LISNews: Librarian Blog Since 1999

For nearly two centuries, Charles Dickens' colorful characters and memorable expressions have worked their way into the vernacular. The prolific 19th-century English novelist left behind 989 named characters and two dozen novels full of the pathos and comedy of London's rich and poor.

Full piece here.

Story on "All Things Considered" on NPR

In his new book, Charles Murray, co-author of the controversial The Bell Curve , argues that in an increasingly economically stratified America, the white working class is slipping behind.

Full NPR piece: Is White, Working Class America 'Coming Apart'?

Current book being discussed in NPR piece is: Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010

Annoyed Librarian commentary on libraries and popular books.

Interesting blog entry from KM the Librarian about a discussion on the above-mentioned issue.

The other day I got into an "argument" with a student about whether or not I was really a librarian. His position was that I wasn't a librarian--I was actually a teacher who happened to have an office in the library.

It was a weird discussion to be having. As the conversation continued, it became clear that he was, in no small part, trying to annoy me. But I don't think the original statement was meant just to taunt me. We ended up trying to pull in other students to make our respective cases--his that I wasn't a librarian, mine that I really was. The general consensus seemed to be that I was definitely a librarian. And probably also a teacher.

I was thinking about the discussion I had with him, and with other students, in light of one of the phrases I so often hear when it comes to changing the perception/image of school librarians:

"how do we make them see that librarians [fill in the blank]"

This was not a student I know particularly well, nor have I worked with him a lot. He's new to the school this year. There's nothing I've done to try and "make" him see anything. I've just been doing my job the same way I've been doing it for years, and he came to his own conclusions.
-- Read More

Join Us in Supporting the Students and Teachers of Tucson Unified School District

This is where you come in. Acting in solidarity with OccupyTucson and the students, parents, and teachers of the Tucson Unified School District we are going send copies of the banned texts to Tucson for distribution. Lots of copies. As many copies as we can find and buy. We respect the rights of authors and publishers, so all copies will be completely legally purchased though an independent bookseller or directly from the publisher. Donations of the these texts are, of course, welcomed.

Boulder library reports sharp decline in security problems
In the three years since the Boulder Public Library began hiring private security guards, the number of reported incidents at the main library branch downtown have fallen to record lows.

According to city records, the number of reported incidents -- ranging from assaults and trespassing to theft and intoxicated people -- totaled just 50 in 2011. That's down 73 percent from a high of 185 reported incidents during 2009, the first full year of the security patrols.

"This is good news for us," said Jennifer Bray, a spokeswoman for the library. "It is a safe place to be. That is one of our No. 1 goals."

Authors share how they deal with lousy reviews
Authors also know that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, which is why we develop coping mechanisms that we turn to when the reviews start rolling in. It's inevitable that even though your new release got four stars from RT Book Reviews and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, someone out there is going to poo all over it. And, yes, I speak from experience with my recent release, True Shot. That's why I asked several authors this question: How do you deal with bad reviews (we all get them!)? Chocolate? Alcohol? Shooting range?

Ruling Could Affect Restrictions On Sex Offender Use Of Mass. Libraries
“They simply said that, you know, ‘Our ordinance enjoys a presumption of constitutionality and we rest on that, and that anyone challenging it has the burden of proof,’ ” Timmins said, meaning a true constitutional debate over this issue has yet to occur in the courts.

There’s no indication that debate is going to happen in Massachusetts anytime soon. A spokesman for the ACLU of Massachusetts said they’ve not been contacted by any sex offenders interested in pursuing a lawsuit.

Two article on Facebook - articles look at data privacy and ownership

Austrian Law Student Faces Down Facebook
Max Schrems's crusade against the information collected by the social network has become a cause célèbre in parts of Europe, looming over the company as it prepares to go public.

Disruptions: Facebook Users Ask, ‘Where’s Our Cut?’
Without the free content created by its 850 million users, Facebook would surely not be on the verge of a multibillion-dollar initial public offering.

Defining Fair Use.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has released a “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries” — a 32-page document, based on interviews with dozens of librarians, outlining the principles and limitations it believes are relevant to eight common scenarios. The guidelines also recommend additional actions libraries can take to insulate themselves against legal challenges.

