Charges Total $440
PORTLAND, Maine – A children's book that was
checked out of the public library in Portland,
Maine 60 years ago will be returned this week,
along with overdue charges totaling more than
$440.
http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_248093538.html
September 4, 2006
Libraries In The Digital Age: Implications For
Publishers
The latest EPS Focus Report 'Libraries in the
digital age: implications for publishers' looks
at how digital technologies and the internet are
affecting the way that UK and US public,
academic and corporate libraries perform their
traditional roles - and what these changes might
mean for content providers serving library
customers.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=5146
See also:
Executive Summary of Report
(actual report sells for £350.00)
http://www.epsltd.com/clients/viewBriefingReport.asp
September 1, 2006
Libraries ‘Hold Key To Knowledge Economy Growth’
A report commissioned by the MLA [Museums
Libraries and Archives Council] has found
England’s public libraries are playing a
crucial, but often overlooked, role in the
growth of the knowledge economy.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=5145
See also:
Public Libraries in the Knowledge Economy
(Adobe
Reader required)
http://www.mla.gov.uk/resources/assets//P/Public_libraries_in_the_knowledge_economy_10181.pdf
August 27, 2006
Hue’s first library fulfills father’s dream
[Vietnam] More and more communities throughout
the nation are demanding public libraries, and
the people responding are fellow citizens taking
the initiative to establish their own reading
havens.
Nguyen Huu Chau Phan recently opened the first
private library in the imperial city of Hue to
honour his father’s dying wishes to finally
offer books to the public for free.
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01TAL270806
August 26, 2006
Teen gets probation for crashing car into
library
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A teen who drove a stolen
Cadillac into a library wall has been sentenced
to probation over the objections of the branch
manager who was injured in the crash.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/15369819.htm
August 25, 2006
'Google Library' to world: give us 'all books in
all languages,' free of charge
Google proudly announced that it is helping
“bookworms everywhere find gems in the libraries
around the world” with a new Library Catalog
Search feature in Google Book Search.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/index.php?p=384
See also:
Google Book Search
http://books.google.com/
August 19, 2006
Local libraries pull 'explicit' magazine
Librarians stash or trash an issue of HopeDance
that’s ‘dedicated to sex’; publisher says he’ll
sue
[San Luis Obispo, CA] The county’s library
director has ordered librarians to remove the
August edition of HopeDance magazine from
library shelves because the issue is "dedicated
to sex," features local artist Mark Bryan’s
painting of a nude woman on its cover and has
sexual graphics inside.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/15312164.htm
August 18, 2006
Library closed 2 days by underwear in toilet
(GOSHEN, Ind.) - Authorities in Goshen say the
city's public library was closed for two days
after a large piece of underwear apparently was
flushed down the men's room toilet, causing a
major backup of sewage.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=4473711
August 15, 2006
British Library digital archiving project enters
final stages
National Digital Library to authenticate British
Library's collection
The British Library is entering the final stages
of a project to secure the integrity of its
National Digital Library.
http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2162344/british-library
August 14, 2006
Ghosts at the library?
PHOENIXVILLE, PA - Phoenixville Public Library
Executive Director John Kelley walked
investigators from the Chester County Paranormal
Research Society room-by-room through the
building, giving them a brief history of the
Andrew Carnegie-established institution.
http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17050719&BRD=1673&PAG=461&dept_id=17915&rfi=6
August 9, 2006
Homeless in Massachusetts Sue over Library
Policy
[…] So when Bombard went to check out more than
two volumes after spending a day as a volunteer
at Worcester's main library branch last summer,
he was shocked when they told him no.
