LISNews: Power Influencer, Passion Catalyst

There are only two golf libraries in the country, and the Orange County Register has an article on one of them. A must read for golf enthusiasts. \"\"I really respect the game of golf,\" Sheffer said. \"There is something mystical about the game. There is really a passion about it.\" That admiration for the game is passed on to anyone who visits the library, which is about a sand wedge from one of two first tees at the 36-hole golf course.\" -- Read More

It seems like another library system may be sued over filtering all of its computers, according to this brief article from Digital City. We will keep y\'all posted.\"Whereas about half the computers in the Houston Public Library system are filtered to prevent access to pornography sites, Montgomery County recently filtered all its libraries\' computers, not just those in children\'s sections.Read on... -- Read More

It would be rude to not continue with the Ohio strike news. So, here it goes...they are still on strike!!
Articles from the Canton Reporter include Library workers picket for better wages, pace from dusk until dawn, Library workers brace for lengthy picket, and Things remain the same on third day of library strike

It seems the generous GLF (Gates
Library Foundation) is a bother to some folks.
ewtn.com has a story that is
very critical of The GLF and
its\' policy of funding certain organizations.

The seattletimes
has a story that says the critisim is overblown, and they don\'t
understand the attacks.

I\'ve also collected a few other stories to throw in for a
"Mini Quickie" on the GLF. Read on for more... -- Read More

This article from the Columbus Dispatch describes a few new words and phrases that will appear in a revision of the Random House Webster\'s College Dictionary. Included are \"Arm Candy\", \"Eye Candy\", \"Senior Moment\", and \"DWB\" (Driving While Black)\"DWB (driving while black) was added as a reference to racial profiling. The term is used sarcastically to describe the reason why police have stopped black motorists. Merriam-Webster added big time (something done on a large scale) this year. ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and smoothie (a creamy drink) also were added.\" -- Read More

Apparently, this new web site called The Library Place was debuted at ALA this year, but there has been no talk about it anywhere. It seems pretty raw. Anyway, the site has teamed up with Alibris to offer hard to find books for libraries, according to this article from Excite

The Detroit Free Press has this article about new loitering polices in a library in Michigan. They are kicking out homeless people who are sleeping. I wonder if they would do the same to a college student who fell asleep studying for exams? The ACLU may get involved.\"After a crescendo of complaints, the city has posted advertisements to hire a part-time monitor, who will get up to $10 an hour to circle stacks and call police when patrons break library rules.\" -- Read More

Bruce Flanders wrote:
Just for the fun of it, here\'s a trivia quiz for you. They
aren\'t too tough, but see how many you can get. This is reproduced from our
library staff newsletter, and was created by the newsletter\'s editor Maria
Butler.

\"The following are first lines from classic children\'s books. See how many
you can identify, by title and author. -- Read More

the Library of Congress announced Monday, Stanley Kunitz, 95, will become the 10th poet laureate of the United States in the fall. He was quoted as saying he will accept only if they don\'t make him move to D.C.

\"The reason I decided to accept this honor is that I want to do something for the young in this country,\" he said in a statement. \"I also want to stress the diversity of poetry in this country, in this `nation of nations,\' as (Walt) Whitman said.\"

Things have gotten pretty ugly in Canton, Ohio. So ugly that the Canton Reporter carried four articles today about the library strike. Here is one about the library suspending services (including some renovation). Here is another about a library patron accusing a guard of harrassment. And yet another about the leaking of negotiation information to the public. Meanwhile, the other branches are not feeling the effects.

This editorial from the News Observer, regarding the partial censorship of reading materials in prisions is filled with sarcastic overtones.\"We\'d probably want to clear the shelves of most news magazines. Definitely The N&O and its competitors. And what about all these Harry Potter books that have the kids all jazzed? Must be dangerous. And I hear they are satanical. Oh and the Bill of Rights, that radical ol\' rag. Wouldn\'t want that to make the rounds.\" -- Read More

Rob Brian sent this in from The Sydney Morning Herald The library of the NSW Parliament is getting rid of more than half of its old and rare book collection. They need to sell some, to pay for cataloging what they keep. Sales so far have brought in $110,000, enough to employ staff to continue cataloguing the remaining finds. The ex-parliamentary librarian Mr Russell Cope, had wanted the collection kept intact.

\"The fact that parts of [library] holdings are not \'used\' is advanced, especially by uninformed parliamentarians, as an argument for getting rid of \'unused\' items. If they happen to be valuable as well, the monetary attraction becomes hard to resist.\" -- Read More

E-Book 2000: September 25-27, Washington DC
To learn about E-books -- how the technology is developing, the
applications that are emerging, and the impact of e-books on libraries --
plan to attend E-Book 2000 on September 25-27, at the Ronald Reagan Building
and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. -- Read More

Originally published in Library Juice, this article by Teri Weesner has found its way to the Progressive Librarian web site. The article is called \"The Mystery and the Act: Toward a YA Human Sexuality Collection\" and it discusses the needs that teens have for accurate, honest information about sex and sexuality, and how librarians can meet that need.

\"This editorial is based on the premise that there is a connection between young people accessing porn via the internet and their innate curiosity about human sexuality and their own bodies. Young people viewing internet porn have an information need that can be addressed by youth services librarians and library collections. To ignore this information need is just as inaccurate and inappropriate as young people gleaning their information from internet pornography and cybersex chat. Young people\'s information needs are legitimate and the response of shaming from librarians is an ineffective tool for teaching, learning or discipline.\" -- Read More

What can you say about a boy named Harry?

I have collected quite a few unused Harry Potter stories, so I thought I\'d just throw them all together in one big fun to read quickies collection. Read on for all sorts of exciting Harry Potter News. -- Read More

Someone sent in This Story at cantonrep.com. The strike we\'ve been reporting on for a week or two has begun at The Stark County District Library. This is the first time workers have struck in Stark County. Some branches are open still, and they are trying to keep services going. Not wanting to take a side, I\'ll just leave out the usual story quote. A member of the Stark County District Library board of trustees has resigned to protest the way he said the board is handling a looming strike by library employees [Other Story]

In case you haven\'t heard by now, Napster was not shut down on Friday. If you\'d like to learn more on this subject, O\'Reillynet.com has a Story that compare all the latest and greatest P2P software. This is technology that is changing how people share information, and is worth keeping up on.

\"In essence, Gnutella and Freenet represent a new step in distributed information systems. Each is a system for searching for information; each returns information without telling you where it came from. They are innovative in the areas of distributed information storage, information retrieval, and network architecture. But they differ significantly in both goals and implementation\" -- Read More

The new trend in libraries is to have the police issue warrants and arrests for overdue meterials. The Los Angeles Times has an article on a few libraries that do not (and will not) do that.\"One of the hallmarks of our library is it is free and open,\" said Susan Kent, the city\'s head librarian. \"Yes, there are really bad offenders, but we\'re not here to prosecute. We\'re here to provide a service.\" -- Read More

The New York Times has this article about Random House publishing books only in digital format.\"Beginning in January, the house will publish under the name AtRandom a list of about 20 purely digital books, by authors ranging from the editor of Harper\'s magazine to a downtown dominatrix.\" -- Read More

According to this article in the Star Tribune, a library which can only hold 40 people at a time may take over the hospitality loungue of an old brewery complex.\"Imagine showing up at your public library and being told you can\'t go in. That happens sometimes at the Pierre Bottineau branch library in northeast Minneapolis. It\'s the city\'s smallest library. -- Read More