Securiteam pointed the way to The Vancouver Sun (orginally from The Ottawa Citizen) on a new survey that says
Academic journals that decide which research discoveries count as important are practising widespread “coercion” to gain influence, at the expense of their own credibility. [A quick search for the actual study failed, so put this under the "it's on the internet so it's true file]

The End of Academic Library Circulation?
Aaron pointed the way to an interesting one from the ACRL TechConnect Blog with a shocking chart.

"This chart shows the upper/lower quartiles and median for circulation per FTE student. As you can see this data shows a much more dramatic drop in the circulation of library materials. Rising student populations hide this fact.

This week's episode brings not one but two essays. Public Service Announcements are heard from the US Internal Revenue Service, the US Census Bureau, and the US Department of Agriculture.

Direct download link: MP3

Related links:
TeleRead re-running the proposal to buy out Overdrive
The Interstate Library Compact
Main body of the US Constitution at the National Archives and Records Administration
John C. Dvorak: Here Comes the National Internet
John C. Dvorak: Censoring the Web Every Which Way
Chloe Albanesius: Twitter Now Able to Censor Tweets
OUT-LAW.COM: Google 'chooses' not to censor Mosley content, MP says
Uri Friedman: Five things you can't do on Twitter in the United States

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #185 by The Air Staff of Erie Looking Productions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
-- Read More

Remember Desiree Goodwin who sued Harvard Library and lost? She's still at Harvard and still looking for better working conditions (for the pretty?); here's her note:

Hey,

I just signed the petition "HUCTW Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, Bill Jaeger: Stand Up for Workers' Rights!" and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.

Our goal is to reach 100 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/petitions/huctw-harvard-union-of-clerical-and-technical-workers-bill-...

Thanks!
Desiree

UK author Julia Donaldson has penned a poem in protest at planned library closures.

The writer, who was named Children's Laureate and awarded the MBE last year, said she had used libraries since she was a child and still visited her local branch to research and write her best-selling books.
Her poem, released on Friday to mark National Libraries Day, describes them as places to "meet your heroes, old and new, from William the Conqueror to Winnie the Pooh". The 62-year-old writer, who was born in London but lives in Glasgow, said she wanted to make a serious point in a fun way. She said: "It's just more interesting to put the reasons I love libraries in that form rather than write an earnest article about it. If we lose libraries, we would lose readers and we would become a less literate country." Campaigners say hundreds of libraries face closure, with some groups taking legal action in a bid to save them.

Her Library Poem reads: "Everyone is welcome to walk through the door. It really doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. There are books in boxes and books on shelves. They're free for you to borrow, so help yourselves.
"Come and meet your heroes, old and new, from William the Conqueror to Winnie the Pooh. You can look into the Mirror or read The Times, or bring along a toddler to chant some rhymes.
-- Read More

Ever wonder why libraries aren’t able to offer electronic content like e-books, music files and streaming multimedia as well as they offer print materials, CDs and DVDs? Library Renewal is trying to find a solution. They say it turns out, this is a surprisingly complex situation to understand, let alone improve. They do research, form strategic relationships, and create ways for you to get involved and let your voice be heard. If you believe the future of your library is tied to easy electronic content access, you have found your home base for those efforts.

Check them out at LibraryRenewal.org

Scholastic needs to pay tax in Tennessee

The activities of Tennessee schools and teachers are sufficient to create Tennessee sales and use tax nexus for a mail-order bookseller that sells books via marketing materials distributed in schools.

Full article

Court opinion can be read here.

Lori Andrews looks at how personal data is exploited by Web sites, search engines and other Internet technologies.

Book review in the NYT: The Dangers of Sharing

Book: I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy

Throughout our country's history, libraries have provided education and entertainment to all. In the library all economic classes have an equal opportunity to access information.
we petition the obama administration to:

Reform copyright law to allow libraries to keep digital copies of ebooks and other media.

The movement to digital media has seriously disrupted this model. Content owners continue to exert more and more control over their works. No longer are they willing to sell "copies" to libraries. Some allow libraries to rent very restricted versions. Others refuse to deal with libraries at all.

We need to bring back the first sale doctrine for libraries, allowing them to copy and archive digital media without violating the DMCA.

Not doing so will ensure that only those with means have access to the wealth of human knowledge.

see:

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/my-mind/we-need-copyright-20

Man stabbed with pen over dispute over newspaper at library

A fight over whose turn it was to read a newspaper at San Francisco's Portola Branch Library led to a man getting stabbed in the face with a pen on Saturday afternoon, police said.

[Thanks LSW!]