"They said 'Oh, no—you live at a shelter,' right
in front of everybody," he said. "It made me
feel like a second-class citizen."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080900235.html
Everything for sale in Burma: National Library
to be auctioned off
“The newly-built National Library equipped with
new elevators on 10.692-acre plot at the
junction of Eastern Race course Street and
Laydauntkan Street in Tamway Township, Yangon
(Rangoon), will be auctioned at a floor price of
K 10,000 million,” the state-run newspapers of
Burma said today.
http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=7638
August 8, 2006
Nigeria: Virtual Library Marks 'The Beginning of
Life'
The National Virtual Library is now on and
running, and available for the use of Nigerian
universities. Performing the launching at the
premises of the National Universities Commission
(NUC, Abuja, last Thursday, the Minister of
Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, commended
the NUC for according the Virtual Library
project an unwavering support.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200608090305.html
See also:
The National Virtual Library of Nigeria
http://80.250.46.6/
August 3, 2006
Frederick Kilgour, OCLC Founder, Dies at 92
Frederick G. Kilgour, who transformed
librarianship by founding OCLC and developing
the WorldCat database, died on July 31. He was
92 and most recently a distinguished research
professor at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, serving until 2004. Kilgour was a
techno-visionary throughout his career. In a
November 15, 1989 article for Library Journal
("Toward 100 Percent Availability"), he posited
a "system for retrieving information from books
in machine-readable form," with full-text stored
online—an apparent precursor to Google's
ambitious plan to scan library collections.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6358988.html
August 2, 2006
Social Networking Sites, Wikis Fret Over
Proposed Law
Librarians, interactive site operators, and
school officials who fear the Deleting Online
Predators Act, which recently cleared the House,
are turning their lobbying focus to the Senate.
Libraries and schools could be required to limit
access to certain Web sites if the Deleting
Online Predators Act (DOPA), which recently
cleared the U.S House of Representatives, moves
swiftly through the Senate. Introduced by Rep.
Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.), the measure
dubbed H.R. 5319 passed by a 410 to 15 vote last
week.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=191601672
August 1, 2006
Commissioners to Decide If Book Should Be
Removed From Library
MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- Marion County
commissioners will decide if a controversial
book should come off the shelves in the county
library system. The book is a collection of 24
statements attributed to Osama bin Laden.
http://www.wftv.com/news/9608616/detail.html
New York Libraries Damaged by Floods
Numerous libraries in the central parts of New
York State were damaged by floods in June, and
the New York Library Association (NYLA) is
collecting financial donations for them.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6357781.html
July 31, 2006
Goring library's information techno-loo-gy boost
THERE'S going to be mice in the loo beside
Goring Library.
Worthing [West
Sussex, England] Borough Council are closing
the public toilets, and the space will become a
new IT computer suite in the library.
http://www.worthingtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=472&ArticleID=1663857
July 30, 2006
Library gets items from Good Times actress Rolle
Emmy award-winning actress Esther Rolle's family
has presented a collection of her personal items
to the African-American Research Library and
Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Rolle, best known for her portrayal of Florida
Evans on television's long-running 1970s show
Good Times, accumulated personal letters,
photos, awards and accolades such as her Emmy,
NAACP Image Award statuettes, beaded gowns,
commemorative T-shirts and other collectibles.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cp30libjul30,0,1638666.story?coll=sfl-news-browardcomm
July 28, 2006
Deleting Online Predators Act overwhelmingly
passes House
Washington D.C. - The days of Myspace and other
social networking sites could be numbered at
schools and public libraries. The Deleting
Online Predators Act (DOPA) has overwhelmingly
passed the House of Representatives by a 410 to
15 vote. If it becomes law, the act will force
public schools and libraries to bar access to
social networking websites and chat rooms.
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/07/28/dopa_passes_overwhelmingly/
July 26, 2006
House Internet Restriction Legislation Comes
Under Opposition
The US House of Representatives could vote on
HR 5319, referred to as the Deleting Online
Predators Act (DOPA), as early as Wednesday.
This bill would limit funds given all schools
and libraries receiving
e-rate funds where minors can access social
networking and chat room Web sites, and would
required the installation of technology
solutions that would restrict minors' access. If
passed, the legislation would deny access to any
area of the Internet where users may post home
pages or other information, including eBay,
Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, and millions of other sites.
http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=100311
July 25, 2006
Report touts value of public libraries
Libraries are valued more highly by the |