LISNews: Librarian News

SALINAS, Calif. -- With one shooting already in the books for the New Year, the city of Salinas is now turning to libraries in hopes of curbing gang violence.

For more than a year, library director Elizabeth Martinez has led the literacy campaign, which has already handed out 30,000 library cards. "We are astonished by the response of the community, people who want help for their families,” Martinez said. In fact, 65,000 Salinas residents own a library card, which is 45 percent of the population – twice the national average.

Mayor Donohue of Salinas is pushing a literacy campaign that would make the city the first in the country to require every student to have a library card.

“The libraries are really one of our best weapons on the prevention side to make sure we get as many young people out to the right start in life," Donohue said.

Librarianship is not always a first career.

Take the career of Gayle Morrow, a 59-year old rollerblading teen librarian. After working as a teacher and accountant, Morrow found herself unemployed and decided to go to school in her hometown of Philadelphia.

When the John F. Kennedy Library in Vallejo (CA) was hiring a young adult librarian, she decided to give that line of work a try. For her, this latest career has been "so much fun."

She dedicates her days to creating fun activities to draw city youth to the library. Her love of not only the library but the teens she works with is evident. "They keep you young. I love the way they think. It's fun to be around them," she said.

Working with the teens has taught her a lot about young people, she said. "They're what adults would like to be. They're open. They're honest. They accept people for what they are," she said, apparently including herself. Times Herald Online.

San Diego County libraries might soon allow parents to answer that question as officials look at changing the library card application for patrons under age 18.
A new proposal pushed by county Supervisor Bill Horn would require parents to mark a box indicating whether their child could check out R-rated DVDs and videos from the county's 33 libraries. The policy now allows patrons of all ages access to all library materials.

Some students at Lower Cape May Regional High School (LCMR) are picking up a new hobby and saving lives. The NJ school’s knitting club kicked off this fall when Art Teacher Susan Wolfe and Librarian Tish Carpinelli invited skilled and novice knitters to the library to learn about and improve their knitting skills while making caps that can help save the lives of babies in the developing world.

Simple health measure are the key to saving many of these children: antibiotics to fight infections, training for skilled birth attendants, immunizations, on education on breastfeeding and basic care such as drying a newborn baby and keeping it warm. (That’s where the hats come in.) The program is Save the Children's Knit One Save One.

The program has attracted knitters from around the world, including high profile knitters like actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Debra Messing and about two dozens LCMR students. Just a few students showed up for the first meeting, but the excitement spread (fueled by Wolfe’s homemade cookies), and more students are participating every week. Story from Cape May County Herald. Sounds like a great activity!