LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

Delaware libraries support of lifelong learning spans all age groups. Its innovative "Learning Journeys" program includes new resources oriented towards young learners, and has received enthusiastic support from parents and stakeholders such as Even Start. You can read th full posting at the Division of Libraries blog: http://library.blogs.delaware.gov/2010/01/26/eggplants-and-lifelong-learning/

Topeka, KS - A big move for the State Library of Kansas means it will shut its doors temporarily. It will be closed to the public Friday, Dec. 18 and remain closed through Tuesday, Dec. 29.

The closure will facilitate the State Library’s move from its third floor, north wing Statehouse location to 169W, which is mobile units located at the southwest corner of the Statehouse.

The library will be accessible from the West doors on First floor beginning Dec. 30. The move includes 22 full-time staff, 300,000 documents and books, 39 computers, printers and copiers, more than 30 desks and chairs, and numerous file cabinets.

In a recent blog post, the Delaware Library Catalog announced the addition of two significant libraries to the growing statewide catalog. The Wilmington Public Library will migrate from its current Horizon ILS to the Delaware Division of Libraries- managed and SirsiDynix-hosted Symphony system. Wilmington Library patrons will enjoy the enhanced services offered by the statewide system, and existing patrons will be able to easily access the more than 200,000 items held by the Wilmington Library, which has served the citizens of Delaware's largest city at its current downtown site since 1922. In addition, the Wilmington University will upgrade from its current Unicorn system and migrate its holdings to the statewide system, providing the potential to coordinate academic holdings with DLC's existing academic partners the Delaware Technical and Community College and Wesley College

At a press conference on Thursday, October 29, the Massachusetts Governor's Office announced that Governor Patrick is considering closing the State Library of Massachusetts as a cost-saving measure. This closure will have a monumental impact on the cultural heritage of the Commonwealth.

Open to the public since 1826, the State Library has developed comprehensive collections in the areas of government documents, law, Massachusetts history, and public and current affairs. From the Bradford manuscript "Of Plimoth Plantation" to the ever-expanding digital repository, the State Library has collected items of crucial importance to the record of Massachusetts' historical wealth.

Please sign our online petition to show your support of the State Library of Massachusetts:

Additionally, if you would like to contact the Governor's office directly, please visit his website .

If you would like to make a donation, please visit the Friends of the State Library page at http://www.mass.gov/lib

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For the past few months, staff at the Washington State Library have been working hard, exhaustively scouring the web and compiling quality resources to help library users across Washington State. The result? A thorough guide detailing resources and techniques to help you and your users navigate this tough economy. We've covered numerous subjects, including health and nutrition, family and parenting, finances, job-seeking, and a whole lot more.

Check it out now at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/hardtimes/.

Ask-WA is pleased to announce the launch of Washington State's first online virtual reference portal. Connecting more than 60 libraries across the state, and backed by a worldwide cooperative, Ask-WA provides 24/7 reference service to the library users of Washington State.

Ask-WA is an essential resource for students looking for citations at three in the morning, for Washington residents doing personal research, for genealogists. Washington librarians are available to help you get started on that tough research project, investigate your family roots, or even just settle a bet.

Don't wait, ask us a question now at http://ask.wa.gov!

Like the rest of the nation, Hawaii's libraries are suffering in the economic downturn. The state public library system is considering several different options to deal with its shortfall. KGMB9 reports.

Instead of closing down five branches on the Big Island, Oahu and Maui, the state librarian (Richard Burns) is now proposing furloughs.

The plan includes anything between two and four furlough days a month, depending on the changing budget situation.

The state librarian also says he will leave 72 vacant positions unfilled.

Wind shook the windowpanes and water dripped from the skylights. Collapsing plaster ceilings forced employees to take shelter under tables, all in the finest building ever erected by the state of New Hampshire, its library. Recently work began to renovate the first state library in the nation, a pink-and-gray granite Italian Renaissance structure on Park Street. The effects of decades of deferred maintenance are slowly being erased.

The library is open to the public, but unlike city libraries, it's designed to serve researchers, not readers of popular novels. It holds the history of the state's Legislature and laws, the genealogies of countless New Hampshire families, more than 150 years of annual reports from every town.

According to the Concord Monitor, first-time visitors should come to view not its documents but the building's amazing architecture. The library's entrance is framed by columns of polished granite. Inside are massive fireplaces, swirling Sienna marble wainscoting the color of butterscotch, marble mosaic floors with multicolored decorative borders, a dedication plaque made by Tiffany Studios, magnificent plasterwork unaffordable today, fine antiques, gleaming brass light fixtures and a domed chamber that until 1970 held the state Supreme Court.

Protesters stand outside the Michigan Historical Center and Library in Lansing earlier this month to protest the plan to break up the genealogical collections at the library. More from the Detroit Free Press.

The handwritten letter to former New Mexico Gov. Lew Wallace is polite, articulate and to the point.

"Dear Sir," begins the missive. "I wish you would come down to the jail and see me."

The letter is from Billy the Kid, dated 1881, and it and others like it are now housed at the Fray Angelico Chavez History Library in Santa Fe, NM.
Here's the story.